It's cruise day and there was a lot of packing and repacking of the repacking this morning. The luggage allowance specified we could have two bags each but no single bag was to be over 24 kgs. Thank goodness for the backpack because after the rearrangement, I was able to skinny zip my suitcase (no expander needed) and the back pack was fully expanded.

The taxi was hailed at 11.00 and the drop off at the pier was 11.15. Again, the process was so easy. There was a baggage handler who took our colour-coded deck and stateroom labelled luggage and within two minutes we were through the gates and in the checkin line. There were plenty of staff around to get you moving in the right direction but it did take about 90 minutes to get through the different stages of checkin. There was ticket check, paper check, maps and souvenir booklet collection, customs and border control check, passenger registration, ship photo ID, health check, swipe card issue, welcome aboard photo, dinner booking for first night, on shore survey and then "ta da" at last, the gangway and with three quick steps we were boarding and greeted by the crew, balloons and a red carpet. Excited? Very! Who would have thought that a cruise was on our itinerary.

The Cruise Director was sharing information as we boarded - dining rooms were open for lunch and guests were invited to drop off hand luggage in their rooms. We did both and had to find our way through the corridors and lifts to our tenth floor cabin. What a pleasant surprise - plenty of room - lots of cupboards and hanging space, a bed, a sitting area and a balcony!

The first dining experience was in the Four Seasons - a sit down affair with menu selections. And so began the eating! So many choices on the menu so we sat for two hours and just enjoyed our first lunch.

Next stop was to the Guest Services Desk to book excursions for the first three shore days and to confirm our specialty restaurant choices for the next three days. And perfectly timed we made our way to the top deck to watch the process of leaving the harbour. We were happy right on top but scores of other guests were in the pool area for the BBQ and farewell party. Lots of music, cheering, laughing, singing.....the party had started.

And isn't it amazing how small things can make you so happy. We spent about an hour unpacking our suitcases and storing them under the bed! We have so many cupboards and drawers. There is a place for everything. Seems like a luxury after living out of the suitcase for the past month.

The entire complement of the ship was then called out on deck for an emergency drill. We had heard this yesterday while we were watching the other ships depart. It was a lengthy process because some cruise members were not as committed to getting to the assembly areas on time. Everyone has to be accounted for and with 2000 passengers and 1000 crew it did take time. The lady next to me said this was the most organised drill she had encountered in her 11 cruises...so that was comforting - if we capsized, were blown up or were on fire we have a good team to look after us! I know it is necessary but was a bit of a downer for the party mood.

I have a feeling that there are going to be a lot of stories about food over the next 14 days. Tonight we ate at Moderno - the Brazilian Restaurant. We have not experienced anything like this before but I have to say that it is Mac's ideal restaurant. The clam chowder soup was without doubt the best of this trip. Salads and veges were available in copious quantities and so was meat. There were thirteen different styles of meat on the menu. You were handed a coaster that has a red side and a green side. As long as you left the coaster with the green side showing, more meats were offered. Can I say that Mac made his way through all thirteen and even asked for second helping of some. When it came time to order dessert, we couldn't quite decide what to choose, so the waiter suggested we should have all three.....and so we did.

We managed to squeeze in the Welcome Aboard show in The Stardust Room (hilarious comedy show), checked out the on board shopping specials (resisted any purchases) and called in to the Garden Cafe to pick up some fruit for breakfast and finished our first day on board bloated, but very happy.


Monday
Temperature: 26
Pedometer: 5 001
Bear Sightings = 0

Total Bear Sightings = 12

Things @AuntyGail and @Paul forgot to tell us about cruising:

1. Arrive early for checkin - if it says 12 noon checkin, that really means be there around 10 to beat the crowds.

2. It takes a very very very long time to check in.

3. Pay attention to how you look in your Ship ID photo because they flash it up and use it everywhere...a bad one will haunt you for two weeks.

4. The first exciting adventure on the ship is the emergency procedure drill where they tell you about all of the catastrophes that can happen at sea. Welcome aboard.

5. The Cruise Director and his assistant are very cheesy and do gee-up-crowd-cheering-warmups.

6. The shower stall is a very small cylinder.

7. You can always ask for ALL the desserts on the menu.