AshleyDillo Posted November 28, 2019 Author Report Posted November 28, 2019 Thanksgiving WJ style! Quote
WAAAYTOOO Posted November 28, 2019 Report Posted November 28, 2019 59 minutes ago, SpeedNoodles said: I have to agree with your Coke Zero hierarchy - it's my soda of choice as well. Me, three AshleyDillo 1 Quote
RWDW1204 Posted November 28, 2019 Report Posted November 28, 2019 6 hours ago, AshleyDillo said: Gliding into St. Thomas right on schedule. Our view with breakfast. WAAAYTOOO, AshleyDillo, Skigoofy and 2 others 3 2 Quote
AshleyDillo Posted November 28, 2019 Author Report Posted November 28, 2019 1 hour ago, SpeedNoodles said: I have to agree with your Coke Zero hierarchy - it's my soda of choice as well. Good! Everyone thinks I'm crazy. The 20oz ones taste the best and they don't sell those in multi-packs, of course. The 16.9 bottles have a weird burnt plasticky smell to me too. Oh and these non-US canned Coke Zeros taste different than the US cans do. I keep trading out the ones that aren't in English SpeedNoodles 1 Quote
CGTLH Posted November 28, 2019 Report Posted November 28, 2019 6 minutes ago, AshleyDillo said: Oh and these non-US canned Coke Zeros taste different than the US cans do. I keep trading out the ones that aren't in English Plus some of the non-US cans tasted different than other non-US cans. How many different non-US variations did we sample again on Symphony? SpeedNoodles and WAAAYTOOO 1 1 Quote
AshleyDillo Posted November 28, 2019 Author Report Posted November 28, 2019 Prepared for an epic laser tag battle... This inflatable was just chilling outside of Studio B. Guy Gadwa, JohnK6404, Big Tule and 3 others 6 Quote
AshleyDillo Posted November 28, 2019 Author Report Posted November 28, 2019 Boardwalk is hopping. All aboard is 5:30 and it is 3:30 currently. Football is on at Playmakers. They have some arcade games down here. OUCH... think I will stick to the free ones in the app. Lovetocruise2002, heffy2, JohnK6404 and 4 others 7 Quote
AshleyDillo Posted November 28, 2019 Author Report Posted November 28, 2019 For those wondering if there are any special Thanksgiving activities on the ship: Unfortunately tonight is Round 3 of my mother and UDP vs. Izumi Hibachi at 7:15pm so we will miss this. JohnK6404, Guy Gadwa, SpeedNoodles and 1 other 4 Quote
AshleyDillo Posted November 28, 2019 Author Report Posted November 28, 2019 4:29 and I am in the Diamond Lounge and there are only a handful of seats free. I have been chilling here for over an hour, but most of these folks just wandered in...hmmm. ...I was only in here early because I messed up ship time vs. local time SpeedNoodles, Lovetocruise2002 and Guy Gadwa 2 1 Quote
AshleyDillo Posted November 28, 2019 Author Report Posted November 28, 2019 The Diamond Concierge fetched a MDR menu, Thanksgiving special edition for a photo op. twangster, Ogilthorpe, JohnK6404 and 4 others 7 Quote
RWDW1204 Posted November 28, 2019 Report Posted November 28, 2019 MDR. Turkey, beef wellington. Happy Thanksgiving everyone! Guy Gadwa, ellcee, SpeedNoodles and 3 others 6 Quote
AshleyDillo Posted November 28, 2019 Author Report Posted November 28, 2019 Quick buzz of the Windjammer.. They had a turkey Beef Wellington and Prime Rib Ham Ribs and salmon Seafood They ran out of stuffing and I thought there was going to be a riot. Poor chef said it was coming but he couldn't tell the irate gentleman when. And yes, still had Indian food. The Cruise Junkie, Lovetocruise2002, SpeedNoodles and 4 others 7 Quote
AshleyDillo Posted November 28, 2019 Author Report Posted November 28, 2019 Dessert spread Thanksgiving cake Crepe station JohnK6404, SpeedNoodles, Guy Gadwa and 2 others 5 Quote
AshleyDillo Posted November 29, 2019 Author Report Posted November 29, 2019 And just like that Thanksgiving was made great again. Guy Gadwa, teddy, Skigoofy and 3 others 6 Quote
Mrs. RoyalMoyal Posted November 29, 2019 Report Posted November 29, 2019 All draft beers.. Including those in Playmakers? I may skip the Diamond Dungeon ... AshleyDillo 1 Quote
AshleyDillo Posted November 29, 2019 Author Report Posted November 29, 2019 15 minutes ago, Mrs. RoyalMoyal said: All draft beers.. Including those in Playmakers? I may skip the Diamond Dungeon ... ...potential loophole I am hoping to exploit but haven't gotten around to. Thanksgiving football thwarted my efforts today..waaay too crowded. Shall report back SpeedNoodles 1 Quote
