CruzOnBye

Only DS was hungry after our late breakfast. So he had Sorrento's and the kids went back to AO / teen club. DH and I are reading and taking our time getting ready for formal night. If I have my hair and makeup done by the time the kids get back, I can make sure they are ready and just put on my dress right as we are ready to go. 
Here are a few on our flowrider lesson pictures. DD was smooth enough that they let her drop the rope on her last run. 

DAY 4:  ST. THOMAS - (WED, 11/1)… continued…
Now the Boardwalk…












A little panorama fun!


The Aqua Theater…





I went up to Deck 16 and then back down to Deck 5 and walked behind the Aqua Theater on the walking track…

I love the wake of the ship and the tremendous power of the three azipods and the sound of the water!


One of the life boats was open… running drills or an Inspection maybe?



I then took few shots of the Main Dining Room from Deck 5 including a couple of panoramic shots…





Finally, I ran to the Cafe Promenade to grab a couple of Starbucks coffees and returned to the cabin to wake Christine up! 😬
We grabbed breakfast in the Solarium Bistro and eventually made our way to the pool deck (Deck 15) and spent some time in the pool and hot tubs.
The original plan was to grab lunch at Playmaker’s, but i forgot they are closed on port days for lunch along with the other specialty dining options. We decided to just go to El Loco Fresh. The food was very good as usual. After lunch we packed up and headed down to the gangway to meet up for our excursion today…
I’ll try to wrap up today soon… getting tired and need to get some sleep as our excursion for tomorrow heads out at 8:00am! 
Have a great night everyone! 

DAY 4:  ST. THOMAS - (WED, 11/1)
Happy November! Good month… Thanksgiving, my birthday… LOL! 😆
Well,  I dragged myself out of bed around 6:30am and walked the Royal Promenade, Boardwalk, and a few other areas to take photos…
I did the same thing back in January, but I love taking pics and exploring the ship all over again when it’s really quiet and most are still sleeping!
OK, photo dump of the Royal Promenade on both Deck 5 & 6…

Spotlight Karaoke…



Boleros…












The Cask & Clipper…


















The Bionic Bar…






The Schooner Bar & Loyalty Desk…

ORLANDO (PORT CANAVERAL), FL 
NASSAU, BAHAMAS 
PERFECT DAY AT COCOCAY

https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/2023/11/01/royal-caribbean-will-make-specialty-restaurants-reservable-pre-cruise-if-you-have-dining
 
I just never understood why if you bought a dining package like we always get the 3 night dining package that you were at a disadvantage to booking restaurants. This is an awesome change that is way long overdue. It's always a pain to do it on the ship when you first board and if you forget then you might be locked out of times and dates. Can't wait till this is implemented to all ships. 

DAY 3: *SEA DAY* - (TUE, 10/31)… continued…
Tonight was actually our first major production show of this cruise since we blew off Tap Factory on embarkation day and inTENse was cancelled last evening for the cast’s safety (ship was rocking too much). Hopefully, inTENse will go off without a hitch on the last evening!
We went to see “Voices” in the Royal Theater. We loved this show when we first saw it back in January. If you love vocalists and dancers, you will enjoy this show. We had the Key, so we sat up on Deck 5 in the center of the theater. To be honest, I’m not a fan of the “new” Key seating. If you are too low, the railing cuts off your view of the bottom 1/3 of the stage. Too high, and you are too far away and the top of the backdrop is cut off. Back in 2019, the Key seating was dead center on the main level right behind the suite guest’s reserved section. Those were amazing seats!
Here are s few pics from the show…












After the show, my wife’s uncle and GF headed back to their cabin. Christine and I decided to hit the pool and hot tub on Deck 15. The solarium was closed for a private Halloween function.
We decided to skip the Halloween parade which started at 10:30pm in the promenade. Way too tired! 🥱
Tomorrow, we’ll be in St. Thomas! Gangway opens at 1:00pm and all aboard is 7:30pm.
Time to call it an evening… may get up early to walk around the ship… we’ll see!
Have a good night everyone!
 

