CGTLH

After some thought, and a nap, the next section will be main shows/entertainment. Fine Line: Held in the Aqua Theater, still an amazement at sea. Amazing aerial work plus tightrope action. Didn't seem as repetitive as the other aqua shows. For those that like use if the trampoline, none that I recalled. Headliner: Some comedic juggler, don't recall the name. Nothing memorable, seemed more talk than anything. Comedy Show: Comedians were fine, once again don't recall their names. They were both fine, but not side splitting funny. The first one I want to recall he was on one of the Oasis sailings. 1887: That was an ice show? I mean that in a good way. So far the best ice show I've seen at sea. Wasn't repetitive in the sense of same routine with different props/settings. Another amazing thing was the use projectors to "hide" the ice making it more as part of the scene versus a surface. Other memorable parts was the bubble guy. Hard to explain, but was interesting. Hideaway Heist: Fun, no reservations, show. For those that were missing trampoline action this is show. The high line wasn't used, but one just above the pool was used in the opening. Columbus: Very energetic show, plenty of known songs. Silly at times. Ending was some what of a miss due to it feeling like it was an advertisement. Ship set piece is amazing, from what I recall it is three feet smaller than the Pinta. Grease: Wasn't bad, but wasn't great either. Just seemed lacking for what ever reason. I mean I didn't hate it. For some reason it felt short. Guess I'm use to the other showe where an intermission occurred. Singing, acting, and dancing was fine. Now I will admit it was more of sea worthy show that Cats... At least Grease has some action and upbeat. Street Parties: Had a 50s/60s and 90s street parties. For some reason they didn't catch and hold me within the first 5 minutes or so. On the 90s I had to leave right after it started for Columbus. Bonus: Stow Away piano player, just loved the random popups. Saw from a distance him playing in the elevator. Did a scope of him playing outside of Cafe Promenade one night. Had to cut it short due to the Comedy Show. Not sure if the piano is his creation. Loved the popup props from the top. Also had a side drawer with treats for kids. iSkate: No comment, didn't see it. Quest: Hate to say it, missed it as well. That is it for now. Will need some more thought for the next section. Not too sure what more needs to be covered. Not going to do a port segment, nothing was really done.

