Daily Log, Explorer of the Seas, Jan. 16-27

[Birdnutty]

I, too, am boarding the day you disembark and can't wait! Am truly enjoying your experiences vicariously.

 

How was dinner on this night? My biggest concerns are centered around the timing issues with service. We like sitting with 8 other people we don't know, but also hate having to miss shows because the wait staff or kitchen is too slow to get us out on time. Sounds like the waitstaff is either over-worked or over-stressed or both.

 

I know what you mean about the old Shipshape program. I still have some Shipshape momentos from our first cruise back in 1984 on the Nordic Prince. It was great that all those programs were included. We just went from free activity to free activity, interspersed with wonderful dining experiences. Yes, it seems like now we're being nickel and dimed for everything.

 

But are we really? In all fairness to the cruiselines, I have to say this. I paid less for my Junior Suite on the 10th deck for this coming sailing than I did for my inside cabin on the very bottom passenger deck on the Prince almost 30 years ago. :eek: They've kept the prices much more reachable for many more people by keeping cabin prices down and charging for the specialty services that are used by fewer folks. It's certainly made the difference for us. If prices of cruises escalated at the same rate as the general rate of inflation that we've seen over the last 30 years, there's no way we could have pulled off as many as we did.

 

I do mourn the "old days" when food and service in the dining room was unequalled, and when all the enrichment and exercise was included. But the industry had to make a decision... do they continue to offer all the services and raise prices, or do they hold prices steady to attract more customers and charge more for specialty services? Wouldn't want to be the one to try to make that decision.

 

Obviously, this is just my opinion, and I grumble as much as everyone else about paid exercise and drink prices. But I try to keep it in perspective. If I did a land vacation, this would have cost me FAR more, and I would receive far less. It's still a great value.

 

::::climbing off soapbox::::: Looking forward to your next entry. I know how much time it takes, and I for one, enjoy and appreciate your efforts. Keep 'em coming!! You're doing a great job.

 

Question - are the shrimp cocktails made of good size shrimp, or little salad shrimp? Thanks in advance!

[EmpressofPurple]

(Tues. Jan. 17, at sea – Continued!)

So… after Trivia, we decided to go use the big hot tub in the gym (the “Thalassotherapy pool”), the sauna and the steam room. We used all three, twice each, and met a lovely young woman who was traveling solo from Ireland on her first cruise. A former jockey, she was excited at being pampered and being able to eat all week long (as are we all!).

Ariel then worked out while I had my spin class… and we discovered what a BAD idea it was to sauna, steam and whirlpool BEFORE exercising! We were both exhausted and lightheaded, and spin class was a real challenge, especially since I haven’t taken a spin class since September. Bea led a tough, challenging, exciting and fun class, with plenty of hill climbs and speed races. Whew!

I made another quick run to deck 15 at the back of the ship for 10 minutes of my Bill W. meeting (just great to see a big crowd there today, lots of good fellowship and support) – but I had to dash back to the room to shower and get dressed up for our first formal night! Ariel looked gorgeous in a cream-colored satin dress covered with black lace netting and a black ribbon belt, with black high heels and pretty gold jewelry; I did my best in a subtly sparkly mid-calf black dress, black satin slippers with beaded bows, 3 gold and crystal necklaces, large chandelier earrings, and my hair up in a bun with a fancy hairpiece.

Dinner was delicious… but before we got to enjoy it, the story about the difficulty with the headwaiter. After we were all seated, the headwaiter approaches the table and demands our seapass cards. That’s right, demanded. Doesn’t apologize for interrupting us, doesn’t speak nicely or explain what’s going on, simply demanded our room numbers and that we give him our cards. It turned out that the party of 6 with whom we were seated (3 sisters, their dear friend, and two of their husbands) had not all originally been seated together, despite (obviously) their having requested to be so; 4 of them were placed at the table next to ours. When they boarded, they spoke with someone in the dining room who said there was no problem, and they could all be seated at one table, and the other party of four would be moved to the adjacent table. Well, the first night there was no problem, because the other party of four didn’t eat in the dining room (we noted the large vacancy at the other table)… but tonight, apparently they had appeared and were trying to hand the headwaiter his head for not having room for them at their assigned table!

 

Of course, this issue was not about the mix-up; that could happen to anyone, anywhere, anytime; the issue is how it was handled by the headwaiter. Which is to say, abominably. I truly have never been addressed in such a hostile and surly fashion by any cruise ship staffer. (This didn’t affect me and my daughter directly, since we were indeed assigned to the table; but the four people who almost got moved were really hurt by the event. I daresay this will end up on their comment cards, and it should.)

So… back to the amazing dinner!!! Everyone looked gorgeous; how I love formal night and seeing everyone with their beautiful dresses and fine jewelry. (Indeed, after dinner Ariel and I walked the Promenade and later admired all the dressed-up – and a couple of dressed-down!! – people from our Promenade cabin window at the Captain’s Welcome Aboard reception.) I ordered three appetizers: Lobster bisque (delicious, creamy, a hint of sherry and red pepper sauce), the escargots (which were actually too buttery for me now) and the shrimp cocktail (which did not arrive, thank goodness, because after those two appetizers – and the following two main courses – I was stuffed! But to report for others, my daughter ordered the shrimp cocktail, too, and hers did arrive, and they were nice sized shrimp. Not those GIANT oxymoron shrimp that are as big as your curved thumb and forefinger, but not tiny salad shrimps either). And then the two mains: the filet of beef, which was buttery and tender, and the seafood skewer, which had two shrimp, two scallops, and two pieces of fish. (You may note that while I eat the protein and veggies I am avoiding the rice/pasta/potato portions of the meal… well, except for the bread to start and the dessert to finish!!! Oy…)

Speaking of the bread course, we started with four cheese plates for the table – much too much for us all to finish, even with all 8 of us working on it, so I had a lovely cheese plate to bring back to the room. And speaking of the dessert course, I the bittersweet chocolate soufflé with coffee custard (not as wonderful as in times past)… and the COFFEE ICE CREAM!!! (Those who have cruised with me in the past know that I have requested this many times in the dining room and been disappointed; I’m so happy to finally have it!!)

After dinner we went to our cabin to put the cheese plate in the cooler (I hesitate to call it a “fridge”), and as mentioned above, watched the Captain’s reception from our window. We then went to the theatre for the production show “Wild, Cool and Swinging,” about various U.S. cities that are adult playgrounds, including Chicago, Miami, San Francisco, Las Vegas and New York (although as I just commented to my daughter, leaving out New Orleans was a mistake, that would have provided a lot of material for a great musical number). As usual, the four singers were exceptional, and the dancers were amazing… and while I have long enjoyed RCI set design, I felt that their musical arrangements were weird and their costume designer must be on drugs. However, great news! For the first time, the musical arrangements were actually very good, and the costume design was (mostly) pleasing to the eye!! Either they have replaced their old arranger and/or costume designer, or someone other than me had commented about these issues and someone higher up listened to those critiques. It was really a great show, and we enjoyed it tremendously.

