Virtual Cruise; Day 9, Friday, December 10

Today is the day we arrive back into New Orleans and disembark.

5:30 am

Up and at it. Pretty cool to see the ship make it's final turn on the Mississippi River before reaching the dock.

6:00 am

Up stairs to the Windjammer Cafe for the buffet one last time. Normally you have the option of the buffet in the Windjammer, room service or the main dining room for breakfast. However on the last morning both room service and the main dining room are closed and everyone uses the buffet. Don't worry about a limited selection of food today. It is a full spread of food just as it was any other day this week. Since the main dining room is closed, seats are a little more scarce but not real bad still since we are very early.

As a side note, we have never really felt crowded on this trip. The ship sailed with a near capacity crowd close to 3,000 passengers. I expected to have to fight crowds for deck chairs, on the steps, at the buffet, etc. but the opposite was actually true. I had told Horse that the buffet would be packed on the very first day as people boarded the ship. To my surprise there was plenty of seats and it did not feel crowded at all. By the pool, there was always an abundance of deck chairs available.

Back to breakfast...I probably don't have to tel you that I enjoyed scrambled eggs, corned beef hash and french toast. Mmmm, again! Not one food item could be complained about on this trip. Just amazing food in both selection and taste.

6:50 am

Time to grab our bags and go to our meeting point for disembarkation, La Scala Theater on deck #4. Again, normally you put your bags outside your stateroom on the last night and they are collected to be removed from the ship. Once you disembark the ship, you proceed to your designated color coded area and pick up your bags. There is a newer process that we used called Unassisted Walk-off where we keep our bags with us and carry off our own bags. You have to have only 1 suitcase (I had a backpack as a carry-on too) to use this service and you have to be able to carry the bag a pretty good distance.

This process went very smooth. We were supposed to meet at 7:00 am but we got there about 6:55 am and just as we meet the rest of our group, the ship's personnel started us walking off the ship. We had our customs forms all filled out last night and handed them to the officer with our passport. Then we went right outside to grab a taxi to the airport.

7:30 am

We arrive at the New Orleans Airport and get in line for Airtran Airways to check-in. We did the Unassisted Walk-off process because we had an 11:30 am flight and I had heard that traffic has been horrible around the pier. I was afraid with an 8 or 8:30 am departure off the ship that we would miss our flight if traffic was really bad. The whole process of disembarking and getting to the airport took about 35 minutes and 25 minutes of that was driving to the airport!

7:50 am

Airtran opens their counter and we get checked in just fine. Security is pretty long but still not real bad and we are through and at our gate by 8:15 am. Our flight is for 11:30 am so we have 3 hours yet so we watch a few planes leave and arrive.

9:00 am

Boarding begins for the flight at 9:30 am. After all passengers are on board, the Airtran staff member asks us if we are on the 11:30 am flight. He says that they believe that flight might be delayed and they have space for us on this flight if we would like. We jump on it as we don't want to be late getting in to Atlanta and miss our flight to Canton.

12:15 pm

We get into Atlanta just fine. We get of f the plane and instead of going straight to our next gate and waiting for 4 hours, I checked the board for the next earlier flight to Canton. It turns out that the plane we just took from New Orleans is actually going on to Canton.

I ask if there is space available for us to get on the earlier flight at 1:15 pm to Canton. After a couple minutes of checking to see if they can catch our bags before they are moved off the flight, we are issued boarding passes and seats for the 1:15 pm flight!!

1:15 pm

On our way home to Canton Akron Airport!!

3:25 pm

We arrive and make our way to baggage claim. We are met by our families there and it was so good to see Jackie and the kids again. It was a very fun trip but hard to be away from them. The kids were very excited to see us but they may have been more excited to see the luggage come in on the belt.

It was a wonderful trip and Royal Caribbean did an awesome job in every aspect on this trip. This was the first cruise for Horse and I am happy to report that he is now addicted to cruising. He just cannot wait to go again and have another wonderful cruise vacation. A lot was learned on this trip and a lot of great experiences were enjoyed.

I hope you all have enjoyed reading this and experiencing the cruise right along with us. I hope this blog provided some insight as to what it is like to cruise on Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines and cruising in general. Thanks for coming along with us and we hope to see you on the high seas soon.

Happy Sailing,

Todd Langenek

Virtual Cruise; Day 8, Friday, December 9

Today is our last day on the ship and it is a full day at sea. One final day to relax and enjoy all of the wonderful things this floating resort has to offer. One of the “attractions” on board this ship is the men's room on deck #11 just outside of the Windjammer Cafe. The urinal in this restroom is a long structure that has a waterfall as a rinsing mechanism. The backdrop behind the waterfall urinal is the ocean as the wall is nothing but glass. This is such an attraction that women will wait until all men are out and then run in and snap a photo. To save you women from having to do that, here is a photo of it.

11:15 am

Rise and shine!! Wow! Do not take Nyquil before going to bed on vacation or you will miss half of your day. Horse worked on some Sudoku puzzles while listening to the rhythmic snoring I provide.

11:30 am

Breakfast time. Gasp! I enjoy something healthy as a banana is added to the diet today. I just could not resist more french toast with strawberry topping, corned beef hash (surprise!) and a croissant.

12:15 pm

We attempt to play shuffleboard to work off breakfast. My story (and I am sticking to it) is that it was too windy to play. Horse's story goes something like he was winning by 40+ points when the game was called off due to his opponents lack of skill at shuffleboard. Hopefully you believe my version as I am the author of this blog. I have not mislead you yet so let's just follow my version. Thanks.

1:00 pm

Found my twin!!! While browsing the photo gallery a nice couple asks me if any photos of other people have made it into our groupings of pictures. Apparently a gentleman in their party looks very similar to me. The facial recognition software used to sort pictures ended up putting some photos of me into this other couples photo groupings. I can't believe it so they show me some of his photos and sure enough if I added 40 pounds (give me another week at a cruise buffet) and had a little longer hair, we could look like twins. It is pretty funny too that the computer was fooled.

1:30 pm

Even though my quest to break my own ice cream cone record is officially over, I decide to enjoy a cone anyways. This time it is a strawberry and vanilla swirl.

2:00 pm

We browse the last minute specials in the ship's shops in the Promenade. I score a nice opal and diamond ring for my wife as a wedding anniversary present. 12 years as of December 18; happy anniversary Jackie!!

3:00 pm

Let's add a chocolate cone just for good measure!

3:15 pm

We relax in the Viking Crown Lounge area called High Notes. This is a music themed lounge and they have different musical entertainment periodically. It is pretty windy outside and the temperatures are steadily dropping as we get closer and closer to the Mississippi River. Thus the reason for us moving inside for a little while. We visit with one of the travel agents from our group and play some cards too.

4:00 pm

Time to eat again!! BBQ ribs are on the buffet today so I definitely have to sample them. Let's add in some seafood alfredo over rigatoni and some fried chicken. Mmmm.

Eating at the Windjammer Cafe.  What a view!

5:00 pm

We are not huge trivia buffs but we go down to the Schooner Bar on deck #4 to test our trivia knowledge. We miss the beginning of it so we don't get involved with an official score sheet. We decide to listen anyways and we surprise ourselves with the number of questions we get right.

5:30 pm

Since today is our last day, we need to pack our suitcases at some time so might as well be now. Normally you set your luggage outside your door for the ship staff to collect and take them off the ship the next morning. However we are doing something new called unassisted walk-off. Basically we carry our own luggage off the ship tomorrow and will be in the first group off of the ship. So we leave our bags in our room but it is packed and ready to go.

