Day 01 - 11/20 - Fort Lauderdale Departure

I believe in Fairies

We started our day with a breakfast in the hotel and watched more of the impeachment hearings until just before our 11am checkout time. After checking out we were scheduled on an 11:30am shuttle to the cruise terminal. However there were 7 ships in port with some 16-18k passenger transitioning off the system and a similar amount boarding and many guests were waiting for shuttles so ours left an hour late at 12:30pm.

At the cruise terminal, we elected to keep our one roll on piece of luggage with us which turned out to be a good move. The 4-5 star check-in line was pretty long but we began to see fellow cruisers we have sailed with previously. The check-in went smooth with no health forms or yellow fever vaccine documentation required but we had To surrender our passports. We headed for the gangway and at the security desk on ty g we ship our cards wouldn't work and we were directed to the alternate security desk where the guard indicated our room had been changed and that we needed to go to the front desk. There we learned that we had been moved from 1939 (inside cabin) to 2637 (outside window cabin). This was our first notification of the change. The upgrade fairy had visited us for the first time with a major upgrade! When we got to the new room, our key cards worked and it was truly a room upgrade from Category MM to a big Category DA. All of the previously assigned person's check in papers and tickets were still there and the bed needed to be converted to a single king bed. We met our stateroom attendant and conveyed all of that to him. The room is nice with an upgraded bathroom with a shower and remodeled bathroom not unliked the newest ships. What a nice start to the cruise!!

We left the ship desiring to walk to the local Walgreens on 17th & Eisenhower but after walking a bit decided to turn around and return to the ship. Shortly after returning we attended the Mariner reception and met more fellow past cruisers.  

The lifeboat drill at 4:15pm was handled much different than prior cruises we have been on in that we couldn't go out on the promenade deck until the completion of FF the anouncement that we could leave our cabins. They also didn't scan our cards until virtually everyone was assembled at the muster station which for us was Lifeboat 11.  

A Royal Caribbean ship was the first to slip away from its birth and was followed by the Rotterdam, Veendam, Caribbean Princess, and finally the Volendam. That left the Zuiderdam and another Royal Caribbean ship to vacate the port.  

We watched the initial departure from the outside top deck above the Crow's Nest, but the general visibility is clouded by 6' glass walls. So we adjourned to listen to an introductory concert by the string quartet in the new Lincoln Center Stage venue. They were excellent and the venue was packed.

Speaking of changes, the Volendam came out of dry dock two weeks ago. Changes we noted or heard about include: new tile in the Lido, conversion of the Mix into the Billboard on Board, conversion of the Exploration Lounge into Lincoln Center Stage, a new Main Stage with enhanced LED screens, new carpets throughout the ship including our deck two hallway, and finally major upgrades in the bridge navigational systems.

Finally, after a Lido dinner we were able to unpack before attending the 9pm introductory lecture by Ian Page, Cruise & Travel Director. And after a visit to the 10:30pm feeding, we lost an hour on the clock due to our heading east. Stay tuned for more.