Emerald Princess Cruise – Embark and Sail Away

I made it safely to Ft Lauderdale and to the cruise terminal. Embarking was a breeze. There was absolutely no line and I walked right onto the ship. Dropped my carry on at my stateroom and had a great lunch at the Horizon Court Buffet. Scallops, Mashed Potatoes and a Croque Monsieur. Then back down to my cabin where the smaller of my two suitcases had been delivered. I unpacked this suitcae - which pretty much consisted of socks, underwear and books. Went up to the Lido deck for sail away hoping beyond hope that my big suitcase makes to to my room.

Sail away was awesome. I found Susan and Dave, who I met on a Caribbean Cruise two years ago, and got a big hug from Susan. It was so nice to see them. As we pulled out of Ft Lauderdale it was overcast and windy but it felt great up on deck. Once we were underway come back down. Found the rest of my luggage – yipee!! unpacked and then to dinner with Susan and Dave. Great food as always Crawfish Etoufee and crème brulee for dessert. YUM!!. Ythen just sort of walked around until trivia and karaoke. I sang Desperado. It went pretty well but my voice broke a couple times. I'm putting that down to being very tired.

Overall it's been a great day to begin a vacation. We can currently see intermittent lightning from the deck. Here's hoping that it clears up tomorrow for a great day at sea.

The picture below is from the stern of the Emerald Princess saying goodbye to the USA as we steam out into the Caribbean.