LIVE from the Wonder of the Seas 2022 WB Transatlantic Cruise and our 4 year journey to get on this TA!

Teeara · November 4, 2022

Hey there everyone! I’m so sorry not to have been posting. I’m one of those who got totally locked out of CC several days ago and no matter what I tried I couldn’t get on. Looks like I’m out of CC jail now! Woo hoo! I have a ton of stuff to post, but since it’s bedtime now it will have to wait until tomorrow.

Tonight is our first “fall back” night. I know we’re looking forward to that extra hour of sleep.

midwestsunshine · November 4, 2022

Hi Teeara. We’ve missed you! Following and can’t wait to hear about your travels. Have an awesome cruise. Loved your Park Guell pictures!

Teeara · November 6, 2022

The day has finally arrived. After nearly four years of waiting and planning and weeping and gnashing of teeth and hoping and praying and finally realizing that today was actually going to happen, it did.

It has been a strange embarkation day, not like any of the other ones I've ever been on. I usually have a set routine on embarkation day - eat breakfast, arrive and board early, eat lunch, explore the ship and take a lot of photos with people not in them, get to the cabin and unpack before sailaway, do dinner, explore the ship, maybe do a show and go to bed. Such an exciting life, right? Did we do that today? Not entirely. We still ate breakfast and arrived early and boarded early. But we (meaning "I") was in crazy woman mode after that (please send my roommate Pam your best of thoughts because she put up with this crazy person today).

There were two things I needed to get done today and I didn't listen to the advice I gave to other people (sometimes I can be really stupid and I admit that). One was to get our safety drill check in taken care of ASAP (which we did as soon as we boarded -- or at least we THOUGHT we had successfully completed it) and the other was to confirm that my 5 night pre-purchased dining reservations had been made. I had sent them to the Suite Concierge a week ago literally within 5 minutes of receiving their email and they acknowledged receipt of my email and that they had passed it on to the person in dining who would take care of the reservations. Since that was on Monday or Tuesday and I left the US on Wednesday and have been traveling around Barcelona since then it has been difficult to follow up with them to see if it had been done. More on that later.

So back to the routine. When we arrived at Terminal 2 it was about 9:15 a.m. I had originally made my reservation with Welcome Pickups for 9:00 a.m. before RCI told us to arrive around 10:45 a.m. (my original boarding time was for 10:00). When we arrived at 9:15 there were indeed passengers still disembarking from Wonder and would continue to do so for the next 45 minutes. The stevedores were just starting to pull out the big rolling luggage bins to the far right. The entrance to the terminal is on the far left if you are looking at it as you approach from the taxi stand. You hand off your luggage in the middle area and then move to the left to get in the line to enter the terminal. We were about 25th or 30th in line, so not bad at all.

once they let you inside the building you need your boarding docs and passport in hand. You go through the security scanner, then you go to show your boarding pass and take your picture and then we were given boarding group numbers. We were in boarding group #3. We were allowed to go into the duty free shopping area before boarding the ship and before they called our boarding groups. I'll post some pictures of what you can find inside. We waited about 15 minutes (until about 11:00) and then we were allowed to start boarding with boarding groups 1-5. It was a huge exodus of people. We did stop to take our embarkation photo which I'm glad we did since that put us in a break between that first group and the next group because the next thing we saw was the Wonder as we exited the building. I had been hoping we were going to board from the back of the ship since the view is so much better there, but since we were boarding from Terminal B that means from the front, so not so great. In any event, we moved along and boarded the ship and it already seemed packed. All the noise noise noise! This was when crazy woman took over.

I dragged my poor roommate up to the Boardwalk to the Aquatheater so we could find our muster station to get checked in. I didn't see the people who would do the checking in, but my roommate did, so we went over and we THOUGHT that the young man we were speaking to was checking us in. In reality all he was doing was talking to us about the muster station. He did nothing to actually check us in. I should've known better, but crazy woman wasn't paying attention. Then crazy woman tried to find Izumi to check on the dinner reservations but couldn't find it after walking the entire length of deck 4. Now crazy woman wanted to eat lunch at Solarium Grill, but after dragging my roommate all the way up there we find out that it has been taken over by those Pesky Pinnacles ;o) so crazy woman drags her roommate off to Cafe Promenade. Meanwhile poor roommate with the torn meniscus and fighing a migraine just wants to find someplace quiet where she can sit down and eat in peace. Finally crazy woman goes up to the Suite Lounge and discovers that lunch will be served at 11:30 (in 10 minutes time) so she goes downstairs, gathers up poor roommate and carryons and brings her to the safe haven of the Suite Lounge where all is tranquil (until later that afternoon when crazy woman will return).
We had a lovely lunch with our server Arvin. We had starters of Split Pea Soup, Caesar Salad and Scallops. It was quiet with soft music. There was no thumping music. There was no yelling. It was very civilized. I didn't realize how noisy cruising can be.

So by now it was close to 1:00 and we were able to go to our cabin and oh, it was a joy. We are in our first suite ever. We have an Owner's Suite and it is simply beautiful and the storage is incredible. We have a dining area, a living area with a sofa bed, two chairs a coffee table and a larget TV, a bedroom with 2 twin beds, a walk-in closet/changing area and a large bathroom with a separate shower and bath tub. Oh, and a massive balcony with a round table with 4 chairs, a lounger and a chair with an ottoman.
While we waited for our luggage we both ended up taking naps which was a first. Pam on the couch and me out on the lounger. Next thing I know she's opening the balcony door letting me know that our luggage had arrived along with our suite attendant Lystra. She explained her schedule, we requested that the bed be split into the two twins and she said she would take care of that later and then left. We then started unpacking since it is always my preference to be completely unpacked before dinner. I just want it done and don't want to deal with it after dinner and all the excitement that generally comes afterwards. When we got to the big luggage I let Pam do hers and I went down a deck to the Suite Lounge to see the Suite Concierges about my dinner reservations since they were now working. Crazy woman was about to return albeit in a bit more subdued tired manner.

