cruiselife

Valentine’s Day decorations in the Centrum.  At least they tried, right?

We have arrived! Got to the port at about 10:15 and there was no traffic or fuss. 
Brilliance is at Terminal 3 today and it is a GLORIOUS day weather wise.  Perfect sailaway weather!

 

9:41 AM.... so, bets on whether or not @Matt is already at the port?

Day 3 (Sea Night)
We had reservations at Wonderland tonight and we weren't really sure what to expect. We knew the experience was going to be really cool, but we had also heard a lot of mixed reviews about the food. We were pleasantly surprised. At first we were a little concerned that we weren't going to be able to find much for my wife to eat since she is a vegetarian but it actually turned out to be her favorite restaurant on the cruise. They modified a lot of the dishes to make them vegetarian and there were a few that already were anyways. Personally I didn't like the entrees nearly as much as the appetizers. They weren't bad, but the appetizers were just incredible in my opinion. We enjoyed the cocktails as well but forgot to get a picture.
There will be a lot of pictures here because the courses just keep on coming. In the spirit of Wonderland I won't explain any of the pictures and let your imagination do it's thing (I wouldn't be able to explain them anyways). We loved the whole experience and we had a joke that if you didn't go through the door then you didn't really eat at Wonderland. 



Following a great dinner we had reservations to see impressionist Jeff Tracta. He did impressions of people and music and he did them very well. He had a great Donald Trump impression that either side of the spectrum could get a laugh out of. He covered every genre of music and I think cruisers of all ages really enjoyed it. We are always so impressed with the types of acts that Royal Caribbean brings onboard. We really missed that when we tried out Carnival on our last cruise and they rolled out the same cast every night to just sing and dance to a different genre of music. 

After the show we headed into the Promenade and caught the 50s and 60s party. One thing we really love doing on a cruise is just standing by and watching people have a good time. There is something about being on a cruise that lets people really let loose unlike anywhere else in my opinion. 

When the party ended we decided to close out the night at the pub with our favorite entertainer Kieron. We were joined in the pub by several cast members of The Fine Line that you can see in the picture. Kieron was really popular among the crew and you could always find members of the Grease and The Fine Line in the pub when he was performing. He was really good about playing requests which is always nice. I requested Let It Be and was able to get a video of him playing it. 


Day 3-Kieron Movie.m4v No late night on a cruise is complete without a slice of Sorrento's. I also found that the quality of pizza has improved since our last cruise. I actually found it quite good but the drink package helps. It was a great sea day today and the port stops begin tomorrow morning with St. Maarten. We were very excited to check out 3 brand new ports for us.  

Thanks For The Great Flowrider Photos @cruiselife

Day 3 (Sea Day)
We woke up around 9:30 after a late night and decided on Park Cafe for breakfast. This became our go to spot most days because it was just so easy to run in and grab something. The selection isn't nearly as good as in the Windjammer or Johnny Rockets, but the convenience factor was there and the food was still good. I always got the fried egg, ham, and cheese muffin while my wife had the vegetarian options that changed each day. She would also get the fried egg one as well and switch out the ham with the vegetables occasionally. 

After that we took a few laps around the jogging track and heard some commotion coming from the Aquatheatre so we went to check it out. It was the Crown and Anchor ceremony. For those curious the top cruiser had 2,340 days and he gave a really awesome speech about his love for the crew, but also the Flowrider. Once the ceremony was over we headed over to get in a round of putt putt. One thing I noticed was that they are using some kind of foam balls, I am not sure if this has always been the case. Being a golfer I didn't love the way they felt putting but I guess I could always use an extra excuse anyways!

Next we went back to the room to get dressed to hang out on the pool deck. We said we were going to take it easy on the drinks for the day, but then the pineapple guy showed up. We are suckers for a Pina Colada in a pineapple just once on a cruise, so we paid the extra $9 to get one. It was an absolutely perfect day at sea and this is the calmest I have ever seen the ocean on all of my cruises. 


This one is for you @FlowBro Ty. We hung out on the pool deck for the majority of the afternoon before heading back to the Flowrider. I gave it a shot and it was a lot of fun, but I am not very good at it. It is hard to get practice because there is usually a 30 minute or longer wait and I don't like to spend my whole day waiting for my turn only to fall after a short time. There was a guy that was ridiculously good at it and you could always find him back there killing it. Here is a 20 second video of him doing his thing on another day. He was definitely the best of the cruisers that we saw all week. I added a picture of someone else riding just in case the video won't load for anyone.