6:30 pm

Tonight's show is the grand finale show and they add a juggler to the show. He was very, very good and had the crowd laughing with his humor too. The finale had a video showing clips from the cruise and guests having a great time. Then a final number from the singers and dancers is performed. At the end, some of the ship's officers, chefs, housekeepers, waiters, etc all come on stage to thank us for sailing Royal Caribbean. We in turn get to thank them for their outstanding service with a standing ovation.

7:30 pm

We have a few minutes before dinner so we pull up a chair in the Promenade and just people watch. I love to people watch as they can be very entertaining without even knowing it!

8:00 pm

My favorite time of the day, dinner time! I start with a shrimp cocktail and then move on to the fried shrimp and fried mahi mahi entree. I could not decide between the banana custard or the chocolate brownie cookie so I order both!!

10:15 pm

Matt Yee is performing his wildly popular adult comedy sing-along show in the Schooner Bar for the last time this cruise. We have been watching most of his shows from the distance but tonight we decide to go into the lounge and have a sit. Matt does a great job of getting his audience involved and I am chosen to help out. It is a simple task of leading the crowd in his famous OY chant while he gets the next part of the show ready. The show is a blast and we have a wonderful time at our last function. It is kind of cool sitting there enjoying the show and looking out the windows to watch the lights of the oil rigs and other ships floating by as we cruise up the Mississippi River.

12:00 midnight

Good night all for the final time on this voyage. One more report left on how the disembarkation process goes.   

Virtual Cruise; Day 7, Thursday, December 8

Today is our 3rd and final port day of the cruise with our destination being Cozumel, Mexico.


6:15 am
Rise and shine. OK, so I am not so sure about the shine part of that as 6:15 is early! I bet my kids are not even awake yet!

6:40 am
We make our way to deck #12 to watch us pull into port. We are running side by side with a Carnival ship as we approach the pier. They have a separate pier than the one that we will be using so the pier area does not feel crowded at all.

Cozumel pier area

 

7:00 am
Down one deck to the Windjammer Cafe for breakfast. Today’s choices are scrambled eggs, bacon, french toast with strawberry topping and a bowl of Corn Pops for good measure! I also have finally discovered that they have chocolate milk! How did it take me 5 morning meals to realize that they had choc milk? I love apple juice and I have been fine drinking juice but choc milk is awesome!

8:00 am
Time to get ready to go ashore and meet our tour guide for our island tour.

8:45 am
Did I mention that our tour today is on a Segway?!

Segway - our wheels for our tour

I have been looking forward to this tour for a while. We do get some slightly disappointing news in that our tour was to have time for snorkeling too but the water is too rough and the snorkel portion has been canceled. The good news is that we get more time on the Segway instead. Several guests cancel (and get a full refund) as they really wanted to snorkel but the snorkel was just a bonus to us.

I was not real worried about hurting myself on the Segway but once we meet our guide and he has a bandage wrap on his left knee, I begin to worry!

9:00 am
We take a van ride to a parking lot a couple miles away and this is where we will learn how to ride our Segway before heading out on the open roads. Our guide gives us a demonstration and some pointers but this looks very easy. If you have never seen a Segway, first thing you realize is that there is no gas or brake controls other than your body controlling the machine. You lean forward to move forward, lean backwards to slow to a stop, continue to lean backwards to begin moving in reverse. The steering control does not turn but you just lean it left or right to move that direction. Piece of cake.

I turn on my Segway and with the help of the guide I step on the platform. Now as I am getting on, I lean forward and begin to accelerate forward. I quickly lean backwards to stop but I lean too far backward and begin to move in reverse. I quickly lean forward to stop but lean too far forward and begin to move forward. Again, I quickly lean backward to stop but I lean too far backward and begin to move in reverse again! A vicious cycle that I cannot control at this point and I might as well just be riding a bull in a rodeo. Finally, after what seems like a half hour but was just 20 seconds or less, the guide grabs my Segway to stop me. I now wonder whether or not this little plastic helmet is really going to help me.

I gather myself and give it another try and am able to get the hang of the controls. We practice riding around in the parking lot for several minutes before we begin our journey on the roads. Horse seems to have gotten the hang of it too without the bull in a rodeo effect as he was riding around before I was. Show-off!

9:15 am
Let’s roll! We begin by riding on a bike path so traffic is not a concern at this point. We make a stop to learn about some history of the island and plants that are native to Cozumel.

Paul Blart: Mall Cop....I mean here is Horse on his Segway!

We get to learn a new trick that the parking lot dwas unable to teach us, how to drive over a speed bump. The trick to theis is that you have to lean forward to go up the front side of the bump but need to lean backwards just enough to slow you down as you descend on the other side of the bump. Otherwise you will just fly over too fast, go air born and crash & burn. The first bump, the guide stands and offers assistance as we go over it. The next one, he stays on his Segway but goes slow and looks back with caution to watch us. By the third bump he does not even look back at us. I guess we are doing pretty good then!

Stud muffin on wheels

Now we venture out on the roads and drive along the coastline with the ocean to our right. Absolutely gorgeous.

We make a stop at a beach club, where we were supposed to snorkel, so we can rest our feet. Since you just stand in one place, your feet fall asleep and start to really burn. The trick is to keep rocking on your feet but you have to be careful because if you move too much you will cause the Segway to go too fast or stop. This is why they don’t tell you to do that but we learned from just watching the feet of the tour guide. We did this on the way back from the beach club and our feet were much better but still fell asleep. We just sit and relax at the club watching the ocean.

We get back on our Segways and the guide snaps a few photos of us riding around. We keep riding up the coast for a mile or two. The guide stops us and has us turn around to see our cruise ship off in the distance. It was very cool and surprising to see how far we have come on these 2-wheeled cycles! Snap a few more photos and then we begin our journey back.

Studs on wheels in paradise

 

Our guide tells us that we are doing very well and that instead of going back to the parking lot and riding a van back to the pier, we are going to ride the Segways back! We now will get to deal with traffic, sidewalk entrance ramps and people! None of their groups have ever gone back to the pier as their are either too many riders or the riders do not have enough control of the Segways to maneuver in town safely. Guess we are doing really good! We have a blast riding these “toys” all the way back.

The best part comes when we stop and get off the machines. We are supposed to get down, turn off the machine and then lean it up against the wall. No problem for me. Horse gets down but forgets to turn his off before leaning it up against the wall. As he tries to lean it on the wall, he steps in front of the tire and then leans the handle forward. Keep in mind that it is still on and leaning the handle forward makes it move forward. The tires start turning and runs right up the back of his leg and keeps spinning trying to move forward. His calf muscle is now getting a nice massage from the tire and has black rubber burns on it. Awesome! Wish I would have video taped that nice trick!

What an absolutely wonderful experience that was! One of the coolest things I have ever done. Let’s take that to mean that riding a Segway was ultra cool and not to mean that I have not done many cool things in my life.

11:30 am
We are back on board the Voyager of the Seas and looking for some food. We are at the very end of breakfast and a lot of food is being taken off of the buffet but still too early for lunch. I settle for some fresh pineapple, cheese and croissants and some corned beef hash. (You thought I forgot to have some today, huh?)

11:50 am
Grab a chocolate and vanilla swirl ice cream cone as we make our way back to the bottom deck of the ship to go ashore again for some shopping.

12:00 noon
We meander through all kinds of stores just browsing. We find the keychains, errr...Christmas tree ornaments, for my kids but keep looking just to see what is there. We come to some pretty aggressive sales people that keep wanting us to go upstairs to their stores. Not sure what is up there but we pass and the sales person moves to someone else. Some people are not so lucky as they are followed and continually asked to go upstairs. Hate to se what they are like once they get you in their store!