At the desk I spoke with Kenny with whom I had originally emailed my request. He started checking and after awhile responded that apparently the dining staff had never entered my requests for specialty dining. He said he would take care of it for me, but that it would take time and that he would try to get me what I had originally requested A WEEK EARLIER. Seriously, what is the use of a suite concierge if they can't follow up on these kinds of things? Right now I'm not particularly impressed with them.

I returned to the cabin where I finished unpacking and since there was now no time to change in time for dinner I simply brushed my hair and we were off to Coastal Kitchen. Once again we were seated with Arvin. Now I had heard that we could order off of the Main Dining Room menu in Coastal Kitchen. I wasn't particularly impressed with the menu tonight in Coastal Kitchen and they were having my favorite Prime Rib in the MDR. So I asked Arvin if he could get that for me. He looked surprised but he said he would check. In a short amount of time he came back and said yes, he could get it for me and so I ordered it. Pam just ordered the regular chicken breast off the CK menu and some roasted tomato soup. She wasn't particularly impressed with the chicken breast later on and she said the tomato soup was rather acidic which was unfortunate. My prime rib, however, was divine. Both of them were. You see Arvin brought me not just one, but two prime ribs of beef ;o) My plate was drowning in prime rib ;o) My only complaint was that he then proceded to drown my prime rib in brown gravy rather than au jus. Oh well. It was still delicious.

We were both pretty pooped after dinner but we still wanted to take a walk and do some shopping. Boy was that depressing. There is only one port shop and it is the smallest port shop I think I've ever seen on a Royal Caribbean ship. Pam is so depressed at the thought of so little shopping onboard this ship for the next two weeks. I don't know what she's going to do.

Since the ship left port whilst we were at dinner and we had a perfect view from Coastal Kitchen, there wasn't much to see once we returned to the cabin. Our beds had been turned down whilst we were away so it was simply time for our showers and then off to bed. It had been the end of a long day and an extremely long four year wait. I'm hopeful that as this cruise progresses that we will continue to shed more of the depression and angst and all the other baggage we've carried with us during the last two years of Covid. Tomorrow we will be at Palma de Mallorca.

Teeara · November 6, 2022

I'm going to try to get the missing journal entries posted ASAP since those are on my Kindle and I've finally got my Kindle working with CC (yay!) and then I'll come back and add all the photos since my iPhone is finally working with CC (yay!). It has been a nightmarish week trying to connect onboard with CC. I just couldn't get online no matter what I tried on either device. Thanks for your patience everyone. My first week on the cruise was not the best. It is finally starting to get better. Unfortunately we had some difficulties as you will see (Valencia was simply horrible for us and I totally lost my cool, so my apologies in advance to anyone who witnessed my breakdown here on the ship). I guess two years of pent up Covid tension has been building up and certainly has been needing to be released. I've had 3 massages here onboard the ship so far and the 2 ladies who have given them have said it totally shows. Wish I had won that massive lottery. I would've been set for life for daily massages ;o)

Teeara · November 6, 2022

Monday, October 31, 2022 - Palma de Mallorca

Today we were in Palma de Mallorca. It was a hazy kind of day. I had watched a video on YouTube that a woman had done showing the importance of taking the shuttle from the port because the downtown area is several miles from the cruise ship terminal. It's no joke. It cost 10 Euros round trip per person and was worth every Euro. The "shuttle" was a regular bus and it dropped us off across the street from La Catedral. You can't miss it. It's the biggest church on the waterfront and is absolutely gorgeous. It was also pretty much the only thing we wanted to see in Palma today.

We grabbed a quick breakfast in the Windjammer today and watched a ship next to us offload a bunch of semi-trucks. That was loads of fun. Gangway was open at 8:30, but I think it was open a little early and we walked off with no lines. As we disembarked from the back of the ship we turned to the right and went towards the terminal ahead of us on the left. Inside on the left we bought our RT shuttle tickets for 10 Euros at a table before heading outside to board the bus.

It takes about 15-20 minutes to get to the drop off point depending on traffic. It's a pretty smooth ride with the marina on the right side and a bunch of shops, highrise hotels and restaurants on the left. Again, you have go get through the port area first which is a long walk and then it is a very long walk to get to the old town so it is definitely NOT worth wasting your time walking. Just pay the money and take the shuttle.

Since we've been studying YouTube videos of the area in the years leading up to this cruise, we knew what we were looking for and what to expect. So we enjoyed our leisurely walk to the gardens outside of La Catedral and then a quick look-see and the pool inside the gated area before climbing the stairs that leads up to the area below the cathedral. We stopped for many photos and Pam even spotted what looked like a nun peeking out an upper window looking down at the construction that was going on below.

We enjoyed our time with relatively few people outside the church and in the close town streets. The doors to the cathedral doors were open, although the gate in front of it was locked shut, and we could hear singing inside. The carriage drivers were getting their horses ready for the day's business of ferrying tourists around the narrow cobblestoned lanes while the street vendors were busy laying out their various bags, hats, and tchochkes on blankets. An occasional taxi or car would drive down the narrow street or in one instance a skinny truck followed by a leather clad motorcylist appeared from an alleyway that seemed almost too narrow to allow anything with four, much less than two, wheels.
Since many of the stores were still in the process of opening, we decided to keep walking and make note of anything that looked interesting as well as to keep note of the street names. Again, having watched several YouTube videos, we were somewhat fmiliar with the geography of the area. Once we had decided we had gone as far as we had wanted to go we decided to turn around and work our way back.

