Karannk

Day 8 - St Kitts We had room service breakfast again. Today’s excursion was 4x4 Island Safari & Beach. We booked through Royal Caribbean, but it was operated by Greg’s Safaris. Greg was our driver today. He is a 5th generation islander as he mentioned several times. We drove through less-often seen parts of the island, including rainforest. We saw mango ?, coconut ?, date, avocado ?, breadfruit ? ?, ackee, papaya, and chicle trees. We also saw wild chickens ?, monkeys ?, goats ?, lizards ?, cats ?, and dogs ?. Here is Anthem on the left, Norwegian Epic on the right, and Viking Sea on the far right. Breadfruit tree Before heading back to the ship, we spent an hour at the beach. We were back onboard and ready for lunch at CK by 1PM. Watermelon Salad Caramelized Scallops

Honestly I really don’t know. We’re just following the agenda that our genie scheduled. The only things that we scheduled were our excursions.

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 Continues So we ended up here. That’s my husband and my son. Tonight’s dinner will be at Chops. Again. The Super Bowl will be shown in Two70, pool deck, pub, casino, and stateroom televisions. They are selling seats on the pool deck as advertised in the Cruise Compass: There is also a VIP area in Two70. I think it’s for suite guests. We’re planning to check out the Super Bowl set-up in Two70 after dinner, then head back to the suite for the game. That’s a long time to spend in Two70 for a game that doesn’t have the Ravens, so it will be more comfortable and less hectic in the suite. We could always order room service snacks, but I doubt that we’ll be hungry. ?

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!

Day 6 Continued I did it! North Star wasn’t scary. And I am terrified of heights. It felt very secure inside. And there is a place in the middle to stand if you get scared. But, I was right at the window with everyone else! Dinner at CK followed... Fennel Soup Hamachi Crudo Sesame Crusted Tuna and Grilled Veal Chop combo. A little bit of both entrees. Grilled Chicken Breast Saffron Linguini Dulce de Leche Creme Brûlée Chocolate & Berries Sundae Matcha Cake Spectra’s Cabaret was the show of the night. We had wonderful reserved seats in the third row center. It was very loud. How loud is it? So loud that we hear it in our room 8720 since we are right above Two70. So being right inside Two70 was crazy loud. I think that maybe I needed a few more drinks before the show to fully appreciate it. It was different for sure. The dancing and athleticism of the cast was entertaining to watch. The singing wasn’t the best to be honest. The Harmony sisters were a little off. I’m glad that I saw the show, but really don’t have the desire to see it again. Ever. Day 7 will be St Lucia. No excursions planned. Our only plans for the day are Flowrider at 4PM and Chops Dinner at 530PM. Super Bowl will be shown at Two70, the pub, and outside pool deck. We’ll see where the day takes us.

Day 6 - Antigua We had room service breakfast again. Today’s excursion was Catamaran Sail, Snorkel, and Beach Cruise. It was great. We saw spiny lobster, moon jellyfish, yellowtail snapper, puffer fish, trigger fish, brain coral, and grouper while snorkeling at a reef. ???? After the snorkeling, there was an open bar, including rum punch. They also passed out sandwich triangles in both cheese and tuna varieties. Then, we stopped at a beach for about 30 minutes for swimming before heading back to the ship. I would definitely recommend it. This is the catamaran in front of Anthem. We were back on the ship by 1PM and decided to stop at Windjammer for lunch, as we hadn’t really been there except for breakfast on one day. It was eh. We then went to the Patisserie for lattes. Then, Johnny Rockets again for our son. ? After a little time in the Seaplex, we made it back to the suite for chocolate covered strawberry o’clock. Will be headed to North Star at 5PM, followed by dinner at CK.

Day 5 - Sint Maarten After room service breakfast, we headed out for a shore excursion: St Maarten Beach Rendezvous. This included a bus ride to Kim Sha beach, the use of a lounge chair, and lunch. It was $5 extra for a beach umbrella, which was totally worth it. Lunch tickets were provided for the Greenhouse Restaurant. The choices were baked grouper in creole sauce, bang bang shrimp sandwich, beef kebab, chicken in lemon sauce. Here are photos of the grouper and shrimp sandwich: After getting back on the ship, we quickly got ready for dinner at Jamie’s Italian. Our waiter told us that he has been working for RCI for 11 years in specialty dining. That’s pretty amazing! We’re trying to be smarter about our choices, so the Tagliatelle Bolognese and Penne Carbonara are smaller portions. Still couldn’t finish everything. Had to split a dessert: tiramisu. After dinner we stopped at the Bionic Bar for a cherry coke for our son. It’s become a bit of a thing. ? Show tonight was a ventriloquist. I’m pretty sure that we saw his show on DCL. Really funny. Day 6 is Antigua. We have another excursion planned: Catamaran Sail, Snorkel, and Beach Cruise. North Star is reserved again at 5 PM. Followed by dinner at CK. Spectra Cabaret at 830PM.