Another chap sees my New Orleans Saints hat and shows me a wooden plaque that he has airbrushed a nice Saints logo. Starts the price at $35, then I say no thanks and he lowers to $25 and I tell him I will think about it and turn to walk away. Now he lowers the price to $20. I wonder if I went back just before the ship departs and offer him $10 if he would have taken it? It was very nice but just not on my shopping list.

On the dock in Cozumel

1:30 pm
We make our way back on board the ship for….more food!!!! Lunch time!!

2:00 pm
Lunch today in the Windjammer Cafe in the Island Grill section. A mixture of several things today with some fried chicken, pizza, spaghetti and cheese-stuffed pasta shells. I probably should have stopped about halfway through that menu! I am stuffed!


2:45 pm
Stuffed or not, I need to eat ice cream cones to break my record. I grab my 2nd cone of the day with a chocolate cone.

3:00 pm
We walk around the pool deck for a little bit to walk off lunch. We find a couple deck chairs in the sun and decide to rest a bit. Now we are in a group of chairs with room for about 20 people but there are about 8 or 10 of us. Horse and I alternate sleeping and snoring loud enough to wake ourselves up. I fall asleep soundly enough and snore loud enough that I cleared the people out around us. I wake up some time later and the chairs are now empty around us! Hope those people did not want a nice quiet place to relax!

5:00 pm
Anchors away!! Well, technically we are tied to the dock and not anchored but you get the idea. We watch as we turn 180 degrees and start our journey back to New Orleans.

Every now and again we read about some dope who falls overboard and is lost at sea. You wonder how someone can fall over a railing that is pretty tall. I am about 6’2” and most railings are middle of my stomach and up to chest high for me. Well, we got to see how this could happen. This not so smart girl decides to stand on a deck chair and hoist herself up on the railing to sit on it for a picture that will have Cozumel in the background. Not so smart boyfriend encourages her and snaps pictures. Thankfully, the photo session ends and she gets down unharmed but one nice jolt of the ship and this girl at least falls one deck down to the pool deck or right overboard to the water down below. Smart people don’t fall overboard, dumb ones do. This dumb one was just lucky.

6:30 pm
Tonight’s show in the theater is a voice impressionist named Paul Boland. He is called the man of 1,000 voices and is pretty good. Some I have never heard of but most I do know. He switches in and out of voices even while singing songs. I would say that he was good at most voices and really great at some. Enjoyable show.

7:30 pm
We make our way to the sports bar to watch the beginning of the Browns and Steelers game. I think we might be the only Browns fans in the bar and for sure the only non-smokers!

7:50 pm
This is our 2nd and last formal night on the cruise. We look rather dapper tonight so we decide to have our pictures taken again. Our last pictures looked like Horse couldn’t find the camera and had a stroke so we did not buy them. It’s always awkward to pose for a formal portrait and you end up with goofy looking smiles. We made our way through 2 awkward pictures when this little old lady who was all of 4 feet tall comes barreling through the picture area. Not sure how she missed all of the big flash umbrellas and other camera equipment but she did and walked right between us and the camera man as he was ready to snap the picture. She screams this little yelp and we bust up laughing just as the picture was taken. They ended up cropping her out of the picture and we had a photo from the chest up but it was the best picture of the bunch.

8:00 pm
Oh boy oh boy! It is lobster night in the main dining room! I order a puff pastry filled with mushrooms for an appetizer and then a cup of double duck consomme is brought to me too. I do not remember ordering but gave it a try anyways. It is a dark colored broth with shoestring sliced veggies in it. I have never had duck before so I have no idea if it tasted like duck but it was good. Now comes the good part, the entree! Even though I knew I wanted the lobster tail and shrimp, I also wanted the prime rib. The waiter brings the lobster dinner that I ordered but also brings a prime rib dinner too! Horse and I share the prime rib as he ordered lobster too. While we are munching away, the waiter brings me another lobster and shrimp dinner! I end up eating 2 lobster and shrimp dinners and half of a prime rib dinner! I follow that with a chocolate cake sampler dessert that has 3 different kinds of chocolate cake. Oh, wow. I can hardly think about eating ever again but it was the most awesome dinner of the week!

Mmmm, lobster, shrimp and prime rib!

9:30 pm
We make our way all the way up to deck #14 to find a place to watch the rest of the Browns game where there is no smoking. We watch the Browns fight a good game but lose, as usual.

11:00 pm
Some how we decide that we are hungry!! We go to the Promenade on deck #5 and get a couple fresh baked cookies from the cafe to enjoy while we watch people passing by.

12:30 pm
Take a couple Nyquil tablets to help get a good nights sleep and get rid of this nagging headache.

Good night all!

Ice Cream Cone-a-thon update: Ah, who cares? I am no where close to the total and will not even reach double digits this week. Amateur!

Virtual Cruise; Day 6, Wednesday, December 7

Today is another port day as we visit Georgetown, Grand Cayman. In Grand Cayman, because of the coral formations and shallow waters, the cruise ships need to stop a distance out from the shore and anchor there. Then they use boats, called tenders, that hold anywhere from 150 to 250 people to get everyone off the cruise ship and get them to the pier. The tender process takes a little longer than normal since you have to fill up the boats and then go ashore and unload the tender. You just have to make sure you allow yourself enough time to get off the cruise ship before you need to meet your shore excursion at the pier.

View of pier - small boats are the tenders used by cruise lines

7:30 am
Rise and shine! We do have a shore excursion booked today but we don't have to meet them until about 11:15 am so we have a little bit more time to wait out the rush for the tenders.

8:00 am
To this point we have only had breakfast in the Windjammer Café for the buffet. Since we don't have to go ashore real early we decide to have a sit down breakfast in the main dining room. There are 3 main dining rooms on this ship and all 3 are in the rear of the ship and stacked on top of each other. The Carmen dining room is on deck #3, the La Boheme dining room is on deck #4 (this is where we eat our dinners) and then The Magic Flute dining room is on deck #5. There is a very impressive staircase (reminds you of the staircase on Titanic) that connects all 3 levels but the main entrance to each dining room is on their appropriate deck.

Breakfast and lunch are only served in the Carmen dining room on Deck #3 so we make our way down there. The seating is not assigned so they seat you on a first come, first served basis. They will seat you at a table with other guests unless you specifically request otherwise. We joined a table with 8 other guests who had already begun their meal just a couple of minutes ahead of us. Today I decide to try the omellete since I have been wanting one all week and too lazy or impatient to wait in line in the buffet. I order a ham, cheese and mushroom omellete with some wheat toast. This omellete is one of the best that I have ever ordered, anywhere! Light, fluffy and just superb. Horse actually orders more like his normal health conscious self and enjoys scrambled eggs made with Egg Beaters and some turkey sausage links. Eh, go bad and take an extra cholesterol pill is my theory this week!!!

9:00 am
Pop up on deck real quick to see how the tenders are going and this are running very smooth. We watch for a few minutes before we have to get ready ourselves.

9:30 am
We start making our way down to deck #1 to the tender stations. There is one in the front and one in the back of the ship. They are using tenders that hold about 250 passengers and are mostly full when they leave the ship so they are not creating unnecessary wait times by leaving half full.

View of the ship as we tender to shore

(notice the 2 tenders loading people)

 

10:00 am
The whole process goes very smooth and we are on land at the pier pretty quick. We don't have to meet our guide until 11:15 am so we have plenty of time to look around and shop a little bit. I decided that I was going to buy Christmas tree ornaments for my kids at each port. Well, that lasted about 10 seconds when we first got to Jamaica as most stores did not have them or they were $20 U.S. dollars. OK, so plan B is now to buy them a $2 keychain and call that a Christmas tree ornament. I found a couple and we add them to our collection and keep browsing.