(Another quick aside about less-than-stellar service: while we were waiting for the show to begin, Ariel ordered a Shirley Temple from the bar server, and used her 10% off Platinum drink coupon. We were both startled that this server seemed almost hostile when taking her drink order and later delivering her drink. Could it be because it was such a small order? Because she used a coupon? Very strange. As Ariel said, “Oh well, maybe he’s having a bad night, could happen to anyone.” It’s so nice to see another generation taking things in stride, although still noticing what’s going on and not pretending that something that’s not great is anything other than what it is.)

We once again did not attend the multiple musical events that night (a quartet in Dizzy’s jazz lounge; Music in the Pub; Piano bar in the Schooner Bar; Latin Music in the Aquarium Bar; Karaoke in Maharajas; and a Dance Party in the Chamber) and went back to the room, where I typed up yesterday’s notes through 2pm… and got to bed by 1am!

 

Wednesday, January 18, 2012 – At Sea

Once again, set my alarm for 6:30am, did my best to turn it off quickly (always hard with the tiny buttons on my travel clock) and dress quietly so as not to disturb my daughter too much. I made it to the gym just at 7am, and was surprised not to see the trainer on the floor… so I looked at the schedule and it said that class today started at 7:30!!! ARGH!! Do you have ANY idea how much I would have liked to sleep in until 7:00? Well, the good news is that ALL of the classes start at 7:30 on this trip (except for our day in San Juan, which I think I will skip, because I have a morning spin class that day at 10am, and I have learned the hazards of working out too hard before a spin class).

Well, with half an hour till class started, I decided to use the weight machines in the gym. I did the leg extension, leg curl, lat pulldown, chest press, incline chest press, bicep curl, and when the tricep extension didn’t fit my frame I used the lat pulldown as a tricep machine. Nice to get this unexpected workout in, but I bet I’ll be sore tomorrow! Ah well, great day to work out the kinks snorkeling and laying out in the sun on Labadee.

Bea led the stretch and conditioning classes today. Her style is quite different from SJ, also effective, and perhaps a bit more lively. Her warmup included a lot of toe tapping and arm movements, and surprisingly heated up the body quite quickly to get it ready for stretching. After a PACKED stretch class at 7:30 (nearly 30 people were there!) the room emptied out, leaving less than 10 for the conditioning class – which again started with the same series of warmup moves (oy), but then continued with some interesting exercises, including modified pushups, crunches, reverse crunches, and more.

After my morning workout, I went back to the room to change and head down to breakfast. Today I let Ariel sleep in, and I went to the Diamond breakfast event – free cappuccino, whoo-hoo! (Uh, free with the price of the cruise, anyway…) Well, once again, I passed a line snaking into the dining room that had over 40 people in it, stretching all the way from the dining room doors to the elevators. I went into the Diamond breakfast room, which was very small and not very full. We had a couple of servers, but service was still a bit slow. I had to ask three times to get water (and my tablemates told me they had asked for it twice before I arrived). I also asked them if they had ever seen anything like the line outside, and we all agreed that we had NEVER seen anything like it on any other Royal Caribbean ship, nor had they ever seen it on other sailings of the Explorer.

(I think there’s something going on here with the restaurant management. I remember reading the posting about the previous sailing, by a young man of 23 who was traveling with his girlfriend, and had asked the ship months in advance to be seated with other young people – and they were seated with a large party of older folks. Now, my daughter and I enjoy that; I lost my parents quite young, so we both miss the company of seniors. But I totally respect that these young people were not in the mood for that, and wanted the company of their peers – and that they had been told to expect that once onboard. Others then posted on their thread about other dining issues they had. Hmmm…. I was kind of prepared to have a less-than-ideal dining experience. Those who know me are aware I’m not whining or complaining here, I’m just telling it like it is; I always have a great time on a cruise, and believe me, my daughter and I are in 7th heaven… it’s just a fact that the dining room has a long line waiting outside for breakfast on the past two mornings, and that the headwaiter spoke to our dining companions in a harsh manner last night. ‘Nuff said. Other than that, the personal service by the individual waiters and assistant waiters is attentive, friendly, and fun.)

Mmm, breakfast: Eggs benedict again, with kippered herring (which arrived along with the eggs!), V-8 – and CAPPUCINO!!! Ahhhh. My dining companions were Diamond Plus members who will be staying on for THREE SAILINGS!! How I love talking with highly cruised people. This is the main reason I am sad that Diamonds are now excluded from the Concierge lounge; I don’t drink, so I don’t miss the free cocktails (although those free cappuccinos would’ve been nice!) – what I really miss is being able to sit in a pleasant atmosphere with those amazing Diamond Plus folks who have been all over the world and can share terrific stories about their travels, hints for future plans, packing ideas, horror stories, and more. It was a real pleasure to talk to – and mostly ask questions of and listen to – my companions during this breakfast.

From there, I went up to the Schooner Bar, where I pretty much spent the rest of the day. First was Napkin Folding class at 10:00 (amazing, they now have to collect everyone’s seapass card before they hand out the napkins to fold – not because they charge anything for the class, but because they had too many napkins walk away in the past! They returned the seapass cards at the end when you handed back the napkins). I learned the pyramid, the candle, the rose, and the crown (which actually looks like a fleur-de-lis). They were easy and lots of fun. Apparently if we attend the second session, we will also get a brochure to take home so we can remember how to do them. (I remembered several hours later, and I demonstrated the candle fold to my dinner table mates – the waiters had already provided us with the pyramid!)

Next up in the Schooner Bar was 10:45 progressive trivia. Our previous team didn’t show up, so we annexed another team and shared info, although we each submitted our own forms. We moved up from 12/20 at our first session to 15/20 at this one. Still not very impressive, but I’m hoping if we keep showing up we could still do all right at the end. We’ll see; there don’t seem to be any super-duper teams in the mix.

After that we had the Destination Lecture “St Maarten, Antigua and St Kitts,” by the same speaker who had talked about Labadee yesterday. Well, as I said, I only heard a few minutes of his historical speech, but I don’t think that I mentioned what little I heard wasn’t very impressive… and today’s lecture bore that out (emphasis on bore). This was really a bad lecture, period. Virtually no historical or cultural information of interest… presented randomly… slides that could not be seen by the majority of the folks in the Schooner Bar (apparently this lecture is usually given in a conference room, but that was booked by some group on board)… he kept referring to “over here” meaning where his laser pointer was shining – but it was invisible! And then, he had virtually no information about where to go, how to get there, or what to do. When asked how far the Batik factory was from the pier in St. Kitts (one of the major attractions on that small island) he didn’t know about it. Vague information about the various beaches, transportation options, etc. It was truly a waste of an hour’s time – and the room was PACKED!!! People were trying not to be rude to one another, but it was tough; many had sat down early on the side of the bar, and then asked people who came later and were standing by the chair rail to move – and those people said no, because truly there was no where for them to move. Probably would have been better to hold this in Maharajas or another venue rather than the Schooner…. And to hire a different guest lecturer! I’ve been to St. Kitts, St. Martin and Antigua once each, and I know more about them than he did. Really disappointing.

Next up was the Sudoku Challenge at 1:00pm. Ariel and I brought up sandwiches from the Promenade Café: today was ham and cheese on a mini-croissant (again), and mortadella with olive tapenade on a whole wheat bun. We also each had a banana, a coconut cookie and green tea; we shared an orange (which I cut into slices), and I ate a kiwi, too. Yum! I didn’t win Sudoku; think I might have come in 4th or 5th, but keychains were only given to the first 3 finishers (although all those who didn’t finish before the time cutoff had to dance the chicken dance). Sudoku is not a great cruise ship game, because it’s so solitary, but I do enjoy it.

