enjoylife5

Day 7: Sea Day
We took advantage of our last chance to not set the alarm clock and ate a late breakfast in the dining room. After breakfast we high-tailed it to the deck 12 to make the most of our final sea day. It was windy and the boat was rocking a little that day and there were plenty of lounge chairs to choose from. 
We watched the Zumba class and pool deck games. I ate a final lunch in the Dining Room with my daughter. Lunch in the dining room is really a treat and I’m surprised more people don’t do it. They usually have a nice salad bar, selection of desserts and some fun entrees. We ordered the chicken sliders and seafood risotto. This tomato-based risotto is one of my favorite dishes on the ship. 
After lunch we rode the waterslides with the kids and soaked up our last bit of sunshine and Caribbean music before heading back to the cold. About 4 pm I returned to the room to pack up and shower for dinner. 
Entertainment that night was the farewell show and another comedian. We walked around a little more before setting our luggage out and then called it a night. 

Leaving San Juan & Final Thoughts
We waited on Deck 4 for an 8:30 am departure. They called us about 15 minutes later. Note, there are 2 stations to scan out of the boat, the furthest one had no lines. It took about 40 minutes start to finish  to find our luggage and get through  customs line . 
We still had a few hours to kill before our 1:30 flight and didn’t want to sit in the airport any longer than necessary. We found a tour guide outside the terminal who took us and our luggage through old San Juan and surrounding areas then dropped us off at the airport. He was happy to adapt to our time constraints. Cost was $30/person and we had the van all to ourselves. His smaller van could access streets/areas the bigger busses could not. He was very informative, spoke excellent English, and gave us a lot of history and facts about the areas . You can find him on FB Joe Padro or phone (787)-960-8585. 
SJU Tip: we arrived 2 hours before our flight and made it to the gate barely with about 15 minutes to spare. The lines at SJU were very long for agricultural inspection, baggage check and TSA. It was very crowded and busy! Allow plenty of time for SJU departure!
Some pictures of our pre-airport San Juan tour:




 
Final Thoughts: All in all it was a great trip, beautiful itinerary and excellent entertainment and customer service from Royal Caribbean staff.  My only frustration was our GF dining experience.  The ship did not receive a shipment of their usual Gluten Free baking mix so adding that on top of their new dinner menu really limited my choices that I usually have and look forward to.  To their credit,  they sensed my predicament and went above and beyond to try to accommodate us by personalizing the menu and delivering us a bowl of GF packaged cookies every night. It helped, but it just wasn't as reliable and effortless or filling.   I'm hopeful they will modify their menu a bit more to include some of the old choices and markings.  I feel it would eliminate a lot of stress and free up more time for dinner staff and passengers.  
Many have asked about the condition of the ship since dry dock.... I cruised last year right after the first dry dock and again this year after the second.  This time, the staterooms, Chops & Izumi are finished and look like they do on other ships. The ship while more of a classic, traditional look compared to Oasis ships, seemed very refreshed and polished, even more so than last year.  The dining room and staterooms are fresh and modern, and all of the public areas are very well maintained. The carpet is new and modern.  I noticed a painters touching up a lot of nooks and cranny's that most people probably wouldn't bother painting. I admired that attention to detail. The new Izumi looked nice.  It's only a sushi bar, no Hibachi,  but with tables to dine at.  They were offering many 50% off deals so I would watch for those.  The water slides and Flow Rider were fun and functioning well, the lines never seemed too awful. They were well-placed and looked as though they have always been there.  
Thanks for following along! Now I need another vacation to look forward to 
 
The New Izumi: 

 
Our stateroom, Deck 7
 

Because we'd like to send you to college some day.
 
As has been said on the podcast, the smaller ships and/or weekend cruises are more appropriate for veteran cruisers looking for a quick getaway or to scratch the cruise itch.  I really enjoyed our past Enchantment cruise, but for us, that was a relax by the pool and watch the sea go by getaway cruise.  

I apologize for not finishing the blog during the trip.  It was a challenge for me to find enough internet time to myself.  I still took notes and picture with plans to share over the next few days.   Props to Matt & Michael Poole who obviously spend so much time of their own vacation to compose and post their posts!
 