Pier area full of shopping and excursion meeting points

11:00 am
We find the meeting point after looking for several minutes as it is not clearly marked where we should be. The tour operator is running tours for multiple excursions including Royal Caribbean and Carnival cruise lines. Some better communication and organization is needed as it was difficult to find meeting point and we left about 30 minutes late even though we were all there.  Even though the delays, this tour is outstanding and I highly recommend this wonderful excursion. What tour is it you ask?  We are embarking on a bicycle tour of the island complete with a rum cake tasting and a rum sample.

The tour begins by van as we ride a couple miles to our meeting point. We are introduced to our 2 tour guides, issued safety gear and bicycles. After a brief instruction on the equipment and the rules of the road, we are off and riding.

Our first ride is through a more residential area as we ride over to the famous 7-mile beach. We ride along the beach for a short distance and then we stop for a drink break. While we stop the tour guide tells us of a couple interesting facts about the islands history and it's current economic reliance. We are treated to a view of a crab that happened to by walking nearby and the guide picked him up to show him off to us.

7-mile beach -- notice our ship really small in the background, just left of center!

We continue a few miles to the Dolphin Discovery center where you can swim with the dolphins. We are not swimming with them but just watching the guests that are swimming with them (sold as seperate excursion). We have the option to wait and have our picture taken with one but none of us want to wait or pay to do so. We rest our legs a bit, grab a drink and then we are back on the bikes.

Guests enjoying the swim with dolphins excursion

My favorite part of the bike ride comes on this leg of the trip. Horse is 2nd behind the tour leader and I am 3rd. We are riding at a comfortable pace and Horse seems to be enjoying himself with sightseeing the island. Next thing I see is Horse riding off the side of the road and half in the bushes as he rides. Bushes are just smacking him in the chest and arms as he rides off the side of the road and then he regains full control and calmly glides back on the road. I about wreck my bike from laughter watching him ride through the bushes. Oh my, what a hilarious sight!!

I think they are considering adding training wheels after his off road bushes adventure!

We ride a short distance to a store that sells rum and rum cake. We are able to sample some of each at this stop. Hey, let's get liquored up and ride a bicycle on the street! Wahoo! Eh, the amount of alcohol that you actually sample should not hinder anyone from the bicycle portion. Unless you act like the passengers from the other cruise line (no names please -- but they have a red, white and blue smoke stack) that treated the samples as a buffet. Our tour guide had to ask the other groups guide to step aside and let our group have a few samples too. Very small place and very crowded but some very, very good rum cake and rum. We head out back of the store to the water and look at the coral formations that are ABOVE water and have turned black. Little crabs are running every and sunning themselves and someone believes they saw an iguana but we cannot locate it though.

Time to mount up and ride on. We now enter one of the longer stretches of the ride as we make our way up the island to a town called Hell. Blink and you miss it but it is a tourist trap as a motor coach full of guests arrive as we are preparing to depart. Basically it consists of a small gift shop, post office and bar. Behind the building is a large mass of more black coral formations. The coral turns black without the salt water and then actually turns white from the heat of the sun. Some interesting stories are told as to how and why they are there and how the town got it's name. We do find some birds eating in the shallow water below the coral formations and an iguana sunning himself on top of one group of coral. We all visit the gift shop and purchase postcards to mail home so they are postmarked with the town of Hell postage. My postcard to my kids has not arrived after almost 10 days so I am guessing it must have gotten lost in Hell.

 The main attraction in the town of Hell - black coral formations

Our little iguana friend resting in the sun

 

After our sightseeing break, we hop on the bikes for one final ride back to the starting point. This is the longest leg of the Tour de Cayman as we travel probably 4 miles in one stretch. I believe the whole tour covers about 8-10 miles so it was just right for a leisure day of riding. I am the youngest person of the 6 on the tour and we had a wonderful lady who was probably in her mid to late 70's on the tour. She lags back every now and again but there is a Jeep that trails the group to offer assistance and stays with her so the rest of the group can pace on. The Jeep also carries our belongings, has water coolers and a first aid kit aboard so that is nice to have offering peace of mind.

After we reach the starting point we all park the bikes, return the safety equipment and talk about our favorite parts of the ride. The tour guide gives us some more interesting facts about the island and we thank him for his assistance on a great tour. We board the van back to the cruise ship and get in line for our tender back to the Voyager of the Seas.

3:00 pm
We get in the short line to board the tender and then grab a seat on the top deck for some extra sun on our ride back to the ship. Very organized process overall.

3:45 pm
We are back on board and get cleaned up before we go in search of some lunch! We worked up a big appetite riding bikes to Hell and back! Ha ha, sorry, could not resist! We make our way to the Windjammer Café and just have to try the steak and pepper burrito station. Piled them nice and high with steak & peppers, cheese and sour cream. Oh so good!!!

4:15 pm
Time to grab an ice cold Coca-cola and sit poolside to relax a little while. I might have dosed off a little bit but people did not scatter so I must not have been sleeping to the point of snoring. We hang out and just relax our tired legs.

6:30 pm
Tonight's show is a tribute show to the music of Broadway shows. We are entertained with all sorts of music from great musicals and Broadway shows. Very enjoyable.

Broadway Rhythm and Rhymes show

7:30 pm
We have about a half hour until our dinner seating so we decide to visit the Aquarium Bar on deck #4 which is just outside of our dining room. We partake in our first cocktail of the week as Horse enjoys a Rum and Coke and I have my new favorite Tequila Sunrise. Drinks are about $7 each including tip so we don't plan to have too many as I don't need alcohol that bad to spend that kind of money for several drinks each day. You do get your moneys worth though as they do not go lightly on the alcohol content of the beverage. Very, very good drink.

8:00 pm
Dinner time!!! (have you sensed that this is our favorite time of the day?) Dinner ends up truthfully being very enjoyable as we all gather to discuss our excursions and our days in general. Also, Horse has become the entertainment at dinner as he is not afraid to try different things, multiple dishes and then cleans up after everyone is done with their meals and does not want certain items. I am convinced that they are ordering too much just to have leftovers to see what he will eat and how many plates he will try things from. It is really funny to me knowing that at home he is really strict on what he eats and here he is letting his diet go and just eating everything in sight.

Tonight I decide to go with the scallops for starters and the tiger shrimp for the entrée. My seafood meal is so good that I completely forgot what I had for dessert. (Or Horse must have snagged mine off my plate before I got a chance to eat it!)

9:45 pm
Time to go for our nightly stroll on the deck to walk off dinner. We really like looking out at the dark horizon and trying to see if we can find any ships or land. Most nights we cannot but every now and again we see some lights in the far off distance.

10:45 pm
Good night all! A busy day today and with all of the bike riding we are tired and ready for a good nights rest. We will be in Cozumel, Mexico tomorrow and we have another excursion so we better be rested.

Ice cream cone-a-thon update: ZERO cones today!!! I believe the quest is mathematically over as far as reaching my 25 cones in 7 days as I have only had 3 and we only have 2 days left on the ship!



Virtual Cruise; Day 5, Tuesday, December 6

Today is our first port of call and it is in Falmouth Jamaica. This is an old port that has recently been revitalized with the help of Royal Caribbean. The port is on the north side of Jamaica and is about half way between Montego Bay and Ocho Rios. The port itself is triangle in shape and is fenced in so the cruise passengers can shop and enjoy without tons of locals pawning their wares.

Falmouth Jamaica Port

8:00 am
Up and at it. We catch a peek of the port out of our cabin window and hurry to get ready to go up on deck to watch us dock.

