Guy Gadwa

I hope you will be feeling better soon!!!

Great photos.  Thanks for sharing!

Day Two - Palma
Lots of exciting things today! From shore to sea, a lot happened. So lets get into this coherent blog!
Breakfast
Because of us sleeping in due to the bar and late party, we weren't able to do a nice sit down breakfast. Father and I got some pastries from the Costal Kitchen buffet, and my mother had a Breakfast bar while waiting for the excursion to start. I got three croissants (very small) and they were all good. Didn't get any pictures... but imagine a small croissant.
Palma City Sights
Our first excursion for the week was a city tour of Palma de Mallorca. We got to see the old castle on the hill, also known as Bellver Castle. We couldn't go inside unfortunately (closed on Monday), but we did have a beautiful view on the hill of the ocean, marina, and city centre. 

Next, was going to Pearl shop and bull ring. We spent our 30 minutes of free time at the shop, buying new pearls for Mom's birthday present. She got a pair of earrings that matched with a necklace, and then another standalone necklace. After our quick exploration of the bull ring (isn't used for fighting anymore, now used as a multipurpose venue), we got back on the bus to go into the city centre for shopping and walking.

Finally, it was time for the city centre part of our excursion. We got off and walked to our meeting point, and once there was dismissed with 45 minutes to explore before we would walk back to the bus. We looked at the narrow streets and alleys of Palma from the times when there wasn't so many cars and tourism. We also got some gelato at "the best gelato in the world" as per the gelato world tour in 2013. We then walked back, and saw a church, lots of hotels, and many tapas restaurants. 
 Panda wondering the streets View of ship from bus loading area
The shore excursion was very nice and quick, but showed you a lot of the sights of Palma. If I remember correctly, it was also cheaper than some of the other excursions in Palma. Transportation was a nice, spacious, and most importantly air conditioned! We also had a dedicated tour guide, that wasn't driving or doing other things on the excursion. She would talk about the history of the city or point out some sights as we were driving past while we were in-route to our next stop. 
 Our tour guide for shore excursion 26
Overall, I would rate this excursion highly for others. We will be doing the Drach Caves next week in Palma.
Lunch, Slides, Horses, and Balls
We had some lunch after the fun on land at El Loco Fresh. It was crowded, and really good! The quesadillas were fabulous, and the burritos were fine. Also had some chips, which were just so-so, and flan for dessert which was great! Rice and beans for the side were also tasty, but could always be better. 
To get down to the boardwalk for the arcade and the carousel, we decided to take the quickest way down... the Ultimate Abyss! My ride was much better, and I didn't hit the side this time on my ride. Got to go much faster, and was much more fun! Mother chickened out though, and took the elevator down. Shame! (jk mom, love u!)  After that was some skee ball at the Playmakers Arcade, and a fun time on the racing simulator at the end of the room. 
Then it was something that we could all agree on doing, the carousel! Took a ride on that and rode the Royal Caribbean horse. Was fun as it always is on the Oasis Class ships. Can't wait to be doing it again sometime later in the trip.

Rock Em' Good!
We went to the Bionic Bar today! Drink wasn't as good as a real human bar tender, but was a cool experience. Will definitely visit again on this trip, may even Periscope it! 
 
Rock Em' and Sock Em' (the bartender's names) hard at work! A robotic arm has to make some money somewhere, right?
Coastal Kitchen
The suite only dining was what we had reserved for tonight, and man was it great! Didn't get any pictures, but did enjoy the food! I had the artichoke soup to start, and then the prime rib for my main course. While I enjoy Filets more, I do enjoy some prime rib on occasion, especially when it could be at Costal Kitchen! Then it was time for dessert! Had some cheesecake again, but this time my mother could have it! She was excited, and I thought it was better than yesterday's dessert. Definitely can't wait for another meal at Coastal.
The Executive
Sooo... while eating at Coastal Kitchen..... we saw....
Micheal Bayley! The CEO of Royal Caribbean!!!!! Exciting!!! I WAS NEXT TO ROYAL CARIBBEAN CELEBRITY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Apparently they were celebrating his son's birthday (internet doesn't show anything about him, but I saw him!) with other members of the Bayley family. Highlight of the day lol...
1977
To end the night, was the new ice show! It really was amazing, even if some parts of the story line were broken, but not as much as some others would have you believe! All of the performers were great on the ice, except the ninja. The ninja fell about 5 times, and I was even scared something would go wrong with them! They definitely didn't have their A-game on tonight. The most notable part of the show was the quick change clothing couple, and the beginning scene because of it's drone show! I would almost disagree with others about the show having a very disjointed plot. While there are some parts that are kinda mismatched, there is a story line that goes with the show! Definitely want to watch it again next week. Would rate it 10/10! 

Miscellaneous Thoughts and Observations
My "B" key is on it's last legs. May be missing lots of those! Palma is a very nice island, but with lots of tourists. Probably won't want to visit it on a land vacation. The sunset tonight was beautiful! Just look at it!   Got a towel animal tonight! I'm convinced because of the B2B the animals will only be every other day, because they only know seven!  Sorry for getting this out later than usual! Will try to make up for it somehow. I will post downloads on Day Three's post. I just want to get this out! Sorry if there are any mistakes, like I said, wanted this out ASAP! Chao Chao for now!
 

