mom2mybugs 1,661 Posted August 2, 2019 Author Report Share Posted August 2, 2019 DAY 5 sea day...we got up at 8 (see above on chairs lol), I blogged for a couple hours and now I'm headed to learn the Michael Jackson thriller dance! We will see how it goes and if I perform night 11 lol!!! Jane hayley_bopp and Skid 2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ellcee 1,509 Posted August 2, 2019 Report Share Posted August 2, 2019 5 hours ago, mom2mybugs said: There have been many moments of tears of joy Felt the same way. Loving the pictures, I now need to look at mine. Loved Florence. mom2mybugs 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mom2mybugs 1,661 Posted August 2, 2019 Author Report Share Posted August 2, 2019 35 minutes ago, ellcee said: Felt the same way. Loving the pictures, I now need to look at mine. Loved Florence. Florence is one we knew we'd need to go back to on a land cruise but I should have totally found a private tour. We missed way too much :(. But Rome the tour did everything right! These are my B team pics lol...I keep remembering at the last second to grab the phone so glad you are enjoying them! Jane ellcee 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mom2mybugs 1,661 Posted August 2, 2019 Author Report Share Posted August 2, 2019 I've never seen a Miami vice work kracken melt so fast lol! Gotta drink faster! We are sailing in btw sicily and Italy I believe right now. If I were a good blogger like @twangster I would get pics from the front of the boat, but that involves moving from my very carefully guarded solarium chair lol! Random thoughts... @Joe01 I do like Steve as a cruise director and I think the thriller dance thing is unique! Fun! Vision has not really felt crowded. Solarium has chair hogs...I will check the pool and Sun deck tomorrow. There are big table/sitting couches in schooner so a little trickier to sit as a couple but we have managed. We haven't spent a ton of time there... Pacing it til the end. It's nice to realize this is day 5 and I have a whole 7 day cruise ahead lol. Gonna be devastated in dry dock till March (and maybe later if we go for GB next summer). Main dining room was excellent day 1 but to be honest the selections day 3 and 4 were kinda meh and we decided to windjammer. I think for us the balance of 4 night PKG, one night chefs table, and 7 nights combo of mdr/windjammer will be a really good one for us. UDP can work on a bigger ship but if we do that, we will build in the lost cost of simply not doing a big restaurant every night. It would be totally wasted on vision class for sure. @Lovetocruise2002 @Matt the key port boarding thing is way wasted on the little ships. We've never waited in line and really we've never had an issue on the bigger ships either. I think they are adding things trying to justify the 19.99 a day and for myself as a cruiser I could never justify it. ESPECIALLY on the smaller ships!!! Ok... My sun has left my solarium so I'm heading to sky deck!!! Jane Skid, Traveler, Lovetocruise2002 and 4 others 7 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Lovetocruise2002 11,296 Posted August 2, 2019 Report Share Posted August 2, 2019 Did you try the Lavender Tonic yet?? Schooner bar does make it. I asked . Looks like you are all having a great time! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
twangster 26,747 Posted August 2, 2019 Report Share Posted August 2, 2019 20 minutes ago, mom2mybugs said: the key port boarding thing is way wasted on the little ships. We've never waited in line and really we've never had an issue on the bigger ships either. I think they are adding things trying to justify the 19.99 a day and for myself as a cruiser I could never justify it. ESPECIALLY on the smaller ships!!! This is why I don't agree with people that get upset about the key and think it's stealing benefits from loyal cruisers. Royal has found a new revenue stream with little impact to existing cruisers. That will keep cruise fares low for all us. I have no problem with that. Sounds like you are having a great cruise! mom2mybugs 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
