January 20, 2019

We woke up in Miami, Florida. Although cloudy, the temperature was 19°C and a moderate wind.

The five of us shared the 410 square foot room and managed to organize ourselves to go to the buffet breakfast on the main floor. It was one of the better complimentary hotel breakfasts that we have eaten, a nice variety with waffles, oatmeal, dry cereal, real scrambled eggs, toast, muffins, doughnuts, yogurt plus juices, tea, coffee and hot chocolate.

After breakfast we received a call from the Shuttle Coordinator that the Port of Miami Customs and Border Protection staff had temporarily closed the passenger terminals due to slow processing of the passengers leaving ships, due to the month-old American federal government employees shut down. (President Trump is trying to force the Congress and Senate to appropriate $5.7 billion to build a wall along the border with Mexico) The “sick” days left shortages and slower services. Our pick-up was switched to 1 p.m., which was fine since the average time to the port from the hotel was about 15 minutes and our appointment for check-in was between 1:30 and 2 p.m.

There had been some rain overnight, but it was just an occasional sprinkle when we walked about one kilometer to a liquor store to buy some wine to take on the ship. We walked on quiet neighbourhood streets with several freeways nearby which ran parallel to some canals. The liquor store devoted half of its space to wines. After we made our choices we noticed that the nearby canal bridge was lifting and went over to investigate the kind of boat that needed the height of on opened roadway. The ship was guided by a tugboat at either end and took up more the half of the narrow canal’s width as it negotiated a curve as it passed through the opening. There were vehicles and containers on its open deck. It was about 7 decks high. We took a different route back for a total of about three kilometers.

We waited outside in the fresh air for the shuttle which held 12 passengers. When we checked in with the shuttle coordinator she mentioned that the company also transfers passengers from the ship to the airport and by paying $40US today we could reserve seats next Sunday when we get off the ship. It is a good deal. We will compare it to the ship’s airport transfer price. The other passengers on the shuttle were cruising on the Carnival Horizonand the Norwegian Getaway.Others in port were theCarnivalMagic and a Disney ship. All lined up to depart along the wide canal that passes near Miami’s South Beach on its way to the Atlantic Ocean. We were the last group dropped off and arrived in our appointment slot to check-in.

This procedure was completed in less than 20 minutes. After dropping off the three suitcases with porters and directed to the terminal entrance, we were guided to a line of 30 agents with Ipads. No line-up, an agent was available and scanned our reservation documents and passports, took a picture of each of our faces, then directed us to the security scanning area, where there was a short line. Once through security, we posed for a group photo by one of the ship’s photographers and proceeded to the gangway leading to the ship, Royal Caribbean Allure of the Seas.It is 1,181 foot long. The capacity of the ship is over 5,500 passengers.

We stepped onto the ship, ready to start our seven night cruise in the Caribbean. We presented our reservation document to enter the ship, rather than use the Sea Pass card which was waiting for us in our cabin door mail slot. We entered on Deck 5 midship to the commotion of the Boardwalk section of the ship. Here was an old-fashioned carousel, cafés, restaurants, shops and lots of people. High above us was the zipline propelling people across the football field area nine storeys overhead. We found the staircase to take us six decks up to the side by side cabins.

In each cabin we found our shore excursion tickets and a list of the various show reservations that we had made a few months ago. Also, we found a bottle of wine from our travel agent, Marlene, and shortly after a plate of chocolate covered strawberries were delivered followed by a phone call from Giovanni’s restaurant advising us that Marlene had arranged a dinner for us there. It is one of the restaurants with a cover charge. There was also a plate of six cookies, which we will share later on the cruise. Since we are loyalty club members we also received a complimentary bottle of wine. Giving the five of us, nine bottles of wine to consume over the next six days!

The adjoining cabins have a common door between us inside the rooms, so that we do not need to use the hall doors to go to the other cabin. The cabins are almost 200 square feet and there is a balcony with a small table and two chairs that overlooks the “Central Park neighbourhood” which is about the length of a football field and towers seven decks to the sky. We took some pictures from the balcony. Once the daily newsletter was browsed, the five of us climbed up the stairs to the Windjammer buffet restaurant on Deck 16 – only five decks up for a late lunch. We watched a few people zipline above the Boardwalk and could see the Aqua Theater where a 45 minute Cirque du Soliel like water show is performed daily. Next, we explored parts of the ship, including the spa, fitness center, arcade, library, rock climbing wall, ice skating rink, flowrider (artificial surf riding), mini-golf Diamond Club Lounge, casino, pools, hot tubs and Deck 5 and 6 shops, bars and restaurants. Some of the shops are Michael Kors and Kate Spade. At 4, we found our Emergency Evacuation Muster Station on Deck 4 to listen to a safety drill which is mandatory for all passengers.

Our dinner reservation was at 5:45 on the Deck 3 dining room American Icon. Our waiter was Jose from India and his assistant, Mohammad from Indonesia. Some of the choices were Waldorf Salad, wild mushroom soup followed by prime rib beef, chicken marsala, steak and polenta. Desserts chosen were key lime pie and hazelnut chocolate cake.

Larry, Catherine and I had 30 minutes to spare before attending the Mama Mia show which was the full 2.25 hour production. Scott and Mia soaked in one of the five hot tubs and roamed some more of the ship. We joined them on Deck 16 after 10:30 p.m. to watch the total eclipse of the moon and watch as it turned a reddish orange. Scott had set out five lounge chairs and tilled them back so we could lay back and watch the earth’s shadow spread across the moon. We shared one of the bottles of complimentary Chandon California Brut sparkling wine. We were witnessing a Super Red Wolf Moon because the moon was at a point closest to Earth which is called a Super Moon and the eclipse changed its colour. During a lunar eclipse, since the Sun’s beams still escape past Earth, the moon does not black out like the sun during a solar eclipse. There is still some illumination of the moon. The Wolf name comes from Indigenous legends. There were a few light clouds occasionally dimming the moon and then just as the total eclipse was about to occur a thicker cloud obscured the moon completely and it was 10 minutes before it became visible again. We took some good photos and decided to leave the moon watching just before midnight. It was about 18°C and we needed a light jacket or blanket to lay still watching the sky.

Daily steps total 18,844.