Bittersweet Symphony - 3/9/19 Review

[Kayla103]

Loving your review and the sense of humor with it! 

[CanadaCathi]

Oh, I forgot that between the last ship tour and the sail away I changed into my bathing suit, had my first Orange Vitamin Water (I know it’s terrible and I love it), Jellybean got more pizza, we went swimming, I had a Miami Vice (because hello, we were in Miami), and Jelly had ice cream. After all that we got dried off and had muster in the jazz lounge at 3:45p (SO HOT and so many people in there – we couldn’t see any aspect of the presentation at all, so I’m glad we didn’t end up having to be airlifted off the ship by helicopter (cough cough)). That was done by 4p and we walked the Boardwalk, saw the new Playmakers but never once went in it, and gazed up into the Abyss. We went back to the room, checked out the cruise compass, watched sail away on the TV (5p), and then got ready for dinner.

 

 

The first night I always go to the Main Dining Room, the MDR. I make online reservations for My Time Dining prior, usually around the 6p timeframe. I always do a couple specialty restaurants but have never done the package because I’m a control freak. Our servers were Lourdes and Dinesh. Omg, Dinesh was adorable, I wanted to put him in my pocket and bring him home. We were seated, I dove head-first into the bread basket – and NO CHEESE ROLLS. *****, Royal?!! That is pretty much my whole reason for cruising with you!! (not really, but you’re getting the picture of how fond I am of the cheese rolls). Lourdes promised she’d have some for us future nights, so I was pacified.

We started with the shrimp cocktail for Jelly, and the antipasti (which was LOVELY) for me. Jelly had her favorite entrée, a Caesar Salad with Chicken Fingers (Lourdes cut it up for her, I was DYING). I decided to try something I’d NEVER normally get, the ‘Seafood Mash’ (fried fish, shrimp, scallops, peas, and mashed potatoes) and liked it. The after-dinner coffee was much better this trip (and I swear was better than what was available in the Windjammer, but maybe I’m crazy), and Dinesh got lactose-free milk for me. Jelly finished with the Royal Chocolate Cake and I had the Warm Chocolate Hazelnut Cake and thought it was meh.

Jelly is making her, 'Hello, my pretties' face here.

 

Look! So good!

 

Sorry, I didn't remember to take a pic until I'd already started, so it looks kind of gross. I was surprised by how well Symphony did fried items.

 

Oh yeah!

 

 

 

Ok, so some side notes on the MDR;

Jelly hates it. She doesn’t like the formality of it. She HATES to be called ‘princess’. I like to be waited on, and I like that it’s quiet and pretty and serene, and when I’m tired that there are limited options to choose from, which is easier on my brain. What I don’t like is the constant, “Please give us a good rating”, and I find there’s a weird guilt trip when you don’t show up; like, we had Wonderland reservations the second night (which I told Lourdes and Dinesh after dinner the first night), but then the next time we were there, they were like, “Oh, we had the cheese rolls, and chocolate milk for the princess all ready, and you didn’t come!”. I don’t ever worry about what we wear or how we look; I get that there’s a huge rift between those who think the MDR should be upscale, and that formal night should be tuxes-and-ballgowns-mandatory, but personally I think that the people who want to be fancy should go be fancy and not worry about everyone else just trying to stay awake through a meal. Also, in all our times sailing with Royal, we’ve always had our own table for two without asking; however, we’re usually REALLY close to other tables of two, which is kind of nice, because I do actually like to sometimes talk to other adults. I don’t get too worked up about where we are, although we had a really pretty view the one night by a window that made me rethink this. The Windjammer is more of a free-for-all, and probably much tougher to navigate for families of more than two, but they’ve really improved in some areas; I saw more international options (Asian/Indian) this sailing, and the Indian food was GOOD.  They still fall down on desserts though; I freaking LOVE cake, and they just can’t do it, ever. No matter how pretty it looks, it’s dry or tastes funny or the icing isn’t good. And did I mention I’m lactose-intolerant? Omg so many dairy desserts. I didn’t see lactose-free options ANYWHERE this trip, which was frustrating; I hate to ask for it, and wait for someone to hike somewhere else, so I had no coffee at breakfast other than one morning (blech). Oh, and I did want to mention for the GF folks that I saw one tiny little section of gluten-free items, so they’re trying, but it wasn’t very exciting.