Sea Day 1
I welcomed our  Sea Day by sleeping in and having breakfast in the main dining room. While everyone was still waking up I took a walk outside on deck 4.  It's a nice underused section of the ship. I later met up with the kids to spend the rest of the day by the pool.
This was probably the best sea day we've ever had.  It was a perfect 80 degrees,  calm seas and not a bit of wind. Although the pool deck was busy, we didn't have a hard time finding chairs.  The kids started the morning out climbing the rock wall, then on to the waterslides and the pool.  On deck 12 we comfortably watched :) the Zumba class and Belly Flop contest by the pool.  It was a nice relaxing break from port days. A nice frozen mojitio complimented the afternoon.
Dinner: We're still in the main dining room for the rest of the trip and I love it because this sailing we've been seated by the windows. They surprised us tonight by making some of the items from the regular menu gluten free along with some cherries jubilee.  
After dinner we soaked in the hot tub and finished off the evening with a lively Quest game in Studio B. They always find a way to kick it up a notch! We stopped by Boleros for a bit before heading to bed.  Tonight was "white night" and it appeared many had dressed for the event. 
Fun side note: we met a guest tonight who has been on the ship for six weeks.  Wow! What a life!

I hope so.  It pains me when new cruisers and/or those new to RC want to go on Enchantment or Majesty first.  There's nothing wrong with them, per se, but they aren't glowing examples of the best RC offers.  

I think it's a good play to have revitalized Voyager class ships doing the 3/4 day cruises. Most of the ships that currently sail these short itineraries are older vessels with few amenities outside of Disney Cruise Line who has always put their newest ships on their shortest itineraries first. My guess is that they see the most growth coming from the 3/4 night cruise market, it gives passengers the opportunity to add on pre/post-cruise stays (e.g., Royal teams with Universal), and many first time cruisers try short cruises as a way to try out cruising. Perhaps they're starting to realize that new cruisers aren't getting the true "cruise experience" from sailing on older vessels that currently do these short cruises.

This is where I got to a couple of years ago ... for a few years I would absolutely have described myself as Loyal to Royal ... when it was time to plan a vacation I only needed to use one website (although it rarely worked properly  ).
Then I started finding myself drifting a bit and looking at other websites for the same style of vacation with different naming conventions (no more ... of the Seas exclusivity) .. now I actually have looked at websites that feature a whole different style of vacation even !!
Next week will be my first spring-break on land for several years and next year's spring-break looks like it will feature Hawaii instead of a ... of the Seas. I'm still having great vacations so no complaints as an individual but feels like something went wrong as a consumer.

The cruise industry has evolved just like the travel industry overall has.  Don't get me started on how airline amenities have changed.  
Relative to the competition within the same market or price range it's all relative.  From hotels, to resorts and cruise ships. 
Having said that nothing wrong with changing things up once in a while.  Keeps things fresh.

Leaving San Juan & Final Thoughts
We waited on Deck 4 for an 8:30 am departure. They called us about 15 minutes later. Note, there are 2 stations to scan out of the boat, the furthest one had no lines. It took about 40 minutes start to finish  to find our luggage and get through  customs line . 
We still had a few hours to kill before our 1:30 flight and didn’t want to sit in the airport any longer than necessary. We found a tour guide outside the terminal who took us and our luggage through old San Juan and surrounding areas then dropped us off at the airport. He was happy to adapt to our time constraints. Cost was $30/person and we had the van all to ourselves. His smaller van could access streets/areas the bigger busses could not. He was very informative, spoke excellent English, and gave us a lot of history and facts about the areas . You can find him on FB Joe Padro or phone (787)-960-8585. 
SJU Tip: we arrived 2 hours before our flight and made it to the gate barely with about 15 minutes to spare. The lines at SJU were very long for agricultural inspection, baggage check and TSA. It was very crowded and busy! Allow plenty of time for SJU departure!
Some pictures of our pre-airport San Juan tour:




 
Final Thoughts: All in all it was a great trip, beautiful itinerary and excellent entertainment and customer service from Royal Caribbean staff.  My only frustration was our GF dining experience.  The ship did not receive a shipment of their usual Gluten Free baking mix so adding that on top of their new dinner menu really limited my choices that I usually have and look forward to.  To their credit,  they sensed my predicament and went above and beyond to try to accommodate us by personalizing the menu and delivering us a bowl of GF packaged cookies every night. It helped, but it just wasn't as reliable and effortless or filling.   I'm hopeful they will modify their menu a bit more to include some of the old choices and markings.  I feel it would eliminate a lot of stress and free up more time for dinner staff and passengers.  
Many have asked about the condition of the ship since dry dock.... I cruised last year right after the first dry dock and again this year after the second.  This time, the staterooms, Chops & Izumi are finished and look like they do on other ships. The ship while more of a classic, traditional look compared to Oasis ships, seemed very refreshed and polished, even more so than last year.  The dining room and staterooms are fresh and modern, and all of the public areas are very well maintained. The carpet is new and modern.  I noticed a painters touching up a lot of nooks and cranny's that most people probably wouldn't bother painting. I admired that attention to detail. The new Izumi looked nice.  It's only a sushi bar, no Hibachi,  but with tables to dine at.  They were offering many 50% off deals so I would watch for those.  The water slides and Flow Rider were fun and functioning well, the lines never seemed too awful. They were well-placed and looked as though they have always been there.  
Thanks for following along! Now I need another vacation to look forward to 
 
