May 11, 2015 
š“Ā Day NavigatorĀ š“
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Yayā¦Caribbean here we come!!!
All our bags are packed and ready to go, and itās only 5:30am! Thomson included a chauffeur to take us to(and from) Gatwick airport, ācool” i said āIāve never used a chauffeur beforeā. She promptly arrived at 5:50, put the bags in the boot and off we went! Really hope we havnāt forgotten anything, but too late now! šĀ
The driving was the smoothest iāve ever witnessed, the acceleration and the cornering were like silk. didnāt move a inch in my seat, well impressed! lol.
London Gatwick Airport…
After a slightly less smooth check in, Sarah bought a fantastically colourful Swatch watch(pic coming soon), then we drank a nice coffee and waited to board the 787 Dreamliner! Sorry i couldnāt take the photo below, but i couldnāt get the window open! šĀ
ā§ The Thomson 787 Dreamliner – image from Google images ā§Ā
Ā As iāve only been abroad once(Tuscany Tour 5 months ago) and only been in an Airbus A320, i was interested in this 787 monster, as our flight is 9 hours. It was huge inside, plenty of seating space and legroom, and had remote dimmers on the windows, instead of a plastic pull down blind! Impressed again! lol. The Air conditioning was fantastic and the time just seemed to fly by! šĀ
Ā Montego Bay, Jamaica…
Who turned on the massive hair dryer?! It was hot, but we managed to get through the airport and get on the bright yellow bus that will take us to the ship. The bus was fantastic, super soft suspension bouncing us along to loud reggae music, with stunning vividly saturated colours painting the landscapes.Ā
Wow thatās a big ship…
After having our photos taken and registering for our on board payment cards, it was time to board. Again iād only ever been in small speed boats when i was little, so this was another huge 1st for me! š Ā
ā§ The Thomson Dream Cruise Ship ā§Ā
Ā As it will be my 40th birthday tomorrow(15th April), and we needed a fridge in the room for Sarahās insulin, we booked a suite which we eventually located on Deck 7.Ā
ā§ A folded towel Elephant ā§Ā
Ā We were welcomed by a fantastic folded towel elephant, and a bottle of Champagne chillin in an ice bucket, fantastic! šĀ
The cabin crew said that we had beaten our suitcases to the ship, so we went for a little exploring.
Well i said exploringā¦we found the fantastic “Coffee Portā on Deck 8, a quiet oasis with stunning views overlooking the Jamaican coastline. Oh and it has sofaās too!Ā
ā§ Sarah relaxing in the coffee Port with views of Montego Bay ā§
Ā After beautiful and strong coffees we waited for the emergency drill at 6pm up on Deck 9.Ā
ā§ Me on left wearing a life jacket ā§
Ā Once out on deck we were guided to our posts and shown how to put on our life jackets. It took me longer to squeeze my head through the tiny hole of the jacket than it took for the whole drill. lol.:)
It was really hot and humid out there, and after hearing a bit of a shuffling panic, a person had passed out near us and was stretchered away, I heard the person was fine shortly after and it was due to heat etc.
Ā Returning to the cabin, our suitcases had arrived, so we spent the remainder of the extra long day(as Jamaica is 5 hours behind the UK) unpacking. Sarah was pleased to find a huge walk-in wardrobe and promptly started filling it. šĀ
Iād hoped to get more photos of the day, but as we were always on the move, being hustled to and from transport, i had to concentrate on walking instead of taking photos. š¦Ā
Tomorrow will be my 40th and a full day at sea as we head towards La Romana, Dominican Republic. We have booked an excurtion aroundĀ Altos de ChavĆ³n(mediterranean style European village) and a paddle boat ride along theĀ ChavĆ³n River where they filmed scenes from Rambo pt 1 & 2, and Jurassic Park.
Hope you enjoyed Day 1? Hope to see you at sea on Day 2! šĀ
š“Ā Day NavigatorĀ š“
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iChristian 
Happy Birthday Steve. Enjoy your holiday. Life is good to you my friend. KGFG.
Thank you so much Sammy! š
Lots going on on day 1!
Sounds like fun though.
I enjoyed how you shared your 1st day of vacay. š
Thanks RoSy! So pleased you enjoyed our first day on this amazing trip! š
Great art work and looks like a wonderful trip.
How did you get those towels to fold like that? :>)
Steven, i have no idea how the cabin steward folded towels into animals! But he didn’t stop there…in future posts on this trip i’ll be posting 2 more amazing animals(he did a new one each week), and also some more of his creative creations! š
Fascinating. What art!
What a travelogblog! š Enjoy!!
Thanks Paul!! Always a blessing to know you’re joining me on this tour! š