 

 

Anyhow, after dinner Jelly headed to the kid’s club at 7p, and I went and saw Hairspray at 8p. IT WAS TERRIFIC. I was tired and was all, ‘Oh, I’ll only stay a few minutes’, but I loved it. I tapped my foot along, I laughed out loud – the cast and props were just great. I saw ‘Cats’ on Oasis and hated it (to be fair, much different show), so this was a pleasant surprise. At 10p we both met back at the room (Jelly had sign in/sign out privileges, which every parent should take advantage of; c’mon, it’s a ship, they aren’t going anywhere). Our steward, Arturo (isn’t that the BEST name for someone working on a ship?! ARRRRTTTTTUUUURRROOOO!!! It’s an ‘Overboard’ reference) had made up the room and the couch, and left the next day’s Compass (which I still don’t have a copy of for you). We were asleep by 11p.

 

 

This was our landmark for 'OUR' end of the ship. We love crossing through Central Park.

Edited March 27, 2019 by CanadaCathi

[vacationlover_mn]

On 3/25/2019 at 12:56 PM, Paulette3028 said:

Simeone is usually the Host of the Comedy Club.....since he was serving as Cruise Director was he also hosting the Comedy Club or was someone else doing that.....do you know?   We have sailed with Simeone as Host of the Comedy Club a couple of times....so curious as to how you enjoyed him as CD.

FYI, on Symphony Simeon was our CD, as well as the comedy club host 🙂

[Kayla103]

22 hours ago, CanadaCathi said:

 

This was our landmark for 'OUR' end of the ship. We love crossing through Central Park.

 

This so made me think of Titanic...."This is MY part of the ship...YOU leave!" Hahaha!

[CanadaCathi]

Day 2 – At Sea

Temperature – 78 degrees

 

Money Spent – Lunch at Johnny Rockets $29; Martini Class at Wonderland $35; Fancy drink at Wonderland $15, Tip $20 (used OBC for meal); Wow bands $10; poolside drinks $25

 

I woke up bright and early at 6:20a, but due to the Daylight Savings change it was actually 7:20a. Sunrise was at 7:39a. We headed to the Windjammer for breakfast at 8a. There was the usual fare, except I noticed something new from previous sailings – congee! I had a conversation with a wonderful Asian woman about how to make the best congee (carcass required), which was nice because I ran into her a few more times over the course of the week and she always gave me a big hug and called me a nice girl. Why can’t I be adopted by an Asian grandmother?! I promise I’d be very respectful. I do a wonderful tea service.

Like I said, the coffee wasn’t as good as the previous evenings, the fresh OJ was wonderful, the eggs were hilariously terrible (like plastic!), and by 9a it was CRAZY packed, so I was glad we got there early. Jenny was a fan of the bacon, and made a B (BLT without lettuce or tomato) pretty much every time we were there in the morning. Is it just me, or did the butter taste like margarine this trip? Probably just me. We were supposed to go to the 9:30a Meet & Mingle, but it was already hot and FREAKING GORGEOUS out, so we went to the ‘beach’ pool instead. There were already only a handful of chairs available.

 

 

 

 

NOTE: We like to travel with our own towels. Yes, they take up valuable suitcase space, but similar to door magnets, we can find our chairs instantly in a sea of blue, lesser quality towels. I also carry towel clips, which are unspeakably handy, not just for clipping towels, but attaching pool bags, hats etc. on windy days.