8:30 am
We head to deck #12 to get a good view of the docking process. It is impressive to watch the ships officers back this huge ship right into place like it was a compact car. Kind of neat to watch the ship staff member hanging off the back of the ship guiding the ship in and throwing ropes to the dock workers who tie them to the dock.

This is called "Stud in Paradise"

9:00 am
After watching these dock workers, I have worked up an appetite. Must be time for breakfast. We head back to the buffet today but meander to the Island Grill as they have an omelette station and a fried eggs station. Why did it take us 3 days to discover this?!! Today we partake in the fried eggs because I don't want to wait for the omelette to cook. Lazy, I know but I am hungry. So, 2 over-easy fried eggs, bacon, corned beef hash (notice a pattern here?) and toast. That should hold me for a while.

10:30 am
We have not purchased a shore excursion today. There are a couple that we like but just wanted to see the port and try some things on the ship that we have not done yet. We exit the ship and just browse some of the shops that are in the port area. We are not looking to buy anything specific but just a couple trinkets for the kids.

11:45 am
Ship is very empty so we head back on and decide to check out the hot tubs to make sure they are functioning properly. Don’t even have to get out to get a drink as the waiters come right up to the hot tubs and bring you drinks. Life could be a lot worse than this.

1:30 pm
Now that I am as wrinkled as a raisin, it is time to get out and move on to something else. Lunch might be a good thing now.

2:30 pm
To my own shock, I do the unthinkable and visit the salad bar at a buffet. My #1 rule at a buffet is to never waste stomach space with salad. However, I have had some good food and figure a salad is not going to hurt me every now and again. Ok, 1 salad for the week will be enough!! I try the various lunch meats and make a nice sandwich and a salad.

3:00 pm
Just enough room for a chocolate ice cream cone!

3:15 pm
Time to rest now that I ate all that food and ice cream. Head to the top deck for some sun.

4:30 pm

Rock Climbing Wall on Deck #13

Ever since I reserved my space on this trip, I have been planning to try to climb the rock-climbing wall. I have been watching people do this all week and just have not attempted it with the strong winds we have had. Today is relatively calm and no one is climbing now so let’s go for it!! Horse was hoping that I would forget about climbing but here we are. We decide to go at different times so we can watch each other and take pictures. I go first and I ask the staff member about how far up I can go and still have some self respect if I have to quit. He simply replies, “the top of the wall and ring the bell.” Thanks buddy. So up I go and the climbing is pretty easy at first. You have to remember to use your legs to push yorself up and not use your arms to pull up. That is vital because I get about 8 feet from the top and my arms are now shaking because I pull up more than push up with my feet. I refuse to quit and keep pressing on and finally get to the top and ring the bell, twice!! I hang out up there for a couple seconds and yell, “ I am king of the world” much to the delight of the little old ladies sitting below watching me climb. This was a way cool thing to do and I am really glad I did it.

Spiderman, move over!

Now, it is Horse’s turn to climb. He starts up the wall and gets about 3 feet up and does not use one of the cleats on the wall for his foot but uses a “bump” in the wall. He attempts to push off and slips so down he goes. Hits the ground and backs up against the wall and comes to a stop. Head down, looks around to see if I noticed and the answer is yes as I am laughing really hard now. His second attempt is much better and he makes it up the wall and rings the bell a couple times. He does not stick his landing and stumbles again but we won’t make fun of him for that, will we? I am very proud of my dad and thrilled that he is willing to do some of these things with me and really enjoys them too.

Horse ringing the bell at the top!

6:00 pm
We got our showers and dressed and ready for the shows and dinner. But first we head back up on deck to watch us pull out of port.

7:00 pm
Tonight we have tickets to the Ice Odyssey Show which is in the ice skating rink on deck #2. This is an amazing thing to comprehend on a floating vessel at sea! Along with the regular cast of ship’s skaters from around the world, there is a special guest star from Russia who does a hula hoop routine. It was amazing with up to 8 or 10 hoops at one time and she moves them up and down her body without using her hands! So amazing that I forgot to take pictures!! The whole show is very enjoyable and the skaters are really good with some being past Olympians or World Champion skaters.

 Ice Odyssey Show

8:00 pm
Again, I worked up an appetite just watching other people doing things! Tonight’s dinner choice is Beef and veal ravioli for a starter, steak for the main entree, some birthday cake and strawberry ice cream for dessert. One of our fellow travel agents celebrated a birthday so we had some cake for him tonight. I have incriminating pictures of people partaking in the alcohol “shot of the day” in celebration of the birthday. The pictures might end up on our facebook page or they can disappear for the right fee. (You know who you are and how to get a hold of me)

Happy Birthday!

9:30 pm
Time to walk a couple laps around the deck to walk off the wonderful dinner. Boy, 4 days in and still have not had one single food item that I could complain about. The food has been tremendous.

10:00 pm
We are walking through the Promenade on deck #5 when we hear laughing and singing coming from a lounge on deck #4. We make our way down there and find the entertainer named Matt Yee doing his bit. He does an “adult themed sing along” show and really packs a crowd. He will sing anything from tv show theme songs to popular hits and really gets the crowd involved. You should not attend his show and not want to participate in the act. He will stop in the middle of a song and call you out, all in good fun of course.

11:00 pm
We make our way just steps across the hall to the main theater to watch another comedian named Matt Bruner. He has some really funny and entertaining stories and the crowd really enjoys his show.

12 Midnight
Had a really fun filled day but it is now time to hit the sack as we have a big day planned for Grand Cayman tomorrow!!

Ice Cream Cone-a-thon update: 1 more cone today! This is just sad! The total is now 3 cones through 4 days so it looks like the record of 25 cones in a week is not going to fall.

Virtual Cruise; Day 4, Monday, December 5

Today is another day at sea for us. I have my seminar and we fill our sea day with various activities aboard this wonderful vessel.

7:40 am
Rise and shine! Up a bit later than I hoped for but still plenty of time to eat before my next seminar.

8:15 am
Back to the Windjammer Cafe for breakfast. Today’s selections of choice are scrambled eggs, bacon, corned beef hash and french toast. Mmmmm.

9:00 am - 12:00 noon
Seminar at Sea session 2 today.

12:15 pm
Today some of our group decides to go to Johnny Rockets for lunch. Johnny Rockets is a specialty dining venue (cover charge of $4 per person) styled like a 50’s diner complete with table jukeboxes and dancing waiters. Food is included as any other venue on board and you can always order as much as you would like. Milkshakes are the exception as there is an additional charge for their delicious milkshakes. You can sit inside the diner or outside overlooking the ocean and enjoy some fresh air while you dine. We select outside and really enjoy our meal.

1:30 pm
There is an ice carving demonstration on the pool deck today. The gentleman that carves the watermelons and ice sculptures is showing off his skills by carving a huge block of ice. He does not use any power tools or anything fancy, just 2 chisels - one short and one long. Very impressive and he carves this massive eagle in less than 15 minutes.

 Ice Carving Demonstration

2:00 pm
Ok, time for a shuffleboard rematch. After a back and forth match, I lose again. Once more, Horse must have cheated but I cannot prove it. Maybe that is what he has been doing in his retired life, practicing shuffleboard. Well, there will be another match sometime to claim my first victory!

3:00 pm
A special treat for our travel agent group, a tour of the bridge!! After clearing many security measures, we are lead to the bridge and met by one of the officers. He is Scottish and we have to resist the urge to ask him the question; “ Have you ever said to the ship’s captain, I'm giving her all she’s got captain!” Sorry a little too much Star Trek as a kid!


