Cruising - Day Two

26 July, 2026

I was the first one up and about in our crew, so I decided to check out the Solarium. I wasn't quite ready for breakfast, but the coffee service was calling, and I must answer. After fixing my coffee I was tempted to grab a bagel and a plate of lox, just for a "little snack," but resisted and opted for an apple danish instead (you know, because it was healthy, thanks to the apples!) and went in search of a table. I located a vacant spot on the port side, with a nice - albeit partially obscured by fog - view. Just as I got in a rhythm of sipping, nibbling, and reading my phone pinged. My sister was up and about, ready for coffee. We met on the esplanade and waited for the others to make an appearance, then headed off to brunch.

After brunch Jeff headed to the casino to see if his luck would continue while the rest of us went to Two70 in search of seats, which we found near a gentleman who was having a heated discussion with his cellular provider over the functioning of his phone aboard the ship. It appeared to be a classic example of entitlement intersects technical ineptitude. He finally abandoned his call, much to our delight, and moved elsewhere - no doubt to find something else that didn't suit him.

Today's wildlife lecture covered the Alaskan bear population. While interesting, it wasn't quite as compelling as the whale lecture. We listened and gleaned information while keeping an eye peeled on the water for whale spouts. We did spot one or two in the distance, but never saw any humps, fins, or flukes.

We enjoyed beverages and snacks throughout the afternoon while reading, writing, knitting, and crocheting - a relaxing and restful afternoon. I did tend to some work details, trying to resolve an issue with an individual who had been caught with his hand in the proverbial cookie jar.

Early seating dinner was upon us before we knew it, so we dropped all of our "stuff" in the cabins and headed to the main dining room.

Dinner was solid. Good but not particularly memorable, service was great. Then we're back out the door and trying to figure out what to do with the rest of the evening. We ended up in the Schooner Bar, listening to some rather inventive performances by someone who once knew a guy who lived next door to a guy who was in a band of some renown.

All in all a nice day to unwind and not think about a whole lot before the next three days of port calls and activity were upon us.

 

Changes in Latitudes (Sea Days 2 & 3)

 

November 7 Sea Day #2 

Today I switched up my breakfast to poached eggs on toast and the streak continued. Once again, we gathered our bags and headed to Two70 for the Alaska cruise presentation offered by the NextCruise staff. We made a few notes that will help us plan more effectively for our trip next July on Ovation of the Seas. 

Our reservations for The Book weren’t showing up in the Royal Caribbean app, so I spent a few minutes standing in line at Guest Services to get that sorted out, then had to go back to shuffle some of our dinner reservations. The app is a wonderful tool, in concept, but needs significant work to make it convenient and effective for guests. Some screens overload the user with information while others force you to dig a rabbit hole to figure out the information you want to see. I should be able to filter by time, venue, or type of event. (But what makes Karaoke entertainment and a dance class an activity?) I shouldn’t have to scroll through four of the same item in an hour just because it happens every 15 minutes. I should also see all of my reservations on “my” page instead of having to scroll through hours and hours of empty time to find my dinner or show reservations. I should be able to exclude those things that don’t interest me (Volleyball tournament? No thanks – let me filter it out, please.) 

My issue with our reservation is that I made one as soon as we got on board, but the app crashed in the middle of the process. A flag was set, somewhere, so I couldn’t make another reservation, but I couldn’t see our reservation, either – nor could I cancel it and start over. So, back to Guest Services to stand in line where they had to first cancel my "nonexistent" reservation before they could re-book a new reservation later in the week. The Quantum class ships have a spectacular reservations system when it comes to making multiple reservations in-person, or reviewing reservations, but changing them is a bit clunky.

We were booted from Two70 while they set up for The Book, so we relocated to Boleros, where we enjoyed a few frozen Mojitos before heading to the room to change for dinner. If you like a good Mojito then I strongly suggest you give the frozen variant a try. They are incredibly refreshing and well-balanced. Other bars will make them for you as well, but Boleros seems to have a more consistent supply of fresh mint leaves. I'm still searching the ship for a proper Mai Tai. So far they've been an assortment of overly-sweet juice-based concoctions that are better suited for inducing diabetic ketoacidosis than anything else. Rum, orange liqueur, orgeat, and fresh lime juice are all you need. No pineapple juice needed, and grenadine should be applied sparingly, not gratuitously! 