Day 2 - Key West continued...
I had to get some work done so today was about exploring KW close to the ship.  I did manage to get off the ship though...
The view from my 'office' today:

Day 1 - Dinner
I had made up my mind to stick with the MDR on this trip but walking past Chops Grille I talked with the host. 
My Chops Grille experiences on other ships has left something to be desired.  I had written Chops off and vowed to not eat there for a while.  However this is the only specialty restaurant on Empress.  As a Diamond Plus I get a BOGO offer on my SeaPass card so I opted to give them another try.  I'm glad I did.


Fairly standard Chops Grille menu:

Wedge salad to start.

16 oz Prime Bone In Ribeye.  Cooked perfectly and good flavors.

Dessert menu.

For dessert Key Lime Meringue Pie.

Bonus - I was able to use my Diamond Happy Hour drinks loaded on my SeaPass in Chops plus they served me a nicer Pinot Noir compared to the normal happy hour wines I have experienced on other ships.  
I really enjoyed this meal and for the first time in a Chops Grille both service and the meal were excellent.
My BOGO 'free' dinner is on day 2 in Chops.  That Goat Cheese Salad and the Rack of Lamb are calling my name.

Enjoyed the Balloon Drop scope.  Thanks!! ?

Following.  Glad you are having a great time!

Following and will be checking out your scopes!

Great pictures and info!

Enjoying your blog & scopes.  Glad your having a great time!!

Great blog.  Looks like you are having a great time!!

Enjoying your blog!!  You are on the same ship & itinerary as our 1st cruise in 2008.  Been cruising ever since! ?

My family. 

Thanks for the info.  I have done this many times for onboard activities but not for shore excursions.

Hope you have a great trip!  You are on the right track........It's your cruise too! ?

Photo intensive post coming up. 
As much as I try by dumping picture after picture into this blog there are no words or mere photos that can adequately capture the beauty and how you feel when experiencing Alaska live.  This will serve as my feeble attempt because it was a pretty incredible morning.  Just understand these photos don't do it justice. 
I had a prime spot at the very front of the bow as we approached Dawes glacier.  I hardly noticed the rain.

But it was time to let someone else have a turn.  Sharing is caring.  I made my way through the crowd and grabbed a shot of the glacier including my new best friends.

I went back under the cover of deck 4 to get out of the rain so I could change to a different lens.

There were more 'growlers' as the senior officer on the helipad called them when the chucks of ice (glacier) are a certain size.

The blue color comes from hundreds of feet of ice compressing and squeezing the oxygen out of the ice.

With the sun now coming and going it dramatically changed the colors of the glacier, growlers and cliff walls of Endicott Arm.  Here two different arms of this glacier meet.  Where the glacier has been rubbing down the wall of the rock face it grinds off pieces of rock that form the dark strips that can be seen on top of the glacier.


Everywhere I turned there was something that caught my eye.

We had reached our closest approach to the glacier at approximately 1 mile.  From here the Captain began to slowly turn the ship in a clockwise circle.  There isn't a bad spot to be, except maybe in the casino, the pub or a restroom.

From here I ventured up to deck 12.

A polar bear had emerged on the ship roaming around with the ship photographers.

With the first 90° of a turn complete the ship was sideways across Endicott Arm and the views in direction we had come from was pretty impressive.

As impressive as the glacier may be, I was equally impressed with the cliff faces of the rock walls of Endicott Arm surrounding the ship.  It was truly awe inspiring. 

The deck 12 sun deck above the Sky Bar was a popular spot for a quick selfie.


























With that it was time to leave.  We began our departure back down into Endicott Arm.

Here are some more photos as we made our way down Endicott Arm.

Back in Stephen's Passage it was time for the Royal Caribbean Blog Group Cruise Photo!
Of course it was... raining.

Fortunately it didn't last long and we were able to get some of the group who ventured out for the photo.  For some reason Matt asked me to take the photo.

This is the point we drop off our pilot, at the same place we picked him up a few days ago.
Still no chair hogs.

Here is our route so far:

I'm writing this from the Viking Crown Lounge on day 6 but I've been distracted.  There have been dozens of whales passing on both sides.  An Orca just did a big jump right beside the ship creating a massive splash when it landed.  Just Wow.

Day 6 - Sea Day
As we make our way down to Victoria we enjoy a typical sea day.
Studio B has been reserved for the Royal Caribbean Blog group cruise at 10am for an hour. 





Matt was a trooper, out there for the bulk of it.  I ventured out after scoping and taking some pictures.  They didn't have my skate size so I ended in a skate just a tad bit small.  It worked but my shins were killing me.

I've been hanging out in the Viking Crown Lounge on this whale watching excursion.  I just saw this awesome Orca to starboard.  It was swimming just under the surface yet I could see it's whole body.  Just Wow.
The pool deck is operating in normal mode, pools open (and heated), bars open, joggers jogging, hot tubs being enjoyed.  I'm sitting right above the outdoor TV screen so I've got the eyes of many on deck 11 staring straight at me. 

Very flat seas today, it hardly feels like we are moving.
I could take this same picture on a sea day for any Caribbean cruise and it would be mostly the same - minus the whales. 
An amazing sea day plus I'm all caught up on this blog.  Phew.  Time for a Kraken and something.  (ok, maybe another one...)

Best wishes for continued recovery.  Have a great trip!!!

Following! ?

Thanks for the info & great pictures!!!

J:
We are booked on a repositioning cruise on Serenade OS in Oct 2019.  12 nights, 6 sea days, starts in Boston and ends up in Ft Lauderdale.  Port stops:  St Maarten, Antigua, Barbados, Aruba and Curacao.
Check it out!