Palma de Mallorca is known for, obviously, Mallorcan pearls. It wasn't that big of a deal to get some, but if I found some I liked I figured I would buy myself some and I did. Actually, I bought several. We stopped off at the PerlArt museum learning about Mallorcan pearls (it was free) and of course it leads you into their store. They had a lot of beautiful pieces at various prices from as low as $29 to pieces in the thousands of dollars. But there was a lot of pieces that were under $100 that were gorgeous. I bought a ring there as did Pam.

We bought some postcards (of course) and one of those cute angel votives that whirl when a candle is lit. I used to love those when I was a kid. This one is a metal votive with a nativity scene on the outside and several angels floating above. We love Christmas so this will make an excellent addition to our massive collection.

Our last stop was another Mallorcan pearl store. It was the first store we passed as we left La Catedral. They had the most beautiful pearl earrings in green, purplish and grey colors. My favorites. They were 20 Euros each. So I bought them all. I couldn't pass them up. I can wear them with practically everything I own.

Then it was time to head back to the ship. I had a Thai Herbal Poultice Massage scheduled for 3pm and it was 12:30 at this point. We caught the shuttle and were glad to get back to the ship's air conditioning. It had warmed up while we were gone and the humidity was rising a bit as well.
We had lunch in the Windjammer. I had the Beef Shwarma and the Falafel Shwarma (not as good as what I've had in Israel or Boston, but when I see it I get it). Pam had a hot dog. We both had chocolate mousse and what they called a chocolate lollypop. So far the coffee in the Windjammer has been the best so far onboard the ship. Coastal Kitchen has been a massive failure for us.

My Thai Herbal Poultice Massage was not a failure. It was divine, albeit a bit of pain mixed with pleasure. My technician was Joy and she was phenomenal. Her hands were so incredibly strong. Her elbows, too. The hot oil followed by the cool lotion and then the heated herbal poultices pounded and kneaded into my sore and aching muscles. There have been a lot of new train operators on the MBTA on Boston's commuter rail which means a lot of jerky trains and that takes it's toll on my aging body. Not to mention carrying around a heavy purse or wearing snow boots, 3 layers of clothing, a 10 pound backpack with computer and lunch. I'm getting too old for this. Add to that the stress of Covid and this cruise and I have a lot of tension in my neck, shoulders and back. Again, I'm getting too old for this.
Anyway, the massage was great, but it ran late and I barely made it back to my cabin to change my clothes, run a comb through my hair so we could head to the front of the ship for our first specialty dining at Hooked, the seafood place.

I had the salad, the Captain's platter and the lemon tart. Pam had the salad, the salmon and the coconut cream pie. We both had a glass of Chateau St. Michelle Rose and a capuccino. We were served cheese biscuits that were spicy. Meh. The salad had peppers in them even though they weren't listed in the ingredients on the menu. Pam's salmon and my shrimp were coated in salt. Yuck. And the chef put 2 pieces of popcorn on Pam's half of the lemon tart (we did halvsies). What the heck??? I know it's Halloween, but ???? Anyway, we were less than impressed.

So tonight is Halloween and I did bring a dinosaur costume and I was sooooo excited about it. I was going to wear it tonight. Until I saw someone else wearing one. And now I'm really depressed and sad. So I'm not wearing it and I'm not at the Halloween party and I'm in my cabin writing this instead. I lost all interest in the party and quite frankly, after my massage I'm really tired.

Some might say, suck it up and go. But you have to understand that getting on this cruise has been a very traumatic time for a lot of us. Were we going to be able to go? Would it be canceled? Would we get Covid right before boarding and not be allowed on the ship? Many of us are a bit shell shocked in a sense. For some of us this might be our first cruise since Covid hit and it's a scary time. For others of us we've had so many cruises canceled that we've lost count (yeah, I wish I could be you, but then again, maybe not). We all have issues that we're dealing with. One of the things I felt today was when Joy was massaging my scalp and I felt like she was massaging all the stress and sadness and fear away, although it still clung to me in my now oily hair. It would still take time to wash it away, but it would eventually wash away. But it would take time.

Teeara · November 6, 2022

Tuesday, November 1, 2022 - Valencia, Spain

I swear I am having a good time on this cruise. But there are days and times that really work my last nerve and today not only worked my last nerve but apparently worked quite a few other cruisers last nerves as well, so I know I am not alone. I am enjoying seeing Spain, but there are times that the way the things work in Spain leave much to be desired and today Valencia received a major failing grade. Spain isn't alone. Royal Caribbean shares much of the blame in a big way, too.

Our original plan today was a simple one. Catch a cab and go to the City of Arts and Sciences complex and just walk around and enjoy the architecture of the complex. It's a beautiful design with different buildings and areas to enjoy with an aquarium, gardens, an astronomy complex and a reflecting pool as well as acres of walking paths. Had Pam been in better health I might have suggested that we simply walk there. We had seen some YouTube videos of folks who had done it so we knew it could be done, but she simply is unable to do that at this time.

Royal Caribbean had given us the Cruise Compass the night before. This is verbatim from it: "Complimentary buses are provided to the Cruise ship terminal building, walking on the pier is also allowed distance is around 2.4 km (1.5 mi.). Guests are allowed to walk from the terminal building into the town, however the shuttle is recommended. It is provided by local operatos and costs 10 euros rountrip per person (cash only). It takes around 30-40 minutes and shuttle runs 20-30 minutes. The last shuttle from town is at 4:30 p.mm. The drop off location is at the Old Town, Calle Guadalaviar, 5."

