Day Three ~ At Sea

I woke up at 5:20 this morning to a rocking ship.  The seas were still choppy.  I went out and sat on the balcony, and the sun was already rising.  And so was the temperature :) Yippee!!

Doug woke up not long after me.  We sat on the balcony enjoying the peacefulness of the morning and listening to the sea.  I love that the temperature was rising, but was ready for the sea to be calm.

The sunrise this morning was gorgeous.  It looked like the sun was bursting out of the clouds.

We ordered room service breakfast.  It is one of my favorite things about our balcony....breakfast while watching the ocean go by.  So we ordered oatmeal, pastries, fruit and bacon and OJ so we could have mimosas with the champagne left from the night before.  

After breakfast we headed to Deck 3 and the photo gallery to start a folder.  Every day we collected our pictures and had them put them in the folder (or 3 as it turned out).  I wanted my picture taken in the porthole, and so we did that, but again it's back lit.  But still cool.

We wandered around the Royal Promenade doing a little shopping and a little cookie eating, and then headed to the room to change for the pool!  Finally :)

Another perk of being in a suite is reserved seating on the pool deck.  I like the location, as long as I don't mind sun.  Once or twice we chose loungers in the shade, but mostly used those seats.  Nice perk!  So we settled in to enjoy the Caribbean music the band was playing and order drinks.  Sun, music, drinks, now it feels like a tropical vacation.  I had a drink of the day, which was Caribbean Lemonade, and Doug had his same old Mango Lava Flow.  

We ran into the Windjammer for lunch and brought it out by the pool.  Burger, fries, guac, chips, oatmeal raisin cookie!  Yummy!  And even better.....a mudslide for dessert!  Anil, our dinner bar server, was on the pool deck, so he took care of us there, too.  He's our guy.

Doug and Steve went to the ice show.

I left Michaela at the pool and got a quick shower and took a nap.  We had reservations for Portofinos this night.  It's an upcharge restaurant.  We ended up not going; sometimes flexibility is the name of the game....or vacation....and it just didn't work out.

But we didn't know that until after pictures.  So we got all dressed up and ready to go to the Concierge Lounge.  But it was SO DANG CROWDED in there that we just turned around and walked out.  Nizar saw us leave and asked us why we didn't go to Deck 14?  Deck 14?  What is this of which you speak?  It is an overflow lounge!  Awesome!  The 19th Hole is set aside from 5-8:30 every night for suite guests.

So he took us up to Deck 14 and that became our nightly hangout.  We'd see people throughout the day and say, "See you upstairs tonight."  

Here we met Dillon....the most amazing bartender ever!  He made us each a drink, and we had about 20 minutes before pictures to drink them, and they were pretty strong.  I did not finish, but Doug did.....quickly again....he didn't learn from the first night ;)

So we head for pictures.  And the longer we stand in line, the hotter and dizzier Doug gets.  I was feeling really badly for him....I did not realize he was having alcohol induced issues......or I probably wouldn't have been quite as sympathetic!  So we have all our pictures taken and then decide not to go to Portofinos since he was so sweaty and dizzy.  So we went to the room to change, and joined Steve and Michaela in the MDR that night.  I was pretty disappointed....I was really looking forward to an intimate romantic dinner, but it wouldn't have been so fun with how Doug was feeling.

The plus side to having dinner in the MDR this night was.....we weren't thrilled with the after dinner shooter.  So Anil said he'd take care of us.  He brought out the empty glasses and filled them with Limoncello.  Oh Yum!  It's like lemon drop candy.  He gave us a refill, too.  Good thing it had been a few hours since that before dinner drink Doug had, and he had plenty of food.  We were having a good time at dinner.  Actually, I think the four of us were the dinner entertainment most nights for the people around us lol.

After dinner we headed to the room to sit on the balcony for a while.  We decided to take a stroll on the pool deck.  It was a lovely night, and so nice to just be alone and look at the ocean.  Then we headed back to the room and ordered a drink and snacks to enjoy on the balcony before bed.  And while it wasn't the evening I had planned, it turned out to be a pretty lovely evening anyway.

And tomorrow is our first port....Labadee, Haiti! One of our favorites!

Day Four ~ Labadee

I woke up about 6:30 and headed out to the balcony to sit and wait for breakfast, which we had requested to come about 7 or so.  It is HOT and SUNNY and HUMID today!  Going to be a gorgeous day to be at the beach.

I love to be on the balcony while we pull into port.

  

 They are really excited to greet you!

Labadee is an amazing place.  It is Royal Caribbean's private island, and they've really made it feel like paradise.  Being in a suite gives us access to Barefoot Beach Club and the opportunity to rent a Cabana there.  The four of us did that.  We had Cabana B2 ($225).

So after getting off the ship and having the obligatory picture taken (who am I kidding....we love that)

We went over to Barefoot Beach to check in.  There was some kind of mix up with the Cabana reservation sheet, so we had to wait about 15 minutes before being lead to our Cabana.  But before long we were settled in.  Doug and I dropped our stuff and headed to the artisan market to browse.  I bought a coffee mug and a couple Christmas tree ornaments.  We also bought a painting for our dining room. 

