lovestocruise19

Random room pic. I loved these hooks by the bathroom door. Really helped keep stuff organized.

We then took a nap and watched sailaway from the balcony.

Back onboard, we got into our bathing suits and went up to the Serenity pool. I actually went full in while hubby sat on the edge. We hung out in a "nap shack" for a bit to dry off. After that, we changed and got lunch. I had a salad, pasta and mashed potato. Hubby had Big Chicken. We got dessert and took it back to the room where I ate my dessert on the balcony.

We walked the beach with our shoes off and I bought a pretty turquoise dress at a shopping booth.

The plan for St Maarten was to take the water taxi over to Great Bay Beach. Pro tip: Don't get your tickets at the booths in the middle of the shops as they usually have lines. Instead, head straight to the water taxi launch and there is a building where they sell tickets too. Cash only and it was $7 per person, round trip. We got on right away and the ride was just a few minutes. If Fisher Island doesn't work out, maybe we can have one of these! 🤣

My favorite towel animal The next day I tried a breakfast burrito for the first time from Blue Iguana. It was good. They had the towel animal invasion up on Lido.

We watched the comedian Tommy Drake and then I watched violin music with the string trio. "Nightcap." Added a cookie this time! 🤣

That day in San Juan, I had gotten a text from a coworker with great news. I had won top spot in my department of our company out of three states, earning me the title of Presidents Elite and a trip to San Diego. We celebrated with a drink at the Aquarius Bar. PRO TIP: DO NOT buy drinks while still docked in port. At least in San Juan. I had to pay a few dollars extra for San Juan tax. Geesh. Lol! This drink is my favorite, the mocha chocolate getaway, but I was a little disappointed because it wasn't as chocolatey as I like it. Hubby had one called "The Cruiser." Yay, me!

After lunch, hubby took a nap and I took a shower. We ate dinner in the Festivale dining room that night. Heart of iceberg lettuce: Mango soup: Grilled chicken: Some kind of meat (see, I told you I don't eat red meat!)

Hubby says it depends on how you like it. The prime rib in Guy's was smoked and the prime rib in the dining room is slow roasted. He is a meat cutter by trade and I don't eat meat so we'll take his word for it. 😉

We headed back to the ship. Our backpack had to go through the security scanner a few times and then get hand searched which was odd as all we had was water, our phones, passports and our purchases. But at least this lets us know that they take security seriously. We decided to eat lunch on our balcony. I went to get chicken tacos and had already finished and was heading back up for dessert by the time hubby got his Guy's burger. Adinta, the server from breakfast, was scooping the gelato and she said, "Hi" and called me by name and then asked where my hubby was by name. It still amazes me how well they remember so many names. And just as she was asking, hubby snuck up behind me with his burger. Once back in the room, hubby declared that his burger was the worst he'd had on any ship because it was burnt. He's not nearly as picky as me, so that was saying something.

The earrings I bought:

We gathered our things and went ashore. The plan was to walk around the historic streets and go shopping. Hubby bought a tshirt and I bought pretty earrings. No umbrellas, just doves.

We got back to the room, but they were cleaning so we went down to Summer Landing. I asked Guest Services whether or not they were still having the circus show because I had seen them rehearsing for it before and I had it saved on the Hub app as one of my favorites, but it had disappeared. Sadly, she said it had been cancelled most likely due to technical issues. We played three rounds of foosball and then went back to the room.

The next day was San Juan. We got up at 8:30 a.m. and went to the Festivale Dining Room for breakfast. Hubby really likes having breakfast in the dining rooms now because he can get bacon and eggs how he likes them (over medium). Our head server was Adinta. It was a little slow, but we didn't mind because we weren't in a hurry. Lee came on the PA to let us know that the health inspectors had come aboard. Hubby saw a lot of officers in the dining room and a lot of workers scrambling so we surmised that that had something to do with the slower service. This was the only time that I had BAD food. The yogurt tasted sour. I had yogurt on Lido twice that week and it was fine, so I'm not sure why the dining room yogurt was bad.

After dinner, I bought a ship magnet and a large funnel magnet. We went back to the room to drop off my purchases and then headed down to the Grand Spectrum Theater to watch Family Feud Live. There was a few minutes before the show so hubby snuck off to get an ice cream cone. It was a fun show to watch. After that, we each got our "nightcaps" (pizza and ice cream). Random shot of Lido I took. Lido was set up really well. A lot of smaller stations which prevented crowding at the buffets.

Hello! We were actually watching it from it being recorded on our DVR through the internet. It wouldn't work on his iPad so we had to use his phone. It was in and out at times, but I have to say that internet overall seemed pretty good on this cruise. It is "fun" when you recognize locations on OP Live. Nova Road, International Speedway Blvd! Lol! Happy Watching tonight! We are thinking of moving back to Florida (we lived in the Orlando area for almost three years) and the Daytona/Port Orange/New Smyrna area is at the top of our list. We absolutely love New Smyrna Beach.

For dinner, we went to Guy's Pig and Anchor. I'm not into barbecue, but they had salmon on the menu so I decided to give it a try since hubby tried Chibang for me the other night. Hubby had an upcharge rib eye steak and I had the maple glazed salmon which I enjoyed. I wasn't a fan of the Carolina slaw. For dessert, hubby had an apple crumble type thing and I had Mississippi Mud Pie. Who knew mud could taste so good! 😜

I was concerned about this as well. There was actually a video showing a tour of my exact room and I was happy to see the couch. But you are right, the floor plans are deceiving. I'm not sure if it is like that for all junior balconies, but room 15229 definitely has a couch!

I knew I had good taste! 🤣

Once back onboard, we decided to find a non crowded pool since the pool at Amber Cove was smaller than we thought and crowded. We went to the pool in Summer Landing. It was moderately crowded, but then I spotted an empty hot tub so we spent a few minutes in there. We then got ice cream and headed back to the room to change. After that, we went to Lido and got Big Chicken. Show rehearsal (more on this later): Hubby likes to get lettuce and tomato for his Big Chicken at the toppings station at Guy's:

After that, hubby and I looked around for a bit and took a picture by the Amber Cove sign. We then got back on the ship. Hubby had a really funny idea to play "Baby Got Back" while I filmed the aft of the Celebration. I will post that video at the end as well. You can really appreciate her size when she is docked aside smaller ships.

Hubby took a seat near the end of the zip line and I trekked up the hill to the top. As I was getting into my harness the guy asked if I was okay and I told him I was a little nervous as it was my first time. He gave me a pink helmet in honor of my first time. Lol! It was quite the rush and not that scary. I did get a little turned around at the end, but the lines automatically brake you. I could have gone an unlimited number of times, but I did it just once. Hubby took a video of it. If I can figure out how to post videos, I will put it at the end of the review. The zip lines The ending platform: All smiles. I did it!