VIDEO Flowrider-Surfer.mp4
After that it was time to head back to the room and get ready for dinner. We are going to Wonderland tonight...
 

I experienced something similar a few months ago. Waited almost 20 minutes to get greeted. Then other 15 minutes to the waiter to arrive. Other 30 minutes to the starters to arrive. Then other 20 minutes waiting for the main course until we gave up and just left. No one there seemed to care, and there were only about 5 or 6 tables in the restaurant. 

Day 3 (Sea Night)
Before dinner we stopped by Dazzles because we heard the house band music and it drew us in. I definitely agree that Dazzles is an underrated venue on Oasis class ships. I loved the energy of the live band and the venue itself is incredibly nice. We listened for a while and when they stopped playing they were setting up for the Finish That Lyric Gameshow so we stuck around and watched that for a while as well. It was really fun to watch and I'm glad we happened upon it but we had to leave early for our dinner reservation at 150 Central Park.

150 Central Park was probably the venue that my wife and I were the most excited about and it didn't disappoint. Not only were there a ton of options for my wife, but I also had trouble narrowing it down to just one item, so I didn't. For appetizers I had the Seared Honey Glazed Scallops and my wife had the Roasted Spiced Pumpkin Bisque and we both really enjoyed them. For entrees my wife had the Cauliflower Steak and I had the Roasted Beef Tenderloin and also the Lobster Thermidor. They were both incredibly good and I honestly couldn't pick a favorite. If I went back I would order both again. We finished off the meal with the fried cheesecake which was also great. Our waiter, Andre, was probably the best waiter we have ever had anywhere.




Once we finished an amazing meal we were incredibly excited to go see Grease! We had reservations but we were running a little bit late and only managed to get there about 15 minutes early. Even though they hadn't started letting the standby group in it was already packed and we could not find a seat together anywhere. We spoke with a crew member and we were able to book Grease for the last night of the cruise. We learned our lesson on getting there only 15 minutes early. If you want to make sure that you get a good seat or if you have a larger group I would recommend getting there at least 20-30 minutes early.
It actually worked out because we were able to get into the comedy show that we probably wouldn't have been able to see otherwise. I didn't get any photos but the comedians were both funny. We went and had a few drinks after the show and then wound up back in The Attic for the silent disco. For anyone who has never been this is a night club event where everyone is given headphones and two choices of music to play. The color on the headphones indicates what music someone is listening to. It was a lot of fun to see everyone dancing and then take off the headphones and basically hear nothing but people singing. It was a blast and everybody seemed to really enjoy it. Here is a picture and a video of it. After that we headed to bed. Another sea day was coming tomorrow.


VIDEO Silent Disco B.MP4

Day 2 (Sea Day)
We woke up around 8:30 and decided on Johnny Rockets for breakfast. How cool is it waking up in the morning and deciding between several different breakfast spots and none of them cost anything? I managed to remember to snap a picture of the menu but once again forgot to get a picture of the food. It was a really good breakfast option and it was nice to have a sit down type breakfast that didn't take a long time. I had an omelette and my wife had the two eggs "her way" which was scrambled.
While eating breakfast the Ultimate Abyss caught my eye so I went to give it a try. It was a lot of fun. It isn't as fast as it looks but still fast enough to be a thrill. After that we took a walk around the jogging track. A lot of people talk about trying to find that connection with the sea on Oasis class ships and this is definitely the place to find it. The chairs on the track along the back and sides of the ship are great spots to read or just relax. I love that peaceful sound of waves crashing against the ship.

I was still feeling a little bit groggy from exercising my drink package rights the night before so I decided to exercise them again, only this time on a juice from Vitality Cafe in the spa. I suck at eating vegetables so I decided to just have them put all of the vegetables they had in there with some ginger and lemon. The orange color comes from the carrots, and while it doesn't look all that appealing I really enjoyed it. They also have smoothies as well there and I think these options are an underrated aspect of the drink package. I swear they cure hangovers, but it may just be that fresh salty air.

Then it was time for the World's Sexiest Man competition. If you have seen one of these then you have pretty much seen them all, but it is one of those fun things that remind you that you are on a cruise and we enjoy watching it. After the competition we stayed on the pool deck and enjoyed some music from the pool band for a while. We thought they were a really good pool band.

