Day 3: May 2, 2015 - All Aboard!

We were allowed to board the ship beginning at noon which gave us a little time to sleep in and get some breakfast. After enjoying some chocolate filled croissants and some of the best fruit juice I have ever had, we finished packing up and met our taxis outside to take us to the port. We got all checked in with the cruise line and gave them our luggage so they could take it up to our rooms. Once we were allowed to board the ship, we went to our rooms to drop the rest of our stuff off. We were supposed to have three rooms - one for Jess and Cor, and then adjoining rooms for Mom and Dad and Al and I. However, the Costco travel agent that Mom used messed up and only gave us two rooms. We were wondering how the sleeping arrangements were going to work because other than the bed, there was just a little couch that didn't even pull out. However, there was a bunk that pulled down from the ceiling. It was a little close and crowded but cozy and worked out just fine.

We dropped our stuff off and explored the ship. We were on the Norwegian Jade cruise ship. It is funny - it's a Norwegian cruise line, set to sail in the Mediterranean Sea, and came from Hawaii so it was all decorated with Hawaiian themes and names like the Bali Hai Grill and Bar and Blue Lagoon restaurant. Mom was awesome and bought us the ultimate dining package as well as the unlimited soda package. Unfortunately, there was no Dr. Pepper aboard but we survived. There was 13 levels to the ship. The first six or so levels had just staterooms for guests mostly. We had a stateroom on the 9th floor with a balcony overlooking the water. Level 12 had two pools, four hot tubs, an outdoor grill and bar, a gym (that we never used once), the spa, and the main buffets inside. Level 13 had a sun deck, an outdoor track, an outdoor chess set, and a basketball and/or tennis court. There were some fun restaurants that you mostly needed reservations for - an Italian restaurant called La Cucina, a steakhouse called Cagney's, a french place called Le Bistro, a Teppanyaki place, a sushi bar, and a Tucanos type restaurant called Modern Churosciaro. There were a bunch of buffets and other restaurants and bars that you could go to anytime all throughout the boat. There was a huge indoor theatre called the Stardust Theatre on deck 6 and 7. There was a casino, an art gallery, a photo studio, a library, and a duty free shop and gift shop. We encountered a lounge called the Medusa Lounge with a dance floor in the middle and a couple of rooms with doors and locks that were called "Whatever" rooms. I don't even want to know what goes on in those rooms. They claim it was for like private karaoke parties or to play video games but I'm pretty positive that wasn't the only thing going on in those rooms... Anyway, it was a very nice boat with very nice accommodations and activities.

After exploring the ship for a while, I took a little nap to try to get rid of a headache. I woke up to announcements from the intercom telling me I needed to go to the Stardust Theatre for the mandatory safety training. I met everyone else down there and was thinking it was going to be a long and boring safety training. Uh nope - they showed us how to put a lifejacket on and then dismissed us haha we went up to the sun deck to see the view of Venice as we left the port. It was a really cool way to see the city and enjoy the view as we disembarked on the Mediterranean. 

We ate at the Italian restaurant La Cucina that night for dinner. I got spaghetti with meatballs. It was a fun night. Al and I reenacted Lady and the Tramp. 

So far, I was loving the cruise. It was a little chilly for my taste but overall, it is a super fun and convenient way to travel. 

Stay tuned for more cruise fun!