Cruise Day 1

We left our hotel by 9:30 and were at the cruise terminal by 10:15.  We dropped off our luggage and headed inside to check in.  We went through the x-ray screening, and after that, no lines, no waiting!  We walked on the ship, went to Katie and Becca's cabin  to drop of their carryons and headed to our cabin where we did the same.  Since it was early we found a table on the Lido (pool) deck and got connected to the internet, watched the safety video and checked into our muster stations.

From our balcony we could see Cape Canaveral! The large building with the flag is the Vehicle Assembly and the other is Launch Complex 39 Building where the Artemis II rocket is waiting to fly to the moon.

Closeup photos thanks to Mary and her 26x zoom camera.

Our next stop was the World Marketplace buffet for lunch.  They have an amazing selection of food available.  One thing we had not seen or other ships was a Kid's area.  

After lunch the four of us returned to our cabin which was ready, and talked for a while.  Mary and I were very surprised to find an invitation there to the Most Traveled Guests party!  The 25 couples on this ship with the highest number of cruising days get invited to this special luncheon with the Captain.  We've always wanted to be invited, and on this cruise our mere 326 days got us in!

As the ship sailed out today, I spotted these barges parked by the waterway - The SpaceX landing barges! SpaceX routinely lands the first stage of their Falcon 9 boosters out at sea and these barges are where they land. The closeup on the right is of A Shortfall of Gravitas.  The other one had no name on it, so it is either Just Read the Instructions or a new one they are preparing. 

The white thing on the deck is the Octograbber which anchors the just-landed booster to the barge while it is towed back to port. The large cranes behind each barge are used to lift the rocket off the barge and onto a transport vehicle.  What an unexpected thing to see today!!

Dinner was good with nothing special to record, although I did miss having pina colada cold soup on the menu as an appetizer. We tried to go to the evening show, but it was moved from the Princess Theater which is showing the Super Bowl to a smaller lounge and there were no seats available so we skipped that and watched the Super Bowl in our room. 

Tomorrow is a sea day with typical on board activities.  

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