Well the day has arrived that we board the ship. This would have been the morning to sleep in later, but it was not in the cards. If we wanted to have breakfast at Joe's Cafe, we needed to go early around 7:30am. This was our third visit, so when we walked in, they said to sit anywhere we wish. By the way, upon leaving the hotel, we saw the start of a pretty rainbow. That meant rain was close by. Just as we reached the café, it started to sprinkle enough to get the streets wet. Lucky for us, it did not last very long or come down heavily as it can in this part of the world. Anyway breakfast was very good once again.
Back at the hotel, the lobby was jumping with other groups heading out to some of the ships in port. This is always a problem when it comes to getting an elevator down to the lobby. There are only two medium-size elevators, and they fill quickly with guests with luggage. We had been given the option of having our one duffel picked up by the hotel's porter at 8:30am. However, we did not have the time or energy last night to re-pack the bag. So after we crammed everything we could in the bag this morning , we brought it down to an empty convention hall where our agents were set up. These pieces of luggage will be taken to the ship where we can either haul them onboard ourselves, or let the porters bring them onboard. It would have to go through the xray, so we let them take it and do the lifting.
We had been requested to meet in the lobby to board a bus to take us directly to the pier. One of us checked out at the hotel, getting our receipt for the extra nights we spent, while Bill got stuck in a slow-moving elevator. Tom had gotten special permission to board his group ahead of time. At least that was the plan. The fifteen- minute drive ended up taking up to an hour, because our driver took a right turn heading the wrong way. There were signs posted along the way, so we figured the area was cordoned off. It was not, but with a U-turn, we got back to Eisenhower Road and the right way to the pier. This time we were at Pier 19, because the Eurodam took our usual spot at Pier 26.
Once at the entrance to the terminal, we searched for the proper door to enter for the President's Club members. There was no sign for any level of Mariner folks, except for the high-end suites perhaps. There were two lines, but we were directed to what looked shorter with no priority. Naturally, this line was the slowest. As the wait became longer and longer, we inquired about the lack of hierarchy. With that, we showed one of the shoreside staffers our boarding passes and he opened the barrier and let us pass through to the photo kiosk, boarding pass, passport, and visa check. We were required to produce copies of our Brazil, New Zealand, and Australia visas. Good thing we had printed them out at home, because usually we are not asked for proof of these. There was no mention of yellow fever proof, which we did have with us. The copies of my visas were given back to me, while Bill's was kept and marked with our room number. Why….we did not know.
From there, we went to the check-in desk and were cleared for boarding after another photo was taken. One of the agents escorted us to the gangway, although we knew the way. We'll take all of the help they are willing to give. With the boarding passes in hand, we cleared the security kiosk, and ran right into Kumar, our Mariner rep onboard. While on the last fall cruise, we got to know him quite well, and he was a big help with some problems we encountered. He informed us that our room was ready and the keys would be in the mail slot.
The Volendam is a sister ship to the Zaandam, so it was easy locating our room which was very close to our fall Zaandam room on deck six. Portside and forward near the elevators worked well for us on our last 77 -day trip. A bottle of sparkling wine was there along with a platter of fresh fruit slices and some fancy chocolate candies. That would turn out to be our lunch today. Only 16 Diet Cokes had been delivered, but they still owed us 24 more….Coke Zeros we hope. Later in the day, we had a small vase of flowers brought, complimentary for being President's Club members.
None of the luggage had arrived yet, but slowly eight were delivered. One was missing, and we suspected it was being held in the security area. Sure enough, we got a phone call asking us to open a duffel on deck A security area. The culprits were two plug strips that needed inspection. In 2 seconds, they were cleared as OK.
It was getting close to the 4pm Welcome Onboard Celebration at the Seaview Pool. But first, we needed to make a visit to our Emergency Muster Station check before 4pm, which took very little time. Easier than doing the full muster drill. The celebration was in full swing with The Dam Band playing on the upper deck, and the entertainment group singing and dancing. We chatted with many familiar guests including Pete and Judy and Marty and Gail. The bar staff did pass some picked over fruit snacks around, but there were no complimentary beverages. There was an invitation for an exclusive reception for President's Club and 3 & 4 star guests from 6:45 to 7:30pm. Since we were deep in rectifying some issues with our room, we missed the drink fest.
There was no time for us to begin unpacking, so everything got stacked on the couch and piled against the wall. We would wear the same clothes we did last night, which was very acceptable. The two levels of dining rooms were about empty by 7:30pm. Our guess was that after such a monumental day boarding, many guests went to the casual Lido for their customary welcome onboard steak dinner from 5:30 to 8pm. Our waiters at table # 83 were Dwi and Sosilo, very nice and welcoming. Our meals of Caesar salads, appetizers, and pork chops were delivered right away, and served just the way we like it….hot. Desserts were one scoop of vanilla ice cream and a fruit platter. Perfect. We were back to our room by 9pm, missing the singing show of the MidAtlantic Men, which will be back another night for sure.
Our requests of two lounge chairs, footrests and two little tables had been delivered. A total of 50 felt hangers were left for us too. Nice, since we thought they did not have them on this ship. Our excellent room attendants had listened well.
We were scheduled to leave the port at 10:30pm, but that did not happen until after 11pm. We slept right through it. What a day it had been! Tomorrow will be unpacking day. Oh boy………
Bill & Mary Ann
