ONE if by Land, TWO if by Sea - A Combo Summer Trip Report

[HouCuseChickie]

After dropping off my towels on 15, I headed up to the Windjammer for some lunch. It was just me because none of my immediate family was responding to my messages. I have no idea where they went while I was dropping off towels and they weren't at the buffet, so I figured they'd gone back to the room to shower. My phone was full of messages from my parents and brother.

My parents had an excursion in St. John and my brother's family was just going to walk around the port area, but they all left much later than our early bird excursion and were chit chatting while we were away. Apparently, I missed a story about my nephew from the previous day, during their excursion on St. Kitts. Apparently, they were walking on the beach...turned around...and my nephew was gone. The beach had to go into lockdown and it was a good 20 minutes before he was found. I guess he took off his sandals, the sand was hot, and he walked over into a shaded little spot to cool his feet.

The ship was pretty empty because so many people were off in the port. It was now close to 12:30, we had been out and about since just before 7am, had a pretty active excursion, and I was just ready to relax. So, I grabbed some food and sat at my window table all by my lonesome with a nice view of the port.



I had moved on to dessert by the time my family showed up. They had all gone back to change and since I was the only one with a phone when coming on the ship, everyone was kind of confused. Although, I still don't understand why they didn't text as soon as they got back to the rooms.



That pear thing on the dessert plate was odd and yet tasty. I'm not sure pear and chocolate are my favorite combo...but I do like pear.

The kids went off on their way after the meal, but K wanted to meet up with me later on because she wanted a souvenir. She wound up messaging me for some time, but I told her I wanted to relax and enjoy sail away. So some time after that. David and I then went outside for a bit to enjoy a couple of drinks.



It was tempting to jump in the pool. That's the quietest I'd seen it all trip, but I was done with swimming for the day. Can you tell from the look on my face?



We opted to move to the Solarium area. We figured the pool area would probably fill up as people got back on board and the Solarium should be a nice spot for sail away.

 

[HouCuseChickie]

Loving this so much! The red trees look like Royal Poinciana - lots of them here is SW Florida. They are beautiful and I think you ended up with some great excursions!!

That's EXACTLY what it is! Not that I had looked it up before now, but apparently the blooms are the official national flower of St. Kitts and Nevis. It probably didn't click with me, because I'm reading that the locals to the island call it the "Shack Shack Tree." Our guide may have even said this, but I couldn't hear everything and he covered a lot! Thanks! I think we made some good excursion choices. I would have been happy with double snorkeling trips, but it was the kids' first time outside of the country, so at least this helped them feel like they saw and learned a bit more about something not tied to home.

 

[HouCuseChickie]

While David and I were relaxing, he shared an interesting nugget of info he picked up from the captain earlier today. While we never got into any vehicles, David had noticed that they were driving on the left side of the road. Considering St. Thomas is USVI, we would have expected people to drive on the right. Prior to becoming a US Territory, the island had Danish, German and British colonization roots. Donkeys were apparently the lead means of transportation before cars were introduced to the island. The donkeys were conditioned to go on the left side of the road, so when cars were introduced, they had to follow the same routes as the animals still in the transportation mix to avoid hitting them. While donkeys were phased out as transportation, the driving on the left stayed. You learn something new every day!

Kendall sent me another sharp message about shopping and I told her it would have to wait until sail away. She got an attitude and demanded to know when that would be, since it was later than the time I noted and we were still in port. Apparently, there was a medical emergency delaying our departure. Nothing we could do, so I told her to wait and that I'd be in touch as soon as we were ready to meet up with her. We finally did start to sail away...








The Solarium was a really nice spot to catch sail away. Those view deck wings coming off on each side give a pretty spectacular view, including the one where the flooring is some kind of plexiglass over the water.

I looked at my phone, hadn't heard from Kendall, so I sent her another message and noted that we'd be heading back to the room and could meet up whenever she was ready. So, we went back to our floor and caught some of sunset from our windows.




It was about this time when I noticed that my messages to K and Sam probably hadn't gone through. In fact, nothing requiring WiFi was working. I was tempted to go to the shop to see if I could find the girls. I mean, the whole reason I spent all of this money on an internet package was so they could have some freedom while still being able to communicate with us. Then it occurred to me that I was better off staying put. Checking the room seemed like an obvious place for them to come looking for us, so I just waited and waited for the anger.

Needless to say, she was not happy when she came to the room. She accepted my explanation, but then went off on a rant about the internet. I don't blame her...with what these cruise lines charge, it should always work. We'd find out right before dinner that it was out for the entire ship. I can't remember if that was noted in my post cruise message to RCCL or not.

 

[HouCuseChickie]

While we had lost our way to chat with the group, we assumed we were all still on for dinner. So, we headed to MDR at our regularly scheduled time. We also had a show booked for the evening (again...same thing my parents booked, and without any coordination between us), so hopefully things would go more smoothly this evening.

The VOOM Internet desk was located directly in front of the MDR, so I popped by first just to check. Yup...down for the entire ship. Up until this point, the onboard service was very good. Not that we did a lot of streaming, but it was fast enough for us to watch shows and definitely fast enough for me to do picture and video uploads for backup. So, while I was frustrated, I know other ships and cruise lines are less dependable for similar pricing. Oh well...we met up with everyone in the waiting area and then headed in to our assigned table once the doors were opened. These two even hammed it up for the camera...



And then this one stole my phone and took one of her ridiculous selfies. Crazy kid!



She was supposed to let me take a legitimate picture of her eyes. We're not sure if it was from the salt water or the chemicals used to clean the masks, but her eyes were really swollen and red. I gave her some allergy meds in case it was tied to something allergic, but we'd have to keep an eye on it. No pun intended.

For dinner, I started with a salad and some kind of smoked salmon...can't remember if it was labeled as Gravlox or Scottish.



