Skigoofy

The hotel has a happy hour Monday-Thursday. Tonight was bbq sliders, fries, macaroni and cheese, potato salad, coleslaw, salad, and minestrone soup. They had lemonade, tea, water, and some sort of house white and red wines in carafes and beer. No labels on the beer or wine. We have a couple bottles in the room so we didn't partake of the mystery libations. We over ate Mexican food at lunch, so this was a good snacky type meal for us. Kids said the mac was just "eh", but they ate it. The sliders were pretty good, and MIL said the potato salad was delicious - she had seconds. Since I'm not any good at Windjammer recon, here's a very poor substitution. 
 

Ok. No photos of the hotel this time. We got in around 11:30pm and 5 people's stuff magically exploded all over the room as we tried to get ready for bed. If you are really wanting to see the hotel room, go to page 2 of my Liberty blog (link in first post of this thread). We're supposed to be in an accessible room, but I can't tell any difference from the regular room. 
This morning was breakfast at the hotel - free and just ok.  Then a nap because were all up too early. Lunch at Chuey's, then we dropped the boys off at the hotel for nap #2 while DD, MIL, and I are getting mani / pedis. It feels like vacation has started! 

We made it, and Mimi wasn't lit when we picked her up at the airport! Pictures of the hotel to come.

Now that we've reached the port intensive section of this cruise I may slow down posting a bit since I'm focusing on the cruise.  Back soon.

While in the solarium I was surprised to see it empty at 8:15am on a sea day.  I think the time change last night escaped some people.  Regardless, I took advantage of the opportunity to grab some pictures. 
The Quantum class solarium is the nicest in the fleet and with the indoor family pool area it truly can be adult only.  Very similar to Anthem but different in subtle ways.

Day 9 - Sea Day
We had breakfast at Windjammer this morning. I just wanted something quick, without all the fuss of a table service meal. 

We did the cupcake decorating class at the Patisserie at 1130AM. The designs were rose and strawberries. We used piping bags and fondant. The yellow icing was lemon flavored, which my son does not like. So, he pretty much stuck with the pink icing. Here are our creations:

 




Even though I had been forewarned about the little laundry tags in the clothing, it still is surprising to find these itchy little tags cemented into the necklines of my shirts. I have started to take up a collection, which I have carefully hidden from our room steward. ?

 
Lunch today was at Jamie’s Italian at 12:30PM. We started with a meat plank.

Followed by appetizers: Garlicky Prawns, Crispy Squid, and Black Truffle Arancini.



Followed by entrees: Baked Lasagne and Prawn Linguine.


No dessert today with lunch. Just couldn’t imagine fitting it all in. Plus, we had a reservation at iFly at 230PM. We liked it so much, we did it twice! After iFly, we found ourselves back at the rock wall for our son.

Tonight’s dinner will be at CK. No specific plans after dinner tonight, so we’ll see where we end up. 

Thanks for the well wishes! 
DH is leaving work now, and we should be on the road in about an hour. Right now, we should be clear until we get to the outskirts of Houston and even then it just looks like light rain. MIL's flights are both on time, and she's probably going to beat us there by about an hour... unless we hit traffic...in which case she can start her vacation early at the airport bar. ??

Day 3 - Sea Day
Up early before sunrise hoping for a beautiful sunrise at sea.  Maybe tomorrow.

It's now after the official sunrise time so the sun did rise.  Somewhere.

Day 2 - Sea Day
The rain and dreary conditions continue.  

My neighbors down the hall have mastered communication on board without using electronic devices.

