This morning was our first sea day, like almost always on a cruise I woke up too early today. Around 2:30am I just couldn’t sleep, so I headed up to the Diamond Lounge.
I know I should have stayed in bed longer, but I never sleep that much when I’m sailing due to excitement. When I came up to the lounge the nightclub was still going in full force until around 4am.
Most of my morning hours were spent just exploring the ship with zero passengers around. If you have never woken up early on a cruise I recommend you giving it a try. I was able to get some pretty neat pictures without any passengers around.
At 6:30am I headed to the aft of the ship to watch the sunrise, this was my first time seeing the FlowRider. During Navigator of the Seas last dry dock they added the FlowRider all the way aft. It’s been many years since I’ve jumped on a board, but I’m thinking its time to revisit during this cruise.
Sunrise was very enjoyable and was surprised to see how many people were also up to watch. Another must do on board a cruise ship, at least one sunrise and sunset on the top decks.
For breakfast I went into the Windjammer at 7am and it wasn’t busy at all. I suppose on sea days most people come a little later. I ordered a fresh made to order omelet that took 2-3 minutes to prepare.
I am also happy to share that today I have now had the best bacon I’ve ever had. Not only the best on a cruise ship, but the best ever! They have finally gotten it right and have crispy thick bacon in the Windjammer. For many years, I’ve seen the bacon very thin and covered in grease, but not anymore!
Since today was a sea day we didn’t have any real plans other than hangout by the pool deck. My group decided to sit in the solarium where we got some sun, but without all the loud music all day.
It must be me getting older, but I am enjoying the Solarium more each cruise. We had some clouds during the day and a few lite rain showers, but nothing to complain about here, we are on a cruise.
With no drink package I brought my own bottle of champagne to the pool deck. I had the pool bar fill my bucket with ice and ask for some flutes. No issues doing that poolside if you are looking to safe a few dollars.
Around 12:30 we headed to the Windjammer (again) for lunch. Some of my group went to the main dining room for a little nice lunch, but I was just looking for something quick. The Windjammer was very busy; it took us a little bit to find a table. I had some grill fish, white rice, and my first slice of pizza this cruise. Lunch was very enjoyable and I saw so many different options. So far, I’ve been very impressed with the quality of the food on board.
I did some walking around after lunch to see what was going on in other parts of the ship. I saw they had some afternoon live music in the promenade deck. I went into the Royal gift shop to pick up a new visor since I misplaced mine. The hat was $20, but I couldn’t use my C&A discount unless I spent at least $25.
Formal Night
Tonight was formal night, so we all got dressed up for a change, which I usually enjoy. We made my time dining reservations in the main dining room at 8PM. I’ll be honest, I was a little confused why we needed reservations for my time dining, but I just went with it.
Before dinner we went down to the R Bar as a group and had some pre-dinner cocktails. At 7PM they start handing out free champagne for the Captain’s reception, so we all took advantage of that. Once I got up and saw no line to get your photo with the captain, so I ran over and grabbed one. It was funny I walked up with my camera because I always have it and the lady said, “oh, we use our camera for this photo.”
We arrived at 8PM for dinner and had to wait a few minutes but were seating at a nice large table for our group. This was my first time in the main dining room on this cruise and the food was outstanding. I had the filet of beef and it’s one of the best meals served if you ask me. We also had them put some shrimp ravioli in the center of the table. The service was very slow, we were at dinner for over two hours. I think we could have said something to speed things up, but nevertheless it felt very long.
The head waiter presented chef’s table to us for 30% off, we were tempted but decided to do Sabor for 30% off night 4 and 5. I love Sabor and I’m really looking forward to dining their twice this cruise.
After dinner we went to the pub to enjoy the live music. Every seat was taken and everyone was really enjoying themselves. We stayed for a while and just sang along to the music that was being played. Around midnight we decided to call it a night and get some rest.
Tomorrow we are in our first port of call, Cozumel, Mexico. I’ve had a little change of plans on what I’m doing tomorrow but it’s going to be great I know it! An update on my no drink package, I spent around $25 today buying a few beers. So for the first two days I’m at $32 vs $250 for the package.
