Today was embarkation day.  We had a 1:30 pm boarding time which was kind of a bummer because I wanted to board the ship early per the advice of many articles I had read.  If you board early, you start your vacation earlier! 

First we all had to take those pesky COVID tests. Our first one was scheduled for 7:10 am so it was an early start for all. We took them in the hotel bathroom and it was like a production line with one of us timing and uploading results and the other assisting the kids with their tests.  We were all clear though and we got to the port by 10:30am.  After we checked in, we waited in the lobby.  They called for those with an 11:00am time and I thought we might not be able to board until 1:30 after all.  Soon they called for all passengers in the lobby and we were able to get on board around 11:30 am!  We went to the pool area but the pools weren’t open yet.  The **free** soft serve was open though!

In total the girls had about 4 ice creams today.  We went to lunch at the buffet after the first ice cream.  It was a little hectic there but I was impressed with the selection for picky eaters. 

Both girls found things they liked and when we were done, the pool was open!

When we were able to check out our stateroom around 2pm, at first I was really confused.  Why did they let us book 3 people per room when there is only one bed? 

Cal figured out that bunk beds come down from the ceiling.  Our room attendant came when we went back to the pool and set it up for us.  The king bed also separated into two twins.  Each kid gets their own bed! 

I had bought some over the door shoe racks for this trip and they were a great idea.  They hold all that random stuff (shoes, sunscreen, sunglasses, masks, etc) that normally ends up on the floor or counters.  They work great in this tight space. I may take these to hotels too in the future. 

We had a nice sit-down dinner.  The girls thought it was really fancy (they gave you like 8 pieces of silverware and served things in silver dishes!).  We each got to choose 3 courses! Nova didn’t eat much though and got hungry shortly after dinner so I took her for a second dinner at the buffet. 

We all did Disney Trivia in one of the lounges and then the boys checked out some teen programming.  Esme fell asleep early. I felt pretty dizzy once the boat started moving and was worried about seasickness so Nole and I decided to relax rather than check out any nightlife stuff tonight.  Nova was excited to try out the **free** childcare so we dropped her off there for an hour or so before bed. 

There was definitely a learning curve today since it is our first ever cruise. Hopefully I get my sea legs tomorrow!