The New Izumi: 

 
Our stateroom, Deck 7
 

Leaving San Juan & Final Thoughts
We waited on Deck 4 for an 8:30 am departure. They called us about 15 minutes later. Note, there are 2 stations to scan out of the boat, the furthest one had no lines. It took about 40 minutes start to finish  to find our luggage and get through  customs line . 
We still had a few hours to kill before our 1:30 flight and didn’t want to sit in the airport any longer than necessary. We found a tour guide outside the terminal who took us and our luggage through old San Juan and surrounding areas then dropped us off at the airport. He was happy to adapt to our time constraints. Cost was $30/person and we had the van all to ourselves. His smaller van could access streets/areas the bigger busses could not. He was very informative, spoke excellent English, and gave us a lot of history and facts about the areas . You can find him on FB Joe Padro or phone (787)-960-8585. 
SJU Tip: we arrived 2 hours before our flight and made it to the gate barely with about 15 minutes to spare. The lines at SJU were very long for agricultural inspection, baggage check and TSA. It was very crowded and busy! Allow plenty of time for SJU departure!
Some pictures of our pre-airport San Juan tour:




 
Final Thoughts: All in all it was a great trip, beautiful itinerary and excellent entertainment and customer service from Royal Caribbean staff.  My only frustration was our GF dining experience.  The ship did not receive a shipment of their usual Gluten Free baking mix so adding that on top of their new dinner menu really limited my choices that I usually have and look forward to.  To their credit,  they sensed my predicament and went above and beyond to try to accommodate us by personalizing the menu and delivering us a bowl of GF packaged cookies every night. It helped, but it just wasn't as reliable and effortless or filling.   I'm hopeful they will modify their menu a bit more to include some of the old choices and markings.  I feel it would eliminate a lot of stress and free up more time for dinner staff and passengers.  
Many have asked about the condition of the ship since dry dock.... I cruised last year right after the first dry dock and again this year after the second.  This time, the staterooms, Chops & Izumi are finished and look like they do on other ships. The ship while more of a classic, traditional look compared to Oasis ships, seemed very refreshed and polished, even more so than last year.  The dining room and staterooms are fresh and modern, and all of the public areas are very well maintained. The carpet is new and modern.  I noticed a painters touching up a lot of nooks and cranny's that most people probably wouldn't bother painting. I admired that attention to detail. The new Izumi looked nice.  It's only a sushi bar, no Hibachi,  but with tables to dine at.  They were offering many 50% off deals so I would watch for those.  The water slides and Flow Rider were fun and functioning well, the lines never seemed too awful. They were well-placed and looked as though they have always been there.  
Thanks for following along! Now I need another vacation to look forward to 
 
The New Izumi: 

 
Our stateroom, Deck 7
 

Day 7: Sea Day
We took advantage of our last chance to not set the alarm clock and ate a late breakfast in the dining room. After breakfast we high-tailed it to the deck 12 to make the most of our final sea day. It was windy and the boat was rocking a little that day and there were plenty of lounge chairs to choose from. 
We watched the Zumba class and pool deck games. I ate a final lunch in the Dining Room with my daughter. Lunch in the dining room is really a treat and I’m surprised more people don’t do it. They usually have a nice salad bar, selection of desserts and some fun entrees. We ordered the chicken sliders and seafood risotto. This tomato-based risotto is one of my favorite dishes on the ship. 
After lunch we rode the waterslides with the kids and soaked up our last bit of sunshine and Caribbean music before heading back to the cold. About 4 pm I returned to the room to pack up and shower for dinner. 
Entertainment that night was the farewell show and another comedian. We walked around a little more before setting our luggage out and then called it a night. 

Leaving San Juan & Final Thoughts
We waited on Deck 4 for an 8:30 am departure. They called us about 15 minutes later. Note, there are 2 stations to scan out of the boat, the furthest one had no lines. It took about 40 minutes start to finish  to find our luggage and get through  customs line . 
We still had a few hours to kill before our 1:30 flight and didn’t want to sit in the airport any longer than necessary. We found a tour guide outside the terminal who took us and our luggage through old San Juan and surrounding areas then dropped us off at the airport. He was happy to adapt to our time constraints. Cost was $30/person and we had the van all to ourselves. His smaller van could access streets/areas the bigger busses could not. He was very informative, spoke excellent English, and gave us a lot of history and facts about the areas . You can find him on FB Joe Padro or phone (787)-960-8585. 
SJU Tip: we arrived 2 hours before our flight and made it to the gate barely with about 15 minutes to spare. The lines at SJU were very long for agricultural inspection, baggage check and TSA. It was very crowded and busy! Allow plenty of time for SJU departure!
Some pictures of our pre-airport San Juan tour:




