The first day

Hello dear family and friends:),

wow it's been over ten days since I embarked. Right now I'm sitting on the crew deck, enjoying the beautiful weather and watching our docking maneuver in the Republic of Montenegro. It's breathtaking, with giant mountains rising from the water on both sides of me. It's a bit scary to think that they're just a few meters away from us.

A lot has happened since my last update. I've had the opportunity to meet new people from different countries and cultures, we've celebrated birthdays on board, and I've learned why the ship is called the "Aida Blu" ghost ship. But I'll tell you more about that later.

But first, let's go back a few days to the day I stood at the airport in Dusseldorf at 06:00 in the morning, not knowing what to expect. After all the goodbyes and the tears that were shed, the moment had finally come. I received an email from an agency that works with Aida, with my flight ticket and the assurance that they would take care of everything else. At that time, all I knew was that I had to board the plane in Dusseldorf and would land in Civitavecchia (Rome, Italy).

As I sat on the plane for the 1.5-hour flight, many thoughts went through my mind. Why am I doing this in the first place? What awaits me upon arrival? How is my girlfriend dealing with it? Will everything remain the same when I come back?

Over time, I will be able to answer these and many other questions for myself and for you. But I can already tell you one thing. I have already had the opportunity to get to know myself from a different perspective. Traveling "alone" is a very special experience.

After landing in Civitavecchia, I waited for an hour for my suitcase. At the exit, a friendly man was already waiting for me with a sign that said Aida. He approached me and said, "Are you Mr. Leon?"

He took my suitcase, we went to his car, and he drove me to a beautiful hotel right by the beach, about 45 minutes from the airport.

Now I realize that it's really starting. When I arrived at the hotel, I met Sabrina in the lobby. She has worked on the ship before and was able to answer many questions for me. She also works in the jewelry shop on the Aida Blu.

We received three vouchers for lunch, dinner, and breakfast for the next day at the nearby restaurants.

After checking in, we went for lunch. Here, I learned that we have the whole day to ourselves and that we will be picked up and taken to the ship at 09:00 in the morning.

After a short jog at the port and a delicious dinner, I went to bed early so that I would be fit for my first day on the ship tomorrow.

So, tomorrow is the big day!!