AshleyDillo Posted November 29, 2019 Author Report Posted November 29, 2019 No partaking of Thanksgiving delicacies for me..my dinner involves dinner and a show. And commence Round 3. Our server thinks the Izumi Hibachi has a $35 limit like the sushi side..let the fun begin! Royal's Ultimate Dining Package FAQ locked, loaded, and ready. teddy, Guy Gadwa, ellcee and 2 others 4 1 Quote
AshleyDillo Posted November 29, 2019 Author Report Posted November 29, 2019 I snuck out to go to the bathroom (read: use my Diamond 3 free drinks before the end of Happy Hour.) This is the Promenade turkey pardoning..next level ridiculousness. But an untouched cake... spiralqueen, Guy Gadwa, The Cruise Junkie and 3 others 5 1 Quote
Dan Curtis Posted November 29, 2019 Report Posted November 29, 2019 2 hours ago, AshleyDillo said: The Diamond Concierge fetched a MDR menu, Thanksgiving special edition for a photo op. I like the menus tonight, a few different selections. AshleyDillo 1 Quote
AshleyDillo Posted November 29, 2019 Author Report Posted November 29, 2019 9 minutes ago, Dan Curtis said: I like the menus tonight, a few different selections. Thanksgiving is a surprisingly good time to sail. Cruise fares tend to be cheaper than the other holidays..but the airfare gets ya! JohnK6404, Guy Gadwa and heffy2 3 Quote
AshleyDillo Posted November 29, 2019 Author Report Posted November 29, 2019 Win for the little guy..hibachi covered! Guy Gadwa, Big Tule, teddy and 6 others 7 2 Quote
AshleyDillo Posted November 29, 2019 Author Report Posted November 29, 2019 They are doing 2 Aquatheater shows tonight since they had to reschedule One Sky to last night. So we went down to Boardwalk to peep the last half of the 830pm show. We has reservations at 10:45. These shots.are from Deck 6 on the sides. JohnK6404, CarlaB, Guy Gadwa and 3 others 6 Quote
AshleyDillo Posted November 29, 2019 Author Report Posted November 29, 2019 And second dinner is poke nachos from Playmakers. Just took the whole basket to the show with me. Zero shame. I will bring it back to them on my way out. Taunting me.. SpeedNoodles, JohnK6404, Lovetocruise2002 and 4 others 7 Quote
AshleyDillo Posted November 29, 2019 Author Report Posted November 29, 2019 Aqua80s was a fun and enegetic show. There's 80s music, audience participation, hoverboards, a disco ball and all the tightrope walking, trampoline acrobatics, splashing, and high diving one comes to expect from a Royal aquatheater show. Definitely worth making a reservation. Folks do queue up about 30 minutes before the show to get their preferred spots. They alternate rows of benches and rows of seats with backs, so if that matters to you definitely err on showing up early. We then hightailed it down to Studio B to catch the Crazy Quest. Usually this brings a lot of laughs but this one felt rushed and abbreviated. It was most of the same quests that they cycle over and over again and the cruise director didn't add any special flair to it. Definitely more fun when there are a few drinks involved and you are part of a group that is participating. After that and the Poke nachos I was wiped and decided to call it a night. I went to the casino to try to make my daily $500 slot machine withdrawal and the ROOM CHARGE option has disappeared again for me. The casino is having a lot of technical difficulties from what I am hearing about on various social media sites. They are using new slot machines that work with the RFID in the SeaPass so you have to tap your card to access your account to earn points at the slot machine. The machines have been disconnecting on people and they constantly have to make sure they are connected (RFID reader turns from green to red when it disconnects) and re-tap the card. Gambling is too expensive for my tastes, so I don't spend a lot of time in the casino but I know there are plenty of frustrated Casino Royale members dealing with this daily. Be prepared @WAAAYTOOO! JohnK6404 and Guy Gadwa 2 Quote
