Day One | Legend of the Seas

Saturday, June 30, 2007
Rome, Italy

We woke up bright and early, ready to tackle Europe. Actually, I should say Jesse woke up bright and early. I was still asleep while he was snapping all kinds of pictures.

After we showered, we went downstairs to check our email and have a light breakfast. It was pretty delicious. The waiter was impressed that I could understand at least some Italian. And I had a cappuccino. Just look at me sip.

A little after 10, we had another minibus ride through Rome. If you’ve never been, surviving a drive in that city is definitely something of which to be proud. From Rome, we headed to Civitavecchia.

The ride was pretty uneventful. We rode along the Tyrrhenian Sea for part of the way. We also saw some cattle grazing and lots of greenery. The absolute most head turning event was the bicyclist lying on the highway after apparently being hit by a car. Head turning indeed. There was no time to take a picture.

The ride to Civitavecchia lasted about an hour. Once we arrived, couriers came for our luggage and we had to check in to the cruise. About 30 minutes after that, we were on board. I was really excited… but we still had six hours before we left port. We actually had another hour before we could even get into our rooms. They hurried us into the Windjammer Buffet and honestly you would have thought I had not eaten for days.I think the excitement of being on a cruise mixed with the excitement of finally getting the ship just convinced me that there were no bounds on this cruise ship. I ate and ate and got seconds. And let me tell you these were not small plates. They looked more like serving trays. My behavior was revolting. I didn't even stop to take pictures. I mean really!

After that, we sat on Deck 9 (the party deck) and took some pictures. We were officially on a cruise, though not officially cruising. There was yet another delay. A truck carrying 250 pieces of luggage broke down. We waited a little more than an hour for it to arrive and be unloaded. Once we got into our (upgraded to have a window) room, Jesse wanted to take a nap. Seriously, not even two hours into a cruise and he wanted to be napping. I couldn't stand it. There was nothing for me to unpack because our luggage had not arrived at our room and there was nothing to do because we had not officially started the cruise yet.

So I went exploring. I toured the ship on my own, until I found the wi-fi area, I sat there for almost an hour checking emails and what not. Soon it was time for the muster drill. That’s when they tell you what do in case the boat begins to sink. We had to put on our life jackets (conveniently located in our room) and wear it to the drill. They were not screwing around. There was no missing the muster drill. They said the people who missed it will likely drown. And I did not come here to drown.

After muster, Jesse and I went exploring together. We found Deck 9 (the party deck) and ordered some drinks. The beauty and the curse of cruise ships is the cashless policy. All we have to do is sign for stuff. They give you a receipt but you don’t actually have to pay for anything until you check out. This policy is bad. And on the first night on board, we spent about $75. That’s not something we would like to not continue. Partway through the drinking, Jesse was called away to a seminar. (This is, after all, a business trip for him.) I took some pictures and kept his beer on ice for a while, but I couldn't baby-sit that bucket forever. So I brought it back to the room. And I ran into Jesse on the way.

We spent the rest of the night walking around the ship and being in awe of the lives that we lead.