 

 

I had the Drink of the Day, a Margarita Azul. We had an invite for some Crown & Anchor thing at 10:30a, but we skipped that as well. After lunch the clear blue sunny skies clouded over a little and it got windy, so we were glad we’d taken advantage of the nice morning weather. We took a break at noon and headed to Johnny Rockets, another tradition on our first sea day. The C&A discounts are now programmed into your sea pass, which is super convenient (Jelly took advantage of the free specialty drink). The cover was $11 each, and included singing waiters for free. I was surprised it wasn’t more busy; just another example of how there are just so many things to do on the ship, you don’t feel like it’s crowded or that you’re waiting extra long ever.

 

 

After lunch I made it just in time to the Wonderland Martini class (not just a tasting!). It was $30/person and worth every penny. The bartender did an awesome job, and we got a nice selection of cocktails. Speaking of drinks, afterwards I headed back to the pool (Jelly was at the kid’s club) and had a Labadoozie (I figured I'd ask, and I was rewarded!). I wasn’t going to miss out just because we weren’t going to Haiti! People were starting to get a little wild, drinking in the pool and getting in trouble for it (at one point I counted 32 heads; the limit is supposed to be 28). Hats started blowing over the railing to Central Park below. I stayed until 3:30p, and got a Loco Fresh snack (taco and rice/beans, pretty good). There is a drink station there so I refilled my cup with something non-alcoholic for once. Then back to the room for a cool refreshing shower, washed out some linens, thought I broke the sink, and checked over my notes/cash needed for the next day’s excursions. Then Jelly came back and we got ready for dinner – at WONDERLAND.

 

 

 

 

 

Edited March 29, 2019 by CanadaCathi

[gatour]

For the Martini class do you get all 5 martini's or do choose a subset of all 5?

[CanadaCathi]

30 minutes ago, gatour said:

For the Martini class do you get all 5 martini's or do choose a subset of all 5?

 

All five! They are slightly smaller glasses than your average martini glass, but the bartender was VERY generous with the alcohol. 

[CanadaCathi]

Yikes, the past week got away from me! I hope it was worth the wait, because up next is the Wonderland review! If you don't want spoilers, or to absolutely die of hunger, please skip this post.

 

Wonderland was everything everyone says it is, no lie. It was truly wondrous, start to finish. After reading so many online reviews and watching so many videos and looking at so many pictures I was worried I’d set myself up to be disappointed, but that wasn’t the case. I put myself in the capable hands of my waiter and tried quite a few new things, starting with the Smoke Rings cocktail (they were out of cotton candy, which was my first choice). I wasn’t sure about the Smoke Rings; made up of Rittenhouse Rye, sweet vermouth, maple syrup, and Agnostura bitters, I was worried it would be a little ‘harder’ than most of the girly drinks I normally enjoy. It was a delight. Served cold smoked, it retains that flavor throughout, and is wonderful against the maple and rye.

 

 

If you have not already seen images or videos of the menus, I’ll leave that as a surprise. They also have a children’s menu, which is almost as delightful.

The appetizer items brought to me were the Deconstructed Caprese, Citrus Seas Shhhh, Crispy Crab Cone, Liquid Lobster, Bird’s Nest, and Potted Shrimp; I was served the Short Rib for my entrée. Jelly had the mac & cheese fries appetizer, and the sliders skewers. Yes, the appetizer servings are small, but count how many there are there! Altogether, with dessert and sharing bites with Jelly, it was truly the perfect amount of food; I was pleasantly full, but not unhappily stuffed.

 

Deconstructed Caprese – This was my favorite thing. Surprising, inventive, tasty, adventurous – all the things I had expected Wonderland to be. NOT for everyone, as there were some interesting textures and flavors at play (Jelly was super freaked out by everything).

 

Citrus Seas Shhh – Simple, refreshing, tasty.

Crispy Crab Cone – I thought this was so-so.

 

Liquid Lobster – YES. YES YES YES. No pic, eaten too fast.

 

Bird’s Nest – Absolutely gorgeous presentation; Jelly loved the nest. I thought more could’ve been done with the eggs, but it wasn’t unpleasant.

 

Potted Shrimp – Pls bring me 17 more.

 

Mac & Cheese Fries – Jelly gave these lots of thumbs up.

