BY: Keith S. Shikowitz, Editor in Chief/Investigative Reporter
About 5 hours after we boarded the ship, we pulled out of the dock passing by the Royal Caribbean Icon of the Seas. A very big ship. Bill said it holds 7000 passengers.
Other ships were leaving the port as well. There had to be at least 10 cruise ships there loading and unloading passengers.
We sailed passed the Miami skyline, which is beginning to look a lot like the NYC skyline.
Once we got out of the port, the captain opened up the engines, and we were off to Roatan Honduras. Unlike my first cruise in 2020, the first day’s seas were calm and relaxed. I did not have to renew my friendship with the seasick pills and ibuprofen.
The walk around the ship is amazing. For those of you who have never been on one, you would be amazed at the opulence of it. And for those of you who have been, you’ll agree with me, it is like a floating city. There is a lot of artwork, decorative lighting and just beauty all around.
We spent the day wandering the ship, mostly taking the long way around to places because one of our bunch thought he knew what he was doing. Let me tell you, I put on a lot of steps that day. 7,588 to be exact. The ship is about 1094 feet long and has 17 decks, guest capacity is 3,958 and has a crew of 1,735. The amenities are amazing. It has multitudes of different restaurants and everywhere you turn there is a bar.
There is an outdoor water slide (enclosed) that goes out over side of the boat over the water.
After wandering the boat for a while we went to our cabin to see if our luggage had been delivered. It was. We took it all in and got ourselves situated.
Next stop was dinner. We went to one of the multitude of restaurants. Bill and I ordered the NY Strip steak, that was after French onion soup, bruschetta and a Caesar salad. It was pretty good. Guillermo ordered the fish and Jose ordered a pasta dish.
After dinner entertainment was two comedians. They were okay. We laughed, but it was not a laugh riot. Afterwards we checked out other parts of the ship looking at an art auction. A lot of nice pictures. Took a gander through the casino. There are a lot of slot machines plus the usual, poker, blackjack, roulette etc. There were places where there were a number of bands playing in various lounges. They were pretty good.
All of us had had a long couple of days getting to the ship. We called it a night a lot earlier than we probably would have if we were 30 years younger. The beds are comfortable. The four of us in a suite is a little crowded, but we are making it work.