DDaley 495 Posted August 2, 2019 Report Share Posted August 2, 2019 Loving all the pictures!! I am suddenly remembering tiny details about the Pieta and the Sistine ceiling from my years of memorizing art history test note cards. Brunelleschi's dome was buttress-free which was unheard of! haha Also, you have so many great summer dresses! mom2mybugs 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Traveler 2,230 Posted August 2, 2019 Report Share Posted August 2, 2019 If you have the chance try the food and the ice cream in the south parts of Italy they are excellent . Also remember in Italy as you go south the food and drink price goes down. mom2mybugs 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Traveler 2,230 Posted August 2, 2019 Report Share Posted August 2, 2019 For the key , small ships and boarding. As other said I think 90 of the times we never experienced a queue to come back to the ship that was more than 5 minutes . Small ships tend to have more tendering ports in that case the key might be helpful as long as there is visible signs how to bypass the queue or even separate tendering exit. But if you have only one or two ports which has tendering I find it cheaper just to book a cheap shore excursion ... Just make sure you tell your guide you are not going to join (if this is what you are planning to do) . For example there are many 1 hour walking tour near the port. mom2mybugs 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Bmederson 2 Posted August 2, 2019 Report Share Posted August 2, 2019 Loving your blog as a Mediterranean cruise is on my bucket list and I have wondered how it would go with teens. Do go back to Florence on a land trip-my husband and I spent a week there in June and even with summer crowds, it was one of my favorite places I’ve visited. mom2mybugs 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mom2mybugs 1,661 Posted August 3, 2019 Author Report Share Posted August 3, 2019 15 hours ago, Lovetocruise2002 said: Did you try the Lavender Tonic yet?? Schooner bar does make it. I asked . Looks like you are all having a great time! The guy said they didn't have lavender syrup so they made me a rose one. I am going to reask just to see if they were clueless. The one waitress was a little confused for example when I asked for at. Germaine and champagne...my drink ended up red and had a cherry in it! Jane Lovetocruise2002 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mom2mybugs 1,661 Posted August 3, 2019 Author Report Share Posted August 3, 2019 15 hours ago, twangster said: This is why I don't agree with people that get upset about the key and think it's stealing benefits from loyal cruisers. Royal has found a new revenue stream with little impact to existing cruisers. That will keep cruise fares low for all us. I have no problem with that. Sounds like you are having a great cruise! I totally agree... No impact on me at all! We are having a great cruise!!! Trip of a lifetime though I miss my puppies at home (not so much the other 2 kids lol). Jane hayley_bopp and JLMoran 2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mom2mybugs 1,661 Posted August 3, 2019 Author Report Share Posted August 3, 2019 14 hours ago, DDaley said: Loving all the pictures!! I am suddenly remembering tiny details about the Pieta and the Sistine ceiling from my years of memorizing art history test note cards. Brunelleschi's dome was buttress-free which was unheard of! haha Also, you have so many great summer dresses! Lol... Thank you!! I'm not a shorts person so I wear all Target, lands end and now Zulily dresses! The weather has been absolutely wonderful... Way less hot than the last couple weeks!! Really hoping we don't broil in Athens! I took an art history class my sophomore year of college and it was amazing... It made me dream of seeing all of this! You are right... He built the dinner with the bricks angled a different way that was revolutionary and could support weight differently than the old Gothic Churchs. Ahhh...I need to go back already! Jane DDaley and hayley_bopp 1 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mom2mybugs 1,661 Posted August 3, 2019 Author Report Share Posted August 3, 2019 8 hours ago, Traveler said: If you have the chance try the food and the ice cream in the south parts of Italy they are excellent . Also remember in Italy as you go south the food and drink price goes down. We actually had no time to eat in Rome... Except at the "group"restaurant. I didn't even get pizza lol. But the Florence meal will go down as the best lasagna ever! We now are on sea days heading for Greece! Jane hayley_bopp 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mom2mybugs 1,661 Posted August 3, 2019 Author Report Share Posted August 3, 2019 6 hours ago, Bmederson said: Loving your blog as a Mediterranean cruise is on my bucket list and I have wondered how it would go with teens. Do go back to Florence on a land trip-my husband and I spent a week there in June and even with summer