It was a beautiful, sunny morning greeting us when we looked out our sliding glass balcony door this morning. The wind was coming from the stern, so we knew it would be nice on deck, sunny, and very little relative wind. After having some “to go” coffee, and hot chocolate from the coffee bar on the Promenade in the room while we were getting ready, it was off to the breakfast buffet. One day this trip, we are going to try the sit down breakfast, something we have yet to do on any cruise. It is on our must do list for this crossing.
After breakfast, it was back to the cabin for sunscreen, then off to the pool deck. There were already quite a few people out claiming deck chairs, but we found some on the “crow’s nest”, which is a small deck up high in the middle of the ship, between the pools. After rearranging the chairs to make a little more space (they always jam them together, so it is like sitting on top of your neighbor), we settled in for some sun.
Pool Deck – Navigator of the Seas
Pretty soon, it was time for lunch, so back we went to the buffet. Today, at 2:00 pm, there is a special event out by the pool to celebrate being half way across the Atlantic Ocean. It was being set up as we were returning from lunch, there were some special fruit/vegetable art, and there was a large cake celebrating the “occasion”. We took some pictures, but we were still full from just having had lunch, so we did not eat anything.
Fruit Art – Celebrating Crossing Halfway Point
There was some live music at the pool, but just for one hour. That is something we have found to be quite different from Princess Cruises, where there was usually a live band playing by the pool everyday for 2-3 hours, and it was nice. Royal Caribbean does not do much with the music, hardly even playing recorded music at the pool, just general people noise is all we get.
We went in a little early for in-room cocktails, and got ready for dinner. Tonight, there is an ice skating show, so our plan was to go to the early show at 7:00 pm, and then go to dinner afterward in the buffet. The menu for dinner in the dining room was less than spectacular, so we did not see any point in trying to go there, it just takes longer, and we can get the same food in the buffet, and it is quieter. In general, neither of us has been impressed with the dinner menu on this cruise. Other than the lobster night, there has not been anything really special to eat, just normal, basic items, but listed with special fancy names. For example, Parmesan encrusted turkey. We had it in the buffet, and it was nothing special, and it was dry. Where are the shrimp selections, or crab legs. Not much seafood is offered at all.
After dinner, we wondered around the ship, planning to go to the “Married Couples” game show at 10:45 pm. We did visit the photo area, and inquired about one of the formal portraits we had taken. It was a really good picture, and we may end up purchasing it. The quandary is whether to pay $19.95 for a single 8×10 (piracy does still exist on the high seas), or pay $40.00 for the digital negative. With the digital negative, we can make multiple copies, and distribute them to family.
We tried to find some entertainment to fill in the time before the 10:45 pm show, but everywhere we went, everything was ending, the only entertainment was the second showing of the ice skating, and we did not want to see that again. We wondered around some of the stores (for the umpteenth time) and then went back to the room to get a glass of wine. With nothing really to do, we started to watch TV. By the time it got close to time for the show, we were settled in and just stayed in the room. We could not believe it was so hard to find something to do, but on this ship, we have found that the entertainment is pretty limited, and they do not do a good job of overlapping. Everything seems to start and end at the same time, with gaps of nothing in between.
Hopefully, tomorrow will be better, and we plan on partying long into the night…………maybe.