After that we walked around in the Solarium and talked to a nice couple we met out on the bridge wing for a little while. Here are a few short videos of the Solarium and the bridge wing on Harmony for anyone who has never seen it before. Now it was time to head back to the room and get ready for dinner. We are going to 150 Central Park tonight.

Solarium-Bridge Wing.mp4 Solarium-Above Scan.mp4 Solarium-Lower Level.mp4

Day 1 (Embarkation-Chops and Super Bowl Party)
For our first night we decided to go to Chops for dinner. We went as soon as they opened so that we could make sure to catch the majority of the game that night. I had the lobster bisque and 9 ounce filet and my wife got the wild mushroom soup and a caesar salad. We had sides of mashed potatoes and truffled fries. The waiter did offer my wife something different since she is a vegetarian but she wasn't all that hungry and was just in the mood for a ceasar salad. The highlights of the meal were definitely the wild mushroom soup and the filet. The filet was a perfect medium rare and my wife liked the soup so much she ordered another serving. The fries were incredibly good too. Although it wasn't our favorite restaurant I thought the steak was exceptional and that is what a steakhouse is all about, after all. For any vegetarians out there Chops probably isn't the best choice, not that it should come as a shock. We knew that going in but I really wanted to try the filet, so there was no disappointment there.
The service was a little bit poor to be honest. It took about 15 minutes to get greeted and there were only bout 5 or 6 tables in the whole restaurant. Once we ordered it got a little better but we still thought it took a little longer than it should have overall. It didn't bother us much though, nothing does on a cruise. No big deal.

We skipped dessert so that we could get over to the Super Bowl party. It was also a part of our strategy to avoid feeling stuffed and miserable throughout the cruise. We were only going to order dessert if we still had room or something was just too good to pass up. We failed at that the majority of time but stuck to it on night 1.
There were multiple places to watch the Super Bowl on the ship. It was on in the On Air Club, the Pub, and the Aquatheatre and all of them were decorated for the big game. The real action was on the Boardwalk at the Aquatheatre which is where they had a nice little Super Bowl party setup. Since we were late to the party we didn't get pictures of the food they had set up but they had the typical football food you would expect like nachos, wings, hot dogs, burgers, fries, and various other finger foods. The only catch was that you had to pay $6 in order to have access to it, which had a lot of people talking. I did think it was a little odd since, for the most part, it was the same food available in the Windjammer. It didn't bother us much since we were so stuffed from Chops! A lot of people were grabbing food from the Dog House or the Windjammer and bringing it down which is probably what we would have done.
They also had a few ice sculptures and cakes set up that represented each team. The atmosphere was great in the Aquatheatre and even though it was a relatively uneventful game overall there was a lot of energy with the majority of people rooting for the Rams. We couldn't get a seat at first and watched the majority of the first half in the pub but we were eventually able to find seats in the Aquatheatre after halftime. I thought it would be a good idea in the future to maybe charge the $6 for access to the food and also reserved seating. Since we got there late I guess it is possible they did and we just didn't know, but I don't think that was the case. I probably would have paid $6 just for reserved seating because it was an awesome place to watch the Super Bowl. I know @Matt already spoiled the ending, but the Patriots won! Overall I think Royal Caribbean did a good job with it and it was a lot of fun to watch with such a large group.

Following the Super Bowl we headed down to Entertainment Place to check out the night club in the Attic. It was really dead in there but they also had some music playing in Studio B and there were a few people in there but it was still a little slow. We decided to check out the Boot and Bonnet Pub and listen to some music to end the night. The guitarist for the week was named Kieron and he was from London. He was really good and became our favorite source of nighttime entertainment. We listened and sang along until he was done playing before grabbing some pizza from Sorrento's and heading to bed. Tomorrow is the first of two consecutive sea days.

Day 3 (Sea Night)
Before dinner we stopped by Dazzles because we heard the house band music and it drew us in. I definitely agree that Dazzles is an underrated venue on Oasis class ships. I loved the energy of the live band and the venue itself is incredibly nice. We listened for a while and when they stopped playing they were setting up for the Finish That Lyric Gameshow so we stuck around and watched that for a while as well. It was really fun to watch and I'm glad we happened upon it but we had to leave early for our dinner reservation at 150 Central Park.