Sam got some tortellini that looked really good. It wasn't what I was in the mood for, but she let me have a taste. I should have had that!



My mom and David had this...I can't remember if it was a true steak or a cut of prime rib. I think it's prime rib. I remember there being some great debate over to get gravy or not to get gravy. I was more curious that the potato served with it looked like large tater tots. Supposedly tasted like them too!



I, for whatever reason, ordered the fish and chips. I ate the chips, but after a couple of bites, I decided the fish was just too greasy. I didn't want to order another entree, so just figured I'd grab some late night pizza if I was hungry after the show.



It was now dessert time. Meringue seemed to be a theme for the night. Several people at the table ordered this brownie mousse thing with the toasted meringue on top. While brownie amounts varied in each cup, they said it was really good.



My mom always raves about getting pavlovas on the ships, so she and I both went for pavlova tonight.



It was good, but I was surprised that I found myself wanting the pastry cream and berries over the berry meringue. It had a decent texture and snap, with very little chewiness, but it was just too much sugar.

Not wanting to be late to our show, we wrapped things up as soon as we were done and made our way out of the MDR. My nephew was again sad that they couldn't join us for the show, but I told him he probably wouldn't have like it...which wasn't a lie.

 

[HouCuseChickie]

We hoofed it across the ship and went down a floor to get into the main seating area for our show. They said it wasn't expected to be a full house, so they weren't even bothering checking reservations. While we had plenty of seating options when we arrived, it really did fill up. That being said, nobody could agree on where to sit, so we split into three different groups. I was with Kendall just to the right of front/center, my parents were front center, and David and Sam were farther back on the left. At least they had some fun preshow trivia related to the show. And tonight's entertainment is...





We were allowed to record during the show, so I got a couple of the numbers...including the one nod to Disney.



I also had to get the finale piece.



While I love this song and I get why they include it in the show, it didn't do it for me. While Pavarotti's iconic performance of this during the 1994 Three Tenors concert still gives me chills, and I know none of them are Pavarotti, I have heard other very talented tenors sing this and do it some serious justice. The guys in this show are very talented and I'm sure it seems like a must given their group's name, but the classical singer in me left needing to listen to some other recordings to sort of complete the piece in my mind...like a chord progression needing resolution.

On a funny note, they did a piece during the show where they asked everyone to turn on their phone lights (instead of lighters like an old school concert). I could see my mom and I'm not sure if she didn't know how to do it or didn't know what they meant, but she was waving her phone with the screen on. Kendall and I wanted so badly to jump over to them and show her how, but no good way to do so. We at least got a good laugh afterwards.

Oh, and while I'm not always a little joiner (although, I am often very social), I did choose to raise my hand when the lead tenor asked if there were any first time cruisers in the crowd. Maybe it's because I was fairly close to the stage, but I got to be the example for his joke. It was something silly about being able to get just as drunk on the ship. The ham in me was just thinking "I'M PART OF THE SHOW!!!!!!!"

As far as the show goes, my parents and I enjoyed it, Kendall loved it, and Sam and David were hating us for making them go along. David was bothered because he felt it started strong and immediately went cliche. They had done a Moody Blues song in another language and I guess it evoked the same wow factor as he had the first time he heard 2CELLOS perform. Whatever...we got to see a show.

Now I have been saying all trip that things felt rough, even though I now know seasoned cruisers disagreed, but when we went back to our room...we saw this.



At first, I thought it was something festive, because I know I hadn't seen the hallways illuminated like this before. After the cruise, someone posted about it in one of my groups and she was informed that it means that the ship is listing enough that the systems signal these lights. OK...so that's kind of terrifying. The green makes me wonder if it was for starboard side, since on external lights, green is usually for starboard. BUT the lights were illuminated on the port side of the hallway...so who knows. Port is usually red and I have to say, I'd probably be alarmed if I saw red lights illuminating the halls. Oh yea…speaking of rough seas…
1. My parents said their boat ride to and from St. John was also really rough.
2. Several people in my groups who were on later snorkeling trips had their trips modified due to the dangerous water conditions. They were livid at the time because their excursions were cut short and they didn’t know why, but I’d read they were refunded at least some. Maybe all? Still, just makes me think even more how lucky we were to get out of those conditions with just some lost shoes.

No pics, but I know we went downstairs afterwards for some pizza at Sorrento's. It stuck out in my mind because I number of the bars on the Promenade were pretty loud that night and security kicked someone out of Sorrento's for improper attire. I can't remember if he was barefoot or in sandals, but he was definitely shirtless and a bit rowdy. More in the fun party way, but they decided he needed to leave.

After that, it was back up to the rooms for the night. I sat there playing on my phone for a while because our next day was "at sea," so no early wake up calls. I was also debating about snorkel gear for CocoCay. We had so much fun today and Kendall really seemed interested, so it seemed like a good idea...but I took this screenshot to remind myself that CocoCay was likely to be a madhouse. We were one of two ships scheduled to be in port on the 30th and we'd be getting in 3 hours after the first ship. The first ship was also a 3 night cruise out of Miami, and according to my dad...those long weekend cruises tend to be more party cruises. Decisions - decisions!!!

 

[HouCuseChickie]

July 29th-

Back on day 3 (also an 'at sea' day), I remember being happy that I didn't chicken out and book a shorter cruise. Having never cruised before, you always wonder what's the right length to quite literally - test the waters. Like if you hate it, you're not trapped on a ship since you opted for something quick. It was clear on day 3 that a 3 or 4 night cruise would have been took short. I felt like I'd just opened up my suitcase and with all of the chaos to get everything set on day 1, it would have felt like a bit of a wasted effort. However, on day 6, I started to feel like a 7 night cruise was too much. I remember feeling like I wouldn't mind all that much if we skipped CocoCay and went full steam ahead to Port Canaveral. I'm not sure if it's because the upcoming port day was a lot of beach stuff, if I was tired of the ridiculously hard beds, if the tiny shower with the odd controls was making me lose it, if the tiny toilet space was the problem, if the whole cruise eating and drinking process was wearing me down or what...but I was ready for it to be over. I wasn't miserable and I was still very happy to be getting this time with my family, but I was done with ship life. So, I went to my window for a bit and contemplated the open ocean ahead of me.