DAY 3: *SEA DAY* - (TUE, 10/31)… continued…
We had our 90 minute beginner’s clinic on Pickleball and had a great time! My wife is hooked and wants to try to sign up for open play later in the cruise and start playing once we return home.
Just a couple of pics of the converted basketball court set up for Pickleball and the baseball cap they give you…



After the Pickleball class, we headed back to the cabin for much needed showers and a change of clothes! 
My wife and I stopped by The Mason Jar a little early and sat at the bar for a couple of drinks and waited for the rest of our party to arrive. I love the rocking chairs and tables overlooking the windows, as well as, the porch swing!
My wife tried a MInt Julep and I had the PB&J Old Fashioned. Both were excellent especially the Old Fashioned! We plan on stopping by later in the cruise just for a some drinks.


Brunch menu…

Dinner menu…




Signature drink menu (just part of the menu)…

… MInt Julep…

PB&J Old Fashioned! Delicious and sweet… 

The rest of our party arrived and we headed into the restaurant for brunch.
The jalapeño cornbread was delicious, warm, and moist, and was served with Cajun and whipped honey butter on the side.

I ordered the “No Joke, Smoke and Coke” which is smoked Buffalo Trace Bourbon on the rocks, with a bottle of Coke to top it off. Very cool presentation. The jar of smoked bourbon is presented with the lid closed. When you open the jar, the smoke starts to pour out and you add your Coke to top it off.

Even though the smoke of course dissipates, that smoked flavor remains to the last sip! Not bad, but I probably won’t order that again! Tastes like your drinking smoke from a BBQ!
Our table ordered Smoky Deviled Eggs, Salmon-Avocado Toast, Meemaw’s Fried Chicken N’ Waffles, Stuffed French Toast, Classic Po’Boy (Shrimp), Crispy Chicken Sandwich, and Sweet-Tooth Cinnamon Roll.



Po’Boy was prepared on gluten-free bread…




Everything was decadent and delicious! We had such a good experience, we decided to cancel one of our three Izumi reservations and swapped it for a dinner at the Mason Jar for tomorrow evening. We all really want to try some of the dinner menu items! I was surprised they still had reservations as I had heard on the forum that they book up fast!
After lunch the group split up and my wife and I went to the solarium for the rest of the afternoon. Love the canter-levered double hot tub on the starboard side near the entrance to the solarium!
We went back to the cabin for a bit and then headed to 150 Central Park for the next meal! Only Day 3 and nearing full capacity! LOL! 😆 






From what I understand, the bread was even better on one time, but I love this bread!

I ordered the Seared Honey Glazed Scallops… very tasty…

… and I ordered the Roasted Spiced Pumpkin Bisque. I love the presentation… first, they present the bowl with just the dry ingredients…

… and then they add the soup to the bowl…

Mild tasting, not the highlight for sure, but I liked it.
One of the folks in our party was not very hungry and ordered the Artisanal Cheese Selection for her entree. My wife and I ordered the Roasted Tenderloin of Beef (they can serve it for one). Probably my go-to at 150 Central Park. Who am I kidding! Lobster and Filet Mignon are my go-tos at most restaurants when I cruise! 🤣


Our group ordered Fried Cheesecake, Peanut Butter Chocolate Tart, and the Hazelnut Passion Fruit Bar…



We all enjoyed the meal and eventually made our way to the Royal Theater for tonight’s show.

Costumes on (axolotl and pea shooter from Plants VS Zombies) we headed down to the Promenade for photos. It was decorated with several Halloween inflatables, creepy decor, and set for a balloon drop. 



Next up was dinner. We had 7:15 reservations for MTD and showed up about 15 minutes early. We were taken right to a table while the no reservations line stretched to the stairs in the art gallery.
Crab cakes and tomato soup appetizers. DS had the NY strip, DD ordered the fried chicken, DH the grilled chicken, and I had the stuffed portobello. Key lime pie, cheesecake, and Boston cream pie for dessert, but I didn't get pictures of that course. 






The kids ean off to the kids/ teen club and DH and I are relaxing in the room. We're turning clocks back an hour tonight so we get an extra hour of sleep before our 8am lesson. The lesson means no Chops breakfast, but we'll get the kids something from the suite lounge before the WJ after the lesson. DH and I don't usually eat breakfast at home, so we will skip tomorrow like usual. 

DS and I did the water slides, played a round of table tennis and stopped by AO to get him registered. Then we headed back to the room to clean up about 2pm. We found our luggage along the way. We showered and everyone unpacked. 
We all left the cabin just before sail away to get DD's waiver taken care of for tomorrow's flowrider lesson. We were told that there were only 2 signed up for the lesson (our kids) but instead of canceling due to not meeting the minimum number of people, they would still let us do the lesson for 30 minutes. I asked how long it would be if I also signed up. We'll have a 45 minute family lesson unless someone else signed up tonight. In total we paid just under $200 for the three of us, not bad considering the private session is $345.

