This morning we had room service for breakfast (15 minutes early) and then went back to sleep.
There was a presentation at 10:00 am for those that are staying on for the next cruise after the first 16 days (that would be us). They told us a brief overview of all the ports on the last 7 days and told us of the process we would need to go through when the first part of the cruise ends in Civitavecchia (Rome), Italy on May 14. We will be allowed off the ship as early as 7:00 am. We have a tour scheduled to start at 7:30 am. They are picking us up in Civitavecchia and driving us to Rome (about 1 1/2 hours). A guide will meet us at the Vatican and take us on a tour there for 3 hours. We will then have a couple of hours in Rome after the tour for the driver to take us wherever we want to go and then after that he will drive us back to the ship. All aboard time is 4:30 pm and we sail away at 5:00 pm for the 2nd portion of our cruise. They said we don't have to do the life boat drill again (Yea!).
At 10:30 am they opened up the bow of the boat on deck 4 for us to have a land watching party. They were serving Pea Soup (free) and various beverages ($). The photographers were out there taking pictures. We had our picture taken with King Neptune. Pat & Terry had their picture taken ringing the ship's bell and doing the Traditional Titanic shot (well Pat did anyway). We never did see land……….
At 11:00 am there was a presentation by the travel guide telling us things to see and do in the upcoming ports of call (1st portion of cruise). We ha to leave before it was over, you guessed it, it was lunch time!
Lunch was at noon and Pat had to leave before dessert because she had signed up to do Walk for the Cure on deck at 1:00 pm.
At 2:00 pm they set the clocks forward to 3:00 pm -- time for the Cupcake Tea. We missed it the first time so we felt we needed to make it to this one. We were first in line. They had so many different things to try. As well as cupcakes, scones, sandwiches, and tea they also had glasses of COLD chocolate or strawberry milk. It was delicious.
At 4:00 pm it was time for Win A Cruise Bingo. NO LUCK. After that, time for donation to casino. NO LUCK
It was then 5:45 pm and time for dinner. It seems like all we have done today was eat. Mary P didn't get to stay for dessert because she had a 7:30 pm appointment at the spa to be pampered. After dinner Pat and I went to the hydrotherapy pool to relax after a stressful day.
It is 9:00 pm and I am back in the room trying to decide if I want to go to the show. It is the singers and dancers and I have seen the show before. I told Pat & Terry that it would be repeated on the 2nd part of the cruise and we could go then, but I think we may go tonight at 10:00 pm instead. We may be too tired to go the next time they have it.
We have a port day tomorrow. We will be in Cadiz, Spain and we have an excursion booked which leaves the ship at 8:30 am and lasts for 5 hours. I am sure we will be exhausted when it is over. This is a ship sponsored excursion where we get to ride on a bus with 40 or 50 of our closest cruise friends………..
Kotor, Montenegro
Kotor, Montenegro
Saturday, May 7, 2011
Friday, May 6, 2011
Friday, May 6, 2011
After dinner last night we went for our donation to the casino and then to the hydrotherapy pool. We were the only ones in there so that was nice. We didn't stay long and went back to the room to collapse.
We have had several more time changes. I believe there is now a 6 hour difference from Dallas. Tomorrow we will have another time change at 2:00 pm and that will make it a 7 hour difference from Dallas. I don't think we will have any more time changes.
Today is my birthday. I already had gotten a card from my kids with a note about the additional shipboard credit they had given me for a spa service. This morning Mary P also gave me a card from Craig and my mother. These were both nice surprises. Today we are invited to a Suite Luncheon in the Pinnacle Grill. I am sure they planned it for my birthday! Tonight we are going to Canelleto -- an Italian restaurant. It is formal night tonight and you don't have to dress up as much to go there since it is located on the Lido Deck.
We had room service for breakfast again this morning. We decided to mark the order to receive it from 7:30-8:00 am. and you guessed it -- we got it at 7:20 am. We also order water with our breakfast each morning and today, we got water -- 2 pots of hot water. Not really sure what we were supposed to do with them since we hadn't ordered any tea to go with it and also no cups to put it in unless they thought we were going to add it to the pot of coffee that they gave us that was big enough to serve the whole ship.
