Step side to side to side.... there's a Star in the middle!! Jan 10-28th

[Ampurp85]

Day 4 continued....

I woke up from my nap and shot out a few work emails. I decided to hit WJ for early dinner as I was planning on seeing the Ice show. It was fancy cake night and boy were those cakes fancy and delicious. Also, they had a short beef rib, that almost gave the CK on Allure a run for the money. As soon as I sat down, Ricky the CD got on the intercom to tell us that both showings of the Ice show had been cancelled. I was super bummed. I debated going to see the comedian but a few people I had talk to said he wasn't that funny. I got my last drink of the day, a rum runner at Schooner, before playing 20 min at the casino. I got the email from my TA at 5:30 and I waited for a call from guest service. I ate early dinner around 6:15 and went to guest services close to 7. They tried to say they called me, but I had no messages on my phone. It took 10min for them to give me a confirmation of my test and then I had to wait almost another 10 for them to give me a location. I retired to my room early, knowing I had to pack and get up for a test. I had forgot luggage needed to be out before 10. I had no intentions of dragging my luggage that far. I was able to get it outside my door with 5min to spare.

I woke up today putting good juju out. I needed to test negative, I have a star class sailing after this one. I don't think I mentioned it, but I had a bathtub, so I took a nice bath got dressed and heading to the WJ for breakfast. Like most disembarkment days, it was a mad house. The most crowded I had ever seen the enter sailing. I ate a light breakfast of bacon, eggs and chocolate milk then went upstairs to wait for my test. Disembarkment had been fast and smooth. Although I arranged to be the last called by 8:40. By 7:45 all the numbers had been called and all other pax who needed to be test had been tested. I was the last to be tested and she asked if I was getting PCR or antigen and I said antigen and she said no you are scheduled for PCR. I shrugged and let her swab me. The facility is located behind the arcade room. I was heading to the steps before a crew member came and got me to informed me, she took the wrong kind of test. I went in and got swabbed again. I took my time walking to deck 4. But from deck 12 to the rideshare area was about 15min and that's because I was chatting with crew members along the way. By 8:20 I was in my Lyft on the way to the Hampton Inn praying they would let me check in early or at least leave my luggage. They had my room ready and as soon as I dropped my carryon on the bed, I got a beep on my phone. My test results were ready, and I was NEGATIVE!!!! Now I am just praying that @AshleyDillo and the rest are the same. Room is a nonsmoking king facing the pool. Very nice size for a single person, bed is a lot softer than I like.

Misc.....

Indy has the white, annoying cloth wristbands for vax.

I saw 3 types of seapass cards, there may have been more: My grey card, a light blue card and a darker blue card.

Not all suites were occupied, not just JS but RS/OS/GS. I was told you could go to guest services and ask for an upgrade. 

We received a letter saying positive rate was 1%

I was in deck 10 aft, under the WJ and barely heard anything. I took the stairs often and my area was often very quiet. I was told there was over 200 kids on this sailing, it seemed like more.

There was only one outlet as the coffee maker was plugged in the other. None near the bed, so if you charged your phone, you had to get up to get it. 

Other than trivia at Schooners, no place was ever really crowded. They seem to always have reservations at the specialty restaurants. 

[AshleyDillo]

26 minutes ago, Ampurp85 said:

My test results were ready, and I was NEGATIVE!!!! Now I am just praying that @AshleyDillo and the rest are the same.

3/4 tests down, all negative! I'm still the single holdout.

The other 2 in our room had to cancel last minute to unrelated family issues.  I've tried but I can't seem to find anyone who wants to step in and take their place...would be a bargain and get them a little bit of money recouped behind the scenes  But alas...looks like our room that can hold 14 people will have 4..so we each will have our own room now.

[GregD]

2 hours ago, AshleyDillo said:

3/4 tests down, all negative! I'm still the single holdout.

The other 2 in our room had to cancel last minute to unrelated family issues.  I've tried but I can't seem to find anyone who wants to step in and take their place...would be a bargain and get them a little bit of money recouped behind the scenes  But alas...looks like our room that can hold 14 people will have 4..so we each will have our own room now.

