It’s our second sea day onboard Odyssey of the Seas! Tomorrow we will be in Limassol, Cyprus - our first port of call. This is a new port and country for all of us, so we are very excited.
We originally had a walking tour booked for tomorrow, but upon further consideration, we decided to cancel tonight.
The itinerary for the excursion included all things that we think we can do on our own and it will save us $200 to just get off the ship independently. There’s no tendering tomorrow and we want to take things at our own pace. It looks like a pretty easy port to explore on our own. Will report back on that tomorrow!
One of the reasons we like booking shore excursions through the cruise line is the ease of canceling, even the night before. We've done this for years and it's always been a total breeze canceling excursions onboard.
I jinxed us by saying the seas were calm yesterday because we've definitely been rocking and rolling a bit today. Nothing horrible, but more noticeable and especially noticeable last night.
Sea Day Sleeping and Breakfast
In the spirit of rest and rejuvenation, Angie and I slept until 10:30am. I had a lovely night relaxing and even took a bath in our stateroom - a cruise first for me!
Our ship had the dreaded time change forward last night, but it’s all good since we had no plans for today. I did consider going to the Hebrew Language class this morning, but my rest felt more important than stumbling through learning a new language in 30 minutes.
Our only option for breakfast was brunch in the main dining room again, so we made our way down there.
I opted for a simple breakfast with yogurt and a bagel while Angie and mom had an omelet. Angie also ordered the French toast again, which is served with a berry compote.
The menu was slightly different than the brunch menu from yesterday morning, which was interesting.
They’ve also been coming around with different and fun juices during breakfast that are complimentary. I’ve tried both celery and carrot juice in an attempt to cancel out the alcohol I've been consuming.
I enjoy having a slower breakfast in the morning on sea days, especially knowing we have 4 busy days coming up.
After breakfast, Angie went to a dance class with mom and dad on the SeaPlex. She explained it as a 'random compilation of wedding reception songs' that included the Cupid shuffle and electric slide. They said it was fun to dance and get moving. The instructor even noted how many people showed up and how pleased he was to have such a big group!
During this time, I stayed in the cabin so I could finish grading projects - which only took me about 45 minutes. Gotta pay for the cruises somehow, right?!
My Taylor Swift Moment
After finishing my work for the week, I wanted to get footage of the belly flop contest and see who would be participating in this event. Come to find out, the event was possibly done by the time I got to the pool deck, although I was only 15 minutes late.
Dad claims he met someone who had a medal from the competition and said you couldn’t miss it on the pool deck! I guess it was a quick competition.
Today’s an important and historic day, as Taylor Swift released her newest album! As a big fan, I wanted to slot some me-time to listen to the new album. Might seem silly, but it's something I love to do.
I made my way to the top deck and found there to be plenty of places for me to get comfortable. I found a little colorful cocoon daybed to make my sacred Swiftie spot.
It was so relaxing listening to the album and the crashing waves in the distance. I was having a happy moment.
In the distance, I saw the rest of my travel crew walking around. Dad decided to hit the gym while Angie, mom and I went to the pool deck. I opted for another Lime & Coconut cocktail and Angie joined me.
I love all the fun colors around this ship and couldn't help but take a cute picture of the cocktail again.
We also enjoyed a warm cookie skillet from Windjammer topped with ice cream on top. Angie said the Windjammer didn’t have vanilla ice cream - so she went to the ice cream station. We indulged while jamming to the Caribbean tunes along with others bopping along.
Before long, it was creeping up on the early evening hours so we made our way back to the cabin. I love having a balcony all to myself and not feeling like I’m missing out on stunning ocean views by going to my stateroom.
I found that I enjoy spending more time in my cabin when I have a nicer, larger room. I really love coming back to our suite and each night have been enjoying the walk-in shower and bathtub.
Angie and dad decided to try the Diamond Lounge while mom and I finished getting ready for dinner.
They said they couldn’t find a spot to sit! With over 1,200 Diamond and Diamond+ people onboard, I guess it’s unsurprising that they couldn’t find a spot.
My husband and I found the same issue when we sailed on Anthem of the Seas this summer, which is the same ship class. We went one night to the Diamond Lounge and didn’t end up going back.
This is a disappointment for us, as we’ve always enjoyed going to the Diamond Lounge before dinner and smaller ships have much larger Diamond lounges.
For dinner tonight, we decided to deviate from our plans to dine at Giovanni’s Italian Kitchen. We pushed back our reservation to tomorrow night, although we wanted to move it to the next sea day.
We’ve had 2 big meals the last two nights and we wanted to just enjoy a more casual night in the main dining room. We always seem to eat more in the speciality restaurants because everything is so delicious.
Lucky for us, our dining table is right by the window! We have a lovely table that seats all 4 of us.
I enjoyed another round of French onion soup while Angie had the roasted tomato soup. Mom had her nightly escargot and dad loves high nightly Cesar salad.
For main entrees, we enjoyed the Steak Diane, Chicken Cordon Blu, and a pesto pasta dish. Everything tasted delicious and the view couldn’t be beat as the Mediterranean sun went down.
We finished off with Royal Chocolate Cake, Tiramisu and Cherries Jubilee. The Royal Chocolate Cake is a RCL staple and it seems that every ship does it a little bit differently.
I adored the richness of Odyssey’s Royal Chocolate Cake! Some of the best I’ve had.
Showgirl Production
Tonight's entertainment was a Production Show: Showgirl, which included the Royal Caribbean singers and dancers. There was not an empty seat in the house for the early seating.
As I mentioned, this ship has an older demographic so I assume everyone is going to the early show rather than the 10:15pm showtime.
The show was dazzling with spectacular music and choreography. There were even acrobats at one point, which was a fun addition. Everyone enjoyed the upbeat music. It was energetic very entertaining!
Stray Observations
Dad also had an exciting day - he finally found some strawberry purée so he was able to get his Miami Vice in the Music Hall. This is a fun venue each evening with live music - my husband and I spent a few nights in this venue during our summer cruise on Anthem of the Seas.
The ship is only sailing around 60% capacity but most of the guests are Diamond members or above!
