We took another cruise!! Travel Day :)

We've recently returned from an 11 night Southern Caribbean cruise with Royal Caribbean's Explorer of the Seas out of Bayonne, NJ.

We had such an amazing time two years ago that we decided to do it again.  Same ship, same room, slightly different itinerary. We left NJ and had 2 sea days, then stopped at Labadee, St. Martin, San Juan, Antigua and St. Kitts and then 3 sea days on the return to NJ. And friends joined us this time :)  

We left on Saturday, November 2nd to drive to NJ.  We stayed in the Country Inn & Suites.  They provided room, breakfast and parking for the duration of the cruise.  Awesome!

We met up with Steve and Michaela halfway to NJ and had lunch at Cracker Barrel.  We arrived at the hotel about 3:30ish or so.  Check in was a breeze.  Steve and Michaela settled in nicely.  We had a few troubles with our room, had a room switch, a little more trouble, and then finally after 2 hours or so, we were settled in.

I was pretty tired from the drive and was hoping to nap, but with the room snafu, I could only catch a few Z's in a chair.

We ordered Chinese, ate dinner together in the breakfast room, then headed to bed.  We had a big day in the morning....our driver was picking us up at 9:30 to head to Cape Liberty and Explorer of the Seas!!

Day One ~ Embarkation Day

We were up early and anxious and ready to go.  We had breakfast at the motel, then decided we should get our luggage together and be downstairs waiting for our driver....just in case he came early.  And he did....fifteen minutes early.

There were 4 of us traveling together.  Michaela and I both like options, and we both packed a lot! And we drove to the port, so didn't need to worry about luggage restrictions. We warned the driver there would be a lot of luggage!  He sent a 15 passenger van to get the 4 of us....and our stuff!

Only this much of it belonged to Doug and me.

So the Independent Driver man loads us up while mumbling something about you weren't kidding you had a lot of luggage, and we're off!

We got to the port before 10.  The driver pulls in to where you drop your luggage and started unloading all of our stuff.  While he's doing that, another car pulls in and one a few spots down.  Holy Cow....these are our friends!  Our friends who have told us for a year that they were going to sail on the Oasis of the Seas later in the week!  They were lying to us, those stinkers.  They are on the cruise with us!!

But at first it didn't register.  Doug and I both thought, "Wow, they drove a long way to see us off!"  But no....that isn't right.  They didn't know when we were arriving at the port or anything.  They wanted to surprise us by just showing up on the ship and seeing us somewhere!  And wow did they surprise us!  And what are the chances that out of 3100 passengers arriving at the port and dropping off luggage, that they would arrive when we did and right beside us!  It was awesome!  I'd love to have a picture of our faces when we saw them. They were running over to us and we were all hugging and screaming.  You got us good Amy, Annette, Mike and Greg!  

So we finish dropping our luggage with the porter, pay the driver and move on to check in.  The four of us were in a suite, so we had a special lounge to wait in.  We were too early for check in, so we sat in the lounge and waited until it was time to check in.  They had coffee, tea, and cookies, and maybe juice? for us to have while waiting to board the ship.

Other friends of ours from Cruise Critic were also going to be on this sailing.  Joe and Sue were there when we walked around the corner.  We are all excited to get the vacation started!!

We only waited about 15 minutes before check in began, and about an hour until we boarded the ship.  We were on by 11:15 or so if I recall correctly.

First thing we did was make sure our dining reservations were linked and we could have the same table every night.  We did My Time Dining.  I did make a standing 7:30 reservation.  We ended up at the same table every night with exemplary wait staff.  

Then onto the Concierge Lounge to meet our concierge, Nizar, and figure out the coffee machine!  We had an awesome experience with our concierge this time....much, much different than the last time.  Here is Steve and me figuring out the coffee machine.  It was some REALLY GOOD coffee!  How I didn't know about this last time, I do not know.  But I was happy to have it.  Michaela got the cocoa and Steve had cappuccino too.  I only ever had regular coffee or espresso.  Ymm....

Then off to wander around the ship.  We walked on and it felt like coming home.  Ahhh.....so exciting! 