150 Central Park was probably the venue that my wife and I were the most excited about and it didn't disappoint. Not only were there a ton of options for my wife, but I also had trouble narrowing it down to just one item, so I didn't. For appetizers I had the Seared Honey Glazed Scallops and my wife had the Roasted Spiced Pumpkin Bisque and we both really enjoyed them. For entrees my wife had the Cauliflower Steak and I had the Roasted Beef Tenderloin and also the Lobster Thermidor. They were both incredibly good and I honestly couldn't pick a favorite. If I went back I would order both again. We finished off the meal with the fried cheesecake which was also great. Our waiter, Andre, was probably the best waiter we have ever had anywhere.




Once we finished an amazing meal we were incredibly excited to go see Grease! We had reservations but we were running a little bit late and only managed to get there about 15 minutes early. Even though they hadn't started letting the standby group in it was already packed and we could not find a seat together anywhere. We spoke with a crew member and we were able to book Grease for the last night of the cruise. We learned our lesson on getting there only 15 minutes early. If you want to make sure that you get a good seat or if you have a larger group I would recommend getting there at least 20-30 minutes early.
It actually worked out because we were able to get into the comedy show that we probably wouldn't have been able to see otherwise. I didn't get any photos but the comedians were both funny. We went and had a few drinks after the show and then wound up back in The Attic for the silent disco. For anyone who has never been this is a night club event where everyone is given headphones and two choices of music to play. The color on the headphones indicates what music someone is listening to. It was a lot of fun to see everyone dancing and then take off the headphones and basically hear nothing but people singing. It was a blast and everybody seemed to really enjoy it. Here is a picture and a video of it. After that we headed to bed. Another sea day was coming tomorrow.


VIDEO Silent Disco B.MP4

I learned on this cruise that everything with truffle in it automatically tastes amazing! 

Day 2 (Sea Day)
We woke up around 8:30 and decided on Johnny Rockets for breakfast. How cool is it waking up in the morning and deciding between several different breakfast spots and none of them cost anything? I managed to remember to snap a picture of the menu but once again forgot to get a picture of the food. It was a really good breakfast option and it was nice to have a sit down type breakfast that didn't take a long time. I had an omelette and my wife had the two eggs "her way" which was scrambled.
While eating breakfast the Ultimate Abyss caught my eye so I went to give it a try. It was a lot of fun. It isn't as fast as it looks but still fast enough to be a thrill. After that we took a walk around the jogging track. A lot of people talk about trying to find that connection with the sea on Oasis class ships and this is definitely the place to find it. The chairs on the track along the back and sides of the ship are great spots to read or just relax. I love that peaceful sound of waves crashing against the ship.

I was still feeling a little bit groggy from exercising my drink package rights the night before so I decided to exercise them again, only this time on a juice from Vitality Cafe in the spa. I suck at eating vegetables so I decided to just have them put all of the vegetables they had in there with some ginger and lemon. The orange color comes from the carrots, and while it doesn't look all that appealing I really enjoyed it. They also have smoothies as well there and I think these options are an underrated aspect of the drink package. I swear they cure hangovers, but it may just be that fresh salty air.

Then it was time for the World's Sexiest Man competition. If you have seen one of these then you have pretty much seen them all, but it is one of those fun things that remind you that you are on a cruise and we enjoy watching it. After the competition we stayed on the pool deck and enjoyed some music from the pool band for a while. We thought they were a really good pool band.

After that we walked around in the Solarium and talked to a nice couple we met out on the bridge wing for a little while. Here are a few short videos of the Solarium and the bridge wing on Harmony for anyone who has never seen it before. Now it was time to head back to the room and get ready for dinner. We are going to 150 Central Park tonight.

Solarium-Bridge Wing.mp4 Solarium-Above Scan.mp4 Solarium-Lower Level.mp4

Day 0 (Pre-Cruise-Las Olas Boulevard)
We went down to Las Olas Boulevard to find something to eat and drink. We didn't want to go anywhere expensive and really just wanted something quick and easy. We took to Yelp and found a place called Empanada Top that served Argentinian style empanadas and had 4.5 stars on Yelp so we decided to give it a shot. We sat at the bar and got great service from the bartender who explained the difference between the different types of empanadas served in Central America. He said Argentinian empanadas are baked rather than fried. They had several different choices but I went with Beef and Shrimp while my wife ordered the Spinach and Spinach and Cheese. We both thought they were all really good, but if I had to pick a favorite it was the shrimp. It almost had an Italian type of flavor to it with mozzarella cheese which I wasn't expecting. They were very affordable as well at $3.90 per empanada.