WAAAYTOOO Posted November 29, 2019 Report Posted November 29, 2019 4 minutes ago, AshleyDillo said: Be prepared @WAAAYTOOO! No worries from me. I don’t even so much as brush up against a slot machine. As long as they don’t dick around with the tables. I’ll be good-to-go. heffy2, AshleyDillo, Guy Gadwa and 2 others 5 Quote
JohnK6404 Posted November 29, 2019 Report Posted November 29, 2019 12 hours ago, AshleyDillo said: Thanksgiving is a surprisingly good time to sail. Cruise fares tend to be cheaper than the other holidays..but the airfare gets ya! I guess it's like Mediterranean cruises. We were just checking them out for the fun of it as our cruise buddies just booked Allure for next year out of Barcelona. The cruise fare tends to be reasonable and comparable to Caribbean itineraries, but the airfare, hotel, etc., to get to/from the ship is about the same cost as the whole cruise! So envious... one day! That's why we "had" to jump on Oasis out of NY/NJ! Just gas and parking and less than a 90 minutes drive! Wow, we need to move closer to FL! Thank you so much for the awesome preview! AshleyDillo 1 Quote
mworkman Posted November 29, 2019 Report Posted November 29, 2019 On 11/26/2019 at 9:12 AM, WAAAYTOOO said: Now you’ve made me cry. I’m not reading any more of your blogs Alcohol has that effects on people...more proof WAAAYTOOO and AshleyDillo 1 1 Quote
AshleyDillo Posted November 29, 2019 Author Report Posted November 29, 2019 Our last two days on this sailing are sea days. I absolutely love it when a cruise ends with a sea day. It's much more relaxing than having a port day and then having to pack and deal with all of the sadness of it being the last cruise night.. But this time not only do we have one sea day, but we have two. I decided not to pre-order my coffee via room service and sleep in to see where the morning took me. Fortunately I woke up in time to catch breakfast at Johnny Rockets. I rolled in at 9am and they were busy but still had room to seat me either inside or outside. Pretty decent menu selection including made-to-order omelets. The Cruise Junkie, ellcee, SpeedNoodles and 2 others 5 Quote
AshleyDillo Posted November 29, 2019 Author Report Posted November 29, 2019 And not bad for free... JohnK6404, mworkman, SpeedNoodles and 3 others 6 Quote
AshleyDillo Posted November 29, 2019 Author Report Posted November 29, 2019 Believe it or not my motivation for leaving my bed was not only to feed my face. I had an appointment with: This was $19.99 on the cruise planner. If you've ever done an escape room on land, you know that's a reasonable price for this activity on land but would an escape room translate well on a cruise ship? (Spoiler alert: Yes!) heffy2, JohnK6404, Guy Gadwa and 4 others 7 Quote
AshleyDillo Posted November 29, 2019 Author Report Posted November 29, 2019 If you've never done an escape room it's basically a bunch of puzzles that you have to solve in a particular order in order to escape from the room, or in this case complete the mission. You're let into the room and you weren't given any instructions other than everything in the room is available to you. You aren't given any instruction as to where to find the clues, which puzzles the clues apply to, or in which order to complete the puzzles. It takes a lot of teamwork and is a great activity for a large group. The puzzles were challenging and had everyone scrambling all over the room for clues and working together to decipher what they meant. I've done the puzzle room on Anthem of the Seas which wasn't that great with broken puzzles and a much smaller room. However it is free on that ship. SpeedNoodles, Guy Gadwa, Big Tule and 1 other 4 Quote
AshleyDillo Posted November 29, 2019 Author Report Posted November 29, 2019 No photos of the room as not to give away any surprises, but the theming is great. You are given 50 minutes to complete the mission and the activity director was there to nudge slightly in the right direction or to state "I like the direction you are going with this." They put the age limit at 13 and up because the puzzles are challenging (even for the grown ups) and younger kids could get frustrated. SpeedNoodles, Guy Gadwa and JohnK6404 3 Quote
