Back in October I saw a 5-night cruise on Princess Cruise lines that boasted an incredible rate and spanned a relatively un-busy time for our family.  I asked John, “Can I see if Jenn wants to go on this cruise?”  He said yes, and then she said yes and then I said, “Book it!” to my travel agent.

In the very early morning (or middle of the night, depending on how you look at it) John and I headed out into the 1 degree weather to pick up Jenn for our 4:30 A.M. arrival time at the airport.

We look cold, but we also look happy, no?

The planes required de-icing in both Rochester and Baltimore. 

We were the last ones on the flight from Baltimore to Fort Lauderdale.  We had very high boarding numbers and did not get to sit together on either flight.  I did get to sit next to very friendly people on both legs, and managed to get a window once and an aisle the other time.  AND – I was on my way to a CRUISE – so it’s not like I was complaining!!!!

We caught a cab to the port from the airport.  It was such a smooth and easy embarkation. 

One of the nicest things about Princess Cruise Line is they allow you to go to your stateroom as soon as you board.  We arrived at our cabin just as our luggage did!  Wow, they are fast!!!  We poked around the room a little.

We paid $1 more per person per night ($10 total) to have our interior room upgraded to the obstructed ocean view.  It was nice to have a little sunlight.

Then we headed to the dining room for a table service lunch. 

Some salmon for Jenn.

Some ravioli for me.

How can we not smile like this? 

Dessert was cruise-shippy – meaning it was yummy, had a fancy name, and I couldn’t tell you exactly what it is…

We changed into swim wear, and I have to be honest – we didn’t have a great plan.  We just browsed.  It was chilly for Florida (60s and windy) and we had to go to our muster drill at 3:30 anyway, so getting into a hot tub seemed chancey.

We explored the ship.

I tried the first of many mocktails.

We took pictures and said our last good-byes to our families before we lost cell service.

Jenn checked out a contest in the gym as I watched sailaway from the bow.  It was exquisitely windy, but OH SO FUN!

A short while later we dressed for dinner.  We ate in the Botacelli dining room at 5:30 P.M. each evening.  Our waiter was Mechior.  It was a table for ten. 

(Traditional cruise dining has assigned seating and assigned tablemates.  Many cruise lines now have some traditional dining rooms and some anytime dining, and some have gone to all anytime dining.   Jenn and I opted for dining with others, and had two lovely couples sit with us the first night.  Only one of those couples, Ron and Laynette, ended up eating with us the duration of the cruise.  One couple never returned (they had been on over 100 cruises!), but a new couple joined us on night two and remained throughout the rest of the cruise, and another couple joined us on nights 3, 4, and 5.)

Jenn had some pork and apple dish.

I had beef.  Truth be told, I had a lot of beef this week.

We also ordered a seafood dish to share.  It was called basa or something.  It was ok.

This is the signature Love Boat dessert.  It was an option every night, but I only had it the first night.  It was amazing. 

We looked around some more and then headed to our cabin for an early night.  We had been up since way before dawn.  They gave us each a bag, and a reminder to set our clocks back.

Oh.  My.  If only…

To be continued………