Sunday, Feb 12. I walked to the ship. It was supposed to be 2.5 miles but thankfully there was a shuttle bus for the last half mile. The boarding process was faster than expected and I was able to board as soon as I arrived. The “designated boarding time” was just an effort to stretch out things.  

Even though I was one of the early arrivals, the ship immediately appeared crowded. We weren’t allowed access to our staterooms until about 3PM, so everything became extremely crowded. And loud. Lots of Eagles and Chiefs shirts. Most of the venues had their planned events canceled to show the Super Bowl. The ship has escalators! And bowling alleys. 

I made my three specialty restaurant reservations without any trouble. Tonight’s was Cagney’s Steakhouse. Dinner was fine. Though I sat alone it wasn’t long before my neighbors began a conversation. Being single wasn’t a barrier to feeling like I had friends. Everyone is very talkative.

While most of the ship was watching the Super Bowl, I had a chance to sample the bars with some room to move. I’m not sure it’ll last in the following evenings. I used my printer to make friends with the bartenders. I wrapped up my first day at about 2AM.