GregD

After breakfast we met Leroy up in the seaplex for some bumper cars. Shortly after @Lovetocruise2002and her family arrived and we had some epic battles in the bumper cars. We all left with huge smiles on our faces and headed to Ifly. The weather is getting cooler. The shorts were shed for long pants and sweatshirts. Someone it ready! All suited up!

This morning, I slept through my alarm and woke up to room service calling to say they were on the way with our Starbucks order. this is the best way to start the day Lydia is a @Lovetocruise2002 in training

Last night we watched the welcome show. The cruise director is funny and entertaining. The lead for we will rock you sang a few songs. He has an amazing voice, and we had a moment of nostalgia because the first song he sang was the opening number in Aqua80, The Power of Love. The comedian Mick Miller was quintessential British. His jokes are mainly one liners, and a one and done for us. We too we’re boring cruisers and went to bed after the show. We missed the sunset, but we have a few more nights

After dinner we wandered the ship for a bit, and also laughed at the cold weather gear being sold in the shops.

Johnny earned a napkin art ninja at dinner, (sorry about it being rotated)

Last night was busy for us, and the internet on my phone decided to stop working for a bit, but overnight it returned. We too went to Coastal Kitchen last night for dinner. As @twangster said about predictable……we are the same…. Escargot Burrata Filet…..this was interesting because our sauce was served on the side, which was good because it allowed for dunking each bite! Hazelnut Cake Royal Chocolate Cake Warm Honey Pear i do have to say that I agree with @Lovetocruise2002 youngest. This filet wasn’t the best. All the different filets I had on Oasis in February were better than this one, not that this one was bad by any means. Our server also brought us a crème brûlée for dessert, and this is one I think we are going to give up on for good. I make crème brûlée at home often since it’s The Boss’s favorite, and the one made by RC doesn’t even come close.

Ughhhhh. Someone was let into coastal kitchen wearing shorts!!!! Oh wait, that was me……they will let anyone in these days…..

Annnnd we’re off!!

4:30PM, everyone has completed their required muster drill!

After some lunch and unpacking, the kids wanted to visit the pool. I spotted The Boss up on the suite sun deck sitting with all her friends. I’m sure I’ll be in trouble for posting this, but I have to keep the people updated as to what is going on! while I’m not superstitious, I’m not sure I’d want to be in this room….. Leroy gave the kids a list of animals to find on the ship. This was one of them. There seems to be a resemblance…..

Our lunch was in Coastal Kitchen. Appetizers of the Serrano wrapped dates, and Mediterranean Wedge Salad. Heather and Lydia had a grilled chicken sandwich And I had the Salmon Rounding out lunch, Johnny had the kids grilled cheese. He was surprised to find that it was also smothered in cheese too. He is feeling the food coma early, since he had already dived into that cake! The Coastal Kitchen manager stopped by to see how we were doing and promised Johnny a paper airplane of which the likes he had never seen, as long as he ate his lunch. He ate more than he usually does, so he got his reward. Lydia and I were just happy to be there, sorry for the awkward smile, my mouth was full of bread at that moment

Once on board we did all the required Muster drill things and then relaxed in Vintages while Leroy went over all the star class benefits and everything. In earlier chats when @Lovetocruise2002and I were talking about what time we were getting on the ship, and we found out we would beat her on board. I mentioned that I would meet them at the gangway with tequila shots. When I promise something, I deliver. We met them with said shots It was a great way to start this cruise!

10324, What @Lovetocruise2002 said, mirror image. wait, so you got a sheet cake? We only got a small round cake!

I am happy to report, Anthem has the new straw fish straws.

That’s true….it’s been a bit since we’ve experienced a “normal” boarding day.

Ugghhhh…..the days of empty and fast elevators is over…..

