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One of the treats of going to Galveston is stopping at Shipley's Donuts. That's
one of the few times I get to eat donuts. Since we arrived just in time for dinner
the previous evening, the plan was to get donuts for breakfast before boarding the
ship. But you know what happens to plans. John, Debbie, Katie, Lynda, and I just
sat around talking and waiting until Bruce and Page arrived from her mother's house
in Houston.
When Bruce and Page appeared, it was time to board the ship.
The luggage was dropped off with no problems, but boarding the
Navigator took an agonizingly long time due to at least 2 things.
The day before, a fog warning possibility in Galveston had many guests
arriving later than normal to board, creating heavier traffic in the
terminal than normal. Second, with all the heavy traffic, only 2 security
carry-on baggage checks were open for at least an hour around noon.
Once onboard, the plan for the group was to meet for lunch in the Windjammer and then
go to our cabins in hopes of finding our luggage had been delivered.
Right after the safety drill, the ship pulled away from the dock and we said goodbye
to Galveston for the week. I spent a little time putting tags on the doors so
group members could easily find each other and themselves.
I was one of the lucky people whose reserved cabin was upgraded during Navigator of
the Seas January dry dock. My inside cabin was the recipient of a virtual
balcony. What a great idea that was!
Part of the sacrifice of having the virtual balcony was losing the small sofa and
small coffee-type table. Those two items were replaced with a single padded chair.
It was difficult to find a place for room service to set the tray when they brought it.
It was great being able to tell when it was day or night from an inside cabin. I
could also see if it was sunny or rainy and when we were docked, I got a wonderful
view of our location. The changing view made a good backdrop for photos. Page
was the first one to come up with this idea. The
virtual balcony was across from a large mirror, so it made the room look much
larger.
My room also seemed larger because this was my first cruise without a
roommate. I was looking forward to dropping the temperature as cold as I wanted
it and not worry about freezing my cabinmate. Unfortunately, with the air
conditioner turned to the coldest setting, the room was still very warm, even
after I requested a server person to check it out. I later learned it was too
warm over much of the ship, and it was only March. I hope they fix it before
our hot Texas summer weather.
Apparently Katie and Lynda had no problems settling in. They went all fancy
decorating their door.
Some of the evening before and after dinner was unpacking the luggage, if we
were lucky enough to get it early.
My cabin steward this trip was Adella Beliss.
We had some trouble coordinating everyone for dinner arrangements, but eventually
worked things out. Our first evening, we ended up at a table where Oliver from
Mumbai was the waiter. He was really good. All the food was excellent. After
dinner we checked out the welcome aboard entertainment in the Metropolis Theater.
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