 
Final Thoughts: All in all it was a great trip, beautiful itinerary and excellent entertainment and customer service from Royal Caribbean staff.  My only frustration was our GF dining experience.  The ship did not receive a shipment of their usual Gluten Free baking mix so adding that on top of their new dinner menu really limited my choices that I usually have and look forward to.  To their credit,  they sensed my predicament and went above and beyond to try to accommodate us by personalizing the menu and delivering us a bowl of GF packaged cookies every night. It helped, but it just wasn't as reliable and effortless or filling.   I'm hopeful they will modify their menu a bit more to include some of the old choices and markings.  I feel it would eliminate a lot of stress and free up more time for dinner staff and passengers.  
Many have asked about the condition of the ship since dry dock.... I cruised last year right after the first dry dock and again this year after the second.  This time, the staterooms, Chops & Izumi are finished and look like they do on other ships. The ship while more of a classic, traditional look compared to Oasis ships, seemed very refreshed and polished, even more so than last year.  The dining room and staterooms are fresh and modern, and all of the public areas are very well maintained. The carpet is new and modern.  I noticed a painters touching up a lot of nooks and cranny's that most people probably wouldn't bother painting. I admired that attention to detail. The new Izumi looked nice.  It's only a sushi bar, no Hibachi,  but with tables to dine at.  They were offering many 50% off deals so I would watch for those.  The water slides and Flow Rider were fun and functioning well, the lines never seemed too awful. They were well-placed and looked as though they have always been there.  
Thanks for following along! Now I need another vacation to look forward to 
 
The New Izumi: 

 
Our stateroom, Deck 7
 

Day 7: Sea Day
We took advantage of our last chance to not set the alarm clock and ate a late breakfast in the dining room. After breakfast we high-tailed it to the deck 12 to make the most of our final sea day. It was windy and the boat was rocking a little that day and there were plenty of lounge chairs to choose from. 
We watched the Zumba class and pool deck games. I ate a final lunch in the Dining Room with my daughter. Lunch in the dining room is really a treat and I’m surprised more people don’t do it. They usually have a nice salad bar, selection of desserts and some fun entrees. We ordered the chicken sliders and seafood risotto. This tomato-based risotto is one of my favorite dishes on the ship. 
After lunch we rode the waterslides with the kids and soaked up our last bit of sunshine and Caribbean music before heading back to the cold. About 4 pm I returned to the room to pack up and shower for dinner. 
Entertainment that night was the farewell show and another comedian. We walked around a little more before setting our luggage out and then called it a night. 

Day 6: Aruba
After breakfast in the main dining room, we left the ship an hour early to shop and buy our  Aruba Alex and Ani bracelets. 
Excursion: After shopping, we met back at the port building for our excursion-KuKoo Kunuku bus tour. There is no mistaking you’re a tourist driving through town in a loud, brightly colored party bus shaking maracas! The added touch is the driver plays fun party music, sings to you and each window is fitted with maraca holders for each passenger. It is truly is unique and makes you feel apart of the “happy island.”  In addition to the peppy ambiance, we appreciated the brief tour to a church and light house before dropping us off at Palm Beach. The tour allowed us to to see a enough of a preview of the island without sacrificing too much beach time.  He gave us about 10 minutes at each stop. For us, that was just right!  My only regret is that I did not get the special coconut smoothie at the light house.  We could not find a version of it at the beach later on.  
The beach was beautiful. Lots of people and activities, and they had chairs saved for us. Again, the water was so perfect and turquoise you couldn't help not playing in it. On the flip side, I was surprised to see acres and acres of cactus! I never thought of Aruba as a desert island. 
Port Tip:  There is a good sized super market behind the Renaissance shops if you need bottled water, Pepsi products , snacks, sunscreen, etc.   
For dinner that night, the staff were dressed in their choice of island shirts. They seemed excited about it and were in a spirited mood. It was fun. They served us Chicken Cordon Bleu and a Brownie for dessert. 
Entertainment: After dinner we saw the Fire & Ice skating show and the Love & Marriage.  It's really impressive what they can do on such a small ice skating rink. 
   



