DonR

C&A status updated! Made it to Diamond level! So the math is interesting. Before the Cruise my login screen showed 78 Points and Emerald status. After the update from this cruise it is 81 and Diamond Status. I earned 10 points for going solo on a 5 night cruise but the previous total included a 7 night which my wife went on with a group several years ago. My individual points would have actually been 71 rather than the 78 the screen showed due to our shared status. So my points for the solo cruise were added to my individual total bringing it up to 81. Her log in screen now shows 81 points and Diamond level as well. So it shows which ever total is the highest for those entered in the system as a couple even though it uses the individual totals for the actual accrual. Most of the time this won't affect our planning as we rarely cruise without each other. However it is good to know how exactly RC does the math.

5 hours later I am home safe in Arlington TX. Time to pet my cat and finish out a proper Texas road trip with a gratuitous beaver shot! Thanks everyone for following along!

It’s a foggy morning pulling into Galveston. Jubilee is making her turn in the channel basin and our turn is next. The baristas are working full steam as we passengers stumble about tending our last minute tasks. One more picture of this, one more time to look at that. Hugs for new friends and breakfast with old ones before we tie up along side and hit the road.

Chicken parm was the entree of my choice tonight. My wait staff was friendly and on the mark all week. They even made sure I had plenty of chocolate chip cookies for my cabin snacks. Me and my ducks are all packed, not much left now. Carnival Jubilee has been pacing us since slipping our moorings in Cozumel. She will be with us on n Galveston tomorrow as well. The final sunset of this cruise was subdued yet lovely. Somehow poetic for tonight. After dinner I took my coffee up to the helipad to enjoy the stars as they appeared. Looks like I will finally get my spring Gulf Coast fog. It is already starting to build as we move north west. If it turns soupy I will glad I am in an interior, that horn can be a touch loud.

Ok a bit more info than I had earlier in the week. The crew is working hard to manage the cabins that have water damage. I did talk to one gentleman who was in a deck 7 starboard who got moved due to problems from the water. I have seen several Sr officers walking with individuals in Tshirts who also had on tool belts pointing out damage to them and many notes being entered into tablets. I expect the next couple of cruises will see the repairs accelerated.

Hanging out across from the bears this afternoon. I had pizza with them for lunch before submitting myself to the one moderate crowd I have willing joined this week. The Veterans tribute was well done. US National Anthem, applause for all the combat veterans, and going service by service for those of us who were fortunate enough not to have been sent in theater. I appreciated that they also made time for Veterans of other countries militaries as well. I thought it quite right for an international type of vacation. Also mentioned were military families. As an Army brat I approve. Our men and women should in uniform don’t forget their families at home and nor should we. Now I relax a bit more and then go pack. One more dinner in the MDR, and Sunset will be off the port bow.

Final sea day of the cruise! While getting my coffee this morning I hear folks talk about how much more they can feel the ship even though the weather seems so much calmer. Thats the difference between a careful 14 knots while trying to stay out of a strong swell and 21 knots in a calm and following sea. Ah well, I guess such things don’t mean as much to everyone. I am drinking my coffee and eating my omelette in the Windjammer. I don't have much for plans today. Back to my drawing pad down by the Cafe Promenade I expect. I’ll be there for the Veterans program just after lunch to be sure.. then this afternoon I’ll pack up in preparation for disembarking tomorrow morning.

I don’t think being an introvert is one of the common qualities found in successful youtubers! I know there are a few out there but I figure most are hunting for and highlighting the activity. I have never had a problem on the Royal ships I have cruised on with finding myself a nook to stake out and relax in.

Breakfast in Cozumel. Well it wasn’t huevos rancheros I had but I think my step dad would like the bacon and eggs on rosemary potatoes I had at COZ coffee roasting company. I got off the ship pre dawn and made my way downtown to be there right after they opened. The cappuccino was perfect. Afterwords I meandered up the seawall taking in the sights as the tide rolled in. Then I walked back from downtown to the International Pier not for any real reason other than it sounded fun. I have no schedule. Did my shopping and by 10 AM I am vegging out on the lido deck, once again doing nothing. To bad I work for a living. I could get used to this.

So dinner ashore in Cozumel. I was planning on heading downtown but just couldn’t drag up enough gumption to make the journey tonight. So I wandered the Port area and had my tacos at Mandy’s. More trips to this port than not have had me eating here. Not sure if “Mandy” is really a person or just a name but I have never been sorry for over eating here. Tonight I had a dictate from my boy at home that I should eat tacos. An imperative I was quite willing to obey. Still need to get downtown, I really want to try that coffee and my Step dad wanted me to have breakfast out while I am here.

Before I get to far along I have to compliment a couple of the music acts. I have spent quite a bit of time relaxing with my drawing pad in front of the Pig and Whistle. Frodo Peralta has been there a few times playing guitar. Making old and new pop hits sound great in classical guitar styles. I also caught DeLorean in the Starlight lounge and was right at home with their sound. Theater shows and production pieces I usually only do with a date but I love live music. oh and along with their pics, a gratuitous shot of my pen and ink work from the past couple of days listening to them.

Made it to Cozumel! As we were pulling in Icon was pulling out. My goodness she is a big beast! It was fun to see her on her inaugural visit. All the ships are in port were sending her off with a horn battle. Every one wanted a picture of Icon. Even our crew, it was the first time they got to see her as well! I am going to go ashore and hunt for supper. I had originally planned downtown, however I am enjoying being lazy so I will find something right here close.

Windjammer for Breakfast. Corned beef hash, 2 eggs over medium hash browns and bacon to start this partial sea day. This is one of my typical morning meals aboard. I have had some variation of it every cruise. The best thing about breakfast on a cruise is I don't have to cook it or clean up. Now if I can just convince them to start the pizza ovens at 5 AM!

