LIVE - B2B 10/26 and 11/2 Halloween, Birthday, and President's Cruise

[aring75]

Dessert menu. 
 

 

So while we were waiting for dessert, the table next to us had an order of Chianti-braised Short Rib delivered. I was going to take a picture, but they were much more protective of this plate. Clearly I’m not nearly as stealthy as I think I am. 😂

 

Here’s Mark coveting the huge pot-roast-sized piece of short rib at the next table. 
 

 

We had lemon meringue cheesecake and tiramisu for dessert. 
 

 

The tiramisu was so boozy it was like having an after dinner drink. 👍

 

[aring75]

Tonight we had a book waiting for us back in the room titled “Taste of History.”

 

 

There are stories and informative anecdotes about Royal’s dining and bar venues. There are food and drink recipes for some of the more popular items available onboard. 
 

 

 

[A&L_Ont]

The truffle... my go to.  Great choice. 

[aring75]

2 minutes ago, A&L_Ont said:

The truffle... my go to.  Great choice. 

I ate almost all of it. I didn’t intend to, it was just so good I kept eating.
 

Mark asked me at the end of the meal, “What was that you ordered again?”

 

”Crack pasta. It was crack pasta.”

 

Pretty sure I’m not wrong. 

[aring75]

Drinks and piano tunes at the Schooner Bar. 
 

 

Preventing scurvy one G&T at a time. 
 

[gaylemh]

10 hours ago, aring75 said:

And of course, by now, you’ve heard that the 2020 President’s Cruise has been announced. They allowed those of us in attendance to “vote.” (Or so they say.)

 

There were a few options from which to choose. First up:

 

 

^^That one was quite a popular choice. 
 

Next. Wait for it. 
 

 

I know, right!? Better and better. 
 

Then, they got serious. 
 

 

 

 

After a snafu with the date for the Allure Mediterranean Cruise was corrected, we learned that is the winner. 
 

The 2020 President’s Cruise will be on Allure of the Seas 10/25/20 round trip Barcelona.

Too bad it wasn't the October 4th cruise on Oasis. I'm already booked on that one.

[PhoenixCruiser]

Please stop quoting pictures 

[aring75]

Wanted to give a quick shout-out to @long4acruise and Bill & Francis from Denver (sorry, didn’t get your CC name). It was great to hear that people onboard have been following along too. And I love hearing that there are people just as obsessive in their planning as I am. 😉

 

Also, speaking of the life of the vertically challenged, did I mention the top-tier party yet? No? Ha, I heard it, but couldn’t see most of it, lol. 
 

This was my view. 
 

 

Mark was a sport and took a couple pictures for me though. They asked top cruiser “Super” Mario to say a few words. When you have a million points you’re allowed to do that. 
 

Kidding. It’s more like half a million. 
 

Or 8700-something, I don’t know. More than anyone. Ever. So there. 
 

 

^^ He complained about Royal adding a charge to Johnny Rockets so they gave him a free burger. Things to look forward to, amirite?

 

Then Captain Rick was impressed that they’ve never had so many D, D+, and P onboard.

 

[cruisegirl1]

I wonder what they will do with the extra art or food books from the birthday cruise. 
 

. Some of you must remember the “Carte du Jour” first and second edition of books of the restaurants of Royal Caribbean international.  I have four of them left, signed by chefs, hotel directors or captains. They were gifted to us at various times. I wonder if they are considered vintage. Maybe I can fund my next cruise by selling them on eBay

 

m

[cruise wizard]

Do you know the count of C&A by level on this cruise? We did the Presidents cruise last year and there were 300+ Pinnacle on board.

[island lady]

9 hours ago, gaylemh said:

Too bad it wasn't the October 4th cruise on Oasis. I'm already booked on that one.

 

I booked 10/25/20 Allure six months ago.  😉 

[island lady]

 

15 minutes ago, cruise wizard said:

Do you know the count of C&A by level on this cruise? We did the Presidents cruise last year and there were 300+ Pinnacle on board.

 

Hi Gary...I believe John posted those numbers.  But I can't find it now.  OK...just found it on the bean counters thread:

 

800+ Diamond 

900+ Diamond plus

268 Pinnacles 

 

 

 

 

Edited November 5, 2019 by island lady

[cruise wizard]

Thanks Pat.................fewer P's than last year. The RCCL booze budget for this cruise must have been a whopper.

[cruisegirl1]

OP-do you think you will purchase the unlimited dining package again, or is it just too much food? 
thx

m

[Barklee]

14 hours ago, aring75 said:

Tonight we had a book waiting for us back in the room titled “Taste of History.”