After that we headed right next door to El Camino to get some margaritas. They have an incredible selection of margaritas and it was hard to pick one because they all sounded so good. We chose the Smoked Pineapple and Watermelon Jalapeño. They have a really good happy hour, even on Saturday, that we just missed where you can get them for $5 or $6 which is a steal. 

On the way back to the hotel we passed a Publix and decided to stop in to grab some last minute supplies. We also really wanted to check out Publix because we have heard a lot of good things about it. Here in Texas we have a similar store, H-E-B, that everyone loves and we were interested to compare them. I can see why people love it, and it is very similar to H-E-B. After that we headed back to the room to get some rest and get ready for the big day tomorrow. There is nothing quite like the anticipation felt the night before a cruise...

 

Day 0 (Pre-Cruise Hotel)
We flew into Ft Lauderdale a day early and rented a car originally planning to drive down to Miami, but the weather wasn't great so we decided to just stay in town for the day. We booked the Sheraton Suites-Plantation using Priceline Express Deals for $127 all in. They were doing some construction all around the hotel building some sort of new shopping complex. We think this may have been why the deal was so good, but there was no noise issues and it didn't bother us at all. The hotel was great for the price and we would stay there again. It is located in West Ft Lauderdale about 20 minutes from the terminal but since we were renting a car anyways that was fine with us. Here of some photos of the hotel and our room.
 

You didn't miss anything good this year, not only did the game suck, the commercials were not as creative as usual.

That's actually a really good question! They did play commercials but not the same ones you would see at home. They were ESPN Caribbean commercials and they were basically the same 3 or 4 commercials every break.

Cruise day is here!

Day 3 (Sea Night)
Before dinner we stopped by Dazzles because we heard the house band music and it drew us in. I definitely agree that Dazzles is an underrated venue on Oasis class ships. I loved the energy of the live band and the venue itself is incredibly nice. We listened for a while and when they stopped playing they were setting up for the Finish That Lyric Gameshow so we stuck around and watched that for a while as well. It was really fun to watch and I'm glad we happened upon it but we had to leave early for our dinner reservation at 150 Central Park.

150 Central Park was probably the venue that my wife and I were the most excited about and it didn't disappoint. Not only were there a ton of options for my wife, but I also had trouble narrowing it down to just one item, so I didn't. For appetizers I had the Seared Honey Glazed Scallops and my wife had the Roasted Spiced Pumpkin Bisque and we both really enjoyed them. For entrees my wife had the Cauliflower Steak and I had the Roasted Beef Tenderloin and also the Lobster Thermidor. They were both incredibly good and I honestly couldn't pick a favorite. If I went back I would order both again. We finished off the meal with the fried cheesecake which was also great. Our waiter, Andre, was probably the best waiter we have ever had anywhere.




Once we finished an amazing meal we were incredibly excited to go see Grease! We had reservations but we were running a little bit late and only managed to get there about 15 minutes early. Even though they hadn't started letting the standby group in it was already packed and we could not find a seat together anywhere. We spoke with a crew member and we were able to book Grease for the last night of the cruise. We learned our lesson on getting there only 15 minutes early. If you want to make sure that you get a good seat or if you have a larger group I would recommend getting there at least 20-30 minutes early.
It actually worked out because we were able to get into the comedy show that we probably wouldn't have been able to see otherwise. I didn't get any photos but the comedians were both funny. We went and had a few drinks after the show and then wound up back in The Attic for the silent disco. For anyone who has never been this is a night club event where everyone is given headphones and two choices of music to play. The color on the headphones indicates what music someone is listening to. It was a lot of fun to see everyone dancing and then take off the headphones and basically hear nothing but people singing. It was a blast and everybody seemed to really enjoy it. Here is a picture and a video of it. After that we headed to bed. Another sea day was coming tomorrow.


VIDEO Silent Disco B.MP4

Day 3 (Sea Night)
Before dinner we stopped by Dazzles because we heard the house band music and it drew us in. I definitely agree that Dazzles is an underrated venue on Oasis class ships. I loved the energy of the live band and the venue itself is incredibly nice. We listened for a while and when they stopped playing they were setting up for the Finish That Lyric Gameshow so we stuck around and watched that for a while as well. It was really fun to watch and I'm glad we happened upon it but we had to leave early for our dinner reservation at 150 Central Park.

