Day 2 - Island Princess Sailaway

Did I mention we slept in a full-size bed last night? Or more accurately, I slept and Emma tossed and turned all night.

Our bed at home is a queen-sized bed; not huge, but certainly more space than the full-sized piece of furniture from this night. But with 2 dogs and a cat stealing valuable real estate from us, you'd think that without them a full-size bed would be sufficient. But that'd be wrong. Especially when the night stand separating the 2 full size beds seems to be connected to the floor.

If I can arrange it, I try to travel in the daylight, if only so we can see the city we're sleeping in. Well, as the sun rose and our wake-up call came in, "Good morning, today's high is 80 degrees with a low of 71," we were greeted with a strange rooftop view -- from our 3rd floor room.

Downstairs in the hotel lobby, while waiting for the bus transfer to Port Everglades, an elderly German lady leaned to Em and commented that we were probably the youngest couple on the ship -- seeing we were surrounded by "eagles" -- people with white hair. In broken English, it sounded heartwarming. Especially after she gave Em a German fashion magazine in exchange for Em's US Weekly.

Going back to Princess -- let alone the same ship we sailed in Alaska -- was a bit like a homecoming. Comfortable and familiar.

We're a deck lower (Baja, Deck 11) than our last trip; with an interior cabin -- where we were greeted with a tray of chocolate-covered strawberries from my parents. Absolutely amazing.

The sailaway party on the top/Lido Deck featured live music from a band called "Passion," who would play around the ship throughout the cruise. But for the sailaway party, it was the first opportunity for passengers to escape completely and become people they wouldn't let their coworkers see -- like when they danced the Electric Slide. Kind of shocking to see grandparents dance with strangers with a drink rocking in one hand.

Part of our cruise included Anytime Dining -- our option to eat whenever and with whoever we wanted to. Each meal included an appetizer, a soup/salad, a main course, and a dessert. And just for you, we recorded every dish we had the pleasure of eating..

Emma

Appetizer: Shrimp cocktail

Salad/Soup: Caesar salad

Main Course: Cajun creole pot pie

Dessert: Flourless chocolate cake

Ryan

Appetizer: Melon trio

Salad/Soup: Spinach tortellini soup

Main Course: 5-Star Princess rib

Dessert: Love Boat Dream

That night, we watched "Nine" -- which wasn't the greatest of movies -- kinda slow, kinda boring.

After, we headed up to the Fitness Center for a run before we headed up to the Horizon Court -- the 24-hour buffet -- for dessert. We enjoyed free hot chocolate in Alaska, but in the Caribbean, hot chocolate is only available for a fee. Still good. Just not free good.

And while I know we're only 8 hours into this sailing, it's already just as rocky as our voyage across the Gulf of Alaska -- around 7.5 foot swells. Not too bad, just not exactly comfortable.

Video from the Day

Photos from the Day

Tomorrow: At Sea