Around 10:00 am I had a call from the Concierge. He said that he knew that I had the privacy sign on my door but could I please open it so he could bring me something from the Rosga's. I got up and opened the door and there were balloons on the door and the Concierge was holding a plate of truffles that the Rosga's had sent me for my birthday. The balloons were falling off the door so he brought them in the cabin and put them on our mirror. This was a very nice surprise!
We went to the casino to make our daily deposit and they must have know it was my birthday because I made money today. That was a nice change. After that it was time for the Suite Luncheon. It was very good. We had mustard soup with salmon for our appetizer. I had never seen this before and didn't know what to expect but it was really good. For the main course we had Beef Tenderloin with Sweetbread. It was good as well. We were commenting on the Sweetbread and it didn't have the consistency of bread and finally decided that it was probably goose liver. It wasn't bad. I would have never tried it if it had said goose liver!
The Future Cruise Consultant had a presentation of the Top 10 Cruises that people are booking on this cruise. A couple of them are mostly booked up for 2012. I always enjoy going to these talks so I can hear where the favorite cruises go.
We went to Canelleto -- an Italian restaurant for dinner. It was formal night tonight and you normally don't have to dress up as much going up there since it is located on the Lido Deck. We had a nice dinner and they even brought a cake out to me and sang Happy Birthday to me. As we got up from the table to rush off to the show, I heard a lady say to her husband "They aren't dressed up in formal wear" Mary P said she heard her say before that comment "What's wrong with these people". Well that didn't set very well with me. I thought we all looked fine. In fact if we hadn't been dressed properly, they would not have seated us for dinner.
For the entertainment tonight we got to enjoy the Unique Magic and Comedy of John Lenahan who has performed for audiences around the world, including Queen Elizabeth's Golden Jubilee. He was pretty funny. In fact he had someone to come up on the stage to help him who on formal night was dressed in shorts and a hoodie sweatshirt. I sure hope he didn't offend the woman from the restaurant!
At 10:30 pm they are having the Officer's Black & White Ball in the Vista Lounge. They are decorating everything in black and white and I am sure it will look nice. They said they will be taking out a lot of the seating and putting in a dance floor. I would like to have seen it but am too tired to wait up. I think these time changes are getting to me.
We have had several more time changes. I believe there is now a 6 hour difference from Dallas. Tomorrow we will have another time change at 2:00 pm and that will make it a 7 hour difference from Dallas. I don't think we will have any more time changes.
Today is my birthday. I already had gotten a card from my kids with a note about the additional shipboard credit they had given me for a spa service. This morning Mary P also gave me a card from Craig and my mother. These were both nice surprises. Today we are invited to a Suite Luncheon in the Pinnacle Grill. I am sure they planned it for my birthday! Tonight we are going to Canelleto -- an Italian restaurant. It is formal night tonight and you don't have to dress up as much to go there since it is located on the Lido Deck.
We had room service for breakfast again this morning. We decided to mark the order to receive it from 7:30-8:00 am. and you guessed it -- we got it at 7:20 am. We also order water with our breakfast each morning and today, we got water -- 2 pots of hot water. Not really sure what we were supposed to do with them since we hadn't ordered any tea to go with it and also no cups to put it in unless they thought we were going to add it to the pot of coffee that they gave us that was big enough to serve the whole ship.
Around 10:00 am I had a call from the Concierge. He said that he knew that I had the privacy sign on my door but could I please open it so he could bring me something from the Rosga's. I got up and opened the door and there were balloons on the door and the Concierge was holding a plate of truffles that the Rosga's had sent me for my birthday. The balloons were falling off the door so he brought them in the cabin and put them on our mirror. This was a very nice surprise!
We went to the casino to make our daily deposit and they must have know it was my birthday because I made money today. That was a nice change. After that it was time for the Suite Luncheon. It was very good. We had mustard soup with salmon for our appetizer. I had never seen this before and didn't know what to expect but it was really good. For the main course we had Beef Tenderloin with Sweetbread. It was good as well. We were commenting on the Sweetbread and it didn't have the consistency of bread and finally decided that it was probably goose liver. It wasn't bad. I would have never tried it if it had said goose liver!
The Future Cruise Consultant had a presentation of the Top 10 Cruises that people are booking on this cruise. A couple of them are mostly booked up for 2012. I always enjoy going to these talks so I can hear where the favorite cruises go.