Nearly everyone I spoke to assumed that you took the free shuttle to the cruise ship terminal building where you would then board the 10 euro bus into town. When we disembarked the ship there were two yellow free shuttle buses waiting to be filled. There was one of the grey 10 euro buses there at the pier, but the dock worker said they had no idea when another would be there and that we should go on the free shuttle bus to catch more at the drop off point. There was also a line of people off to the side who were waiting for non-existent taxis.

So we boarded the free yellow bus. It took us through the port, out of the port and then over to another pier where there was a Mein-Schiff cruise ship docked and another grey bus across from the ship. People were boarding the bus. We all got off the bus and went to get on the grey bus since it looked just like the grey bus that had been at our pier. That's when we found out that it was a tour bus for the Mein-Schiff cruise ship. We went back to our bus driver and asked where is our bus to pick up. He said he had no idea. Go talk to the girl across the street in the yellow vest. We did. She said she worked for Mein-Schiff and she had no idea. This is when crazy woman returned. I've had it at this point. I go back to our yellow bus as our driver is about to leave and flag him down and make him open the door. We board the bus and I tell him we're going back to the ship. I'm done. Seriously, I'm done. I'm watching people milling around all over the place with no idea what to do, where to go, looking like lost sheep. I'm furious for them, for me, with Royal, with the Valencians, with whomever was supposed to organize this and failed to do so.

We get back to the ship. Now there is another of those grey 10 euro buses there. We could've boarded it and gone to the Old Town, but at that point, I don't trust Valencia. I don't the bus company. And I don't trust Royal Caribbean. Pam was tired and hot and I was tired and hot. But the fun wasn't over. Oh no. Not by a long shot.

So we have to go through security now to reboard the ship. So we go to the security tent and find ourselves behind a group of about 10 people with a mound of luggage. They had MIA luggage tags, so they came from Miami. Anyway, there was a LOT of trouble scanning their luggage. There was problems with every single piece of luggage. And every single piece had to be opened. Meanwhile, passengers started arriving and piling up behind us. The first to arrive was a woman who had been out since first thing in the morning. When we told her our story she said we didn't miss much. She said there wasn't much to see. We told her it was a holiday in Valencia today (she didn't know that, but she said that would explain some things). Then a couple showed up and their experience pretty much mimicked our experience except the husband was in a wheelchair so theirs was a bit more difficult than ours.

We stood in that line for about 30 minutes while they continued to work on those other people's luggage. There was another security station 30 feet away. No one opened it even though there were other people standing around. Then 6 young men showed up with luggage and they immediately jumped into action opening up that security station to let them onboard because they were crew. Well wouldn't you know it, a bunch of other passengers simply followed them into the security line and got screened, too. We were stuck behind a barrier and had to wait for another security guy to come and open it up so we could get out so we could join the new line. Meanwhile, the woman at the original scanner started yelling at him for letting us do that. Seriously? Now we're a security hazard? We've been waiting patiently for 30 minutes and you've done nothing to speed things up but you let a bunch of line jumpers go to a new line and expect us to accept that? Really???

So yeah, Valencia, I'm not impressed. Royal Caribbean, I'm not impressed. You really dropped the ball today. HUGE error on your part. You should've said flat out that if we need to get into the Old Town that we should take the 10 euro bus from the pier and that we didn't need to take the free yellow bus at all. That would've saved us all from a LOT of angst and anger and wasted time, effort and lost revenue to the city of Valencia. I had money to spend and now it will be spent it Cartagena and Malaga instead of Valencia. What a waste.

So we ended up spending the rest of the day on the Suite Sun Deck since we couldn't spend it on our balcony which was fully exposed to the sun. As I think I mentioned before, when we had originally booked this cruise on Allure, I had book a starboard cabin. On a westbound TA from Europe to the US, the starboard (right) side gets less sun than the port (left) side does. When they switched us from Allure to Wonder, they switched us from a starboard to a port side cabin, so our cabin now gets sun nearly all day long which for us sucks. Neither of us can spend a lot of time in the sun since we both burn easily. So it's very frustrating to have this beautiful big balcony and we can't use it as much as we had originally planned. Again, I'm not happy with Royal Caribbean today.

We had dinner in Coastal Kitchen tonight with Arvin and it was very nice to watch the sun set and leave Valencia (which still made me mad at the lost opportunities). I still hope to return one day, but maybe not on a cruise so I have more control over my travel circumstances. Anyway, tomorrow is Cartagena. Hopefully it will be better than today.

Teeara · November 6, 2022

Wednesday, November 2, 2022 - Cartagena, Spain

I have to say that I've been really pleased with the motion on Wonder so far. Being all the way up on deck 18 there hasn't been a super lot of motion (so far) here in the Mediterranean. We obviously go faster late at night when everyone is asleep, but there have been a couple of nights where I haven't bothered to wear my SeaBands which has been very nice for me. We'll see how we do when we start the crossing. I will probably have to wear them then, but until that time arrives I will enjoy not having to wear them.

We woke up early this morning to a beautifuly rosy sky. I went outside to take some pictures and although the pictures were very pretty it sure was stinky outside. Not sure why. I couldn't wait to get back inside.

We didn't have much planned for Cartagena today. There were some Roman ruins I wanted to see, but I thought they were too far away for us to see. We needed to be back onboard the ship by 2pm since Pam and I had Swedish massages at 3pm today.

