Skigoofy

From Joel ❤️🙂

The little things that matter to me. Last night in the SL, I asked Joel (a bartender there) if he could make a Lavender Martini. He said they did not have the syrup. So after some back and forth, and lots of laughs, he made me some unknown martini of his own creation. It was pretty good, and I called it Joel’s martini. Today, after my crepe and Hibiscus Tea from Rye & Bean, I stopped by the SL to grab a bottle of water. Joel was there, he passed over a bottle of water, and then proceeded to show me a brand new bottle of lavender syrup. He said it’s for when I return later tonight. These are the little things, that go a long way with me. ❤️

Ok, I'm a HORRIBLE blogger.  But I'm in steerage, so no impressive pics.  I'll catch you up.  I met Rover.  It was windy. I look like crap. But Rover was soft and beautiful. 

Last night was great fun, as we hung out with a bunch of Royal Caribbean Blog Insiders at the Dueling Piano Bar.  A raucous good time. 
 
 

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Wizard of Oz was amazing! The feedback from others is correct; by far the best Royal Caribbean production to take the stage! After the show we thought about all the other shows that we have seen on Oasis/Quantum class and this one cannot be beat. It was 90 mins long, and retained pretty much the storyline from the original movie. Really talented cast as well. They asked for everyone to put away their recording devices so only this one curtain call photo 😉

Dinner Night 2 in CK: 
Once again, the main menu was the same. But there was a new item that I have never seen before, lobster Mac n Cheese. 
 

It’s formal night! 

Like Wonder, you can view your ship photos on the app. You can also purchase digital packages on the app as well. 
 

#chipgate...IYKYK

Omg! Yes! I could not be happier that we were able to ditch tot town. Even Hubby agrees because I showed him where we would have been. I would not have been happy there at all. Your view is the activities on Surfside below you. 
 
The panoramic is basically a JS with no balcony. It is decent for 2. The bathroom is a bit narrow. I would not put 4 in here. Not enough storage space. We are struggling with how we can bring our girls on Icon and still cruise the way we like. That has been our discussion today. Hubby really likes this ship. I don’t think that we are one and done…..
I know the genies on board. None are new. In fact, @Neesa, I spoke to a few crew members earlier and they said there are zero new hires on board. Everyone on the start up crew is minimum 1-2 contracts in. Many are more than that. 
Cruise Director is Mike Szwajkowski. 

After Central Park, we wandered up the the Aquadome Marketplace. This is probably my favourite complimentary venue, with the crepe and Greek place being my favourite. We were stuffed and did not try the Mac n Cheese or noodles, but we will venture back here tomorrow to try it out. 
 

Central Park pics 
 

Welcome to Surfside Eatery..

Home of the beige food.

Update: I checked the residents of Tot Town demand the return of their mayor, @Lovetocruise2002

Day 2 swag
 

Happening now: 
I am curious about the numbers on board. That is why I am here. There seems to be pins everywhere this sailing. Crown lounge is also D+ and up for happy hour this sailing. 

Random sail away photos. Fireworks were a nice touch, longer than I expected. But you could not see them well because they did not (or maybe could not) wait until it got dark. 

Dinner Night 1 CK:
They have switched up the menu slightly. Some items (like the lobster main salad) have moved into Night 1, and some are new, like the arancini. The app menu for CK hasn’t updated and the day is almost done 🙄
Everything was good in CK tonight. Except the venue itself. I don’t think I am a fan of this new setup here. The lounge is way too close to CK, and the dining tables are squeeze really close together. Where we sat we literally felt like we were sitting with the people next to us. And people walking by literally brush up against table. Also, not a fan of how you lose the view of the outside. The Aqua Dome is actually distracting for dinner once it gets started. 

As promised, here is the Panoramic Suite; category VP. Will reserve thoughts on this suite for later this week. 
 

And here is proof that I did in fact eat in the WJ. 😂 I would eat here more often if every WJ meal was like this! 

But here's cake.

Rooms were ready when we boarded..they were giving out complimentary champagne in the Promenade.  We went to drop off our carryon in the room..and swag and C&A amenities were on the bed.

Obligatory La Bamba post 😋

With that, it is time for bed. It has been a super long day. 😴

It’s been a busy afternoon! We checked into the Intercontinental around 2:30pm and we scored a free upgrade to a loft! Can’t get one on Icon; but got one here lol. I usually never book this room because it doesn’t face the Bay. But this room is valued a whole lot higher than the Bay View King rooms that we usually book. Hubby actually had an opinion this time and said well take it. He said we can look at the water on Saturday 😄
This loft consists of two floors, and 1.5 baths. The lower level is a powder room, no shower. 



 

Someone in our Facebook group just posted that they went to next cruise and added the cruise for next week so they could just stay on the ship. The only rooms left were Oceanview interior. This was a downgrade for him because I think he's in the highest suite you can have but he took it anyway and he's excited about it. So it sounds like @MaryS sailing is nearly sold out!
 
I skipped breakfast this morning and for lunch, had snacks and iced coffee at the coffee shop on deck five. I had planned to go to the main dining room for lunch but the menu was not in the least appealing to me.
 
I did an hour long escape room type thing with a group of nine strangers. It was way too many people. Kind of fun but way too many people and we couldn't work together as a team very well and we didn't make it.
 
We're doing a Facebook group slot pull at two and I have a massage this afternoon. It is very gray and drizzly outside all day today.
 
Captain Dimitri made an appearance at the stage show last night before the show began. He had a whole little comedic bit he did. He made an announcement today regarding the weather. He said that he is continually asked why don't we have a weather report every four hours. He said the weather report is get out of your room and go up top and check for yourself. 😅

Ok, a report on my medical visit.
 
FYI, $160 to walk in the door, plus any extras like medicine or whatever. (I do have travel insurance, though.)
 
They gave me antibiotics to take and the hope is that the antibiotics will just make the whole thing melt away into nothing. If that does not happen I'm supposed to come back in a few days and they will do something to it to speed up the process. They did not want to do any procedures on it today because it's "too early," and messing with it would somehow only create more problems.
 
So that's that, and I feel better (at least psychologically) and I have taken my medicine for the day.
 
But there's more to tell.
 
First of all, they took my blood pressure and talked to me for a minute and then told me to go back to the waiting area while they got the room ready. So I returned to the waiting area and  now there's an elderly man there with his wife and he is struggling to breathe and he occasionally coughs and man is it a nasty cough. His wife goes to receptionist and says he needs to be seen right away, he's having trouble breathing. She goes on to explain this is the third day in the row they've come, he's been given oxygen every day and a nebulizer every day and they think he needs oxygen again today.
 
I was thinking to myself why are you even still on the ship. (would you not have gotten off yesterday and tried to get home to a hospital? Just a thought.) And they went ahead and hustled him into the back. (I passed his room later and saw him lying on a stretcher covered with the blanket and hooked up to an oxygen tank.)
 
After he disappeared, one of the doctors came out and talked to the receptionist about arranging private medical transport off the ship tomorrow for someone who needs to go to the hospital. And it was NOT the man that I was just describing it was somebody completely different.
 
I mean we are on day *three.* What in the world.
 
Scary!