RestingBird

I am going to guess that there was probably 30 - 40 people who came through there during the evening (that I saw, anyway).  I don't think there was ever 40 people there at any one time.  I'm thinking that maybe 25 was the most that were there at once.
 
There was plenty of space for that many people between the huge downstairs areas inside and outside.  That is a huge suite and b/c it is 2 levels, the volume of that suite is enormous.  It has the optics of being palatial...with those floor-to-ceiling windows.  The drapes for those windows are motorized - very cool.

On my last cruise my son, son-in-law, and me went down to the casino on a sea day. Now I'm not a gambler so was just going to kill time and maybe watch my son/sil. They went to a table game called 'Let it Ride' and I mosied around just looking at things. Eventually I went up to a slot machine and put $10 in. Hit the max credits button a couple times when all of the sudden I hit 3 red, white, and blue 7's! Played it down to $100 left, cashed in the ticket which put me $90 ahead and never put another dime in the rest of the cruise :D

Day 6 - Cozumel
 
We had breakfast in the CK as usual and decided we would get off the ship around 10:00.
 
We had reservations at Mr. Sanchos on this trip.  We had been to Nachi before but it was our first time to Mr. Sanchos.  We took a taxi.  I can't remember what the cost was but I want to say $17 each way for both of us.  It's about a 15 minute drive.
 
We enjoyed Mr. Sanchos very much.  It seemed bigger and slightly more festive than Nachi.  There were DEFINITELY more people there than the time we went to Nachi.  I think the cost was $55/pp of which I had already prepaid $5 each so we owed a balance of $100 when we got there, which we paid in cash.  I had 1 strawberry daiquiri and a couple of cokes.  Dan had a couple of drinks....can't recall what they were.  We ate a big lunch but overall I'm sure they made plenty of money off of us.  I thought the [pool] water was freezing.  I wandered in and finally dunked myself.  I went up to the swim-up bar and that is where I got my one and only adult beverage.  I quickly scampered out and got back into my lounger where I remained pretty much the rest of the day.  Dan went into the ocean for a while but I didn't.  We finally met up with 2 of our friends who had come separately and we all rode back to the ship together.
 
Dinner tonite was supposed to be a second visit to Chops but I had done a bit of sleuthing and discovered that tonite was lamb shank in the MDR.  This is Dan's absolute favorite meal on any cruise ship so I didn't want him to miss it.  I had also decided that I wanted at least 1 meal on our beautiful balcony so tonite was the night.  I had originally hoped that we could make it a "family" affair and have all 6 of us eating out there together but alas, everyone had decided to do their own thing this late in the week, so we dined alone.  The big table on the balcony comfortably seats 6 so it was a shame that it was just the 2 of us but also very romantic.  Of course, since Dan was having HIS favorite meal tonite I was CERTAINLY going to have mine, too, so I AGAIN ordered cream of mushroom soup from Chops.  Honestly, I cannot even recall what I had for my main course (I don't eat lamb, so it certainly wasn't that !).  I think maybe it was prime rib.  Anyway, we had asked to have the food delivered at 6:00 and it was right on time.  They delivered it all together (I thought maybe they would deliver the soup separately since it was coming from Chops...but it all came together).  It was delicious and I was sorry that I had not forced the issue of eating out there more often.  
 
The rest of the evening, I'm sure, was spent in the casino.  No shows tonite.
 
Edit:  UGH. I knew I would forget something.
 
Tonite was the night that the boys up in 1724 had their big shindig.  They had been inviting every person they ran into in the casino, all week, so we were ready for a crowd.  They had been working with Alex and Seapaul (their room attendant) all week.  I think they ran poor Alex ragged.  It was to begin at 8:30 but we got there at 8:00 to try and help, if we could.  There was already a LOT of food there.  There were meat planks from Jamie's and cheese, fruit, cracker trays, champagne, wine, but I noticed that there was no bread to go with the meat trays.  Thinking that people would want to make sandwiches, I said "hey...where's the bread ?"  My God, what a mistake that was !!!  I should have just kept my mouth shut.  Jim #1 (there were 2 Jim's.  We refer to them as the Jim Twins) got on the phone with Alex and before you knew it, there were entire carts full of food coming in...most of it from Sabor !  How they got quesadillas and tacos confused with bread, I couldn't tell ya'.  All I know was that, in the end, there was enough food to serve 500 people !  Jim #2 began to panic.  We were OUT of places to put food even with the huge tables inside and outside.  We had to start turning carts away and having them remove food.  I don't recall whether they ever got bread or not !  I think they did.
 
I remarked to Alex (who showed up to witness the mess that had been created) what they were going to do with all of this food that was either rejected or left over.  I was horrified at the thought that it would all go to waste. She assured me that it would not.  Apparently all of the "extra" would be taken down to the crew area and consumed by the crew.  I don't know if this is an "official" process or not.  Probably not.  Certainly it would never be allowed by American sanitation codes but when you're in the middle of ocean I guess just about anything goes.  So I was assured that the crew would eat well and not to worry about it going to waste.
 
