Norwegian Epic: Embarkation

I woke up about 10 minutes before the alarm went off. Today I embark the Norwegian Epic and I’m excited to go! Steve wondered why I was up so early when he looked at his watch. Nope, he hadn’t sprung forward!

Embarkation Morning

I had time I to have two small cups of coffee while getting ready for the day. We went downstairs for the shuttle 15 minutes early and loaded up at 4:55 am. There were six of us at this hour. Southwest was the first stop and I used the skycap to check my bag.

Then the TSA line was pretty short and I was at the gate by 5:22. This is the time you’ll see a nearly empty Orlando airport!

I decided to skip the banana and muffin in the bag and get some protein for breakfast. All the lines were long for the open places (and an even longer one for McDonald’s which opened at 5:30). My choice was Jersey Mikes where I had an egg, bacon and cheese sandwich.

It did the trick and was delicious. My allergies were acting up and I realized my meds were in the checked bag so had to cough up and pay the $12 fee for a few pills in the gift shop. Then I headed to my gatge for barding.

Every single seat on the plane was taken with a long standby list. They did offer up to $900 plus the cost of your ticket for someone to give up their seat and get to San Juan a few hours later. I wasn’t taking that chance.

When boarding in the high B’s (B56) I was lucky enough to find an aisle seat in the second row. My cpap had to go in the bin behind me. I watched “Ticket to Paradise” on the SWA streaming and enjoyed the two coffees and snack mix from the flight attendant.

After landing I headed to baggage claim where it took half an hour for my bag to arrive.

I was one of the last passengers from my flight to get into the NCL transfer line which was right by our baggage claim area. We waited about 15 minutes for the next bus to arrive and it was a 5 minute walk there. Then we had a nice drive to the ship.

I tipped the driver who would drop your bags directly with the porter (no porter to tip) and waited in yet another line to get into the terminal.

The holdup was the security scanner line as there was only one (why?). Once past that checkin took 10 minutes and after stopping for an embarkation photo I was walking onboard.

Embarkation Afternoon

Once onboard I first went to the box office to reserve Burn The Floor (the only reservation show on this sailing).

She also gave me the schedule for all entertainment this week. My next stop was to the specialty dining kiosk in front of Le Bistro to move the date I reserved La Cucina and change it to 3 people. Then it was time to relax and I had a cocktail in the atrium (Bloody Mary) while waiting for Taste to open at noon.

At lunch I was seated at a nice two top table and perused the menu.

My starter was the tomato soup.

I really liked it but it was a bit spicy. This was followed by the Cajun chicken pasta.

Very good and not spicy at all despite the indicator on the menu. LOL. Dessert was a disappointment.

The couple next to me highly recommended the basque cake but I found it bland and definitely less appealing than the chocolate mousse would have been.

On the way out I stopped at Shore Excursions which had opened and booked three I couldn’t arrange in advance. She couldn’t help me cancel my St. Kitts tour today or credit me for the transfer I already bought but told me know to handle those tomorrow.

Then with remaining time to kill, I went to O’Sheehans and had club soda for hydration.

Talked to a friendly couple there. So far everyone from the airplane, bus, lunch, etc. have been so nice! Shortly after 2:30 I headed to my cabin. It took me a moment to figure out how to get in (pull the door to the studio lounge) but I found it.

The bed is plenty big and I ended up finding a place for everything but I really wish they had some kind of end table for my cpap and glasses and drawers instead of shelves.

My bag was waiting so I unpacked.

That colored lighting was turned off for the rest of sailing by me after taking photos. Unfortunately C and A had travel delays and didn’t land in San Juan until 4 pm.

Embarkation Evening

The muster drill started exactly at 5 pm even though the bar I was at shut down at 4:20 (after ignoring those of us sitting waiting to order for the last 15 minutes). I was in the casino for my station and after scanning cards with someone you had to sit there and listen to the drill until released.

C and A just missed the drill as they came on board at 5:20 after waiting for luggage and the transfer bus. I met them in their cabin. Without lunch they were ready to eat and frankly so was I.

We headed to the buffet since it would be quick and my grandson is a bit picky. I was disappointed in the offerings but did enjoy most of what I got (not the chocolate Mexican cake).

After dinner we went to the teen club to get A registered. Then we went separate ways. They wanted to explore the ship and I wanted to see the show.

The show was enjoyable but not as good as the one they’ll have later in the week.

I thought we would be able to message each other via the app but couldn’t add her without knowing her onboard mobile number. Argh! So I went to Shakers and had a citrus gem. And yes, I met two couples there to chat with as we enjoyed the wares.

Back to my cabin after and in bed shortly after 10 pm. It’s been a long day.

This is the boarding information sheet.