I saw your post looking for "volunteers" I would have done it, except that my wife would have murdered me for sure if I went on a cruise without her

[AshleyDillo]

Our awesome TA came to the rescue and salvaged things.  Since we are in the Villa Suite and had 6 people, it ended up being split over two reservations. Fortunately the 2 that had to cancel were on different reservations. So it was a simple name swap so all 4 that are actually sailing will be on the main reservation and the second reservation was able to be canceled under CWC.  They will at least have an FCC for the 5/6th passenger rate and port fees and taxes coming back to them for canceling, so not out 100%. Just things to keep in mind when dealing with these larger than 4-person party rooms!

[iluvwineandtravel]

On 1/13/2022 at 11:10 AM, seabird said:

@Ampurp85 Can you (or others) comment on the internet speeds? I'm on Allure for Feb. and will need to work. With the "surf and stream" on AOS in December, my experience was a slow connection.  I could work via email, but Zoom calls were ridiculous. (We had to resort to talk...wait 5 seconds to hear the response....talk...wait for response.) My hope would be to be able to attend Zoom calls as needed and desired.

Wondering if my cell phone "cruise ship" data would be any faster. It's ridiculously pricey but for important client calls might be worth it.

 

 

I did a zoom from harmony last week and it worked really well.  We were ported in St. Maarten that morning so I don't know if that helped.

[AshleyDillo]

My mother told me to be at the house by 8:30 to pick her up so we could leave early.

9:45 she is still packing last minute stuff for our 4-5 hour car ride. We would hate to be caught without food or drinks for the drive.

10:45 we are getting gas at Costco..driving out of the way and sitting in lines to save 5 cents a gallon. I mean I only had half a tank.

60 miles down the road, time for the first bio break at a rest area

Random guy at rest area asked me if I thought my car would go faster if it was painted red? 

I feel like today is going to be a looooong day.

[Ampurp85]

Lots of folks asking where my family is and why I am cruising alone. Most are leaving today on the Carnival Magic. The breakfast area, which was surprisingly stocked with hot items, was nicely populated. Lots of families with energetic kids and luggage getting ready to cruise. I overheard a guest complaining that there are only two times for the shuttle, 10:30 or 11:15. She had received notice not to get to port early and wonder if she could get a later one. For ten minutes the girl at the desk explained these were the only hours. A man behind her said if she wanted to kill time.... walk. That didn't go over well. I went down to the pool a little bit but didn't stay. Two large families, who had checked out but were waiting to leave to check-in for their cruise, were smoking and being loud. Hard to relax as I am not a smoker, nor use to it. 

I have been reading a few accounts of the Jan 9th sailing and have coated my aura with patience. I knew some shows may not go on, but I am content with trivia, drinks and a nice room. I want a safe and happy crew. @AshleyDillo made it safely to the hotel. It rained a little and then it poured. Our Genie Joyce asked us to board between 12 and 12:30 and none of us had received any notice that boarding had been pushed back; that was the light rain. We speculate that it may have something to do with Joyce. A little while later notice was received that our genie had close contact with a positive crew member......she would have to be quarantined: this was the pouring rain. We were being transferred to Alexa. We then received our schedule. I don't want to step on any toes, but I am sure @AshleyDillo mom is not happy with everything......the most important is the delayed boarding. I am hoping we can make changes to accommodate her. It looks like there won't be any production shows and I am sad about that, but glad some entertainment is available. 

Just one more sleep and I am fancy pants!!!

 

[AshleyDillo]

My mother is not a fan of going with the flow. I think she should just be grateful I invited her since this was originally supposed to be my girls' trip cruise that I wouldn't let her join

This is the preliminary show schedule for the week for Harmony. Looks like the sportsball will be shown on the big screen.

[Ampurp85]

@AshleyDilloI was looking at this and was like so much sports ball! Not enough everything that is not sports ball

[CGTLH]

It is a bit windy at the hotel.

[WAAAYTOOO]

2 hours ago, CGTLH said:

It is a bit windy at the hotel.

Yeah, the rain is supposed to start here any minute but hopefully you guys will sail away from it very quickly.

ENJOY !  I hope you have an absolute blast !

[Neesa]

@Ampurp85 I love my family BUT I would LOVE a solo sailing, OMG pure bliss. I am following your adventures, I was so happy the testing worked out. Living vicariously through you. One sailing that's all I ask, sometimes like my last birthday Mr. Cabash asks, what do you want to do? Cruise please? Cabash is like another cruise? Don't you think we sail enough? Who said we? Then he pouts and walks off shaking his head, " I can't believe you would go without me" um, yes, yes I would! Enjoy. Can't wait to read about your solo star class adventure. 