We went to Canelleto -- an Italian restaurant for dinner. It was formal night tonight and you normally don't have to dress up as much going up there since it is located on the Lido Deck. We had a nice dinner and they even brought a cake out to me and sang Happy Birthday to me. As we got up from the table to rush off to the show, I heard a lady say to her husband "They aren't dressed up in formal wear" Mary P said she heard her say before that comment "What's wrong with these people". Well that didn't set very well with me. I thought we all looked fine. In fact if we hadn't been dressed properly, they would not have seated us for dinner.
For the entertainment tonight we got to enjoy the Unique Magic and Comedy of John Lenahan who has performed for audiences around the world, including Queen Elizabeth's Golden Jubilee. He was pretty funny. In fact he had someone to come up on the stage to help him who on formal night was dressed in shorts and a hoodie sweatshirt. I sure hope he didn't offend the woman from the restaurant!
At 10:30 pm they are having the Officer's Black & White Ball in the Vista Lounge. They are decorating everything in black and white and I am sure it will look nice. They said they will be taking out a lot of the seating and putting in a dance floor. I would like to have seen it but am too tired to wait up. I think these time changes are getting to me.
Thursday, May 5, 2011
Thursday, May 5, 2011
This morning we ordered breakfast from 6:30-7:00 am and received it at 6:10 am. For some reason they don't seem to be able to tell time! We docked in Ponta Delgada, Sao Miguel, Azores an island of Portugal a little before 8:00 am.
We were some of the first off the ship and quickly met up with our tour guide. He was the father of the owner of the tour company. The owner was already booked for the day so we got to go with his father. He was a good guide and showed us all over his island. We told him we wanted a 6 hour island tour and after we got back wished we had asked for a shorter tour. We saw lots of beautiful churches. We also saw several lakes. This is a volcanic island and there are hot spots around the island and you can smell the sulphur and see steam coming from the earth. There was one spot where they dug holes in the ground and buried food in there and it cooked for 6 hours in the ground and then they dug it up to sell to people at restaurants. We didn't get any to eat because you had to order it a day ahead of time. However, I did read about this before I left home and the food sounded gross so I wasn't too disappointed that a we didn't get any.
There was another place they took us where we had to walk a pretty good bit to get to a warm pool of water where people could go in and swim. It was supposed to make you feel better. We didn't bring our swimsuits along, so I had to skip that also.
The guide wanted to take us to another place but it would add an hour to our tour and we already felt like we had been beat, so we begged him to take us back to the ship and he did. We told him that the next time we came to his island we would let him take us.
We got back to the ship at 2:30 and were hungry so we went to the Lido Buffet to get something to eat. I decided to get a hamburger out by the pool since I hadn't had one on this trip yet. There was no line and it was really good. After eating, we went and played bingo but had no luck.
Tonight the only show is the Filipino Crew Show at 11:00 pm. I feel pretty sure I will be asleep at that time. I may try to go to the hydrotherapy pool after dinner.
They are having half price internet minutes between 4-6 pm so I am trying to get this posted quickly during this time period. I will also try and post some pictures. I am not sure if the pictures will work and may have to do later.
We were some of the first off the ship and quickly met up with our tour guide. He was the father of the owner of the tour company. The owner was already booked for the day so we got to go with his father. He was a good guide and showed us all over his island. We told him we wanted a 6 hour island tour and after we got back wished we had asked for a shorter tour. We saw lots of beautiful churches. We also saw several lakes. This is a volcanic island and there are hot spots around the island and you can smell the sulphur and see steam coming from the earth. There was one spot where they dug holes in the ground and buried food in there and it cooked for 6 hours in the ground and then they dug it up to sell to people at restaurants. We didn't get any to eat because you had to order it a day ahead of time. However, I did read about this before I left home and the food sounded gross so I wasn't too disappointed that a we didn't get any.
There was another place they took us where we had to walk a pretty good bit to get to a warm pool of water where people could go in and swim. It was supposed to make you feel better. We didn't bring our swimsuits along, so I had to skip that also.
The guide wanted to take us to another place but it would add an hour to our tour and we already felt like we had been beat, so we begged him to take us back to the ship and he did. We told him that the next time we came to his island we would let him take us.
We got back to the ship at 2:30 and were hungry so we went to the Lido Buffet to get something to eat. I decided to get a hamburger out by the pool since I hadn't had one on this trip yet. There was no line and it was really good. After eating, we went and played bingo but had no luck.