Yes. Big score. If purchased a la carte, as Izumi is set-up, our meal would have totaled over $250 including the 18% added gratuity. That being said, I just don’t think I can do that again. Those hairy balls are lobster tempura. ??

Day 4 - Dinner at Izumi We totally overdid it. I keep thinking of that South Park episode when Cartman sings, “I’m a little piggie, here’s my snout. Oink, oink, oink. Oink, oink, oink.” I AM that little piggie. ? So, of course the meal starts with edamame. Then we had pork gyoza dumplings. I also started with the first of 3 “She’s A Geisha” cocktails. We ordered several rolls: champagne lobster in yuzu wrap, spicy crispy shrimp, spider roll, truffle creamy lobster tempura, and baked snow crab & salmon dynamite. My husband also asked for “something with octopus.” I had some trouble with the photos since the lighting in the esplanade kept casting a blue hue over everything. We ordered Tonkotsu Ramen with just noodles and broth for our son. We thought it tasted pretty good, but he did not. He was not a great fan of Izumi overall, so we ended up getting him Johnny Rockets after our meal. But now I’m off on a tangent. Redirecting... So, after feeling quite accomplished that we finished all of the above, here comes Julius with an extra “surprise” roll. Futomaki. Why????? ? How can we possibly eat more?? Oh, but we did. We had 2 little mochi ice cream balls each for dessert , then waddled over to Johnny Rockets for our son’s second bacon cheeseburger, fries, and shake of the day. Today is day 5. Yen has arranged room service breakfast from CK. We are doing a beach excursion on St. Maarten. This involves a bathing suit. It won’t be pretty. The SC food coma is real. Beware! ? Dinner will be Jamie’s tonight. Followed by a ventriloquist show.

Day 4 - Puerto Rico Breakfast at CK was excellent as usual. I tried the Mediterranean plate today: Next was bumper cars in the Seaplex. All three genies were present with their respective SC families. This apparently created a stir amongst the folks waiting in line, which my husband noticed - but wasn’t able to hear exactly what was being said. A few of the folks waiting in line successfully cut in during SC guest “boarding”, causing not all genie guests to ride bumper cars with family. I was blissfully unaware of this until later. While waiting for trapeze class to start, there was a little father and son gaming in the X Box area: Ultimately, our son chickened out when it came time to climb the ladder for the trapeze. I get it. Really. I wouldn’t do it either! The Flowrider, on the other hand, was quite a hit. Anthem was docked right next to Harmony in Puerto Rico. We walked around a bit, then back to the ship. Now getting ready for dinner at Izumi.

Tried it. It did not work.

Day 4 - Puerto Rico We have a busy day planned. Arrival at port around 3PM. Gangway expected to open around 330PM. We’ll be headed to shore to walk around a bit. But before that, we’ll be having breakfast at CK, bumper cars at 11AM. Lunch at Johnny Rockets? Our son will be doing trapeze at 2PM and Flowrider at 230PM. Dinner tonight is at Izumi.

Day 3 - dinner at Wonderland Bottom line: I liked it, and I definitely would go back. I didn’t think that I’d be saying that, but maybe I’m more adventurous than I thought? I am a foodie, and I appreciate all of the work that goes into making the dishes so pretty. It reminded me of Victoria & Alberts at WDW, just less formal. V&A dabbles in molecular gastronomy, while Wonderland goes all out. Our waiter brought all of the appetizers and thoroughly explained each one as they arrived to the table. He recommended that we choose 3 to 4 entrees and share them family style. We chose 4: pork belly, halibut, short rib, and chicken. For dessert, again, he just brought them all. Buffalo Chicken Eggs Something mushroomy and Liquid Lobster Shrimp Kataifi Crispy Crab Cone Reconstructed Caprese Oceanic Citrus Baby Vegetables in the Garden Halibut Cooked in Clear Paper Short Rib Pork Belly Chicken. That “egg” is made of cauliflower and butternut squash! Magical Mushroom dessert The World dessert Sadly, the picture for the Forbidden Apple dessert was too blurry. We liked that one the best. Kids Meal was comprised of mac&cheese fries and popcorn chicken:

Mercedes Lafuente. While the Gift lacked cohesiveness, it was visually appealing. I think that if you like theatre, then you’ll appreciate the talent on stage. It’s not their fault that the storyline is a little wonky.