[CGTLH]

At the point of general boarding, waiting for our Genie to escort us on.

[CGTLH]

Sometime in the last half hour we've managed to get onboard and explore the many nooks of the suite.

[Ampurp85]

We are on board, the room is nice but weird. I will add pictures and update the boarding process after I get some food in me.

[Lovetocruise2002]

2 hours ago, Ampurp85 said:

after I get some food in me.

That is of utmost importance.  Also, important to note, do not indulge in SC DX until you get some food in you.  Don't ask me how I know. 

[CGTLH]

You'll never be thirsty in the suite when sailing Star class.

[Ferramc]

3 hours ago, Ampurp85 said:

We are on board, the room is nice but weird. I will add pictures and update the boarding process after I get some food in me.

Definitely wondering what’s ‘weird’?   We’re in the symphony villa in May! 

[AlmondFarmer]

The water to beer ratio is off in the photos.

 

[Ampurp85]

@Ferramc room looks basic until you really get into it. Then you get the beauty of the suite.  It's like having 6 rooms in one.

[MLH]

26 minutes ago, Ampurp85 said:

@Ferramc room looks basic until you really get into it. Then you get the beauty of the suite.  It's like having 6 rooms in one.

We stayed in one of the deck 12 suites that were converted from the Presidentail family suite to 2 2 bedroom grand suites.  Turns out it had a wierd configurtion and the beds had to be all wonky to be split in the master and there was no mirror in the interior room.  Does it look to be the same on the Harmony?

 

[Ampurp85]

Okay so let's start this.....

So we received word of a later embarkation time and left the hotel a little before 11am. Got to the terminal and pulled into the star class boarding area. They check our test and cards. We had to wait. They were staggering because so many people were already there. This was unacceptable of course. We had to wait about 4min and then we breezed through everything. The problem is we waited for our Genie. I didn't know only 2 were currently working since Joyce was in quarantine. We met Alexa and she shared my love of purple. Our room was beautiful once we took the 20-50 pictures needed to brag about it.

Since the reservation was altered my seapass card didn't work. No biggie, Alexa was on it. We had reservations for Jamie's at 12:30 but made it there a little after 1pm. Food was so much better than on mariner. When returned there was fruit, cheese, meats and cookies. Plus so much more liquids. We were very charitable to those in "Gen pop." A couple of people came and were amazed by the room or apartment as I call it.

I unpack and am already spoiled. Tonight is filet night.....

 

[Ampurp85]

@MLH no rooms are good, 2 doors to each master.

[MLH]

9 minutes ago, Ampurp85 said:

 

 

I think the night stands are not movable, that is what we ran into.  they had to close the one master door , separate the beds and put the bed against the door closest to the window.

[Ampurp85]

The food coma is real!!!

After returning to the room. I unpacked. We headed to CK around 6:45. I was shocked at how empty the SL and CK was during this time. We had a nice table overlooking the deck. There was a table, well 2, that was full of children. The parents weren't as respectful as they should as the children were a bit loud moving from table to table, disturbing the foursome across from them. The filet was just okay on this sailing. @AshleyDillo Mom had to send hers back because it was prepared incorrectly. Mines was very salty. Over salted steak sitting on top of truffle mashed potatoes, salty-garlic seasoned spinach. It was hard to fully enjoy. But the burrata was on point. Dessert was the hazelnut cake which came with frozen yogurt and savory granola.....which tasted like actual soap.

After dinner we headed back to the room to decompress and then at 10:30 we went to the 1887 ice show. It was very entertaining but some parts were creepy but every skater was super talented. We hit the casino after the show. I played for 20min on my free play. Watch other people play a bit and went back to the room. Set up for a bit chatting to the wee hours and went to bed around 4am

DAY 2

I woke up around 10 to some "urgent" work emails and decided I would forego breakfast and wait for lunch at Izumi. I don't eat sushi but I will try new things. Everything I tried I liked and would definitely go again. We ended up wrapping our food to go. Because it was so much food. Apparently there are only 2100 guest on this sailing. Nothing had been crowded, not that it would matter because star class duh!. We have Chops for dinner. Don't have too many plans other than trying drinks.