I have not heard anything about replacing the carpet, but I doubt execs at Royal would be very happy if such active operations information was listed out publicly. As a building maintenance manager I would not. If possible I would see first what can be recovered and restored before condemning and replacing enmasse. Then I would replace what was required quietly and as efficiently as possible. But thats just me. A cruise ship is very much a floating resort hotel. I am sure they have teams that are dedicated to just such events.

Just a note about the recent storm flooding. There are reports from Starboard balconies on decks 7 and 8 of musty smells. In my deck 8 interior I have had no problems. The crew has been responding to any complaints as best they can which seems to be pretty good.

Voyager, from what I can see, is currently blessed with an outstanding crew. The flow of activity has been managed very well to keep it from feeling crowded. The Bridge crew has managed the vessel in a moderate swell so the it has had minimal impact on guest and the engineers are taking care of business while being completely unobtrusive. Windjammer has been good, I had pork schnitzel with gravy at lunch and it was quite tasty. Breakfast was standard fare on Royal and I ate my fill. To be fair I am not usually a big breakfast person so it has to be pretty spif for me to mention. The pizza is not Rosati’s Chicago thin crust, but then nothing but Rosati’s really is. I had no complaints about it and it was quick and plentiful. I will be taking cookies back to my room again tonight, I am sure youtuber Emmacruises would approve that plan. here is my table for one and you can see my waiter Danny in the mirror.

A nice quiet afternoon sitting in the Royal Promenade with my pencil and drawing pad. There was slow constant flow of people walking by and live guitar beside the Pig and Whistle. I started with a cafe mocha and the waiter kept me in blue berry nojitos while I just crawled out into my activity. Take it from a dedicated introvert being a social butterfly is not required to enjoy a cruise!

Took some time in my morning to go up to the Chapel to meet with Bill W and a few friends I had not yet met. If you are ever wondering who Bill W is and why he has so many friends, Bill W was one of the Founders of Alcoholics Anonymous. When you see a schedule entry for Friends of Bill W it means we are having an informal AA meeting. Some are more structured sometimes it’s just a couple of people meeting up to talk. It really depends on who all shows up. On some ships we meet in a conference room or some other out of the way private spot. On Voyager they have us in the chapel which is beautiful. A stained glass sky light, terrazzo floor with brass inlays and sculptures all around. Several of Royals sips have done away with the chapel in favor of things like escape rooms. I am glad Voyager still has this space

The crew does a great job on this ship of keeping up appearances. I can never figure out how they stick a couple thousand people on board and manage the logistics day in and day out. Even for an early riser like me. Coffee was hot and ready in the Cafe Promenade. My early companions were respectful and quiet while I got my caffeine back to therapeutic levels. I also made it to one of my favorite observances. Sunrise at sea. A refreshing sight for the soul… Just a little earlier I managed to catch the moon as well!

My Time dinning went good. Had a great steak and my wait staff was awesome. I was actually early for my reserved time and it was no problem. Maybe 5 more minutes wait and I was seated ahead of the appointed time! I had the escargot, the NY strip (med rare), and the Boston cream pie. The steak was perfect. Coffee with the Boston cream, and since my boy has me programmed a plate of cookies for cabin snacks. added bonus I found a duck!

Well I have checked out my cubby and for the first time ever in an interior cabin, I find it a cozy spot for just me. Two would not be bad as long as they were very friendly. wandered a bit and had some pizza for lunch. Maybe a steak in the MDR for dinner. Since I am solo i got shifted from early seating to My Time. Not a big deal but to my experience My Time has been a mess since restart. Guess Ill find out if it has improved! next stop though is the meet up for the Face Book group and Sail Away. Then later I am gonna go cook in the Solarium hot tubs!

On board !! Check in was easy, scanned my set sail / sea pass from my phone, went through security and didn't have 5 minutes of sitting before walking on board. Found the muster station and got that put out of the way and now sitting on the Royal Promenade with a Blueberry Nojito. I’ll have to explore what other non-alcoholic offerings are aboard and post them as I go. I am sure there are more I can find. The Bar Tender here at the R bar has already marked me as a non drinker so I may pick his brain a bit.

Breakfast in Galveston ya’ll!

In Galveston! and checked into Moody Gardens Hotel. I snacked on the way down from DFW so no big adventure for dinner. Thinking of Sea Wall Coffee Company here for in Galveston for breakfast.

Well I am packed, I think. I have just over 24 hours to decide I need one more thing in the bag and then I am on the road from DFW to Galveston. I have realized in this process just how much is not normally in my Bag and since it all goes on the trips it must normally be in the DW's bag. She is far more organized than I and I am feeling it as I get ready (just don't tell her I said that) Hoping that I miss most of the party traffic getting in to Galveston tomorrow as the last Mardis Gras parade of the day starts at 4 PM and I won't get there till 6:30ish. Watching several forecast it looks like we will be on the back side of a swell caused by the low moving east across the Gulf coast states in the next couple of days. Here's hoping that a following sea and ginger candy will see me through any possible ill effects of the waves. here are a few of the marine forcast I watch. Usually I check several and choose to believe the one most in my favor! Fox Hurricane Forecast here https://www.myfoxhurricane.com/ww3_sigwave_car.html Stormsurf here http://www.stormsurf.com/cgi-bin/4cast.cgi?ID=gfswave.42001 And National Hurricane Center here https://www.nhc.noaa.gov/marine/forecast/enhanced_gom.php Tomorrow Galveston and Monday on board Voyager!