On the morning of embarkation we drove down to Port Everglades and boarded Princess Cruises' brand new Emerald Princess. Accompanying us were friends Steve, Ernesto, and Bart from Seattle, Washington.

We were very impressed with the size and beauty of the ship and its amenities. Our stateroom was very nice, if a bit small, with a balcony. Our cabin number was L312 on the Lido deck (deck 15), port side, right by the doors leading out to the pools. There were not many cabins on the Lido deck, and all of them were at the front of the ship. Most of the deck was taken up by the two pools and associated bars and food stands, plus the two large buffet dining rooms. At the back of the ship was the Terrace pool and bar, which was taken over by the bears.

Waiting for us in our stateroom was a tray of canapes that my father had ordered as a surprise for us. There was also a certificate for a very nice bottle of wine during a dinner of our choice. On top of that I had ordered a special occasions package for David that included a bottle of good champagne that was also waiting for us.

After we dropped off our luggage and enjoyed canapes and champagne, we headed off to the buffet for lunch. Afterwards we were topside, watching the ship's departure on its maiden American cruise; it had been doing trial runs and cruises in Europe after leaving dry dock back in April. That evening was a welcoming party up in the Sanctuary at the front of the ship.