Embarking ROTTERDAM (FEB 24)

The view was so good last night that we slept with the curtains open. Before dawn, when I surfaced to consciousness, on one occasion a glance out the window revealed a cruise ship approaching the channel. 
We goofed off through the morning, including a pleasant walk along the beach. Packing for the move to the ship necessitated little more than being able to close them. 
It took less than 45 minutes to make the transfer from our hotel room to our stateroom on the ship, even with a delay while the bridge we walked across yesterday opened to let some unseen boat pass.

Today we only saw three cruise ships docked st Port Everglades, two of which (including ROTTERDAM) had a combined passenger and crew manifest smaller than any one of the cruise ships we saw depart yesterday. This eliminated the tremendous traffic congestion entering the port we saw during yesterday's walk. 

Our stateroom is on the starboard side of the ship, sixth deck and well aft. We like this location because it reduces passageway traffic with its associated voices. 

At 4:00 we had a lifeboat drill accompanied by the usual threats to anyone even thinking about not participating. 
ROTTERDAM sailed about 4:40, passing out of the Intercoastal Waterway into the Atlantic and proceeding generally southeast on a course that will take us along the north coast of Cuba.
We use mostly packing cubes and hard-sided containers, and will keep many things in them for the duration, so we had everything stowed and the suitcases shoved under the bed well before heading to the main dining room. 

The seas being nearly calm for a ship this size, when it was time for bed the gentle motion invited sleep. 

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