LIVE! Liberty of the Seas April 28, 2023 to Vision of the Seas May 1, 2023: A side-to-side with Dragon of the Seas

[DragonOfTheSeas]

The ocean was a beautiful color of turquoise today. 
 

 

The taxi driver told us what a slow day it was. He said look at the beach. There’s no one out there. We were the only ship in port and I think people either went to other places or they stayed on the ship.

 

The beach was almost deserted by 1 o’clock. 

Edited May 6, 2023 by DragonOfTheSeas

[DragonOfTheSeas]

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Hello!  Before I begin any other posts I want to upload a few pics from the snorkel trip.  I had some trouble downloading the zip file yesterday.  If I could have moved it in pieces or even picked the pictures I wanted that would be fine.  However, it was 359 pictures zipped to 2.8 GB of data.  I finally got it done last night.  I am actually impressed.  I was not sure the onboard network would handle that. 

 

Here is my proof of life picture for Bonaire.  Sorry I am late.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We saw several turtles.  They nest in this area between May and November.  So, it is still early in the season. 

 

 

I loved all the brightly colorful fish.  They were not concerned with us.  I swam through 2 schools of fish.  It was wild to have them all around me.  I school was of small golden fish.  The other school was black ones.  I wish the photographer had gotten a picture of that.  But, she was not near me at the time. 

 

 

 

[DragonOfTheSeas]

Here are a few more.  

 

 

 

They are doing research on coral and trying to help grow more.  There were 8-12 of these underwater.

 

 

 

. . . and just to prove I was there, here are a couple of pictures of me.  This was during the second of our snorkel drifts.  I was pretty tired by then.  I had even told the group leader i thought I would sit it out.  But, they encouraged me to continue and said they would watch out for me and guide me along if I need it.

 

I had a waist flotation device and I used a pool noodle to keep the top of me afloat.  You can see I am on the top of the water.  I felt perfectly safe.

 

Woodwind takes care of you.  They have body suits and tops if you want to use them.  I used a top. They have face masks with prescription glass so you can see without glasses.  They provide all the snorkel gear, of course.  They also have drinks [hard and soft] and great food.  And they cost less than the ships excursion. Win, win,win!

 

 

[DragonOfTheSeas]

We went to the Park cafe ☕️ got breakfast today for a change.

 

 

Afterwards we found 2 lounges and stayed.  It was really hot 🥵. 
 

 

Then they began to open the roof. 

 

fully open

 

[Stella777]

Following along. Amazing pictures! Thanks for sharing. Did you put on a certain kind of sunscreen because of the coral?

[DragonOfTheSeas]

1 hour ago, Stella777 said:

Following along. Amazing pictures! Thanks for sharing. Did you put on a certain kind of sunscreen because of the coral?

Before we left on the trip, I looked for sunscreen that did not have the additives in it. I can’t remember what they were right now.
 

Woodwinds also had sunscreen for us in case we needed it.

 

it was a really incredible experience. It’s very different from snorkeling when you paddle out from shore. I’ve done that many times, but I’ve only done the drift snorkel twice now.
 

 

[DELTABLUE]

5 hours ago, DragonOfTheSeas said:

Here are a few more.  

 

 

 

They are doing research on coral and trying to help grow more.  There were 8-12 of these underwater.

 

 

 

. . . and just to prove I was there, here are a couple of pictures of me.  This was during the second of our snorkel drifts.  I was pretty tired by then.  I had even told the group leader i thought I would sit it out.  But, they encouraged me to continue and said they would watch out for me and guide me along if I need it.

 

I had a waist flotation device and I used a pool noodle to keep the top of me afloat.  You can see I am on the top of the water.  I felt perfectly safe.

 

Woodwind takes care of you.  They have body suits and tops if you want to use them.  I used a top. They have face masks with prescription glass so you can see without glasses.  They provide all the snorkel gear, of course.  They also have drinks [hard and soft] and great food.  And they cost less than the ships excursion. Win, win,win!

 

 

To pass the time, I frequently do jigsaw puzzles online.  Many of  today's pictures are 'puzzle worthy'!😊

[DragonOfTheSeas]

6 minutes ago, DELTABLUE said:

To pass the time, I frequently do jigsaw puzzles online.  Many of  today's pictures are 'puzzle worthy'!😊

I know, they’re just beautiful. But as you know, I did not take them. I would not have done half as good a job.