 

 

There are stories and informative anecdotes about Royal’s dining and bar venues. There are food and drink recipes for some of the more popular items available onboard. 

An eCopy of the book can be downloaded at https://www.royalcaribbean.com/experience/taste-of-history

In case CruiseCritic **** the link, the web address is royalcaribbean dot com/experience/taste-of-history

[Tulsacoker]

5 minutes ago, Barklee said:

An eCopy of the book can be downloaded at https://www.royalcaribbean.com/experience/taste-of-history

In case CruiseCritic **** the link, the web address is royalcaribbean dot com/experience/taste-of-history

Boy that was a snooze 

[HBE4]

6 minutes ago, Tulsacoker said:

Boy that was a snooze 

 

LOL.

 

The cover was the best part.  I was hoping there would be more vintage pictures (not the wine bar) but the chapters from the 1970's & 80's etc  all show current pictures, even though none of those ships existed back then

 

 

 

[bradpole]

41 minutes ago, HBE4 said:

 

LOL.

 

The cover was the best part.  I was hoping there would be more vintage pictures (not the wine bar) but the chapters from the 1970's & 80's etc  all show current pictures, even though none of those ships existed back then

 

 

 

Naaah, that would have required a very difficult trip to a file cabinet to find those old photos... then finding someone in the building who would know how to somehow magically digitize the printed photo.  Two nearly impossible tasks! 😀

[aring75]

58 minutes ago, cruisegirl1 said:

OP-do you think you will purchase the unlimited dining package again, or is it just too much food? 
thx

m

I think if the UDP is on a great sale we would consider it. But we just don’t eat like this. Not even on a cruise. I definitely think it’s too much food for us, but you can plan your day to make it work better. We’ve been having very light breakfast- coffee and a pastry. Then trying to do earlier lunch when we use the UDP on sea days. That seems to be the best way.
 

We paid $175 pp. That’s 7 dinners and 3 sea day lunches for this cruise. When you add in add’l gratuities, we are still coming out way ahead even if we don’t eat ALL the courses ALL the time. 

[teo403]

This is a fantastic review  Thank you!

[aring75]

St. Maarten today. We’ve been here a dozen or so times, so today we grabbed a taxi to Maho for some drinks and eats at Sunset Beach Bar. Taxi right at the port was $16pp round trip. They give you a wristband when you pay and you just show it at the Maho Beach taxi stand for a ride back to the port. 
 

When we arrived at 10:45 (ship’s time), it wasn’t too crowded yet. 
 

 

Ordered up some guac and chips. The chips were still warm. 😊

 

 

And some frozen drinks to cool down. (It was already 86F and rising. 
 

 

Mark loves these things. I think they sound so much better than they ever taste. What could be wrong about fried cheese? 😝
 

He was on his own with these. 

 

[aring75]

Grabbed a great table right near the railing and had a great breeze and view of the (very few) planes that came in today. 
 

 

 

 

[island lady]

4 hours ago, cruise wizard said:

Thanks Pat.................fewer P's than last year. The RCCL booze budget for this cruise must have been a whopper.

 

LOL!!  🤑😜

[island lady]

56 minutes ago, aring75 said:

Grabbed a great table right near the railing and had a great breeze and view of the (very few) planes that came in today. 

 

 

Totally agree...we love that place!  Had some great rum punch and fantastic fish sandwiches.  We were told the reason the plane traffic is light early in the day, is because the big jets don't come in until later in the day.  Which would put you back to ship late...cutting it close.  The traffic going back through town to get to the port can be brutal sometimes.  😮 

 

Great pictures...looked like fabulous weather too!  🙂 

[aring75]

2 minutes ago, island lady said:

 

Totally agree...we love that place!  Had some great rum punch and fantastic fish sandwiches.  We were told the reason the plane traffic is light early in the day, is because the big jets don't come in until later in the day.  Which would put you back to ship late...cutting it close.  The traffic going back through town to get to the port can be brutal sometimes.  😮 

 

Great pictures...looked like fabulous weather too!  🙂 

Yes. Sitting up next to the water, it was warm but had wonderful breezes. I could have stayed there all day. 
 

Thanks for that info about the planes. Makes sense. 
 

There were a few people around us who at booked the ship-sponsored excursion to Maho Beach. One lady told me it was a two hour excursion, but 45 minutes there and back was on the bus (partly due to loading/unloading & waiting for people). They had all of about 30 minutes at Maho Beach and never saw the first plane.

Boy was she irritated when she heard that we were basically doing the same thing on our own. The things you learn the more you cruise!