We managed to sleep in a little, but were still up by 7:30 and headed down to breakfast at the hotel. The breakfast had a continental selection as well as some hot options including a waffle station, sausage, eggs, and a toaster for bread/bagels. There was some fresh fruit and a few types of yogurt as well. It wasn’t spectacular but would suffice.
We had a leisurely breakfast and headed back to the room to prepare to checkout and head to the cruise terminal. I got some change at the front desk to use for tips and a few packets of toothpaste to bring with us. We brought our toothbrushes but not enough toothpaste. Progress!
Getting to the Cruise Terminal
We took a Lyft to the Cruise terminal using the Ebates.com app to get to the Lyft app to get cash back on our ride. We were trying to arrive at or just before 11:00 so we checked out of the hotel around 9:40 and requested the ride.
The ride arrived at the hotel shortly and the driver helped us load our full size suitcase and rollaboard into the back before beginning the drive into the city. After about 15 minutes in the Lyft, I noticed we passed the other Fairfield Inn we were considering staying at. I chose the one we did because it was a few dollars cheaper, but in the end it would have been cheaper to stay in the other one because it’s location was in the direction we were headed to the terminal. I’ll keep that in mind for next time!
The trip into the Manhattan Cruise Terminal took a little more than an hour. While it wasn’t gridlocked traffic, it was slow going. Our driver was very smooth and professional. I take a fair number of Lyfts and this driver was definitely a cut above which made the ride less stressful and earned him a nice tip.
At the Terminal
We pulled into the terminal just before 11:00 and saw the ship towering over the dock. It was quite a sight to see as you couldn’t miss it. It dwarfed the Intrepid aircraft carrier museum in the neighboring dock.
The terminal itself was a flurry of activity. There was a crowd of people with luggage headed in all directions by the curb. We weren’t sure where to check our bags but asked an employee and were directed to the right place. There was a valet who handed us some luggage tags and a pen. We filled out the tags in the crowd of moving people with our name and room number and attached them to our two suitcases. We found the valet again to return the pen and he placed the bags on a conveyor belt.
As part of the online checkin process there was an option to print out luggage tags. I had tried that but they didn’t print properly. The colored parts printed on a separate page from the name and room number information instead of all on the same page and I gave up. I regret not trying harder so we could have avoided this confusion.
We quickly proceeded through security which was similar to basic airport security with x-ray and metal detectors. It seems you could bring liquids and you didn’t have to remove your shoes. From there they did a passport check and directed us through.
We thought we were home free but that was not to be the case. Signs directed us based on our room number to another line. The person at the entrance to the line gave us a yellow paper with the number 32 on it and a medical clearance form to fill out in line. At the time it was unclear what the number meant but as we waited in line we learned it was a boarding group number.
While standing in line we filled out the medical clearance paperwork. The for was to confirm that we were not sick and had not been recently sick. Each adult needed to fill one out and fill in a portion related to the kids
Initially we weren’t entirely clear the purpose of the line we were in. It was long and snaked back and forth a few times before it got to the front. It was not moving quickly, either. We eventually figured out it was a line to get our boarding pass/room key/payment card for the cruise, or FREESTYLE CARD as they call it. There was a lot of inefficiency with the process of moving the people around and getting the correct information out of them in order to complete the checking. It was frustrating to watch.
After about 15 minutes in line, around 11:30, they started calling boarding groups. Apparently the stated boarding time of noon was not exact. We were still in the checkin line waiting to get our key card so we were not ready to board when our number was called around 11:45. The kids were in near meltdown by the time we got to the front of the line. The agent directing people which desk agent to go to was quite friendly though and that helped calm the kids down.
He gave us a tip about the arcade on the ship. To use them, you put your key card in and you’re charged a dollar a minute and that people often forget them and leave them in the machine. The company does not provide refunds for that and many people have been left with huge bills because of it.
The agent asked where we were from and said he was originally from a nearby town. On our way to the desk agent he quietly handed us a pass for boarding group 5 and told us to “lose the other one”. At the time we didn’t know what that meant, but we thanked him and went to the desk to get fully checked in.
At the desk, completing our checkin took about 5 minutes. It consisted of verifying our passports, taking our pictures to link to our card, and printing out the cards. I had already set up most things online. Apparently most of the other groups hadn’t done that.
