Day One – Embarkation

We hit the breakfast buffet first thing in the morning. As I said, it was not shabby. Fresh omelets and waffles were available, as well as, french toast, fruit, muffins, doughnuts, you get the picture.

We had some time to kill before heading to the port. The ship wasn't leaving until 8:30 pm and boarding wasn't until 1:00 pm so we made a little trip to Walgreens to pick up a few sundry items. It was a short 10 minute walk from the hotel. Among the things we purchased was a little vino for the trip. Royal allows you to bring two bottles of wine on board.

We checked out of the hotel at noon and got a taxi to the port. The port was only about 20 minutes away. Very easy to get to. Here she is, The Jewel of the Seas! I am going to mention now that I was previously on this ship in January 2012 so I may make some comparisons between the 2 cruises.

Arriving about 12:30 pm, we were able to get right on the ship. This was one of the easiest embarkations I have ever experienced. Luggage dropped off, passports checked, go through security, register and get set sail pass. We were on the ship by 12:45 pm. There were no lines at all at that time. A little later, that was another story.

We made a trip up to the Windjammer for the obligatory "first meal of the week in which we would stuff our faces." Again, another first, no crowds. No scrambling for a seat, no lines, plenty of food.

My roomie and I were in balcony room 8618. We headed down shortly after 1:00 pm and much to our surprise, our luggage arrived a few minutes later. Another first! We unpacked and then headed out to explore the ship.
 

I was the tour guide since I had previously been on the ship. We stopped in Chops and Portofino where we made reservations for each of the restaurants. There was a special price for booking both venues that day, $40 total.We got back off the ship to go to the duty-free ship in the terminal to purchase more wine. There were no issues carrying it onboard. At this point the lines for check-in were pretty long. It paid to get to the port early.

6:15 pm arrived and it was time for dinner. We had the My Time dining and were able to have the same table and waitstaff the entire week. Waiter Rayfton and Assistant Waiter Kimber provided us with excellent service, food and stories during the week.

The muster drill was held promptly at 8:00 pm. It still amazes me that people just wander in at their leisure. 

Sail away was at 8:30 pm. From our balcony we watched the lights fade in the distance. The ship was very uncrowded this first night. I wasn't sure if people were just tired and in their rooms or still at dinner. This was evidenced further when we went to Karaoke in the Safari Lounge. There were 15 people in attendance. Fifteen! I felt bad for Daniel from Spain who was leading it. He was practically begging people to participate. He had very few takers.

It was late, we were tired. Tomorrow we arrive in St. Croix!