Embarkation Day Routine

[Thrak]

22 minutes ago, wcflats said:

Usually stop by to say hello to the captain, staff captain and matre d.  

 

Where do you find the captain and staff captain? I know the captain tended to always greet all the guests on The Love Boat but I don't recall ever seeing the captain available for schmoozing on embarkation day.

[memoak]

20 minutes ago, Thrak said:

 

Where do you find the captain and staff captain? I know the captain tended to always greet all the guests on The Love Boat but I don't recall ever seeing the captain available for schmoozing on embarkation day.

Likewise

[Jilliebean28]

We try to get onboard as early as possible and then we run, not walk, to Sanctuary to book loungers for all of the sea days.

[tonit964]

Get on board as early as possible, grab a drink at the bar in the Piazza and have a seat and take it all in, go to MDR for lunch, do muster, go to cabin when ready, wipe down surfaces, go grab another drink and explore.

[Lady Arwen]

23 hours ago, wcflats said:

For us cabin if available to drop off whatever luggage then to  wakewiew bar in the back or tradewinds pool deck upstairs center for beverage of choice meeting up with whomever is going with us.  Usually stop by to say hello to the captain, staff captain and matre d.   

Stop by where?  The Bridge?  The Maître’d is in one of the MDRs usually (Now referred to as The Dining Room Manager).  Why do you need to say hello to the DRM or the Captain and Staff Captain?  Not being disrespectful, just very curious.  Thank you.

Edited September 4, 2023 by Lady Arwen

[wcflats]

Sure I just like to say hello when I get onboard.   Yes bridge and MDR both.  

[jwattle]

MDR for lunch, safety video, muster station, Concierge Lounge, unpack and then R-E-L-A-X and take it all in amidst strawberries and champagne on our balcony...toasting how fortunate we are to be able to do this. For us, the worst day on a cruise is better than the best day back at ...well, I would say office, but since retirement... at any rate, we just celebrate being "on holiday!"

(Less than two months until the bucket list, month long, down under Anniversary Spectacular!")💞

[Lady Arwen]

46 minutes ago, wcflats said:

Sure I just like to say hello when I get onboard.   Yes bridge and MDR both.  

Do you make an appointment to see the Captain or do you just walk onto the bridge unannounced?  I would have thought the bridge was a high security area.  Very interesting.

[jangor]

On 9/2/2023 at 7:48 PM, Auntiejo said:

We love to be among the first on board. Drop our bags if room's ready (often it's not since we board early), then straight to either MDR or Gigi's/Alfredo's for lunch. We'd rather not eat at all then eat at the buffet on embarkation day but that's just us. Then unpack/settle into the room while muster video plays, then wander to ship a bit + have Medallion scanned at muster station. After that grab cocktails to bring back to our balcony for sail away. Nothing like that feeling of the ship first pushing away from the dock! Have a great cruise.

This sounds much like our embarkation day plan.  I agree, that I would rather starve than eat at the buffet on Day 1!

[teenieleek]

6 hours ago, Jilliebean28 said:

We try to get onboard as early as possible and then we run, not walk, to Sanctuary to book loungers for all of the sea days.

What if it turns out to be cold and raining on these expensive sea days?

[mrell345]

5 hours ago, jangor said:

This sounds much like our embarkation day plan.  I agree, that I would rather starve than eat at the buffet on Day 1!

What’s wrong with the buffet on first day?  Never had an issue there before.

[Honolulu Blue]

1 hour ago, mrell345 said:

What’s wrong with the buffet on first day?  Never had an issue there before.

Mostly the same things that are bad about the buffet on any day, namely:

• It's crowded
• It can be noisy
• There's no waiter service
• Other cruisers' bad manners are on full display

[Mike07]

Get room card from room, go to muster station and then grab lunch in MDR hoping it's open.

[Auntiejo]

3 hours ago, mrell345 said:

What’s wrong with the buffet on first day?  Never had an issue there before.

I'm not a buffet fan in general - I don't care for touching all the serving utensils that everyone else has touched after some have coughed and sneezed into their hands and then not washed their hands at buffet entry - I felt that way long before COVID. And I'm not a fan of food that's been sitting under hot lights for who knows how long. I will occasionally brave it if I'm desperate but embarkation day where the vast majority of people are elbowing and angling for position to get heaping plates of food is something I just want no part of. And finding a seat is often like the hunger games. No thanks.