Then it was time for sail away!



From there we headed to the suite lounge for drinks and snackies. 



After a couple drinks, we went back to the room for the kids to change for Halloween while DH and I enjoyed the balcony. 

We hit our muster station, dropped our stuff at the room and headed to the WJ. It wasn't crowded at all, probably because rooms were open. After lunch, DS and I went to the flowrider and slides, played a little table tennis, and then registered at AO.
@asquared17 I'm channeling you. I'm in new tennis shoes that have a lot of tread. I kept catching the carpet going downstairs with a drink in hand.😆

i was trying to do the math here — and bear with me because i’m not so great on math in general 😂 — so it’s an additional $2 increase per day - let’s say a week long cruise - an extra $14 difference. for me that’s a drink while on board. 
hot take, but — i personally am okay with this, especially since the crew work so unbelievably hard + passengers by and large have gotten increasingly more difficult, as many of us have personally observed. 💚
whether you elect to tip on top of that or not is a personal choice (i am not advocating one way or the other) but i am grateful to be in a position where this would not be a fiscal deterrent for me. 💚

My husband and mine first back to back cruise!! See Feb 3 -7 post
ORLANDO (PORT CANAVERAL), FL 
NASSAU, BAHAMAS 
PERFECT DAY AT COCOCAY

We have always enjoyed Hooked.  I know a lot of people don't really care for it, but as long as you know you're not going to get New England boardwalk level seafood there, it's always good enough for me.  Only once did we have a bad experience.  I think it was on Navigator when she was still in FL.  The clam chowder had soured and it was really unfortunate....but the waiter came around quickly and scooped up all of the bowls that had been served.  No harm.  I love me some NE clam chowder though.  YUM !  Looks like you guys had a great experience.  I'm with @asquared17.  Those Beach Club photos hit a happy place in my heart.  Too bad they have priced us out at this point....

DAY 3: *SEA DAY* - (TUE, 10/31)
Good morning!
You never, ever, get tired of waking up to this view in your cabin!




We had a quick breakfast in the Central Park Cafe… need to keep it light with Pickleball looming! 
I always take that pic of the medallion in Central Park! 

Grabbed some Starbucks coffee and a cold brew in the Cafe Promenade (have to max that DBP!)…

I thought it was strange that they did not decorate for Halloween. I remember back in 2015, Liberty was completely decked out for Halloween!
They must have started last night after hours…




OK, time to head to the Sports Court for pickleball!
 

DAY 2: Perfect Day Coco Cay - (MON, 10/30)… continued…
We disembarked after breakfast… it was a little windy and the waves were crashing into the pier.

We decided the grab the tram from the pier that takes you to the main hub and then took another tram to Coco Beach Club. This will be the third time in the last four sailings that we have visited PDCC, so we spent the day at the beach club. Also, 3 for 3 with just our ship in port! The balloon was grounded, so no shots of it in the background this visit. What a beautiful day! 😎
Photo dump!

















At noon, we headed for the restaurant for the included lunch. We’ve always enjoyed the Beach Club restaurant lunch!


So many hens, roosters, and even peacocks!



They always bring out the starters for the entire table (you do not order these individually). Of course, I forgot to take pictures!
I ordered the Surf & Turf (not listed on the printed menu, but always available and suggested by the waiter) and the Tropical Fruit Sorbet (mango). My wife ordered the Caramel & Chocolate Brownie. 


We all enjoyed our meals and the excellent service! My wife’s uncle and GF went back to the ship and we went back into the infinity pool for the rest of the afternoon before returning to the ship ourselves.




 

DAY 2: Perfect Day Coco Cay - (MON, 10/30)
Just returned to the ship, so let’s see if I can catch up a little before I need to get ready for dinner tonight!
I got up early enough to watch the ship dock. Thank God the winds/waves were not severe enough to cause Wonder to skip PDCC!
Photo dump!






A bunch of pics of the area under construction for Hideaway Beach… sorry about the smoke from the exhaust trail!






