About mid-morning, we took our Norwegian-tagged luggage to a collection room and caught a pre-arranged shuttle to the ship. We were quickly checked in and boarded (thanks again, Dana).

We immediately headed to the dining room for lunch (no breakfast). The cabins were soon available, where we changed into swimsuits (we made sure they were in our ship carryons). And then it was off to the pool to begin almost three weeks of R&R. A “sail away” poolside party soon began and the music was great. Dinner followed a safety brief. A preview show wrapped up the day for us. As retirees, we so needed this “vacation”!

Monday was an all day sailing day, providing impetus for sleeping late. After awaking and breakfast, we attended an advanced bridge lecture by a bridge playing couple from Little Rock (small world), before the hot tub and pool called. A soak, sunbathing, and lite lunch preceded a long afternoon nap. Dinner was followed by a show featuring Carole’s Kings, a trio of guys from New York who performed a tribute to Carole King. When they sang in the preview performance Sunday evening, they were not great, but their performance was really good Monday evening.