Iron Things Out

11/9/20097:53:06 AM Link 0 comments | Add comment

The day of boarding a large ship can be met with surprises. Will the liquor make it aboard? Will the  clothing be wrinkled? Did you pack the right items? Was anything forgotten at home? Or worse . . . . . at the hotel?

You never know what surprises await you.

It begins with leaving your car at the hotel while you take a shuttle bus. Will the car be there when you get back? Are you parked in the proper spot? How long will the return shuttle delay you?

You already know to expect lines as you enter the port as well as the crowds when you first board. Today went smoothly as we enter the ship at 11:00 and make our way to the Schooner bar for our celebratory first drink. Later, the lunch buffet is met with 2000 hungry guests . . . . . . . most of which are not in the best of moods, but you expect this as most woke up early this morning. The rooms won’t be ready until 1:00, but that’s OK. We are now cruising.

Later that day, luggage begins to arrive at the cabins. We . . . . . as well as the other 3000 guests . . . . . . . anxiously wait for the suitcases to arrive for the unpacking and getting on with the day. The first three bags arrive and we organize the clothing between the closet space and the drawers. One bag remaining. We will explore the ship a bit and return later.      I know - 4 bags - are you kidding me.

We return to our cabin in preparation of the lifeboat drill . . . . . . . still no bag and Linda begins her panic. Did I watch the bag leave the hotel?  Did I see the bag get on and off the bus? Did it make it to the ship? And then Linda asks me . . . . . . What did I do with it? We have our cabin steward on the lookout, but to no avail.

We return from the mandatory drill to a message on our phone. "Mr. and Mr.‘s DeMark, your bag has been confiscated. You need to come to security and discuss the contents of your bag." Great. Now Linda goes into panic mode high def.

Down to deck 1 security where our bag awaits us. Tucked into a corner of the bag, Linda’s travel iron must have sent the alarms into overdrive. 1 travel iron in decorative leather pouch . . . . . confiscated.