DandDM

Here is day 1 for this cruise…

No. For some reason I got every day delivered to me cabin, except 7! Sorry about that 😞.

That’s what I was thinking…we were the first. But with 180 consecutive cruisers, the place filled up quickly.

Starting this week off a little different. Only had a couple beers all last week, and it is Super Bowl Sunday, so beer it is! lunch: CK Caesar salad. And the burger I saw others eat a bunch last week, even though it’s not on the menu. The burger was excellent, but the fries not as much, so had no problem just eating a few.

Right after posting the last update, we started to move through customs, and it went fast. Did facial recognition and did not have to show passport. A small number of folks were directed to another line - may have been for foreign passports, or scans that did not work. So possible a passport was needed for those folks. Our instructions said to bring it. Cards worked a little different this time (last turn around for me was on Allure a couple years ago). They had a new card waiting at check in at theater. was concerned as it was a regular card and not a suite card, they said not to worry. They also didn’t take my old card when leaving. Once I got to cabin, the new card didn’t work on the door, but a suite branded card was waiting for me. Queued up again, and after everyone was cleared, we started the long walk back to the ship. Was ‘dinged’ back on at 10:40 and checked into muster station by 10:45. Got to walk past all the folks waiting. Promenade was already busy! As I’m keeping the same cabin for this cruise, I let the steward know there was no need to spend any time in it, and then stopped by to drop off my ipad. Pretty cool being onboard, unpacked and ready to go before 11am! Current view from balcony, turning into a nice day.

Quick update since I’m waiting…. Official meeting time for consecutive cruisers was 8:30 in theater. Knowing that we would have to wait for everyone else to disembark, but hating to be late for anything, I was a bit conflicted. So I compromised by waiting in cabin until 8:30, then went to SL for coffee and a snack. Made it to theater a little before 9. learned that there are 180 guests staying on. Did not get cell reception in the theater so was on Wi-Fi, then that was turned off. No problem, I downloaded some books and had my iPad. Oh, wait. I’d already read those! Need to be better prepared next time. At 9:50, they announced that wheelchairs were ready for those that needed them, then about five minutes later started lining us up. Scanned cards to get off the ship, then waited 20 minutes for customs to open up. Now we are down stairs, queued up again. Huge line, seems like more than 180…. will report back when on board.

Great to hear debarking went well! I’m still waiting to reboard…

Thanks for this info! I avoided them at first, but was very glad I finally gave a try.

It happened- late night pizza. Have been drinking wine after dinner and realized I am unlikely to have breakfast before 8:30 consecutive cruise gathering, so midnight pizza seemed like a great idea! And I liked it…almost went for more. assuming I take stairs to that meeting, will have successfully completed the first cruise with no elevators!

A couple random things. My cabin is on the port, or left, side. Was looking at the parking lot in Miami and at all four ports, was on the non- dock side. Don’t know if this changes from cruise to cruise… second, had a new coffee pod in my cabin today. I liked it, good flavor.

Dinner report. Started with Forrest Mushroom Terrine. At first thought the pate was bland, but mixed with the rest of the stuff, was very favorable. The green things with tails are new to me, but packed with flavor! Tuna next. It was very good - and a much larger portion than I expected. Next, Braised Lamb Shake. Meat fell of the bone, perfectly done. Was pretty full from tuna so couldn’t finish. Dulce de lecha for dessert. This was good, however while waiting for it, a couple ladies were seated next to me and one must have bathed in perfume. It was too strong for me, so hit the road after a couple bites.

Hard to believe it has been a week already! Seeing bags in the halls and hearing the ‘10’ talk from different workers, and so happy I am staying on board!! Took a photo of the b2b letter, print is small so let me know if any questions. I will also give updates on how the process goes tomorrow. Thinking about run potential tomorrow and with the deck 5 track being used for boarding, and Super Bowl in the evening, an early afternoon treadmill run seems to be my best option. May just skip tomorrow, however, and plan for a long run Monday. speaking of runs, I’ve done 6 of the planned 10 so far. As trip is half done, I’m right on track! (Pun intended).

Only 9 of 22 people showed up for wine tasting. This is the extra that we are trying to drink!

Busy day on the ship - last day, a sea day, and good weather. Everyone is out and about! Made it for a run, got ten laps in but legs were just so heavy today. No surprise that the amount I eat and drink the night before inversely impacts the run! spreaking of that, ended up in Vintages again with my new friend Don. Behaved much better than the other day. Found a spot for a water bottle and spotted another Royal ship sailing by. Edit to add: think that was a Royal ship. Looked like it with my naked eye, but not sure when looking at the photo. Busy out on deck! about to do another wine tasting, this time I ate first. 🙂

Agree. I just can’t seem to learn the easy way! 😃

Dinner yesterday…tried a bunch of stuff. Started with mushroom risotto, very good, but maybe not quite as good as Giovanni’s. Salmon sashimi. A little spicy (surprisingly). Scallops. These were my favorite. and then gnocchi. The greens on top were crunchy and very well seasoned. The vegetables, nice and buttery. Altogether, very tasty, but the gnocchi was filling so I couldn't finish. had a few bites of this chocolate bar for dessert. Spent some more time in the casino and only lost a few bucks. Feel pretty good about that based on the horrible pay tables on VP.

Almost forgot about Cats as it was at an odd time - right at the end of a port stop and overlapping with sail away. Maybe that’s why not many folks were there - very lightly attended. I enjoyed it. Now, I won’t be going back next week, but I thought it was well done and am glad I went. The shorter time (from what I’ve read) was huge, as 90 minutes was fine, but I wouldn’t have given up 3 hours of the cruise for that X2. some photos…the folks in front of me left half way through so no more heads in the way.

You got it! Fitting response! Was a bit of a ghost town in the theater….

Guess what I am doing?

Welcome to Falmouth! Walked around, wanted to walk more, but after leaving the ship area, was constantly hounded. A simple ‘no thank you’ and walking away didn’t work, each guy stayed with me for a few minutes and I had to get firm before he moved on. I gave up and went back to the ship. saw some local wild life and a stately old building on my short walk. Some photos from the port area. Only about two third of the shops were occupied, margaritaville was shuttered! Frankly, the area is pretty big so I wonder if over supply is a bigger issue than lack of demand.

That sounds amazing (other than the smoke). If you have any photos you could share, would love to see them! Speaking of smoke, been very lucky so far (*knock on wood*) - today was the first day I smelt any smoke on the balcony and it was very mild.

A perfect lunch! Wish I had the will power to eat like this all the time (sans the key lime pie). Dishes: beet salad, Atlantic salmon with balsamic reduction, and key lime pie for dessert. Went with iced tea instead of wine…for obvious reasons!

Fantastic run this morning! Ship had just docked in Jamaica so no movement. A little more crowded than expected, being a port day, but few groups blocking the course. Did an easy five miles. By ‘easy’ mean: no hills, no obstacles or slow downs, and most importantly, no significant aches or pains. Finished in 54 minutes. Body felt like it could go further, but I got very thirsty (may still be a little dehydrated from other day). I think I’m going to bring a water bottle on next run and find a spot to put it around the track somewhere. some photos from the track, one from balcony.

I think this catches up daily compass. found this sheet about tiers, probably a common document, but will share in case anyone can use.

Go for it! This is my third solo and I’ve really enjoyed them all. I see in the Compass that there are nightly solo gatherings at Vintages if you’d like to meet others. A benefit of eating solo is that it can be much quicker..most of my meals have been around 45 minutes. another benefit is that if you go to a show late, can usually find a pretty good single seat (provided you don’t mind sitting between others).