Cruise recap and pics. This *may* be the last of my vacation posts.
Are you guys ready for this?
I just returned from one of the best vacations I've ever had. Everything about it was amazing. The food, the crew, the company, the ship, the weather...everything.
First, let's talk about the ship.
Navigator of the Seas.
In the center of the ship, there was a mall-ish area called the Royal Promenade. This is picture is looking down from our stateroom deck. In fact, this view was only a few steps away from our room.
This is what it looks like when it's filled with a bunch of people doing the YMCA:
Speaking of our room, this is it:
Within the Royal Promenade, there were a bunch of shops, restaurants, and bars.
The champagne bar:
The wine bar:
The Irish pub, where we spent lots of time:
The ship also had a theater:
The themed lounge:
A rock climbing wall:
A skating track:
An ice rink:
And a Big Easy-themed casino, among other things.
(This picture is the floor in the casino.)
The dining room is amazing. It is three decks tall, and we ended up on the third one with a Swan Lake theme.
The wait staff even sang to us a couple times.
The pool areas are also amazing. The main pool deck is huge, with two swimming pools, a bar, and maybe four hot tubs. There is an upper deck surrounding it as well.
In addition to that, there is a Tuscan-themed adults only pool that is completely separate and sound proof from the main area.
One of the hot tubs, with the pool in the background:
My travel companions are all from Minnesota. And I hadn't met any of them in person until I got there. The organizer was Amber (you know her as bular).
Her BFF Jim came along and brought his lady love, Mel.
See what happens when you meet awesome people on LJ, kids? YOU GO ON CRUISES.
Amber, Jim, and I flew in Wednesday night and stayed in a hotel. We got up early and hung out at the hotel pool until check out time. From there, we went straight to the port and got right on to the ship.
Mel arrived about an hour after us, straight from the airport.
I love that they label the day in the elevators, so I will be using that tool to narrate:
Our stateroom attendant was Renado. He rocked. Every time we saw him, he'd greet us in his strong accent and say "Katieamber, how was your day??" Or "Melissa and Jeeeeem were looking for you!"
The best part about Renado is that he made us towel animals, and used my sunglasses as a prop.
After we met him, we walked around to explore a bit, then plopped down at the pool bar to have some pina coladas. Soon after, it was time for the big emergency drill.
From there, we ventured to the ice rink to watch the ice dancing show. I'd never seen an ice show before, so it was a new, cool experience for me.
Soon, it was time to get ready for dinner. The four of us sat with two super awesome chicks from Florida, Amy and Erica.
After dinner, we went over to the Irish pub, where we met Jimmy. Jimmy was the Irish pub entertainment, and he was fantastic. I've never seen someone get the crowd so crazy. Funny what a dude and a guitar can do!
Friday we were at sea all day. Amber and I got up at 8 am, threw some towels down on the pool deck, and had a nice breakfast at the buffet. From there, we hung out on the pool deck. The drink special was the Bahama Mama.
There was a live band there everyday. Vibes.
In the early afternoon, the activities started. First up? THE MENS SEXY LEGS COMPETITION.
First, the DJ (omg hot) showed the contestants how it's done:
And then this happened:
It was great fun to watch.
That night was formal night, so we got all dressed up for dinner. On our way, we stopped to get some free champagne.
(Yes, "expresso" bugged us too.)
We also went to the casino. I lost $5. But I was up for awhile!
We met the others for an amazing dinner, and then we went to a Broadway tribute show.
By the way, the water was REALLY rough that night. I seriously don't know how the actors performed on stage.
Saturday was our day in Cozumel.
We picked the PERFECT excursion. We took a ride out to a reef to snorkel.
Then we went to a private beach. They had free booze and played great music. It was a blast!
Here are some of our excursion dudes. Kinda had a crush on the guy on the left.
The excursion ended and the four of us went to a restaurant near the port. There was a dude walking around making balloon hats, and we definitely became his next victims.
Also, there was dancing.
This place was great because they accept lots of different payments.
Amber and I walked around to do some shopping after lunch, then headed back to the ship. We caught the sunset that night!
We again had an amazing dinner with everyone, and then we saw a "Newly Wed" type of game show. It was HILARIOUS!
Our cruise director was the emcee, and he's on the far right in this picture. His name is Simeon. Very fitting.
Sunday was THE BEST DAY EVER.
Amber and I woke up early again to reserve our spots by the pool. We spent most of the day there, and then we went to the rock climbing wall.
Also, Jim thought it was no sunscreen day. SO RED.
From there, we went our separate ways. I stayed in the room to pack up my stuff a bit, then I went to the top deck to read my book and watch the sunset. I met up with the rest of the group right before dinner. We headed to the formal dining room for our last night with our SUPREME waiters (Roger and Valentin) and awesome table-mates.
Dinner was amazing. We all laughed a lot, had some wine, and talked about keeping in contact with one another when the cruise ended.
Amy and Amber both ordered shrimp, and didn't know how to cut it up, so Roger decided to help. Talk about service! And a photo op!
We took a ton of pictures, and even got some with the head waiter.
After dinner, we headed back to the Irish pub to see Jimmy's final performance on the cruise. You guys, this was the PLACE TO BE. So many people went up to sing with him, including Mel.
(Rod Stewart?)
So much fun was had. Lots more pictures were taken.
...And that covers the trip.
