Part 2 - Boarding the Splendor

The time standing on the hard concrete seemed to pass much faster spending it with my friends.
Martin Lewis shared with us the miracle and benefit of having two 45 minute shows in one small carry-on suitcase.
That's magic!

From one line to the next, we finally entered the terminal, to wait in another line to pass through the metal detector.
It never fails to amaze me, at what is almost the end of 2010, that this entire security process seems to elude a few selfish, clueless people.
The man to the inspector, "Ohhhhh, did you say all metal items??"
"Yes sir", the inspector said.
"But my belt isn't metal", said the man, whose idiocy was increasing as he spoke.
"No sir, but the buckle is!"

After going through that line, we turned the corner and were directed to a numbered sign, where we were asked to form....yes, you guessed it....another line.
I was tempted to retrace my steps to make sure that I hadn't somehow gotten into the line for the, "Ellis Island Experience", by mistake, but I was too afraid of getting lost!

We then were released to go up the escalators to form lines, for which I was certain had to be the delousing and fingerprinting processes.
After having our picture taken, (which was, to my knowledge, never used for anything, as the picture did not appear on anything) we were cleared to board the ship.

When we boarded, we were directed to the Lido Deck for lunch.
It was an so-so lunch, but again made much more enjoyable by the company.
Chipper pointed out the lighting fixtures which could only be described as space alien vaginas.
As we ate, we discussed who exactly would sign off on this style(?) of decor.
Who would walk in, look at the lighting fixture for example, and exclaim, "YES! This is exactly the look we wanted!"

This was going to be a good time!
We were aboard the ship at last, had eaten some lunch, and had many laughs.
The worst was behind us.

The adventure begins!

Sunday, November 7, 2010.

I wasn't that excited about taking this cruise.
I had only taken one cruise in my life, and that was a Disney cruise.
That was so much better than any of my expectations.
Even though I tried very hard not to,  I kept comparing what I knew...Disney,  with what I didn't know....Carnival.

I knew that once I got going, I'd have a good time.
A chance to get away before the busy holiday season at work and hang out with some of the best performers in magic.

I arrived quite early at the port in Long Beach, California, finding that most of the passengers were still disembarking the Carnival Splendor from the previous cruise.
Holy crap that is one big ship!

The Carnival terminal is housed inside the one time Spruce Goose Dome, and next to the Queen Mary.
Both structures were dwarfed by the Splendor!

Walking around the outside of the terminal, it seemed to be very disorganized, with no signage or indication on where to go or what to do.
I finally found a Carnival representative who informed me that the line to check in was, "That way", pointing in a general direction toward a sea of people.
I walked to the end of the line, which as I recall, ended right around the California/Oregon border.
I was now so far from the ship that I could no longer see it, but I was pretty sure I could see the curvature of the earth.

The line moved very slowly, as one by one, we were checked in.
The Carnival employees all seemed to be quite overwhelmed by all of this.
Their faces wore a look of, "Where are all these people coming from?!?"
The check in process involved showing your proof of citrizenship, a photo ID, and a form of payment for any charges incurred aboard ship.

In exchange for this information, you received your keycard, stateroom assignment, and a laminated card with a group number on it.
My group was number nine.

Oh well, I was now in the system, had my room key, and was assigned a group number.
The worst was behind me.

Now the matter of finding group nine.
The groups were indicated by cardboard signs taped to posts.
There was no sense or any structure to any of it.
One group just kind of overflowed into the next.
Luckily I was able to join my friends Bob Sheets and his wife, Martin Lewis, and Chipper Lowell.

Now that I was in line, with friends, the worst had to be behind us.