AshleyDillo Posted November 29, 2019 Author Report Posted November 29, 2019 We successfully completed the mission and launched our rocket! ...with time to spare. Everyone gets a patch to commemorate the success. This activity was definitely one of the more worthwhile things I've paid for on a Royal Caribbean cruise. Ken23, MaryS, Lovetocruise2002 and 11 others 14 Quote
SpeedNoodles Posted November 29, 2019 Report Posted November 29, 2019 25 minutes ago, AshleyDillo said: If you've never done an escape room it's basically a bunch of puzzles that you have to solve in a particular order in order to escape from the room, or in this case complete the mission. You're let into the room and you weren't given any instructions other than everything in the room is available to you. You aren't given any instruction as to where to find the clues, which puzzles the clues apply to, or in which order to complete the puzzles. It takes a lot of teamwork and is a great activity for a large group. The puzzles were challenging and had everyone scrambling all over the room for clues and working together to decipher what they meant. I've done the puzzle room on Anthem of the Seas which wasn't that great with broken puzzles and a much smaller room. However it is free on that ship. We have this booked for our Symphony cruise in Feb - we're really looking forward to it! AshleyDillo 1 Quote
AshleyDillo Posted November 29, 2019 Author Report Posted November 29, 2019 18 minutes ago, SpeedNoodles said: We have this booked for our Symphony cruise in Feb - we're really looking forward to it! I missed it on Symphony but definitely going to do it on Harmony. I think they're the same Escape the Rubicon..so don't give away any secrets SpeedNoodles 1 Quote
RWDW1204 Posted November 29, 2019 Report Posted November 29, 2019 Souvenir cup? A lime & coconut drink from pool deck Lime and Coconut bar. Guy Gadwa, Lovetocruise2002, JohnK6404 and 1 other 4 Quote
AshleyDillo Posted November 29, 2019 Author Report Posted November 29, 2019 It's been a long, hard 3 hours since we last ate so let's Izumi! We walked up at 1pm, no reservations needed, for the sushi side. The hibachi side had all 3 tables going, so if you can't get an ideal dinner time ask about available sea day lunch slots. They also have the sushi making class here before lunch. Guy Gadwa and JohnK6404 2 Quote
AshleyDillo Posted November 29, 2019 Author Report Posted November 29, 2019 They are very good with dietary needs at Izumi. My mother was able to request no onions at hibachi last night and they made the veggies first without them and then cooked up the onions and blended them in for the rest of us who like flavor in our food. This afternoon's special request is the shrimp wonton soup without the wontons but add noodles. She really likes their broth, I guess. They added the chicken without her asking for it. They're lucky it was white meat..phew that would have been bad. I'm almost as bad. I ordered the spicy ramen without noodles Told them to give them to her. I present to your my oxymoron of a lunch noodleless ramen. I also ordered the ahi & albacore tataki salad..so soup & salad for lunch for me today. I'm trying to eat lighter these days and all.. My mother got the spicy shrimp roll but I didn't take a dedicated photo because she didn't get any of the stuff on it that makes it photogenic so see the rice log in her wontonless wonton soup photo. No dessert for us. We are on a diet, obviously. SpeedNoodles, twangster, Lovetocruise2002 and 6 others 5 4 Quote
AshleyDillo Posted November 29, 2019 Author Report Posted November 29, 2019 Another Boardwalk late afternoon. They are doing free face painting for the kids. Boardwalk Doghouse is open for a quick bite... ...or several bites. Those are some good sized wieners. Candy for daaaaaaays inside Sugar Beach...my teeth hurt looking at this. I think it's cute they have a window to walk up and order ice cream right on the boardwalk, too. Sometimes the best things in life AREN'T free. PS: I have noticed Voom is slowest on the Boardwalk. Guess the access points are few and far between. Guy Gadwa, The Cruise Junkie, JohnK6404 and 1 other 4 Quote
AshleyDillo Posted November 29, 2019 Author Report Posted November 29, 2019 Sports lineup on the Playmakers TVs SpeedNoodles, JohnK6404, twangster and 1 other 4 Quote
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