Day 1 Cruise

We got a Lyft from New York City to Bayonne.  Our drive was good and the traffic wasn't bad at all.  Good thing we left on a Saturday!

Check-in was so smooth,  We ordered "The Key".  It's an option you pay for that gives you a discount on internet, priority boarding and departure and a gourmet lunch on the first day.  You also get reserved seating at the shows.

We went to the dining room for our "key lunch" and ordered shrimp cocktail, a filet mignon and warm chocolate cake.  Our lunch was so good we skipped dinner.  However we went to the Diamond Lounge for appies and drinks and that worked just fine.  The Diamond Lounge is for people who have sailed more than 15 times on Royal Caribbean.  

We asked for My Time Dining, and it doesn't start until 6:45!  That makes it difficult to make some of the entertainment so the concierge at the Diamond Lounge fixed it for us!  My Time on other cruises starts at 5 PM!  Not sure why RCCL has such a late start time.  We now have fixed dining which is fine and we will share a table which we really like.

Sailing past New York from Bayonne, NJ.

We requested a balcony stateroom on deck 8, midship with a large balcony.  It didn't disappoint.

Great balcony with footstools.  Very quiet!

Our first adventure was the North Star.  It's a hydraulic lift that raises you 300 feet above the ship and over the ocean!   Nice view!

View aft from above

View forward from above!

The capsule is fully enclosed and there is a 360 degree view!  Not scary at all.

They announced there are 4,558 passengers on board and it's fully booked.  It appears things are back to normal.   Off for a day of fun!