AshleyDillo

Rusty..I mean Rhapsody of the Seas is pulling in next to us..assuming for supplies.

The show cast is working out in the aquatheater. My mother insists she is enjoying the view of St. Maarten. Her view:

2pm is afternoon snack delivery time. It was the same chicken wings, tenders and fries. At least this time we were in the room when it was delivered..might as well enjoy them while they're hot. Coastal Kitchen lunch was so 30 minutes ago. They still don't have buffalo sauce down. They use a sticky, sweet heat version on the wings rather than a spicy, vinegar based sauce. I don't believe I have managed to come across a ship that has been able to nail that flavor profile.

I don't know for sure since the policy won't kick in until the next cruise. I would assume the bar would remain open to serve Coastal Kitchen. The drinks that used to be complimentary during the day for suite guests may no longer be complimentary outside of happy hour.

The tip pool for the drink packages is not a set percentage per drink. It's more of a tally system so they can figure out the overall tip pool percentage allocated to each server which would be based on number of drinks they rang in relative to the total number of drinks rang in. The per day room gratuities that are inckuded in Star Class don't directly have anything to do with the drink and dining packages.

We are up at Coastal Kitchen for a lunch with a view. Vision is anchored somewhere out there.

Alan stopped by for a visit and chatted with us for a good 20 minutes. He will be on this ship until December 12 and he did say he would be coming back to Allure to take her to Texas. Alan has never been to Texas and has no idea what to expect.

This morning we are docked in St. Maarten. No real plans to do anything. I believe this island is on my itinerary again at least 4 times over the next 6 months, so I don't feel like I would be missing out if I let my laziness keep me from getting off the ship. You would think I would have learned not to take it for granted over these past 18 months.

Alan did put up a couple decorations in the room. @CGTLH tag, you're it.

Make sure you do Coastal Kitchen for filet night!

The price point is probably on the higher end of the Carnival offerings but you may want to look into Mardi Gras. @twangster did a fantastic review of the ship over on the CruiseHabit messageboards. That ship comes across a little closer to the newer Royal ships with the variety of things to do but still is a Carnival "Fun" ship. If I was going to venture back over to Carnival that the one in their fleet that currently interests me the most.

Honestly no, not if that's what she is looking for. Carnival exceeds at that sort of thing and is largely where their "party" boat reputation comes from. Royal tends to be a little more subdued when it comes to that, but overall is a more well-rounded and a little more something for everyone type of experience.

Then after we wrapped up dinner Chef Roy came out with his cell phone with his wife Marilyn on FaceTime. After I took the phone away from her ear and showed her it was a video call she was excited to get to say hello to her old crew friend again. Room service delivered the leftover cake to our room about 5 minutes after we got back to the cabin. Room service came back a few minutes later after that- this time with the cake wrapped in plastic.

Refund: 100% cruise fare refund for you, and your Travelling Party, if any of you tests positive for COVID-19 within 14 days prior to the cruise or at the boarding terminal. https://www.royalcaribbean.com/faq/questions/if-i-test-positive-for-sars-cov-2-what-is-your-refund-policy-and-costs-covered

The hibachi show was fun with constant interruptions from good ol Alice and my mother asking Roy about his wife and son. The food was great as always and the typical hibachi schitck was entertaining. We had dessert served and then in waltzed Alan with a birthday cake for my mother. Alan also brought in all the crew members my mom has collected so far on this ship..the suite loft attendant Eleanor and Coastal Kitchen waiter Carlos. There was singing and contraband lit candles. I will let sake bomb failure share his photos because I didn't manage to take any.

This is Roy. Roy is married to a waitress that my mother and brother had on a ship in year's past that they connected with. It just so happened that Roy was on this ship and was the hibachi chef tonight. This was all orchestrated because our Coastal Kitchen waiter from the first night had also been on a ship with Roy and his wife and helped my mother remember names we connected that Roy was on this ship. We spoke of it to Alan and like magic...

Things I learned tonight: - Alice is 70. - Alice is from California. - Alice's husband won bingo on the ship. - Alice has a son. - Young ladies chase after old men because they have money. - My brother doesn't know how to properly do a sake bomb.

Tonight was Izumi hibachi night AND my mother's birthday. We rolled in on time and were the last people missing at a full hibachi table, so already off to a great start with us holding everybody else up. Since everybody else already did the waiting for us, we didn't have to. My mother was able to clarify to the order taker that she didn't have cross-contamination issues and they could cook the food in front of her as long as it was free of flavor..I mean free of onions, garlic and peppers. My She's a Geisha couldn't come fast enough and I braced myself for this evening. Fortunately a lot of attention was diverted thanks to Alice. A lot of the Izumi hibachi experience has to do with who you get to experience it with. Alice is from Arkansas and she was nearly as much of a star as the hibachi chef. She learned how to properly hold chopsticks, drank sake with my brother, assumed my brother and I were married and carried the evening with her engaging conversation.

That's what the SL concierge said. I guess we will see what happens when the complaints roll in on the next sailing

Hooray for team Indian food!

@CGTLH took one for the team and asked Dexter (SL concierge)..he said it's going fleetwide to Happy Hour only for Suite Lounge complimentary drinks.

I pack each of my little toiletry bottles in a baggie and then I have them for use if I need them for anything else. I usually do the tiny travel size toiletries so I don't need to bring them home anyways. But I always have baggies on me because of this. Same for plastic grocery bags..wrap each shoe in one to and then if I need them I have them..and I stuff my shoes with socks and underwear to keep their shape.

It's possibly just a staffing thing. When we were up there at the end of the lunch period the bartender was back and forth restocking bottles and disappearing from the bar. There was hardly any traffic while we were in there. He also was doing laps to the handful of folks who were sitting in the lounge and not disturbing the ones who were "just resting their eyes" at our table.

We went back in the room to relax. Found a refill of drinks. Found some chips, salsa and guac as a snack. Not fresh made salsa or guac like you can find in Sabor. "I don't understand why they don't use this salsa down there. It's so much better!" And the drinks are all sugar free varieties from a Freestyle machine, since they don't have it in bottles.

This is the first time I have taken advantage of the fresh fruit smoothies at Vitality Cafe. They are included in the Refreshment and Deluxe beverage packages. They used fruit, ice, regular or almond milk and simple syrup if you wanted it sweeter. Also another place to get specialty coffee. Blueberry, strawberry almond milk smoothie