laurieal

It’s important to get some good rest before all the port days coming up. I’ll be avoiding deck 5, then. I prefer my musicals without snoring 😂

Oh no! Although I like that yours is not buried into a forest of greens.

I’m glad you loved it! My reservation is for tonight and after seeing the singers sing in the Broadway Cabaret I’m super hyped to see it.

Dinner only took about an hour. I still had a drink voucher and some energy, so I went to Music Hall where they were having a James Bond party with the Oasis of the Seas orchestra. Remember last time when I said I had to stop ordering Strawberry Fields and try one of their drinks with a pun in the name? Nailed it. It was alright. Not terrible, but I don’t think I would have it again. So many drinks with fun names left on that menu that I need to try, too. I am turning this into an early night. Not as early as I wanted, but it’s before midnight so I’m happy. See you tomorrow for something new I’m going to try.

Dinner was at Chops tonight. It was formal night, so people looked particularly fancy and there were lines for the hottest picture spots. I started with some bread. I had to. It was all pretzel-ey and warm. Since last time at Chops was a seafood night, I decided to go all meat. I had the carpaccio for my appetizer. It was my first time trying it and I liked it a lot. It’s not too heavy, so a perfect way to start the meal. I said all meat, but I meant all meat and also mushroom. In soup form, of course. I had the petite filet for my entrée with small portions of the mac and cheese and mashed potatoes. Last time I’ve ordered the mac and cheese on Chops was on the Anthem and I wasn’t a fan. This time, it was super creamy and there were crunchy bits of sharper cheese on top that were super fun. The mashed potatoes were alright. Now, was the filet at Giovanni’s better than the one at chops? 🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁 Yes. I think so. Both were cooked just like I asked, but I found the one from Chops was tougher. Not that I had any room for dessert, but I made an attempt at that giant thing. I couldn’t finish, but what I had was good. I just wish there wasn’t that much meringue.

After the Love and Marriage show, I returned for my stateroom for my usual pre-dinner refresh/changing of the Disney shirt. I had to stay in a Disney mood, however. It was Disney songs trivia at 19:15 in Boleros. I had a coconut mojito to get in the trivia spirit(s). The place was absolutely packed for trivia with some people having to sit on the floor. I teamed up with the same people from Love Songs trivia. Our confidence was high, but we were two points short. You know because of who? Phil Collins. Not happy with doing the music for one Disney movie, he had to do two! And we guessed the wrong one! I’m not sure why, but when we got out after trivia there was a huge line for Cats in the theatre. Not sure if it was standby or if they were just waiting to be let inside.

I will ask from now on when I visit a bar/lounge. I hope the recovery is going well. Hopefully it’s a speedy one!

After the Belly Flop Contest, I went to the Pub to warm up, get a drink, and participate in Love Song trivia. I ran into some people I met in the Music Hall ages ago (that’s what it feels like). I joined their trivia team because there is strength in numbers. I got something weird. Let me look up the name. It was an El Toro: tequila, lime juice, pineapple and jalapeño syrups, and topped with beer. I was hoping the pineapple and jalapeño syrups would make it interesting, but it just ended up tasting like beer. You may have noticed from what I’ve been drinking on this cruise, but I’m not really into beer. It was a very chaotic round or trivia and I thought we did pretty well, but not keychain well. After that, I went to the theatre for the Love and Marriage Show where I ran into the guy who had organized the solo meetup on day 1. It was a fun show, as usual. The middle couple switched things up during their audition and she did Tarzan. I think that’s why they got picked hint hint. And then it was time to go back to my stateroom for my pre-dinner shower and rest. It feels like I’ve been running from one activity to the next today. I’ve barely touched my book!

That sounds so delicious! We don’t have Chickie’s and Pete’s, but I’ll order some seasoning and try to put something together with the Air Fryer. Not that I’m excited to have to start feeding myself again in a week 😔

After breakfast, I rushed to the theatre and made it just in time for the Captain’s Corner. I think it was my first time seeing the captain while not in the pool playing volleyball. It was interesting, as usual. I always enjoy it even if I never have any questions to ask. Afterwards, I went up to deck 16 when things looked a little spooky. I got myself a Strawberry Lava Flow and found a good spot from which to watch the Belly Flop competition. It was chilly, and they had a hard time finding participants. Most people around the pool weren’t even in their swimming outfits. One guy had to run and get changed to participate. It was so chilly that they had a coffee cart close to the elevator bays on deck 15. They managed to find 6 brave participants. There was a pretty good audience. Some holding their coffee cup close to warm up while others were enjoying some soft serve. Here’s the winner in action. He had a special technique where he would keep his arms behind his back.

I tried the fried cheesecake on a previous cruise and it was indeed delicious. Now that I’ve tried all their desserts (I think) I’m not sure I’d be able to pick a favourite. They’re so different!

That sounds like something I would enjoy a lot, thank you for sharing.