Super Bowl replay this morning at 11am.  It is being played on channel 21 on board as well as at the pub and poolside.  
I used the time to go through and post pictures leading up to sail away.  
Typical sea day experiences.  Ovation is good for days like this with large areas like the indoor family pool and Two70° to disperse the crowds.
Something new (to me at least):

Our progress:

Thanks for reminding me @CruisingKitty! Apologies for the delay; things have been wild since coming back! (Returning to work, adopting kittens, legal paperwork, etc ?)
Everything went off fabulously and without a hitch! Our coordinator met with us the night before, had us double check all the documents for spelling, and went over our package choices with us to make sure everything was still good. They even took my tiny selfie stick/Bluetooth tripod to get it set up the night before so there was no surprise with it the next day ? 
It was just the two of us so very low key, but that was exactly how we wanted it. It was perfect for us!
Our photographer was also fantastic and captured every big moment! I'm so thankful to the entire Royal Caribbean team for making our day so incredibly special. ❤️ 
And everyone on the ship was so kind, stopping us to congratulate us even days after because they recognized us ? 
Best wishes for the upcoming wedding as well!!!

I wonder if the MDR is going to be closed on Sunday? ?

We had a rainy sail away and evening as we pulled away from the Australian coast.
Night one ended early for me on account of being up early to catch the ship's arrival into Sydney.  #boring
We change times tonight, one hour forward.  We'll do the same tomorrow night so we'll be on New Zealand time when we arrive.  
Sunday night spoiler alert - Chiefs win the Super Bowl.  I'll have to watch the replay in the morning, I'm going to bed.

Housekeeping items
No sail away party on deck departing Sydney.  The Sydney City Council and the Sydney Residents Council voted to restrict music on outer decks of cruise ships.  Our CD mentioned that we have a few ports like that on this itinerary.
Wow bands have the muster station printed on them.  They were available at guest services upon arrival for $5 unless in a Junior Suite or better.
Diamond Plus are still allowed in the Concierge Lounge when the numbers permit it.  No directive from Miami to restrict Diamond Plus as perceived on some ships in other regions.  Our lounge concierge has had to restrict Diamond Plus before when there are high numbers of Diamond Plus present.  Eighty or ninety Diamond Plus is a rough number that can be accommodated.  On transpacific or certain other itineraries when there are nearly 500 Diamond Plus there simply isn't enough space or servers to keep it an enjoyable experience for all guests who have access to the Concierge Lounge.  
The cruise terminal has no waiting area inside so appointment times are strictly enforced.  Once the ship is ready to board they’ll open the doors and start looking for early appointment times.  Once you are allowed in you flow between the required stops at check in, Australian immigration for exit purposes and finally security.  The use of boarding times keeps the flow moving with some but minimal queueing at each stop.
When using Voom internet, the O3b satellite platform makes it appear that I am located in Mount Airy, MD U.S.A. which is one of many earth stations for SES/O3b.   

Muster drill at 4:15pm followed soon after by sail away.

And that's when the rain started.  Light at first but heavy enough to head inside.  Given the bushfires in the region I'm glad to see some rain even if it meant not taking any pictures.   Just wish it rained more and heavier.

Pretty sail away through the windows given the circumstances.  I imagine it would be very pretty under sunny skies.  Guess I'll have to book another Sydney departure to find out.

Our senior most officers this cruise:

For anyone planning their own excursions in New Zealand this note in my cabin might help you plan timing for any self-booked tours with local operators.

One more warning about the need for an NZeTA for out of region guests.

Cabin tour
Standard balcony cabin, port side, deck 9.
I've come to really appreciate the Quantum class balcony cabins.  Plenty of storage and great bathroom layout.  These are probably my favorite standard balcony cabins across the fleet.


The TV hinges outward for viewing from the sofa.

Desk power includes two 110v North American outlets, 2 USB outlets and a 220v Euro power port.

Bedside there is one 110v North American outlet.

It's not every day your balcony view has the Sydney Opera House perfectly framed.

I waited until we were at sea to take some balcony photos.


The view down:

This cabin is aft of the midship elevators on the indented sections.  The view forward:

The view aft.

Not bad at all.

The Sydney Opera House from the ship.

Did I mention how Circular Quay is a busy ferry port?

The Sydney Harbour Bridge from the ship.  I see bridge climbers...


Cabins were posted to be ready at 1:30pm but at 1:10pm the announcement was made that cabins were ready. 

