Today was embarkation day. We slept in, ate a late breakfast (oh my, the croissants are delicious!), sent a couple of postcards (you're welcome, Grandma and Granddaddy), and packed up for the cruise.
I have to say, the hotel where we stayed, Hotel Sant Agusti, was decent and in a great location. The beds were rocks (I'm a bed snob, but these beds were hard beyond belief), but everything was very clean and the bathroom was a good size. The view was horrible, but if we had a good view then the street noise would have been bad. We had a quad room - unusual in Europe (and normally pretty expensive.) There were two rooms with two twin beds pushed together in each room. The kids' room had a window with a "shutter" that completely blocked out all light (such a wonderful thing for teenagers.) Our room had a big window and was connected to the bathroom. The bathroom also had a nice window, a toilet, sink, huge shower and a bidet (1) is that the correct spelling? and 2) how do you use one of those things exactly???) There was also an acceptable breakfast every morning - with those delectable croissants.
Getting to the port via taxi was a breeze. Getting through security and check-in was not. They say Gold members have benefits, but in our case with check-in there were none. The first-time cruisers got through much faster than we did. Oh well. Were we in a hurry? Not at all.
We were able to go directly to our stateroom once we checked in. This is our second cruise and first with a balcony. I seriously don't think we'll ever go without a balcony again. It's wonderful. Our stateroom attendant was nice enough to get us two extra chairs for our balcony (thank you, Nazareth!) Lunch at the buffet was good (salads all around) then we wandered around the ship. They've done a little renovating of this ship, Royal Caribbean's Serenade of the Seas, since we were on here last (yes, we've taken one other cruise - in the Caribbean - on the same ship.) We had to do our usual putt-putt game then some tanning for the kids (Daniel lasted about 10 minutes before he got bored.)
After unpacking (and strongly encouraging/demanding that the kids must always keep their things organized), we were able to play a few card games before dinner - which, by the way, was excellent. The fact that there are no cell phones or iPods anywhere to be seen makes life so much simpler. We always enjoy each other's company without the distractions. It's also good to practice a few table manners every once in a while ("Daniel, put your napkin in your lap. Take your elbows off the table.") I also have to smile at the choices my kids make - escargot for Daniel's appetizer, for example. It was gone within a minute. The best part? The wait staff. Our assistant waiter came over at one point to take away some plates. When we started to do what we'd normally do - stack the plates and help him - he stopped us, saying, "No. Enjoy your vacation." Love it!!
The kids are giving the youth program a chance this time (last time the majority of the youth spoke Spanish which made our kids very uncomfortable.) Right now, Tom and I are on the balcony enjoying the cool breeze and an amazing view from the balcony. It's been a great day! Looking forward to spending some time in Cannes, France, tomorrow!
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