Tonight the only show is the Filipino Crew Show at 11:00 pm. I feel pretty sure I will be asleep at that time. I may try to go to the hydrotherapy pool after dinner.
They are having half price internet minutes between 4-6 pm so I am trying to get this posted quickly during this time period. I will also try and post some pictures. I am not sure if the pictures will work and may have to do later.
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
Most of you probably already know our routine by now: room service for breakfast, hydrotherapy pool and back to the room to get ready to face the day.
There are so many things to choose from today: Learn Basic Spanish, Celebrity Chef Cookoff, Computer Classes, Aqua Aerobics, Bean Bag Toss, Dance Class (Country Line Dance), Team Trivia, Bingo, and Casino. This is just a sampling of what is going on today. There are many other things to do. I do know one things that we will do for sure -- lunch! When Pat and Terry left the hydrotherapy pool this morning, that is the one thing we made plans to do.
We will be in our first port tomorrow -- Ponta Delgada, Portugal. We have a private excursion booked to go to "Fogo" Fire Crater Lake & Furnas Crater Lake. Not really sure what it will be but it sounded good when we booked it. The tour is supposed to last 5-6 hours. We try to book the private tours when possible so we have a smaller group and are able to do and see what we want to and not have to wait around for a bus full of people. We have about half private tours and half cruise ship tours. Of course with what happened recently, our families are e-mailing us reminding us to be aware of our surroundings and to be careful.
We went to lunch and were the 2nd people in line at the Vista Dining Room. Usually there are lots of people waiting but for some reason they weren't there today. There is a couple of big groups on board. One of them is a group playing bridge. I am not sure how many there are, but everywhere you look they are playing bridge. Yesterday at lunch we saw a woman who didn't get a chance to finish her lunch so she took her plate with her back to her bridge game. Now that is dedication. The other group is one that I have mentioned previously "Travel With Alan". There are 352 in the group and they have different functions just for their group and take up a lot of the public rooms.
I took a look at the dinner menu and it looks like I will have Prime Rib tonight. For dessert I will have the Cappuccino Bomb -- Rich coffee ice cream encased in a decadent dark chocolate shell, garnished with chocolate sauce and fresh berries. Now doesn't that sound wonderful?
The show tonight will be the Noordam singers and dancers "If Walls Could Rock". I am pretty sure I have seen this show several times before. After the show they will be having Round 1 of Noordam Superstar. This is a continuation of the Karaoke they had the other night.
There are so many things to choose from today: Learn Basic Spanish, Celebrity Chef Cookoff, Computer Classes, Aqua Aerobics, Bean Bag Toss, Dance Class (Country Line Dance), Team Trivia, Bingo, and Casino. This is just a sampling of what is going on today. There are many other things to do. I do know one things that we will do for sure -- lunch! When Pat and Terry left the hydrotherapy pool this morning, that is the one thing we made plans to do.
We will be in our first port tomorrow -- Ponta Delgada, Portugal. We have a private excursion booked to go to "Fogo" Fire Crater Lake & Furnas Crater Lake. Not really sure what it will be but it sounded good when we booked it. The tour is supposed to last 5-6 hours. We try to book the private tours when possible so we have a smaller group and are able to do and see what we want to and not have to wait around for a bus full of people. We have about half private tours and half cruise ship tours. Of course with what happened recently, our families are e-mailing us reminding us to be aware of our surroundings and to be careful.
We went to lunch and were the 2nd people in line at the Vista Dining Room. Usually there are lots of people waiting but for some reason they weren't there today. There is a couple of big groups on board. One of them is a group playing bridge. I am not sure how many there are, but everywhere you look they are playing bridge. Yesterday at lunch we saw a woman who didn't get a chance to finish her lunch so she took her plate with her back to her bridge game. Now that is dedication. The other group is one that I have mentioned previously "Travel With Alan". There are 352 in the group and they have different functions just for their group and take up a lot of the public rooms.
I took a look at the dinner menu and it looks like I will have Prime Rib tonight. For dessert I will have the Cappuccino Bomb -- Rich coffee ice cream encased in a decadent dark chocolate shell, garnished with chocolate sauce and fresh berries. Now doesn't that sound wonderful?