 

 
 

 

Day 6: Aruba
After breakfast in the main dining room, we left the ship an hour early to shop and buy our  Aruba Alex and Ani bracelets. 
Excursion: After shopping, we met back at the port building for our excursion-KuKoo Kunuku bus tour. There is no mistaking you’re a tourist driving through town in a loud, brightly colored party bus shaking maracas! The added touch is the driver plays fun party music, sings to you and each window is fitted with maraca holders for each passenger. It is truly is unique and makes you feel apart of the “happy island.”  In addition to the peppy ambiance, we appreciated the brief tour to a church and light house before dropping us off at Palm Beach. The tour allowed us to to see a enough of a preview of the island without sacrificing too much beach time.  He gave us about 10 minutes at each stop. For us, that was just right!  My only regret is that I did not get the special coconut smoothie at the light house.  We could not find a version of it at the beach later on.  
The beach was beautiful. Lots of people and activities, and they had chairs saved for us. Again, the water was so perfect and turquoise you couldn't help not playing in it. On the flip side, I was surprised to see acres and acres of cactus! I never thought of Aruba as a desert island. 
Port Tip:  There is a good sized super market behind the Renaissance shops if you need bottled water, Pepsi products , snacks, sunscreen, etc.   
For dinner that night, the staff were dressed in their choice of island shirts. They seemed excited about it and were in a spirited mood. It was fun. They served us Chicken Cordon Bleu and a Brownie for dessert. 
Entertainment: After dinner we saw the Fire & Ice skating show and the Love & Marriage.  It's really impressive what they can do on such a small ice skating rink. 
   



 

 
 

 

Day 5 Curacao:
 We intended for Curacao to be a nice easy day exploring. We had a nice breakfast and took our time leaving the  ship.
I immediately fell in love with Curacao.  All of the colored buildings are fun to see and the port is landscaped well and very inviting. There are plenty of places to walk around and explore. We walked off the ship, crossed the famous floating bridge and enjoyed walking the streets and shopping. I was really impressed with the shopping here, more so than the other Caribbean ports we’ve visited.
Excursion: We really wanted to take a tuk tuk tour but they were in high demand today, so we resorted to an island tour by taxi. It cost $25/person for two hours. She took us to some vantage points for pictures, to see a group of pink flamingos and the the Curacao liquor factory. (Btw, the factory has a very soothing  green spray for sunburns, I highly recommend trying it!) We ended with a short visit to Mambo Beach Blvd, a fun beach area with an outdoor mall of shops and restaurants. I loved the ambiance there: music playing, a lot of padded chairs and palms trees, and the most perfect turquoise water. If I ever come back to Curacao I will definitely plan for a longer visit to this beach. 
Dinner:  We learned the new dinner menu is a response to guests wanting to finish dinner in time for the first show. Apparently, the dessert process was taking too much time so ordering dessert with dinner helps shave off time. It is suspectedthat more changes to the menu will come given the feedback they’re receiving . That was reassuring to hear.  We really miss the fruit soup! I do like finishing dinner early enough to catch the shows, it gives us more time to do other activities in the evening .
Entertainment:  Joel Mason performed a tribute to music show in the theater.  He has a lot of musical talent incorporated with humor and wit.  After the show we took in the later pool side movie.  They're so relaxing by the sea!




 
Haven't seen a phone booth in a long time!


 
Movie by the pool . . . 

I apologize for not finishing the blog during the trip.  It was a challenge for me to find enough internet time to myself.  I still took notes and picture with plans to share over the next few days.   Props to Matt & Michael Poole who obviously spend so much time of their own vacation to compose and post their posts!
 
Sea Day 1
I welcomed our  Sea Day by sleeping in and having breakfast in the main dining room. While everyone was still waking up I took a walk outside on deck 4.  It's a nice underused section of the ship. I later met up with the kids to spend the rest of the day by the pool.
This was probably the best sea day we've ever had.  It was a perfect 80 degrees,  calm seas and not a bit of wind. Although the pool deck was busy, we didn't have a hard time finding chairs.  The kids started the morning out climbing the rock wall, then on to the waterslides and the pool.  On deck 12 we comfortably watched :) the Zumba class and Belly Flop contest by the pool.  It was a nice relaxing break from port days. A nice frozen mojitio complimented the afternoon.
Dinner: We're still in the main dining room for the rest of the trip and I love it because this sailing we've been seated by the windows. They surprised us tonight by making some of the items from the regular menu gluten free along with some cherries jubilee.  
After dinner we soaked in the hot tub and finished off the evening with a lively Quest game in Studio B. They always find a way to kick it up a notch! We stopped by Boleros for a bit before heading to bed.  Tonight was "white night" and it appeared many had dressed for the event. 
Fun side note: we met a guest tonight who has been on the ship for six weeks.  Wow! What a life!