After that came Afternoon Trivia at 1:30 – and this was a DISASTER!!! Never have I gotten less than 5 right (we only got 4)… and indeed, had we trusted ourselves, we could have gotten another 6 correct, and tied the highest scoring group, who only got 10!! Yeah, it was a hard trivia. Okay, here are some examples: the length of the longest bat permitted in the major leagues? (42” – we guessed 40”, although 42” was on our list of possible numbers) The name of a baby eel? (An elver) The name of a pregnant goldfish? (We said “Mommy!” – but the correct answer is a twit). Where is Olympus Mons? (On Mars… one of our group guessed the Moon, but we put down Greece. We were all pretty far off on that one.) How long was the 100 years war? (I remembered 116 in the far recesses of my brain, but we put down 100 anyway. Yeah, it’s 116.) Who was offered the role in Chicago ultimately played by Richard Gere? (John Travolta. I knew that, but didn’t remember; we put down Hugh Jackman. Sigh.) What is the most common first name in the world? (I argued for John. Others suggested a Chinese name, such as Chin or Lee. Ariel insisted it was Mohammed, since the character McLovin, in the movie Superbad, said that it was the most common name in the world and that’s why he had put it on his fake license. Well, guess what? McLovin was right!) Yeah, it was an AWFUL game of trivia.

With our tails tucked between our legs, Ariel and I retreated to our cabin to change for our 3:00pm Yoga class. We hoped to get a few minutes out on deck by the Solarium pool before class… and that’s about all we got. After a few seconds of sun, the clouds pulled overhead, and a few raindrops started to sprinkle down. We headed into the gym and set up our Yoga mats.

Bea led the Yoga class too, and as I have commented here and elsewhere, this is not a true Yoga class, but “Pathway to Yoga,” a selection of yoga-related moves taught by a gym teacher/fitness instructor/personal trainer. It’s very nice and I always enjoy the challenge of doing Yoga on a moving ship. We didn’t do any traditional series such as the Sun Salutation, which other cruise ship yoga instructors have done, rather a variety of somewhat unusual combinations, including warrior poses, triangle, downward dog, upward dog (or modifying into cobra or sphinx) and a range of leg and back stretches.

After that, Ariel went to work out on the treadmill/elliptical/bike and I had my second spin class, this time led by SJ. This was a real workout, as always, and SJ follows the cruise ship standard of really mixing up the class with pushups, side-to-side swaying, jumping up and down from the seat, in addition to the more standard hill climbs, speed racing, and intervals. Whew! I always look like I’ve been swimming when I finish spin class.

Ran back to the room – not even a minute to run to the back of the ship and say hi to my Bill W. friends today, alas – a quick shower and dress, and we made it to the 5:15-5:45pm Welcome Back party in the theatre by about 5:30. (Sadly, we had to miss the 5:15 pre-dinner Trivia to enjoy this event.) We picked up drinks at the bar at the back of the theatre (champagne for Ariel, fruit punch for me) and enjoyed one number by two of the exceptional singers from the Royal Caribbean crew, then Jimmy Rhodes introduced the captain, and we saw the “behind the scenes” movie about the development of the new “The Sea Is Calling” commercial campaign, and had a few questions and answers about new developments by RCI, including the Sunshine project, which is apparently building a ship that is as tall as the Explorer, but a bit longer, with more tonnage, and incorporating many all-weather features requested by passengers and crew (in answer to a question from one audience member about why the Solarium wasn’t covered or had a sliding roof so the pool could be used in cold weather). A former navigator for the Navy asked about fuel consumption, saying that he read the QE2 went 50 feet on a gallon of fuel; the captain said he believes the Explorer goes 60 feet on a gallon of fuel. A request that the captain comment on the recent Costa cruise tragedy in the Med led to a very measured and sincere response that his heart went out to those who had lost family in the accident, but until he knew more about what actually happened, he didn’t want to speculate (this elicited a round of applause from the audience).

After the reception we went straight to dinner – well, we took a couple of photos on the way. Ariel and I are dressing for dinner every night, whether it’s casual, smart casual or formal, so we’re taking advantage of looking good to document the fact! Our dining companions were already seated, and the cheese plates were on the table… and a NEW headwaiter came to our table to make sure that everything was all right and that we were happy. Very interesting. Apparently the hostile headwaiter has been assigned to new territory. We’ll see if this begins to make a change in the overall dining room performance.

Dinner was very good tonight: Ariel ordered the Samosas (fried Indian dumplings) and the onion foccacia with chive cream cheese (which was amazing), followed by Vegetable Pad Thai; I had the shrimp ceviche (Yum!!) and cream of cauliflower soup, grilled tiger shrimp, and we shared a beefsteak with béarnaise sauce and crabmeat!! We enjoyed lively conversation, sharing about our horrors with Trivia today (and chiding our dining companions for not being there to help us – at least they would have gotten Elver!!) and hearing about their activities and plans for the next day.

We had originally planned to go see the show (an impressionist) and then to the 10pm showing of “African Cats” which is playing in the Alaska Conference Room… but ultimately we decided just to browse the shops on the Promenade and then return to the room so I could catch up on these notes (!!!) before I forgot everything that has happened so far… and that we could watch one of the pay-movies on TV that Ariel won in the CC Meet & Mingle raffle! We’re probably going to watch “Drive” as soon as I post this (right now Ariel has been watching Lion King, which she has loaded on her tablet – her favorite gift from Santa this year)… and she just shrieked with delight when she discovered the message I posted in tomorrow’s Compass: “Congratulations Dear Ariel for your two years of service with AmeriCorps. America thanks you!” She was really excited; it was such a treat, and she has worked so hard, I was thrilled to be able to honor her in this small way. The cruise is the real treat, for both of us!

(Rats, it’s now so late we’re probably going to skip the movie rental and just browse the free tv stations until we go to bed.)

 

Now, to comments:

Carol, how great that you’re following along! You know you are my role model for happy cruising. Thanks for reminding me that Jimmy Rhodes was indeed the CD when we were on our B2B on the Majesty, I knew he was familiar. Interesting speculation about RCI changing the name to differentiate the resort from the town; my friend who worked there is the one who had told me about the reason for the name change, and I think she was just curious and perhaps a little offended that they didn’t use the real name of the area. Personally, I’m more upset that Coco Cay is not pronounced Coco Key, but that’s just me!!!

Oh yeah, Ariel dealt with the C&A status issue herself, making an appointment to meet with the Loyalty Ambassador at 5pm yesterday (while I was running back and forth to my meetings). They corrected her status, put a platinum sticker on her card, and gave her the platinum book (as you may recall, she received her pin on our December sailing). As a nice aside, the LA was busy, so she was helped by one of the two male singers on the ship who was working alongside the LA that day – he was very cute, and asked her to attend the show, so we made sure to sit in the front row, and sure enough he winked at her and sang in her direction more than once. Ah, to be a beautiful and vivacious 25-year-old young woman!

(I’ll reply to other questions quickly when I go back online, I lost my CC window so I can’t see the other postings.)