We walked around for a little bit and took some pictures.

While we were shopping, Ronald, our Cabana attendant, had brought us floating mats.  We grabbed them and headed into the ocean.  The water was so calm and clear and warm.  It was a HOT day ..... 90s with really high humidity.  The water felt really good.  We floated in the water until 11:30 or so, and then got ready for lunch.

The buffet on Barefoot Beach is awesome.  There was so much to choose from.  I love the beans and rice.  The jerk chicken was good, but really spicy.  They had shrimp and steaks and hot dogs and burgers and fruit and baked potatoes and corn on the cob and assorted breads and cookies and dessert and and and......Here are our plates.  Can you guess which is Doug's and which is mine? ;)

 The view from our cabana is awesome!

After lunch I sat in the cabana and read a while and rested.  And it was Labadoozie time!  It was really yummy, but not as strong as I remembered.  

I was really getting tired.  I headed back into the ocean to float and chat with Michael and Steve and anybody else that wandered by.  Doug, of course.  Joe and Sue.  It was just a great day!

The respectable picture of Sue.  We met Joe and Sue on the last cruise.  We were so excited to find out we would be sailing with them again.  If Sue is around....you are laughing, and laughing, and laughing some more.  She is a hoot!

 I headed back to the ship about 2 and had a shower and a nap.  Doug stayed on the beach with the gang until about 4.  I woke up before then and headed to the pool to read and listen to the band and have a frozen lemonade.  About 4:15 I decided to go the room and get ready for dinner.  First I had to stop by the Solarium Bar and pick up a mudslide!

Doug was back in the room by the time I got there.  On his way back he snapped some pictures.  Here is the ship.  She's so pretty!

They send you off with dancing, too.

 Good-bye Labadee.  Hope to see you again :)

Back in the room we got ready for dinner and then headed out to have pictures taken and collect the ones from the day before, then upstairs for pre-dinner cocktails and appetizers with Steve and Michaela and everybody else that Doug met....Hi Lisa and all you other ladies (I am horrible with name...oops) and Mike and Charlene and Michele and Chip and and and....Doug knew everybody....oh Joe and his group.  Lots and lots of people.

So Steve and Michaela were already upstairs when we got there.  Dillon had brought her a cosmo.  I asked for a Captain and Coke.  We had plenty of time before dinner to hang out this night.  And dinner was going to be a special buffet in the Windjammer for suite and pinnacle guests.  There were several officers there and the food was gorgeous....I'll get to that.  So dinner was not go sit at the table and be served, but a buffet which we'd need to walk through and manage food...which proved to be a little challenging for Michaela and me.

So back to pre-dinner drinks.  Michaela and I finished our first drinks.  Dillon comes by and asks what we'd like.  Michaela told him to surprise her.  I said, heck, surprise me too.  And boy howdy did he!  He brought us what he called the "Dillon Special".  It was AMAZING!  It was midori, peach schnapps, vodka & OJ....not much OJ I don't think.  It was tasty and strong.  And Michaela and I, thankfully, are very happy and giggly when we have a bit much to drink.  We giggled our way through the night!  

So it's time to go to dinner....the buffet where we have to manage walking and a plate of food!  They are serving complimentary champagne and wine.  Cranberry champagne?  I don't mind if I do.....

So the tables were set up beautifully and they had wait staff walking around giving us our drinks and the officers were talking and the captain was there and a very proper, older, pinnacle couple were sitting next to Michaela and me, and the two of us were giggly and laughing our way through the night, and they were not impressed!  We were having a great time, though.  We were trying to figure out how to manage the buffet....really all we had to do was make sure we DID NOT FALL FORWARD!  That would be very bad.....  The guys helped us....so that is good.

The food was amazing.  Some of the offerings were diablo shrimp, lobster, steak stuffed with lobster, lamb chops, butter chicken, prime rib, corn fritters, scalloped potatoes, broccoli, rolls and lots of other things that I cannot even remember.  And lots of wine and champagne going around.  We missed dessert though.  We were talking with Nizar, who sat down to eat with us, and the desserts were gone before we realized we could get some.

So since we missed dessert, the four of us returned to our room to order dessert and coffee from room service.  Another wonderful perk of being in a suite is we can order from the full dining room menu anytime the dining room is open.  And they were still serving dinner, so we were in luck.  We ordered 3 chocolate sensations and a coconut creme for Doug, and a couple pots of coffee, and visited and laughed and sobered up....or so we thought.

And tonight was our second towel animal....a cute little turtle.  I love the towel animals.  And Eleanore does them so well!  I've not talked much about our room steward, Eleanore.  She was awesome to us!