[nwnittany]

Also some commentary in this thread:

 

 

[Guest Snaxmuppet]

11 hours ago, mrell345 said:

What’s wrong with the buffet on first day?  Never had an issue there before.

I'd rather starve than eat in the buffet ... period!

 

I know people love the buffet but for me it is just purgatory... people everywhere, food everywhere, hussle-bussle... not for me when a civilised, relaxed lunch/dinner can be had in the MDR (for free) or speciality restaurants if prepared to pay.

[Honolulu Blue]

3 minutes ago, Snaxmuppet said:

I know people love the buffet but for me it is just purgatory... people everywhere, food everywhere, hussle-bussle... 

I'm not a huge fan of the trough, but the MDR (especially during dinner, especially with set dining) also has people everywhere, food everywhere (when served), and plenty of hustle and bustle.  The experience is more civilized and relaxed, but not THAT much more, IMHO.

[Guest Snaxmuppet]

29 minutes ago, Honolulu Blue said:

I'm not a huge fan of the trough, but the MDR (especially during dinner, especially with set dining) also has people everywhere, food everywhere (when served), and plenty of hustle and bustle.  The experience is more civilized and relaxed, but not THAT much more, IMHO.

Well, in Reserved Dining it is... we have a suite 🙂

 

That is, for us, one of the real benefits of a suite or Reserved Mini-suite. The whole MDR experience is more relaxed IMO.

[Grego]

Our routine is virtually the same as many on this thread.  The only exceptions to the drill is when we don't have checked luggage.

If leaving from PE we drive to the port around 10:30 and drop our checked luggage and then park in the Heron Parking Garage if we are leaving from the #2 Dock.  Once aboard we go directly to our cabin and unload any carry-on luggage, open the safe and store any valuables, watch the safety video while doing this.

Then it's off to the buffet for a quick meal and then it's down to the lower decks to check out what might be new or if there is someone in one of the specialty dining venues we try to make a reservation for later in the voyage.  After all that we head back to the cabin to see if our luggage has arrived and if so, we complete to luggage process and go up to the open decks to get ready for the sail away celebration and a libation or two.

[shutterbug12]

I like to pack a swim suit and flip flops in my carry-on bag so that I can enjoy the pool right away!

[Jilliebean28]

17 hours ago, teenieleek said:

What if it turns out to be cold and raining on these expensive sea days?

So far we have been lucky enough to not run into this problem.

[LACruiser88]

19 hours ago, teenieleek said:

What if it turns out to be cold and raining on these expensive sea days?

If you have the Sanctuary booked and are unable to use it due to bad weather, you are not charged for that day.  We've been in that situation many times.

[teenieleek]

49 minutes ago, LACruiser88 said:

If you have the Sanctuary booked and are unable to use it due to bad weather, you are not charged for that day.  We've been in that situation many times.

That’s good to know. I’ve got a penthouse balcony but there’s no lounger.  However not sure whether on a transatlantic mid-September I should be running to book a sanctuary lounger.

[LACruiser88]

40 minutes ago, teenieleek said:

However not sure whether on a transatlantic mid-September I should be running to book a sanctuary lounger.

We have been on 9 westbound TA's and only once were we unable to use the Sanctuary due to weather.  Our last TA was this past November on the Regal and we were in the Sanctuary all 6 sea days back to Ft Lauderdale.

[XBGuy]

We usually cruise out of the local port.  We are both pretty pumped on embarkation day, and, so, we skip breakfast.  We leave the house for the port about mid-morning.  Once we board, we are looking for food, and go for a bite at our regular embarkation venue--the grill on the Lido deck.  My usual order is a cheeseburger and fries.  We grab a nearby table, order a couple of ice teas (if a server is handy, if not I walk over to the buffet and grab two at the drinks station), and watch the excited cruisers bustle around while we nurse out ice teas.

 

For sailaway, we are always on our balcony,  We pre-order a nosh--cheese platter or vegie platter--and enjoy that as we sip sparkling wine while the ship motors out to sea.  I usually carry on the sparkler in my wine tote, but on one cruise I wanted to impress Mrs. XBGuy and pre-ordered a bottle of Dom.