Looking forward to telling you all about Labadee tomorrow. Thanks for cruising with us!!!

Best,

Denise

[EmpressofPurple]

I know what you mean about the old Shipshape program. I still have some Shipshape momentos from our first cruise back in 1984 on the Nordic Prince. It was great that all those programs were included. We just went from free activity to free activity, interspersed with wonderful dining experiences. Yes, it seems like now we're being nickel and dimed for everything.

 

But are we really? In all fairness to the cruiselines, I have to say this. I paid less for my Junior Suite on the 10th deck for this coming sailing than I did for my inside cabin on the very bottom passenger deck on the Prince almost 30 years ago. :eek: They've kept the prices much more reachable for many more people by keeping cabin prices down and charging for the specialty services that are used by fewer folks. It's certainly made the difference for us. If prices of cruises escalated at the same rate as the general rate of inflation that we've seen over the last 30 years, there's no way we could have pulled off as many as we did.

 

I do mourn the "old days" when food and service in the dining room was unequalled, and when all the enrichment and exercise was included. But the industry had to make a decision... do they continue to offer all the services and raise prices, or do they hold prices steady to attract more customers and charge more for specialty services? Wouldn't want to be the one to try to make that decision.

 

 

Hi Birdnutty, I agree, much more is offered today than in the past, and I prefer the individual pricing structure where you can pick and choose what you want to add to your cruise cost and what you can live without... I just question some of the approaches, as I said, especially about the prices for the fitness center classes going up and up and up, and now tacking on a gratuity. I thought the class fee WAS the staff gratuity, much like the upcharge at Portofinos! Apparently not...

 

It's a tough call indeed. I know that the old cruise prices were higher overall, and we can indeed cruise today for much less without all these "extras" that simply didn't exist then... but I hate feeling "forced" (or at the least, goaded) into purchasing these extras because the baseline service just doesn't stack up. I've heard about this on NCL for years, and it's one of the reasons I simply won't cruise with them; I don't want to have to go to a pay restaurant to receive decent food or service. I like having that choice, but I want to make sure it is that -- a choice.

 

I have had friends who were so disappointed with MDR service and/or food that they simply book a table at Portofinos or Chops for the balance of the cruise. Think about it; a $40-for-two per day upcharge for the balance of this cruise would bump our cruise cost by $400!! Nice for the cruiseline, perhaps, but disastrous for our budget -- in fact, simply out of our reach.

 

Anyway, it is an ongoing question, I just point it out where I feel it's excessive.

 

So glad you are enjoying my postings overall, and I hope some tidbit in and amongst all the details will be helpful on your upcoming cruise! As I've said, the Explorer is just beautiful, and we are having an AMAZING time! I'm so grateful to have this opportunity to enjoy myself, share special time with my daughter, and meet so many wonderful and diverse people from around the world, guests and staff alike.

[ETski]

Denise once again thank you for your live post. I'm loving it!!! Can't wait to board the EOS on Jan 27. I'm glad to hear that the MDR problems are being addressed. Sounds like the MDR has been having some issues!!!! I told my husband about your thread and he asked me to ask if they have $5 tables for craps in the Casino. I said I didn't think you talked about going to the casino, but would ask anyway.

Please enjoy the remainder of your cruise with your daughter. And a big "thanks" for her service in AmeriCorps. It sounds like your are having a ball and spending quality time with Ariel.

Oh I forgot to ask, is there a fee for the stretch class?

 

[Aldeya]

I absolutely LOVE your review, especially all the details! Please keep them coming and enjoy the cruise!

[Loralie]

Love traveling along with you and your daughter. I also plan on working out on my cruise but I think I will do it every other day. I'm exhausted just reading about all the workouts you do! Congrats on the weight loss. I have lost 68 pounds but stupidly gained back 50 pounds! :eek: I am back on track and I have lost 25 and hope to lose the rest by my cruise in April. I'm doing P90X and im only on day 18, so far I'm doing pretty good. It's tough but I feel like I'm improving and that's all I can ask for.

 

Can't wait to read the rest.

 

Loralie

[will773]

You sure are busy aren't you!? Loving your review! Hope the rest of your cruise is as great as it has been so far! Thanks for keeping us in the loop. :)

[johneeo]

I cannot believe how busy you have been.:eek:

 

I am exhausted just reading about your activities.

 

Having done the EOS 9 day, just about everything you have done, I never did anything you did. (gym, excercise classes, FOB, lectures, trivia, breakfast in MDR, etc.)

 

Just goes to show you how much there is to do (or not do).

 

I am waiting for the 2013 schedule to come out, as we have done EOS twice, once in June and once in July, and both were incredible.

 

Thanks for posting, love reading (and writing) about the EOS cruises.

Edited January 19, 2012 by johneeo

[EmpressofPurple]

Didn't get to proof this today before posting, hope it's all okay!!

 

Running off to spin class; more tonight (or tomorrow, we're in port till 10pm!!)

 

---------------

 

Wed. Jan. 18 – Labadee

So last night at dinner, our waiter, Jackson, told us to set our clocks forward by one hour, and that we would get that hour back on our sea days on the way home; there is no daylight savings time in the Caribbean. The ship’s clocks would be re-set at 2:00am. I re-set my watch and my travel alarm clock, and Ariel and I went to bed early (after a couple of hours of working on my posts last night to bring them up to date, reading and watching TV and nibbling on my cheese plate that I had brought home from the previous night’s dinner).

I thought I would feel rested even with the lost hour, since I learned that Vitality Stretch started at 7:30 am (not 7am), so I set my clock for (the new) 7:00am, again got up and dressed as quietly as I could so as not to disturb Ariel, and headed up to the gym. I was a little disappointed to see what I thought was a grey and overcast sky; an inauspicious beginning to a long beach day. When I got to the gym, there were only one or two people; ah well, normal after the clocks are set forward. However, by 7:35 there were no instructors, and I noticed the gym clocks read 6:35. I walked up the circular stairs to the spa to see if anyone there could find the gym staff, but the spa was closed.

Then I went behind the desk at the entrance to the gym and called the front desk, explaining that it was 7:40 and the trainers still weren’t there for the stretch class. “Oh, no, ma’am, it’s 6:40.” Oh. My. God. I had gotten up at SIX A.M.!!! AGHH!!! I then decided to walk around the Solarium and look out at the ocean; it had been pretty cold on our way down, and I really hadn’t had much time outdoors. I noticed a light on the horizon, and it looked like the sun was shining on a large ship… I started to move around the ship so I could see the sun on the other side… until I realized the ship was getting bigger and bigger, and that I was actually watching the sun rise over the ocean!! Well, that was worth getting up for, even if unintentionally. (And what a relief that it wasn’t overcast and dark… I had just gotten up before the sunrise!)

I ran back down to the cabin, got my kindle and a nice breakfast snack (a banana and some nut clusters from home) and came back up to the Solarium, where I read and relaxed until the REAL 7:30, when I went back into the gym for my morning classes.

Bea led them today, Stretch and Abs Attack – interesting standing abs series, including standing crunches, where you essentially just bend over on yourself, but still quite effective even without the extra pull of working against gravity. (I’m writing this the following morning, so it’s hard to remember details about yesterday’s class when I just finished today’s!) Same warm-ups as the day before, pretty clear that this will be the pattern for the entire cruise: alternating heel taps swinging opposite straight arms; twice on each side with double arms; alternating toe taps lifting alternate bent arms; twice on each side with double arms.

