This vacation started with a drive from Lehigh Acres to Port Canaveral FL by way of Cape Coral FL to drop Becky off with Ray, our long-term friend. The trip was uneventful, just a bit tedious: 253 miles and just under 5 hours. We parked our car in a long-term lot near the cruise terminal and were aboard the ship by 12:30pm. We met our friends Paul and Carol while in line to check in and we got to our cabins – adjacent to each other – together.
This was our second cruise on the Venezia but it must have undergone recent renovations as many parts of the ship were not familiar. The buffet area in particular seems to have received a facelift. It now has an Italian garden motif. Very nice.
We had lunch in the buffet area then had to suffer through a very long (nearly an hour) muster drill. That is much longer than normal – it is usually just a matter of checking in so you know where the muster station is located. Crew members said that the Coast Guard requires a full drill like this one, mostly for the benefit of the crew, every six months and we were lucky enough to be on that cruise.
We had dinner in the restaurant with Paul and Carol, then spent some time in the casino. I held my own, losing just a few dollars while Marlene actually won over $300. But, as always, the good luck won’t last.