We headed to the Windjammer for lunch.  We did take our food out on the pool deck, but stayed close to the door and out of the wind.  It was rather cold!  Sunny, but windy and cold.  

Doug and Steve ventured onto Deck 12 to get pictures of the city.

I love this picture of us taken near the Peek-A-Boo Bridge.

Steve and Michaela went off to wander.  We went to see if our rooms were ready.  We waited about 10 minutes, and then they were.

We had Grand Suite 1574 again.  We loved the room last time, and loved it just as much this time.  Stacey, our travel agent, surprised us with Bon Voyage decorations for our room.  And they had a decoration on the door, which I forgot to take a picture of.  But I will always decorate the door from now on when we cruise because it made finding our room so much easier!

These are not the best pictures of the room....don't know what we were thinking.  You can find better ones HERE.

I do love the balcony in the Grand Suite.  We had a full size table with comfy chairs on one end and a lounge chair on the other.  We spent a lot of time out there.  It is peaceful and simply lovely.

We got in our room about 1:30.  By 2:15 we had all of our luggage and by 3:00 we were unpacked and settled in with all the suitcases under the bed.  It was almost time for muster.  So we headed down to the Schooner Bar before going out to our muster station.  We were going to get our first drink, but ran into the gang, and talked and talked and before we knew it, we had to go out for the muster.  Then sail away :)

Since it was so incredibly chilly outside, we decided to head to Dizzy's in the Viking Crown Lounge for sail away.  We ended up at the 19th hole (beside Dizzy's and a place we spent a LOT of time in the evenings) with a table by the window.  And a great view of the bridge!

 Finally....our first drink of the cruise!  Frozen mojito for me and mango lava flow for Doug.

Steve and Michaela

We had a great view and watched another ship pass under the Verrazano Bridge before we did.  

And then it was our turn!

One of my friends watched our sail away on the NY Harbor Webcam and took this screen shot of us going under the bridge!

And we're officially on our way!  Woot Woot!  We booked this cruise 525 days in advance, and it felt like forever before it got here.  And now we're on vacation :)

We went to the room to get ready for dinner.  Before dinner we were invited to a welcome aboard cocktail party for suite and pinnacle guests on Deck 3.  Doug and I decided to head down there.  We met a few Cruise Critic friends that we'd been talking to, and a couple officers, and Nizar was there.  They were serving appetizers and rum punch and champagne.  Doug and I had rum punch.  It was.....strong.  I had half.  Doug had the whole glass, and pretty quickly because we were heading up for dinner.  It hit him pretty strongly ha ha.  I'd never seen him quite so tipsy .... ever!

We did wander to the Concierge Lounge on deck 9 looking for Steve and Michaela.  They weren't in there, and it was crowded, so we left.

We stopped at the Cafe Promenade for some water and coffee.  I couldn't find the water glasses (like on day 8 I found them lol), so I propped Doug up in a chair at a table by the wall and told him not to move, and went to the room for a bottle of water.

While I was gone, a "Shark" came by.  Really, it was a dolphin wandering around the promenade.  It sat down next to Doug and they had a moment.  But Doug insists it was a shark!

I came back and had him drink his water bottle.  And it was off to dinner.  We met up with Steve and Michaela and headed to the dining room on Deck 5, which is where the My Time Dining people eat.  

We had table 609 in the back by a window.  Our waiter was John and his assistant was Ketut.  They were AWESOME!  John was right on with suggestions and Ketut knew exactly what bread we wanted, what drinks we liked, etc.  They really paid attention to detail and made us feel special.

Doug and I went up to Dizzy's Lounge after dinner.  There we met Latoya.  

She is a really fun server.  We had a couple drinks and listened to the band and danced a little.  Then we headed down to The Chamber.  DJ Savio is on board again.  He and Doug are Facebook friends since our last cruise, and Doug was excited to see him again.  He chatted with us for a good while, and the gang showed up, and we chatted and laughed.

It was getting late and I was tired, so we decided to turn in.  First we stopped off at the Cafe for a sandwich and cookies and headed to the stateroom.  We had an excellent first day and were looking forward to the rest of the trip.

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!!

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!