During the abs class we were sailing into Labadee, one of the most beautiful island approaches anywhere. Haiti is SO GREEN!!! We just absolutely love this port. So unusual to see the green hills running right down to the ocean’s edge. I could barely focus on the class, my eyes kept straying to the windows and the beautiful scenery floating by as me moved slowly to the new (to me) Labadee pier. (We hadn’t been here since 2008, before they built the pier to service Oasis – and now all the other RCI and Celebrity ships which stop at this island paradise.)

After my morning workout I headed back to the room to wake Ariel and get ready for our day on Labadee. The captain’s announcement came on about Labadee, and he explained that it had been a French settlement, but that RCI changed the spelling of the resort to assist native English speakers with the correct pronunciation. (Gee, then why don’t they change the name of the other RCI private island to “Coco Key”??? I’m jes’ saying…)

So we packed our bags: towels, sunscreen, two water bottle carriers (one with water, one with my wonderful Isagenix energy drink; we later filled them with ice in the Windjammer so they would stay cold longer), hats, pareos, a book for Ariel and my Kindle in a quart-sized baggie for me! (Yep, fits perfectly.) Plus our seapass cards for any drinks and some cash for the marketplace and tips. We were looking forward to contributing our little bit to the devastated Haitian economy. I also brought my snorkel gear, although I couldn’t find anywhere to use it on Labadee. We put on our sundresses and headed up (rather than down) to breakfast (easier to get ice for the drink bottles in the WJ than in the MDR).

(Okay, let’s have an aside on the towels now: Yes, I’ve been cruising long enough that I remember when room stewards brought beach towels to your room on port days… and then when you had to get them yourself from the self-service piles on the pool deck… and now when you have to check them out with your seapass. Ugh! There’s nothing I hate more than being treated like a child or a criminal. And yes, they now have big signs in the gym saying that gym towels are for use in the gym only, and that you will be charged $20 if you take them out of the gym. Oh, please. I walk out with one after every gym class with one wrapped around my neck, and no one has stopped me – and let them try! I’m not about to stuff one of these faded old RCI towels into my bag as a souvenir; I’m perfectly happy to purchase a new one from Gifts and Gear if I’m so inclined, but I hate being controlled like this. Anyway, Ariel and I did bring gym towels to the beach at Labadee, and no one said a thing, even though we were the only ones without the current turquoise pool towels. Sigh. Don’t worry, rule-following-sticklers, we are highly responsible and always return them to the gym towel bins. Back off my soapbox…)

We ate up front in the WJ, and I wish we’d gone to the back, to the “Island Grill” section; there was very little variety up front: no smoked fish, no Asian selections, no veggies, cold meats, etc. – just the basic ham, bacon, turkey and pork sausage… pancakes and other sweet things… fluffy (probably reconstituted) scrambled eggs… ick. I had some carved ham, a turkey sausage, two hard-boiled eggs, and some oatmeal with raisins and brown sugar… and a bowl of indifferent melon (watermelon, cantaloupe and honeydew), pineapple, and two prunes. We were fortunate to get a table for two right by the window, so we could enjoy the beautiful scenery, and we were well attended to by the WJ headwaiter, a lovely gentleman from Turkey who made conversation with us, brought coffee, cream, spoons, and even offered to fill our water bottles – and then commented on my patience as I put one ice cube after another individually into the small mouths of the bottles.

Soon we were on our way down to deck 1 (first time I took an elevator on the cruise!!) to walk off on to the “new” Labadee pier. What a treat not having to tender in! But what happened to Labadee Luc? Is this another case of no one knowing how to pronounce “Luc” (French for “Luke”)?? He was cute, kind of looked like Johnny Depp, a nice character. Sigh. Well, Labadee is gorgeous, much more built up and manicured than in the past… but I was horrified to see that our favorite beach is now for suite guests only (and virtually uninhabited). You know, even if I spent that kind of money, I would enjoy being with a crowd! I have friends who only sail if they can get the largest suite on a ship, and knowing the cost of cruising at that level, I asked why they didn’t cruise on the more exclusive cruise lines rather than the mass-market ones – and they said they were too stiff, dry and boring, didn’t have any nightlife or provide a nice atmosphere for children – they preferred to stay in deluxe accommodations on Carnival, Princess, and Royal Caribbean, rather than go on Renaissance, Seabourn, Silversea, etc. Interesting thought, no? They like the mixing and mingling, despite having all the money in the world. RCI, don’t wall off our suite guests; let them enjoy the hustle and bustle!

Anyway, we proceeded on foot to the next beach over, got a couple of beach chairs, and settled in. During the course of the day, we carefully basted ourselves front and back every ten minutes in the hot Haitian sun. cooling off in between with a dip in the lovely cool water, where we would walk out till it was at our shoulders, then swim to the barrier (where there was a lovely view of the ship at the dock; I have pictures from years past where you could see it at anchor and the tenders ferrying back and forth), then back to shore to roast a bit more. My daughter wanted to get a good tan, so she applied the sunscreen sparingly… and sadly, despite her natural olive coloring, got quite a burn. I, on the other hand, even with my fair complexion, put on 70 spf sunscreen very liberally, and managed to avoid burning (except for a few small spots the spray must have missed).

We walked over for lunch at about 12:00 (a first for us, usually we get there at 1:35 and have the cold leavings once the buffet is closed). Nice spread, a variety of salads and fruit in addition to the usual burgers and dogs – plus some good local fare, rice and beans, corn on the cob, barbecue chicken and ribs. Ariel had been coveting a burger and that’s just what she had, along with some salad, a brownie and the same indifferent melon and pineapple we had for breakfast; I covered my plate with 3 salads (greek salad with tomatoes, red onions and a hint of feta cheese; a light cole slaw; and some romaine lettuce with Italian dressing), then topped it with one of each of the meats on offer (no buns): a hot dog, a hamburger (with a tomato, onion and pickle on top), a chicken thigh, and a rib. Yum! I also had a fruit plate (to which I added a sliced banana). They had run out of water at the drink station, so we had very watered-down fruit punch instead. Good thing we brought our own water! Water in the bathrooms is non-potable. I went to the bar to get us water, but they were out, too, although they gave us a cup of ice.

After lunch we wandered through the market; we love to shop here, and have bought things in the past that we still use and enjoy. I was wearing the sundress I had bought here years before (although since my large weight loss, my daughter complains that it is too shapeless on me, that this is the “old me” – I doubt I will wear it out again). She had a heart-shaped wooden bowl she bought here on our first trip. This time, I purchased a top for a friend of mine, and beautiful jewelry made from recycled materials, plus a triangular wooden box with “Haiti” carved into it; my daughter bought a number of handmade bracelets as gifts for friends and for herself.