Tomorrow I’ll write about everyone’s favorite, the food.  And although I’ll write more about the crew later, this picture i think sums up the attitude of the Oasis crew. (With the exception of the pool bartenders. ?)
When we returned to the ship in Falmouth this was the crew from the photo department.  It wasn’t crowded at the time so they were chatting among themselves. As we walked by I turned my camera toward them and within a second they reacted like this.  Not a word was spoken.  This was a fun, classic moment.

So to begin to wrap this up I thought I would just summarize my thoughts on certain areas.  My plan is to break it down to:
Embarkation/Debarkation
The Suite
The Genie/Star Class
Food
Entertainment
Room Attendants/Crew
Ports
If there is anything else you would like my opinion on just ask.  I’ll not finish them all tonight.  I went back to work early this morning and now feel like I fell on the FlowRider and it tossed me to the helipad. But I’ll begin.
Embarkation/Debarkation:  Very smooth both ways.  Straight to the Star Class Banner on day one.  We were in the Suite waiting area in minutes.  You really do feel pretty special when they whisk you to your private elevator to take you to the lounge. The new terminal is beautiful.  The staff was professional and welcoming.  Plenty of snacks and drinks available. Allan took us and one other family on right after Super Mario boarded - probably cant beat that.  I found it amusing that one of your first sights upon stepping into the promenade is the Next Cruise sign?  The whole process was very quick. I don’t know the couple in the cool shirts but I asked if I could include them in the blog.
Debarkation:  A difference between last year on the Harmony with luggage.  Last year it was taken the night before.  This year they came to get it at 7:30 am.  Allan met us in the suite at around 930 with the magic elevator key and about 5 minutes later we were outside calling an Uber.  Just this perk alone is a major draw of Star Class.  
It was probably the easiest on and off of any of the last three.

Hi all!
My first live blog! This upcoming cruise is for 7 nights from Sydney, Australia visiting Noumea, New Caledonia & Mystery Island, Vanuatu. My first time on a Quantum-Class ship and will be staying in a "Family" Junior Suite on Deck 10. Itinerary is as below, we are docked in Noumea and will tender at Mystery Island. More details to come. 
Accommodation:
Junior Suite (Family) on Deck 10 - Sea Class
Activities/Entertainment:
Rip Cord by I-fly (Day 2) 
Northstar (Day 3)
Pixels (Day 6) 

Excursions: 
Noumea: Noumea city tour + Wine & Cheese Tasting (RCI excursion)
Dining:  
Solarium Bistro (Day 1)
Wonderland (Day 3)
Jamies Italian (Day 5) 
Coastal Kitchen (hopefully!!) 

Forgot to mention that last night as we were nailing down the rebooking of MIL's flights, DH said to me, "how much should I transfer for a Next Cruise deposit?" I didn't even have to plant the seed this time! 

Here today. 2nd day they are open. It's amazing.
 
I'll post more pics here later.

Day 7 Continues Again 
After Flowrider at 4PM, we headed back to the suite to get ready for dinner at Chops.
Crispy Goat Cheese Salad

Lobster Bisque ?

Jonah Crab Claws ?

Broiled Maine Lobster ? 

Red Velvet Cake

Key Lime MerIngue Pie 

We peeked at Two70 before heading back to the suite for Super Bowl. Two70 was just about as crowded as during the muster drill. No thanks. Cafe Two70 had burgers, hot dogs, potato wedges, and corn dogs.

Day 7 - St Lucia
We did a wandering breakfast this morning. Started with hazelnut lattes and pain au chocolat from the Patisserie, then moved onto bacon and warm breakfast sandwiches from Cafe Two70. 



Ultimately decided not to leave the ship today. Our view of the port shopping area from our balcony didn’t look like anything particularly special, and we didn’t have an excursion planned. So, we went to the pool. This turned out to be an excellent choice, as Yen surprised us with special room service lunch consisting of chicken tikka masala made by the ship’s executive chef. OMG. So yummy. She also brought chicken nuggets, mac&cheese, and fries for our son. This was totally unexpected and really thoughtful.


We also received an invite to a helipad cocktail party with the captain for tomorrow. Squee!