It was the Battle of the Sexes game show that night, so we headed down to Studio B to wait.  The guys and girls sit separately.  So Doug and Steve headed one way, and Michaela and I headed another.  It was loud.....a little sensory overload actually.  I was starting to feel a little queasy.  But not too bad, I could deal until the show started.  And THEN....an older lady sat down next to us and started talking.....but I swear she took a bath in her perfume.  It was just too much....the scent just did me in, and Michaela, and we both decided we needed out...NOW!  I climbed over people making my way out of the row.  Michaela wasn't messing around with that....she went over the back of the chairs and out fast.  The guys saw we were leaving, they met us outside.

We went out on the promenade deck for some air.  Michaela's head was really ick, so they headed back to the room for the night.

I was feeling better after being away from the old lady perfume and music overload, so Doug and I thought, "Why not go check out karaoke?"  Yeah....2 songs in we realized why we never go to karaoke!

So we decided to turn in for the night. This night we had to turn the clocks forward an hour....just when I was getting used to the fall time change.  It was a fabulous day and a fun night.....really fun.  Just remember...Do Not Fall Forward!!

Tomorrow is San Juan.  Not our favorite, but I was really looking forward to Starbucks!!  The coffee this trip is better than the last, but still hit or miss.  Always yummy from the concierge lounge, and Doug got me coffee there most mornings.  Sometimes I made VIA in our room....we had an electric kettle.  But still....Starbucks was in the near future!

Day Five ~ San Juan

I woke up before Doug, again!  Which is totally backward of what happens at home.  I'm just not feeling so great on this trip and am not sleeping well.  I am enjoying the peaceful mornings on the balcony having coffee and writing in the journal or just listening to the world go by.  Soon Doug will be awake and we'll order breakfast and plan our day.

We're in San Juan today, but not until 2.  It's not our favorite port.  Our plan is to go to Starbucks and CVS.  Kind of like home ;)

After breakfast we wandered around the ship for a little bit.  We went to the photo gallery to collect our pictures and the promenade to browse the shops and get coffee.  They also have Starbucks on the ship.  Not quite the same as land, but not bad.  We talked to people all along the promenade and then decided to head to the pool.

We sat in front of the sky bar this time since there was a little bit of shade.  Still the reserved seating.  Nice view from up there.  We were hoping to have lunch at Johnny Rockets this day, but they were PACKED!!  We never did make it there this trip.  So we got lunch in the Windjammer and brought it back to the room to eat on the balcony.

A couple days previously, Doug met Mike and Charlene (Not Charlotte!) at pre-dinner drinks (while he was working the room haha).  He introduced them to me while we were hanging out by the sky bar.

Here is Mike and Charlene with our cruise director, Leigh.

We arrived in San Juan a little early.  We sat on the balcony and watched while we pulled into port.

The weather was gorgeous.  Sunny and 90 and not as humid as Labadee.  Doug thought it was more uncomfortable than I did...the heat really bothers him.

So first stop....Starbucks.  But we didn't know where it was.  We asked several people and finally found it.  It was BUSY.  Doug found a little seat in the back.  It was cool in there, and free wifi, and so many people from the ship were there checking in at home.  Loved it!

We also went to CVS for some rum and a couple other things.  And then back to the ship to enjoy a quiet afternoon relaxing.

This ship is so big and makes me feel tiny!

We spent the rest of the time before dinner in the room resting.  I did pick up snacks at the Cafe and drinks at the Solarium Bar.  Thanks Sue for suggesting them.....that bartender makes a great drink!

There weren't any pictures before dinner this night since we had a late call on San Juan (leaving at 9) and the photographers are busy off ship.  So we went straight upstairs for appetizers and drinks.  We were the only people up there this night since so many people were on shore.  Steve and Michaela had an excursion and were meeting up with us for dinner.  We were able to talk with Dillon quite a bit, and spammed Facebook with pictures since we were able to do that in a US port without paying.

We headed to dinner at 7:30.  There were very few people in the MDR this night since we were in port.  Steve and Michaela weren't there yet, so we chatted with Anil, Ketut and John and waited for them.  We did place orders and they came in not long after, so we were able to enjoy dinner together and hear about their excursion.  

Dinner tonight was mushroom soup for both Doug and me.  I had chicken cordon blue with rice and veggies.  Doug had grilled chicken with mashed potatoes and broccoli.  Dessert was yummy!  Michaela and I shared cherries jubilee and jaffa cake.  Jaffa cake is chocolate on the bottom and orange soaked cake on the top.  It was yum!  We also ordered Rum Baba (rum soaked pound cake) for the table.  We all tasted that.  And we had coffee (Steve and I did anyway) and dinner shooters.  Anil made us a special drink.  It had creme de cocoa, kaluha, baileys and half and half.  It was SO GOOD!  Again, he brought us our drinks, and a shaker with another round, and he started pouring what was left in the shaker in my coffee.  Oh he is good!

Tonight was the Love and Marriage Show in the theater on Deck 3.  It was hilarious!  The two older couples just made the show.  We laughed and laughed and laughed.  

The White Party was in the Solarium after this...so Doug and I headed there.  I wasn't feeling so great though, so we headed to the room to sit on the balcony and unwind and head to bed.  Tomorrow is St. Martin!  We love St. Martin and had a few plans we were looking forward to!