Day 3 - Sea Day We started with breakfast in CK. Much better than Windjammer, which is what we did yesterday. My son prefers his bacon less crispy, so they were able to accommodate this request at CK. I had the pancakes. My husband and my father got on North Star. Everyone else in our party (including me) was too chicken. But, Yen has booked another time - one sea day, one port day - for comparison. I might try it out. We’ll see. I’m terrified of heights. The sushi making class at Izumi was way more fun than I thought it would be. We all wore little paper chef hats. And, honestly, I’m not a huge sushi fan. But, this was good. We also ordered some sake. Because why not? Here is my creation: After lunch, we did iFly. Never did anything like that before! Yen has us scheduled for a second time tomorrow AM. Dinner tonight will be at Wonderland. I’m a little apprehensive, but I’ve got nothing to lose.

I really like her. I feel that the formality that some folks mention is just mistaken professionalism. She will do what you ask, but seems reluctant to outright state her personal opinion - in favor of guest preferences. If you listen closely to her, she is spot on. So, we’ve been following her recommendations and having a great time. She’s really taken excellent care of us. It’s our first time in SC, so I wouldn’t know if it’s supposed to be any different than what we’ve experienced. But I also can’t imagine what else she could be doing.

Oh, and the rose daiquiri from Schooner Bar that I had with dinner at Chops was SO good. I had actually ordered a lavender daiquiri from the menu, but they have no lavender syrup. I was offered either watermelon or rose instead. So good.

A few more things about Day 2 Our room steward is really on it with the laundry! We brought a collapsible hamper and set it up under the stairs on the first floor of our suite. This hamper was emptied THREE times yesterday. The clothes taken in the morning were returned right before dinner. We saw the Gift last night. Yen had reserved our seats in the first row of the upper section. Not sure how else to describe the seating. It was a nice unobstructed view. And there is a “snack ledge” to rest your popcorn and drinks! They had to stop the show twice due to technical difficulties. Something went wrong with the harness. The storyline is loose, but it was visually appealing. Today is Day 3: North Star, iFly, sushi class, and Wonderland dinner are planned.

Day 2 - Sea Day After breakfast, we headed to bumper cars. Yen led us to the front of the line. This did not go over well with all of the people standing in line, but oh well. We briefly checked out the suite guest cocktail party at 11AM at Vintages. There was a nice spread of snacks. Supposedly, all of the senior officers were there. We met Mercedes the cruise director. But, it was very crowded - so we left after maybe 5 minutes. Lunch was had at Johnny Rockets. It was just like Johnny Rockets on land, except better since we’re on a ship. ? We had burgers, hot dogs, fries, onion rings, and shakes. And they DO have malt, so it was a vanilla malt for me! Our son went to Adventure Ocean at 2PM. He had an OK time. In this respect, Disney Cruise Line might be the winner for now. Our son is nearly 9, and the offerings for teens (12-17 yrs) seem to be a bit better. He’s ambivalent about going back to kid’s club during this cruise, compared to demanding to go back -all the time- on DCL. Also, the hours for kid’s club sessions seem shorter on Royal. While he was at Adventure Ocean, we did the escape room. It’s for ages 14 and up. Our team was comprised of 7 people. There is a maximum of 12 per session. We successfully escaped in 34 minutes. We had never done an escape room before, so I have nothing to compare it to. But, I had fun. ? Dinner was at Chops. It is dark in there! I forgot to take pictures of the menus and the entree pictures ended up a blurry mess, but this is what I have... Caesar salad Seafood tower - the big one Apple pie a la mode - with raisins ? Warm chocolate cake

Just starting day two and already the service/experience FAR outweigh that on Disney Cruise Line concierge. Love this room (owner’s loft) much better than even the Walt Suite on Magic. Bumper cars planned today at 1030AM. Escape room at 230PM. Chops dinner at 530PM. Tonight is a “dress your best” night. The Gift after dinner.

Stopped at the Patisserie this AM for coffee and a raisin cinnamon roll. Which was huge BTW. The fellow behind the counter reminded us that we could have our genie pick-up things for us. To which, I replied that we were still exploring the ship and it’s not a big deal to get things for ourselves. He was floored. Says that no one ever does that. Really?!?!

It was with raisins. But not many. Maybe two raisins? Easy to avoid.

Coastal Kitchen Dinner Caesar salad Crispy pork belly Rigatoni Seared duck breast Apple pie a la mode

Royal chocolate cake. It’s pretty awesome.