Although, I did catch SAM spinning while I was looking out there…



I think we were all feeling that way. The ship fatigue even had us putting off the fitness center. So, we did what you do when cruising...get more food. The Windjammer buffet did have some nice variety of items most days along with the staples. I still was getting little to no guidance on K's allergies, so we were still winging it and praying for the best. At least today's breakfast had some good offerings. It was the only time all cruise we saw Eggs Benedict. Like the fried eggs regularly on the buffet, it was kind of hit or miss getting one where the yolk wasn't overcooked, but this one was properly runny.



I was also really craving lox and bagel. I managed to find all of my favorite fixings...but no bagel. Grrr So, I guess this is the low-carb version?



There were so many things available in so many spots, that it was often really easy to miss what all was available. It took me two days to find the doughnuts, and I didn't realize that the big stations for custom stuff often changed.

I will say that Windjammer was often fun. This morning, we had a crew member come in and sing to us about washing our hands for our meal.



There's another crew member that comes in around the 0:40 second mark who was entertaining pretty much the entire trip. Even on day 1, he was having a blast handing out Bahama Mamas. Today, before the singing, he was going around with trays of juice calling "JUUUUUICY juicy juicy juicy...JUUUUUUICY juicy juicy juicy! Who wants some juice!?!!? Come take the juice!" I think he was also one of the ones that liked to play the dolphin joke. Out of nowhere, you'd hear a crew member yell "Dolphins!!!!" There would then be a long pause, for everyone to stop and look. Then he'd loudly say "swim in the ocean!"

After breakfast, we walked around for a while. While there were art auctions on the ship (which I've heard is a thing on most cruises), there was just a lot of neat art on display for the passengers. Each stairwell, each hallway, and most nooks and crannies had something neat to look at. Even the angles and views with the elevator banks give different perspectives on the same pieces.



Sam needed to do some PT and I figured I could use some physical activity, so we went back to the room to change for the fitness center.

 

[HouCuseChickie]

So, Sam and I hit up the fitness center.



I eventually got bored and got into the window for a video. Here you can actually see all of that sargassum (the orange stuff in the water) I was talking about.



Now, I swear that we were in the fitness center for a while and then walked around a bit, but this is going to look like we literally just turned around and went back to the Windjammer for lunch. And I promise you...I swear...I ate more than desserts! Upon arrival, we saw this incredible MASSIVE apple pie. The guy serving himself offered to step out of the way, but I told him I'd like to leave him in there for perspective.



I would eventually go back up for pie...and other desserts. I was just tired of making food choices. Each day, they had different themes and most days, there were also Indian selections. I will say that the Indian food, if you like it, was really good. I love Indian food, and the tikka masala I sampled off of my brother's plate one day was ridiculously good. I just wasn't up for it. I'm pretty sure this was the day where I scoured the cold items area for some sliced meats and cheeses and used the fresh bread selection to make mini sandwiches. My only hang-up was that the cheese tasted strange. Same thing in the MDR. I'm not sure if it's how it's stored or the supplier, but there was always something off about all of the sliced cheeses. Maybe that's why other cheese based dishes tasted strange too. I ended up going up to the hamburger and hot dog bar and making myself a burger, because the cheese just wasn't working for the sandwich attempts I'd made. Oh well, now on to the dessert plate.



The pie was very tasty. Crust could have been a bit flakier (seemed under-baked), but the apples themselves were soooooo good. Today was also the day when it paid off to try the cream puff. Today's flavor was lemon!

After this, the kids went about their day doing Lord knows what while David and I took a seat up top to catch the belly flop contest. We hadn't really gotten into attending any of these ship events and activities, so I thought we'd try this. A few days earlier...while sitting in Central Park, we'd overheard the sexiest man competition. I recall this older woman (very VERY nicely dressed-pushing a walker) loudly telling who I figured to be her daughter that they had to hurry because she needed to see the sexiest man. I nearly spit out my daquiri! So, today we decided to grab an overhead view right near one of the bars. And my drink is ready to go!



David commented that the little pool bar (that I never photographed) was the one that most felt like Isaac from Love Boat should be behind the counter bartending. I don't know, with the kiddie splash area off on the other side, I'm not sure if I agree.



They started setting up the sports pool for the contest.



Then they started clearing the pool.



And now the contestants were lining up as well

While I was waiting, I thought it was kind of neat how the reflections on these windows made for a neat art shot. My art shot would eventually become part of the special judging area.



The crowds really built in around us and the contest started. There was a 200lb minimum and most of the lighter contestants looked like they were college guys. In fact, contestant 2 was disqualified because he grabbed contestant 1 and they flopped into the pool together. This guy ended up placing 3rd. He should have been 2nd, but people were a bit overgenerous early in the judging...especially after the DQ...so a guy with a more average flop came in 2nd. I don't think they got more than a medal, but this guys friends/family were right next to us and there was disappointment.

 

[HouCuseChickie]

And here was the winner...



