Our morning started very early today. We had never seen a rocket launch in person before and this one promised to be a really neat one (and it was!).
This was Ispace’s Hakuto R Mission’s to put a rover and a satellite on the moon (in partnership with SpaceX). The satellite is going to look for moon ice and the rover is going to test out wheel surfaces to find one that the sticky moon surface doesn’t stick to.
We set the alarm for 2:00 a.m. and shortly before 2:15 a.m., we were headed down the boardwalk to the beach. The hotel had a staff member checking that everyone was a guest of the resort. I was a little worried about finding our way to the beach in the dark as the resort is quite large so the beach was a number of blocks away and we had not made it to the beach the day before so the area was unfamiliar to us but there was no need to worry as we just followed all the others going to check out the launch.
The entire launch and return took about 8 minutes and was quite amazing. I didn't have a wide enough angle to catch the entire arc of the rocket but I'm fairly happy with the long exposure photos I did manage to capture.
The launch
The lower stage returning back to the earth. I understand SpaceX has droneships that catch the return rocket.
Here is a video of the complete launch and return that Paul took while I was focused on still photos.
Before heading back to the room, we checked on the location of our ship (the Prima) and the Wonder of the Seas. I was hoping to catch both ships when they entered Port Canaveral but knew it would be hard to judge what time that might be and our night had already been interrupted once for the launch. Both ships still appeared to be a ways away so we went back to bed. We set an alarm for 5:45 a.m. When I woke up a few minutes before 5:45 a.m., I saw that the ships had already arrived so there wouldn't be anything to see from the boat launch so we went back to bed for a little bit more.
When we got up, we had breakfast at the Cape Grill & Bar again and then headed to the port for our 9-9:30 a.m. check in time.
Our first glimpse of our ship (in the far distance)
Here she is as we are driving into the port. We parked in the ramp shown in this photo.
The aft of the NCL Prima
The forward of the NCL as we got in line.
We were in line about 9:15 a.m. They had not yet opened the doors yet. It would be another 30 minutes before they did. Then the first part of the check-in process was security. We were through that by about 10:05 a.m. We were getting so close to boarding and knowing the ship had arrived empty, I expected we would be able to board fairly quickly and hopefully have our rooms ready. (The ship had previously been sailing at of Miami and so dropped off its last passengers in Miami the day before and then repositioned to Port Canaveral. Being a brand new ship, they are letting various different home ports get to experience her.)
Unfortunately though, NCL's network went down which put the check-in process to a grinding halt. Around 11:00 a.m. they made the announcement that boarding was open and that cabins were ready. By that time the network was slowly coming back up and so by 11:05 a.m., we had been checked in, given a boarding group (which had already been called) and were walking onto the ship.
As we were walking up the gangplank, I was connecting to the Prima's wifi network and logging into the app to try and get entertainment reservations. I was able to quickly snag reservations to Noise Boys and the Price is Right. Donna Summers and the comedy at Improv were already showing sold out but we weren't as interested in them. We quickly found an empty interactive screen by an elevator to finish our reservations for race times for Paul on the Speedway. He was able to book 5 slots easily (and even added another one or two during the cruise) which was a relief as this was one of the reasons for the cruise and we had heard about Speedway reservations filling fast on other cruises.
We next stopped by our muster station and quickly checked in. I love the new process! You just watch a video (which we had done pre-cruise) and then do a 2 minute check-in to your station where they make sure you know where to go and answer any questions. They do make you watch the most comprehensive 14 minute safety video you'll ever see before you can actually watch TV we later discovered.
By this time, my tripod, camera bag, and purse had gotten so heavy my back was really hurting. We had been standing for quite a few hours. So we headed to the room where I collapse in the massive open space. Have you ever seen this much space in a balcony room? Well, technically it is a Club Balcony Suite but on NCL that normally just means a bit larger bathroom plus a couple minor amenities. We had hand picked this room for the location and odd shape; there's only 10 on the ship.
When we had arrived at our cabin, we saw our suitcase already outside so we quickly unpacked. I can't remember a single other cruise where we have been fully unpacked by about noon.
