Ship - Days 6 through 10

By this time, we are getting into a 'cruise mentality'. It goes something like:
Sleep. Eat. Rest. Eat. Nap. Goof off. Eat. Sleep. Eat. Sleep. Nap. ...etc.

The ship is Really Big. This is a view down the length of the Royal Promenade. It is about 400 feet long, and 3 stories high, lined with shops and cafe's. The ship is almost 1200 feet long.

This is the Alhambra Theater. It seats 1200 people. We actually saw 3 (count 'em - three) movies here - a cinematic record for us.

This is the sitting area on our deck, overlooking the Promenade.

The most wonderful amenity, though, was the soft-serve machine, operating every day from 9 to 5!

Here are some examples of the amazing 'melon art' that greeted us each day in the buffet dining area.

While walking outside one morning, I noticed someone welding in a workshop next to the deck.  It was Roberto, from the Phillipines, building a scale model Harley Davidson motorcycle. He was using stainless steel nuts, bolts, kitchen spoon handles, and the like. He said he was inspired by a cruise earlier in the year in which Harley Davidson displayed 34 new motorcycles.

Savitri, our cabin attendent, started leaving clever towel sculptures each evening. She often incorporated a pair of my glasses for a personal touch.

By now, we were nearing the Canary Islands, and a large cold front. The seas got a bit rougher, with occasional rain showers. Big fun!

Ship - Day 5

Our last stop before crossing was Phillipsburg on St. Maartens island. The view, and especially the color of the water, was spectacular.

We made a short jaunt ashore, to catch up with email at a local Internet shop.

It was hot, so we headed back to the air-conditioned ship. We toured some of the on-board activities. Rock climbing...

... Flow Rider. Very cool surfing simulation.

While sitting in the 12th deck dining area, we noticed a sailboat hanging in the wind shadow of our ship. Look closely - that little blob at the top of the mast...

...is a guy working on the rigging. He's around 150 feet above the water!

There was an interesting mural on the atrium wall opposite the stairway sitting area on our deck.

It's made entirely of spools of colored thread - about 19,200 of them!

Ship - Day 4

Our second stop was San Juan, Puerto Rico.


What do you do in an exotic sea port city? Go shopping, of course! CVS was first on our list...


This picture is for Mark and Tony.


When we returned to our cabin, we found the final part of our Romance Package. Decorations!


We loved it! Our room had a festive look for the rest of our trip.


Before we left San Juan, we watched some of the activity around us. This is the Disney Fantasia heading out.


A four-masted naval training ship from Argentina was next to us.


The little bumps above the sail are seamen, working on the sail.


The tugs pushed them out into clear air, as they began to set sails.


The jib sails are starting to come up.



Then the mainsheets. It was an impressive sight as she sailed away.

Ship - Day 3

We spent this day at sea. As we were beginning to adjust to an appropriate "laid back" attitude, we spent a good bit of time doing this.
 

In the evening, we went the first of two Ice Shows. This is before it started.

Ship - Day 2

After a short day of sailing, we docked at Nassau, Bahamas.We walked across the street to find some post cards.
This is our little ship.


There were some other ships parked next to us.


Leaving Nassau.


Lighthouse.


That evening, another part of our "Classic Romantic Package" was before-dinner canapés. (Thank you, girls!)


And the next part was bedtime treats.


Journal. (Basically, it says: "Eat. Sleep. Repeat.")


Our cabin attendant, Savitra, made up a clever towel sculpture to hold our Day 3 “Compass” activity guide. More on this later.

Ship - Day 1

We arrived at the terminal, on time and in budget.


A lot of other passengers were checking in, too.


We finally boarded the ship on a fancy gangplank.


When we reached our cabin, the first order of business was unpacking the technology.


Next was enjoying the lovely surprise cupcakes and champaigne (non-alcolholic) that was awaiting our arrival.
 

After we settled in, we toured some of the on-board facilities. Food was first.
The Windjammer Café greeted us with some unique watermelon sculptures.
 


We thought the grandkids would enjoy this pool - 1.5 inches deep and lots of splashy stuff.

Trip - Day 0

We flew to Fort Lauderdale.We should have taken more luggage.

After grabbing a breakfast pizza at Love Field.

And after waiting for our airplane for 3 hours.

When we got there, we started the chillin' process.

Can you tell this is a composite photo? No one was around to take a picture for us, so we took turns.