We left about 10:00 and we saw the Jim Twins later down in the casino so I guess the party went until around midnight.  I'm sure the others up on 17 were not particularly thrilled with the party but it didn't go REALLY late so I guess all was well in the end.
Day 6.pdf

The next time I ask for "bread", I might be giggling to myself thinking about your attempt to order some  :lol:

I wasn't a huge fan of fried avocados; however, fried Twinkies are pretty darn good. :)

As the resident drunkard here (I'm a 'consumer judge' at the Miami Rum Festival this April http://www.rumxp.com/RumJury.html ), I'd suggest buying a bottle of your favorite spirit from a distiller that isn't available in your area, or getting something that is expensive that you can drink as a "treat" like http://jamaica-gleaner.com/article/business/20170210/jwn-pay-homage-joy-spence-appleton-estate-joy-rum 
 
When I first started becoming a rummy, I enjoyed drinking from a certain set of distillers.  As I was exposed to other expressions of the spirit i learned I really enjoyed rums from a specific geographic area and distilling method, and I wouldn't have learned that if I didn't buy those oddball bottles when on vacation.
 
Step out of your comfort zone and try something new.

I had one of those front rooms on Allure.  They ask you to keep the curtains closed at night because the light from the room could interfere with the bridge. 

That was one of the surprises about Grandeur .... there's a location that is actually "The Observatory" -- with a compass and Star Map.  It's located on Deck 10 at the front of the ship.
 
We watched the ISS go over on our second sea day last September.

Now that's funny! :D  :D

But more importantly, who ironed the guy's tux?

Back in my day, we had to traverse a much more clunky site that routinely crashed.  And I walked uphill in the snow both ways.

I don't think the gamblers in the casino would notice you in Prohibition costumes or your birthday suits......they only watch the cards, dice and slot machine wheels! :huh:

Actually I prefer no connectivity ... disconnecting from the rest of the world is one of the things I like best about cruises, but maybe that's just me.  ;)

I can give you the same advice someone gave me a while ago..... Book it and don't go back to see if its cheaper...

I really need to work on my comic delivery...  B)

Of course you don't want to lose your passport, but the entire reason to have a passport in the first place is not necessarily to just get on the ship on embarkation day, but rather, to have it if you get stuck somewhere and need to get home. 
 
If you leave your passport onboard the ship, there is really no point in having brought the passport in the first place. If you are marooned somewhere and the ship leaves, a photo copy will not allow you to leave the country.  
 
A lot of people leave their passports onboard, but unfortunately, it does them no good to have it there.  

To play devil's advocate, you are concerned about losing your passport when going ashore but not your wallet? SeaPass card? cash? phone? Personally, I don't know why a passport would be any more or less concerning about losing than other valuables. 

In my opinion, if you leave the ship, you should bring your passports with you.  The reason to have a passport in the first place is if you get stuck in a foreign country for whatever reason, having a passport means you can leave that country at your leisure.  
 
If you leave your passport onboard the ship and get stuck on an island, you will have to go to the US Consulate, apply for a visa and then once granted, be able to leave.  That is neither convenient nor quick.
 
So in short, always bring your passports when you leave the ship.

What about hot tubs?  
 
Seems as dangerous as the pools, considering the heat of the water.  Mix that with drinking alcohol and it could get dicey.
 
 
 
Perhaps I should apply for one of these jobs.  As small as the pools are, I wouldn't have to swim much - just be buoyant.  And I'm definitely that!

Not too silly. A lot of folks do just that. Grab a couple of beach towels and snore to their hearts content, especially after an evening of trying every drink the bars have to offer! Congrats to you son on his Eagle Scout achievement. If he decides to sleep under the stars, please caution him from carving is initials in the deck floor or hand rails, the staff frowns on that kind off stuff. Have fun on your cruise!

Okay, really silly question but my son (age 23) has this idea that one night he will go sleep under the stars on the deck.....is that even allowed?  What can I say, once a Eagle Scout always an Eagle Scout
 

I guess I can understand having them at the big pool(s), but the Solarium??
I'd rather have an extra waiter!
 

Guess what ?  All of us started at gold, too !!!!  It goes fast, especially during the early levels.
 
It's a long f'n way from 175 points to 700 though !!
 
I'm not even halfway there and I've been cruising nearly exclusively with Royal for over 10 years !  ...and often in suites !!!

Agreed.
I need some odd # to reach Platinum, so I booked a JS for our 5 night next year (plus the extra space will be really nice. Had a regular balcony room last cruise and it was a little tight), which will put us over what we need, yays.

The double points are a bonus if your only gold like poor old me :(