Match Game 72

Back at the port area, we shopped in several jewelry shops. We ended up buying my son his birthday gift, a silver curb link bracelet. And I bought a silver ring with two zultanite stones that change color in the sun. It will remind me of this trip. Back on the ship after four hours in Cozumel, everyone was hungry so we made the buffet our first stop. Some pictures from our balcony

Stephanie, our tour guide Some Stained Glass windows

Friday, February 24, 2023 Today we visited Cozumel Mexico. I had pre booked a chocolate tour at KaoKao. We left the ship around 10:10, walked by shops, and then stood in line for about ten minutes to get a taxi. The taxi cost $15 plus tip to get there. It was just $10 plus tip to return. The neighborhood was not touristy, and I probably wouldn't hang out there at night. But it was neat and clean. We had no problems. Th chocolate shop was nicely decorated. The stained glass windows were beautiful. The tour ($25 each) was fun, informative and interactive. There were three families including us. The tour guide Stephanie did a really nice job of explaining the chocolate making process and giving us several samples as she spoke. Then we got the chance to grind chocolate beans and make a cinnamon flavored hot chocolate disk. I would definitely recommend this tour. It was really fun. We bought a couple of chocolate bars in the gift shop for 10% off because we took the tour.

Lava Cake Strawberry Cheesecake Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookie

Tonight was Butchers Cut for dinner. Because my husband has diamond card status, he got two meals from the $59 menu for free. Dinner was delicious. I started with the hearts of palm salad. Then had the filet mignon, and finished with the lava cake. My father had the best dessert...peanut butter chocolate chip cookie with vanilla ice cream. Yum! We watched some music trivia in the Merovingian lounge, and then saw the 9:30 show. The theme was rock and roll music. Afterwards we went to Sky lounge, but there was no live music that night. Hearts of Palm Salad Chop salad without egg Filet Mignon Baked potato New York Strip steak Four steak sauces and asparagus

Thursday, February 23, 2023 We were supposed to dock in Costa Maya today, but the wind conditions forced the port to close. I had prepaid Maya Chan for an all inclusive beach day. This owner emailed us that we will get full refunds which was posted quickly to Paypal. I was disappointed that we missed Maya Chan. They have such good review online. And they communicated very clearly during the reservation process. We'll go another time. So it turned it into another sea day. After breakfast the pools were packed so we found some loungers along the deck on the side of the ship. The buffet was fully open for lunch. Every station was open. I had fish and roast beef from the carving station. Since we are gold card members, my son and I went to the spa after lunch to use the free one hour of thermal suite time. It was fun trying the different rooms. We liked the traditional Finnish sauna and the salt room the best.

Tonight was Gala night. The menu was elevated compared to other dinner menus. The lobster was a cold water tail. I ate a salmon dish with spinach and feta. My husband had the lamb chops. My father enjoyed his meal more than any other cruise meals. He has been on ten or twelve cruises before this one. After dinner, we had a couple of photos taken by the crew photographer. The show in the theater was Broadway tunes. It was the best show onboard thus far. And the audience gave them a standing ovation for tunes from Cats, Les Mis and Phantom amongst others. We again finished up the evening at Sky lounge. (Looks like I forgot to take pictures at dinner that night. Maybe my teen was relieved. He asks me "why do you have to take pictures of the food?" I tell him it's because people on cruise critic want to see!)

After lunch, we had a lazy afternoon. We read a little on the balcony and then bought gelato on deck 6. My son and I walked all over the highest decks before dinner. Gelato prices

Wed February 22, 2023 This was our first day at sea. I set my alarm for 7:40 so I could go to the gym before breakfast. After hitting snooze a couple of times, I made it to the gym and then back to the rooms to wake everyone up for breakfast. We learned quickly that the best, least busy place in the buffet to eat in towards the back. Here is were less people crowd the food stations, and we could always find a table to eat at. After breakfast, my father and I went to trivia into the tv studio and then Master Chef at Sea. We were mediocre at trivia, but we enjoyed Master Chef at Sea. I thought it was fun and engaging. During this time, my husband went to guest services since his key card was not working to enter our cabin. He had also lost his internet connection on Tuesday. So he sorted that out, too. Lunch was at Kaito Sushi bar. It was a nice quality meal. I really liked the noodle dish. My son had sashimi which was ok, but he really liked the chicken skewers. Noodle dish Nigiri Rainbow sushi An empty place setting. Why did I take this picture? Who knows.