They let him take a victory flop at the end. LOL

After this, we met up with the kids in the rooms. Sam's eyes were still a bit swollen and I wanted to try eye drops. We got some heavily overpriced Visine from the gift shop, but it stung so much that I could only do one eye. My mom had tried to come by with some specialty drops she had for her eyes, but Sam was in stranger danger mode and didn't even check the peep hole to see who it was. Our room steward kept a really close eye on things and told me we had a visitor, but nobody opened the door. Just nice to have another set of eyes. I was able to go back by my parents' room to get the eye drops and the tape for my bag. I also got to see their spectacular walk in closet. I also would have moved into my room if I had that closet! If I'd known, I probably would have booked one junior suite, brought an air mattress to sleep in the closet...and ultimately play the RoyalUp game to possibly get into something bigger. This ship had a lot of different kinds of suites and we got RoyalUp invites for both rooms (my parents and brother did not). Oh well.

Kendall really wanted her souvenir, so it was back down to the shops. She wound up getting a tshirt. They had started running their end of ship sales on the promenade and there were some super cheap shirts out there, but she didn't like any of them...and to be honest, some were from other ships and itineraries. The vast majority of the shops on the ship were really pricey things, so we headed out to the RC shop on the Boardwalk that had more basic things. We also ran into another Disney fan out there. I can't remember what she saw on us to know we were Disney fans, but we had a nice conversation about WDW favorites.

After this, we hit up one of our favorite bars of the trip. There's nothing quite like having your drinks made by robots! They had touchscreen menus with a crazy number of drink options. You could also build your own. It had plenty of mocktails too, so we could get things for the kids. This place had been mobbed all trip, but it was finally quiet enough to enjoy the experience.





We were in here for quite a while. Even my parents met up with us for a bit. While my parents were just observers, I'd say the four of us tried a total of 16 drinks! Hey, it was fun and there's no judgement when a robot is feeding you drinks! LOL

I'm not sure how it all goes together, but the kids wanted milk shakes, so we all went out to the Boardwalk to hit up Johnny Rockets. They were ridiculously slow and they got my flavor wrong, but we eventually sat down to some milkshakes on the boardwalk.



I also wanted to get a couple more pics of the area and the zipline overhead.



I'm not sure what happened, but after the first day, we didn't see anyone on the zipline. While it's a short ride and I don't like that there's no barrier to better guard incoming people, it was crazy popular.

We headed back in, because it was another formal night (groan) and we needed time to get ready. David had spent the rest of the afternoon drinking scotch at Boot and Bonnet. Let's just say it was going to be interesting trying to get him ready for dinner. At least we got a little bit of a surprise on the way back to the room.



I'd heard about a guy who plays music in elevators, but this was my first time seeing him. In that pic above, you can kind of see the piano in the elevator. He created quite a stir and it sounded like a loud party before the door shut, so it was pretty hard to miss. The next day, I'd see him running with his piano across the promenade getting ready to treat people to another round of "elevator music."

 

[erstwo]

In my work, SAM on a ship at sea is not an acronym for a radar, so every single time you type out SAM, I think ‘what the heck? and then I see your picture and I’m like ‘oh, the radar. Right.’
Love the belly flop contest. My husband is quite a ham and has won a few cruise ship contests in his day. But never a belly flop! His favorite part is always the prizes, even though they are usually simple or cheesy - he loves them.

 

[HouCuseChickie]

In my work, SAM on a ship at sea is not an acronym for a radar, so every single time you type out SAM, I think ‘what the heck? and then I see your picture and I’m like ‘oh, the radar. Right.’
Love the belly flop contest. My husband is quite a ham and has won a few cruise ship contests in his day. But never a belly flop! His favorite part is always the prizes, even though they are usually simple or cheesy - he loves them.

I have no knowledge of these things. I just kept seeing it out there (occasionally spinning) and with a kid named Sam, the "SAM" stood out to me.

I know some people just love being in all of these contests. They had quite a few contestants for this one, but there were quite a few others over the course of the cruise. That's so fun that he had so much fun doing them. Cheesy is a great thing!

 

[HouCuseChickie]

The kids and I came back to the room and found a lovely sunset outside of our windows.



Unfortunately, we also found a guy who probably was enjoying the Glenlivet a bit too much...at least, before MDR dinner on the second formal night of the cruise. He wasn't so bad that he was incapable of going to dinner, but he probably could have used a good nap. When I told him it was another formal night, he kind of threw in the towel. I leveled with him and told him that I too had 0 desire to be dressing up tonight. He claimed he couldn't find his more dressy clothes, but his dress pants that were supposedly missing, were right in front of him. I think Kendall was the only one excited to getting dressy. She wore an old silvery jumpsuit that I let her borrow and some strappy heeled sandals. Sam had this awesome jumpsuit, but she kept telling us how stupid she looked and kept fighting wearing the waist tie. As for me, I was nursing a pretty nasty sunburn from the previous day. In all of the chaos to get in the water and swapping out our normal sunscreen for mineral based reef safe stuff...we forgot to get my back. I was going to wear this outfit with a sequined baby doll top and long jacket, but the kids said it looked dumb and the sequins were torture on the burn. So, it was a striped sundress, the same long jacket, and my white patent leather chain loafers. Super dressy...no, but it would have to do.

When we got to the MDR, I think everyone looked tired. That being said, it was lobster night, so at least some people at our table were excited and considered this the 'must do' meal of the cruise. I started out with an onion tartlet...which was basically cold quiche.



For my entree, I got eggplant parmesan. I normally love eggplant parm, but it was more like eggplant tomato soup with some melted parmesan cheese on top.



I actually ordered a second entree because this was just not cutting it. My dad got a laugh out of this because while it didn't resemble our mental definition of eggplant parm, by day 6, I should also know that things aren't what we'd normally expect. No pictures of it, but my second entree was a filet. It was different than one I had earlier in the trip. For starters, it was cooked the way I like it and was still hot...although, that could be because I ordered it mid meal and it wasn't waiting on anyone else's food. It was actually a really nice piece of meat and left me so much happier.

As for the lobster, this is round 1 of my mom's.