We got our cards and headed directly to board the ship. They were boarding all numbers, but the number 5 the agent had given us was for a nearer boarding area/gate that was nearly empty. We could see in the distance that the boarding area for our old number 32 was full and we would have taken at least 15 minutes longer to actually get on board. The agent in the boarding area scanned our passes and we proceeded up the gangway to board the ship.
Checking my watch we boarded at 12:01. From curb to boat took just over an hour, though it seemed much, much longer than that.
Finding our way around
Once onboard, we kind of just followed everybody. We had very little idea of where anything was. The videos and maps we had seen just didn’t give us a sense of where everything was in relation to each other. We knew our room was on deck 5. We assumed the rooms weren’t ready yet but wanted to get an idea where they were for a reference point. On the way to where our room we passed the Splash Academy which is the kids club on board. It was open for registering the kids so we stopped in to get that taken care of. It only took a few minutes and the kids were extremely excited about going there later when it opened for real.
With that done we followed the signs to where our stateroom was located and there was a sign saying that staterooms weren’t ready yet, as we expected. At least we had a few reference points to go on. Next on the list was finding food.
Lunch
There were crew members all over the place to give assistance which was nice. We asked a person near the elevators where we could go to get food and we were told the buffet was on deck 16. Up we went!
When we arrived we found it was a CRAZY mass of people and luggage. Since the staterooms were not accessible, everyone was toting around their carry on luggage. Many people were still half lost or moving around in a daze which made the crowds feel even more congested. It was not a situation for those that get claustrophobic.
The place was so packed that we had to walk around the dining room twice in order to find a table that was about to free up. We hovered and quickly sat down to claim it. I guarded the table and our luggage while everyone else fought the crowd to get their food. While we managed to eventually get some food, it was quite a stressful hour of frenzied competition. This was NOT a relaxing way to start the trip.
After lunch we headed down to the main area to find out about dining reservations at specialty restaurants which was one of the packages we got when we booked. The package gave us 3 dining reservations for 2 adults during the cruise. We asked about the kids since they would be dining with us and they promptly tried to sell us a dining package for them. We weren’t interested in that and figured worst case they could eat enough bread to hold them over until we could take them someplace else afterwards for a real meal. We made our first reservation at Cagney’s Steakhouse for the following evening.
The stateroom
During lunch, there had been an announcement that staterooms were ready so after making our dinner reservation we found our way down to our stateroom.
We had low expectations for what the room was going to be like: small, cramped and dark. When we first saw it in real life, we quickly realized it was much bigger and better than we expected. While it was by no means huge, it was as big as the hotel room we had just checked out of and much more space efficient. It had a relatively large window that let in what little light there was on the cold rainy winter day outside. The bed was a king size bed with tons of storage underneath for suitcases. There was a couch that folded down into a double bed for the kids. In the ceiling there was what looked like a place that a bunk bed could be hiding. There were THREE closets, all with hangers and shelves. There was a desk with drawers and hooks everywhere on the walls to hang things. The bathroom even had a bathtub! Again, the room was not large but it would be very comfortable for the following week.
We quickly unpacked our stuff into the various closets. Each kid got their own and I got the high shelves of the big closet. We hung our jackets and folded our clothes and put them in the appropriate shelves/drawers. We moved in quickly!
On our bed was a schedule for the first day’s activities including what restaurants were open and when. We found that the buffet wasn’t the only place open at lunch. There were two sit down restaurants that were also open. If we had known that we would have gone to one of those instead of the buffet and probably been a lot more relaxed.
Embarcation Safety Drill
By the time we had unpacked and settled in, it was close to 2:30 which, according to the schedule on the bed, what the time for the embarkation safety drill. This is a mandatory safety briefing required before sailing. Think of it as the maritime equivalent of the safety briefing before every flight only for 4,000+ people that could be scattered everywhere on the ship.
It felt like another exercise in chaos unfolding in slow motion. Our key card had a letter and number on it. The letter indicated an area of the ship we needed to go. While in that area, we would report to a crew member holding a sign with the number who would scan our cards and then we would wait in that area until the briefing was complete.
There were crew members in all public areas of the ship to help people find the right place to go. There were also announcements over the PA directing people to get to the right place, but it still look a long time. It was 3:15 by the time they started the 10 minute briefing.
It seemed that people didn’t really know this was mandatory and it’s easy to see why. I knew it was mandatory based on conversations I had with people who had been on cruises before and from some of the research I did online, but nothing was mentioned when we got the key cards or until about 3:00 when the announcement was made over the PA indicating the briefing was required. A simple mention of this fact when receiving the key cards would have made more people aware and made the whole process more efficient.
