It was still dark when I got up, so I grabbed a sweatshirt and my camera and headed over to the beach.
It was too cold to breakfast at Mambo's, so we headed over to The Breakfast Spot for an all-you-can-eat breakfast buffet. This is a popular spot with local senior citizens as well as hotel guests, and we had an unpleasant encounter with one of the locals -- she wanted to join her two friends, who were seated at a table for two, so she took the Pirate King's chair, just as he was about to sit down. Without asking, of course. So rude!
We collected our luggage and checked out of the hotel. Our shuttle picked us up around 10:45, as requested. the bus stopped at several hotels, which took longer than expected because of the road race being conducted that morning.
Musical Cue: Frankie Ford, "Sea Cruise"
The porters at the pier are definitely not shy about asking for tips for taking your luggage aboard ship. And the whole security process is dehumanizing -- the Pirate King felt we were being treated like cattle, he even began to moo... (yes, he has a warped sense of humor).
Musical Cue: Bobby "Boris" Picket, "The Monster Mash"
We were aboard ship well before 1:00. The cabins were not ready (I would have loved something similar to Carnival's "Faster to the Fun"), so we decided to explore the ship. The Promenade was decorated for Halloween, and we spent much of the cruise taking pictures of the decorations.
A few examples:
A word about drink packages is in order here. We did not purchase any drink packages on our prior cruises. On those cruises we found ourselves buying a cocktail or a glass of wine at dinner, and a lot of Coke and Diet Coke during the day. Consequently the Pirate King chose to buy a soda package when we were planning our cruise. I did not, but when I saw the Freestyle Coke machines on the Promenade, I opted in, and purchased a soda package on the Promenade. (Yes, the package changed our habits. We drank more soda and less alcohol on this cruise than on our prior cruises)
By now it was after 1:00, so we headed towards our cabin -- a portside balcony on deck six. We'd had an ocean view on the Valor and a balcony on the Breeze. We loved our balcony, so when we booked this cruise we insisted on a balcony. We were not disappointed.
So we took our drink cups up to Windjammer for lunch. Windjammer was very busy, as expected. We were able to find a table fairly easily, though. In fact, we only had difficulty finding a table once, during the breakfast rush. The food in Windjammer is decent, we would have liked more variety but we were never disappointed with our meals.
After lunch we continued to explore the ship. We went up to the pool deck and watched a guy on a surfboard play in the Flowrider. The Pirate King wanted to check out the rock climbing wall, he planned to use it during the cruise -- too bad the weather didn't cooperate.
Muster drill time. Our frame of reference is Carnival -- on the Valor 6 years ago, we had to bring our life jackets to our muster station. On the Breeze 3 years ago we reported to one of the dining rooms for safety instructions. On this ship, we reported to our muster station, but didn't need to bring life jackets. I think this is the best solution, I want to know where to go in an actual emergency.
Musical Cue: Styx, "Come Sail Away"
We headed up to the sun deck for sail away. Very windy up there,
Back to the cabin, and we relaxed on the balcony until it was time for dinner. We'd chosen My Time Dining for the flexibility, and we were very satisfied with the system. Never had to wait for a table. He ordered a steak, I had a pork chop. Both were well prepared. I loved the bread at dinner, especially the cheese rolls. Desserts were a bit blah.
Musical Cue: "Gonna Fly (theme from Rocky)
The nightly entertainment is where Royal Caribbean truly shines. I love a live orchestra! Our first night's entertainment was comedian John Knight. Loved his show.
Musical Cue: Crosby, Stills and Nash, "Southern Cross"
Our cruise tradition is to do some stargazing every night. Nothing makes you feel so small, and yet so part of everything, as stargazing on the vastness of the ocean.
We headed up to the sun deck, but it was cloudy, overcast. No stars.
But then later, from our balcony, we not only saw stars...but a meteor.
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