My mom ordered two rounds of lobster and was happy, but I saw others in my group complaining.
1. Apparently, these portions were half the size of the norm...including offerings on recent sailings of other RCCL ships.
2. They wouldn't allow ordering of double portions at the same time. People said this used to not be an issue, but I guess it is now and they question the waiters if they request what they feel is too much lobster at once. So, my mom had to be a certain % of the way done with her first to request a second.
I am not a lobster fan, so I didn't really care. Sam ordered lobster, but didn't care for it since it wasn't like the Thermador variety, so she ordered another entree as well.

For dessert, I had the baked Alaska.



It wasn't bad, but it's always a dish that gets me all excited and leaves me thinking I should have ordered differently. They also brought some kind of lava cake, which was good, but I only had a taste since I was feeling full.



Dinner went surprisingly fast this evening. We had reservations for the water show and we were all anxious to change into something more comfortable. So, I was pretty thankful to have the extra time. David was fed a steady diet of Glenlivet during the meal, so he was just ready to go to bed. Before leaving for the show and leaving David to sleep, we admired our new towel animals!



We had reservations for this one, so we had no problems getting into the AquaTheater. Unfortunately, this one also seemed to have a lot of seating set aside for Key guests (extra paid option) and pinnacle level guests (loyalty perks). We picked center seats, but we were pretty close to the back.



There would also be a guy's head soon blocking some of this view. It happens. My parents were also planning on seeing this show, but were going standby. They got in, but were seated along the side.

First...some pics and videos...







As for the show...
1. The performers are obviously very talented. Any opinions I have of the show are just the show and are by no means a knock on their talents and abilities.
2. I can't be fully objective here, because it looks like we didn't get the full show. The schedule said it was supposed to be a 50-55 minute show, but it came in just under 30. I found a few full show videos on YouTube and while some were like the version we saw, some are right around the 50 minute mark. I'm not sure if it was cut short because of sea conditions, injuries/illness, or us seeing it later in the cruise...but it was very clear that we were not seeing the full show. Yes, it's that Cirque du Soleil style theater where things are more artfully done, but this was so disjointed. My parents said they've seen this one before and were certain the show was much longer and the artful story actually makes some sense when you see the show in its entirety.
3. The first three rows of the theater are labelled as the splash zone. That makes sense with all of the diving, jumping, synchronized swimming, and the bizarre hitting of water at the end. What they don't tell you is that the girl flying over your head will also drip all over you. I though it was kind of funny, but the girls were really grossed out. In hindsight, I can't totally fault them. While it's a cruise and I'm sure we got dripped on here or there by various people from the pool, having someone dangling overhead and just dripping all over you is a bit of a turnoff.

I'll add a few more show pics in the next post. And it's hard to tell, but they were slapping at the water. I know some is for the effect of it, but it really looked like they were mad at the water...and I have no idea why! LOL

 

[HouCuseChickie]

On our way out, we realized that the windows in front of us were Dazzles (bottom) and Wonderland (top). Dazzles was more of a theater/club sort of setting. I know we'd walked by one night and heard some kind of R&B/Jazz show going on. I think they also had some kind of Michael Jackson tribute thing in there. Wonderland is the Alice in Wonderland inspired bar and restaurant. I'll have more on that coming up.



Our nights at sea were usually these ultra clear nights with amazing views of the stars. There were actually a few nights where I got onto the floor under the cabin window to stargaze. I had really wanted to get out on deck, but never got around to doing it until tonight. It was tempting to go back and grab the big camera, but I had a feeling I'd just hop into bed if I did that. So, I went up to the Solarium with Kendall and my phone to see what we could see. Yes, I know the Solarium is 16+, but the kid was literally 2.5 weeks from her 16th bday. We also weren't spending any extended period of time up there.

On one side, we saw a number of meteors. While a couple of weeks still from peak, we were technically in the Perseids, so it didn't shock me. On the other side, we could see the Milky Way. It's definitely not the same as seeing it in the mountains at close to 9,000 feet above sea level, but it was nice. Again...this is my old iPhone, so not exactly amazing...but nice to have some record of it.



While we were up there, we came across a guy who was marveling at how clear the sky was. He'd never seen anything like it. While there was still some light pollution from the ship, the swath of sky overhead is still ridiculously clear compared to being on land in the city or burbs. The guy's poor wife was also sitting up against the edge, away from the Solarium wing we were on. I'm guessing the heights and darkness weren't her thing.

After that, we headed back down to the room and called it a night. In light of how much everyone enjoyed snorkeling in St. Thomas, I rented some gear for CocoCay in the Bahamas. We probably should have some sleep if we were planning on extra time in the water and fighting the crowds with two ships being at the island.

 

[HouCuseChickie]

July 30th-

I hit a point where I was just not able to sleep for long periods of time. I was up on and off all night and when the sun was finally up, I remember celebrating a bit that I only had one more night of this.

I figured we might as well get breakfast, so I tried to rally the troops. I was ready well before everyone else, so I suggested Solarium Bistro and then said they could meet me up there. I knew we had to be getting close to CocoCay, so I wanted to see what all was out there. Aside from scoping out the other RCCL ship, this part of the Bahamas is home to a lot of the cruise line private islands...so just wanted to see what else I could see.

It was another picture perfect morning, and I could see land and another ship.





Waaaaaaaaaay off in the distance, I could also make out something large and dark on the horizon. If CruiseMapper was correct, it was the Disney Dream stopped at Castaway Cay.



While it's hard to tell that's even a ship waaaaaay out there, there's no denying that there was a ship much closer to us. And the closer we got, the more obvious it was that it WAS NOT a Royal Caribbean ship. This was a Norwegian vessel.



It was nearly 9am...where was RCCL's Freedom of the Seas? It was supposed to be there by 8am and would have been just as clearly visible as that Norwegian ship. After refreshing CruiseMapper, I could see that Freedom of the Seas was in Nassau. They were off their schedule and according to some people in my cruise group, flip flopped their route due to a medical issue. On the plus side, that meant we wouldn't be sharing CocoCay and any crowds on the island would be strictly from our near-capacity ship.

