Adventures of Beth and Dan: First Port, Cartagena, Columbia Part 1

Today is Monday, December 3rd. We boarded on Friday and it has been pretty smooth sailing since. After boarding they as usual sent us to somewhere on the ship to have lunch. Right if the bat we were impressed with the updated clean ship! The Star spent 18 days in intensive dry dock this year and really got a make over. The carpets are new and clean: the upholstery and walls are fresh! I guess they even changed some of the donibgvenues and bars. I won’t say it’s an unusual ship or that it’s the most streamlined interior but it feels good. We headed to the Lido and oool deck area where we had a light lunch of fresh veggies and a hamburger to split between the two of us with no bun! Ha ha. Even the deck furniture and loungers are new! The band was playing a kind of reggae music and we enjoyed the overcast weather and cooler temperature. Most times we have embarked from Miami it has been hot and humid but this time it was pleasantly different. We wandered around the ship as they said our rooms wouldn’t be ready until 3 o’clock. I tried to take some photos without lots of people. We made our promise to not use the elevators but always use the stairs and I’ve had a few record days with flights of stairs on my Fitbit!! It gets you back in shape fast 😄.

When we finally got the all call that rooms were available we headed to deck 9 and room 9686. I was pretty nervous about our room. Originally we had booked an inside cabin on deck 10 in a quiet location but Norwegian now has a new upgrade option. About a month before we sailed I got an email saying I could bid on a balcony!! I really wanted one with going through the canal so after a lot of deliberation and encouragement from Tessie I took the plunge and put in a bid of $300 ... For two weeks I never heard anything but finally I got an email saying my bid was accepted and they gave me the room number. I was so worried it would be in a poor noisy location as you had no idea where it would be. If you bid and it was accepted you could not choose to go back to your inside cabin so you were stuck with your decision. Well, when we opened the door and saw our room Dan said “I didn’t know we had s balcony??” I hadn’t told him about the upgrade and wax hoping to surprise him. We were both very happy with the room, it’s location and how tastefully it had been updated! We have a small refrigerator and a little coffee maker which most ships now don’t have. Our bathroomhad a little larger shower and a separate toilet for privacey although it is small! They installed new flat screen TV’s and USB outlets in several locations and we have two plugins instead of the typical one.

The first night we had dinner in the Lido and the vegetables, salad options and overall selections were fresh and delicious. We walked around the ship that night and enjoyed the sail away party by the pool. We were delayed somewhat due to some late arrivals of supplies. Of five ships in port that day we were the last to leave. We had the RCL Mariner of the Seas, the NCL Sky, the Carnival Sensation and Victory and I believe an Oceania ship at another dock everyone that passed us waved and hollered and we could hear their sail away music blasting from the top decks. It was a lot of fun.

We headed to our room early getting all our things unpacked and arranged. That night we slept perfectly with no noise and a comfortable new mattress! We do have aconbdcting room but it is a tight secure for and is locked with a key lock that only the stateroom attendant can open. Our attendant is Michael and he is young and gregarious. He pays attention to detail and quickly takes care of any request. I have noticed he likes to arrange things and add special touches. And he makes fun towel animals for us. Sometimes we have had pairs of attendants but here only one.

We enjoyed two sea days going to a few things onboard but also getting in exercise both from walking our three to four miles and the spending some time in the gym. We usually only have some fruit for breakfast and then skip lunch. The decks forcwalking have comfy loungers that we stretch out on for reading and listening to music. The first night we skipped the entertainment as it was one show and at 9. It was a welcome aboard show with tidbits of what’s to come. The second night we had aerialists and they were very good. Last night was a broadway singer and she had so much volume that we left early.

I went to a spa offering about hair and facials. The gals were pretty unprepared and only four of us showed up. The good part was there was a drawing for a few head, neck and shoulder massage with frangipani oil and I won! So I had a great free massage and enjoyed a visit with the gal who is from the Ukraine.

We had a meet and greet also with people who are members of Cruise Critic. It was the first time we have actually done this and met folks and visited. The ships officers came and introduced themselves. We had light snacks available too. We met five or six couples from AZ which gave ya a lot to talk about.

So I’ll hopefully post this today after our excursion which is the Mangroves Eco Canoe Tour through the ship. I’ll be looking for internet. It’s all aboard at 1:30 so we aren’t here long.