Sweety

James and I have changed to this cruise.

A mess

2 hours ago, FionaMG said:

Day Nine - Cruise Day Six - At Sea

Since this was another sea day and we didn't have anything pressing to do, we had our one and only MDR breakfast. We arrived just before 9 am and there was a very long line of people waiting for two-tops. We agreed we didn't mind sharing and so were seated pretty much immediately with seven other guests. We enjoyed chatting with all of them over the course of our lengthy breakfast. And it was LENGTHY. It took ages for our orders to be taken and then the food came out in dribs and drabs, with some items clearly being ready for the waiters to grab and others having to be made.

The menu.

DH ordered the Bagel and Lox with a side of sautéed mushrooms and hash browns. His bagel presumably was one of the grab and go items because it came out pretty quickly. His sides didn't come out until much later, along with the other cooked stuff, so you couldn't really call them "sides" by the time he actually got to eat them. 

I ordered the breakfast power wrap. I absolutely love this and it's why I always insist on going to the MDR for breakfast at least once because I've never found them anywhere else. Today's did not disappoint. Highly yummy stuff.

The morning was spent doing typical day at sea activities (loosely translated as not a lot). Here a few pics from around the ship.

As usual we had lunch in the WJ and today was the one and only time I took a lunchtime food pic. Only because a friend from home messaged me just as I sat down to ask if I was having any yummy food today. 

Chicken and mushroom pot pie. It's exactly the same as the one they serve on British night in the MDR. It was very good.

As we wandered onto the Boardwalk after lunch we realised that there was a show going on, actually just ending, in the Aqua Theatre. This was NOT in the compass but when I checked I found it in the app, so that's something to bear in mind if, like me, you tend to prefer the paper compass. As it turned out, the show, which was called something like Aqua Nation was repeated again a couple of hours later so we were able to see it. No reservations needed.

The pictures don't do it justice. It's every bit as good a show as the evening ones.

This was Royal - aka Lobster - Night in the MDR.

Avocado and melon salad, nice enough and refreshing:

I decided not to bother with the lobster tail since we'd already had lobster at 150 CP and would be having it again at Hooked. DH did order it and by the time Stanley had shelled it for him there was practically nothing left. It was the teeniest tiniest lobster tail I have ever seen and did not even deserve to have its photo taken.

I ordered the spicy shrimp jalfrezi. Like all of the Indian dishes it wasn't really spicy but it was tasty anyway.

Desserts were Baked Alaska, one of DH's favourites

And the warm chocolate cake, one of the better renderings of this that I've had on recent cruises.

After dinner we went to the headliner showtime starring Finis Henderson. I had never heard of him but he appears to be quite well known. The show was OK but I found it a bit off-putting that he was only singing bits of songs. I would have much preferred him to perform the whole song.

And that was another day done and dusted. Only two more to go before they made us get off their boat.  

 

 

Finis Henderson is from Chicago. His Godfather was Sammy Davis Jr. Every time I see him, he is always asking about Chicago. He grew up on the southside of Chicago with Nat King Cole. His father was a jazz musician. I am glad he is still performing with Royal.

On 3/1/2024 at 3:20 PM, Ampurp85 said:

Potato is so cute.

My cat is named Senator Meowkins and we call her Sen for short. She always helps pack by laying in the suitcases and refusing to move. 

I am about 73 days from cruising Freedom, so enjoy.......but I am definitely the room doesn't matter camp.......but I am often solo, so the space is great no matter the category. 

I now have a B2B2B on Freedom. This blog is a bad influence on my hubby's credit card.

Hubby, niece, nephew and I will be going. B2B.

Hubby and I are going. My niece and nephew are tagging alomg.

1 hour ago, Lovetocruise2002 said:

Oh no! We are just going to miss you. That is the day we get off Adventure.

How are you getting to the port?

On 3/1/2024 at 1:42 PM, Lovetocruise2002 said:

Looking for advice from the Florida natives here like @tonyfsu21 @Matt @OCSC Mike @WAAAYTOOO @AshleyDilloor anyone who has done this before.

At the end of July, Hubby and I are doing a S2S. We are going from Adventure of the Seas (PC) to the Celebrity Reflection (PE) on a Friday morning. At the moment, our plan is to leave Adventure as early as possible and do self-disembark at around 6:30/7am. We rented a car at Enterprise on Mullet Road because they open at 7am and we're planning to drive ourselves to Fort Lauderdale to board Refelction that very same day. Is this a good plan?