150 Central Park was probably the venue that my wife and I were the most excited about and it didn't disappoint. Not only were there a ton of options for my wife, but I also had trouble narrowing it down to just one item, so I didn't. For appetizers I had the Seared Honey Glazed Scallops and my wife had the Roasted Spiced Pumpkin Bisque and we both really enjoyed them. For entrees my wife had the Cauliflower Steak and I had the Roasted Beef Tenderloin and also the Lobster Thermidor. They were both incredibly good and I honestly couldn't pick a favorite. If I went back I would order both again. We finished off the meal with the fried cheesecake which was also great. Our waiter, Andre, was probably the best waiter we have ever had anywhere.




Once we finished an amazing meal we were incredibly excited to go see Grease! We had reservations but we were running a little bit late and only managed to get there about 15 minutes early. Even though they hadn't started letting the standby group in it was already packed and we could not find a seat together anywhere. We spoke with a crew member and we were able to book Grease for the last night of the cruise. We learned our lesson on getting there only 15 minutes early. If you want to make sure that you get a good seat or if you have a larger group I would recommend getting there at least 20-30 minutes early.
It actually worked out because we were able to get into the comedy show that we probably wouldn't have been able to see otherwise. I didn't get any photos but the comedians were both funny. We went and had a few drinks after the show and then wound up back in The Attic for the silent disco. For anyone who has never been this is a night club event where everyone is given headphones and two choices of music to play. The color on the headphones indicates what music someone is listening to. It was a lot of fun to see everyone dancing and then take off the headphones and basically hear nothing but people singing. It was a blast and everybody seemed to really enjoy it. Here is a picture and a video of it. After that we headed to bed. Another sea day was coming tomorrow.


VIDEO Silent Disco B.MP4

Day 2 (Sea Day)
We woke up around 8:30 and decided on Johnny Rockets for breakfast. How cool is it waking up in the morning and deciding between several different breakfast spots and none of them cost anything? I managed to remember to snap a picture of the menu but once again forgot to get a picture of the food. It was a really good breakfast option and it was nice to have a sit down type breakfast that didn't take a long time. I had an omelette and my wife had the two eggs "her way" which was scrambled.
While eating breakfast the Ultimate Abyss caught my eye so I went to give it a try. It was a lot of fun. It isn't as fast as it looks but still fast enough to be a thrill. After that we took a walk around the jogging track. A lot of people talk about trying to find that connection with the sea on Oasis class ships and this is definitely the place to find it. The chairs on the track along the back and sides of the ship are great spots to read or just relax. I love that peaceful sound of waves crashing against the ship.

I was still feeling a little bit groggy from exercising my drink package rights the night before so I decided to exercise them again, only this time on a juice from Vitality Cafe in the spa. I suck at eating vegetables so I decided to just have them put all of the vegetables they had in there with some ginger and lemon. The orange color comes from the carrots, and while it doesn't look all that appealing I really enjoyed it. They also have smoothies as well there and I think these options are an underrated aspect of the drink package. I swear they cure hangovers, but it may just be that fresh salty air.

Then it was time for the World's Sexiest Man competition. If you have seen one of these then you have pretty much seen them all, but it is one of those fun things that remind you that you are on a cruise and we enjoy watching it. After the competition we stayed on the pool deck and enjoyed some music from the pool band for a while. We thought they were a really good pool band.

After that we walked around in the Solarium and talked to a nice couple we met out on the bridge wing for a little while. Here are a few short videos of the Solarium and the bridge wing on Harmony for anyone who has never seen it before. Now it was time to head back to the room and get ready for dinner. We are going to 150 Central Park tonight.

Solarium-Bridge Wing.mp4 Solarium-Above Scan.mp4 Solarium-Lower Level.mp4

Day 3 (Sea Night)
Before dinner we stopped by Dazzles because we heard the house band music and it drew us in. I definitely agree that Dazzles is an underrated venue on Oasis class ships. I loved the energy of the live band and the venue itself is incredibly nice. We listened for a while and when they stopped playing they were setting up for the Finish That Lyric Gameshow so we stuck around and watched that for a while as well. It was really fun to watch and I'm glad we happened upon it but we had to leave early for our dinner reservation at 150 Central Park.