Day 6: Aruba
After breakfast in the main dining room, we left the ship an hour early to shop and buy our  Aruba Alex and Ani bracelets. 
Excursion: After shopping, we met back at the port building for our excursion-KuKoo Kunuku bus tour. There is no mistaking you’re a tourist driving through town in a loud, brightly colored party bus shaking maracas! The added touch is the driver plays fun party music, sings to you and each window is fitted with maraca holders for each passenger. It is truly is unique and makes you feel apart of the “happy island.”  In addition to the peppy ambiance, we appreciated the brief tour to a church and light house before dropping us off at Palm Beach. The tour allowed us to to see a enough of a preview of the island without sacrificing too much beach time.  He gave us about 10 minutes at each stop. For us, that was just right!  My only regret is that I did not get the special coconut smoothie at the light house.  We could not find a version of it at the beach later on.  
The beach was beautiful. Lots of people and activities, and they had chairs saved for us. Again, the water was so perfect and turquoise you couldn't help not playing in it. On the flip side, I was surprised to see acres and acres of cactus! I never thought of Aruba as a desert island. 
Port Tip:  There is a good sized super market behind the Renaissance shops if you need bottled water, Pepsi products , snacks, sunscreen, etc.   
For dinner that night, the staff were dressed in their choice of island shirts. They seemed excited about it and were in a spirited mood. It was fun. They served us Chicken Cordon Bleu and a Brownie for dessert. 
Entertainment: After dinner we saw the Fire & Ice skating show and the Love & Marriage.  It's really impressive what they can do on such a small ice skating rink. 
   



 

 
 

 

Day 6: Aruba
After breakfast in the main dining room, we left the ship an hour early to shop and buy our  Aruba Alex and Ani bracelets. 
Excursion: After shopping, we met back at the port building for our excursion-KuKoo Kunuku bus tour. There is no mistaking you’re a tourist driving through town in a loud, brightly colored party bus shaking maracas! The added touch is the driver plays fun party music, sings to you and each window is fitted with maraca holders for each passenger. It is truly is unique and makes you feel apart of the “happy island.”  In addition to the peppy ambiance, we appreciated the brief tour to a church and light house before dropping us off at Palm Beach. The tour allowed us to to see a enough of a preview of the island without sacrificing too much beach time.  He gave us about 10 minutes at each stop. For us, that was just right!  My only regret is that I did not get the special coconut smoothie at the light house.  We could not find a version of it at the beach later on.  
The beach was beautiful. Lots of people and activities, and they had chairs saved for us. Again, the water was so perfect and turquoise you couldn't help not playing in it. On the flip side, I was surprised to see acres and acres of cactus! I never thought of Aruba as a desert island. 
Port Tip:  There is a good sized super market behind the Renaissance shops if you need bottled water, Pepsi products , snacks, sunscreen, etc.   
For dinner that night, the staff were dressed in their choice of island shirts. They seemed excited about it and were in a spirited mood. It was fun. They served us Chicken Cordon Bleu and a Brownie for dessert. 
Entertainment: After dinner we saw the Fire & Ice skating show and the Love & Marriage.  It's really impressive what they can do on such a small ice skating rink. 
   



 

 
 

 

Day 5 Curacao:
 We intended for Curacao to be a nice easy day exploring. We had a nice breakfast and took our time leaving the  ship.
I immediately fell in love with Curacao.  All of the colored buildings are fun to see and the port is landscaped well and very inviting. There are plenty of places to walk around and explore. We walked off the ship, crossed the famous floating bridge and enjoyed walking the streets and shopping. I was really impressed with the shopping here, more so than the other Caribbean ports we’ve visited.
Excursion: We really wanted to take a tuk tuk tour but they were in high demand today, so we resorted to an island tour by taxi. It cost $25/person for two hours. She took us to some vantage points for pictures, to see a group of pink flamingos and the the Curacao liquor factory. (Btw, the factory has a very soothing  green spray for sunburns, I highly recommend trying it!) We ended with a short visit to Mambo Beach Blvd, a fun beach area with an outdoor mall of shops and restaurants. I loved the ambiance there: music playing, a lot of padded chairs and palms trees, and the most perfect turquoise water. If I ever come back to Curacao I will definitely plan for a longer visit to this beach. 
Dinner:  We learned the new dinner menu is a response to guests wanting to finish dinner in time for the first show. Apparently, the dessert process was taking too much time so ordering dessert with dinner helps shave off time. It is suspectedthat more changes to the menu will come given the feedback they’re receiving . That was reassuring to hear.  We really miss the fruit soup! I do like finishing dinner early enough to catch the shows, it gives us more time to do other activities in the evening .
Entertainment:  Joel Mason performed a tribute to music show in the theater.  He has a lot of musical talent incorporated with humor and wit.  After the show we took in the later pool side movie.  They're so relaxing by the sea!




 
Haven't seen a phone booth in a long time!


 
Movie by the pool . . . 

DAY 2
St Thomas:  We intended to attend a local church service (something we’ve always thought would be interesting to do in port), ride up to Paradise Point and visit Magen’s Bay today, BUT we overslept so late we even missed breakfast! So for plan B we grabbed a slice of pizza and found a taxi to take us to Magen’s Bay for a few hours.  
 
