Day Two ~ At Sea

We slept with the drapes open so we could wake up with the sunrise.  And we did.....at 6:30.  Forgot about that fall time change.  And just when I got used to it, we had to set the clocks ahead an hour.

Doug went outside and took a few pictures.  I think this one he took of me through the window with the balcony reflection is pretty cool.

And the sea.....I love the sea....more so when it is calm ;)

It was still pretty chilly, so our plans to eat breakfast on the balcony changed to breakfast in Portofinos.  Being in a suite, we have the luxury of a sit down breakfast in the specialty restaurant Portofinos.  It is a small, intimate restaurant.  They have a small buffet with pastries and other things (we didn't use it this trip) and also a menu.  I love the eggs benedict, so ordered that with potatoes.  Doug had an omelette.  And the coffee wasn't too bad this morning.  

We sat by a window.  I let Doug face the window because I was still feeling a little sea sick and did not want to watch the swells (8-10 feet this day).  It was sunny enough that I was back lit when he tried to take a picture.

We met a lovely couple at breakfast this morning; Bob and Joyce.  They have been married 57 years!  They were the nicest people.  

After breakfast we headed to the Maharajas Lounge on Deck 5 for the Cruise Critic Meet & Mingle.  We had a big turnout!  Steve and Michaela met us there.  None of the four of us won anything.

While there a sweet lady ran up to introduce herself to me.  She recognized me from my CC posts and also read my review of our last trip AND she does WW, so we chatted a bit.  Hi Tina (State College Girl) :)  

Doug and I then wandered around for a while and sat on the balcony for a while.  It was still cloudy, but warming up :)  Not long now until we are in warm sunshine!  I could live in Warm Sunshine all of the year!!

Wet met up with Steve and Michaela in the Champagne Bar

 

before heading to lunch in the main dining room on Deck 3.  

The MDR is open for lunch on sea days.  You can order from a menu or choose the Tutti Salad Bar, which is what we did.  Of course we also ordered dessert.  The Tutti Salad Bar is awesome.  You walk through and the chefs make your salad for you.  You tell them what you'd like in it.  They chop it up and hand you the bowl and you can finish it off with several different things.  There are several lettuces to choose from, lots of fresh veggies, cheese, several kinds of protein, olives, etc.  It is just gorgeous.  And ..... no picture.  I had great intentions!  They also serve you a few kinds of bread at the table with an olive tapenade.  Yummy!  I had chocolate cake with mousse filling for dessert and Doug had some apple thing with vanilla ice cream.  After lunch we made plans with Steve & Michaela to meet in the Concierge Lounge for cocktails before dinner and headed to our room for a nap.

I slept for a while and then sat on the balcony writing in the journal.  I really enjoyed the balcony this trip.  Tonight was formal night.  I love getting all dressed up, so brought a gown (3 actually, but we only had 2 formal nights) and Doug wore a tux.  We had champagne chilling to drink while dressing for dinner, and ordered a cheese plate from room service, but there was a room mix-up and that never arrived.

We ordered a photo package .... all digital and printed photos (all 261 of them! 121 more than last year, Wally, if you are reading ;) ).  So off we went to have our pictures taken.  On formal night there are a lot of stations.  We hit 5 or 6 of them.  And you know me, I'm picture happy, so I'll share several :)

 I LOVE this dress!

Not sure why Doug looks so short in this picture!

After pictures we headed to the Concierge Lounge with Steve and Michaela for before dinner drinks and appetizers.  I LOVE this perk of being in a suite.  But the lounge is very VERY crowded!  We did find a seat :)

I will say, the Royal Caribbean bartenders are not skimpy when it comes to pouring a drink.  Not the ones you pay for, and not the ones that are complimentary either.

Then on to dinner.  Our same table was ready (love the convenience of picking my dinner time with My Time Dining, but also having the same table and wait staff).  Ketut came right over with the bread.  I love the savory bites.  I limited myself to only 2 each day.  

So I'd said that John was really good about making recommendations.  I was going to order an artichoke crepe, but when I did, John said it was just so-so and he'd bring it for the table, order something else.  So I ordered the shrimp ravioli with lobster sauce....not something I'd usually eat.  But it was OH SO GOOD!  And John did bring the artichoke dish for the table, and he was right, it was so-so.  Our table was hungry this week and tried many dishes ;)

I also had the banana & rum cold soup with vanilla ice cream for a starter.  Like eating a smoothie with a spoon.  Doug had that, too.  He had prime rib for dinner with mashed potatoes and asparagus.  For dessert I had strawberry cheesecake and Doug had the mile high lemon meringue pie, which is really a little lemon meringue tartlet.  Both were very good.

So Royal Caribbean serves these after dinner shooters in cute little shot glasses that you can keep.  So we all ordered those each night, taking turns picking up the tab.  That was fun.  Anyway, the bar server was Anil, and he was AWESOME!  Tonight's shooter was a buttery nipple.  Yes Please!  Anil took very good care of us as the week went on.

Tonight was our first towel animal....a cute little dog.

After dinner we changed into comfy clothes and headed to Dizzy's Lounge for drinks and dancing.  Latoya made drink recommendations for Doug.  I cannot remember what she had him try, but left to his own devices, he will only drink one thing the whole time.  I had long island.  Yum!  Unfortunately, while the band is really good, they play the exact same set every night.  Boring.  We thought we'd go later in the evening sometime during the week to hear something different, but never did.  So we went to the Cafe to people watch.  

Steve and I were feeling quite sick, so we decided we'd head to the rooms.  I turned in for the night.  I think Steve did too.  Doug and Michaela weren't feeling sea sick at all (lucky them), so decided to take a walk.  They went to the pool deck and were going to go up to deck 12 and the walking track, so went up the outside stairs.  The wind was so strong that it almost blew Michaela backward.

I did sit on the balcony for a while getting some fresh air.  Michaela shared her candied ginger with me, so I ate a little bit of that, and had a green apple.  It helped.  I love to sit outside listening to the sounds of the ocean at night.  The weather tomorrow is forecast to be warm and calm.  So ready for that kind of weather and lounging by the pool!!