I thought it was until someone recently asked the same type of question in a FB group. Then people started to bring up traffic (which I have not much knowledge of). Someone suggested Brightline but that seems like a lot of hassle to me (we would need to Uber our way back to Orlando, take the train to the Fort Lauderdale station, and Uber again to the port).

Any ideas/suggestions/better plan?

We are on adventure August 2.

Are you going to Portside? I have to wait until next year before I am on Oasis. Have a relaxing cruise.

On March 25, I will be on Mariner. Had to change.

Have a wonderful cruise.

31 minutes ago, TheMaxRebo said:

Part 7: a Low Key Sea Day Morning 

 

The next morning everyone was being rather lazy, which was fine as it was a sea day, no big plans.

I was up and out a little early to get breakfast (Park Cafe) and attend the tour of the Central Park gardens with the head of the agriculture for the ship and the fleet really as he has put together all of the Central Parks.

 

The tour was really interesting and you can feel his passion but also some of the frustrations he has trying to make all this work but then other areas (structural, etc) get in the way and having to balance everything. Also mentioned how people hiding or sleek ng for ducks can mess up the watering systems lol

After this I went down to get in line for the ship model signing with the captain. This was one thing my son really wanted to do and something to do together ... And a lot of people had similar ideas as the line was quite long even when I got there like 30mins early. It moves pretty fast though as he was quick with the signing and short conversation and photo, pretty efficient.

 

(BTW, we had Captain Theo as the regular Icon captain was on vacation )

 

Then we had lunch at one of our favorites - Hooked! Another place we got at the 40% off discount so $11.99 for people to get all the oysters and lobster rolls they want is a pretty good deal.

 

As you can see, Emma was quite happy to get her Oysters!

 

We each are a dozen (plus Judi and I did some of the shooters) along with a bunch of other food and it was all very good. We always seem to get really good service at Hooked too. Our server did comment it was I testing set up there as they are surviving while all the aquatheater shows were going on or practice happening, etc.

 

Coming up ... A low key afternoon! Plus Formal night and some more Dueling Pianos Action

 

Now I have to book Hooked!

Have a fun filled cruise. We love Freedom. Just booked three more cruises in her.

2 hours ago, GregD said:

Final dinner in Houston:

Lydia wanted some Texas BBQ while we were here. I reached out to some friends who live here and the overwhelming response was Killen’s BBQ. They have a location in Pearland which is a suburb south of Houston. It was a 15 minute drive from the hotel, and worth every minute. They have all the typical BBQ things and we did not leave disappointed.

Food porn lovers enjoy!

I had brisket and ribs with a side of green beans and brussel sprouts.

The Boss and Johnny split some ribs, pulled pork with Mac and cheese and coleslaw. They also got a baked potato that was monstrous. 

Freeloader #2 got a BBQ quesadilla that was filled with brisket, cheese, onions and peppers and came with sides of beans and rice.

The pickles are house made and really good.

Also on the menu for the carnivores out there were beef ribs. I had considered ordering one, but opted for the brisket. I saw a table nearby that had some, and they were massive!

Their menu is online. The restaurant is counter service, with tables to sit at after you order and pay. Prices are reasonable as well. 

Ribs look amazing. I gave up pork for Lent. 

Looks like my fur baby. I am always saying to her stop sniffling like this is a new place.

I was able to booked three short cruises on Freedom. We like Freedom. We are doing a B2B.

Beautiful Pictures!

4 hours ago, GregD said:

Following our little shopping adventure, we headed back to the room. We had Big Daddy's Hideaway Heist Aqua show to watch from the balcony. Dan and his family were coming as well. 

Spinny guy is back

more slack line

Enthralled kids

food porn for @OCSC Mike

Red Velvet Cake. I was waiting for it!

1 minute ago, Snotarni said:

Let's Hope!  

I am waiting. 

Happy Belated Fiona! Have fun on the cruise.

Looking forward to round 2. I will be grading final essays next week.

Have a joyful cruise.

23 hours ago, GregD said:

Hot off the press!!! Utopia of the seas is getting Aqua80 2!!!!

guess I have to get to next cruise today!

I will be attending.

Happy Birthday Olivia!

10 minutes ago, WAAAYTOOO said:

Honestly ?  It was stale.  No doubt, left over from the previous cruise.  I am not really a sweets eater anyway, so I ate a few bites just to convince Dan that his plate juggling on the trip back from Chops was an effort well spent…and I will sacrifice the rest.  

Wives have to sacrifice for husbands. I grunt and groan to James about looking and booking cruises. He told me this morning, "I will be in my man cave until you book the cruises next week." I just smiled and said Thank You!.