We left our hotel at about 10:15 am to get our luggage dropped off and return our rental car by 10:45 am so we could avoid a penalty for a late return.

Avis gives you a 29-minute grace period, then charges you 3/4 of an entire day for being up to 1 hour late and then a full day after that.  We arrived at Terminal 26 at 10:30 am.  Porters were waiting as we arrived and quickly whisked away our five bags.  Judy sat down at a nearby bench to wait as I returned the car to the Port Everglades location a couple of miles away.  The drive to Avis took 10 minutes.  The Avis employees scanned the car back in, I boarded the shuttle bus and was back at Terminal 26 at 10:55 am.

We joined a line of about ten people at 11 am when the terminal doors opened.  Several large buses arrived just as we joined the line.

People at the door wanted to see a passport and boarding card – they didn’t inspect the document but wanted to save you time in case you forgot completely – best to start looking for your passport now rather than after waiting for a while in line.

NOTE:  Prior to the cruise we were advised by HAL that we would need Yellow Fever, Sri Lanka, Brazil and India visas before boarding, but over the last few weeks, we learned that only Brazil would be required and at the last minute all we needed was to complete a form that asked for our Brazil Visa application number and our current application status.  We later learned that Devils Island had decided to require the yellow fever proof at the last minute.

We were also advised to have two color copies of our passport page ready at check-in, but these were never collected or requested.  Not a huge deal, but it would be better if the pre-cruise documentation requirements that are posted on the website match what was actually required at check-in.  We will probably be asked to present these items later, but later is not the same as having to present them during check-in.

Once inside the terminal we turned in our Brazil Visa status form before moving on to security in the next room.

After security, we checked in quickly using the tablets on stands and then onto the next room, where they took our passports and gave us a boarding priority card.  We waited about 45 minutes before they called our boarding number, and we headed up the escalator to where the photographers were standing by.

Capt Frank, Hotel GM Henk, and Cruise &Travel Director Kimberly greeted us before we headed down the long jetway to the ship.  Along the way, we were given a Grand Voyage pin.

Once on the ship, we found our cabin – 8070, dropped off our bags, and headed to the Lido for a snack, champagne, and cake.  We visited with friends for a while before returning to our cabin to discover that most of our bags had arrived.  We received our final bag around 4:30 pm.

We are in Cabin 8070 – We had this cabin in 2022 and here is a video about the cabin from that cruise.

The SailAway party started around 4:30 with waiters passing snacks, and after a bit, Cruise Director Kimberly made a few announcements.  One of the assistant cruise directors worked as a DJ and played some tunes.  Our real SailAway was about 2 hours late, about 7:30 pm, as we waited for spare parts for the ship to arrive.

We were back at Table 89 for dinner at 7:30 with a group of 8, and we are off to a great start.  Dinner, as usual, was excellent.  I did note that Rustic Lasagna is now one of the items available daily.

On the World Stage at 7:30 pm, Cruise and Travel Director Kimberly introduced some of her team and gave an overview of the ports on this cruise.  We missed it as it was during our dinner time, but she will repeat the event tomorrow morning.