The taxi cost $10 each way per person. Magen’s Bay charged $5/person.Twelve and under are free. The ride itself was quite scenic and high so that somewhat made up for missing Paradise Point. It turns out Paradise Point tram was closed today even though they emailed me they would be open.
 I was excited to see  Magen’s Bay was hardly crowded since there was only one ship in port today. The water was so beautiful and turquoise blue. There was a lot of broken , chunky coral in the sand and water , so I would advise bringing water shoes or playing in the area near bath house 4.  That beach area is more soft and smooth. We decided Magen’s Bay is great place for families since the water is so calm and shallow. 
 
We ate at Giovanni’s tonight.  I tried something new and stopped in this afternoon to inform them about eating gluten free. They said it’s helpful, and  I noticed our food and bread tonight came more quickly than last night so maybe it sped the process up for us. The food was delicious and our server surprised up with a yummy risotto dish he had the chef make especially just for us. It hit the spot. It was so creamy and flavorful.   
 
Nothing jumped out at us for entertainment tonight, so we retired to the room for more March Madness and to get ready for our early excursion tomorrow. 
 
 
 
 

Day 3: St Kitts
Today our RCL Kayaking/Snorkel Adventure left at 8:30 am. We met just outside the ship and loaded in a van for a short drive through town, the airport, Timothy Hill and to Friar's Bay. We received a short tutorial on kayaking and kayaked towards a floating dock. There we switched into snorkel gear and spent probably an 45 minutes or so snorkeling around. The water was a little murky from the last storm,  but there was still much sea life to be seen. Our guides were lively yet professional and I thought they did a great job with our group. They even offered to take a girl in the water who didn't know how to swim. She did great! After snorkeling, we got back in the kayaks and headed towards Frigate Beach where we exited the water and returned the kayaks. We could either return back to ship with the tour buses or stay at the beach and take a taxi back later. We opted to stay and enjoyed ourselves at the beach. The weather was hot and the water just right. They had fun music playing and bars and food available for purchase . Two chairs and an umbrella cost us $15. The taxi back was $3/person if you have a group. 
The rest of the afternoon we spent shopping , eating at the Windjammer and relaxing to the live Caribbean music by the pool. I love that live music in the afternoon!
 
Dinner tonight was our first in the main dining room for this trip.  We always enjoy the main dining room and look forward to it. Tonight, I noticed they offered the new menu that people have been buzzing about. I was really disappointed to find only 1 GF appetizer and 1 GF entree--shrimp cocktail & chicken breast and a baked potato. I know I can't be picky,  but on the old menu I was always able to find two or three options of each. The food was definitely served more quickly and we didn't spend much time waiting. Our gluten eating members seemed happy with their meals and options. Tomorrow's menu offered the same chicken breast for dinner, but the head waiter offered to see if they could make something else off of the menu for us, so we'll see that goes.
 
Entertainment in the main theater was a Spanish gentleman who did a combo act of guitar, comedy and swirling these ball type things ?I have no idea what they were called. He was pretty funny and his skills were impressive. He also incorporated the orchestra into his act. Adult comedy and a game show were also on the schedule for later, but we called it a night after being in the sun. I'm saving the Cruise Compasses to send to Matt. I'm writing from an iPad while kids are asleep, so I apologize for not being able to interact more or be more detailed. Here are some pictures from today. I'm looking forward to a Sea Day tomorrow!
 
 
 
 
 

Day 3: St Kitts
Today our RCL Kayaking/Snorkel Adventure left at 8:30 am. We met just outside the ship and loaded in a van for a short drive through town, the airport, Timothy Hill and to Friar's Bay. We received a short tutorial on kayaking and kayaked towards a floating dock. There we switched into snorkel gear and spent probably an 45 minutes or so snorkeling around. The water was a little murky from the last storm,  but there was still much sea life to be seen. Our guides were lively yet professional and I thought they did a great job with our group. They even offered to take a girl in the water who didn't know how to swim. She did great! After snorkeling, we got back in the kayaks and headed towards Frigate Beach where we exited the water and returned the kayaks. We could either return back to ship with the tour buses or stay at the beach and take a taxi back later. We opted to stay and enjoyed ourselves at the beach. The weather was hot and the water just right. They had fun music playing and bars and food available for purchase . Two chairs and an umbrella cost us $15. The taxi back was $3/person if you have a group. 
The rest of the afternoon we spent shopping , eating at the Windjammer and relaxing to the live Caribbean music by the pool. I love that live music in the afternoon!
 