I found my family inside waiting on food at Solarium Bistro. David had already picked a table, but I asked him if we could move outside so we could see us coming into port at CocoCay. Today's special pancakes were banana and strawberry...so that was good. I grabbed my usual smoked salmon, but I think I was finally over smoked salmon for this trip...even though I'd found bagels this morning. Kendall's breakfast was extremely frustrating. She once again asked about safe foods and today...pretty much nothing was safe. Not even the breakfast sausage that she'd been eating all trip...because they couldn't determine where it came from. At this point, I told her we were already taking risks with her eating every day and we'd just have to have her go for things that would normally be safe or had been safe for the earlier parts of the trip.

At least we had pretty much a front row seat for our arrival in CocoCay.



And thankfully we didn't have to take a tender like those people on the nearby Norwegian ship at NCL's Great Stirrup Cay.

During breakfast, Kendall also informed me that she wasn't up for snorkeling and David told me that he and Sam were thinking of just staying on the ship. I told him they all should get off for a bit, just to say they've set foot in the Bahamas, but this also left me wondering if I could cancel my second set of snorkel gear. I went down to the excursion desk, but nothing would let me cancel on any of their machines in the bank of tablets. I asked a crew member, and they said to check with guest services. I went to guest services and they said they couldn't help me, but I could ask the Snorkel Shack staff. This wasn't sounding promising.

I headed back to the cabin to finish getting my stuff together. I was already in my favorite bright orange swimsuit and this orange and yellow sun themed sarong I had picked up last summer. If only I hadn't broken my orange dressy flip flops. Ugh. Oh well, I threw on my mismatched Oofos, since they're comfy, as well as the Virgin Islands National Park rash guard my parents bought me and I headed out.

I wound up meeting up with my parents. My brother's family had passes for the water park so we wouldn't be seeing them, but at least I'd have company on the beach. I kind of expected this, but there was quite a crowd packed in that was waiting to get off the ship. Crew kept moving us into different stairwells and hallways. We'd get off the ship...eventually! We actually ended up in one of the first groups released.



My only disappointment was the lack of entertainment. I'd seen videos of CocoCay arrivals and there were usually dancers...some on stilts...greeting people. Now it was EXTREMELY windy, so that could have been part of it. They did at least have a small group of dancers and musicians up closer to the spot where you set foot on the island. Next stop...Chill Island to grab my gear.



As expected, the Snorkel Shack couldn't do a thing to cancel the second set of gear. My parents brought their own sets, so I just got one and then helped my parents scope out some front row lounge chairs with an umbrella.

 

[HouCuseChickie]

So, have I mentioned that I'm not a beach person? LOL





Yes, it's very pretty, but I think Sam summed it up pretty well. Postcard views of gorgeous tropical beaches with pretty blue waters are beautiful, and it's nice getting to see things like this in person. BUT that's where it ends. It doesn't help that I'm not a sit in a lounge chair and relax kind of person. Even at the pool, I want to be in the water.

Speaking of water, it was time to get in. My first time in, I put on all of the gear...fins, vest, snorkel/mask. I've always snorkeled off of a boat, so entering from the beach was a challenge. The PADI dive excursion was just heading out and the dive instructor was giving me some pointers on how to have an easier time getting into the water. I felt like a fool, but he was very helpful and the two ladies next to me trying to get on their floating beach mats helped because I couldn't hear all that he said.

First observation...this water was MUCH colder than St. Thomas. While we were a bit farther north, I'm guessing body of water is the answer. St. Thomas is in the Caribbean Sea, while the Bahamas is in the Atlantic Ocean. Inching in gradually is never the answer, so I just dunked myself underwater to try and acclimate faster. In hindsight, I don't think this was the area I was looking to snorkel as it was way to crowded and didn't have the sunken reef features I'd seen on people's videos. I probably should have tried South Beach, but I also had 0 desire to go traipsing around the island, especially after getting wet, and dealing with wet sand all over my body. So, I made the best of it. There wasn't much in the sea grass, so I had to focus on the rocks of the jetty. You can't really tell in the one video got how rough it was, but this picture kind of shows it.



My first few videos also didn't go as planned. I think this one is from my second time going out there. As much as I prefer wearing fins, it was too much with the rocks. So, I went back in barefoot. Oh yea...I was even more ridiculous getting out with my fins. I sat in the shallows and took them off.



I still never got much of the really good things I saw, but just to give you an example...I saw a parrotfish (different from the two kinds I saw in St. Thomas), a bluehead wrasse, several kinds of striped wrasse, a number of tangs and doctorfish, several kinds of damsels, the usual sergeant majors, and one smaller barracuda (3' give or take) that came too close for comfort and supersonic speed. Yea...this one was darting in and around the surf. I didn't see until it was literally 2-3' from my legs. When I got out of the water, I could see it swimming around.

My dad and mom both went in the water as well and my dad was snorkeling with me for a bit, but it was just so rough around the good fish areas. David and the girls also came to say hi and Kendall decided to give snorkeling a try. Figures...I pay for two...ask for one...and then she decided she wanted to do it. Oh well. Her experiences were similar to ours. They also had lifeguards that had been establishing boundaries all morning. The boundaries were never particularly far out and as the morning passed, those boundaries were moved closer to the shore. It's my understanding that they deemed the conditions too rough and the rip currents too strong to allow people beyond the jetties. We were done anyway. We packed up, turned in the snorkel gear and headed over to Chill Grill for some lunch.