We enjoyed another good dinner in the dining room, thanks to our convivial service team. In our early cruising days on Celebrity dinner was often spectacular. For the last 15-20 years the food on most cruises has been good, with an occasional "great" and a rare "awful." I still drool over the seeded rolls (pepita, sunflower, sesame – I'm a fan of all) with butter, and enjoy trying new ingredients and dishes, but at the base level the cruise industry food lost the "wow" factor a long time ago.

Tony Tillman was scheduled in the Royal Theater this evening, and he is a consummate showman. His combination of singing, dancing, and comedy has a bit of something for everyone. I suggest sitting back and allowing yourself to take the show as it comes, without projecting expectations. He'll take you on a foot-tapping, belly-laughing, sing-along journey that you didn't know you needed. 

November 8 

Sea Day #3 

The poached egg streak was absolutely shattered today. This morning my “poached” eggs were “hard-boiled without a shell” – an absolute disappointment. Taking it as an opportunity to try something a bit different (I’ve never been a boiled egg eater, other than in the form of deviled eggs.) I gave them a try. A misguided try. I learned that hard-boiled yolks are just too dry for my taste. The flavor was acceptable, but the texture just isn’t something I can handle. 

The Royal Caribbean Fleet

This morning a fleet talk was scheduled, outlining the various classes of ships in the Royal Caribbean lineup, the varying features between classes, and the fundamental types of itineraries offered by each. There is a shift towards shorter itineraries (3-4 day) for the larger ships sailing from the “Big 3” Florida ports these days (specifically the Oasis class) with new ships (Icon class) making the “traditional” eastern and western seven day runs to the Caribbean. Quantum and Radiance ships appear to be covering the more unusual itineraries, with the Vision and Voyager classes servicing the regularly scheduled service from Gulf and East-coast ports. Freedom class ships appear to be popular for some European itineraries and filling niches on an as-needed basis. All if this is based on my extremely casual and highly unscientific analysis and may have no bearing on reality or be readily refuted by a more considered approach. 

As I was making notes, working on this blog, and scanning email I began having a few glitches with internet connectivity. The new VOOM system has been designed for the least-savvy users on board, and it serves them well. You connect with your device (a smartphone, more often than not) and away you go. If you have a multi-device plan you can share a code with another device to allow it to connect – but your primary device stays connected. Again, not an issue for most, but if you want to juggle multiple devices on the same account it can be annoying. 

Unless you go old-school and set up a username and PIN under the legacy system. This is still available, and it works well with minimal effort. The “secret” is that you must first connect using a browser, not the Royal app, and set up your account. As long as you remember to terminate your session by entering the proper URL before shutting down your device everything runs quite well. Shout out to Zak on the VOOM team for helping me sort this quickly. 

We had lunch in Giovanni’s, which was a first for us. They open up with garlic knots and sauce that would inspire you to disrespect your grandmother. Don’t over-indulge on these, because you’ll only regret it as you move through the meal. We shared a burrata appetizer, which was delectable, despite the sad state of the November tomatoes. There were a few nice cherry/grape tomatoes on the dish, but the larger tomato was more reminiscent of a pale hunk of watermelon than a tomato. But, for November, we didn’t expect too much in the first place. For entrees we shared pizzas. Their crust is thin (so you’re not going to stuff yourself with an abundance of baked dough) and the cheese and sauce are nicely balanced. I like more basil than what our pizza was dressed with, but it was still tasty. We also had the Mamma Italia, with prosciutto, arugula, tomatoes, parmesan, and mozzarella – drizzled with EVOO. The prosciutto was amazing, and there was ample arugula (I would prefer less, but it was easy enough to pick off a few leaves.) The tomatoes were (again) unimpressive, but didn’t detract from the pizza. The same crunchy, slightly charred crust made for one of the better pizzas I’ve ever eaten. Yes, Sorrentos has free pizza just a deck away that is “useful,” but if you want something special, I suggest giving strong consideration to pizza at Giovanni’s. Any comparison between the two isn’t reasonable, as they’re as different as the filet from Chops when compared to the hamburger in the Windjammer – they both have their place. 