Been stewing the last few days on how to wrap this live thread up. Never really been a good closer at these things. Only way I can think of is in the traditional sense of major areas frequently thought room. Food, scallops: Just to get it off my chest, scallops. For some reason two of the three times I had scallops they have very little in the way of picked up flavor. First time was at 150, the broth they were was excellent. However, just alone it was just about flavorless. On the flip side they were not chewy lumps of rubber many times they end up as. Second was on Barefoot Beach in Labadee. In this case they were on a skewer with peppers and onions plus a shrimp. Once again, no picked up flavor and thankfully not a ball of rubber. Final time (the good time), was up in the Suite Lounge as one of the snacks. In this case they were bacon wrapped and tasted like they were sauteed in butter and garlic. Finally, flavor sucess! Food, dinner: OK, now that my scallop rant is out of the way. Overall I thought the food onboard was fine. Could it have been better, sure. What I had had good flavor, outside of the scallops, and nothing to really argue about. In the case of desserts, in Coastal Kitchen it seemed the "chocolate mousse on top of a cake" was the same thing three nights. One case the plate did a better job melting butter versus in the potato. On appetizers that had some sort of citrus sauce it was a bit on the sour/tart side. In the previous cases this was in Coastal Kitchen. CP150, was excellent. Was offered a different entree in place of the scallops, just didn't feel like anything else. Wonderland, amazing. Left what to get in the hands of our server, only question was allergies and major dislikes. Looking back I think everything was the tamer things. Kicking myself not making it to dessert, was offered to come back another night. Just never had the chance to make it back. Solarium Bistro at dinner, will pass on it. Wasn't overly impressed like I was on Oasis. Apps were on the bland side and entrees were not as expected. Other four nights were in Coastal Kitchen as mentioned before. Food, lunch: Did Windjammer twice for lunch, seemed a step up from other cruises. MDR twice, once buffet only other was a la carte. Buffet was a nice spread, one time was a stir fry station other was a pasta bar. The a la carte items weren't too bad. Lobster and seafood roll was not as expected. Pork Belly was very reminiscent of the one on Oasis. Chicken and waffles was something unexpected. Overall not bad. Plus the cakes where impressive visually and tasted want that bad. Finally, first day was Solarium Bistro. Empty, never was really crowded. Don't recall what they had, but it was better than dinner. Food, breakfast: Did mini bites once, poached egg that was more along the lines of hard boiled in a ramekin (not complaining, love hard boiled eggs). Other time was room service made to order eggs. Bit of advice on the room service eggs. Two eggs come to an order, marking down two equals four total eggs. Delivery was right as requested time wise. Other than that, not much of a morning/breakfast person. Iced Americano for Cafe Promenade was usually my morning go-to. Food, other: Did room service one other time, look back to my previous posts for review. Nutshell summary, fries and nachos not worth it. Burger was the best one I've had on a ship (including from JR on Freedom). Chicken quesadilla and wings were good as well. However, if I had to pay $8 out of pocket might have never done it in the first place. Same thing applied to room service for breakfast. Added: Food, Labadee: Due to staying in a suite I was able access Barefoot Beach's buffet. Had the usual hotdogs and hamburgers. The previously mentioned shrimp and scallop skewer. Also had an herb chicken, some type of steak (think the sign said NY Strip, after it was changed from pork chops), lamb chops, bbq chicken, and rice and beans. Desserts were cookies, fruit, lemon pound cake, and some sort of it so chocolate cake. The lemon pound cake was good with a squeeze of lime on it, sure it would have been even better with a splash of run. I'm sure something was left off the list some where. Didn't go over to see what the other areas had. Real flatware and cloth napkins were used initially, then the plastic stuff was busted out. Windhammer style plates were offered the entire time. Overall I thought the quality and taste of everything was fine. As expected for an up scale beach spread. Not sure what the next post will go over, need to gather my thoughts some more. Don't know why the food segment was so easy.

Sounds like you are set. Don't forget about the $13.50 or $16.50 person per day for gratuities, unless those are prepaid/included as well.

Your SeaPass card will be restricted to $500 USD in purchases. Until the card is either paid down or backed with a credit/debit card no other purchases can be made.

For those that are looking for the Cruise Compass. Check out the Cruise Compass section of RCB. They were just posted this morning. Scanning those things are always fun. Part of the reason I made sure the scanner I had bought had an ADF and duplex scanning. If anyone has questions I'll do my best to answer them or make something up that sounds good.

That was what the call was in kindest terms. All tags have been called. Non consecutive cruise guests please proceed to the gangway.

First GTFO call was around 9:30-9:45. In the Suite Lounge they offered three times to be escorted offer, last for 10am ship departure. Missed plenty of the activities, even just seeing them. Never made it up to Suite Sun deck. Sure I'll have more thoughts as the day goes on.

Sorry another post... One observation I've made is it seems the bars are not shoving receipts to sign for extra tips. This also isn't a result of a cash upfront tip. Only place that has really been pushing them is Cafe Promonade.

For those that didn't care about the previous post and my casino ramblings... Post Grease was a Facebook group bar crawl. Left to head up for a final dinner in Coastal Kitchen.Before that, did a quick scope of the Royal Loft. Followed that up with packing and harassing Matt on the nightly scope. Then off the casino to cash out my chips, got side tracked in the process and wound up with less chips to cash out (in a good way). Saw the dreaded "Thank you for sailing with us." message on the TVs. This post is being typed up outside the Pub enjoying @JLMoran suggestion of a Paulaner Salvator Double Bock. Sorry to say, on the Guinness (from a can) I didn't enjoy the initial taste. Seemed to taste watered down, after taste was fine. I'm sorry to report that a benefit of the drink package was used.