I had heard good things about the food on the island. I just made myself a burger and even that was noticeably better than what's on the ship. Sam got bbq tacos that were really good. They also had some nice juice options. I had contemplated checking out other food, at Chill Grill as well as Snack Shack and and Skipper's Grill, but I was really melting down over the feeling of sand. So, we packed up our stuff and walked back to the tram pickup to get back to the ship...



I was too uncomfortable with all of the sand still on me to make the walk to the ship. So, the tram was a must. My mom was moving slow, but I got the tram driver to wait another 30-40 seconds for her to make it. On our ride back to the ship, the driver confirmed that the other RCCL ship was definitely supposed to be there. He said we got really lucky because it would have turned the place into a total madhouse. He said the dual ships in port is usually on a thing during summer, so to try again in winter months if we want a guarantee to have just one ship. It was a short ride and we were back to the ship in no time...



I had no towels this time. I guess I missed the area to pick up towels before leaving the ship and incorrectly assumed there would be some on the island. At least my towel clips had come in handy for my parents towels. That is probably the only "must have" cruise gear that I bought that came in handy. Oh well, time to head up to the deck with the pools. Now this is how I like to look at the ocean!

 

[HouCuseChickie]

Seeing all of those cabanas in that last picture reminded me...we had contemplated renting one. They were sold out since early winter, but nearly everything had openings within a week or so of sailing and there were more openings that came up while we were on board. Some of those are also beach beds...another more budget friendly consideration. Part of me wondered if it would make being at the beach more tolerable, but spending thousands on a cabana to make something tolerable seemed silly. Even a few hundred on a beach bed seemed like a bad investment, so we just didn't bother.

At least the pools and much of the ship were ghost towns. So, we picked a pool, grabbed some towels and went for a swim (after showering off the rest of the sand). A funny pool reaction observation...just like by brain wasn't ready for fresh water while whitewater rafting, it also wasn't ready for the taste of salt when jumping in the pool. I know they typically use seawater to fill the pools, but with the salinity being so much higher than even a saltwater inground home pool, my brain was initially confused. The water was also really warm...to the point that there was nothing refreshing about being in the pool. So, I got out, grabbed a drink, and took a seat.



I had initially wanted a lounger in the water, but I didn't want to get my towel wet or risk getting things soaked in my bag. So, I just found something partially shaded. It was hard getting around to find something because crew was in the area with things roped off doing paint and grout maintenance. At least the girls had the slides to themselves.



I took a few more pics of the pretty blue water...



I also found these two done with the pool/slides and at the bar getting some kind of tropical something...



Yeah, this felt like another bar for Love Boat Isaac! LOL

David and I went to clean up (well, after returning towels). We figured we might as well get into something comfy and have a few before it was time to get ready for dinner. While we were getting ready, the kids burst into the room with the ultimate duck find of the trip.





This one actually came home with us!

 

[HouCuseChickie]

I had to talk to guest services before meeting David. I had initially put in for an assisted departure, meaning our luggage would have to be outside our doors by 10pm this evening and we'd have to leave during our designated time (which worked out to about 8:40am). David was hoping to get out earlier. We also weren't sure how well my taping job would hold on my bag and figured we'd be better moving it on our own. So, we wanted to change to self assist, which was from 6:45-7:30am. Our steward had already brought all of our tags, but apparently I didn't need to do anything. As they put it, just don't put your bags out and leave on your own before the end of the self assist window.

I met David over in Boot and Bonnet, where he was having a scotch. I was ready for another martini. They had gotten it just right on my previous visit a few days ago, so why not?



Yup- perfect again. I do kind of like this place, even though it feels a bit strange to be in a pub like this on a ship. Oh well, it was right across from Sorrento's...which kept calling our names.



We just took turns grabbing some slices and brought them back into the pub.

Shortly before 5, it occurred to us that we hadn't tried out Wonderland, and it was about to open. It's the only specialty restaurant on the ship that has a bar/lounge. We arrived right at 5 and the mechanical door to the rabbit hole slowly slid open right in front of us.



This place was pretty neat. We even got to meet their artistic version of the Mad Hatter.



This was also one of the spots to get some super neat specialty drinks. David started out with the White Rabbit-Rita



It tasted really good. I wasn't sure on that salt foam at first, but it does replace doing a salt rim in pretty cool fashion. My first drink was worthy of a video.

 

[HouCuseChickie]

The girls actually ended up meeting us up in Wonderland and our phenomenal bartender, Joseph, made them something fun. What? I have no idea, but the girls liked it.



The girls also got some quality time with the Hatter.



I don't think you can hear it in any of my videos, but his balloon dog meows. And it's LOUD!

My next drink was a chocolate martini. Not as exciting, but tasty. Poor Joseph was down on himself for his artistry with this one, but I thought he did a beautiful job.



David's next drink was video worthy. I think it was called a smoke ring.



I had one more drink after this...



He had me playing guessing games on the name. The first thing that came to mind was the opening sunrise scene in the Lion King. Then I started thinking Alice in Wonderland stuff, but I was drawing a blank. I believe he called it a Yellow Brick Road. So, Wizard of Oz inspired.

 

[HouCuseChickie]

Somewhere in all of this, we also started to sail away from CocoCay.





We had such a great time hanging out in Wonderland. Joseph was definitely our favorite bartender of the trip and I made sure to mention him by name when doing my post cruise review with RCCL. He and our steward got glowing reviews. Joseph was just so much fun, his reaction to the meowing dog was hysterical, and when we said we had our hands full with two girls, he shared a family pic of his SEVEN! His wife was so youthful looking, she looked like one of his daughters. All beautiful. He was also kind of sad because he was being moved from Harmony to one of the ships going out of Galveston. It sounded like it wouldn't be happening immediately, but it made me wonder which ship because I don't think any of the ones going out of Galveston in the near future have a Wonderland. Harmony is the only one and it won't be back in Galveston until 2023. Of course, I know he could work at any bar...kind of like Isaac on the Love Boat! Seriously though, we saw a number of crew members doing double and triple duty. I know our assistant waiter in the MDR was greeting and directing in Windjammer several times at breakfast and lunch.

