We both woke up early today; guess we are excited about heading out on the Emerald Princess.  After cleaning up we went down to breakfast.  Our waiter was from Hungary and we got into a conversation about Budapest.  The Continental breakfast they served was very good and filling.

Back in our room we finished our last minute packing for the cruise.  Then Judi read and I worked on the blog.  I was able to get a couple of days out as I had been too busy and tired to send them before.

Around 9:30 AM we called for the Bell Boy to come up and get our bags.  By the time we got down stairs they were already in the car for our trip to Southampton.  The trip took about 2 hours and the traffic was terrible.  After reaching Southampton we discovered that the ship was at a different dock than the one the driver was familiar with.  As can be expected we got lost, but he was smart enough to ask for directions and we arrived safely with plenty of time to board the boat.  Security was very tight, almost more than the airlines.  We had priority boarding, but when I asked where we were to go, they asked for a red card.  They said you have to have a red card to use the service.  After a little discussion they found red cars for us and we only waited about 10 minutes to board.

Our cabin was ready and we dropped off our carry-ons and headed down to the dinning room for some lunch.  Two of our tablemates were from New Zealand.  Strong accents, but nice ladies.

After lunch we went back to the cabin to find our luggage and unpack.  Our room steward, Allan came in and introduced himself.  Very nice young man.  He spent a lot of time talking to us about different cruises and ship captains.  Lifeboat drill came at 4:30 PM and we had to walk down to our muster station.  They are inside on Princess ships compared to outside in the weather on other cruise lines.

After the drill we came back to the cabin and changed clothes and then went down to the Crown Grill for dinner.  It was very good.  They have finally done away with New York strips and now have Kansas City strip steaks.

After dinner it was back to the cabin and get ready for tomorrow.

                  

                                                 The Emerald Princess