 

Then we went to the folkloric show in the small outdoor amphitheatre right next to the marketplace. After a few minutes with the musicians, the MC/dancer/fireshow man announced that the show would be starting soon, and that they would pass a basket for donations, and any tips for the individual dancers and gymnasts could be given to them directly. We had a few dollars left after our shopping spree in the market, and gladly gave them all to the performers by the end of the show! It was quite a spectacle, with the dancers doing a variety of moves that were reminiscent of belly dancing, hula, and traditional African dance, with some real original movements unique to Haiti, that we had never seen before. The gymnasts threw themselves into the air, jumping over ropes held six feet high, and through tiny hoops at the same height (that probably wouldn’t even fit over my hips!) Then the MC/fire dancer came out, started a fire on the ground, stuck his foot in the fire – and clearly he had some kind of flammable material on the sole of his foot, because when he pulled it out the foot was on fire! He lit his fire sticks from the fire on his foot, and then put them out in his mouth, blowing smoke afterwards. This was quite a show all by itself – but then he got several members of the audience to participate, imitating his dance moves, and then giving them a firestick to put into his mouth… and one of the participants was my daughter! Yeah, I got a lot of great photos.

After the show, we walked back to the beach and continued to roast and toast in the hot sun and cool off in the beautiful blue and green water. At about 3:00pm, when then were calling “last call for Labadoozies” we shared a virgin Labadoozie – wow, was that delicious, frozen papaya, pineapple, coconut, orange juice and grenadine. I’ve never had a frozen drink quite like it. One last dip in the ocean, and we headed back towards the ship, walking slowly on the beautifully landscaped paths (past our former favorite beach) and onto the ship’s pier. Then huffing and puffing (well, me huffing and puffing, my daughter skipping and dancing) up 7 flights to our cabin, where we showered, changed and relaxed, and my daughter tended to her unexpected and very rare sunburn. Fortunately I had packed some aloe vera gel for just such an occurrence.

We got dressed up for 70s night (I was wearing rainbow eye makeup and put a tie-dye headband on – plus my new Haitian jewelry; my daughter was wearing a black outfit with a paisley wrap) and headed down to evening trivia. I brought green tea down from the Café and joined Ariel in the Schooner Bar for another round of Interactive Trivia, using the handheld devices, for Logos and Mascots. We actually did very well, and I was one of a dozen second-place finishers to receive the holographic luggage tags (“I love baggage handlers!”… a little sketchy if you ask me…)

Then we sat in Boleros, playing word games together on my Kindle, until dinner at 6pm. We went to join our dining companions and share stories about Labadee; they had taken the tender straight over to Columbus Cove, where apparently the vendors are very aggressive, and they did not enjoy this experience, although they loved the beach and the lunch buffet. They also had set their clocks forward and had gotten up an hour early; one gentleman had been so sleepy he got onto an elevator, pressed a button, and then walked off the elevator, thinking he had already arrived at his destination! Our waiter was profusely apologetic (although apparently the same misinformation had been provided at the previous evening’s show in the theatre!) and assured us that he felt terribly guilty when he realized his mistake.

Dinner was delicious once again; we had our cheese plates, I enjoyed a savory bite, and ordered the crab and shrimp salad, and chicken consommé, sharing a small green salad with Ariel (who had a beef and veal ravioli appetizer). Main course was Tilapia over ratatouille (Ariel had the seafood penne), and we shared the brie and asparagus tart, which was the highlight. For dessert, I had a light Mango mousse with mango salsa; Ariel had the coconut cake with pineapple sherbet. Our fellow diners had also noticed the announcement I put in the Compass, congratulating Ariel for her service with AmeriCorps, and they loved it, too.

After dinner we wandered the Promenade, and picked up some great folding sunhats at the Bijoux Terner $10 sale. I also stopped by the Café to pick up a banana, a kiwi, and a couple of cookies (sugar-free peanut butter and another coconut ranger cookie). We had decided to forego the shows and music and return to our cabin to watch one of Ariel’s free movies. We selected “Drive” which was a really strange movie – odd pacing, we knew to expect the excessive violence, but not the bizarre emotional tone. We watched part of the 70s parade and show from our Promenade cabin windows, but mostly just burrowed into our beds, Ariel recovering from her sunburn, me nibbling on cookies, and fell asleep as soon as it was over.

 

I’ll try to answer questions quickly:

ETSki, it seems like they’re trying to address the MDR issues. The new headwaiter, Janet, stopped by again, and was just lovely. Our dining companions told her about the negative interaction with the previous headwaiter, and she promised to address it. We also asked her about the availability of soy milk for Ariel, who has lactose intolerance, and she assured us it was available in all venues upon request, and that she could help with any special menu requests.

I have not been in the casino, and only took my first craps lesson in December on the Monarch, so I don’t often check that table out… if I get a chance, I’ll peek in later today to answer your question.

Yes, the 20-25 minute stretch and abs/conditioning classes are free, generally offered first thing in the morning (7 or 7:30am); there is also sometimes a late afternoon free abs or conditioning class, around 4 or 5pm depending on port day/sea day schedules, and when they fit around the for-pay classes. The trainers keep busy!

Loralie, congrats on your weight loss! Indeed, as we keep being told, lifestyle change is the only thing that lasts, otherwise it all comes back with a vengeance; I’ve been there and done that more times that I can count. P90X is fierce!! Wow.

Johneeo, I have followed along on many of your travel postings, glad you are along for the ride with me this time. I have often commented that one of the things I love most about cruising is that there are dozens of different vacations going on simultaneously in the same space. Other people have NO interest in theatre, fitness, pool time, etc… I go around and see people playing basketball, rock climbing, playing ping pong, mah-jong or dominoes by the pool, watching sports games on TV (I’ve never done any of those)… although even as a non-drinker I have joined in CC pub crawls, having a non-alcoholic drink in every venue!... There is just so much to do on a cruise, and I love meeting new people and being exposed to things I otherwise would never see. After all, I could go on a theatre trip, or to a fitness resort, and then we would never meet; others could go to a casino, or to see a professional sporting event, and then they would never meet me. How nice that a cruise brings us all together, and we get to learn from one another and broaden our experiences and our horizons, as we travel the world and enjoy new ports of call.

[johneeo]

Johneeo, I have followed along on many of your travel postings, glad you are along for the ride with me this time.

 

It is good sometimes to see things from a different perspective.

 

You and I are complete opposites, which is good for you.

 

The most exercise I get is when I cannot find a waiter at the pool and have to get up and walk to the pool bar to get a beer.:eek:

[Jimbo]

I saw a cruise director schedule, stating that Jimmy Rhodes will be CD until March.

 

Until or through March.....He may be getting off the day we board? Does anyone know for sure?

 

Jimbo:)

[funNsun4me]

Until or through March.....He may be getting off the day we board? Does anyone know for sure?

 

Jimbo:)

 

I just called Crown & Anchor and they said that Richard Spacey is getting on the Explorer on 1/16/12 through March. I asked if he was on through the end of March and they said they would think that's what through March means.

[will773]

Shame about having to get up so early! At least you got to see a beautiful sunrise and relax in the Solarium! Thanks again for these updates, I love reading them! Have a great day! :)

[funNsun4me]

I just called Crown & Anchor and they said that Richard Spacey is getting on the Explorer on 1/16/12 through March. I asked if he was on through the end of March and they said they would think that's what through March means.

 

Just realized that OP says the Jimmy Rhodes is on this cruise and it is past 1/16/12. Apparantely Crown & Anchor does not have the right info and I have not had enough coffee yet to notice:o

[Cruiser73]

Thanks EmpressofPurple for your time and effort to keep up this running account of your cruise!

