On Board and Settled In

We had breakfast this morning with our friends from the 2009 World Cruise. Very nice to see them again. Wish they were on our ship. At breakfast we also saw a lot of familiar faces. People go on these cruise year after year, amazing.
There was a Publix (grocery store) right behind our hotel so we walked over to buy last minute incidentals like bottled water. We also bought a case of soda, so it was quite heavy. As you can see in the picture, we just brought the shopping cart all the way to our room! Mel did return it to the store parking lot.
We arrived at the port before 11. We were greeted by the Capt who gave me a kiss. Nice to be remembered. Great Captain. Glad he's with us for this cruise again. We also saw several others that we knew. In 2009 we didn't know anyone but each other when we boarded. This feels much different. We were great ed warmly by a number of crew as well as fellow passengers. The Amsterdam is the sister ship to the Rotterdam so we even know our way around. Makes things a lot easier. Feels like home already.
Most of our luggage was in the room once we finished lunch, so we were able to unpack. I must say, it's MUCH easier unpacking 2 suitcases vs the 7 or 8 I had last time. Everything easily fits in the available drawers and cabinets. Much better. The ship was in dry dock just before this cruise, so all the carpets, furniture, etc is new. Very spiffy looking.
One lady who I did not want to see on the ship is here. She's the one who told me that I have ugly feet on the last trip. Hope she's not at our table for dinner tonight, that would be awful. Well, not really, we'd just ask to move. So far so good! Sail away is in an hour, and we'll be off. I'm happy to be in warmer weather already. My computer is saying it's 44 degrees back home. Brrrrrrrrrrrr..................