Once it was finally complete we were free to go and the crowds were thick for a good 30 minutes after and getting anywhere on the ship was very difficult. We retreated to the room as my wife had some last minute work crisis to deal with before we left port and lost internet connectivity through our phones.
While she handled that, the boys and I went to to top deck to check out the pool area and see what there was to do up there. It was far too cold and rainy to swim but we wanted to explore.
Departure
The stated departure time was 3:00 but it was after 4:00 and we were still at the dock. There wasn’t much to see around the ship other than the Intrepid museum next door.
We were focused more on what was going on in the pool area. There was a DJ playing some music and some people dancing in the cold. It was drizzly and not the best weather, though some brave people were in the hot tubs. We kept climbing up from the pool deck and found the jogging track that was too wet and crowded for people to actually jog on. We climbed up again and found the entrance to the ropes course which was closed due to the weather. Below the ropes course there was mini golf which was open.
Before getting there to play we ran into one of the crew members that started doing some magic tricks for the kids. The kids were quite impressed and by the time the tricks were over my wife was able to join us for mini golf. The kids never figured out how the ball got in one ear an out the other…
Not too many people had discovered the course yet or they were not brave enough to deal with the weather. The golf is free and there are 9 holes. There is a barrel of putters to choose from and you can choose one of the golf balls from a bucket next to the clubs. The course was okay, but didn’t really hold the kid’s interest. After 7 or 8 holes we started to back away from the dock around 4:45pm. I’m not sure if that’s the time we expected to actually leave or not, but the journey had finally started.
I was surprised at how smooth the motion was. I couldn’t feel it at first and only noticed because things started moving in my field of vision. We quickly ended the round of golf and started looking for a better vantage point. In the process we found the basketball court which was already busy with kids and adults of all ages.
We were at the back of the ship and we started walking towards the front of the ship as best we could. It was foggy and windy but we could still get some interesting nighttime views of the Manhattan.
I had read that we pass by the Statue of Liberty. I’ve been to New York City many times but have never seen it so I was looking forward to that. I of course had no idea which side of the ship it was on.
As we came to the end of Manhattan I knew it would have to be near that. I still had cell phone coverage and brought up Google Maps to try to see where to look. We were of course on the wrong side of the ship, but we quickly went to the other side as we were passing by Ellis Island. Lady liberty was right next door…
In the fog. We could only see the base of the statue. That was a disappointment and bad luck with the weather. We’ll have to see it on another trip.
Dinner
After missing the statue we decided it was time to get out of the wind and rain and go find some dinner. We headed to one of the sit down restaurants called the Manhattan Room. It was a complementary venue and had live entertainment. The meal was relaxing and delicious. It really turned the day around. So much leading up to that point had been stressful or disappointing.
The ship felt very crowded, disorganized and quite stressful. Having a nice and relaxing sit down dinner made all the difference. Our waitress as very friendly with the kids and we all liked our food, including dessert!
Shows
After dinner our night was just getting started! We made our way to the Escape Theater in the front of the ship for the show at 7:30. This one didn’t require reservations like some of them do. We arrived 20 minutes before show time and snagged some excellent seats.
The show turned out to be a sort of “preview” show with small acts from each of the headline shows that would be playing during the week. It lasted for about an hour and was a good introduction to what we could look forward to. There looked to be lots of great options to choose from.
After the show the kids wanted to go to Splash Academy for a little while since it had opened at 8:00pm while we were in the show. We dropped them off and headed to a show called Howl at the Moon in the Headliners comedy club venue. There, a rotation of three musicians played songs requested by the audience. They mostly played piano and sang, but sometimes used drums and guitar to assist the other with certain songs.
The show was highly recommended online and it didn’t disappoint. They played songs of all types from Billy Joel to Guns ‘n Roses to Beyoncé to the Beatles. The musicians were quite talented and made for a fun evening.
After about 45 minutes at that show we ducked out and got the kids out of the kids club. We returned to our room to find the couch had been made up into a bed for the kids, though the bunk bed was still in the ceiling. It was something to get sorted out the next day. It was late for the kids and had been a long day for us so we called it a night.
The day had been pretty stressful, chaotic and disorganized but things turned around at dinner and started heading in a more relaxing and enjoyable direction.
Day two would be a sea day and our first full day on the ship!
Tomatico Travels 
You must be logged in to post a comment.