And while I think I sound relatively normal in that video...the drinks at both bars were catching up with me and I was really feeling my liquor. I at least get this feeling and I know it's time to stop. We said our goodbyes to our wonderful bartender and headed back to our cabins. We decided to just relax for a bit and watch some tv. While we did have some channels beyond ship stuff, we gravitated towards ship channels since we could easily stream from our phones or just wait until we got home to watch regular tv. On right now...some Love & Marriage game show they did earlier in the cruise. I guess this is nice if you missed certain shows you wanted to see



After that, we took in some of our last sunset from our rooms.



Rather than focus on colors in the sky, this evening, I was fixated on this boat.



I had to rally myself to get ready for our last dinner in the MDR. I was kind of like David was the night before. I was kind of beat from my drinks and was ready to pretend that I had nothing to wear. I did eventually find some suitable clothing. It would be my most casual evening in the MDR, but it's the last night and I was just over it.

And if it feels like I'm racing through this...I just want to finish up. It's about to get really busy with work and school, so I don't want to stop and resume in November when some of life SHOULD quiet down a little. My kids started school last week, things are already crazy busy at work, we have all kinds of bday stuff going on- including K getting her license, and Sam just got another injury - that's making me go more than just a little bit crazy. Sooooooooooo, just going to finish up the TR ASAP! Almost done

 

[HouCuseChickie]

So, we made our way to the MDR for one last meal of the trip. My SIL wasn't feeling well and stayed in their cabin, but everyone else was there. I did get nervous, because at one point, my nephew complained about being chilled. He wound up being fine, but I was still worried since nobody wants to get sick.

Tonight I ordered, two appetizers, two entrees, two desserts...and wound up with a third dessert.

First up was shrimp ceviche. It was decent and light.



After several nights of David raving about the escargot, I figure I'd give it a try. Not my thing.



Then I had the short rib...



As well as the mushroom risotto.



The risotto was a little gummy and cold, but the flavor was good. The short rib was very good.

Dessert 1 was a lemon tartlet...



Dessert 2 was some kind of chocolate mousse pie.



The unexpected dessert was some birthday cheesecake!



My birthday was a little over a week after the trip and Ks about 2 weeks. It was supposed to be for both of us, but they just brought it for me. Sam got video of the dining room singing happy birthday, but she STILL has yet to share anything with me. I did, however, get video of the end of cruise celebration in the MDR. They apparently used to do this while parade, but it was stopped due to covid.



Speaking of things not happening because of covid…my brother said they used to do cake night on the Windjammer this night. He said they used to have trays and trays of cake , but for whatever reason, that was also identified as a spread risk. Hmmm…

After dinner, we said our good nights and made plans for the morning. They were all doing the full assist process because of my brother’s family’s needs, so their bags were already in the hall.

On our way back to our room , I noticed lots of luggage waiting for pickup and quite a few bags with bad damage. Another hard case was completely dented and caved in up in the corners.

Now time to pack. These would be the only things we’d be leaving behind.



Our travel agent had champagne and fruit plates delivered to our rooms at the start of the cruise. We ate the fruit, but never drank the bubbly. It’s just not our thing.

Speaking of food and drink, we’d debated about breakfast the next morning. While the cafe was always open, the Windjammer was opening early for the last day…



We just didn’t want to run across the ship at the crack of dawn to fill up and then run back to lug out our bags. We had contemplated asking the MDR for some dinner extras, because they were always happy to do that, but we decided against it for whatever reason.

Now time to try and sleep on the rock hard bed one last time.

 

[HouCuseChickie]

July 31st-

As you probably guessed…I did not sleep well. Part of me was thinking I’d just stay up and watch our arrival in Port Canaveral. I mean, it was already after 4am and we were slated to arrive at 6am. I must have fallen asleep just before 4:30, because I woke up shortly before my alarm to this…



I also noticed that my lightning cable had stopped working. I guess at least I had a spare waiting for me in the car.

I took a few more sunrise pics, even though I was fighting the moisture on the windows.



After that, it was some final packing and out the door. We did get a chance to say goodbye to our wonderful steward. I wasn’t sure if we’d see him, so I made sure to give him a little extra on top of the auto amount we prepaid. We said our farewells to him, thanked him for his exceptional job and headed to the elevators. We’d all be meeting up at the big head. I figured it’s where we came in, so it’s probably where we’d be exiting as well.



Part of me was a little sad it was over and I definitely wished we had some more family time. The other half of me could see daylight and was ready to get off this ship…even if it meant a really long drive home.

Getting off the ship and out to the car was ridiculously quick, easy and uneventful. Getting behind the wheel, out of the garage and seeing spots like Fishlips and the Country Inn really threw me…like how was that a week ago? Oh well…all good things must come to an end.

In the early stages of the drive, we noted that we made the right choice by canceling the Universal part of our trip. I don’t think land/sea with the Orlando parks would be right for us. It was also good because of this…



Around Tallahassee, I started feeling sick. I could feel that I had some kind of fever and my nose had started to run. I had driven all the way until this point, but I was going to need David to take over. We hit horrible traffic in Alabama which dragged this out even longer. I had taken some meds and was feeling well enough to take over for a bit. Traffic was awful until almost the Mississippi/Louisiana border…so I drove a while, but didn’t go far. Still, it was the rest he needed to drive the rest of the way home.

In the coming days, David and my parents would test positive too. Thankfully everyone else stayed negative and those of us that did get sick had really mild symptoms. My temp never went above 100.8 and I felt perfectly normal after 3 days. As I’ve told people, whatever gunk I had in December, before surgery, was so much worse.

……………..Thanks for following along and stay tuned for some closing thoughts.