[Ampurp85]

[Ampurp85]

I had to try the bionic bar; it was on my must see/do list. I see the hype when you are new to this type of thing but the drink, even though I made it myself, was nothing to really be wowed by. I have been having issues with my card since the beginning. I think it has something to do with how late we changed the booking. First my card didn't work, I didn't have all the functions on my app, but I could open the door. Genie Alexa got my card and app to sync. I learned later I was being charged for everything and then refunded, while my cabin mates always showed a zero charge. Alexa fixed that. I got Starbucks and finally it was a zero charge. We explored the Boardwalk and were able to watch some of the Aqua theater performers practice. The Boardwalk was super empty, like a ghost town in my opinion. 

Tonight, was formal night and dinner at Chops. My Chops experience on Mariner wasn't that great but I know that things vary ship to ship. I went in with no expectations and the team at Harmony blew me away. The food was amazing. I can't say for sure if they are just really being great to us because of Star class, because of such small capacity or because they have better quality. Our server was engaging and very accommodating. Also, the pretzel rolls might be the best bread on all of the fleet. My petite filet was cooked a perfect medium. My only gripe were the signature drinks. The Lavendar martini tasted exactly like soap and the pink grapefruit drink was pure vodka, I think it was missing the Cointreau. I had the shrimp cocktail, and it was the best I had so far. I chose two desserts, the cheesecake and apple pie. Ugh that apple pie had raisins, so I was disappointed. But the cheesecake was very good.

Towards the end of our dinner a party of right set across from us. They had definitely pre-gamed and also were celebrating a 50th birthday from Sept 2021. It was like the real housewives of Harmony of the Seas. Some were Star class, and some were something. They all did not understand inside voices. Poor Alexa had several people screaming in her face. The poor server was in for it. Especially the guys for more bacon. "Eight more bacons sir, eight bacons, bring me more bacon!" That poor server was trying to get entree orders and all they wanted was more bacon. I love when we get dinner and a show!

We enjoyed time in our room after dinner until our headliner show at 10:15. Michelle Murlin was the headliner, and she was a Broadway player from Cats! and Les Misérables. She was made for theater, the other stuff not so much. Let me preface this by saying the theater wasn't even twenty percent full. We were in front row and she had chosen some sort of fantastical spotlight setup for her show. I loved that she was high energy, but her voice wasn't suited for the more soulful songs she tried, it made her sound off-key. Also, she had all that Broadway razzamatazz in leg kicks and musical struts, that don't suit a song like "I am every woman." The party next to me had a gentleman who knew and sung along with every song and impression of another artist song. I loved him more than her. 

The band was incredible. She named dropped her husband who was in a group called the Letterman and also that her set was hard, but this band was able to learn her setlist with an hour of rehearsal. Let it be known that the giftshop had her CD......but it also came with a flash drive, that had all 8 or so of her CDs, so those who didn't have CD players could enjoy. Before she sang her last song of Memories from Cats! she invited us back for a Thursday night show. New dress, new heels, jewelry and songs. We have dinner at 7, so we won't be able to make it unfortunately. A few rows behind us I noticed a large party of couples dressed 80s prom for formal night. A few were dancing in the aisle to the music, it was fun and cute. We walked through the art gallery and casino. Then spent the rest of the time enjoying our room.

 

[WAAAYTOOO]

UGH on the raisins !

[Ampurp85]

Chops dinner

[Ampurp85]

Day three...

We had room service breakfast. I had eggs, crispy bacon and hash browns. It was hot and mostly what I wanted......those darn cooked tomatoes!

Lunch was supposed to be Johnny Rockets (JR) but @AshleyDillo mom saw that CK had pineapple glaze ribs. So, half of us went to JR and the other CJ. We did a bit of walking around because we thought why be on time for JR. Well, the joke was on us because we had to wait! No biggie we sat down at the "bar is open, but restaurant is closed" Sabor, trying to decern what the captain had said. Apparently, we weren't going to St. Thomas and would be spending longer in St. Maarten. I was happy with that as I had no plans to get off. We did so more walking around after lunch and spent a nice time chilling on the suite deck. I went to the Solarium that has no pool. Of note: the loyalty ambassador keeps very short hours like 1-2 hours each day. She has to work guest services as well.

Our in-room snack has mostly been a cheese plate, a fruit plate, some cookies and a meat plate. Maybe we didn't specify better, maybe it shouldn't come exactly after lunch or because there is only four of us and they don't have good cheeses; the lot of it has been going to waste. Today we got nothing and might have missed it

Dinner tonight was Hibachi, and it was everything I thought it would be and more. Too much food but also lite. Like I am typing this an hour later and thinking I could go for Sorrento's. At the time I left food on my plate because I was full. We have the comedy show in the Attic tonight. When we sat down Alexa told us that St. Thomas was back on.... super bummer.