The show tonight will be the Noordam singers and dancers "If Walls Could Rock". I am pretty sure I have seen this show several times before. After the show they will be having Round 1 of Noordam Superstar. This is a continuation of the Karaoke they had the other night.
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
This morning we once again started with room service for breakfast. We received all of the food we ordered today but only 1 cereal spoon for the 2 of us so Mary P used her coffee spoon to eat her cereal.
We went to the spa Hydrotherapy pool again this morning. We found if we get there when they open -- 8:00 am -- there isn't anyone else there (except for the Rosga's). We get to watch Pat do her water aerobics. Pat is always on the go and unable to sit still for more than a few minutes.
My kids (Krista, Chase & Lauren) gave me some shipboard credit for my birthday so I made an appointment to have a facial this morning. It was so relaxing. In fact I fell asleep and woke myself up snoring while she was giving me the facial. At the end of the facial she had a whole line of products that would make my skin so much better if I would just use them. I think they only cost about $1,000 or something. I thanked her for sharing what products I needed, but politely told her I wouldn't be purchasing any products. In the past they usually told you that your skin would turn green or something trying to talk you into buying the products but she didn't push them which I really appreciated.
We went to watch "Cooking with the Cruise Director" in the Culinary Arts Center. These cooking shows are always so funny. They had the chef from the ship making a Black Forest Cake with the Cruise Director by his side making one also. I know I wouldn't eat anything the Cruise Director made! They did bring out samples at the end of the show and it was pretty good. After eating our cake, it was time for lunch so we went down to the Vista Dining Room and got in line and waited until they opened the doors. Service was really slow today but the food was good.
After lunch we made our daily donation to the casino and were going to go to the Cupcake Tea but decided we weren't really in the mood or hungry so we went up to the Crow's Nest to try and find seats for bingo which was to be held in another hour. People go up there and camp out in the recliners to read but usually once bingo starts they leave so we wanted to be there ready to grab our chairs when they were available. While waiting, they had a jewelry fashion show that we watched. This jewelry was worth thousands of dollars and I really didn't like any of it. I think they said one necklace was valued at $68,000. I wouldn't have given them $68 for it. However, they did say that everything was 50% off today.
No luck at bingo today.
Formal night tonight -- ugh! I didn't wear my formal wear like I did the first formal night but I noticed a lot of people didn't dress up as much. In fact there were some men in the show in shorts.
The show tonight was a variety show with the stand-up comedian and the harpist. The comedian did about 25 minutes and then the harpist did about 25 minutes. I really thought the comedian was better tonight than he was the other night. We got to the showroom early and got a seat in the front row of the box seats on the side.
After the show we went to "Battle of the Sexes". It was pretty funny and the women won!
We went to the spa Hydrotherapy pool again this morning. We found if we get there when they open -- 8:00 am -- there isn't anyone else there (except for the Rosga's). We get to watch Pat do her water aerobics. Pat is always on the go and unable to sit still for more than a few minutes.
My kids (Krista, Chase & Lauren) gave me some shipboard credit for my birthday so I made an appointment to have a facial this morning. It was so relaxing. In fact I fell asleep and woke myself up snoring while she was giving me the facial. At the end of the facial she had a whole line of products that would make my skin so much better if I would just use them. I think they only cost about $1,000 or something. I thanked her for sharing what products I needed, but politely told her I wouldn't be purchasing any products. In the past they usually told you that your skin would turn green or something trying to talk you into buying the products but she didn't push them which I really appreciated.
We went to watch "Cooking with the Cruise Director" in the Culinary Arts Center. These cooking shows are always so funny. They had the chef from the ship making a Black Forest Cake with the Cruise Director by his side making one also. I know I wouldn't eat anything the Cruise Director made! They did bring out samples at the end of the show and it was pretty good. After eating our cake, it was time for lunch so we went down to the Vista Dining Room and got in line and waited until they opened the doors. Service was really slow today but the food was good.
After lunch we made our daily donation to the casino and were going to go to the Cupcake Tea but decided we weren't really in the mood or hungry so we went up to the Crow's Nest to try and find seats for bingo which was to be held in another hour. People go up there and camp out in the recliners to read but usually once bingo starts they leave so we wanted to be there ready to grab our chairs when they were available. While waiting, they had a jewelry fashion show that we watched. This jewelry was worth thousands of dollars and I really didn't like any of it. I think they said one necklace was valued at $68,000. I wouldn't have given them $68 for it. However, they did say that everything was 50% off today.
