Vacation Part 6 (Subtitled: Day 5 of Cruise)

I spent a good bit of this day trying not to think about it being the last day of our cruise.  I also spent alot of it just looking at the water.  We did a few activities that were offered by the ship, including a surprising fun game of bean bag toss.

That reminds of a fun activity on the ship on the first night were in Bermuda.  I actually had to change the time of our glass bottom cruise in order to attend.  I knew it was supposed to be good because the people on Cruise Critic (I highly recommend this site if going on a cruise).  Anyway I can't say much about it without giving away some of the fun, but I haven't laughed that much or that hard in a long time.  So if on a Royal Caribbean cruise, be sure to watch for and make time for The Quest.

  This was out the window at lunch.  If you look at the larger version of the photo, you can see a cargo ship in the distance.

One of the many water pictures I took.  It was actually a very nice day.

 I just like this photo I happened to take while waiting for the sun to set so I could take a sunset photo.

 I am likely to actually use this photo later, and put it up for sale on Zazzle.  Thus the copyrights on it.

 These were our waiters for 4 of the 5 nights in the main dining room.  The first night we were at a table for 6 with set of waiters who were okay.  But our table mates were not friendly.  Mom tried numerous times to talk to them but got very short sentences every time.  Early the next morning, we changed to My Time Dining.  We got these two waiters that 2nd night and then arranged to have them on every other night.

 The one on the left is the assistant waiter and he really made our cruise dining experience.  Neither mom or I can have caffeine after around 1 if we want to sleep (mom) or sleep well (me) that night.  We found out on the first night that we could ask for a pot of hot water and herbal mint tea bags and glasses of ice.  Then we can make caffeine-free iced tea to drink with dinner.  On the first night with these waiters, we explained wanted.  At the end of the meal, he cheerfully said he'd have it ready and waiting for us the next night.  By the last night, he actually had ready and made up as iced tea for us.  They were both really just fun.  They did magic tricks for kids they had at tables next to us.

The food....We loved it, particularly in the main dining room.  We tried the Windjammer (Royal Carribean's buffet offering) and it was okay but only just okay.  We only really went there a few times when we had to, plus I went a couple times for cookies or bread and butter during afternoon tea.

I loved breakfast in the main dining room.  I always started with a chocolate donut while deciding what to order.  Then got the classic, which was two fried eggs to order (made right the first time on 4 of 5 mornings), toast, and hashbrowns.  I often also got fruit (watermelon, pineapple and grapes) from the granola bar. The last two mornings I also got french toast to go with it.  Mom got a salmon plate every morning, and sometimes got the classic to go with it.  One morning when she was sleeping in (I think it was the day we were docking in Bermuda) I went to breakfast early and brought her back a breakfast of a salmon plate and a fruit plate to have breakfast in bed.

We only managed lunch in the MDR two or three times.  And just as Cruise Critic recommended the Tutti Salad must be tried.  You got to pick your fresh ingredients and then they chopped it up for you.

The dinner items in the main dining room were fabulous. A number of times I ordered a second main course.  The main things I remember were: prime rib so tender it just melted in your mouth (first night and last night), tried my first escargot and lobster tail (both good), and a shrimp dish that was really good.

The deserts were hit and miss, some were good, some not so much.  But they did have a Ben and Jerry's on board and they had my favorite flavor of Phish Food.

I think that most of the reason that I only gained 2 pounds (most of which may have been water weight from all the extra salt in the food) during that week was that I walked A LOT.  Cruise ships are large, lots and lots of walking required.  I think my feet have finally mostly recovered finally a week later.

I'll have one more vacation post to write for the weekend after but this is really the last one that will focus on the cruise.  The cruise was really great fun all around and I will another again as soon as I can.