After dinner, my father and I went to the Horizons pool area to watch the 9:00 lighthouse show. There were about 25 other people there. We waited until 9:15 but the show didn't start. We decided to go to the Broadway theatre since we all had reservations for the comedian and didn't wait to lose our reservation for the 9:30 show. My husband and son were there already. The comedian had a few good moments. We laughed a bit. In truth, I preferred the dancing and singing shows of the previous two nights. After the show we followed our normal evening activities of live music in the Sky lounge and a late night snack in the buffet. The evening buffet had some fruit, excellent pizza, premade sandwiches, and a few small desserts. The food was good quality. I have seen some complaints that the buffet lacks selection. Quite frankly, it was enough for us. The disappointing part of the buffet was that no one was directing people to clean their hands upon entering. I would prefer if everyone washed their hands or used sanitizer. It just makes sense to try to stop the spread of germs. I will be adding this to my cruise survey comments. Drinks in the Sky Lounge

Cheesecake which was offered every night with a choice of toppings Arroz com Leche (rice pudding) Grandma's chocolate cake

Salmon which is always on the menu. The fish was very good and very large! I could not finish my potato. Two more main dishes which I can't recall their names. Maybe the first was beef ribs. And the second was lamb curry.

Once we were done at the beach, we headed back to the ship for showers and a nap. We went to dinner at Wave. This night about one third of the tables in our server's area were empty. They seemed less stressed. I ate the salmon which is always on the menu. It was very tasty and cooked perfectly. For dessert I ordered arroz com leche. It was ok but I didn't need to finish it. Caesar Salad A pork salad appetizer which was fantastic Tortillas and guacamole (which according to my teen had way too few tortillas)

Around 12:20, my father, son and I headed to the buffet while my husband stayed at our seats. The buffet had several types of salads, beef ribs, hamburgers, hot dogs, fries, chocolate chip cookies, rum cake, pineapple cake and fruit. We enjoyed our meal there. Later, after 1, my husband and son went to the buffet. They were gone nearly two hours. I thought they had decided to go swimming at a different beach, but they were in a very long line at the buffet. Going closer to noon when they open saves a lot of time in line. Or if you're just looking for a burger, try one of the food trucks.

Tuesday February 21, 2023 This was our day at Ocean Cay, the private island. My dad and I disembarked first to find some seating and an umbrella at Lighthouse Beach. This beach is the only one with free umbrellas and diverse seating (not loungers). It's also the closest beach to the ship. Nearby there is a bar, bathrooms and a food truck. My husband and son joined us. We swam. I snorkeled. The best snorkeling with a variety of tropical fish is near the rocks on the lighthouse side of the water. If the only thing I did that day was snorkel, it was enough. The fish are unique and beautiful.

This was our third time. We have really enjoyed this ship. I hope you do, too.

I'll look on YouTube for your video.

I love the anticipation part of the trip nearly as much as the actual trip. 🙂

You're welcome!

I hope the weather is just as nice for you. There's something wonderful about warming up after a Maine winter!

I'll post more tomorrow.

The show on the Broadway theater was Top Hits. It was well done. The Dirty Dancing scene was very entertaining. On the whole, I enjoyed the performance. We did not see the shows in the Carousel Lounge. Tickets may be prebought for $12 each or $18 each while on the ship. Over the years we have seen many wonderful and amazing acrobatic shows. I'm sure this one is astounding, but we did not see it. After the show, we went to Sky lounge for live music and a drink. After a late night snack at the buffet, we headed to the cabin. Late night snacks included 3 or 4 types of pizza, four types of premade sandwiches, some dried fruit and nuts, and a few small desserts. Was it everything that the buffet offered during the day? No. Was it enough? Yes.

After Nassau we played cards and enjoyed the rest of the afternoon until our dinner seating at 7:30 in Waves. The food at Waves was been mostly good to very good. For the first two nights, tables were crowded. As I mentioned earlier, our table was extremely close to our neighbors. Beginning on night #2, I pushed the tables further apart to give at least the illusion of privacy. This helped a bit where we did not have to listen to each other's conversations. In general, the restaurant is loud. Meals lasted about 1.5 hours for three courses. Always on the menu, New York Strip steak. Stir-fried tofu

Feb 20, 2023 Monday This was our first full day on the ship. I started the day by visiting the gym on deck 17. They have a number of machines including 3 ellipticals. The gym was clean with plenty of towels. After that I went to the buffet and brought back food to our rooms. We spent some time on our balconies. After lunch in the buffet (which was very good) we went ashore to Nassau. The ship had docked at noon. All aboard was 6:30. We shopped in the stores close to the port. My son bought a men's cologne that was nearly half price of what stores near us charge. The port at Nassau is undergoing renovation. The port area that passengers walk have been nicely upgraded with new concrete walkways and shade producing overhead structures. Once we entered the streets of Nassau, walking became more challenging with many broken ground covers. When we travel I am often reminded that countries are in various states of infrastructure. Be careful out there!

After dinner we headed straight to the theatre for a show. Our son went to the teen club, but he didn't stay since the kids there were about 13 years old, and he is 16. The show was Cool. It was an interesting compilation of 70s music, dancing, roller skating, and wild costumes. The show was good. Parts of the show were outstanding. We enjoyed it. Next we went to Brass Anchor pub for a drink. The guitar player there was talented. I think we will see more of him this week.