The ankle was significantly better. I wore the brace most of the day,
removing it about 3PM, and had only a few twinges.
I walked out onto the 17th street bridge about 10 for my first in-person
view of the Solstice, and finished packing and checked out of the hotel
about 11:30. My shuttle got me to the pier at noon, and after 10
minutes security and another 10 registration I was on board at 12:20,
We were docked stern to stern with HAL's Westerdam, and I watched from
the Oceanview Cafe as containers were loaded on her in preparation for
her drydock. The announcement came that rooms were ready at 1:45, and
as I checked out my veranda Westerdam was edging away from the pier. I
went out on deck to watch her sail away empty and then down to the
terminal to use the last of the free wifi. When I returned at 3, my
bags were outside my door, and I was mostly unpacked by the lifeboat
drill at 4:15.
Muster on Solstice is in public lounges; my station was the Tuscan
Grill. Life jackets were not required, there was a video safety
message, and the exit from the muster station was very clearly marked.
The drill went very well with one exception. It took me about 15
minutes to reach the muster station because the stairways were crowded
and the pace down the stairs was a crawl. With 2800+ passengers,
Solstice has only 2 staircases and it seemed to really impede traffic.
QM2 with 200 fewer passengers has twice the stair capacity, HAL R class
ships with about half the passengers have 3 comparable staircases, and
Crystal with only about 1000 passengers also has 3. The stairs must
pass some kind of safety muster but they just didn't feel right to me.
As the drill ended we were pulling away from the pier, and I watched us
go out the channel from my veranda, then went up to the Oceanview bar
for the Cruise Critic sailaway gettogether. We have a large number of
Cruise Critic members on this voyage with a very lively getaway session.
I am dining in Blu, an intimate specialty restaurant. I went in about
5:45 and enjoyed quite prompt service and an excellent fillet mignon. I
had just time to sign up for an internet account before the 7PM welcome
show in the Celebrity Theater. The current Captain is Yannis Berdos,
the Hotel Director Nina Hautaniemi, and the Cruise Director Esperanza
Gambroudes. The show included a comedian, the singers and dancers with
a cast of 12 who each seemed to contribute to both the singing and the
dancing. For me, the best of the acts were the Neptunes, the acapella
group. We lose an hour this evening as we sail eastward making for a
short night.
Today's parting shot: There are many kinds of adventure. For me, the
adventure of learning a new cruise line culture is just beginning.
Whatever happens for the next 14 days, it will be interesting.
Roy
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