 

But the scenery was just so beautiful and amazing. Actually, the pictures are not nearly as vibrant as the coral and the sponges and fish were when we viewed them. Because it was cloudy part of the time the pictures are not as bright. 

[DragonOfTheSeas]

2 hours ago, Stella777 said:

Following along. Amazing pictures! Thanks for sharing. Did you put on a certain kind of sunscreen because of the coral?

I did buy reef safe sunscreen before I left home. 
 

And Woodwind had some if we needed it. 

[DragonOfTheSeas]

Delta— I went by the Park café today after 1 o’clock during what they call afternoon snacks. But it looked to me like a little bit smaller version of the lunch they used to offer they were sandwiches, fruit, desserts, pizza, and a mini salad bar with maybe five or six choices.

 

DH and I are going to go by there tomorrow afternoon and have lunch. Will let you know and I’ll take some pictures.

 

Here are the times for today. I don’t believe these were the same hours that we had for the first to sea days. But we have 40 days in a row, so I’ll be able to check it out.
 

[DragonOfTheSeas]

Yesterday was a beautiful sunset.
 

Going, going, gone!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[DragonOfTheSeas]

We went through the pass between Puerto Rico and the Dominican republic last night about 8 o’clock, and we left the Caribbean and entered into the Atlantic ocean.
 

Interestingly enough, the Atlantic seems to be calmer than the Pacific with a little less wind. No whitecaps at all.

 

Today at noon, we were just off the coast of the Turks and Caicos’s.

[DragonOfTheSeas]

We went to the park café again this morning for breakfast. It’s very easy breakfast doesn’t take very long and I eat so much less. Ha ha.
 

 

I had a strawberry yogurt parfait and a half of a bagel. That’s much closer to what I might eat at Home vs the full breakfast they serve in the restaurant.

 

This is day eight on the cruise, but I discovered something today I had not seen before. I noticed that if you pass to the left side of the park café, there’s a set of doors that lead to a small outdoor area with four tables.

 

 

 

if Grandeur or the Enchantment has this area, I’ve certainly never noticed it. Although it’s certainly possible that I’ve been that clueless.  😜

 

there’s also a set of stairs leads up to deck, 10 in the walking track.

 

 

 

Edited May 8, 2023 by DragonOfTheSeas

[DELTABLUE]

I always thought that those doors led to a crew area on Grandeur and Enchantment.  In your picture you can see glass doors.  I certainly don't remember that on the other ships.  The ships may be sisters but each is her own individual person, err ship.

[DragonOfTheSeas]

19 minutes ago, DELTABLUE said:

I always thought that those doors led to a crew area on Grandeur and Enchantment.  In your picture you can see glass doors.  I certainly don't remember that on the other ships.  The ships may be sisters but each is her own individual person, err ship.

I thought it was a crew area too. I was standing at the door looking out and a crewmember came by to get into the back door of the park café. I asked him if it was a crew area. He said no that’s a guest area.
 

We went to the park café for lunch, and all four tables were fully occupied a half an hour before lunch even opened so I may not have known they were there, but other people did. Ha ha.

 

here is a picture of that area of the deck plan from the app. You can see where the stairs are, and the tables are right in front of them.

 

[DragonOfTheSeas]

They do not provide written copies of the cruise compass unless you ask for it. It’s no problem to get them. But they want you to use the app for everything. If you want a PDF version of the cruise Compass, you can get it using the QR code. 

 

Here is a sample of a couple pages from today.  I’ve been using the app. That’s worked fairly well for me, better than I thought.
 

But DH does not carry a smart phone around. So he needs the hardcopy.

 

 

 

 

Edited May 8, 2023 by DragonOfTheSeas

[DragonOfTheSeas]

DH and I have attended 3 of the dramatic presentations on the presidents. We have seen 5 presidents so far.  Tomorrow is Lincoln. 

 

 

I know some people were skeptical of going to what were partial lectures at the beginning of the cruise. But they’ve been very entertaining and the audience has been mostly full each sea day. 

 

 

[DragonOfTheSeas]

They had a new entertainment activities that I haven’t seen before. It’s called the Centrum Wow: renaissance. It is a performance by the singers and dancers. But it started at 7 o’clock and our dinner was at that time so I only saw the first number.

 

 

 

 

 

The headliner singers are waiting to come on stage.

 

[DragonOfTheSeas]

Tonight is the 70s disco party. But we have seen that so many times we’ve decided to miss it. But earlier tonight they had the final competition for karaoke. They had invited the people who had performed and impressed the staff all week long. They were excellent. 
 