No luck at bingo today.
Formal night tonight -- ugh! I didn't wear my formal wear like I did the first formal night but I noticed a lot of people didn't dress up as much. In fact there were some men in the show in shorts.
The show tonight was a variety show with the stand-up comedian and the harpist. The comedian did about 25 minutes and then the harpist did about 25 minutes. I really thought the comedian was better tonight than he was the other night. We got to the showroom early and got a seat in the front row of the box seats on the side.
After the show we went to "Battle of the Sexes". It was pretty funny and the women won!
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
Monday, May 2, 2011
This morning we started out with room service for breakfast and they once again came 10 minutes before time but this time we were awake. I always order a bowl of apricots and for some reason, they didn't deliver it so I just had a bowl of cereal but we do have a fruit basket in the room so I ate a banana out of that.
We went to the hydrotherapy pool at the spa and enjoyed the pool and ceramic loungers for a little over an hour. After that we went back to the room to get ready for the day. I was still a little miffed that I didn't get my apricots so I stopped by the lido and got a bowl of them there. Then I was happy. There really wasn't much going on this morning. We went to the talk about shore excursions but we were late so didn't get to hear much of it so we went to make our donation to the casino. It was a very unfriendly place this morning.
We decided to go back to the room but stopped by the Neptune Lounge to get a snack and ask for a printout of our bill. We were walking back to our room looking at our bills trying to see if everything was correct. I really wasn't paying any attention to where I was going. When I got to the room my key wouldn't work and I thought well this is great. I told Mary P to try her key and she started laughing and said this isn't our room. We are on the wrong floor. I looked up and we were trying to get into the Rosga's room. They are on the 7th floor (same floor as the Neptune) and we are on the 5th floor. Ours is directly below theirs down 2 floors. They are both the aft wrap around balcony rooms. After we got back to the room Pat called and said they were in line at the dining room (30 minutes early) for lunch and asked if we were coming, so we went down there to get in line. After all we wouldn't want to miss a meal. I am trying to do better about what I eat on the cruise and I try not to clean my plate even if it is wonderful.
This afternoon they had a special show with Clint Holmes and we wanted to be sure to see him. We figured it would be crowded because he was so good so we went to the showroom to start a line right after we finished lunch. The showroom was closed for rehearsals. Finally Clint came out the door and we figured they were finished with rehearsals so Mary P opened the door and went in so we all followed her. There were others that followed as well but it was a long time before the opened the doors to all the others. I have to say I think this show was better than his other 2 shows that we saw the other night. He said that he would like to be on broadway. If he goes to broadway, I am going to be there to see him. That is how good he is!
Dinner was good tonight as usual. For my appetizer I had orange slices with watermelon salsa. I thought that was strange but actually pretty good.
The entertainer tonight was a harpist from Paraguay. He was talented but not really my thing.
The last thing we did tonight was go to Karaoke. There were some really good ones and also some really bad ones. I think we needed a gong to get rid of some of them sooner. There are quite a few young people on this cruise and they were the ones that were good. There was one man that went up there and he was just doing his own thing not even singing what was on the screen. Finally everyone started clapping so he shut up and went and sat down.
Tomorrow they have the cupcake tea where it says they will have 10 different kinds of cupcakes. I think I will have to go check that out.
We went to the hydrotherapy pool at the spa and enjoyed the pool and ceramic loungers for a little over an hour. After that we went back to the room to get ready for the day. I was still a little miffed that I didn't get my apricots so I stopped by the lido and got a bowl of them there. Then I was happy. There really wasn't much going on this morning. We went to the talk about shore excursions but we were late so didn't get to hear much of it so we went to make our donation to the casino. It was a very unfriendly place this morning.
We decided to go back to the room but stopped by the Neptune Lounge to get a snack and ask for a printout of our bill. We were walking back to our room looking at our bills trying to see if everything was correct. I really wasn't paying any attention to where I was going. When I got to the room my key wouldn't work and I thought well this is great. I told Mary P to try her key and she started laughing and said this isn't our room. We are on the wrong floor. I looked up and we were trying to get into the Rosga's room. They are on the 7th floor (same floor as the Neptune) and we are on the 5th floor. Ours is directly below theirs down 2 floors. They are both the aft wrap around balcony rooms. After we got back to the room Pat called and said they were in line at the dining room (30 minutes early) for lunch and asked if we were coming, so we went down there to get in line. After all we wouldn't want to miss a meal. I am trying to do better about what I eat on the cruise and I try not to clean my plate even if it is wonderful.