Day 9 Compass

This morning, I had my coffee from the Café Promenade again. Then, I brought it with me to the Boardwalk. I had breakfast at Johnny Rockets. It was a lot less busy than the last time I was there before the Top Tier event. I had the buttermilk pancakes with a side of bacon. One lady from the team thought I had brought my own honey, but I explained that it was maple syrup. She said the syrup they provide IS maple syrup. Oh, my sweet summer child. Next time I need to bring some small shooter glass to have maple syrup tastings. I ate quickly and then exited the Boardwalk to rush to the theatre.

Alright, let’s catch up on last night. I had dinner at 150 Central Park. I wanted to try all new things, so I decided to do a seafood feast. But first, the best bread at sea. Yes, I’ve said it. Come at me. I will die on that hill. For my appetizer, I had the scallops. They were cooked perfectly. Not a hint of rubberiness at all. I would absolutely get that again. Then, I had the lobster thermidor. I had heard not so good reviews about that entrée, with some people even saying their waiter had discouraged them from ordering it. I absolutely loved it. The lobster was cooked well and it was so decadent and creamy. I have never had lobster like that. I will get this again for sure. For my dessert, I also went with something new. The Hazelnut Passionfruit Bar. My first reaction was “why is it so big?” Again, that was a hit for me. I enjoyed those flavours together more than I thought I would. It’s completely different, but it reminded me of the dessert apple from Wonderland in the sense that I could eat the whole thing and didn’t feel awful afterwards. I think it was my favourite dinner I had on board. After dinner, I stopped at the Treillis bar for a chocolate martini. I’m not sure what my issue is with that bar, but I forgot to take a picture again. A couple from Cruise Critic spotted me and we ended up chatting for a while until it was time to head to Crazy Quest. I had not been to a Quest since before the pandemic. Isn’t it a weird activity? You get assigned to a team with all the strangers in your section and suddenly you would give your life, or worse, your bra, for those two captains to win a keychain. But that’s all I’m going to say, other than GO TEAM NUMBER 2!

I would never share about the Quest! I have no desire to put myself through that again 😂 Someone from our team had a camera, though, so pretty sure it will end up on YouTube eventually.

Very beautiful and peaceful. Thank you for sharing!

I’ve heard the name old bay seasoning, but I don’t think I’ve ever had some. What do you put it in?

It’s late. I’m so tired. I need some time to process The Quest 😂 I’ll get caught up on my dinner tomorrow morning. See you soon!

I will disclaimer this by saying I am not the most observant person. I don’t go in the corners looking for flaws or dirt. Overall I would say she is in good shape. I’ve seen people cleaning her or painting her every day. But I feel like some of the fabrics are showing their age. The carpets in the elevator bays are stained. The chair and sofa in my stateroom, are definitely showing signs or wear and tear. I’m sure you will have a lovely time! I think she looks great, but there is no denying she has been around for a while.

Once I had finished my Kraken Colada as well as my baby Kraken Colada, I returned to my stateroom for my usual pre-dinner shower and refresh. Now, let’s play a game! Guess what’s leaking? If you said me…wow, ok, weird guess. It’s actually my sink. I realized it when I brushed my teeth and toothpaste started running all over my bathroom floor. Charming, I know. But we’ve been travelling together for, what, two weeks now? You’re getting all the weird details. I told my cabin steward who was in the area and then I went upstairs to see the island of São Miguel. Our lil’ sister Odyssey is probably still docked on the other side. I kind of wandered aimlessly down the Promenade looking for a place to have a sit down and a drink. I wasn’t really feeling the pub’s menu, but Boleros had some room so I grabbed a spot at the bar. I ordered a Hotel Nacional. Even said it with my best Spanish accent and really went hard on the ç. Unfortunately, they don’t have any apricot liqueur so I asked for a Hemingway Daiquiri instead. I like Hemingway. Dude loved his cat, who was named after a Disney character. Also, he said this and I could not agree more. The guy at the bar handed me my drink, but then he realized he had made a mistake. My Hemingway had pineapple juice instead of grapefruit. I told him it was fine. I like pineapple juice. But he insisted on making me another. So that’s what I’m currently working on.

Reporting live from Boleros. It looks like they have replenished their stock of mango purée.

Good idea! It was delicious. Have you seen a bar that have passion fruit? It’s my favourite, but all the places I’ve been to only have strawberry, mango and peach.

I spent the next couple of hours just staring at the ocean, hoping to see some wildlife. I actually saw several dolphins, which was great, but no whales. Do you think I could have seen a turtle? I saw something that was very turtle-shaped, but I guess it could have been some debris. I have no pictures of dolphins/potential turtles because taking my phone out while I’m excited and to close to the ocean stresses me out. I need to take my phone leash out of my luggage and take it with me. At one point, I went down to running track on deck 5 hoping to see the dolphins from up close. However, the water way too agitated and there was nothing to see. Back on deck 16, I asked myself “what kind of drink could I order to give myself good wildlife karma”? Kraken Colada! The bartender was nice. Instead of throwing away the excess piña colada mix, he put it in a small glass and added some Kraken rum to it. Baby Kraken! I can’t say it helped with the wildlife, but it sure brought me joy. The sun peeked out from behind the clouds eventually and some people came out to enjoy the pool deck. Shoutout to those bave people in the pools.

I got it at one of the Lime & Coconut bars on deck 16, but they should be able to make one anywhere they can make frozen drinks.