This was the winner. What impressed me was the prize they gave him. Usually you get highlighters and a picture of the ship. Hahaha 🤣 Or a key chain. They gave him two free dinners in a specialty restaurant. But he was that good. 
 

I like when they have events and things in the centrum. Because people can sit and stand on all the floors from 4 to 8.

[DELTABLUE]

Have they been giving out the regular selection of prize tchotchkes for various contests?  On my last cruise the prize closet seemed to be bare and there were no handouts at all.

 

Re timing of the new show...I noticed on my last trip, with the change in the dinner hours to earlier times, there seemed to be lots of activities that were scheduled to be in conflict with dinner.  I don't remember this being such an issue in the past.

Edited May 9, 2023 by DELTABLUE

[Coralc]

1 minute ago, DELTABLUE said:

Have they been giving out the regular selection of prize tchotchkes for various contests?  On my last cruise the prize closet seemed to be bare and there were no handouts at all.

I think Serenade was giving out raffle tickets. New cruisers would probably disappointed, but we don't need any more RC stuff. 

[Cru1s1ng2009]

i am like @DELTABLUE and mainly sail out of bmore. those tables behind park cafe are not there in either. 

 

Your snorkel photos are awesome! I would just die if i saw a turtle. 

 

I love the proof of life photos. 😅

[DragonOfTheSeas]

3 hours ago, Cru1s1ng2009 said:

i am like @DELTABLUE and mainly sail out of bmore. those tables behind park cafe are not there in either. 

 

Your snorkel photos are awesome! I would just die if i saw a turtle. 

 

I love the proof of life photos. 😅

I like proof of life photos too. When my daughter told me about that several years ago I really laughed. But her kids have been very good about that. Anytime they’re away with friends. They always send her a picture every day. No young person wants to be caught in with their parents every day. But they all Snapchat. So it’s no big deal for them to snap a photo to their mom.
 

Yeah some of those pictures are really funny. they will look for the most amusing thing to photograph. Sometimes it’s only part of their body on the picture. 🤣 

 

Swimming with the turtles was terrific, and I thought that would be the highlight of the trip. But swimming through the two schools of fish with them all around me was very surreal. I think that’s my highlight.

 

[Cru1s1ng2009]

12 minutes ago, DragonOfTheSeas said:

I like proof of life photos too. When my daughter told me about that several years ago I really laughed. But her kids have been very good about that. Anytime they’re away with friends. They always send her a picture every day. No young person wants to be caught in with their parents every day. But they all Snapchat. So it’s no big deal for them to snap a photo to their mom.
 

Yeah some of those pictures are really funny. they will look for the most amusing thing to photograph. Sometimes it’s only part of their body on the picture. 🤣 

 

Swimming with the turtles was terrific, and I thought that would be the highlight of the trip. But swimming through the two schools of fish with them all around me was very surreal. I think that’s my highlight.

 

i love it! I would feel the same way. 

 

[DragonOfTheSeas]

9 hours ago, DELTABLUE said:

Have they been giving out the regular selection of prize tchotchkes for various contests?  On my last cruise the prize closet seemed to be bare and there were no handouts at all.

 

Re timing of the new show...I noticed on my last trip, with the change in the dinner hours to earlier times, there seemed to be lots of activities that were scheduled to be in conflict with dinner.  I don't remember this being such an issue in the past.

yes, we found a number of events and activities conflicted with our dinner time. 

 

They are still giving out the usual items for winning things. (I.e. trivia or game shows) I think it’s interesting that they’re still giving out highlighters when they’re really not giving out many hardcopies of the Cruise Compass. They likely still have a supply that they need to get rid of.
 

There was one game show that we hadn’t seen before in the centrum and I can’t remember which day it was. It’s called “guess my lips.”  It was terrible, and I don’t say that about most things. There were two teams of four. The two teams faced each other. One team wore the headphones that are used for the silent disco. They have a song that is piped in through their headphones. And they have to sing the song without words. Either humming or singing la la la la to the correct tune. (Think charades) One or two of the tunes were very recognizable. But some of the others it was next to impossible. And the longer it took the other team before they recognize the song the louder the participants “sang.”  Imagine four people singing la la la la off key and progressively louder.
 

We had gone to the centrum because we wanted to see the next activity and we wanted seats. It is telling that there were seats available.

Edited May 9, 2023 by DragonOfTheSeas