The tour is really great and we get see to the radars, mapping systems, computers to control all the water supplies on the ship for ballast purposes, the cockpit where they drive from and the wings that hang over the sides so they can steer into ports and see the front and back of the ship at the same time. The question about fuel comes up and we are told that this ship carries more fuel than some oil tankers and cost approximately $9 million every 2 weeks.

 Tour of the bridge

4:15 pm
We decide to go play a little mini-golf today. I cannot win at shuffleboard so hopefully I can do better at mini-golf. Up on deck #13, sports deck, is the 9 hole mini-golf course, in-line skating track, basketball/soccer/volleyball court and the rock climbing wall. With winds approaching 40 mph, it is a real challenge to play mini-golf. You hit the ball and it changes directions 3 times before it stops, if it stops. Horse hit one and the wind kept it rolling across a completely different hole. After fighting the wind gusts and a ball that doesn’t stop, I am able to secure a 2 stroke victory!!

 Voyager Dunes 9-hole mini-golf course

5:15 pm
We head back to our cabin to get cleaned up and ready for the show and dinner. A little mini-golf victory nap never hurt anyone. Hey, I am sure Tiger Woods takes a nap after he wins the Masters tournament.

6:30 pm
The show tonight is at 6:30 pm so we can enjoy it before dinner at 8:00 pm. Tonight’s entertainer is a very, very funny female comedian named Etta Mae. She has appeared on tv before and has a special coming out on CMT soon. One of the better entertainment pieces of the week.

8:00 pm
Dinner time!! Tonight I start things off with a crab cake, follow that up with shrimp dumplings finish and with a lemon tart for dessert. The shrimp dumplings have a formal name that I cannot pronounce but amounts to shrimp in a sauce stuffed inside dough. Think of ravioli with shrimp inside. Very, very good.

10:15 pm
The Royal Promenade turns into a dance party central some evenings. Tonight’s theme is 70’s disco inferno complete with John Travolta wanna be and the Village People make an appearance too. Guests dance on the “street” of the Promenade while the singers stand above them on a bridge across the street. Sometimes the singers and dancers meander through the street dancing with the crowd. We don’t get involved in the party up close but watch from a distance. Don’t realize how many 70’s songs I really know. (Also brings back memories of my childhood when Horse would play his records of the Village People and dance around!)

 70's Disco Inferno Party

11:30 pm
Tomorrow is our first day in port, Falmouth Jamaica, so we go to bed a little earlier to make sure we are rested.

Sad to report on the ice cream cone-a-thon; not one single cone was consumed today. I need to average 4 cones a day to break my record and I am well short of that. I have had 2 cones through 3 days!!

Virtual Cruise, Day 3; Sunday, December 4

8:00 am

Slept through my alarm!! I have a seminar at 9 am and I slept through my alarm!! Grab a quick shower and head to the breakfast buffet. We are on deck #9 forward and the breakfast buffet, Windjammer Cafe, is on deck #11 aft (back of the ship) so not real far to go.

8:30 am
Oohhh! Sausage gravy and biscuits!! Yes, please. Add some bacon and scrambled eggs and I am all set! There is a lot to select from but not a lot of time so a small breakfast today.

Check out some of the watermelon carvings that pop up in the buffet room every now and again.

Watermelon carvings in buffet restaurant

9:00 am - 12:00 noon
Seminar at Sea. I won’t bore you with our class work but let’s just say it was informative and fun.
Not sure what all Horse did while I was in the seminar but my guess is that he had a few of the hash browns! I think he played a game to see when he ate a whole pan of them if the cooks would bring another pan full.

12:15 pm
Meeting is over so it is now time for (what else) lunch! Back to the Windjammer Cafe for the buffet. Actually we visit the Island Grill which is part of the Windjammer Cafe. The Windjammer Cafe occupies the back portion of the ship on deck #11 and is U shaped. The sides of the U are the Windjammer Cafe and the very back is the Island Grill. Island Grill serves more burgers, hot dogs, ribs, and the salad bar. The Windjammer has more pastas, cold cut sandwiches and soups. Today, I try a cheeseburger, onion rings (very crispy and delicious) and some pasta.

2:00 pm
Let’s just kick back and relax on deck. Listen to some music by the pool (deck #11 & 12) and try not to get blown off the deck. Winds are about 40+ mph making it difficult to walk around the front of the ship. Waves are about 6-8 feet so we feel some movement every now and again. Most of the movement felt is an occasional shutter which feels like we just ran over a small sailboat. Not too many people seem to mind as the pool deck is pretty populated today. Temps are reaching mid-70’s today.

2:45 pm
Yahoo! I find the strawberry ice cream machine. So smooth and creamy and gone in about 60 seconds!!

3:00 pm
We move down to deck #4 and decide to play a little shuffleboard. I have a big lead before Horse comes back and wins. Guessing he must have cheated somehow. He actually tried to knock me down with the little puck thingy. I was walking and he shoots one across the deck, just as I step, it stops right under my foot so I step on it and slide a bit. Was he trying to knock me overboard?! Don’t worry, I will beat him the next time we play.

3:45 pm
I have mercy on Horse and let him win at shuffleboard so we head in side to one of my favorite places on the ship. The portrait gallery!! From the time you start boarding the ship to the last day on the ship, the ship photographers are everywhere snapping pictures. They sell these gems for $10-$30 each or a CD with all of your pics for $200. I love to go look at the pictures because they display every one's pictures on the walls and you pick yours and purchase them. I don’t buy too many but I do love to look and laugh at the goofy expressions, colorful outfits or just weird things people do during pictures. I wonder if half of the people realize their picture is being taken. Good times.

4:30 pm
Want to go outside and walk but it is raining a bit. Sugar melts when it gets wet so we stay inside.

4:45 pm
We make our way up the stairs to the 14th deck and the Royal Caribbean signature area called The Viking Crown Lounge. This is the Star Trek spaceship looking feature on the top of all the Royal Caribbean ships. This area consists of 4 entertainment venues; Seven Hearts - a game room full of board games and decks of cards, Cloud Nine - a lounge with a piano for guests to play, High Notes - a lounge with various musical entertainment nightly, the 19th Hole - a golf themed sports bar.

Viking Crown Lounge (overlooking pool deck)

 

We decided that we would wait out the rain in the Seven Hearts game room. We get up there and it is closed for a private function for past guest Royal Caribbean members. Bummer. I don’t have many complaints from this cruise but this is one of them. Royal Caribbean is having private functions to honor their most loyal past guest members. This is a nice gesture but when you close down 4 lounges every day you are not allowing your “other” guests a chance to enjoy all parts of the ship. Some newer ships have lounges purpose built for their past guest receptions but something else needs done for the ships without such lounges.


5:00 pm
We decide to go watch football but the main sports bar is called Scoreboard and is located in the main Promenade on deck #5. This bar is one of the few indoor smoking venues on the whole ship and thus it is packed with all of the smokers even if they don’t give two cents about the football games on tv. (Make this my 2nd complaint of the day). You can see a gray cloud as you approach so we just keep walking. We decide to go back to our cabin to watch the games and finally order our shore excursions. We order our excursions right through our tv in the cabin. We decide on a bicycle island tour in Grand Cayman and a Segway island tour in Cozumel Mexico. (Guess you will have to wait and see how those turned out)!

7:30 pm
Tonight is a formal night for dinner. Formal attire is suggested but not required. Most men do not bother with tuxedos although a few do have them on. We select jackets and ties and call it formal enough. The photographers have set up multiple stations around the dining rooms to get your pictures taken.
We decide to play along and get in line. Apparently this photographer did not get the memo when I told him we are father and son and just need simple poses. If he considers hands on each others shoulders and getting real close as appropriate poses for father and son, I wonder how he would have posed us had we told him we were a couple! More on the picture results tomorrow!