crowds, it was one of my favorite places I’ve visited. I really haven't found the crowds to be horrible. There wasn't a line outside the uffizi... Well the line outside the duomo was bad but still overall we haven't felt like sardines yet. Jane hayley_bopp 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mom2mybugs 1,661 Posted August 3, 2019 Author Report Share Posted August 3, 2019 Today's office view!! It's our 2nd sea day! So yesterday the sea day was wonderful. Spent the day in the solarium being annoyed by the group of 10 who kept those chairs all day even though they had maybe 3 or 4 there at a time. Sigh... Anyway decided to do the sky deck today... Less stress! And I think a little more breeze, though they opened the roof and that made a huge difference at 1130am. I did do the first thriller class. I really like Steve Davis and I'm not really a cruise director person who notices. But Steve is everywhere (he was the main singer at the centrum rock and roll party last night) and he just really seems friendly. So anyway I will be back at 1 for class number 2. Here was the party from 1 deck above... We didn't get seats on the main floor because we went to the theater show first. We had izumi at 630. They have Madison several options and she went with the vegetable tempura and the veggie roll, and loved both. Jeff and I ate the firecracker spring roll, champagne lobster and California rolls and the hot rocks with tenderloin and seafood. It was really good. I found the service to be just ok... It wasn't bad but he didn't really explain anything, and we had to ask for more water and drinks. The $35 per person worked because Madison didn't eat much... Otherwise we'd have gone over. As was I think we spent 5. I needed Jeff to go make a pizza run at 1am lol...I was hungry... But the food really was excellent. Forgot to take pics of the rolls (as usual) but here are other pics After izumi, as I said, we went to the theater for the Lomax brothers...4 hands, 2 brothers, 1 piano. It was a fun show and we enjoyed it. I'm pretty sure I have seen them before but not sure when or which ship! After that we raced to centrum for the rock and roll party and then called it a night... Til I sent Jeff to grab me park Cafe pizza! Jane KenCP, twangster, JLMoran and 4 others 7 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mom2mybugs 1,661 Posted August 3, 2019 Author Report Share Posted August 3, 2019 Ok... May be no Scopes... Pool deck and voom... Actually voom anywhere... Is weak. I can get online, I can check email, I can upload pics here but I can't download my next Disney emoji blitz level (arrrrghhhh) and I can't get pericope to find the internet. Today's schedule is sunbake, thriller class, sunbake and then chefs table. We will try and hit love and marriage at 1030 if I can stagger from the food and coma, but we will miss the theater show tonight, which is ok because it's just a Celine Dion impersonator and I think I've seen her before too. Just FYI... Most announcements have been in English and Spanish. Definitely all the staff speaks English (except the poor Russian drink waitress) and it's been easy to communicate. They are running the love and marriage in English but offering it at the same time in Spanish in the some enchanted evening lounge. Deck chairs at 10... Mostly taken on the sky deck but not occupied. Of course, I still haven't seen Jeff lol.... They pushed us ahead 1 hour today to match with Greek time and will push the clock back on our way back. That made last night tiring but will be awesome when they give it back! Happy weekend everyone!!! Jane Lovetocruise2002, ellcee, twangster and 4 others 7 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Skid 1,597 Posted August 3, 2019 Report Share Posted August 3, 2019 7 hours ago, mom2mybugs said: Most announcements have been in English and Spanish. Did they do that for Muster also? When we sailed out of Puerto Rico on Adventure everyone had to stand outside in the oppressive heat and humidity for two full presentations-1 in English and 1 in Spanish. There was LOT of multilingual complaining! 