The remainder of the afternoon was spent lounging around with adult beverages, followed by another perfectly nice dinner in the main dining room – made better by our team of waiters, Surachai from Thailand and Steve (his actual name) from India. These two gentlemen haven’t missed a beat and are attentive without being overbearing. They tolerate my bad puns, dry wit, and sarcasm.

After dinner we enjoyed an excellent performance by The Diva of the Seas, Stephani Parker, in the Royal Theater. If you’re a fan of strong, soulful lyricists (think Whitney Houston, Diana Ross, Dionne Warwick) then this show is for you. I’ve seen all of the above in concert, and at any given time during Stephani’s performance I could close my eyes and be transported back in time and space to previous concerts. In the world of shipboard entertainers she ranks in the upper echelon.

Everything Goes South (Sea Day #1)

 6 November, 2024

Sea Day #1 

As regular readers will know, our sea days are wildly uneventful. We wind down, enjoy a drink, chat with random people, and keep ourselves busy doing things that are absolutely not required in daily life. Thursday we started with breakfast, continuing our poached egg marathon in the form of Eggs Benedict. The chef came out fighting and delivered four of the most perfectly poached eggs I’ve ever seen (Lourie had poached eggs on toast.) I was absolutely giddy, but had no one to share my excitement with as the head waiter from our previous cruise is not aboard this cruise. 

After lunch we gathered our bags and headed to Two70 to find a comfortable spot to begin full-scale decompression, fueled by Goombay Smashes, Rum Punches, Blue Hawaiians, and Chocolate Martinis. The dress code for the evening was changed up at the last minute, so it turned out to be a formal 70’s night. Lots of tie-dye and suits, but no tie-dye suits and a disappointing lack of leisure suits and wide lapels. Perhaps I need a leisure suite with a wild-colored ruffled shirt so I can channel Mike Brady on the next cruise. We were entertained by line dancing classes and met several people and chatted about all things travel and life-related. (A pair of sisters who emigrated from Cuba in the late 1960's were absolutely delightful.) A T-Rex made an appearance, but there were no unicorns or frogs to be found. (Apparently ICE agents and pepper spray only appear in the presence of frogs these days, but my sample size is admittedly restrictively small.

T-Rex at sea! 

The evening production show was The Effectors – a band of superheroes who possess the powers of digital effects who work together to thwart the evil villain Crash. My summary review is that the show exceeded my expectations by a significant measure. I started with expectations so low that they might not even be classified as expectations at all. We met a couple just before the show who attended the earlier production, and they reported that it was much better than they anticipated. The husband (who originally didn’t even want to see the show) confessed that as an avionics/simulation engineer he was impressed – which intrigued me. Lourie wanted to see the show as a scouting exercise for our upcoming 2026-2027 New Year’s cruise, to gauge what our grandson might think. I find myself generally of two minds when watching production shows. I often end up in a bit of an anxious state, ready for things to come to an end. This happens any time my brain detects a familiar rhythm to the production and starts predicting the ultimate outcome. The show has already concluded in my brain at that point, so my subconscious is ready to move on. I’ve only become aware of this in the past few months, not realizing that it was unusual. This show has excellent effects, strong talent, a narrative that flows well (it is thankfully devoid of gratuitous redundancy) and well-executed costumes. It’s just juvenile enough to keep the kids engaged, but with talent to keep the adults entertained – and the length is perfect. It was unpredictable in that it didn’t follow the usual tug-of-war battle between good and evil, which I enjoyed. Definitely worth seeing, pretty much mandatory if you have children between the ages of 5-12. 