 

The waiter was concerned about my lactose intolerance and initially brought me a roasted bok choy instead of the mashed potatoes, but I was like – BRING THE POTATOES. This ended up being an accidentally amazing thing, because I got a massive side of them, and HOLY CRAP THEY WERE GOOD. I am very short rib picky, because it seems like a simple thing, but it’s really easy to do it poorly; and mine was just perfect. Melt-in-your-mouth with a gravy/sauce that was perfection. It really looked like art on the plate, surround by various beet purees/roasted tomatoes. Temperature of everything served was likewise perfect. Damn, I loved that entrée.  Jenny enjoyed hers but because of how it’s prepared the tomato/lettuce was reportedly ‘a little soggy’.  The bun, however, was ‘perfectly toasted’ and the burger meat ‘really, really good’.

 

 

I’d heard about the desserts for AGES, but since I’m more of a savory than a sweet I wasn’t too excited. The World and The Forbidden Apple were served together, at the same time, and I feel like this was a mistake; they are both very different, and not complimentary, flavors. Also, because there’s an ice cream portion, you feel rushed so that it’s not all melted. Anyhow, neither Jelly nor I were too crazy about the apple (coconut was a distraction, mousse should’ve been lighter), but man, that chocolate globe filled with heaven? I already said I don’t really care about dessert, right? Well, this made me a liar. Don’t ask me what they crammed in that thing, but it was apparently all things that I like. So it was a great finish to a terrific meal. Service was likewise excellent; we were there one hour from start to finish. A staff member roams the room dressed as the Mad Hatter, and he was less obnoxious than you might think.

 

 

 

I feel like maybe this night was Formal Night? I saw a lot of fancy people. And we found the piano steps! They’re around the corner from the Windjammer. Ooh, and we went for a night swim, that was lovely (and one of Jelly’s absolute favorite activities).

 

We were back in the room and in PJs at 9:30p. We checked the compass and noted the 2-hour difference between Roatan and the ship’s time. Because of this we decided we’d delay getting off the ship a little, since we were due to arrive at 9:30a and our excursion wasn’t until 8:30a. We also saw a comment that both sea pass cards and photo IDs were needed; last year I got us US passport cards specifically for cruising, which are super handy. Note on noise level – almost none! The room was very quiet, unless there were people outside being loud on the neighboring patio(s), which happened maybe 1-2 for a few minutes at the most; that sound carried right in. Otherwise we didn’t hear any hallway noise, and no noise from other rooms until the last night when I could hear people slamming doors and drawers as they angrily packed.

 

 

Next: Our first port, Roatan, and sloths, iguanas, and monkeys - Oh my!

Edited April 3, 2019 by CanadaCathi

[vacationlover_mn]

Did you meet the mad hatter?  We love him:). Ishram is the best!

[CanadaCathi]

Yes, he was so nice! 

It was funny - we were in the Windjammer at some point later in the cruise, and I heard his voice and WHIPPED around - I would never have recognized him, but his voice - oh, yeah!

[vacationlover_mn]

I love him 🙂. He was a waiter on Harmony, and recognized us on Symphony... he told us his age, and you’ll never guess!  He looks so pretty and young 🙂

[blueridgemama]

Can you just get 2 of the World desserts? I don't like coconut or marzipan so would not like the other 2 options that are offered but would not want to share only 1 of the 🌎World.

[CanadaCathi]

21 hours ago, blueridgemama said:

Can you just get 2 of the World desserts? I don't like coconut or marzipan so would not like the other 2 options that are offered but would not want to share only 1 of the 🌎World.

 

I wasn't sure about the rules for ordering extra food there - I would assume so, if you asked in advance. Maybe someone else knows a 'for sure' answer on this one, I don't. I know there were other options that we didn't get to try, but I was ok with what we got so didn't ask. 

[TanaQ]

Following because my 10 year old wants the Symphony next.  It's definitely pricey though so he may have to wait.