8:00 pm
Our travel agent group is seated together at 2 tables. What a fun bunch we had. Tonight is the first night we all dined together in the main dining room. The first night some were at the main dining room and some were at the specialty restaurant. Tonight I will stuff myself on lobster bisque as a starter, filet of beef for the entree and finish it with strawberry cheesecake. Wonderful dinner and ready for a nap now.

10:15 pm
Each night they have some entertainment in the main theater and tonight is the first of 2 shows this week by the ship’s dancers and singers. Broadway style musical and very entertaining.

11:15 pm
Since I lived in Mississippi for a handful of years as a kid, I grew up watching the New Orleans Saints football team. The Saints game was on tv tonight and we got to watch the last 10 minutes with a room full of other Saints fans on board. The Saints beat the Detroit Lions tonight so we all had a celebratory “Who Dat” chant afterwards.

12:00 pm
All day long we saw nothing but water as far as we could see. When you are out to sea at night everything is pitch black.  Tonight we see another cruise ship off in the distance but cannot tell which ship as we just see the lights making an outline..


12:15 pm
We stop by the 24-hour cafe in the Promenade and grab some fresh baked cookies before we head back to the cabin for bed.

For those of you keeping track, only 1 more ice cream cone today!!! That is a total of 2 for a day and a half on board. I need to pick up the pace if I am going to have more than 25 cones!

Good night all!

Virtual Cruise, Day 2; Saturday, Dec 3

Today is the big day as we board our ship.


5:30 am
Not by plan but I just happened to wake up and look out the window and there is Voyager of the Seas passing right in front of us. Almost missed it by the time I find my camera.

Voyager passing by our hotel

6:45 am
Carnival is also docking in New Orleans and we watch their ship pass by on the way to the pier.

11:00 am
Time to check out and make our way to the pier. Voyager of the Seas is the largest cruise ship to port in New Orleans and with a Carnival ship in town too, you are looking at about 4,500+ passengers trying to get off the ships and then another 4,500+ trying to get on the ships. For the first couple sailings (Voyager started New Orleans on Nov 12), traffic getting to the pier has been a real nightmare. I was concerned about sitting in traffic for hours without moving anywhere and considered walking to the pier. I checked with the hotel concierge and she stated that there is a new lane for taxis only so they can get people to and from the pier much quicker now. A taxi it is then!

11:10 am
Bellhop hails taxi for us and away we go.  $14 sure beats walking with our luggage for a 1/2 mile.

11:17 am
We arrive at the pier. A porter greets the taxi and takes our bags and readies them for placement on the ship. He then instructs us where to go to begin the check-in process.

11:35 am
Royal Caribbean employees and the cruise terminal staff are still working out some kinks in their process for check-in here in New Orleans. Some guests are confused as to which line to get in for check-in even though employees are trying their best to direct them. We listen to the instructions and everything goes very smooth and now we just have to wait our turn to board. However, if Royal Caribbean were to put up some room dividers in this big warehouse type facility there will be far less confusion.


12:00 noon
We are at the last step of boarding and have our picture taken for security purposes. Then we are permitted on board our wonderful ship and begin to explore.

Horse on deck ready to explore!

12:30 pm
Our room is not quite ready yet so we have just been exploring but now are stomachs are ready to explore the buffet. The key to eating on a cruise is to pace yourself or you will be sick from over-eating. I select a slice of roast beef, a hot dog and some pasta. Odd combination but I had to try some different foods to make sure it is ok for other passengers. Now Horse decided to play a popular cruise buffet game called “how high can food be stacked on this plate”? He must have been afraid that he was only allowed 1 trip to the buffet all week! hehe. He soon learned the pace yourself technique.

1:15 pm
We have finished our “light lunch” and decide to keep exploring. Low and behold, I have found the self-serve ice cream machine!! Let the quest to break my record begin! I start with a chocolate cone but rumor has it that their is strawberry in another machine. Oh how I must find that machine!

2:15 pm
The staterooms are ready so we make our way to deck #9 all the way forward on the port (left) side. Our stateroom is the very first one facing the port side of the ship. We have a window in our stateroom even though guests can select between interior (no window), ocean view (with window like ours), balcony stateroom (full sliding glass doors open to private balcony) or even suites. I like to have a window so that I can see out and have some light in the cabin but a balcony was not required for the two of us. The bridge (cockpit or control room) on this ship is on deck #10 and sits directly above our room. Gwen, our stateroom attendant, mentions that we need to keep our curtains closed at night so the light does not shine into the bridge and make it difficult for them to see. Every night I have to continually fight the urge to turn on all the lights and see how fast I can open and close the curtains!

 Ocean view stateroom #9514

For those who have not cruised before, the staterooms are small. Ours is about 165 square feet including the bathroom, living/sleeping area and the closet.. Bathrooms are small and 2 people would not be able to fit in at the same time. Once you realize that you are only in your room long enough to change clothes, shower and sleep, the small room size does not bother you. If you are a person who has to have space, then at least a room with a balcony or perhaps even a junior suite is needed.

 Small bathroom with shower

We drop off our carry-on bag, put our passports and valuables in the room safe and prepare to head back out and explore some more.

3:00 pm
Some people have changed and jumped in the pools or hot tubs already. We are busy taking pictures of the city skyline behind the cruise ship. We have about 2-1/2 hours before we set sail so we just walk around, explore and talk to other guests.

Pool area on deck #11

5:30 pm
Anchors Away!!! The sun is setting and the ships deck lights have come alive as we begin our push away from the pier. We are facing up the river but we need to head down river to reach the Gulf. It is neat how the front is spun to the left side while the back of the ship remains in place until we are completely facing the opposite direction.

Pushing away from pier and turning down river

We watch for a while as we begin the long trek down the Mississippi River - about 9-10 hours - as we head for the Gulf of Mexico. We have a cocktail reception for our travel agent group so we have to go get ready for the reception and then dinner following that.

7:00 pm
We meet in a lounge called The Vault. We have a couple cocktails and some appetizers as we meet and mingle with the other travel agents and our representative from Royal Caribbean. We have a great time and look forward to spending time with everyone this week.

8:00 pm
Royal Caribbean has 3 dining options for guests; Main seating at 5:30 pm, Late seating at 8:00 pm and then My Time. My Time is for the guests who do not want to have the same set dining time each evening. My Time allows them to make reservations daily to come anytime between 6:00 pm and 9:30 pm. Our group is using the 8:00 pm dining schedule. I was not sure I would like to have a set time but 8:00 pm worked out great as we all conversed about our days.

Our wait staff, Can (left) and Selvin.

Each night the meal consists of an appetizer, entree and then a dessert. You can order as many of each that you would like. Some nights there are multiple of each course that you might want to try. Tonight I will begin with a tortilla soup, some fresh made rolls and bread, then on to a mushroom Alfredo entree and finish it off with a piece of chocolate cherry cake. Wow! What a awesome dinner! The wait staff is amazing as we tell our assistant waiter, Selvin, that we would like a Coke for me and a diet Coke for Horse. Then each night Roberto brings them to us without us asking him for them. Can, our waiter, makes wonderful recommendations as a whole and then will recommends something individually based on what you have been eating all week.

10:00 pm
In the main theatre, La Scala, tonight is a comedian so we decide to check him out. He was pretty funny and we have a good time.

11:15 pm
The Cruise Director and his staff kick off our week with a parade through the Royal Promenade. This area is as long as 2 football fields and as high as 4 decks of the ship. Huge open area filled with shops, pubs and eateries. This is the central focal point of the ship and multiple events will take place here over the course of the week.

