Hello all,
Monday late afternoon we boarded the ship. We were a bit
concerned about our cabin assignment given that our trip coordinator booked the
wrong cabin for us and the ship was sold-out. In the end, the cabin was
actually fine and the obstruction was very minor in the grand scheme of things,
but I still scored us a nice cabin credit to pay for our spa treatments :o)
As we boarded they were handing out flyers for spa
specials that were only valid that day, so we took advantage and went straight
to spa to sign up. $90 for a 50 min back/scalp/foot massage, we felt it was
worth it. My therapist was great on scalp and feet, but when she got to my back
I felt like I was in a Chinese torture chamber!
On my way out I made sure I won't have that therapist for the next two
treatments later in the week.
So after my treatment I'm sitting in the relaxation room
and I realize that we are over an hour late pulling out of port. No
announcements, no nothing. I'm thinking this is odd. I'm assuming there is a
mechanical issue that has delayed us, but I start asking the staff questions
anyway.
Long story short - It appears a large, extended family of
about 40 people of which a few did not have the proper documentation to board
the ship, something about passports not matching the name on their reservations
(I won't mention their nationality because it is really irrelevant). So, half
the family decides to continue without the other half, while the half now not
cruising have to wait for their luggage to be taken off the ship.
Now what I don't know was how many of the people that
decided not to cruise actually got on board and then off again. Of course the
ship couldn't cruise with un-attended luggage on board but did anyone think
about what hand luggage they had and was that accounted for? In my mind this was a security breach on
multiple levels. Do you all see where I'm going with this?? At the very least they should have had a K9
unit patrol the ship before we left port. Anyway, no one else seemed too
concerned, I prayed to St. Michael and we finally pushed off, two hours late!
The Cruise Critic rated this ship four star, but, by J Leto standards it is a three star! The ship
is in good shape having just completed a $8 million renovation and there are
some nice amenities, but I wouldn't put it in a luxury category. Having said that,
we are getting value as there would have been now other way to visit six
countries in 16 days on a $400 a day budget.
Later that evening El and I had a nice dinner at a
communal table and chatted with a few older couples that are "professional
cruisers". The passenger
demographic of the ship is largely European and Middle Eastern with a handful
of Americans. The crew represent 62 nationalities and our Captain is Italian.
The sea has been calm and the weather cool, partly sunny and comfortable.
Catch you all tomorrow....
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