This afternoon they had a special show with Clint Holmes and we wanted to be sure to see him. We figured it would be crowded because he was so good so we went to the showroom to start a line right after we finished lunch. The showroom was closed for rehearsals. Finally Clint came out the door and we figured they were finished with rehearsals so Mary P opened the door and went in so we all followed her. There were others that followed as well but it was a long time before the opened the doors to all the others. I have to say I think this show was better than his other 2 shows that we saw the other night. He said that he would like to be on broadway. If he goes to broadway, I am going to be there to see him. That is how good he is!
Dinner was good tonight as usual. For my appetizer I had orange slices with watermelon salsa. I thought that was strange but actually pretty good.
The entertainer tonight was a harpist from Paraguay. He was talented but not really my thing.
The last thing we did tonight was go to Karaoke. There were some really good ones and also some really bad ones. I think we needed a gong to get rid of some of them sooner. There are quite a few young people on this cruise and they were the ones that were good. There was one man that went up there and he was just doing his own thing not even singing what was on the screen. Finally everyone started clapping so he shut up and went and sat down.
Tomorrow they have the cupcake tea where it says they will have 10 different kinds of cupcakes. I think I will have to go check that out.
Sunday, May 1, 2011
Sunday, May 1, 2011
This morning we decided to have room service for breakfast. We requested it to be delivered between 7:00 and 7:30 and even set a wake-up call for 6:55 so we would be ready. At 6:50 I was awoken by a tap on the door. I went to look out the peep hole because I really couldn't tell if it was at our door or next door. There was a room service guy out there. I saw him look at his watch and then knock on our door a little louder. I guess he needs a new watch. It didn't take us long to eat because we just ordered cereal and fruit. We ordered it early because we had plans to go to the Hydrotherapy Pool in the spa when it opened at 8:00 am. We had an invitation for an Indonesian Rijstaffel Brunch at 11:00 am so we needed time to get back from the spa and get ready to go eat once again. It seems like everything is planned around meals.
The Rosga's got to the spa shortly after we did and we were talking about the brunch at 11:00 am and they said theirs was for 1:00 pm. After I got back to the room, I called and changed ours to 1:00 pm also. Guess we didn't have to get up so early after all. We also have dinner reservations tonight at the Pinnacle Grill.
We went to the luncheon with the Rosga's. It was all Indonesian food and was very good but spicy. They had the appetizer on the table when we were seated. We asked the waiter what it was and he said springrolls. They were tasty. We then noticed that people were walking up to the front of the dining room standing in line. We then figured out that it was a buffet. After moaning and groaning about having to stand in a line, it was finally our turn to go. I figured that since I had to go up there and get it I should make the best of it. I got one of everything and tasted it all. Some things were better than others. They also served champagne mixed with guava juice. I don' t really care for champagne so the guava made it easier to go down.
Just got back from bingo. I won $131 on the 3rd game and Mary P won $420 on the 4th game. We are getting ready to go to dinner at the Pinnacle Grill compliments of our travel agent.
We went to the Pinnacle Grill and it was good. I had the Veal Chop with mashed potatoes and asparagus. The dessert was raspberry cheesecake with coffee. We witnessed something really funny while we were there eating. The Pinnacle Grill is a speciality restaurant that you have to pay for. I think it is $20 per person and requires advance reservations. When we were seated, we saw Dan Scrivner and his wife eating nearby and we spoke as we passed by. They were seated in a nice romantic booth and I commented to our group that was where they tried to seat Mary P and I for breakfast the other morning and I asked them to move us by the window. It wasn't long until an they brought an older woman in to be seated. She was alone and they were seating her at a table for 2. She asked to be seated with someone and they told her that people were not seated together at the Pinnacle because they preferred to dine alone. She then promptly said that she would just ask someone if she could sit with them. You guessed it, she asked Dan and his wife if she could dine with them and they were very kind to her and told her to join them. The whole staff at the Pinnacle were standing around with their mouths wide open not believing what was going on. It looked like their dinner went well. I can't wait until I run into Dan to see what he thought about the whole thing.