7 hours ago, mom2mybugs said: Celine Dion impersonator and I think I've seen her before too. We saw one on a royal ship that looked NOTHING like Celine at all, but if you closed your eyes, she was PERFECT. Loving your blog. Keep it coming. mom2mybugs 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mom2mybugs 1,661 Posted August 4, 2019 Author Report Share Posted August 4, 2019 21 hours ago, Skid said: Did they do that for Muster also? When we sailed out of Puerto Rico on Adventure everyone had to stand outside in the oppressive heat and humidity for two full presentations-1 in English and 1 in Spanish. There was LOT of multilingual complaining! We saw one on a royal ship that looked NOTHING like Celine at all, but if you closed your eyes, she was PERFECT. Loving your blog. Keep it coming. Yes muster was in both! Ugh! Jane Skid 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Skid 1,597 Posted August 4, 2019 Report Share Posted August 4, 2019 3 minutes ago, mom2mybugs said: Yes muster was in both! Ugh! I guess it just too bad for the French speaking passengers, huh? mom2mybugs 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mom2mybugs 1,661 Posted August 4, 2019 Author Report Share Posted August 4, 2019 So yesterday was pretty quiet with the sea day until chefs table. Chefs table on vision is in its own separate little room off the main dining room. It was a nice location... Windows to look outside and you could actually hear people and converse! We started off in the that with a fantastic drink L'aristocrat. It's st Germaine and Champaign like I've been drinking but also had mint and . I have lots of food porn pics, but suffice to say the food and wine was very very good. The dessert was disappointing... It wasn't really the traditional world dessert... They served it on a plate and it was good but not the same. By then i had had waaaay too much wine anyway to really eat it. Overall we really enjoyed it, and the sommelier picked excellent wine pairings. Unfortunately the pacing was really weird... The wines were poured significantly before the food came... And the chef was very very uncomfortable talking to us. Even though it was the same menu we'd had before, it was good to see the different pairings and the subtle flavor differences. Jane twangster, Traveler, Guy Gadwa and 4 others 7 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ellcee 1,509 Posted August 4, 2019 Report Share Posted August 4, 2019 5 minutes ago, mom2mybugs said: Even though it was the same menu we'd had before, it was good to see the different pairings and the subtle flavor differences. It would be great if they changed the menu soon. I loved what I ate and drank but don't feel the need to do it again until the menu is changed! WAAAYTOOO, mom2mybugs and JLMoran 3 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mom2mybugs 1,661 Posted August 4, 2019 Author Report Share Posted August 4, 2019 Today...DAY 7...dream day of the trip again because today was Athens. The port is very close (unlike the Italy ports) so that was nice. The Acropolis was very crowded on the stairs but we were given lots of time to look (it did take over 20 mins to get down though because of all the people). A few weeks ago they actually closed it because the temps were over 105. Today was in the 90s but we brought lots of water! The ruins are so enormous that it helps to see people next to them for scale. After the Acropolis we were given free time to wander the narrow streets of places. I find that I enjoy going to the local restaurants but that we get bored pretty quick shopping. Anyway we found a great Cafe and ate outside! We wandered placa and then finished up at Hadrian's arch. It was cool to see the Acropolis through the arch! We were back on the ship by 3 and have been laying around in the AC pondering naps. After last night, I'm not inclined to run around using my drink pkg lol! No dinner plans for tonight...we will look to see what's up in the main dining room and then likely hit windjammer. No big shows tonight so we will likely go to bed early. Tomorrow is Mykenos... We have to meet at 645 for our excursion to ancient Delos! Jane Lovetocruise2002, hayley_bopp, twangster and 6 others 7 2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mom2mybugs 1,661 Posted August 4, 2019 Author Report Share Posted August 4, 2019 11 minutes ago, ellcee said: It would be great if they changed the menu soon. I loved what I ate and drank but don't feel the need to do it again until the menu is changed! I agree...we have done chefs table 3 times and this was the first time we repeated a menu. I would actually like it if they would make it individual... Let the chefs pick their own menu and run with it. Jane Traveler and ellcee 2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
WAAAYTOOO 12,003 Posted August 4, 2019 Report Share Posted August 4, 2019 Jane, you're so bronze !! I am envious. I have talcum-white skin that NEVER tans. Good for you !! mom2mybugs 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.