It’s been a long day. First plane at midnight…second at around 7:40 AM…arrive at FLL by 11 AM…ish…on the shuttle by 1:15…arrive port of Miami by 1:45. Watched the Equinox actually arrive slightly ahead of time. Got on board before 2:30 (which was pretty good as we were not expected to even start boarding before 2:30). Managed to sleep for about 3 hours total between both flights. And now only slightly dragging our ass. Not too bad for the first day.
Exploration of the ship is in order. Having been on Princess so many times in the past this is definitely a new experience for us. Nothing is the same!! The mid-ship elevators are different (fully open view of the atrium from the 3rd floor up to the 15th – Princess only views 3 floors). All the speciality restaurants are grouped together (Princess has them separated by floors and differing areas of the ship). There appear to be more bars (although that could easily be a misconception).
Certainly our room layout is somewhat different. Not a lot (after all, there is only so much anyone can do with limited square footage) however the bathroom has nicer toiletries and a much nicer shower. The closet is a little less in-your-face in that it at least has sliding doors. The balcony, however, is smaller yet still big enough for two chairs and an ottoman for each. No problem as we’re not planning on having a party of 50 over for drinks any time soon. 🙂
The ship beckons. What to do, what to do, what to do?
Well…let’s see…we have an unlimited drink package…Hmmm… Oh Look!! An Asian Sushi bar!! We haven’t had lunch (or much for breakfast either)…let’s stop here and see what’s what.
I will be the first to admit, I Like Sake. Junmai Daiginjo is about as fine a selection of sake as there is (akin to a fine vintage Port, something that I am also familiar with!). And Sushi on Five (the name of this restaurant) just happens to have a few of these on hand. So two make their presence known (side by each for a proper comparison) along with some Sashimi green salad, Albacore Tuna with truffle oil and Ponzu sauce, and handmade lobster and crab wonton. Can you say, give me MORE!!! ? The first Sake (Momokawa) is a little lighter overall. More citrus with the slightest of tang on the tongue. The other (Takatenjin) is dryer, slightly fuller in body…perhaps a more ‘traditional’ Sake. Both were more than worthy of further in-depth research 😉 As for the Shashimi itself? As fine as I’ve had anywhere at home. Delicate with no one ingredient overpowering another, the fish fresh and elegant and the presentation refined. If we hadn’t wanted to have dinner at one of the more specialty restaurants, this could Easily become a most sumptuous dinner.
Further expedition throughout the ship leads to menu investigation at the various idiosyncratic dining rooms. Murano piques the interest level and leads to a reservation for later this evening. Having been to Italy 4 times, anything with an Italian twist has to be scrutinized. Yes…it seems like so much of day one has been about eating and drinking but there was little of either prior to now and what is now accessible seems a shame to leave un-inspected.
More will follow. 🙂