11:45 pm
Well, as hard as we try to stay up and watch us exit the Mississippi River, we are just too tired. We have explored a lot of this massive 14 deck ship so we are worn out. We have decided to not take elevators and use the stairs as much as possible to counteract all of the food we eat. Doing so was good for us but also wears you out with a ship this size.

With all of the excitement of this ship I only manage 1 ice cream cone. I have a lot of cones to eat before I break my record that actually stands at 25! Well, better luck tomorrow.

Good night all.

Virtual Cruise: Friday, December 2

This opportunity came up back in September and I really wanted to experience Royal Caribbean so I signed up to go. I wanted my wife, Jackie, to go with me and experience Royal too. However, she was unable to go. Let’s not list it as a fear of flying as the reason to keep her home, let’s say it was her desire to be a good mom and stay home with the kids. So my hunt begins for a travel companion but it became a short list pretty quick. My dad, Tom, was the first person I checked with and he made some adjustments to his schedule of  retired life and was able to go.


Now, before we get too far along, my siblings and I do not call him dad, father or even Tom. He is simply known as Horse; I won’t bore you with the whole story but my sister called him that when he gave her rides around the house when she was little. That name has stuck and to this day we all call him that so feel free to join in and call him that too.

Seemed like it was yesterday that Horse agreed to go and we confirmed all of the reservations and December would never come. But here were are at December 2 already!! The ship will not set sail from New Orleans until Saturday the 3rd however I don’t trust the airlines to get us to the airport on the day of sailing so we decided to go in a day early. Besides, who would not want to spend some extra time in New Orleans?

3:15 am
We have a 6 am flight out of Canton-Akron Airport on Airtran Airways so we better get the day started. (I always tell people that there is no good airline anymore but Airtran is as close as there is to a good one). We are already packed (well at least I have packed EVERYTHING I need!) so that much is done. We have a bowl of cereal for breakfast and then load the car to head for the airport.

4:15 am
Hearts beating faster and I no longer have to go to the bathroom as we almost hit a deer on the road to the airport. That would have just ruined our day!

4:30 am
We arrive at the airport and say our goodbyes before heading inside. I have been told that I pack like a typical female would and that I have entirely too many clothes. So I am concerned that I will go over the 50 pound checked bag limit and have to pay half as much as we paid for the original airline ticket. To rewind a little bit, I tried everything to weigh this bag. I used our “wonderful” digital scale at home. One reading said 9 lbs and then the next said 48 lbs. hmmm. So, let me weigh myself without the bag and then while holding the bag. Yes, that should work. 185 lbs! Yes!!! I have not been that weight since my freshman year in high school! Next reading shows 258 lbs; umm maybe AFTER the cruise buffet but not before it! Next reading shows 205 lbs! Wrong answer!! In the trash can you go pal! What to do next? I know, use the scale on the Wii Fit! Used my 6 year old daughter’s character who just happens to weigh 44 lbs. Put the bag on the scale and it registers at 38 lbs; twice! So, fast forward back to the airport...I reluctantly put the bag on the scale and it registers....38 lbs!! Yippee! Moral of the story, use the Wii Fit to weigh your bags! I wonder if I can convince Donna Palmer to have a Wii at work...just for the purpose of weighing clients bags. That’s the only reason, how Madden NFL gets on there I would have no idea.

5:00 am
All done with check-in and security so we proceed to our gate upstairs. While we are sitting there and discussing our trip, my dad discovers that he forgot to pack his dress shirts for formal nights. Ooopss....I may pack like a girl but at least I have all of the required clothing! No time now to have Momma bring one to us. Guess he will have to make formal night sexy with no shirt under his suit jacket. (I know what song everyone is singing now!!!)

6:00 am
All aboard! We are all on the plane and on our way to New Orleans via Atlanta.

9:00 am (keep in mind that New Orleans is on Central time or 1 hour behind Ohio)
Nothing exciting on the flights (thank goodness) and we arrive about 30 minutes early into New Orleans.

9:20 am
Taxi or hotel shuttle? We decide to try the hotel shuttle. $20 per person to go from the airport to the French Quarter hotels -- distance of about 20 miles. (Taxis are about $17 each person) I should just have paid $40 and gone to Cedar Point to have the pee scared out of me on a ride. This guy is cruising up and down all of the side streets, just honking and hoping people get out of his way.

9:47 am
With the side mirror on the van, we almost behead someone on a bike who is a little slow, deaf or just likes a thrill.

9:52 am
Girl sitting in the street working on a sewer line almost has similar fate to the bicycle rider when she refuses to move. I did not look but I am pretty sure she has tire marks on her bright yellow jacket now.

10:00 am
Arrive at the Marriott and I want to kiss the ground once we get out of the van. We pre-check in and they take my cell phone number so that they can call us when our room is ready. We check our bags with the bellhop and hit the streets.

We selected the Marriott on Canal Street for a couple reasons. 1) I am cheap and this was the best deal I could get. 2) It has a very good location. About 3 blocks from Bourbon Street and about 1/2 mile to the cruise pier. Highly recommend this property to anyone cruising from New Orleans or just wanting to spend a couple nights.

10:30 am
We walk around looking for a men's clothing store as someone (no names please) forgot their shirt and we have to purchase one. We find a mall attached to the convention center but no stores with dress shirts although a Saints jersey would look real nice. So we find another mall with a store, that shall remain nameless, selling shirts for $150 each and sweaters for $350 each!! Let’s keep looking! Finally find a reasonably priced shirt, now the ladies on the ship are spared from tripping as they stare at Horse’s bare chest.

12:30 pm
The hotel calls and says our room is ready but it is time to find lunch. We hear the Po’Boy sandwiches are something not to be missed. Just about every restaurant offers them so we find a place on Bourbon street called Remoulade and settle in. I order the Shrimp Po’Boy and Horse orders the catfish Po’Boy and a bowl of Gumbo. Both are awesome sandwiches and are reasonably priced at $8 for the meal.

2:30 pm
We had our Po’Boy so now it is off to the hotel to check-in and have a nap’boy. We have a room on the 17th floor overlooking the Mississippi River. We relax a little and just watch the ships moving cargo up and down the river.

6:00 pm
Time to visit the famous French Quarter at night and see what is happening. Let’s just say that since this is a family blog, we won’t report most of what we see on Bourbon Street. I found it amazing how different it is during the daytime versus at night here. When we ate lunch here, I would not have much of a problem bringing my kids along but no chance would I do that at night.

8:00 pm
We are getting hungry again so we begin our search for a good place to eat. We don’t mind the jazz music playing in most of the clubs and restaurants on Bourbon Street but we want a quieter place so we can actually converse during dinner. Just off of Bourbon Street on Conti Street is a seafood restaurant called Oceana Grill. We decide on the Gator Bites for an appetizer. These are grilled alligator meat in some spicy sauce. Real good and tastes a bit like beef. I tried a chicken Alfredo dish that was really good. I am used to traditional Alfredo but this was a spicy version. I sucked down a couple glasses of cold water to offset the spice of the appetizer and meal but well worth it.

9:30 pm
We watch some street acrobat performers. Pretty entertaining and they draw a very large crowd too.

10:00 pm
We head back tot he hotel. It has been a long day and I guess I am just not a party animal for the New Orleans nightlife. If you like to drink and party, you could have some serious fun in New Orleans but could also get in lots of trouble too. Still we felt safe walking around town and never worried about our safety. New Orleans is a very enjoyable town.

Good night all. More to come tomorrow as we prepare to board the ship that will become our home for the next 7 nights. Enjoy.