En Route to Houston, TX, & Embarkation

            Thursday, 17 Mar 2015 – Yes, we have departed for ANOTHER cruise.  We left Bettendorf at about noon and Jesse spent his 67th birthday driving to Memphis, TN, while Sally read aloud The White Witch of Rose Hall.  Since we would be visiting Rose Hall during our excursion to Montego Bay, Jamaica, we decided to learn more about it.  We arrived at out motel in West Memphis, AR, at about 8:30 PM.

Friday, 18 Mar 2015 – Today, we visited some of Jesse’s relatives in Memphis.

Saturday, 19 May 2015 – This morning we checked out of our West Memphis motel and started our drive to our motel room in Pasadena, TX.  (There actually is a Pasadena in Texas, in the Houston area!)  During our drive, Sally finished reading aloud The White Witch of Rose Hall.  On the back cover of the book, there is a photograph of the Rose Hall ruins, but the estate was later restored.  In Houston, we had a little trouble navigating.  Our GPS directed us onto a toll road requiring some sort of E-pass.  Although we assumed that we would be directed to a toll booth at some point, there wasn’t one; apparently, we were supposed to exit the toll road and travel on the slower, “free” road that was adjacent to the toll road.  Most likely, a traffic ticket will be awaiting us in our mail when we return home!  We arrived at our motel in Pasadena, TX, at about 8:30 PM.

At about 11:00 AM, we checked out of our Pasadena hotel and drove to the Bayport Cruise Terminal.  Again, our GPS directed us onto the toll road; however, this time we were smart enough to exit the toll road when required, and travel on the slower, “free” road.  Needless to say, the “free” road added about 30 minutes to our 20-minute GPS trip.  Upon arriving at the terminal, we unloaded our luggage and were then directed to the parking area adjacent to the ship dock.  Although there was a shuttle available, we didn’t need to take it because our parking space was only a few feet from where we left our luggage before boarding.  We then walked a few more feet to the ship’s check-in area and joined the line of passengers awaiting check in.  Once we reached the doorway, we realized there was a shorter line for the Platinum and Elite, passengers.  While going through security, we ran into our friends, Grace and Merrill, who were joining us on the cruise.  Even though this was only their third Princess cruise, they were allowed join us in the Elite line, so we were all whisked through the remainder of the check-in process.

We had first met Grace and Merrill on our Panama Canal Cruise in 2014.  Since then, we have met them at the Willowbrook Ballroom a couple of times for dancing.  They live in the Chicago area.  When we told them about this cruise, they thought it would be fun to join us.

About 2:25 PM we boarded the ship and met Grace and Merrill for a light lunch at 2:40 PM.  Since we were all on the Lido Deck, it was only a short walk across the deck to the Horizon Court Buffet.  After talking for a little while, we returned to our cabin to unpack our luggage and prepare for the 3:30 PM passenger muster drill. 

We met again for dinner at 6:00 PM.  After dinner, Grace and Merrill went to the Welcome Show in the Princess Theater, while we explored the dancing venues.  There are two bands onboard the ship:  “The Great Escape” and “The New Deal.”  We danced to “The Great Escape” in the Wheelhouse Bar for two or three songs before they went on break.  “The New Deal” would not start playing in the Explorer’s Lounge until 8:30 PM, so we retired for the night.  Incidentally, we had danced to “The New Deal” on a previous cruise.