January 8, 2012 - Bon Voyage

Our travel documents said that our ship, the Norwegian Spirit, would begin boarding at 12 p.m. and would sail at 5.  We ate the hotel’s continental breakfast (not much to write home about, really – powdered eggs, slippery gravy, and bland sausage, but the biscuits weren’t bad).  The checkout time was 11 a.m.  I suppose we could have asked the hotel to store our bags for a while and could have gone into New Orleans to do some sightseeing, but we opted, instead, to go on and check in at the ship.

We called for a cab.  We told them we had a party of 4 and that we would be going to the port.  One might have expected that the cab company would have sent a vehicle capable of comfortably transporting 4 people and their luggage, but the cab that came for us was an old Ford Crown Victoria that already had some junk in its trunk.  The cab driver piled our luggage into the trunk, then couldn’t get the lid shut.  He tied the lid down with a piece of cord and told us to get in.  The weight of our luggage, combined with our the weight of our butts, combined with worn-out shocks, caused the car to scrape the pavement every time it bounced.  Scrunch, scrunch, scruuuunch, all the way to the port.

Shipline personnel were waiting at the curb to take our luggage, and we went inside to check in.  The process took about an hour.  Finally, around 1 p.m., we boarded the ship.  We went immediately to our rooms, dropped off our purses, camera bags, etc., and went exploring.  Up on Deck 12, the buffet was already in full swing.  We grabbed plates and helped ourselves.  When we finished eating, we walked around to explore the ship.

The sail-away party started at 4:15.  Lots of music and dancing.  There was more food, but we held off on eating for a while to give our drinks time to soak in.  Finally, about 5, the ship started to move.  The captain greeted us over the loud speakers.  We were surprised to learn that New Orleans is 100 nautical miles from the Gulf of Mexico; we would reach the Gulf some time around 11 p.m. 

The speed with which our moods improved when the ship started to move was amazing.  The breeze and the gentle rocking, combined with the music and the party atmosphere around us, brought smiles to our faces.  The tall, fruity drinks might have had something to do with it, too.  ;)

We ate a light supper and then went in search of entertainment.  There was a “free liquor tasting” in the main lobby, which we could not pass up.  Afterwards, we went into one of the lounges to listen to a small orchestra that played songs like “Moon River” and “Hello, Dolly.”  When they left the stage, another band took their place; this one played a variety of music – everything from Beatles tunes to Motown.  About 10:30 p.m., that same band transformed itself into a disco band, and one of the ship entertainment staff taught the crowd some dance moves. 

Finally, around 11:30 p.m., we headed back to our cabin.  On the way, Joel said, “I need a snack!”  We stopped by the casino for finger sandwiches, fruit, and cheese cubes, which we took back to our rooms.  It was “lights out” for us about 12:30. 

Sleeping aboard a ship is great, if you don’t mind the motion.  We don’t mind it at all!