We were going to get off the ship early, but after doing a Google search I discovered that nothing opened until 10 am, so I let Pam take a nap until 10 and then we got off the ship. Thankfully we were able to just walk into town. We were also only a 15 minute walk to the Roman amphitheater. We had to wait in line for about 20 minutes in order to buy our tickets, but once we did we were able to view the museum before heading out to the amphitheater. It was really cool to see it, although it was much smaller than those I saw in both Caesarea and Beit Shean in Israel and in worse condition.

Afterwards we walked down Calle Mayor and looked in some stores looking for postcards (not very impressive). Pam found a little Greek plate that she liked and when we popped into a tiny home goods store we found two cute little turkeys made out of pinecones that we simply had to have. Who would've thought that we would find some Thanksgiving items in Spain? Go figure. Anyway, Pam was getting tired, the bugs were attacking her and it was getting hot and humid so it was time to return to the ship.

We stopped off at the Suite Lounge for some little Egg Salad Sandwiches and grapes as a light snack before our massages. We didn't want to eat too much before them.

Pam disappeared with her gal (who was also a physical therapist off ship) and I went with my gal who worked on me. I added on the hot stones (ahhhh...). We're switching my bamboo massage to the Himalayan Salt Scrub later this week.

Since we knew that we would be late returning to the cabin and wouldn't make it to dinner on time, we canceled our Coastal Kitchen dinner reservations for tonight. Instead we went to Playmakers. Pam had a burger. I had a chicken sandwich. We shared an onion ring tower. We both had a delightful fruity rum drink. Then we strolled the Royal Promenade where I bought a Larimar ring and then we stopped off at Cafe Promenade for chocolate chip and lemon cookies and hot tea to bring back to the room. It's almost 11 now. We'll sleep in to 7:30 tomorrow. It will be out last port of call at Malaga before we hit the open sea for the next 8 days. Gulp.

Teeara · November 6, 2022

Thursday, November 3, 2022 - Malaga, Spain

Today was our last port day prior to our transatlantic crossing which means our last time to stretch our legs on land. It's a daunting thought and one that freaks some people out. To think of all that water beneath you and no land nearby can really mess with your head. I choose not to do so.

So today we enjoyed Malaga. Of course we weren't able to enjoy it the way we had hoped to due to Pam's ongoing injury. Our dream had been to go up to the Gibralfaro Castle then walk down to the Alcazaba then down to the Roman Theater, but with her torn meniscus, Pam has a hard time walking down hills so that was definitely out of the question. So instead we took the port bus into town and walked a short way into town. We were able to visit the outside of the Malaga Cathedral which was beautiful and we took many pictures there. We walked around a bit and then returned to where the bus had dropped us off.

We had watched several YouTube videos and we really liked the area around the port. There were lots of booths and stalls that showed arts and crafts vendors and restaurants and we wanted to explore those on our way back to the ship. Since it was a 1.5 mile walk back to the ship we took it slow and stopped often to give Pam's leg a rest. I purchased a bowl that had some ridges inside that allows you to shred the food item, such as tomatoes and garlic. I had seen them mentioned during my research and I could certainly use one at home. It was only 15 euros, so a good purchase for me. We stopped at a small store at another segment of the walk and Pam bought two posters. One that I liked with Churros Con Chocolat and another of Costa Del Sol with the beach and umbrellas. We really preferred a pink one with Malaga on it but it was sold out. We were disappointed, but we like the other two we got. I also got a bunch of postcards of course. We stopped for lunch at a Greek place. Pam had chicken gyros and I had dolmades. The food was good. The service was less than ideal.

We finished our walk to the ship with plenty of time to spare. It was windy and not too hot during our walk. Actually, we could've used a very light sweater, like our Magellan sweaters. Those would've been perfect for the trip.

So we returned to the ship, dropped off our treasures, grabbed our magazines and went to Cafe Promenade for some tea and cookies. We hung out there for about an hour before returning to the room where Pam took a nap for a few hours and I read magazines.

We finally started to leave port close to 6:00. I went out to shoot some video and was intrigued by the antics of a score of birds in the air all around the ship. Darn birds pooped on our clean deck! Grrr! Anyway, it took us about 20 minutes to fully leave the port and the sky was spectacular. It looked like a volcano was erupting in the sky. It was simply the most amazing thing I've ever seen in the sky. God is spectacular.

So we went down to the Windjammer for dinner. We ran into Deb while we were there. She reminded us we were missing the parade (there will be more) which also reminded me that there was also going to be the 2 for $20 tee shirt sale tonight and I know Pam likes those. So we did that after dinner on the Promenade. Then it was back to the cabin where I've been working on this journal entry and Pam is on her phone. She just informed me that there is a hurricane in the Caribbean (Hurricane Lisa), but it won't affect us at all. The ship is rocking already. Not sure how fast she's going but she's going fast right now. She's moving smooth, though. I have to say I am impressed with her, this Wonder of the Seas. We'll see how impressed I am once we hit the open ocean and I'm up here on Deck 18.

Teeara · November 6, 2022

Friday, November 4, 2022 - At Sea off of Marrakech, Morocco

Today was our first day at sea. We left Malaga last night and we sped so quickly past Gibralter that I totally missed it (not that I would've noticed it since our cabin is on the African side of the ship, not the Spanish side). So we were able to see Africa from our cabin as we passed through the Strait of Gibralter. There were several ships going into the Mediterranean as we were passing out of it. Once through it we picked up speed again and the ship was hauling once more.