[ShillyShally]

On 3/27/2019 at 9:26 AM, CanadaCathi said:

 

Ok, so some side notes on the MDR;

Jelly hates it. She doesn’t like the formality of it. She HATES to be called ‘princess’. I like to be waited on, and I like that it’s quiet and pretty and serene, and when I’m tired that there are limited options to choose from, which is easier on my brain. What I don’t like is the constant, “Please give us a good rating”, and I find there’s a weird guilt trip when you don’t show up; like, we had Wonderland reservations the second night (which I told Lourdes and Dinesh after dinner the first night), but then the next time we were there, they were like, “Oh, we had the cheese rolls, and chocolate milk for the princess all ready, and you didn’t come!”. I don’t ever worry about what we wear or how we look; I get that there’s a huge rift between those who think the MDR should be upscale, and that formal night should be tuxes-and-ballgowns-mandatory, but personally I think that the people who want to be fancy should go be fancy and not worry about everyone else just trying to stay awake through a meal. Also, in all our times sailing with Royal, we’ve always had our own table for two without asking; however, we’re usually REALLY close to other tables of two, which is kind of nice, because I do actually like to sometimes talk to other adults. I don’t get too worked up about where we are, although we had a really pretty view the one night by a window that made me rethink this. The Windjammer is more of a free-for-all, and probably much tougher to navigate for families of more than two, but they’ve really improved in some areas; I saw more international options (Asian/Indian) this sailing, and the Indian food was GOOD.  They still fall down on desserts though; I freaking LOVE cake, and they just can’t do it, ever. No matter how pretty it looks, it’s dry or tastes funny or the icing isn’t good. And did I mention I’m lactose-intolerant? Omg so many dairy desserts. I didn’t see lactose-free options ANYWHERE this trip, which was frustrating; I hate to ask for it, and wait for someone to hike somewhere else, so I had no coffee at breakfast other than one morning (blech). Oh, and I did want to mention for the GF folks that I saw one tiny little section of gluten-free items, so they’re trying, but it wasn’t very exciting.

 

I used to love the MDR - our last trip we didn't go at all and I think I may never go back, I preferred the flexibility of other options and going when I was hungry or not if we weren't.  

 

I just wish they'd label everything with the top allergens - I lost my sweet tooth so I never go looking, and we're vegan, so we know it's a near to impossibility anyway but I had to laugh on your cake reference since my one daughter was ranting on one of our Thanksgiving cruises that there was not one acceptable pumpkin pie slice on board - and I think she tried them from EVERYWHERE.  She said the ones that looked the right color had no flavor, or no sugar, or too much of one flavor that wasn't pumpkin and on and on lol!  I remember we stopped at a vegan friendly coffee place after getting off the ship and she ordered a slice of pumpkin pie and thanked them for having a respectable option 🙂

[ShillyShally]

23 hours ago, blueridgemama said:

Can you just get 2 of the World desserts? I don't like coconut or marzipan so would not like the other 2 options that are offered but would not want to share only 1 of the 🌎World.

You should be able to, they try not to say No when they don't have to, especially for food, and if you're declining on of the other choices I would think you could get 2 of 1!!

[RazorbackIslandGirl]

On 4/3/2019 at 2:26 PM, CanadaCathi said:

Yes, he was so nice! 

It was funny - we were in the Windjammer at some point later in the cruise, and I heard his voice and WHIPPED around - I would never have recognized him, but his voice - oh, yeah!

He is the BEST! He gave us money from his homeland of Trinidad & Tobago on our last Harmony cruise. He is the sweetest thing!

[LBumb]

Great job

[thegraminator]

I'm  truly  enjoying  your  review .    Anxious  for  the  next  installment ! 

[bralli]

On 3/26/2019 at 1:57 PM, CanadaCathi said:

 

 

 

 

 

Wow! We booked in the cabin next door (12-594) in July. What a coincidence.

[2Long2NxtCrz]

This is a wonderful review!  I totally agree with you about eating local.  Because what's the point of eating something you can easily get at home?  And we always had a rule that our kids had to try a bite of something before they could say they didn't like it.  My kids are adventuresome eaters and not squeamish at all.  I'm pretty both of them have eaten the bugs in Mexico whereas I have not yet.

