Ando and I thought we would have about half the day in Barcelona before heading out of port on our ship, but it turns out we were wrong. The day was spent trying to make our way and board the ship. We had free breakfast again before checking out of our hotel to make our way to the pier. We thought about taking the shuttle, but it would have cost 10 Euro a person and there wasn't much info at the hotel about it. So Ando and I headed to the subway to get ourselves to the port for less. It was a bit farther than I thought it would be, walking wise once we got off the subway. We had to walk up a large bridge, but we still made it in one piece.
Once we made it to our ship, the Norwegian Gem, we dropped off our luggage and headed for security. We passed through security and got to have our first cruise picture taken, looking sweaty, and then to a long line for check-in. But while we were in line we did get to fill out our second swine flu form. I forgot to mention that we had to fill out a swine flu form on our Air France flight from JFK to Paris. People really want to make sure we aren't carrying any diseases.
After checking in we headed onto the ship, but first we had to sanitize our hands, which will become a recurring theme on the ship. We weren't allowed in our rooms yet because they weren't ready so we had to hang out in the "lobby"; we did get a free glass of "welcome" champagne though. Our rooms were finally ready so we went and checked out our new digs for the next 7 nights. It was pretty much as small or large as you would expect, but it wasn't like we would be spending much time in there.
After getting settled in we took a tour of the ship since we realized we only had about an hour or so before we left port by this time which meant we really couldn't get off and do anything before setting sail for the high seas. In the meantime we had to do our mandatory muster drill in case anything would have happened and we needed to all get on our lifeboats. This is mandatory in case anyone has never been on a cruise ship and didn't know about this part. This was by far my most laid back muster drill out of the three I have now done. We didn't even get to see where our life boats were located.
The rest of the night Ando and I just hung out and enjoyed each others company and ate a nice dinner, when we wanted without having to share a table with strangers. That is the beauty of freestyle cruising I guess. We did have an interesting couple next to us at dinner though. They were older and the guy ordered steak and when the waiter asked how he would like it prepared he answered "a little pink in the middle". So the waiter said "medium". And the guy came back with "a little pink in the middle". Why he couldn't put a label on how he liked his steak cooked I don't understand, but for the rest of the trip when we saw him we would call him "little pink in the middle". He also wanted to order a Merlot with dinner, but ended up ordering a Chianti instead and had no idea what that was. His wife had to explain it to him that it was different than Merlot. It was quite bizarre that she knew, but he didn't and how old they both were for him not to know the difference.
Ando and I boarded the Norwegian Gem; we don't have our own little "Gem" on the way.
Once we made it to our ship, the Norwegian Gem, we dropped off our luggage and headed for security. We passed through security and got to have our first cruise picture taken, looking sweaty, and then to a long line for check-in. But while we were in line we did get to fill out our second swine flu form. I forgot to mention that we had to fill out a swine flu form on our Air France flight from JFK to Paris. People really want to make sure we aren't carrying any diseases.
After checking in we headed onto the ship, but first we had to sanitize our hands, which will become a recurring theme on the ship. We weren't allowed in our rooms yet because they weren't ready so we had to hang out in the "lobby"; we did get a free glass of "welcome" champagne though. Our rooms were finally ready so we went and checked out our new digs for the next 7 nights. It was pretty much as small or large as you would expect, but it wasn't like we would be spending much time in there.
After getting settled in we took a tour of the ship since we realized we only had about an hour or so before we left port by this time which meant we really couldn't get off and do anything before setting sail for the high seas. In the meantime we had to do our mandatory muster drill in case anything would have happened and we needed to all get on our lifeboats. This is mandatory in case anyone has never been on a cruise ship and didn't know about this part. This was by far my most laid back muster drill out of the three I have now done. We didn't even get to see where our life boats were located.
The rest of the night Ando and I just hung out and enjoyed each others company and ate a nice dinner, when we wanted without having to share a table with strangers. That is the beauty of freestyle cruising I guess. We did have an interesting couple next to us at dinner though. They were older and the guy ordered steak and when the waiter asked how he would like it prepared he answered "a little pink in the middle". So the waiter said "medium". And the guy came back with "a little pink in the middle". Why he couldn't put a label on how he liked his steak cooked I don't understand, but for the rest of the trip when we saw him we would call him "little pink in the middle". He also wanted to order a Merlot with dinner, but ended up ordering a Chianti instead and had no idea what that was. His wife had to explain it to him that it was different than Merlot. It was quite bizarre that she knew, but he didn't and how old they both were for him not to know the difference.
Ando and I boarded the Norwegian Gem; we don't have our own little "Gem" on the way.
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