Norwegian Getaway, 11/29-12/6 DAY ONE

So, when last we spoke, I was sitting in the airport detailing JetBlue's lack of communication re: wheelchairs. As I was typing that, the Norwegian rep (for the shuttle to the port) showed up. As I am checking in he asks if Steve will be able to climb the stairs in to the bus. ummm....NO. But there was nothing on his list to indicate he had a wheelie customer. A quick phone call, and it was taken care of. In a short while we headed to the port in an appropriately lift-equipped bus.

Upon arriving at the port, I presented myself to the folks at the priortiy checkin area, and THEY had nothing on their list indicating I was expected...At this point, I am wondering if anyone in America takes their job seriuosly any more. I mean...people call this the Information Age, and yet, 3 times in 12 hours I run into the inability to get a little piece of information from where it is to where it needs to be. In this case, however, I was able to email the good people onboard, and also talk to a supervisor real quick, and just about the time I weaseled my way in to a key and a seat in the lounge, I got a phone call from Adrian, the concierge, asking where I was and telling me someone was looking for me. I told him I had it handled, but it's so good to see someone following up so quickly.

In any case, we got onboard the ship with the first group up, and headed straight to Savor for some lunch. We were both tired and hungry, but we decided hunger wins. Steve opted for the fish and chips, I had the omelette. Both fine. We were joined by a couple travel agents I know, and chatted and ate. Another agent came over to say hi, etc. And I looked over at Steve and he was litterally falling asleep in his chair. So we decided it might be nap time.

While chilling in the room, the phone rang and it was Rashida, my favorite hotel director's secretary, since back on the EPIC! She apologized for the mixup at boarding, told me that she personally had given our keys to the appropriate people, etc. I assured her I already knew it was the shoreside contractors that screwed that up. She then asked if we would meet her in the Atrium at 5 so she could get us in to Illusionarium early for a good seat.

Now it was time for sailaway, so I got Steve up and dressed and headed to Spice and we joined all the agents here for the PhD@Sea Reunion Cruise in bidding Miami farewell. Fun re-connecting with friends in the business.

And then it was time to go meet Rashida, which we did, and she run us down the crew elevator to the back door to Illusionarium, where we had a lengthy discussion about the best seat in the house. We were finally ensconsed at our table and waited for the show to begin. I saw Illusionarium back on the Inaugural. It's a great show if you like magic. It's even a great show if you just like the special effects. This time I had the added bonus of having a friend performing. Caryl Dimmare is a member of some of my Facebook groups, and she joined the cast a few weeks ago as the bird guys assistant. She actually tracked us down at lunch and introduced herself. So, one more internet connection turned into a real person. The dinner was good, too. A nice tenderloin and shrimp combo.

But by the end of the show, I was seriously dragging. Sad to say, I was in bed by 8pm. On the brightside, I've now been up since 5, and I am ready to face the day!

I'll let you know how it turns out