We slept pretty well all night. Unfortunately my snoring kept both Pam and myself awake at different times. It's pretty bad when I wake myself up snoring. So around 6 a.m. I got up and came into the living room and spent the rest of the "night" on the couch until 7:30 when the alarm went off. Going forward we will alternate nights sleeping on the couch. The couch actually is pretty comfortable but we'll see how well Pam does on it since she's so much taller than I am. Of course the beds are pretty short, too, so it might be a crap shoot in either event for her. In either event we can at least close the bedroom door and she can get some relief from my nocturnal noises. I know she can't wait to get back home to her own bed and her own floor of the house where she isn't disturbed by my snoring.
So since we didn't have to worry about getting off at any ports today we had a leisurely breakfast at Coastal Kitchen with our Arvin (who is from Mauritius). We love teasing him and he teases us right back. We both had french toast for breakfast but it was a bit of a disappointment since there was no bacon or sausage with it. I guess if it doesn't say on the menu that it comes with it, then it doesn't come with it. Sheesh! It wasn't even an option.

We had the Crown & Anchor appreciation meeting at the AquaTheater this morning at 11:45 and it was Pam's first one. We stopped off at our cabin to grab our RCI warm hoodies since we were going to be outside and it was cooler and windy. We also stopped off at Cafe Promenade to get some hot tea to take with us. So we bypassed the free champagne and rum runners (which I usually like to have, but with this little head cold I have would be a bad idea) and took our seats in the middle of the AquaTheater. Perfect seats and no one sat in front of me thanks to Pam's strategic placement of her cane on the seatback in front of me ;o)

Afterwards it was off to the Music Hall for our Cruise Critic Meet & Greet and we had a fantastic turn out. We had 189 people signed up for it, but I think about 100 people actually turned up for it which isn't bad considering that no one received a reminder about it and that it was one the 5th day of our cruise. But everyone was so incredibly kind and friendly. I really missed being able to sit and chitchat with everyone that I wanted to which was a bummer for me.

After the Meet & Mingle we had the Cabin Crawl and that was a huge hit. We had four groups and everyone throughly enjoyed looking at all the different cabins. I saw some cabins I've never seen before and also shot a lot of video during the it so I hope to be able to use it on my YouTube channel, The Empty Armchair.

After the festivities Pam and I went back down to the Cafe Promenade so I could grab something to eat since I hadn't had any lunch. We had little turkey and bacon sandwiches with tomato on focaccia that were very yummy and some key lime cream puffs that were to die for. Mmmmmmmm!!!! Then it was back to the cabin to watch the first half of "South Pacific" before getting ready for formal night at Coastal Kitchen.

Tonight for dinner I had the Iceberg Wedge Salad (my favorite) and the Roasted Pork Loin with carmelized apples that was superb. Pam had the Caesar Salad and the Roasted Pork Loin too. We skipped dessert since we wanted to go downstairs to have our photo taken with the captain.

Then we just went back to the cabin for a quiet evening. We were hoping for another old movie, but there were showing one of the new Planet of the Apes movies which we had no interest in and we stumbled upon an episode of the new Star Trek Discovery TV series which we've never seen and we were pleasantly surprised. We really enjoyed it. Then it was time to run down to the Windjammer for a quick dessert before they closed and then showers. Pam's taking hers now as I'm finishing up this journal entry.

Tonight is our first night we get to set our clocks back one hour. When we came back from dinner there was a little card on my bed that reads "We're traveling back in time. There's a time change tonight, so don't forget to turn your clocks one hour back to stay on ship's time." For some reason this afternoon my phone started showing "Chicago" time. Don't ask me why I don't know why. So I switched it to Marrakech time (which is why I have today's location as Marrakech) since that is the same time as ship's time. In order to turn our clocks one hour back tomorrow, we will be close to Funchal, Madeira. So that is what my phone is now set for. Anyway, I'm really looking forward to that extra hour of sleep. See you tomorrow!

Teeara · November 6, 2022

Saturday, November 5, 2022 - At sea off Funchal, Madeira

This morning we woke up to a gorgeous sunrise and rolling seas. We are starting to feel the heavy rolling swells that the captain told us to expect tomorrow at sea. Anyway, all I can say is, whoever invented SeaBands was a genius and a big "Thank You!!!" to you.

So Pam slept on the couch last night while I slept in the bedroom. She said it was a bit on the warm side for her with the comforter so she turned the heat down. I was warm in the bedroom, but still had the comforter on. She also didn't fix her phone properly for the moving the clock back so we woke up an hour early. Oh well. We'll get that fixed for tonight since we'll have to do it again.

We had breakfast at the Windjammer this morning and then we were off to the Royal Theater this morning for two seminars. The first one was on "Searching for Life in the Universe" part 1 of 2 by Jose J. Lopez Moreno from Granada, Spain. He discussed our galaxy and how other galaxies could hold other galaxies similar to ours and what is necessary in order to have earth-like solar systems and how they search for them. The second seminar was "The Many Secrets to Smart Phone Photography" by Master Photography Alan M. Feldman. He gave several tips and tricks to taking great photos with your phone. These two gentlemen are going to give followup seminars together on Monday, so we will be seeing them again.

I was supposed to have my Bamboo massage today, but we changed it to the Himalayan Salt treatment that was recommended by Sailu, my Swedish Massage masseuse. It was 100 minutes long and was very nice.

The one surprise today was once again finding that our dining reservations were messed up. When I was adding the seminars to the Royal App, I discovered that there was a dinner reservation at 150 Central Park listed at 6:00 tonight. But according to the paperwork given to me the other night by Kenny the Suite Concierge, we have 150 Central Park reserved for Monday night, Day 9, at 5:30. We're supposed to be at Coastal Kitchen tonight at 5:30. And when he had given me the paperwork I had specifically asked him to double check to make sure that all the reservations were correct and he assured me that they were. So at 4:30 when the Suite Concierges were back on duty I reached out and Jorge answered the phone and I asked him if I had a reservation at 150 Central Park tonight at 6pm or not. He said yes. I said I wasn't supposed to based upon the above. I told him we would go tonight, but seriously, this is getting ridiculous. Again, sorry guys, but so far you're not passing my class.