150 Central Park was probably the venue that my wife and I were the most excited about and it didn't disappoint. Not only were there a ton of options for my wife, but I also had trouble narrowing it down to just one item, so I didn't. For appetizers I had the Seared Honey Glazed Scallops and my wife had the Roasted Spiced Pumpkin Bisque and we both really enjoyed them. For entrees my wife had the Cauliflower Steak and I had the Roasted Beef Tenderloin and also the Lobster Thermidor. They were both incredibly good and I honestly couldn't pick a favorite. If I went back I would order both again. We finished off the meal with the fried cheesecake which was also great. Our waiter, Andre, was probably the best waiter we have ever had anywhere.




Once we finished an amazing meal we were incredibly excited to go see Grease! We had reservations but we were running a little bit late and only managed to get there about 15 minutes early. Even though they hadn't started letting the standby group in it was already packed and we could not find a seat together anywhere. We spoke with a crew member and we were able to book Grease for the last night of the cruise. We learned our lesson on getting there only 15 minutes early. If you want to make sure that you get a good seat or if you have a larger group I would recommend getting there at least 20-30 minutes early.
It actually worked out because we were able to get into the comedy show that we probably wouldn't have been able to see otherwise. I didn't get any photos but the comedians were both funny. We went and had a few drinks after the show and then wound up back in The Attic for the silent disco. For anyone who has never been this is a night club event where everyone is given headphones and two choices of music to play. The color on the headphones indicates what music someone is listening to. It was a lot of fun to see everyone dancing and then take off the headphones and basically hear nothing but people singing. It was a blast and everybody seemed to really enjoy it. Here is a picture and a video of it. After that we headed to bed. Another sea day was coming tomorrow.


VIDEO Silent Disco B.MP4

Day 3 (Sea Night)
Before dinner we stopped by Dazzles because we heard the house band music and it drew us in. I definitely agree that Dazzles is an underrated venue on Oasis class ships. I loved the energy of the live band and the venue itself is incredibly nice. We listened for a while and when they stopped playing they were setting up for the Finish That Lyric Gameshow so we stuck around and watched that for a while as well. It was really fun to watch and I'm glad we happened upon it but we had to leave early for our dinner reservation at 150 Central Park.

150 Central Park was probably the venue that my wife and I were the most excited about and it didn't disappoint. Not only were there a ton of options for my wife, but I also had trouble narrowing it down to just one item, so I didn't. For appetizers I had the Seared Honey Glazed Scallops and my wife had the Roasted Spiced Pumpkin Bisque and we both really enjoyed them. For entrees my wife had the Cauliflower Steak and I had the Roasted Beef Tenderloin and also the Lobster Thermidor. They were both incredibly good and I honestly couldn't pick a favorite. If I went back I would order both again. We finished off the meal with the fried cheesecake which was also great. Our waiter, Andre, was probably the best waiter we have ever had anywhere.




Once we finished an amazing meal we were incredibly excited to go see Grease! We had reservations but we were running a little bit late and only managed to get there about 15 minutes early. Even though they hadn't started letting the standby group in it was already packed and we could not find a seat together anywhere. We spoke with a crew member and we were able to book Grease for the last night of the cruise. We learned our lesson on getting there only 15 minutes early. If you want to make sure that you get a good seat or if you have a larger group I would recommend getting there at least 20-30 minutes early.
It actually worked out because we were able to get into the comedy show that we probably wouldn't have been able to see otherwise. I didn't get any photos but the comedians were both funny. We went and had a few drinks after the show and then wound up back in The Attic for the silent disco. For anyone who has never been this is a night club event where everyone is given headphones and two choices of music to play. The color on the headphones indicates what music someone is listening to. It was a lot of fun to see everyone dancing and then take off the headphones and basically hear nothing but people singing. It was a blast and everybody seemed to really enjoy it. Here is a picture and a video of it. After that we headed to bed. Another sea day was coming tomorrow.


