Ahhh…to sleep in is a nice change. Packed our things, had breakfast, and still had time to get Zak a new jacket at the outlet mall we discovered was just 10 minutes away from our hotel. Another 10 minute drive got us back to the airport to drop off the car. We had lots of time before our scheduled check in time for the cruise to catch a cab, barring getting separated from the boys at the airtrain.
A train connects the different terminals at the Newark airport and we had to take it to get from the car rental area to Terminal A, where the taxis are. I swear, I was literally right behind the boys getting on the train when the doors abruptly closed right in front of me. We waved goodbye to each other through the window as the train took my boys away from me. No real worries, though; wait four minutes and the next train comes around. We were shortly on our way again, all together.
Our cab driver was a pleasantly talkative fellow who got us safely to the port, despite other drivers’ repeated efforts to the contrary. We ended up being roughly 20 minutes early for our scheduled check in time, but that too was no problem. Unlike the last time we went on a cruise, when we had to stand in a ridiculously long, snaking line of people, this time we checked our bags at the drop off site, went through security clearance, had our check in documents reviewed, and boarded the ship within 15 minutes of our arrival. Fantastic!
We found our rooms without any trouble. The boys’ room key didn’t work, but that was relatively easily fixed by going down to guest services where they were able to print new key cards for them. Actually, the only minor problems we had were easily fixed: the boys’ beds had not been separated into singles and our credit folio needed resetting so that I could connect to the onboard hi-speed wifi. On that note: we only have two devices we can connect to the wifi account and that will be my iPad and Dan’s work computer, so that means the photos I’ll be taking with my iPhone will not be uploaded here until I get within cell phone range.
We ‘lost’ the boys relatively quickly after boarding to their own explorations. They found lunch just fine on their own at Sorrento’s, as well as the recreation area and other places. Dan and I explored on our own a little bit and ate lunch at Johnny Rocket’s. The safety drill was conducted and included at the end a cute song about washing our hands. We were quick to notice the difference between this muster point and the last cruise muster point: this one is indoors.
The ship departed shortly after the drill and this time Dan and I were on deck to watch. I might remind you (or inform you) that our last cruise sailed out of Fort Lauderdale; this one is out of Bayonne. Just a smidgen colder on deck right now, I must say. But we stayed and watched as we sailed past Lady Liberty and beneath the Varrazano Bridge. Yes, beneath the bridge. It is not a draw bridge; it was a relatively tight fit.
My mani-pedi followed our departure, during which the boys partook of some ping pong. Not a clue what else, if anything, they did for the two hours I was occupied. I joined them for a match after my spa and then we went for a late buffet supper at the Windjammer. Wrapped it up pretty quick after that, although I think the boys were still raring to do something. As it is, it’s already 11:15 pm as I write this and we do have to be up for our all access tour of the ship tomorrow morning, so I’m going to call it a night.
*not sure how or why, but we’ve got cell service out here on the ocean, so I was able to email today’s picture to my iPad and upload them here. I’ll probably get dinged somehow later, but for now let’s see if this works…
Guigon Travels 
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