We are on board!!! Our van picked us up promptly at 10:15, and we were at the port by 10:20. We were dropped off in the general cab area, and the porters were ready to grab our bags. The Boss channeled her inner @WAAAYTOOO and had a vice like grip on her bags and exclaimed “WE ARE STAR CLASS” at which point the kids said wait what??!! A few of the porters looked at us confused, but one knew what we meant and pointed us in the right direction. The star class check in area is in the middle of the building. At that point we were on a mission, so I didn’t get a chance to snap a picture. The regular and star class people did have a list of the star class rooms, so they do verify. Once at the correct area, we turned our bags into the right people and at that point we were assigned to port personnel who guided us through the rest of the check in. He first verified our test results, then brought us to security. Security was a quick walk through the metal detectors where Leroy was waiting for us. We met the next crew member who completed the check in process. He verified our passports, vaccine stuff, health questions. Shortly after Leroy escorted us onto the ship. Meanwhile, I was sending messages to @Lovetocruise2002 about what to expect, and she “yelled” at me that I was teasing her. From arrival to on the ship was about 10 minutes.

There is leeway to get to your seating late, each seating is a few hours long and with set dining you will have the same table and waiter each night, so its not like they will give your table away. I know we have walked into the MDR 30+ minutes late without any issues. Talk to your waiter the night before to let them know your plans and they can give you the best answer (they usually ask what you are doing the next day anyway). Don't expect be able to go to the second seating because there will be a family there but YMMV. Like you asked, if you are really late, there is always the WJ or other options.

Inquiring minds want to know. Any physicists out there? Why is that when you are on the ship, time moves at a breakneck speed, but when you are sitting in your hotel waiting for your cab ride time moves backwards? Our “ride” is here Day one cruise outfit is on point. Gotta represent right? Norwegian Blue nails are done too Why is it only 8:56??!!???

Breakfast at the hotel this morning was decent. They had all the typical things for a full English breakfast as well as typical continental fare. The host looked at me like I had three heads when I asked him if the Thomas’s factory was nearby. I’ll keep trying when we get to London though. A little backstory here, my stepmother is from England, and any time she and my father are in England he always asks the same thing much to her chagrin. Stray Observation about the hotel. Typically when we check into hotels, when booking it’s specified two adults and two children. Without fail when we arrive, we have to open up the couch, if it’s that type of room, then we have to call the front desk because without fail, the spare linens are never in the room. When we arrived here and got into room, the sleeper sofa was already open and prepared with plenty of pillows, sheets blankets, and extra towels for the bathroom. After such a long day of travel and exploring, having one less thing to deal with was really appreciated. Continental breakfast side Hot Breakfast Someone was thrilled they had coco crispies, and pancakes with Nutella. (Scope the cruise lanyard that he was so excited to find in his suitcase that he just had to wear it)

While it’s no afternoon tea at the savoy, having an Uber Eats delivery of pizza to the hotel last night at 11pm as we fought off jet lag and worked on changing our internal clocks surely hit the spot. We are all awake (it’s currently 5:26 local time) and ready to go!

It’s cruise day!!!!

We dropped our luggage at the hotel in Southampton. We are staying in the Novotel across from the port. I didn’t get a chance to grab a picture of the room before bags were strewn everywhere, but it’s a standard room. Beds, bathroom, espresso machine (best day ever). When we got here the room wasn’t ready, so the front desk stored our bags and we went exploring. We started at the Seacity Museum that has an interesting Titanic exhibit. (Photos to follow) After this we were feeling tired and calorie depleted, so lunch, or whatever meal our bodies felt we were on was required. There was a place close by called “Slug and Lettuce “ I love weird names, so that’s where we went. Following this, we felt a little recharged and ready to rally. We wandered around the city center and marveled at the modern buildings being built among the original walls of the city. we wandered long enough for the room to be ready. We are now in the room, ready to crash. Tomorrow will be fun when the kids find out we are star class. They still think we are in a small room. Here is a little photo dump for you all.

Despite the long line, it only took us about 20 minutes to get through border control. We then had a nice surprise at baggage claim, the app was wrong and all of our luggage was on the carousel waiting for us! we also booked blackberry cars for a ride to the hotel in Southampton. It was super easy. Our driver met us outside baggage claim and whisked us off to our hotel. We landed in London at 7:35 and we’re at our hotel by 10:30. Rooms weren’t ready so we ventured off to keep ourselves busy for a while.

We have made it! Currently snaking our way through the long customs line. Johnny is too young to use the really fast E-gates. Only 3 people checking passports.