Allure Day 1 - I'm on a BOAT!

We had run all of our errands, checked out our stateroom, changed to swimwear, and we were off to Deck 15.

 

We love riding on Day 1. The lines are short (if not nonexistent). And it fulfills all of the dreams of the past several months of counting down. And for us, it means...

I'm on a Boat!!

It was here that we met our new friend Dave, who would play a big role later in the week. Dave was a pretty good rider. From talking to him we found out he was on the second leg of a Back-to-Back. So he had gotten some good riding time in the previous week. It was interesting to learn from him all about the B2B process.

We met the sports deck staff and got our feet wet until about 3:30. Then we headed back to the room, where we found a nice invitation in the slot on our room number outside the door (who knew there was a slot for messages? I need to remember this for the next time we're traveling with others and need a handy way to leave notes.) The invitation was for Chef's Table that night at 7:30pm. Very exciting!

Also, our luggage had arrived. We unpacked, changed back to dry clothes, and headed to the safety drill. Our station was D1, which meant we were in Studio B - the ice rink.

TIP: If you want to be able to leave the safety drill immediately after (after all, there is a LOT of ship to explore!), DO NOT be one of the first to arrive for the drill. You will be guided to the seats closest to the front and farthest from the door. You will then be subjected to "the herd" after the drill.

No more life jackets. Just introductions of the staff, a message from Captain Johnny, a short video with strangely-shaped white characters resembling the Blue Man Group, and dismissal by the Captain.

We found a quick way out, through the casino (another TIP).

We were headed to our Roll Call group's sail away party, but we stopped by the Bow & Stern pub on the way. Chris had seen the menu during our planning, and he was looking forward to his favorite Murphy's Irish Stout. We walked in, checked the menu, Chris ordered the Murphy's, and guess what? No Murphy's. Not at B&S. Not on the ship at all. And there wouldn't be any for the entire voyage. I had a sad husband on my hands But he would survive.

Back up to Deck 15 to the Wipe Out Bar. There we met Harold, Buddy, Al and Janet from our roll call. We also met Kate and Sean (who I can't find on our roll call, but that's fine!). Maybe a couple of others showed up? I can't remember. I was already into my first Drink of the Day (a Tropical Sunset).

Harold was sweet enough to bring a chilled bottle of champagne to share with our group. So we sipped our cocktails, got to know each other a little, and just enjoyed ourselves in a nice, uncrowded area as the ship sailed. There was great energy in the air!

Here's a photo of our roll call group:

I knew there were webcams on the port side and we had some friends and family at home watching the ship leave, so Chris and I headed over to the port side aft to try to wave. I called my sister and cousin and, while they were excited to see the ship leave LIVE, they couldn't see us because the camera never zoomed to that level. (You can request a "wave", but I didn't because I didn't want to commit to being there at that time.)

I also knew there is a home along the inlet that has a Flowrider in the side yard, so we snapped a photo.

You can see the Flowrider to the right of the home. Right behind the hot chick in the bikini. Yes, Chris had the camera. You don't know how many of the zoomed photos I had to weed through to find one that is more about the Flowrider and less about the hotchickinthebikini. Boys will be boys.

See what I mean?

 Here's the one I was trying to get.

We noticed we were being followed out to sea.

 

We don't remember this from other cruises. We later noticed during our cruise that security seemed to be unusually high all over the ship. Guards up high along the promenade. Security walking the pool deck and near the flowriders. Looking through the binoculars up there. We didn't remember this from Oasis or either of our Liberty cruises. Others we spoke to had noticed as well. Someone said there were coast guard boats with guns following us out of the channel. (Maybe that's normal?) Anyway, it's curious, but a little extra security doesn't bother us!

Now it was time to head back to our room to relax, shower and get ready for the main event - The Chef's Table!