 

Much appreciated!:p

 

 

 

Gonna be cruisin' on Explorer soon! :cool:

 

... Dave

[Birdnutty]

Thanks, Empress. Your detail has been delightful and appreciated, and I'm enjoying everything right along with you. We only have a week to go before we're there.

 

You said you couldn't find any snorkeling on Labadee. I heard that Adrenaline Beach is the place to go. Did you not go there, or am I wrong?

 

Thanks again!

[my4luvs]

I just called Crown & Anchor and they said that Richard Spacey is getting on the Explorer on 1/16/12 through March. I asked if he was on through the end of March and they said they would think that's what through March means.

you have the same info i got from the c.e.o adam goldstein. I hope it does not change. i heard richard spacey is outrageous! i have been looking at all his you tube videos

[EmpressofPurple]

Thanks everyone for your kind comments; it's so nice to discover that others enjoy reading these detailed reviews! I certainly love coming across them from other cruisers... and yes, if you pay attention to the times listed, you will see that they do take 1-2 hours per day to write up... time that could be spent enjoying activiies on a cruise! That's why I am always so grateful to others when they do these. Often, I just jot down notes, and then create a fuller version when I get home, and post it as a "(Not) live from..." thread (well, and also to save money on the onbard internet fees!) -- but this time I just felt like writing the details down for myself while they're fresh in my mind, this is such a special trip with my daughter and we truly are having a great time.

 

No new info gathered today re: CD schedules; $5 craps; and no, I did not get to Adrenaline Beach -- according to the map, that beach is for sunning, not swimming, so I didn't think we could even go in the water there! We were on the opposite side, where it was so crowded the sand got really stirred up and the water was quite murky... plus it was clear there was no sea life there to see anyway, other than tiny minnows, etc. Ah well, I'll research it more beforehand next time!

 

And on to today... again unproofed, please forgive any errors or omissions... and enjoy!

 

Friday, January 20, 2012 – San Juan, Puerto Rico

Well, I had planned to skip the morning stretch and abs class, since they started at 7:00am… but after having gone to sleep right after the movie last night, I woke up at 6:45, and so I decided to go to class anyway. (Ariel later commented that when you wake up unexpectedly early, that’s the time to roll over and go back to sleep!)

And today, there was no instructor at 7:00am! By 7:05, I called the front desk and asked them to contact one of the trainers to come down, as we had about 10 people waiting for the 7:00am Vitality Stretch class. They assured me they would do so, and sure enough about five minutes later, SJ showed up and started the class. It was exactly the same as the day before, warming up by bending the knees to slide the hands down to the ankles, then reaching up in the air; then the same, coming up side to side; and again, the focus on giving a little more stretching time to the tighter side. Abs, too, followed the pattern established in the previous class, repeating the same warmup, followed by crunches (done by sliding one’s hands over one’s knees), reverse crunches, and slow leg lifts and holds.

I was back in the room by 8:00am, when I caught up on yesterday’s postings while Ariel slept. I had a banana and made myself an Isagenix protein shake for breakfast in the cabin, since I had spin class at 10:00 and I didn’t want to eat a full breakfast before that, but I knew I needed something to keep me going. At 9:30 she went for breakfast and to represent our team at 10:00am Progressive Trivia while I was in spin class. And what a spin class! Climbs and jumps and intervals and sprints. Whew! One of the super-fast spinners wisely went a little more slowly than usual, since she had a mountain biking tour planned for the day in San Juan. I was happy to keep up with this fit and forceful crew.

After spin, I went back to the cabin and changed into my swimsuit, with a nice coverup so I could go into the windjammer, and went up to the Solarium, leaving Ariel a note on where to find me. I got a couple of chairs right by the Solarium pool, and enjoyed relaxing in the sun and reading my kindle. Ariel showed up, and I went into the pool and the hot tub – and since I didn’t have a pool towel, I walked, dripping wet across the deck, carpeting, and then the slippery marble floor, into the gym to dry off with a towel which I left in the used towel bins there (I didn’t dare remove one to take it to the pool in the middle of the day). This created a truly dangerous situation, for me and anyone else who might have to walk across the water on the slippery floor. Wow, I really hope RCI changes this ridiculous towel policy. I finished drying in the sauna, and headed back out to the Solarium to enjoy the sun for a few more minutes, before hunger drove us to the Windjammer for lunch.

And another great lunch: romaine lettuce topped with the Greek salad mixture (tomatoes, black olives, red onions, feta cheese and vinaigrette); lomo-lomo (is that the name? I think it’s a Filipino vegetable dish, basically lightly steamed cold individual vegetables – string beans, carrots, cabbage, cauliflower – topped with a spicy pink sauce); curried beef; and I added some raw broccoli and cucumbers to my salad, along with a slice of mortadella (I really enjoyed it in the Promenade café sandwiches the other day and thought I’d try it again).

Then coffee and five four desserts: 1) jello; 2) the daily melon mix; 3) a sugar-free peanut butter cookie; and 4) a pear, which I shared with Ariel. Janet, the lovely headwaiter from last night, was in the WJ and rushed over to bring Ariel lactose-free milk for her coffee, too. (I also got to flirt with the WJ waiters, always fun: when I went to get a cup of coffee, by accident I took a cup from a pot that was brewing. The young man took it from me, said it was much too strong, and diluted it by more than half with water. I was worried it would be too weak now, but it was still strong, and I like a strong cup of coffee! I joked that it was like Turkish coffee – and he asked me how did I know he was Turkish? I didn’t of course, but I answered with a grin, “Because you are so handsome.” He almost fell over at this response, but quickly asked if I was single, which I sidestepped by saying, “I always notice handsome men.” He later came over and chatted with me and Ariel and made sure to let us know he was really an MDR waiter and was just helping out in the WJ. And yes, he was cute.)

After lunch, we walked back across the pool deck to enjoy the scenery as we pulled into the beautiful Puerto Rico harbor, went down to the room to gather our things to walk around Old San Juan (sunscreen, water and wallet!) and headed down to deck one – by the stairs. We walked out into beautiful sunshine, at the very first pier in San Juan, where you can just walk off into the town. We headed up towards the Fort San Cristobal, where we paid the fee to visit both forts, and enjoyed nearly two hours walking around every level of this remarkable building, oohing and aahing at the amazing views of the city, our ship at dock, the high-rise resort area in the distance, the old city all around us, the beautiful Caribbean waters, etc., etc. I picked up a magnet in the gift shop with a picture of the distinctive watch towers.

Then we made our way outside to wait for the free trolley, which took about 15 minutes, and then sat down for the ride to Fort Morro – and got off too early, having to make the walk across the field unnecessarily. This might not seem like much, until you realize we then spent the next two hours wandering through every level of this castle, too! Dozens and dozens of high staircases and steep ramps up, down, and sideways – and more amazing views, interesting history, dioramas, and more.