Dinner tonight was our first in the main dining room for this trip.  We always enjoy the main dining room and look forward to it. Tonight, I noticed they offered the new menu that people have been buzzing about. I was really disappointed to find only 1 GF appetizer and 1 GF entree--shrimp cocktail & chicken breast and a baked potato. I know I can't be picky,  but on the old menu I was always able to find two or three options of each. The food was definitely served more quickly and we didn't spend much time waiting. Our gluten eating members seemed happy with their meals and options. Tomorrow's menu offered the same chicken breast for dinner, but the head waiter offered to see if they could make something else off of the menu for us, so we'll see that goes.
 
Entertainment in the main theater was a Spanish gentleman who did a combo act of guitar, comedy and swirling these ball type things ?I have no idea what they were called. He was pretty funny and his skills were impressive. He also incorporated the orchestra into his act. Adult comedy and a game show were also on the schedule for later, but we called it a night after being in the sun. I'm saving the Cruise Compasses to send to Matt. I'm writing from an iPad while kids are asleep, so I apologize for not being able to interact more or be more detailed. Here are some pictures from today. I'm looking forward to a Sea Day tomorrow!
 
 
 
 
 

Day 3: St Kitts
Today our RCL Kayaking/Snorkel Adventure left at 8:30 am. We met just outside the ship and loaded in a van for a short drive through town, the airport, Timothy Hill and to Friar's Bay. We received a short tutorial on kayaking and kayaked towards a floating dock. There we switched into snorkel gear and spent probably an 45 minutes or so snorkeling around. The water was a little murky from the last storm,  but there was still much sea life to be seen. Our guides were lively yet professional and I thought they did a great job with our group. They even offered to take a girl in the water who didn't know how to swim. She did great! After snorkeling, we got back in the kayaks and headed towards Frigate Beach where we exited the water and returned the kayaks. We could either return back to ship with the tour buses or stay at the beach and take a taxi back later. We opted to stay and enjoyed ourselves at the beach. The weather was hot and the water just right. They had fun music playing and bars and food available for purchase . Two chairs and an umbrella cost us $15. The taxi back was $3/person if you have a group. 
The rest of the afternoon we spent shopping , eating at the Windjammer and relaxing to the live Caribbean music by the pool. I love that live music in the afternoon!
 
Dinner tonight was our first in the main dining room for this trip.  We always enjoy the main dining room and look forward to it. Tonight, I noticed they offered the new menu that people have been buzzing about. I was really disappointed to find only 1 GF appetizer and 1 GF entree--shrimp cocktail & chicken breast and a baked potato. I know I can't be picky,  but on the old menu I was always able to find two or three options of each. The food was definitely served more quickly and we didn't spend much time waiting. Our gluten eating members seemed happy with their meals and options. Tomorrow's menu offered the same chicken breast for dinner, but the head waiter offered to see if they could make something else off of the menu for us, so we'll see that goes.
 
Entertainment in the main theater was a Spanish gentleman who did a combo act of guitar, comedy and swirling these ball type things ?I have no idea what they were called. He was pretty funny and his skills were impressive. He also incorporated the orchestra into his act. Adult comedy and a game show were also on the schedule for later, but we called it a night after being in the sun. I'm saving the Cruise Compasses to send to Matt. I'm writing from an iPad while kids are asleep, so I apologize for not being able to interact more or be more detailed. Here are some pictures from today. I'm looking forward to a Sea Day tomorrow!
 
 
 
 
 

DAY 2
St Thomas:  We intended to attend a local church service (something we’ve always thought would be interesting to do in port), ride up to Paradise Point and visit Magen’s Bay today, BUT we overslept so late we even missed breakfast! So for plan B we grabbed a slice of pizza and found a taxi to take us to Magen’s Bay for a few hours.  
 
The taxi cost $10 each way per person. Magen’s Bay charged $5/person.Twelve and under are free. The ride itself was quite scenic and high so that somewhat made up for missing Paradise Point. It turns out Paradise Point tram was closed today even though they emailed me they would be open.
 I was excited to see  Magen’s Bay was hardly crowded since there was only one ship in port today. The water was so beautiful and turquoise blue. There was a lot of broken , chunky coral in the sand and water , so I would advise bringing water shoes or playing in the area near bath house 4.  That beach area is more soft and smooth. We decided Magen’s Bay is great place for families since the water is so calm and shallow. 
 
We ate at Giovanni’s tonight.  I tried something new and stopped in this afternoon to inform them about eating gluten free. They said it’s helpful, and  I noticed our food and bread tonight came more quickly than last night so maybe it sped the process up for us. The food was delicious and our server surprised up with a yummy risotto dish he had the chef make especially just for us. It hit the spot. It was so creamy and flavorful.   
 
Nothing jumped out at us for entertainment tonight, so we retired to the room for more March Madness and to get ready for our early excursion tomorrow.