We wrapped up the evening with a chocolate martini in the Schooner Bar as we listened to piano tunes, which is always a good way to close things out as far as we’re concerned.

Day 12 – At Sea

14 November, 2024

Overcast Morning

Today dawned gloomy, overcast, and in the parlance of those who grew up around the ocean, "A bit nautical." When we emerged from the cabin on our way to brunch our steward, Wayan, was standing with his service cart – an unusual state. Usually he would be in and out of rooms, cleaning and replacing towels.

Not this morning, he was figuratively twiddling his thumbs, waiting for something to do. It seems that the majority of his cabins were filled with people who weren't handling the sea conditions very well. 

Brunch was lightly attended, but far from deserted. My Eggs Benedict were spot-on, which was made even more impressive by the rocking of the boat. We were seated near a window, so we had a nice show. The waves were regularly rising above the level of the windows in the dining room. I tried several times to capture photos and video, but the best I was able to manage was a wet window. Another passenger did obtain a rather impressive video that I included below.

Angriness of the Seas

We were passing through a frontal zone consisting of the remains of a tropical system. It was primarily wind and waves, with a little rain mixed in on occasion. Walking around the ship wasn't a casual endeavor as the seas reached nearly 30 feet. The photo to the right was taken from the back window in Two70, deck 5. The crest of the wave on the right side of the frame is over my head.

The seas persisted into the evening, resulting in a light crowd in the dining room, and, to be honest, light crowds throughout the ship. The emesis bags were spread around generously; stairwells, elevators, counters along the open spaces – you could stand at one stack and see two others, one in each direction. They reminded me of the emergency call boxes on a college campus.

Fortunately we didn't witness anyone using an emesis bag, as that would have likely triggered an entire chain of sympathy pukers, which would not have been pleasant.

Movie Night!

Movie night by the pool was on the schedule later in the evening, but the weather precluded the possibility of that happening, so the movies were moved to Two70. I will say that watching a movie with cocktail service was pretty amazing, and the seats were much more comfortable than they would have been poolside. We came in on the tail end of the first movie and settled in to watch what may be my favorite Indiana Jones installment. We watched nearly all of the movie and enjoyed a couple of cocktails. Some freshly popped popcorn would have been the perfect addition, heck, just the aroma of fresh popcorn would have probably been enough since we had just finished dinner.

It wasn't quite as comfortable as being reclined at home on the couch, but the sound system left nothing to be desired and the video resolution was quite good. It was as close to a living room on steroids as I think anyone could imagine.

Days 10 & 11 - At Sea

12 November, 2024

In stark contrast to what was to come in less than 48 hours, Tuesday dawned clear, calm, and bright. 

You know the score on breakfast by this stage of the game. It had become as much entertainment as obsession, and the headwaiter now waited expectantly for my report on the egg poaching.

We had moved farther into the north Atlantic and the cooler temperatures drove even more people indoors, so Two70 was the most crowded we had seen it yet.

We participated tangentially with trivia, listened to the next installment of the Antarctic adventure, read, had a drink, nibbled on sandwiches, watched a movie, and listened to music.

We strolled around a little, spoke to the representative at NextCruise and checked out the rates and schedule for future "unusual" cruises (we've exhausted the rote Eastern/Western Caribbean itineraries over the years.) The trans-Atlantic experience is proving to be an amazing combination of activity and free time, so options along those lines are particularly appealing. Perhaps we reverse the trip and go back to Europe one spring?

13 November, 2024

Wednesday's weather was overcast, but generally good. Rumors were starting to circulate that the fontal system coming off the east coast of the United States was going to give us a bit of weather over the next couple of days.

After breakfast we were treated to some elevator music of the good variety. It takes up a bit of room, but it's much more entertaining than the piped-in, jazz-like, easy listening, instrumental-ized hits you hear when you're in the dentist chair. You get an actual musician, with a piano, in an elevator. I'm not sure if he plays Aerosmith or not...

The usual routine was punctuated by a cake decorating duel between our Captain, Per Kristopherson, and our Cruise Director, Steve "from Canada" Knisley.

