Star Trek: The Cruise -- Day One Recap

Star Trek: The Cruise has boldly set sail, beginning its trek from Miami to Cozumel to Great Stirrup Cay and Nassau in the Bahamas to Risa and… beyond. The fun started in the port in Miami, as 2,300-plus fans – many dressed in full uniform -- boarded the Norwegian Pearl midday and explored the ship.

Among the highlights of Day One:

The Captain’s Club featured an incoming transmission from Starfleet welcoming fans.

All around the ship, fans are discovering Trek-themed Easter eggs, including bottles of Chateau Picard. The vintage? 2267. A very good year.

And how about all the Janeway items peppered around the Nebula Café. Coffee, anyone?

William Shatner, the man himself, Star Trek’s iconic Captain Kirk, greeted fans with a rollicking introduction as the ship officially set sail. Shatner joked that the Norwegian Pearl is smaller than the Enterprise, but shared his belief that for the next week, the Pearl would serve as the Enterprise in everyone’s imaginations. “Let’s pretend it’s the Enterprise,” Shatner implored,” and we’re going where no one has gone before.”

Cruise host Dane Butcher then introduced several of the other Trek guests to the fans aboard:

Chase Masterson told the crowd, “Yes, every ship needs a captain, but I think every ship needs a Dabo girl, too.”

Ethan Phillips revealed that he’d be performing a comedy show twice during the cruise. “It may get a little blue,” he teased, “but not too bad.”

Robert Picardo greeted everyone by saying, “Please state the nature of the nautical emergency,” and then announced that on Tuesday he and his friend, Jordan Bennett, would be performing an original show complete with music and comedy.

John de Lancie, who is set to host a Masquerade Ball, joked, “This is like a convention, but you have to bring your Dramamine. I’m delighted to be here.” De Lancie promised that he’d be reading a poem “with something to offend everyone.”

Denise Crosby shared that she’s been on a couple of previous Trek-themed cruises, but that “this takes the cake.”

Robert O’Reilly welcomed the crowd… in Klingon. We know we heard the words Kirk and Qapla! several times.

Max Grodenchik cracked everyone up by saying there was no way to top O’Reilly’s greeting, but he sure came close with a spot-on “Moooogieeeeeeee” that got everyone cheering.

Check out the flag raised high in the air above the Pearl, er, Enterprise…

Right after the launch event, Phillips and de Lancie good-naturedly took selfies with fans.

Over in the Stardust Theater, William Shatner introduced Terry Farrell and Marina Sirtis, who then sat side by side and performed Love Letters. The moving show, written by A.R. Gurney in 1998, follows two characters as they read aloud excerpts from a lifetime of postal communications between them. Farrell and Sirtis actually performed the show twice during the evening.

Quark, bless his Ferengi heart, set up Leeta with her very own place, Leeta's Bliss Ultra Lounge, and the headliner tonight was Chase Masterson, performing Leeta Live. Leeta's is an Asian-inspired lounge and, appropriately, Max Grodenchik introduced Masterson, who took the stage to sing some of her favorite songs and several stories, including the famous story about meeting Avery Brooks and him remembering her as "Cathy" from a Nordic Trac commercial.

Joe Piscopo, James Darren and Robert O’Reilly joined host Dane Butcher in 13 Forward for Comic Capers, a Q&A session with the trio. It was the first time they had ever been on stage together. They shared a few Trek stories, but primarily told many of their favorite tales from across their long careers. All three paid tribute to Frank Sinatra. Darren and Piscopo recounted intimate stories of dealing with the legendary crooner, whether it was hearing his grudging praise of Piscopo's impersonation of the singer, or Darren's many encounters with him.

Talking about live performances, Darren said, "Once you perform in front of a live audience, your own home (life) is a letdown." Unlike the fleeting nature of live performance, Piscopo noted that "The great thing about Star Trek is that it's forever!" And O'Reilly revealed his detailed his upcoming show with Max Grodenchik and also on-board surprises during the cruise: "I have a secret plan for Max: I'm going to SING to him!"

Visit StarTrek.com again tomorrow for our recap of Day Two of Star Trek: The Cruise.