So we went to 150 Central Park for dinner. The food was excellent. So we both had the Roasted Spiced Pumpkin Bisque as our Appetizer. When they bring it out to you it's a bowl of what looks like fancy sour cream inside. Pam's response is "what's this???" It's white and where's her pumpkin soup? Our server poured the soup into the bowl on top of the white stuff which is creme fraiche. It's a fancy touch and she said everyone has the same response when they get their bowls. But it was so silky smooth and I really wanted to dunk my bread into it and sop up every bit of soup onto the bread, but this isn't that type of restaurant so I refrained from ... hey! is that Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck out there in Central Park?!!! (sop sop sop)

Our next course was the Pan-Seared Veal Medallions with Potato Mash, Organic Vegetables and Madeira Sauce. Everything was so incredibly tender and juicy with a beautiful presentation. I'm sorry that there are no photos of this delicious dinner. We were seated next to another couple that I just didn't feel comfortable enough dragging out the camera to do the photo shoot thing with each course. And since I also hadn't eaten since breakfast I was also pretty ravenous and rather hungry so you can just picture it all in your mind as I take the first bite which I can honestly say was deeeelicious.

Our final course was dessert and the best cappuccino of the trip so far. We ordered the Peanut Butter Chocolate Tart with Carmelized Walnuts and Black Currant Sorbet and I have to say that the thing that made this dessert sing was truly the Black Currant Sorbet. It was the most unique flavor combination I think I've ever had. The peanut butter part and the chocolate part weren't overpowering at all. Everything blended so smoothly and the crust of the tart was so nice and crisp. It was truly a lovely end to an extremely pleasant meal. If you haven't eaten at 150 Central Park on an Oasis class ship, please do so and definitely try this dessert. It was wonderful.

So after dinner we rolled out of Central Park and walked around a little bit. The seas were starting to get a little bit rollier. The captain had informed us that tomorrow was going to be our "roughest" day. We went back to the cabin and had a quiet evening. Tonight is my night on the couch (remember, we're alternating nights on the couch since I'm snoring so bad apparently and I want my poor roommate to get some sleep). Hopefully with the doors to the bedroom closed she won't hear me in the living room.

Teeara · November 6, 2022

Barcelona port from Montjuic:

Teeara · November 6, 2022

If you’re in Barcelona and looking for something new to do, check out the maritime museum that is at the bottom of Las Ramblas by the Columbus Monument. We had a blast there.

Teeara · November 6, 2022

Embarkation Day!!!

All of our luggage made it to Spain! So the trolleys are on the right. The entrance to the terminal is on the left. In the middle is where people will be disembarking from the previous week’s cruise.

Teeara · November 6, 2022

This is the Barcelona Terminal B Duty Free Shopping Area after you have gone through security, checked in and are sitting in the waiting area to board the ship. Once they start boarding the ship you will go through this area. If they have not yet started boarding, you CAN go in here and do some shopping. Just make sure you know what your boarding number is.

Teeara · November 6, 2022

Boarding Wonder!

Coastal Kitchen boarding day lunch menu:

Split Pea Soup:

Caesar Salad:

I shot video on embarkation day of our cabin, but I took photos yesterday while we were at sea. Here is our Owner’s Suite 1832:

Teeara · November 6, 2022

Palma de Mallorca:

The drop off spot for the shuttle bus:

Looking back at Wonder:

A rare picture of me (since I’m usually the one taking the pictures 😉😁):

As we prepare to cross the street approaching La Catedral. You will then walk towards the left in order to access the stairs that will lead up to it and the town behind it with the shopping and restaurants.

Follow this big pool to the left and you’ll see the entrance to some gardens straight ahead. To the right of the gardens are 3 arches which are the photo after this one.

To access the stairs to La Catedral you go through these arches on the right and stairs are immediately on the left.

Here I have stepped down into the arches and have turned to face right towards the gateway in the distance leading towards the stairs to the left leading upwards to La Catedral.

Before climbing the stairs to La Catedral, spend a few moments enjoying this pool.

Here’s where we saw the nun peeking out the window:

This place was gorgeous:

Pam taking a rest:

Wonder in the distance:

A bit of perspective. That’s Pam by the sign.

They’ve started decorating for Christmas:

The front of the church:

Our Christmas votive we bought:

Teeara · November 6, 2022

Hooked:

Cheddar biscuits:

Looking down into the Solarium Bistro which has been reserved entirely for Pinnacles during the TA:

Pam

The salad with way too many peppers:

The Captain’s Platter with too much salt:

Lemon Tart and Coconut Cream Pie slices that we shared:

Tonight’s moon shot:

The-Inside-Cabin · November 6, 2022

7 hours ago, Teeara said:

Tuesday, November 1, 2022 - Valencia, Spain

Nearly everyone I spoke to assumed that you took the free shuttle to the cruise ship terminal building where you would then board the 10 euro bus into town. When we disembarked the ship there were two yellow free shuttle buses waiting to be filled. There was one of the grey 10 euro buses there at the pier, but the dock worker said they had no idea when another would be there and that we should go on the free shuttle bus to catch more at the drop off point. There was also a line of people off to the side who were waiting for non-existent taxis.

Wow! What a day!....we dodged a bullet and had a pretty smooth day. We signed up for the Spain Day Tour to Sagundo and Valencia. Spain Day Tours said take the yellow bus to the terminal where we would get on the Spain Day Bus.