Captain Per could easily work on the entertainment staff of most cruise ships. He's witty and affable, and by all reports from the crew he is also an excellent Captain to work for. He's not just a "handshake captain" who performs the perfunctory social duties required by his office, he makes smalltalk with passengers in the manner of a modern Captain Merrill Stubing.

Steve from Canada is just as exceptional as Captain Per. In all our cruises we've maybe had one CD who could even compare to Steve (from Canada.) Most cruise directors are heavy on being the entertainer, Steve (from Canada) puts the emphasis on taking care of the passengers and making sure they're having a good time. As he walks around in his signature (my term) Chuck Taylors he doesn't hold court or seek attention. He engages with passengers where they are instead of inviting them into his alternate universe. Steve (from Canada) is one of the older CDs we've ever had, and I think his world experience and comfort in his own skin is largely responsible for his down-to-earth persona. Steve (from Canada) gave a presentation covering his career path as well as the origin of his name. I don't know if this was just a "trans-Atlantic" filler presentation, or just one of his "things."

Steve (from Canada) is a Cruise Director that would make me choose one ship over another. I don't know of any stronger endorsement I can offer.

As far as their combined capacity for cake decorating, suffice it to say that neither of them should be considering a career change. However, the house was packed and everyone seemed to have fun (other than the crew left to clean up the mess!)

We booked a return trans-Atlantic for 2026, NY to Barcelona.

Day 9 – To New York! (But first, a detour?)

11 November, 2024

Our first sea day dawned smooth and bright, with nothing on the agenda other than dinner reservations at Wonderland. Continuing my streak for the cruise I had Eggs Benedict yet again, and the kitchen continued to impress. 

We passed the day in our usual fashion, staking out a space in Two70, which was exceptionally popular thanks to the cool temperatures on deck. When Channdy was busy elsewhere a quick trip over to the bar is all it took for Richard to fill our orders. With the café nearby we had plenty of snacks and warm beverages when needed.

Midafternoon the Captain made an announcement that a passenger and a crew member were in need to medical attention and we would be making a slight diversion to the Azores to meet their needs. He assured us that the change in plans would not have an impact on our projected arrival time in Bayonne at the end of the week.

As others have expressed before us, we were a bit reserved about what we would experience at Wonderland. As the name implies, the restaurant is themed on the story of Alice in Wonderland. The hostess wears a dress and styles her hair like Alice and the decor is playful with several nods to the Queen of Hearts. 

The menu is a blank picture frame that reveals its contents with the stroke of a water-dipped paintbrush. The silverware, drink ware, and serving pieces lean towards asymmetry and irregular shapes. While the meal format is nominally a prix-fixe consisting of a selection from each course, the wait staff will discuss your preferences and aversions and bring you a wide selection of  appetizers, with a second round of your favorite selections. After you finish your selected entree they'll deliver the benchmark dessert as well as any other dessert(s) that you may have a taste for.

The concept behind the food presentation is that things are not as they seem. Guacamole served in a cone that appears to be pistachio ice cream. Deviled eggs in a "nest" of noodles, and a red fruit with a green skin that's actually a hollowed-out lime stuffed with seafood salad.

The entrees are equally obfuscated and even more playful, each assembled to tell a story of it's own. As far as the execution of the dishes, we were floored. Before we were even served dessert we were in agreement that Wonderland was definitely an experience we would repeat. Several families were in the restaurant with us with children from about age 8 to 16, and they all appeared to be enjoying themselves. The service was exceptional, as is generally the case in the Royal Caribbean specialty dining venues.

Just before 22:00 the ship came to a stop and we looked out on Ponta Delgada, Azores. After a brief period a tender appeared and came alongside the ship. The patients were transferred after what I would assume to be a standard transfer of care handoff, assessment by the receiving providers, and appropriate immigration processing. Obviously no patient details were communicated, but the following afternoon the Captain did inform us that he had been told both patients were doing well and expected to make full recoveries.