When we left, pretty tired by then from four hours of hiking up and down in the hot sun, we waited for the trolley to come back… but it was full! We then walked back on foot through the beautiful museum district, and started to explore up and down the streets of Old San Juan, peering into cool stone courtyards, stopping into little boutiques, and searching for an intriguing restaurant. We finally found one on Luna Street, near the Plaza, which had a great menu in the window… but the door was locked. We walked on, but I really wanted to try this place, so I walked back and knocked on the door, hoping to ask when they would open for dinner (it was only about 6:00pm, early for dinner in SJ). The proprietor opened the door and explained that they were open, he didn’t realize the door was locked.

We sat down gratefully and looked at the menu of mofongos (toasted green bananas, formed into a cup and filled with a variety of delicious fillings). Ariel ordered the beefsteak, and I had the chicken in cilantro sauce; she had a coke and I had a grape juice, much needed to replenish from our walking (beyond the carry-bottles of water and Isagenix energy drink we had already finished off). Well, the food was amazing; while we were eating, another local couple completed their meal and left, commenting to the cook that it was the most delicious mofongo they had ever had and that they would return. The food was really good, and I got a photo with the cook.

We then wandered back down to the pier, looking for a CVS where we could replenish our sunscreen, which we had pretty much used up over the past four days. While we were sitting at the pier, we sent a few last texts and made a few final phone calls – when I suddenly realized I had left my new folding sunhat at the restaurant! (Ariel had folded hers up and put it in my purse, but I had put mine on the chair.) We lifted up our weary bones and walked back up the hill into town to return to the restaurant – and they had my hat at the counter. I was happy to go back, because I wanted to write down the name of the place for those who might light to try it: El Caldero Sabroso. Yummy!

We also stopped in a little gift shop called Exotica, and I bought a couple of $5 shell bracelets (we liked many other things in the store but felt they were overpriced for what they were). Then back to the pier, and onto the ship, heading up the stairs once again. We stopped at the Promenade level to talk to guest services about tickets for the ice shows: we had received the invitation to the special C&A “Seasons” ice show, but it conflicted with our Yoga class, so we wanted to see if we could go to another show. They explained that all the tickets had been given out, and that we should try to go to another show five or ten minutes beforehand to try to see it. We also asked if the “Blades” show was over, and they said yes, there were no more showings of that. I was very disappointed, and recommended that in the future they post in the Compass (or send a note to C&A members) that the ice show tickets that would be delivered to the room were only for “Seasons,” not for “Blades,” because we had been waiting for those tickets before going to see the show! Oh well, guess we just have to book another cruise on the Explorer!!!! : )

On our way back, walking through the Promenade, we saw my spin class friend sitting down to a nice cool drink with her friend in the Pub. We stopped to ask her about how her mountain bike expedition went, and she said it was terrific: a three hour excursion, with a few hilly sections, going around the old city, to the forts, just a great outing. We told her about our walking tour of the forts and the old city, too, excusing ourselves by saying we were heading to relax our muscles in the hot tubs.

Then we stopped at the Promenade Café, where I got a cup of coffee and two cookies (Toffee and Coconut) and headed up to the room to change into our swimsuits so we could go up to the hot tub. We went into the hot tub out on deck (I took a quick dip in the pool first to cool off my weary limbs), but it was fairly lukewarm, so after about ten minutes we headed to the indoor one to see if it was any hotter. We spent another ten minutes or so there, then went into the Sauna to dry off a bit more. When I put a towel around my shoulders to head back to my cabin, I was stopped by one of the cleaning crew who insisted that I leave it. When I explained that I would be cold getting back to my cabin in my swimsuit in the air-conditioned ship, they didn’t care and insisted I leave it behind. I am really going to write a note to RCI about this situation. This rule is truly unhealthy and dangerous and should be reconsidered. It really hurt to relax in the hot tub and look at the three empty storage areas where pool towels used to be available for free use by anyone sitting by the pool.

(Yeah, maybe it helps to prevent “chair hogging” since people won’t just leave a towel sitting around, they are sure to hold onto it and return it… but honestly, even when there were towels all over empty chairs and no penalty for them, I simply moved them out of my way if I wanted to sit down, and if someone returned for their “saved seats” later, I pointed out the sign that said there was no saving of seats. No problem!)

So I shivered back down to the cabin, showered and changed into my sleep clothes (yeah, I know it’s only 10pm and I’m on a cruise… but hey, I’ve been getting up before 7am every day!)… and started working on today’s posting (while enjoying my coffee over ice and those two yummy cookies from the café). Ariel watched some TV, and then went down to deck 4 to watch us pull out of the Rich Port of Puerto Rico. What a beautiful port day! Really could not have asked for a more perfect cruise so far. (I did miss having dinner with our dining companions tonight, but what a special opportunity to have a late night in a port, where you can really enjoy some local cuisine. We’ll tell them all about it tomorrow, and hear about their adventures as well.)

Ah, Ariel has just returned bearing cups of hot green tea from the Promenade Café. I will wrap up today’s report and start packing my purse for tomorrow in St. Martin. We plan to spend the day on Orient Beach, which neither of us has visited. We might even indulge in a bit of nude sunbathing! We’ll see. In any event, I plan to wear my tan-thru swimsuit, so either way I’ll get no tan lines. : )

A demain,

-D

[will773]

Thanks for the updates. I'm glad to hear that you're having such a great cruise!

[rutgersgirl27]

Thanks so much for sharing your trip with us! This reminds me of the cruise I took on EOS with my mom. I hope you continue to have a wonderful, and safe vacation!

[BND]

The only ship we've ever had lines for breakfast in the MDR is Explorer. I don't know why, but we've stood in line waiting to be seated only on Explorer. We were on Freedom in Oct and commented on how there were no lines in the morning like we had on Ex.

[Birdnutty]

I admire your will power. All the fabulous, sinful food everywhere and you stay on track. If it were me, I would be walking around somewhere with a cookie or some other forbidden sweet in hand - always. Good job, Empress. And with that exercise routine, you're likely to weigh less than when you got on the ship!

 

How have the temperatures been? You mentioned hot sun, but is the weather unbearable? Last time we were in the caribbean, the temps were so high that even the crew was complaining about the heat. And considering that so many of them come from tropical countries, that was significant.

[johneeo]

Friday, January 20, 2012 – San Juan, Puerto Rico

 

....

We walked out into beautiful sunshine, at the very first pier in San Juan, where you can just walk off into the town. We headed up towards the Fort San Cristobal, where we paid the fee to visit both forts, and enjoyed nearly two hours walking around every level of this remarkable building, oohing and aahing at the amazing views of the city, our ship at dock, the high-rise resort area in the distance, the old city all around us, the beautiful Caribbean waters, etc., etc. I picked up a magnet in the gift shop with a picture of the distinctive watch towers.

 

-D

 

If I did ten percent of what you did they would have carried me off the ship feet first.

 

I did break tradition in San Juan and went "touring", but did it on the Segway tour. That was a lot of fun, got to see a lot without having to exert ourselves.

[sara mom]

Empress(Denise),

Thank you are a great report so far! We will also be boarding the day you disembark. Can you tell me if in St Thomas did you have to change your clocks to port time (EST vs AST)? I'm trying to plan a dive for my husband and need to get the times figured out.

 

THANKS!

[Montague2011]

Heading to San Juan next weekend for the first time. Loved reading about your time there! So many people enjoying this travelogue of yours! Now, how can you turn this into a full-time job?

Thanks!

 

Christy