 

 

I'm a planner, too.  We sound similarly obsessive (you should see my spreadsheets for packing and clothes and our itinerary!) and hubby just does not understand that planning is part of the experience!

[vacationlover_mn]

On 4/3/2019 at 2:32 PM, blueridgemama said:

Can you just get 2 of the World desserts? I don't like coconut or marzipan so would not like the other 2 options that are offered but would not want to share only 1 of the 🌎World.

Yes, DH and I were able to

[CanadaCathi]

 

Day 3 – Roatan, Honduras

Arrival – 9:30a ship time, 7:30a local time

Temp – 82 degrees

Excursion – Island Marketing Tour

Money Spent - $37 on tips; $18 on coffee beans; $24 on lunch; $28 on chocolate factory souvenirs/treats (definitely did not plan for enough cash); also $7 on board at the Bionic Bar

 

Breakfast – Windjammer

I had set my alarm for 8a, but it’s a good thing I never need it because my cell phone adjusted to the local time around 7a, and suddenly it was 5a. Watch out for this! I had a quick shower, yelled at the kid for losing her goggles at the pool last night, and had a much healthier breakfast than previous days at 8:30a ship time.

 

 

The sunrise was gorgeous, and the announcement for de-embarkation was half an hour early, at 9a.

 

We took our time, since our tour wasn’t scheduled to meet until 8:20a local time. We meandered into port, and poked around some of the vendors.

 

 

We didn’t see anything of interest, until – the little fish that eat your dead foot skin! (I’m sure there’s a better name for this, but let’s face it, that’s what it is). I’d heard about it from other people, and had been DYING to try it. I’m super crazy ticklish when I get a pedicure, and just couldn’t even deal with what it would feel like to have fish nibbling at you. I’m sure there are all kinds of reasons why this was a terrible thing to do (maybe it gave me some weird foot-fish disease, maybe it’s awful for the fish), but oh hell yes, I did it. It was $15 for 10 minutes, and it definitely seems like it was a lot longer, and I would’ve paid double. It was amazing. It felt like gentle little bubbles popping against my skin, I absolutely loved it. It set the tone for the day.

 

 

The port is a little confusing – we had to exit ALL THE WAY (to the actual street, outside the gates), to find the Island Marketing rep. Once we figured out the maze of vendors and taxis and people milling about, the rep was super easy to find (directly across the street with a sign). This was 8:05; we waited a bit for more people (oh dear lord so hot), and then at 8:30 Larry walked us a couple of blocks to where the van was parked, and put us in the car with the A/C on. I didn’t care if we were going to be taken somewhere and murdered, sweet breath of the angels! We were told there were 9 more people coming for the tour. We waited 45 more minutes, which wasn’t as bad as you think because Larry told us a ton of cool stuff about the island, and we were on vacation so why get all worked up? Karma rewarded us for our patience; another guide arrived, Carla, who told us due to blah blah blah she was going to take us on a private tour! She asked us what we were interested in seeing, and gave us some options; we decided on the chocolate factory, the two parks, and the beach.

 

 

We had some more waiting, another ½ hour of it, sitting halfway up the mountain due to construction. But the chocolate ‘factory’ was worth it for my chocolate-loving daughter. It was more of a little touristy storefront than a factory, but they had samples of sugar cane and ground beans, plus dark, milk and white chocolate, and cocoa butter lotion – fantastic. Jelly got a frozen chocolate-covered fresh pineapple popsicle, and a cup of frozen hot chocolate, and was delirious. I had an ice water banana pineapple smoothie, which was very refreshing, and bought some lotion and sugar cane.

 

 

 

 

It was a bit of a drive from there to the first park, where the iguanas were. So many! 400 of ‘em! They’re all free to come and go as they please, which I loved; they like to hang out there because the concrete warms up in the sun, and there’s lots of food for them. The black ones are carnivorous! And hilariously, the females don’t like to be touched but the males don’t care (just like humans, ha ha). We also saw/fed some tarpin, and Jelly held a baby iguana. There are bathrooms onsite; down to the water is NOT wheelchair accessible (there are stone steps), but you wouldn’t be missing out on much.