After dinner we were invited to a cocktail reception with the Captain. We made a brief appearance just to check things out but didn't stay long because we wanted to get a good seat at the show.
Tonight the show was Brian Bradley -- a playful blend of stand-up & improvisation. We sat in the balcony because we didn't want to be part of the show. He put on a good show and was really quick on his feet coming up with things. They said he had been on the Seinfeld Show.
They said we may be losing the internet and TV signals over the next few days. I will try to post this now and hopefully it will work. There could be several days where I won't be posting, but I will catch it up when we get a signal again. I must say though, that the weakest signals we have gotten so far have been 100% better than the signals we had on Royal Caribbean in November. At least we can use our computers in the cabin and not have to carry it to a bar to get on the internet.
If anyone posts on this, let us know who was kicked off the Celebrity Apprentice and the Amazing Race. I just don't understand why they can't give us our reality shows on board.
They will be setting the clocks forward at 2:00 pm tomorrow. I think there is a 3 hour difference from Dallas now and tomorrow we will have a 4 hour time difference.
The Rosga's got to the spa shortly after we did and we were talking about the brunch at 11:00 am and they said theirs was for 1:00 pm. After I got back to the room, I called and changed ours to 1:00 pm also. Guess we didn't have to get up so early after all. We also have dinner reservations tonight at the Pinnacle Grill.
We went to the luncheon with the Rosga's. It was all Indonesian food and was very good but spicy. They had the appetizer on the table when we were seated. We asked the waiter what it was and he said springrolls. They were tasty. We then noticed that people were walking up to the front of the dining room standing in line. We then figured out that it was a buffet. After moaning and groaning about having to stand in a line, it was finally our turn to go. I figured that since I had to go up there and get it I should make the best of it. I got one of everything and tasted it all. Some things were better than others. They also served champagne mixed with guava juice. I don' t really care for champagne so the guava made it easier to go down.
Just got back from bingo. I won $131 on the 3rd game and Mary P won $420 on the 4th game. We are getting ready to go to dinner at the Pinnacle Grill compliments of our travel agent.
We went to the Pinnacle Grill and it was good. I had the Veal Chop with mashed potatoes and asparagus. The dessert was raspberry cheesecake with coffee. We witnessed something really funny while we were there eating. The Pinnacle Grill is a speciality restaurant that you have to pay for. I think it is $20 per person and requires advance reservations. When we were seated, we saw Dan Scrivner and his wife eating nearby and we spoke as we passed by. They were seated in a nice romantic booth and I commented to our group that was where they tried to seat Mary P and I for breakfast the other morning and I asked them to move us by the window. It wasn't long until an they brought an older woman in to be seated. She was alone and they were seating her at a table for 2. She asked to be seated with someone and they told her that people were not seated together at the Pinnacle because they preferred to dine alone. She then promptly said that she would just ask someone if she could sit with them. You guessed it, she asked Dan and his wife if she could dine with them and they were very kind to her and told her to join them. The whole staff at the Pinnacle were standing around with their mouths wide open not believing what was going on. It looked like their dinner went well. I can't wait until I run into Dan to see what he thought about the whole thing.
After dinner we were invited to a cocktail reception with the Captain. We made a brief appearance just to check things out but didn't stay long because we wanted to get a good seat at the show.
Tonight the show was Brian Bradley -- a playful blend of stand-up & improvisation. We sat in the balcony because we didn't want to be part of the show. He put on a good show and was really quick on his feet coming up with things. They said he had been on the Seinfeld Show.
They said we may be losing the internet and TV signals over the next few days. I will try to post this now and hopefully it will work. There could be several days where I won't be posting, but I will catch it up when we get a signal again. I must say though, that the weakest signals we have gotten so far have been 100% better than the signals we had on Royal Caribbean in November. At least we can use our computers in the cabin and not have to carry it to a bar to get on the internet.
If anyone posts on this, let us know who was kicked off the Celebrity Apprentice and the Amazing Race. I just don't understand why they can't give us our reality shows on board.
They will be setting the clocks forward at 2:00 pm tomorrow. I think there is a 3 hour difference from Dallas now and tomorrow we will have a 4 hour time difference.
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