VIDEO Silent Disco B.MP4

Day 1 (Embarkation-Chops and Super Bowl Party)
For our first night we decided to go to Chops for dinner. We went as soon as they opened so that we could make sure to catch the majority of the game that night. I had the lobster bisque and 9 ounce filet and my wife got the wild mushroom soup and a caesar salad. We had sides of mashed potatoes and truffled fries. The waiter did offer my wife something different since she is a vegetarian but she wasn't all that hungry and was just in the mood for a ceasar salad. The highlights of the meal were definitely the wild mushroom soup and the filet. The filet was a perfect medium rare and my wife liked the soup so much she ordered another serving. The fries were incredibly good too. Although it wasn't our favorite restaurant I thought the steak was exceptional and that is what a steakhouse is all about, after all. For any vegetarians out there Chops probably isn't the best choice, not that it should come as a shock. We knew that going in but I really wanted to try the filet, so there was no disappointment there.
The service was a little bit poor to be honest. It took about 15 minutes to get greeted and there were only bout 5 or 6 tables in the whole restaurant. Once we ordered it got a little better but we still thought it took a little longer than it should have overall. It didn't bother us much though, nothing does on a cruise. No big deal.

We skipped dessert so that we could get over to the Super Bowl party. It was also a part of our strategy to avoid feeling stuffed and miserable throughout the cruise. We were only going to order dessert if we still had room or something was just too good to pass up. We failed at that the majority of time but stuck to it on night 1.
There were multiple places to watch the Super Bowl on the ship. It was on in the On Air Club, the Pub, and the Aquatheatre and all of them were decorated for the big game. The real action was on the Boardwalk at the Aquatheatre which is where they had a nice little Super Bowl party setup. Since we were late to the party we didn't get pictures of the food they had set up but they had the typical football food you would expect like nachos, wings, hot dogs, burgers, fries, and various other finger foods. The only catch was that you had to pay $6 in order to have access to it, which had a lot of people talking. I did think it was a little odd since, for the most part, it was the same food available in the Windjammer. It didn't bother us much since we were so stuffed from Chops! A lot of people were grabbing food from the Dog House or the Windjammer and bringing it down which is probably what we would have done.
They also had a few ice sculptures and cakes set up that represented each team. The atmosphere was great in the Aquatheatre and even though it was a relatively uneventful game overall there was a lot of energy with the majority of people rooting for the Rams. We couldn't get a seat at first and watched the majority of the first half in the pub but we were eventually able to find seats in the Aquatheatre after halftime. I thought it would be a good idea in the future to maybe charge the $6 for access to the food and also reserved seating. Since we got there late I guess it is possible they did and we just didn't know, but I don't think that was the case. I probably would have paid $6 just for reserved seating because it was an awesome place to watch the Super Bowl. I know @Matt already spoiled the ending, but the Patriots won! Overall I think Royal Caribbean did a good job with it and it was a lot of fun to watch with such a large group.

Following the Super Bowl we headed down to Entertainment Place to check out the night club in the Attic. It was really dead in there but they also had some music playing in Studio B and there were a few people in there but it was still a little slow. We decided to check out the Boot and Bonnet Pub and listen to some music to end the night. The guitarist for the week was named Kieron and he was from London. He was really good and became our favorite source of nighttime entertainment. We listened and sang along until he was done playing before grabbing some pizza from Sorrento's and heading to bed. Tomorrow is the first of two consecutive sea days.

Room Tour (Central Park Balcony - 10229)
We booked a Central Park Balcony for this cruise because we liked the perks that came with it. You get a free bottle of red wine, which is nice, but we were really excited about the complimentary specialty lunch. I am a certified over-planner and this was a bit of a dream cruise for us, so I did quite a bit of research to find the perfect room. I wanted to get one of the larger balconies in Central Park that have been talked about on the blog in the past and I really liked that central area of the park near the Trellis Bar. When I originally booked on the RC website they didn't show any available so I just booked another room near the center, but then saw a comment on here from @Lovetocruise2002 about checking for all available rooms using Costco Travel's website. After doing this I was able to find one of the larger balconies available and called Royal to get it. Thank you so much for that tip!
The rooms were available right on schedule at 1:00PM. The size of the room worked great for us and there was more than enough storage for us. We didn't have any problems with the noise from the pool deck when the door was fully closed. You could faintly hear the music, but if you wanted to take a nap during the day the sound of the TV would drown it out. We were also directly below where they play from so if you wanted to hear it even less choose a room near the ends of Central Park. You'll also be closer to the elevator there as well. At night it was always very quiet and peaceful. Here are some pictures of the room, the bathroom, and balcony as well as a video of the view from the balcony. It was a great people watching spot and we also took a few naps out there as well. 
Note: I am not sure how often they do this, but they were replacing a lot of plants on the first day. The last picture is all of the plants in paper bags before they put them out. It was cool getting to see them getting them all being placed out there.


Day 1-Room Video.mp4