Caribbean Cruise 2014:
Day 1 - Ft. Lauderdale
Day 1 - Ft. Lauderdale
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Friday, February 28, 2014: We left Indy at 6:00 AM, connecting in Atlanta, and were at the cruise port shortly before 1:00 PM. |
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A little wait in line, followed by a little wait for our number to be called, ... |
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... and then we were boarding Holland America's Noordam, a new version of the one we had sailed in the Baltic in 2002. |
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Out the other side of the gangway, we could see our trusty Rimowa Oriental Red Salsa luggage in a luggage bin, so we knew it would arrive in our staterooms eventually. |
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The new Noordam is a slightly larger than her cousin, the Zuiderdam, which we had sailed to Alaska in 2012. Here's the pretty glass centerpiece in the Noordam's atrium. |
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We had booked our standard verandah cabin, but were tempted by an upgrade offer a couple of weeks before sailing, so we were in cabin 8053, a Superior Verandah Suite. It was identical to the cabin we had on the Zuiderdam, but this time we didn't have to share it with our daughter. |
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We always always always book a cabin on the starboard side of the ship, because it is usually the side that has the best view, and our mooring in Ft. Lauderdale was no exception. We had a great view of the comings and goings on the Intercoastal Waterway and the ocean beyond. |
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After checking out our cabin, it was time to start stuffing some of that free food in our mouths. Lunch was non-descript, but oh, the bread pudding! Free and plentiful bread pudding is one of the best things about cruise ships. |
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Here's the pool area, ... |
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... where this ship's version of the HALCats were performing party music geared toward a crowd a decade or two older than us. |
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This is different on the Noordam: tented cabanas. We have no idea how much they cost or what their purpose is, but there they are. |
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We had no need for them because we had our own balcony. |
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We love having a bottle of champagne on our initial sail out. |
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Buh-bye, US! We'll be back in 10 days! |
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With two $50 alcohol cards included in the price of the cruise, we had to get started at dinner drinking the foofy drinks. This coconut concoction was named Miami Vice and it had to have been 2000 calories, but it was tasty. |
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We returned to our cabin where Amin and Sodiq had been busy cleaning, leaving gifts, and making towel animals. We received the first pair of ship towels, replaced with fresh ones after each day's excursions. |
Copyright © Deborah Schilling/Thomas Bundy