After we docked, I met many wife at El Loco Fresh for breakfast. I wish we have known about this mini-breakfast buffet last January! We usually rotate through the Windjammer, Solarium Bistro, Johnny Rockets, and Central Park Cafe. Why did you all hide this from us? 🤣
I spoke to a crew member and he explained they serve breakfast starting at 6:00am on port days and 8:00am on sea days. A solid selection of basic hot breakfast items including: huevos rancheros, scrambled eggs, ham & cheese omelets, cheese omelets, pork sausage, chicken sausage, bacon, corned beef hash, sautéed mushrooms, hash browns, pancakes, French toast, waffles, etc. They have a selection of baked goods including: danish, muffins, bread, rolls, fruit cups, parfaits, etc. Also, coffee and juices of course!







I drove my wife crazy constantly playing the Wonder of the Seas commercial this year between the two sailings. I tease her and compare her excitement level to the little girl in the commercial, so she did her best attempt at a re-enactment! LOL! 🤣


I’ll pick up later with our day at Coco Beach Club!
Time to start getting ready for dinner before my wife kills me!

Our night ended here. inTENse canceled tonight due to bad weather. They’ve moved us all to Day 7 at 8pm, luckily that works out for us. 
 
150 CP was great. 9.5/10, something was off about the broccolini - very bitter but otherwise we cleaned our plates easily.
 
Scallops, short rib, and pork belly to start. Lobster Thermidor for us both, and fried cheesecake. I didn’t want the cheesecake to end.
 
   

What a perfect Day (part 1) 
We woke up pretty early after turning it in last night. By 7am we were having breakfast in the windjammer and had already arrived at Coco Cay. It looked a bit cloudy at first, but the sun finally peaked out right as we hit the pier at 8am. 
 
Headed straight for our Beach Bed on South Beach, #54 was a perfect spot right in the front middle portion of daybeds. The two attendants there were so incredibly kind and decorated it for us! We didn’t catch their names but chatted with them throughout the day and were so grateful. 
 
The water was crisp and cool, absolutely perfect weather! We spent our entire day on South Beach snorkeling, snoozing, and reading. Apparently some string rays were there super early but we didn’t catch any. We both are admittedly not big “beach” people, but we had an amazing time and I thankfully didn’t get burnt (just lightly toasted) 
We found it interesting that many of the day beds were reserved, but no one ever came to claim them. Only about six or seven groups checked in but then left fairly early. We stayed until 2pm so we could shower off and do a little shopping on the boat. (I did not bring nearly enough moisturizer and forgot socks😅) 
Tonights menu in main dining seems to have flipped. It’s Taste of France tonight, and Italy tomorrow. Originally it was Italy tonight, so I had booked 150 CP for tomorrow since we weren’t impressed with the taste of France menu. Oh well, if we’re actually unimpressed well just head to WJ. After dinner we have inTENse and we’re really looking forward to that. 

DS and I hit the beach the pool and back to the beach after breakfast. There were quite a few jellyfish bits on the beach, and we  found a few intact shells.



We headed back to the room and the kids had leftover pizza. DD had a little school work to turn in, and then we took an Uber to The Master Escape Room in Boca Raton. We escaped with 16 minutes to go and almost made the leader board. The lady working the desk said we were the first group to not get a single clue.

Then we caught another Uber to JByrd's Muddy Waters for dinner. It was OK. I would go back if we lived here, but probably want to try some place else the next time we sail from here. The spinach artichoke dip was really good - DS even kept eating it which says a lot. I had the gator poboy, DH had the French dip, DD had the seafood mac and cheese, and DS had fried chicken tacos. Nobody left hungry. 






We're back at the hotel and winding down for the night. We didn't use our drink vouchers yesterday so DH and I are each on our second strawberry margarita. 

BYOC

Nothing like a couple of loaded chili dogs 🌭 to help you get a good nights rest!  🤣

Now if they can throw in some fries with those dogs, that would be great.

I never understood why it wasn't open longer or later. Yes,hot dogs are what this guy wants at 11pm! 

I’m not sure if I somehow missed it or if Royal is testing out a new late night option (which many feel is lacking) but when we left the 10pm aqua show last night I noticed the Dog House was open.
According to the app, it closes at 6pm & then reopens from 10:30-1:30am.
I’m not sure hot dogs are what people want but at least it’s something.

A few hotel pictures. The spa is closed on Mondays and about half the gym cardio equipment had out of order signs. Looks like drink prices are on point with RC, but you can get pitchers of drinks here.