February 1, 2015
The
6:30 a.m. Miami temperature was 18 C, the sun was starting to rise, a slight
wind rustled the palm tree fronds and it was a partly sunny day. It’s the
second day in a row that I have seen the rising sun.
After
a good night’s sleep, we got up and went to the hotel’s Breakfast Buffet that
opened at 7:30 a.m. Chatted with people who were part of the 22 who took the
7:30 flight to Toronto, but had a longer time at Toronto, not arriving to the
hotel until 9:30p.m. last night. We went for a 75 minute walk north from our
hotel into the modest neighbourhood of Hialeah. Walking back to the hotel, we
could hear and see planes taking off from Miami International airport at
intervals of 55 to 80 seconds, constantly. Pedometer read 7021, when returned to the
hotel to checkout and wait with the others in the lobby to take the shuttle bus
to the ship at the Port of Miami, where six ships were awaited passengers,
besides the Eclipse, there was a Disney ship, Norwegian Pearl, Carnival Splendor,
and two others. The luggage was dropped off and porters placed the suitcases on
a conveyor belt onto the ship where the luggage was X-rayed before being
delivered to the staterooms. Then we entered the terminal and registered in a
smooth process taking less than 20 minutes.
As we stepped onto the ship, on Deck 5, we were offered Mimosas, champagne
or orange juice and advised that the staterooms were not ready until 1:30. We found the staircase and climbed 115 stairs
to Deck 14 to the Oceanview Buffet. The selection
was huge – salad ingredients for spinach or lettuce salads, different kinds of
salads and breads, Asian dishes, Italian dishes, soups, meats, gourmet specialties,
paella, seafood dishes, vegetables, fruit and pastries to name some. We sat with a couple from Boston and when
they left, Brian and Bredene, our hosts, found the table on the other free and
sat with us while they had lunch. When
the announcement that the staterooms were ready came, we found ours and were
impressed by the overall layout and the stylish bathroom. The closet had 18 hangars
that we used, with one to spare. There were 5 drawers by the desk to use, a 33 inch
flat screen TV, a safe and a bar fridge.
We explored the ship before the 3:45 mandatory lifeboat drill and took photographs
of the 9 storey lobby, at different deck levels. There are 6 glass enclosed elevators that
service the center of the ship. We are
only using the adjacent staircases.
There is a Michael Kors store on the ship with a Grand Opening on Day 2.
After the fire drill we finished our unpacking then went up to Deck 15 to watch
the ship leave the pier and sail up the waterway to the ocean. Five of the ships were setting sail between
4:30 and 5. We danced, with three other couples in the Grand Foyer to a jazz
trio, Blue Velvet band, before our 6 p.m. dinner in the dining room. There was
a Super Bowl broadcast in the main theatre and “stadium food” and beer available,
so some people went to the game instead of the dining room. Seated at our table
were Bredene, Elaine, Pat and Beth. Brian and Rod were at the game. We both
ordered a glass of wine, then for appetizers a roasted red beet and Feta salad
with arugala and followed by Wild Mushroom soup. The entrées selected at our table were Prime
Rib with mashed potatoes and green beans, Seared Salmon with Crushed potatoes
and green beans or pork chop with marshmallow sweet potatoes and green beans.
Dessert was Dulce de Leche Crèma Catalana or a chocolate mousse with berries. After
dinner, we danced in the Grand Foyer to Blue Velvet band and the floor was
crowded with a dozen couples plus people trying to get through after descending
the Grand staircase. Then we climbed the
stairs to from Deck 3 to 15 to dance at the Skyview Lounger with a larger dance
floor and only two couples and two dozen balloons on the floor. After 30
minutes we left for another “Iglu” frozen coffee beverage in the Café al Bacio. By 9 we were in our stateroom composing the
blog and checking emails, then getting ready for bed. We ended up with 16,253
steps for today.
January 31, 2015
We were dropped off at the airport by 3:50 a.m. CST and
faced long line-ups to check-in. The
temperature when we left was about -21 C with a moderate wind. People were
taking Sunwing Vacations charters to Mexico, United Airlines flight and Air
Canada Flights to Toronto and Vancouver. Step one get the boarding pass at the
kiosk, but no luggage tags issued so into the long Air Canada line for luggage
tags and to pay $25 each for our one
suitcase – 40 minutes. We chatted with Diane and Hanu as well as Andrew and
Lucille who we had met on the southern South America cruise in 2013. After 40 minutes standing in line we were
checked in, then we deposited our luggage and went to the security line. We
also briefly chatted with neighbours, Karen and Niko who were going to Hawaii
for their 5th time. Within 25 minutes we were on our way to our gate
and arrived just as first boarding was called - 90 minutes of standing in
lines! That’s how it goes for January weekend departures to sun destinations!
Our host had only two more people to check off her list of 30+ people bound for
Toronto then 6 more joined the group in Toronto for Miami. The total group will
be 63 people plus the host couple, Brian and Brendene. There is another group
of 22 leaving for Toronto 2 hours later, due an Air Canada schedule change. The
plane was de-iced before taking off to Toronto. We both chose the movie “The
Theory of Everything” to watch en route (and finished watching it on the
Toronto to Miami flight). The pedometer read 756 as we waited for the plane to
de-ice. After 7 you could the sun starting to rise. We were off the plane just
after 9 a.m. EST (just over a two hour flight) and walked with the group to US
Customs and another line which went quicker about 25 minutes and then back into
a security line to get to the US destinations wing of Toronto’s Pearson
International airport. Then found the Tim Hortons and had breakfast before
finding our gate and checking in with the host about 60 minutes before the
11:50a.m. flight to Miami, which was delayed at the gate for 20 minutes for a
late passenger. We also managed to walk for about 20 minutes. The pedometer
read 5333 went we were taking off for Miami.
We sat in separate rows as did several other couples and my seat
companion, Chris, was from Ontario. He and his wife also take ballroom dance
classes. They have over 280 days of cruising. We had a nice chat while the
plane waited for the late passenger. Larry’s seat companion was not a talker. As
we approached the airport, you could see the cruise line ports for both Miami
and Fort Lauderdale. Since we were on
opposite sides of the plane we each saw a different port, each with 5 ocean
liners docked. The flight was about 2 ½ hour landing at 3:02. Our ears were a
bit plugged from the flight and getting over colds. The temperature upon
arrival in Miami was +23 C with a moderate wind and partly cloudy skies. It was
a 44 degree C change from the start of the day. After collecting luggage, the
group was on the chartered bus to the hotel by 4 pm for the short ride to the
Embassy Suites Miami Airport. We checked into our room, our suite is on the
third floor, but we have to use the elevators since the stairs are only used as
a fire exit. The hotel does not offer free Wi-Fi in the rooms, nor even in a
hot zone in the lobby like the Embassy Suites hotel last January in San Diego. Since the sun was a couple of hours from
setting, we went for an hour walk north from our hotel into an industrial area
of scrap yards and marina along a river near the airport. We will choose
another direction in the morning. The sun did not set until after 6 p.m. The
pedometer read 11,533 when we returned to the hotel near 6, and went to the
5:30 to 7:30 Welcome Snacks and Drinks Event at the hotel. After wine and snacks, we had dinner in the
hotel café. I had a salad and Larry had a Cuban sandwich of pork and provolone
on a bun with waffle cut potato fries.
When we finished dinner, the Wine and Snacks had not ended so we took a
glass of wine each to our room to enjoy as the blog was composed and the day’s
sports scores were checked. The pedometer read 13,840 when we returned to our
room. We went to bed a little after 9
p.m. EST ready for a good rest.
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