On the desk of our cabin was a notice of an itinerary change. They switched the days for Cozumel and Costa Maya. No explanation was given but it might have been to avoid tendering in to Cozumel. We were originally scheduled to be in port a day when eight other ships would be in port and all the berths full.
By this time, we were hungry and also wanted to start the cruise with a first drink, which cost me $0.84 even with a drink package since NCL passes along the tax to the passenger while in port. This was from a bar I was really looking forward to, The Metropolitan, a bar that uses sustainable ingredients, including food waste (like banana peels and yesterday's croissants).
Just next to The Metropolitan is Hudson's, the most beautiful main dining room we have ever seen. It is a huge U shape with all tables no more than 3 tables away from a window. We managed to snag a first row window seat every single meal! And the food at every meal was really good with some real star dishes.
Paul loved the Mac 'n Cheese
We then spent a little time exploring and checking out the seating areas around the ship. The whole ship had a new ship smell that was amazing!
One of the upper levels of the Penrose Atrium with views looking down.
We paused to say high to Diana, a shore excursion crew member who we have been following on Instagram. We spent a few minutes talking to her about the launch we saw and walked together to one of the floor to ceiling windows in the Atrium where you could see SpaceX ships in the harbor. This is a photo of one of the droneships being pulled out of port by tugboats.
Little seats outside the Indulge Food Hall on deck 8
In the aft outside the Indulge Food Hall is this great space with all these different seating areas (tables, loungers, etc.)
Along the side (both sides towards the front) of deck 8, there are these viewing booths with viewing scopes. We had a great view of the Carnival Magic docked next to us.
We made it up to the Speedway. This is a display car for people to check out and get photos in.
In our wanderings, we made it up to the Observation Lounge and discovered an intricate gingerbread village complete with a replica Prima.
We went back to the room for a little while before sail away. Paul had scheduled a race for 4:00 p.m., right at sail away so he left for that while I stayed on our forward-facing balcony to watch us leave.
The Carnival Magic went first.
I had hoped we would go before the Wonder of the Seas so we could sail right next to her (she was parked closer to the entrance of the port) but we ended up leaving at the same time and followed her out.
Time to untie the ropes
The MSC Meraviglia was still docked. She had a later departure time.
SpaceX boat "Doug" which along with "Bob" goes out and collects the Cargo Hold Shells that would land in the ocean after the launch that morning.
Royal Caribbean's newest ship, the Wonder of the Seas
Herring Gull
Brown Pelican
The Pilot Boat following us out.
For dinner, we decided to check out the Indulge Food Hall. We snagged a table about ten minutes before they opened, grabbed a drink from the bar, and waited for the iPads to go live.
Indulge Food Hall is quite an experience and can feel a bit like a marathon especially that first time as everything catches your eye. From an iPad, you order food and drinks from a variety of food stands and food trucks throughout the hall. Servers bring out your food as it is ready. Service is quite quick so it’s best to order just one course at a time and then place your next order as you are finishing up the previous one. There are so many options that we wanted to try and so I lost track of how many dishes we ordered. But eventually, we decided enough was enough and Paul went to check out the dessert stand. Food really was excellent. Here are a few dishes Paul especially enjoyed.
Garlic Naan
Pesto Gnocchi
From the dessert stand, some things are included with your fare and some come with an extra charge. These two were extra - a mouse and a Florida orange chocolate.
After dinner, Paul had his first Speedway You and the Track. Instead of racing others, he got the track all to himself and was just trying to do his best time which would go on the leaderboard for others to try to beat during the cruise. He did his best time this first time. There seemed to be a few serious go-kart drivers on the ship so he ultimately didn't make it on the podium but for a very short time, he was in first place.
I tried a drink at the whiskey bar as we listened to a duo performing on a lower deck of the Atrium. We never found any live music that really suited our tastes this cruise so didn't spend a lot of time listening to music in lounges.
By this time, our day had been long enough so we retired to our room. We spent a few minutes sitting on our balcony listening to the sounds of the ocean. We were surprised that wind wasn't a problem even though we were headed out to sea.
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