KristiZ 784 Report post Posted December 24, 2019 Okinawa We are not going ashore today, since we live in Japan and have been to Okinawa, However, I know people are interested in the port, so here are some photos from our last trip here. These (after the first shot, anyway) are taken on a Sony RX-10 III for those whore are interested. Also, all of these shots are from places easily accessible from a Royal shore excursion. Port: Naha: Fukushuen Garden: Shurijo Castle (before it burned down, under reconstruction currently): Gyokusendo Cave: A Muscovy Duck, which you can find all over the place as an invasive species: A fun restaurant sign in Naha: 10 Ken23, SpeedNoodles, Dan Curtis and 7 others reacted to this Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
KristiZ 784 Report post Posted December 24, 2019 There is a spot on deck 13 where you can stand and look down to deck 5. Spooky! 5 Jaymac Radio, Lovetocruise2002, IRMO12HD and 2 others reacted to this Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
KristiZ 784 Report post Posted December 24, 2019 Squeeeeeeeeee! Our first block! 11 2 F1guynz, Traveler, JLMoran and 10 others reacted to this Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
KristiZ 784 Report post Posted December 25, 2019 The Diamond offers letter: 2 SpeedNoodles and Jaymac Radio reacted to this Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
KristiZ 784 Report post Posted December 25, 2019 Day 3 - Okinawa Today we slept in again, which was lovely. Breakfast at the Silver dining. Then we cleared Immigration (see above) even though we weren’t leaving the ship. After that we found a nice spot near the Solarium Bar and settled in for some serious leisure. We fetched light lunch from the Windjammer and brought it out to our spot. The ship was quite empty — I was surprised there weren’t more who stayed onboard. I guess Japan ports are still a novelty. At 5pm we processed out of Japan again and then went to dinner. Due to the margaritas, I failed to remember to photograph the menu 😞 I had holiday ham and MisterZ had Beef Wellington. Both were tasty. One thing I really appreciate about non-US based cruises is the smaller portion sizes. It helps with the weight gain issue and allows you to try more things. They’re of course still happy to bring you extra apps or entrees as well! After dinner we went to Two70 Alive, a little show on the robo-screens in Two70. It was interesting but not worth making a special trip. Windjammer decorations for the holiday: 8 MaryS, Skigoofy, ellcee and 5 others reacted to this Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
KristiZ 784 Report post Posted December 25, 2019 Northstar costs money on sailings out of China. We decided to use some of our OBC to book the extended trip — $40 per person. We’ve not been on a ship with a Northstar before so we were looking forward to it. The day was beautiful, too! Here you can see The Balcony, a Gold suite exclusive sun deck (center) and the observation area over the bridge wings (off the Solarium): A crew member hamming it up for us 😉 10 Ogilthorpe, SpeedNoodles, Lovetocruise2002 and 7 others reacted to this Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
KristiZ 784 Report post Posted December 25, 2019 Day 3 — Addendum So. The margaritas did not make me forget to photograph the dinner menu after all. They made me forget that we were given souvenir menus to take with us! Oops! 5 MaryS, Lovetocruise2002, Jaymac Radio and 2 others reacted to this Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
KristiZ 784 Report post Posted December 25, 2019 The room service menu has some choices I’ve not seen elsewhere: 5 SpeedNoodles, Jaymac Radio, twangster and 2 others reacted to this Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
KristiZ 784 Report post Posted December 25, 2019 Second sighting of the Stowaway Piano Player! First was crammed in an alcove outside the Royal Theater two nights ago, picture not possible. Here he’s in front of the lower level of the Music Hall. He’s quite good! 5 Dan Curtis, Jaymac Radio, SpeedNoodles and 2 others reacted to this Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jeremy Chan 2 Report post Posted December 26, 2019 Hi there Can you please confirm if the Royal Carribean app is able to be used on board the Spectrum of the Seas for free on mobiles without purchasing an internet package and if there is group chat functionality for free using the app? Been on a few websites and other forums, but getting conflicting answers. Thanks. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
KristiZ 784 Report post Posted December 26, 2019 2 minutes ago, Jeremy Chan said: Hi there Can you please confirm if the Royal Carribean app is able to be used on board the Spectrum of the Seas for free on mobiles without purchasing an internet package and if there is group chat functionality for free using the app? Been on a few websites and other forums, but getting conflicting answers. Thanks. There is no chat function at all currently. The app has been hit or miss on staying connected without a VOOM package. Likely Guest Services could help with that, but we haven’t tried going down that road since we have VOOM. Also, it seems the type of phone matters — MisterZ’s Pixel stays connected better than my iPhone. Hope that helps! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jeremy Chan 2 Report post Posted December 26, 2019 Thanks so much for your speedy reply ! On a different note, we heard there might be a 1970s disco night. Is this true and if so, do a lot of people get dressed in 1970s gear ? I don't want to stand out for nothing..... 1 KristiZ reacted to this Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
KristiZ 784 Report post Posted December 26, 2019 1 minute ago, Jeremy Chan said: a 1970s disco night. Yes, at least on this cruise (7 nights) there was a 70s party. We didn’t go, but saw maybe 30 people dressed up on their way to it. Honestly if it sounds like fun to you, just go for it! We always have a great time when we just plunge in to whatever event strikes our fancy. And the crew always appreciates the participation, since they have to be there no matter what 😉 1 twangster reacted to this Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jeremy Chan 2 Report post Posted December 26, 2019 Thanks heaps ! 1 KristiZ reacted to this Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