So it has hit that point on the sailing. Midnight madness trying to get every last minute out of the cruise. Tv's have the dreadful "Thanks for sailing with us." message on them. On the casino front I'm up for once. So the sting of the final invoice at least has something back it up. Trust me, the "CASINO Royale VIP" sticker is a mixed blessing. The one bright side, I'll get 2% back on the markers bought. The dark side, for me, is the quick no charge access to cash. Do I think I'll qualify again, doubt it. Think adding up the time I might have only spent 8 hours or so in the casino. Walked out after about 2 hours tonight after reaching my target. With craps being a time consuming game with very low house edge doubt I was worth their time the way I played.

Busy day so far... Captains Corner, followed by an "Bionic enhanced" iced espresso. Lunch in the MDR, followed by a Suite & Pinnacle ice cream social. Currently waiting for Grease to start.

Wow, a 3 am posting. Think it might be my first this cruise. Had dinner in the Solarium Bistro, wasn't up too par as Oasis was. Would have been somewhat disappointed if I actually had to pay. Saw Hideaway Heist and Columbus. Overall, I'm going to say the shows have been the best I've experienced on any Royal ship. After Columbus, shut down the casino (closing at 3:30, last roll was about 3:15). The craps table has been scorching hot the last two nights. Nothing more to really report... Night folks, see you later in the morning.

One of the most depressing things to see on a cruise...

At Wilson's request, here is my cabana map. https://www.dropbox.com/s/zsn59990t9fqtc5/O33A0892-marked.jpg?dl=0

And the verdict is... First off, fries were cold and soggy in general. Nachos, not worth it. Chicken fingers, could have been warmer. But they had a nice crunch. Think the use a sliced chicken breast. Quesadilla, loved it! This was the chicken version. Was hot temperature wise and crispy. Not the least bit soggy. Plenty of cheese. Chicken wings (hot buffalo), crispy. Sauce had some heat to it, not mouth burning, slight sweetness. Burger, this was not your Windjammer burger! Very juicy and thick, was still warm. Might not have been Wagu, missing the caramelized onions. Still was delicious. Cheese fries, odd. Sauce tasted like it had nutmeg in it. Bonus picture of the burger.

We got a delivery, took 40 mins...

Back on board after a very strenuous day in the water and lounging in a cabana. Ordered some room service, stand by once it is delivered for the food shots.

Been on Labadee since 10:30. Barefoot lunch spread is always nice. Only issue so far is it has been overcast the entire time.

Normally don't play land based and cruises in the past were $5.

The one thing that drives me nuts when it comes to gambling, the swing. Hate being deep in the hole one minute and partly dug out the next. While I'm not up, and done expect to be, I'm at least holding in. Biggest issue I have is the high table mins, to me, of $10. Been making it very hard to spend a good amount of time playing. Games like UTH are just out of the question with the possibility of riding for $60 on a hand. Don't think I've been able to sit at three card poker, table is always filled. Plus l enjoy the social aspect, so slots are out of the question. Another observation in the casino. On the non smoking side. The smell has been just about zero the entire time. Going over the smoking side it is obvious. So not sure if the ventilation is great or the smoking volume has been low.

Some more Savor info... New menu is setup as all you can enjoy for $19pp. Yes, the mains selections is gone. Didn't ask if it was possible for a quac only at the bar.

I'm an open book. The humorous thing is my first beer I've consumed in entirely was an IPA. That was against the suggestion of the bartender at Pirate Republic in Nassau. Only thing sure I'm not interested in is the fruity stuff like Blue Moon. I want something with flavor besides fruit!

Happen to slip into the Suite Lounge to grab some water. Looked like they were using it for a sales pitch to book the Royal Suite Class. It was invaded by a bunch of commoners!

Keep in mind this was at the pub. Selection will vary thru out the ship. Side note: Any suggestions to try? Have drink package, don't mind being wasteful!

Initially did the trolley green or blue (can't remember) route just to look around. After that walked back to Castillo San Cristóbal. Didn't do a tour, just snapped a few pictures of the outside. Other than that just walked the market area, saw the local Starbucks, and areas around the pier complex. Never went further north than Castillo San Cristóbal walking. Like I said, had no where in mind. Just felt like walking around a bit.