On a side note. A random guy started talking to @AshleyDillowhile waiting for our table. He was loud and a very big fan of himself. We could hear him the entire time in Hibachi, and he managed to steer every conversation about him. Our luck is great when it comes to that; veering into a dinner and show thing with these cast of characters. Also, their Hibachi chef had way better pitch than the headliner......he had the vocals, I would listen to him sing any night.

[seabird]

@Ampurp85 Sounds like you're doing a bit of work on your cruises. I'm interested because the more I can work the more I can cruise! Do you find it easy to do the work you planned? Do your peeps know you're on a cruise? I usually keep folks on a need to know basis...you don't need to know I'm on a cruise if I'm working!

 

[Ampurp85]

@seabirdI can work fairly easy. I normally take vacation around this time so they know. But I keep who "knows" knows to a minimum. Don't want to be too bothered.

[Ampurp85]

Day 4. St. Maarten.

While in Port they will usually clean your decks. So we waved to our attendant several times because the balcony is huge.  I am 99.99 % sure that this is 4 rooms, so imagine the balcony IS 4 balconies.

Last night's comedy show was probably a 3.2/10. The first guy was awful, 3 of the youths sitting in front got up after 5min and told him they weren't impressed. A lady in the audience honed in on a joke and provided way more laughs then 1st comedian. There was also THAT guy. The one who laughed the loudest, was probably the most inebriated and needed attention.  These people provided the entertainment.  The second comedian was okay, I had some good laughs. But who knows if it was really funny or if the 1st was so bad the rest was miles better based on that. I hit the casino and Sorrento's after the show. Then off to bed.

Since I have never been on harmony I hit the Windjammer for pictures and chocolate milk. IMHO the Windjammer is beautiful and fancy looking on here. I know us Star classy folks shouldn't be slumming it with the "poors"(not my words, don't kill me) but I wasn't going to ask Alexa for 2 little boxes of milk. They had one section open and nobody was there as I took some photos. We had decided no breakfast and just lunch.

With it being a port day, only a few places were open for lunch. JR, the WJ, Park Cafe and CK.  Shockingly we decided on WJ.  They again had only one side open and a make your own paella station. They had nothing I wanted so we thought about Park Cafe but I'm a picky person, too much pre-made food. So JR it is. There weren't a lot of people yet we waited so long for our food. Side rant the Rocket Double comes with 3 patties and the original comes with 2.....rather all specialty burgers will have 3 patties. That is totally cookoo bananas in my opinion.  I took a patty off and still couldn't finished. I had a milkshake and fries that I finished waiting so long for the burger

Originally for my Jan 24th mariner I had Chops+1 and after enjoying the dining for star class I canceled to get the UDP. Well RCG is weird as usual and won't allow me to purchase anything on CP while connected to the ships Wi-Fi.  The plan is to sign in through my service and get it..

Tonight is the Aqua show and Wonderland ......wish me luck!

[Ampurp85]

I sent out a bag of laundry. I realized my mistake in not checking same day because even though the laundry went out in the morning-ish I did not receive it back that evening. Hopefully it comes in the morning.

We didn't do anything at St.Maarten and a little bit before we departed, they made an announcement about the Aqua show. The high divers tested positive, very mild symptoms and doing well, so the show would be an exhibition instead. It was a good showing of their talents but very short and no cohesion.... which I guess given the short notice is expected.

The show was less than 30 min, originally supposed to be 45min, and scheduled right before our Wonderland dinner. Wonderland is on deck 12, where our room is located, so we would have no problem making our reservation on time. I walk through the door into the land of magic, the mad hatter was there being helpful and not so mad. In all honesty, this was the most populace restaurant I had seen so far. This was also the one restaurant I had not plan on attending but decided to try it. I thought all the food was a bit too fou fou and not my style. I 100% stand by that assessment.

The rest of the group tried the appetizers based on elements like Sun, Fire and Ice. I got the kids mac and cheese fries. No flavor other than fried breading. It came with ketchup, honey mustard and ranch, but since I don't eat condiments, I can't tell you if they were tasty. Main course was the chicken in the egg and luscious short rib. The short rib (aka pot roast) was really good, the apple sauce dollops were a nice pop of added flavor. The chicken was also good, weirdly enough the potatoes tasted different even though they came from the same kitchen. Maybe that was because the potatoes with the pot roast were cold. Crispy chicken skin was salty but delicious. 