KristiZ 784 Report post Posted December 26, 2019 OMG. The mouse was fantastic, but this water buffalo?? I heart him so much! 6 4 Dan Curtis, MaryS, ellcee and 7 others reacted to this Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
KristiZ 784 Report post Posted December 26, 2019 Day 4 — At sea Today turned out to be mostly about music. Breakfast at Silver dining again. This morning was Christmas, and Royal had 2.5 hours of Santa giving out gifts to the over 1000 children onboard this sailing. Crazy! We also did Northstar (see above) this morning. Lunch was room service on our balcony, watching birds chase flying fish. After lunch MisterZ napped and I trotted around the ship taking photos for you all 😉 My first sighting of the Stowaway Piano Player was that afternoon. Music #1. Then we checked out the Bionic Bar. In the name of research, of course! Diamond lounge before dinner, and then we ate at Silver dining. It was nice, but the menu doesn’t change so once was enough. You order your app and entree from the menu and then get sides, salad, dessert, and more entrees from the buffet. Crab cake and prawns: Next we found the Stowaway Piano Player again and got to request songs. He’s quite good. Music #2. Then we went to the Music Hall to hear the Aura Band, a bluesy-pop cover band. They were fun and I really like the Music Hall venue. Music #3. Music Hall staircase: Behind the Music Hall bar: Last we stopped at the Schooner Bar to hear Girl Named Jake, who we had caught briefly two nights before. Music #4 was also excellent! Schooner Bar: We really have been pleased with the live music on this trip! 10 1 SpeedNoodles, twangster, WAAAYTOOO and 8 others reacted to this Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
KristiZ 784 Report post Posted December 27, 2019 Sichuan Red We wanted to try the specialty restaurant Sichuan Red during this trip, since it is currently only found on Spectrum. It makes sense a ship built for China would have a Chinese restaurant, particularly Sichuan cuisine (southern and spicy). It was $35 per person, with a few upsale menu items. The $35 included a cold appetizer, a hot entree, a soup, and either a side dish or a dessert. However, there were a number of substitutions you could make, like the broccoli entree instead of a side dish. The server was patient in explaining our options. Also, if you bought an upcharge item, it came in addition to all the other food. It ended up be one metric crap-ton of food (that’s a specific technical measurement on this side of the world 😉 ). It was fantastic! If you don’t like at least a bit of spicy, this restaurant is not for you. But if you can handle it, everything we ate was amazing! If you get a chance, eat here for sure! Sour & Spicy Soup: Not even all the food we had. From top right — fruit appetizer (in case the pickles were too spicy), Chinese Lettuce Leaves with Sesame Paste Dipping Sauce, Green Pepper Chicken, Assorted Pickles, Sour & Spicy Soup, Mapo Tofu, Wok-Fried Chicken with Chilis, and Crispy Fried Sea Scallops (center, $25 upcharge). Not pictured: white rice, Sichuan Spicy Noodles, Stir-Fried Garlic Broccoli Spectrum does not currently offer any dining packages, FYI 7 2 ellcee, JLMoran, Skigoofy and 6 others reacted to this Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
KristiZ 784 Report post Posted December 27, 2019 @Sweety, this one is for you! No red velvet cake so far, but this red velvet cheesecake sure was good! Dining room night 6 9 Traveler, Dan Curtis, Lovetocruise2002 and 6 others reacted to this Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
WAAAYTOOO 8,600 Report post Posted December 27, 2019 Kristi, I am going to steal your "metric crap-ton". That is the funniest thing I've read all week !! That thing in the middle with all of those red peppers ! Holy crap-ton ! 1 KristiZ reacted to this Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SpeedNoodles 2,938 Report post Posted December 27, 2019 OMG, Sichuan Red looks good enough to book the ship on alone! I could eat like that daily and never get tired of it. 2 WAAAYTOOO and KristiZ reacted to this Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AshleyDillo 3,387 Report post Posted December 27, 2019 1 hour ago, SpeedNoodles said: OMG, Sichuan Red looks good enough to book the ship on alone! I could eat like that daily and never get tired of it. Ditto! I want a Sichuan Red and Hot Pot on my ships! 2 KristiZ and SpeedNoodles reacted to this Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Lovetocruise2002 9,110 Report post Posted December 27, 2019 They need to expand Sichuan Red to other ships!! I desperately want try this more than any other specialty restaurants! The food in those pics look amazing! 1 KristiZ reacted to this Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Andrew72681 945 Report post Posted December 27, 2019 8 hours ago, KristiZ said: It ended up be one metric crap-ton of food (that’s a specific technical measurement on this side of the world 😉 ). That’s .90 imperial crap-ton of food 😃 5 AshleyDillo, WAAAYTOOO, SpeedNoodles and 2 others reacted to this Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Andrew72681 945 Report post Posted December 27, 2019 2 hours ago, Lovetocruise2002 said: They need to expand Sichuan Red to other ships!! I desperately want try this more than any other specialty restaurants! The food in those pics look amazing! On NCL the noodle bar/dim sum restaurant was one of our favorites. Was hard to get in but the food was great and no upcharge. 2 Lovetocruise2002 and KristiZ reacted to this Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sweety 1,397 Report post Posted December 27, 2019 9 hours ago, KristiZ said: @Sweety, this one is for you! No red velvet cake so far, but this red velvet cheesecake sure was good! Dining room night 6 I want a piece. Yum. Yum. 1 1 WAAAYTOOO and KristiZ reacted to this Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