 

 

 

 

 

The next park was the sloths and monkeys, which I’d been waiting basically 2 years for. I had expected to fall in love with the snuggly sloths, but it was the mischievous monkeys who stole my heart.  The keeper said they probably thought I was a tree, because they kept climbing on me and playing with my hair (I’m 5’9”). Don’t get me wrong, the sloth I held was cool, but they don’t like to be petted and let’s face it – they don’t really do much. Again, I liked that they just kind of come and go, and hang out in the mangroves. We also visited some macaws. The guide was great, and took his time to make sure our group of six got the time and pictures we needed, and was very patient about answering our questions. Again, there were bathrooms available, and water for sale.

 

 

 

 

Wear a hat - the birds like having something to hold onto.

 

The next stop was the Las Palmas beach resort. I had a feeling it was going to be the sort of place where they charge $16 for a taco and was already counting my depleted cash reserves when, up ahead on the road, like a beautiful, beautiful mirage, I saw it – a BOJANGLE’S.

 

 

Now, before you start screaming ‘hypocrite’ and throwing shoes at me, understand that we CANNOT get Bojangle’s in Canada, so it is NOT something we can technically get at home – so it falls outside of the rule. Yes, it’s a chain restaurant, but it is a freaking delicious chain restaurant, and as someone who spent 20 years in NC and developed a severe addiction to hot fried chicken and seasoned fries washed down with ice cold sugary sweet tea, … I lost my train of thought, I’m hungry now. Anyhow. Since we were on a private tour, I bribed Carla with the promise of French Fries and we stopped and grabbed food. The beach was exactly what I expected; terrible. Like, the water was super gross and shallow and there were tons of weeds and trees in the middle of it and even Jelly was like, ‘Can we go?’ after only 5 minutes. So we ate our Bojangles (because we’re classy like that) and headed back to port.

 

 

Back at the ship it was 1p/3p. I was hot and headachy, so I went to the pool to cool off but it was crowded and tepid. I grabbed another Vitamin Water (strawberry citrus this time) and a lemon tart from the promenade, and went and hid in the room for some AA (Advil and A/C). I also took a shower to wash the dirty monkey out of my hair. I finally clued in that I was dehydrated and drank a bottled water I’d stashed in the fridge, and felt better. Hey, I wasn’t sunburnt! All aboard was at 6:30p and the MDR menu was grossssss (Tuna Nicoise, something with eggplant, Moroccan tuna, stroganoff, lasagna, more eggplant). I mostly just wanted a salad and cheese rolls, so we went to the WJ. 

 

Oh Windjammer - I just love you. Yes, I ate the heck out of this, screw the salad.

 

Afterwards I was tired and was going to call it quits, but I love LOVE seeing movies at the Aquatheater, and they were showing The Greatest Showman, which I’d heard just a ridiculous amount of good things about but hadn’t seen, so I did that while Jelly was at the kids club. Spoiler – I loved the movie. Man, is it ever amazing watching a movie outside on a ship.

 

I was annoyed because this movie really is actually totally great.

 

Hey, the Bionic Bar was working! It was a little anticlimactic. And I didn't like the drink I made.

Edited April 5, 2019 by CanadaCathi

[brillohead]

12 minutes ago, CanadaCathi said:

I had set my alarm for 8a, but it’s a good thing I never need it because my cell phone adjusted to the local time around 7a, and suddenly it was 5a. Watch out for this!

First thing I do with my phone, after turning on Airplane Mode and setting up the Wi-Fi, is turn off the "auto detect time" setting.  

I just set it manually to the relevant ship's time, then turn back the auto setting when I get home.  

[ValerieJo]

I agree about the Martini Class in Wonderland.  I'm pretty sure we were both in the same class.  I loved it and so glad I went.

 

Thanks for helping me re-live this cruise.  It's really making me want to go on another much sooner than my December bookings.

 

Enjoying your review!