Rags1

Day 5 we had breakfast in the room again before arriving in Aruba. We caught a cab for the short ride to Mambo Beach. Very beautiful and very hot and humid. I’m not a big beach guy but the family loves it. So I was a bit surprised that not one of them wore bathing suits or brought towels!  We sat at a beach bar and enjoyed the views for a bit. Took a cab back to the port area and made a stop at The Paddock, a bar and restaurant near the ship. @CravingaCruisenote this is where the Genies hang out and eat chicken wings!  Then we shopped for the usual T-shirt and other touristy crap. Back on the ship for snacks in the room and time on the balcony. Had dinner at Izumi Hibachi with a wonderful, funny chef. His laughter had us in stitches. I had lobster and shrimp which were both great. Then off to Ice Games which was good. We were seated next to @Lonnieand his friends who were Sailing with Genie Alan. Had a little casino time and called it a night. 

Day 4 was at sea. Breakfast in the room and some pool time for the girls. We were scheduled for lunch at Chops but canceled early because it sounded like too much. Plus Jay kept up the never ending “snacks” in the room. I used some quiet time for photos of our amazing room. Dinner was at Giovanni’s followed by Mama Mia. The show was even better than last October!

On 9/11/2022 at 11:28 AM, Lonnie said:

Hello Jim.  We just wanted to send you all a quick thank you for inviting us in to spend time with your amazing family in your beautiful room.  It was a true pleasure spending the afternoon with you all.  Thank you once again and we hope you have a safe trip home.

Hey there!  It was our pleasure!  What a fun afternoon. You guys are all fun people

5 hours ago, Lovetocruise2002 said:

Wow!  Just wow!

And that’s not even the end to the story. I’ll elaborate when I finish my “review.”

On 9/3/2022 at 11:19 AM, Lovetocruise2002 said:

From what I have heard, you are in for a real treat!

That’s an understatement!  @CravingaCruise, in my email to Jay before the trip i just said that it’s not the the things we might ask for that make the experience amazing, but it’s the unexpected surprises. He certainly did not disappoint!  I just posted this morning that I had problems on board with my IPad so will finish my “Live Blog” as a review now that I’m home. But I’ll share this to give you an idea of his creativity. MO5AIC was our headliner show. I saw them 5 years ago on the Oasis. Our family saw their first show on night 2 and then I returned for the late show. Jay and I both think they are an amazingly talented group. On night 7 we had dinner planned in the suite.  When Jay arrived with the food I asked him if he was feeding all of deck 17??  Then the doorbell rings and MO5AIC arrives for dinner. Later Jay said he just felt the group and our family would be a good match for the evening. We had a long wonderful dinner filled with stories and great laughs. And then, armed with drinks, they joked, laughed and performed in the suite for over two hours, including singing Happy Birthday to our youngest and Don’t Stop Believing for Stacy and her new restaurant.  It was an amazing night of fun because Jay thought we were a good match. You’re in good hands, trust me. 

We’ll it turns out that the “Live” description of this blog was about as successful as putting toothpaste back in the tube!  I can’t do this from my phone because my eyes are too old to make that work. And then a few days into the cruise my IPad would not connect to the ships Wi-Fi. After a couple of hours I took it down to the help desk and the nice young man fiddled with it for about a half hour before giving up. I think he’s the same guy responsible for the $18 drink package. But I did take notes and photos so I can finish up with a review of the rest of the trip. I’ll catch up today and tomorrow. Sorry for the delay!

For those wondering how the air conditioning works in this room, this is Taylor during afternoon nap. The AC works like a champ

11 minutes ago, WAAAYTOOO said:

So, I’ve forgotten @Rags1.  Are there 15 or 20 people in your party ?  

Seriously!  I would have cut these deliveries days ago but we have found some very willing, hard working individuals to assist us putting these spreads to good use!  Our party of 5 eats plenty of it, trust me, but our “family” here in the loft has increased in numbers over the past four days

I’ve been trying to catch up here a bit but interject has been wonky today while in Aruba. IPAD won’t connect at all. Just know that there have been several more deliver of food to the room since the last update. 

