We arrived at the pier around 11:30 AM, checked our baggage with the porters, and entered the cruise terminal to check in. As usual, we had done our pre-cruise paperwork which makes life so much easier when you arrive at the pier. The only documentation we needed was our cruise ticket and passports.
The embarkation process went quite smoothly. There were separate lines for Latitudes (NCL loyalty program) guests, Balcony cabins, and other higher category cabins. When we arrived the special lines were short and the regular lines seemed to be moving pretty well. I didn't hear any guests complaining about the embarkation during the cruise, so I'll have to assume most people had no problems with the boarding process.
Once onboard we were greeted with a glass of champagne and told that the cabins weren't ready yet. One of the stewards took our carry-on bags and escorted us to a lounge where they were storing bags until the cabins were ready. After dropping off our bags, we headed off to explore the ship.
My husband and son wandered off to take a few pictures of the atrium area while I waited in line to make dinner reservations for the first sea day night. When we had been on the Pearl, we hadn't made a reservation for Teppanyaki restaurant and I wanted to be sure we'd get there on this trip. I made the reservation for Monday at 6:30 PM and then joined the rest of the family to continue our exploration.
One of our first stops is always at the spa to see what is offered, and to make our appointments so that we get our first choices. One of the therapists was demonstrating the Aromastone therapy, which is my favorite treatment. She gave all of us a taste of the treatment and we then made our appointments for the first sea day. We also purchased the cruise pass for the relaxation area which included a thalassotherapy pool. The spa warrants a separate post, so stay tuned for more details.
After leaving the spa, we headed to Spinnaker Lounge to relax for awhile before the mandatory lifeboat drill. As you can see in this picture, we decided to take advantage of one of the unique chairs in the lounge. A passing couple just had to take our picture because we looked so comfortable (which we were).
You'll notice that I've not mentioned food at all yet. Yes, there was the usual welcome aboard buffet in the Garden Cafe, but since we had had a buffet breakfast at our hotel, we weren't quite ready to eat at this point in time.
We left Spinnaker Lounge, picked up our carry-on bags and headed to our cabin. A couple of our suitcases arrived shortly after that, so we unpacked a little before heading out again.
The cruise was off to a good start and we were getting into the swing of things. In my next post, I'll talk about the sail-away party which included Statue of Liberty viewing and a cookout on deck.
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