When We got off the ship - the Yellow Bus was the only one available and when it stopped out Spain Day bus was right there.

On the way back our Spain Day Bus took us directly to the Cruise Terminal and there was no delay for security around 4:30 or so....

crewsweeper · November 6, 2022

Thanks for all the followup. Yes a number of us were "locked out" of CC as there appeared to be server problems. Not user problems.

Appreciate the tip on Valencia pier. Love the pictures. and the description of the dessert on the 150 Central menu. On my list for April.

Teeara · November 6, 2022

2 hours ago, The-Inside-Cabin said:

Wow! What a day!....we dodged a bullet and had a pretty smooth day. We signed up for the Spain Day Tour to Sagundo and Valencia. Spain Day Tours said take the yellow bus to the terminal where we would get on the Spain Day Bus.

When We got off the ship - the Yellow Bus was the only one available and when it stopped out Spain Day bus was right there.

On the way back our Spain Day Bus took us directly to the Cruise Terminal and there was no delay for security around 4:30 or so....

I'm so glad you were able to get off with no problems! Those Spain Day Tours people are simply the best people. So incredibly helpful and organized. I'm following your thread, too, so post some pix there!

Teeara · November 6, 2022

2 hours ago, crewsweeper said:

Thanks for all the followup. Yes a number of us were "locked out" of CC as there appeared to be server problems. Not user problems.

Appreciate the tip on Valencia pier. Love the pictures. and the description of the dessert on the 150 Central menu. On my list for April.

Oh my gosh, that dessert was insanely delicious. It was beyond what we were expecting. Seriously, you must order it. We both will probably be talking about that dessert for years to come it was so freaking good. And make sure you get it with some coffee or something warm. You will need it. Yum!

Teeara · November 6, 2022

Sunday, November 6, 2022 - At sea off of Ponta Delgada, Azores

Well, the heavy swells have arrived as the captain predicted a few days ago. Egads! Although it sure doesn't look like it when you look outside. It looks somewhat smooth, but when you look at the horizon you can see how much we are going uuuuuupppp and dooooowwwwwnnnn....

All night long we were amovin'. I slept pretty well considering. Last night was my turn to sleep on the sofa and it was quite comfortable. I took off all the pillows and put my sheet on top of the cushions to make it less scratchy. I had to turn the room temperature up to 72 since the A/C was just blowing too cold on my head (and if you don't know by now, blowing cold air on my head is a sure fire way to give me a headcold). I woke up at 7:00, 30 minutes before the alarm was supposed to go off, so I went ahead and got up and got ready for the day. But when Pam got up with the alarm I knew something wasn't right. The poor thing was fighting migraine and it wasn't surprising with the rolling of the ship. But she got ready anyway and we went down to the Windjammer for breakfast.

Since we were still pretty early our room hadn't been made up and Pam still wasn't feeling well, so I told her to go back to bed and sleep off her migraine. We have magnets for our doors that let our stewards know whether or not our we are ready to have our cabins cleaned or not, so I put the one on the door that said we were still sleeping so she would not be disturbed.

Then I spent the next few hours working on updating the Cruise Critic LiveStream thread (you're welcome!) with all the journal entries that I had been typing out all the days that I couldn't access Cruise Critic. It sure felt good to be back online again. I sure missed you guys!

One of the things that has quickly become apparent to both of Pam and myself during this cruise is that we really haven't been that motivated to explore the ship. Every time we go out it's just too noisy for us. Or too crowded. Or too cold ;o) We're looking forward to when it warms up a bit so we can finally sit outside. Don't get me wrong. We spent a lot of money on this cabin and we absolutely LOVE it. I heartily recommend an Owner's Suite for this type of cruise. We love sitting in here especially during the afternoon with the curtains open watching the ocean and sky as we sail by and I've taken some incredible photos which I'll be posting in this thread as part of the daily photos.

But I will say this. I really miss not seeing my Cruise Critic buddies! We should've set aside a time to get together at different times during the cruise, not just the Meet & Mingle. I don't know where people are hanging out during the day or evening since I don't know what their interests are. Maybe that's something that we should be discussing on our roll calls as well. It is certainly something that I will keep in mind going forward when I keep my next spreadsheet (hopefully a spring WB Panama Canal cruise in 2024???).

Anyway, back to the day. So Pam eventually woke up early afternoon and she did feel a bit better and we went to the Windjammer for a late lunch, but this meant we would have to cancel our dinner reservations at Coastal Kitchen (no great loss since we weren't impressed with tonight's menu anyway). We went back to the cabin and we both ended up taking naps which I think we both needed.
Then it was back to the Windjammer for a light dinner of salad before returning to Coastal Kitchen to grab some hot water for our nightly tea and heading back to the cabin. This afternoon the Suite Fairy left us a plate of chocolate covered strawberries and a few other treats. Doggonit! I should've taken a picture of that. Oh well. They were right tasty with our tea. Now we're just quietly sitting here at the table. Pam's coloring on her phone (she has an app on her iPhone for that) and I'm doing this journal entry. We'll have to start working on changing the time on our phones again. We gain another hour tonight. Woo hoo! Supposedly the swells are supposed to lessen, too. I wonder if these are related to that storm system that is going to be affecting Southern Florida later this week? It's a mystery...

Teeara · November 7, 2022

Menu at Coastal Kitchen at Valencia:

Spinach Salad

Moroccan-Spiced Chicken Breast

I forgot to take a picture before I dug into it but OMG it was so good. Definitely get it if you have the chance. I’ve got to try to recreate it when I get home.