Our server brought out all the dessert for us to try and I tried two. I know the world is popular, but I am not a fan of caramel, so I skipped that one. The meringue one with the mango sorbet was my favorite.... although diabetes in a forest. The forbidden apple was a smidge to tart for my liking. I did very much enjoy the cotton candy Cosmo, you would think it was sweeter than it actually was. But it was actually perfect. I want to point out that 45min after we sat down, we still didn't have apps. It is definitely an 2hr dining experience but maybe if you are pressed for time, you can tell them. 

There was a hoedown scheduled for 9:30 and after a brief respite in the room, me and @AshleyDillowent down to Studio B and watched for a bit. Then we hit the casino and had some good runs. Casino seems to clear out pretty early, haven't really heard or seen of someone hitting it big. This was the first early night of the cruise. Left the casino a little after midnight and went to bed. Tomorrow wasn't going to be a heavy day and I don't care about St. Thomas, but I still wanted a bit of beauty rest.

 

[Ampurp85]

[Yesiamthere]

Fun following your blog.  Getting excited for my end of February first “Genie” experience.  

[Ampurp85]

We docked in St. Thomas; the reason is believed to be that they raised the positivity rate from 1% to 3%

Since it was a port day, nothing was really happening around the ship besides trivia. I want to see all of the ship, so we did a walk around the track. The track has a ton of motivational signage as well as charts posting the goals. If you do 12 laps that is like doing 5 miles. We did one lap to get to the gym, but I definitely could do 3 miles easily . The gym was as expected, empty, and the machines were spaced for social distancing. The spa was also a ghost town, but I don't know if it is normally that way or because of being in port.

Lunch was JR after we went for a stop at Park Cafe. Pretty much everything at Park Cafe is pre-package and because of that, the freshness suffers. I was craving some fruit, so I got a cup, and it tasted a bit rotten.  I got a grilled cheese at JR because I wanted something sans meat. Like the room service grilled cheese, the cheese wasn't melted, and the toast was a bit soft. It is weird that this ship seems to lack traditional cheddar and keeps substituting American cheese for everything. Side note: the orange Fanta from JR isn't orange Fanta, it's a lime-lemon citrus something that is yellow and taste like a non-diet Fresca. 

After lunch we walked around a bit then went back to the room for naps. I woke up around the time that the Celebrity Constellation was leaving. It looked like a few people were running on the pier: but I think they were on Harmony, heard the horns and they probably thought we were leaving. All aboard was pretty early so we left shortly after. There was a huge flock of birds following the ship. I didn't see any fish, but the birds kept bombing the water.

We had dinner at Jamie's and like our lunch, the service and food were outstanding. We had the same waiter, Kevin, and of course he remembered us. I tried the arancini and it was good.... but I have also had it in Italy, so it was hard to be 100% impressed. The one thing consistently across ships that RCG seems to fail at is desserts. Some are too sweet, some lack flavor, some the consistency is weird, etc. you get the gist. Well, I tried the epic brownie and nothing IMHO was epic about it. The popcorn taste stale and the brownie either has no girth or melted from all the chocolate sauce. So, there is no bite to anything, it tastes like partly melted fudge and ice cream. The sorbet on the other hand is perfectly flavored.

After diner we went to the casino and played until it was time for the iSkate show. This is a free skating show, where the international ice-skating team "supposedly" skate to music on their playlist. I honestly doubt most of the music is on these young performer's playlist, nonetheless the show was entertaining. One weird thing was this 10:30 show was vaxxed only, but we saw several children who didn't have on a wristband in attendance. One of the skaters fell and a child yelled out "he fell," parents need to teach their children a little bit better. I have to say that Star class seats aren't my favorite. Maybe it is because of the reduced capacity but sitting that close really messes with how the sound is perceived. It was back to the casino, where I had a good run and am now completely even to where I was when I first started on Sunday. We went back to the room and as usual retired to bed after midnight.

Some stray observations:

No restaurant has been at capacity, even at 7pm the most sought-after dinner time. 

Even the pubs have been a ghost town, on the promenade you can see tumbleweed.

Celebrity has a cooling and drink station set up for guest returning from ports...how fancy!