1 hour ago, Sarah said:

Wow, so much cake!!  How are you managing to eat it all?!

There’s no chance we eat all the cake!  But we are finding plenty of volunteers willing to consume some calories

@CravingaCruisei found one still in the wrapper with the website. 

@CravingaCruiseher’s a couple more cakes from last night’s celebration of Taylor’s birthday. Panda I’m sure made by Lusi and a towel cake from Putu!

14 hours ago, CravingaCruise said:

Congrats on your winnings!  That is awesome to see!

Love the cake!  Jay seems to really coordinate cakes well!!  I've seen pics of what he's provided to others and they're all very well thought out.  Congrats to Stacy on her retirement and journey (pun intended) to the next chapter in life!

Wondering if you could share what kind of straws are being used onboard?  I'm assuming they've switched to biodegradable, but I'm wondering if they're the type that feel like paper straws or if they're the newer kind that feel less like paper and don't disintegrate after sipping on a drink for 20 minutes.  TIA!

Thank you for the best wishes for Stacy. Yes, cakes are certainly in Jay’s domain!  We have now had 4. Each very personal and clever!  I don’t use straws since I think drinking Jack Daniels through a straw is probably a felony. These are different than last October. These last forever in the girls frozen drinks. Hope this helps!

This awesome cake arrived last night at dinner. Jay strikes again!  Today I went down to thank the young lady who made it. I met Lusi last October. She works in the ice cream shop on the boardwalk. If you sail the Allure please go meet her. Even if you don’t like ice cream and cupcakes make you nauseous it’s with the trio just to meet Lusi! She has a bubbling personality and an infectious laugh!  

Last nights dinner at 150 was enjoyable. I had the glazed scallops followed by the lobster Thermidor. Both delicious. Then it was off to see MO5AIC. They’ve aged better than I have!  They were amazing!  If you have the chance to catch a performance by them don’t miss it. I enjoyed it so much that I returned for the late show also. Then spent about an hour in the casino and cashed in a $4k jackpot which was a nice surprise!  Up for an 830 breakfast on the balcony with beautiful Labadee as the backdrop. The family had some water time and I hiked around to shoot photos. We returned to the ship around 130. The girls had lunch at coastal kitchen while went for finer dining at both the Dog House and Sorrentos. I think it’ll be a relaxing afternoon until it’s time for dinner and the ice show. Dinner tonight is Coastal Kitchen for Filet night as ordered by @Lovetocruise2002

I’m working on explaining to Jay the difference between singular and plural. As in “shot” vs “shots.”  Glad I’m not driving this week. And Putu and Benjamin are very good at the animals!

Labadee

So our youngest, Taylor, just rode off in the assault vehicle headed for the hilltop to strap herself to a frayed cable and risk bodily injury, or death, for the bargain price of $100.  As the truck’s engine roared to life she dramatically said “If anything happens you can have my dog and my car.”  Seriously?  I have a dog. And her car is a Kia. That’s all you got kid?  She came back 

Good morning from Labadee!  Breakfast on the balcony this morning. 

The family just watched MO5AIC. I’m back for the late show. What talent!

1 hour ago, CravingaCruise said:

Excited to follow along on your journey!  It will help pass the time while we wait for our cruise to start in a few weeks!  Your humor keeps me in stitches and I continuously interrupt my hubby's peaceful reading to read aloud something funny you wrote!    I hope you all have a fabulous time!

You’re too kind but thanks for following along. Let me know if there is any info I can hunt down for you!

Tonight is dinner at 150 and the headliner show MO5AIC. We saw them on the Oasis 5 years ago. I’m excited to see them again!  I’ll let you know if they have aged as well as I have

Some of expressions of Jay’s thoughtfulness and Stacy’s much deserved acknowledgment of 30 years of nursing. 

Our room stewards, Putu, left and Benjamin, or Benjie on the right. They are a great team and we’re well into a week filled with jokes, laughter and awesome service!