Mask and elevator compliance has been about a good 90%. 

I keep asking for strawberry preserves from room service and they keep sending raspberry. Random hash browns appear on plates that didn't request them.

 

 

I can't believe it is day 6......our last sea day.

Today we have lunch at Izumi and dinner at 150, which is the restaurant I was most looking forward to.

So far, no plans have been made as there aren't any shows. I have found two cruising duck, ones a rock but that's still pretty cool.

[WAAAYTOOO]

11 minutes ago, Ampurp85 said:

I keep asking for strawberry preserves from room service and they keep sending raspberry.

So glad to hear that you are enjoying the cruise !!!

This made me chuckle.  Dan is allergic to strawberries (not that the strawberry preserves are likely to have any REAL strawberries !) and he loves raspberry....so we always ask for raspberry and have never ONCE been able to get it.  Too funny.

[Ampurp85]

@WAAAYTOOO Haha, it's a royal mystery. I asked for grape on Indy and only got strawberry, which is why I asked for strawberry on here.

[Ampurp85]

Day 6 Continued......

I believe Izumi was doing the Sushi and Saki class as we originally had Hibachi scheduled for lunch. We had lunch on the sushi side, and it was completely empty. Lunch was good: I got the shrimp tempura, the chicken karaage and a beef teriyaki bowl. I get the mochi balls as my dessert. The Japanese strawberry is my favorite drink throughout the entire spectrum of specialty restaurants. We didn't have much planned for this sea day......let's be honest we haven't had much planned this entire cruise other than eating I did walk around and explore the ship for a bit. Got some Starbucks and killed time until dinner.

Tonight's dinner was in Central Park 150. It was also "formal" night, and the attire ran the gamut. I noticed that mask compliance has gotten more and more lax as the cruise went on. 150 is a beautiful restaurant and the ambiance is perfect. Our waiter has been at 150 across multiple ships for 9 years and a crew member with RCG for 10. I tried the Garden martini and was surprised that I liked it. It has the perfect amount of cucumber flavor and just the right amount of sweetness. We got some of the delicious signature bread and I have to say out of all the bread I tasted on this cruise, it was my favorite. It is ridiculous though, full of garlic, citrusy and butter goodness.

I had the braised short rib for my starter. I would say out of all the short ribs across the ship, this was my least favorite. Don't get me wrong it was good, but they must have reduced the sauce too much. It was so sweet! For my entree I was undecided between the tenderloin or the lamb wellington. Our server brought both. The tenderloin was cooked to a perfect medium, but the veggies and truffle potatoes weren't as delicious as other iterations. The lamb wellington was good. The lamb was cooked well but the pastry, imho, tasted like undercooked dough. The real star of that dish was the spinach, which I could have only had as a meal and enjoyed. I had the fried cheesecake as my dessert and thought this was the best dessert RCG has by a longshot. Now the whipped cream was meh, but I loved how it basically tasted like a funnel cake with cheesecake filling/topping.

After dinner we headed to the casino. I had a good run. They had a $1 raffle for $500 that nobody won because they called the names, and nobody claimed the prize. After the casino we hit Sorrento's and had a slice. The promenade was actually on and popping. In the elevator there was a very inebriated woman with no mask on, an open upside-down purse whose contents were close to spilling out, one shoe in hand and one shoe semi-stuck. She was trying to get the shoe off and cursing to herself about the shoe. I should point out the shoes easily slid on, so make of that what you will. We back to the room and prepared myself for my testing before PDCC.

Day 7 PDCC and last full day of the cruise......

I woke up fairly early because I wanted to get my testing done for the next cruise before all the children would be there. This was my first true Genie-power experiences as Alexa used her key in the elevator, went through a special entrance for the testing and we cut in front of a pinnacle. The testing area was much busier than expected. It was only adults and I assumed it was B2B/S2S and Canadian guest. My proctor was very friendly, and I was done in less than 5min. Then Alexa used her magic card on the elevator to ensure a private ride. I made it back in the room with time to spare. Our breakfast order from room service was for the first time very wrong. Soggy greasy bacon, hard burnt hash browns, missing pancakes and only one carafe of coffee. But they did give me strawberry preserves. 

We have an OTW cabana and access to the beach club today. We dock fairly late and can't go to shore until even later......like after 11am. Weather is a bit mild, but I plan to enjoy the cabana by reading a book and not swimming, so it will be fine with me.