Wow, if you made it through that entire picture post, you win something. I know it was long, and I know I'm forgetting details, but I wanted to document the highlights.
It's snowing here.
I just returned from one of the best vacations I've ever had. Everything about it was amazing. The food, the crew, the company, the ship, the weather...everything.
First, let's talk about the ship.
Navigator of the Seas.
In the center of the ship, there was a mall-ish area called the Royal Promenade. This is picture is looking down from our stateroom deck. In fact, this view was only a few steps away from our room.
This is what it looks like when it's filled with a bunch of people doing the YMCA:
Speaking of our room, this is it:
Within the Royal Promenade, there were a bunch of shops, restaurants, and bars.
The champagne bar:
The wine bar:
The Irish pub, where we spent lots of time:
The ship also had a theater:
The themed lounge:
A rock climbing wall:
A skating track:
An ice rink:
And a Big Easy-themed casino, among other things.
(This picture is the floor in the casino.)
The dining room is amazing. It is three decks tall, and we ended up on the third one with a Swan Lake theme.
The wait staff even sang to us a couple times.
The pool areas are also amazing. The main pool deck is huge, with two swimming pools, a bar, and maybe four hot tubs. There is an upper deck surrounding it as well.
In addition to that, there is a Tuscan-themed adults only pool that is completely separate and sound proof from the main area.
One of the hot tubs, with the pool in the background:
My travel companions are all from Minnesota. And I hadn't met any of them in person until I got there. The organizer was Amber (you know her as bular).
Her BFF Jim came along and brought his lady love, Mel.
See what happens when you meet awesome people on LJ, kids? YOU GO ON CRUISES.
Amber, Jim, and I flew in Wednesday night and stayed in a hotel. We got up early and hung out at the hotel pool until check out time. From there, we went straight to the port and got right on to the ship.
Mel arrived about an hour after us, straight from the airport.
I love that they label the day in the elevators, so I will be using that tool to narrate:
Our stateroom attendant was Renado. He rocked. Every time we saw him, he'd greet us in his strong accent and say "Katieamber, how was your day??" Or "Melissa and Jeeeeem were looking for you!"
The best part about Renado is that he made us towel animals, and used my sunglasses as a prop.
After we met him, we walked around to explore a bit, then plopped down at the pool bar to have some pina coladas. Soon after, it was time for the big emergency drill.
From there, we ventured to the ice rink to watch the ice dancing show. I'd never seen an ice show before, so it was a new, cool experience for me.
Soon, it was time to get ready for dinner. The four of us sat with two super awesome chicks from Florida, Amy and Erica.
After dinner, we went over to the Irish pub, where we met Jimmy. Jimmy was the Irish pub entertainment, and he was fantastic. I've never seen someone get the crowd so crazy. Funny what a dude and a guitar can do!
Friday we were at sea all day. Amber and I got up at 8 am, threw some towels down on the pool deck, and had a nice breakfast at the buffet. From there, we hung out on the pool deck. The drink special was the Bahama Mama.
There was a live band there everyday. Vibes.
In the early afternoon, the activities started. First up? THE MENS SEXY LEGS COMPETITION.
First, the DJ (omg hot) showed the contestants how it's done:
And then this happened:
It was great fun to watch.
That night was formal night, so we got all dressed up for dinner. On our way, we stopped to get some free champagne.
(Yes, "expresso" bugged us too.)
We also went to the casino. I lost $5. But I was up for awhile!
We met the others for an amazing dinner, and then we went to a Broadway tribute show.
By the way, the water was REALLY rough that night. I seriously don't know how the actors performed on stage.
Saturday was our day in Cozumel.
We picked the PERFECT excursion. We took a ride out to a reef to snorkel.
Then we went to a private beach. They had free booze and played great music. It was a blast!
Here are some of our excursion dudes. Kinda had a crush on the guy on the left.
The excursion ended and the four of us went to a restaurant near the port. There was a dude walking around making balloon hats, and we definitely became his next victims.
Also, there was dancing.
This place was great because they accept lots of different payments.
Amber and I walked around to do some shopping after lunch, then headed back to the ship. We caught the sunset that night!
We again had an amazing dinner with everyone, and then we saw a "Newly Wed" type of game show. It was HILARIOUS!
Our cruise director was the emcee, and he's on the far right in this picture. His name is Simeon. Very fitting.
Sunday was THE BEST DAY EVER.
Amber and I woke up early again to reserve our spots by the pool. We spent most of the day there, and then we went to the rock climbing wall.
Also, Jim thought it was no sunscreen day. SO RED.
From there, we went our separate ways. I stayed in the room to pack up my stuff a bit, then I went to the top deck to read my book and watch the sunset. I met up with the rest of the group right before dinner. We headed to the formal dining room for our last night with our SUPREME waiters (Roger and Valentin) and awesome table-mates.
Dinner was amazing. We all laughed a lot, had some wine, and talked about keeping in contact with one another when the cruise ended.
Amy and Amber both ordered shrimp, and didn't know how to cut it up, so Roger decided to help. Talk about service! And a photo op!
We took a ton of pictures, and even got some with the head waiter.
After dinner, we headed back to the Irish pub to see Jimmy's final performance on the cruise. You guys, this was the PLACE TO BE. So many people went up to sing with him, including Mel.
(Rod Stewart?)
So much fun was had. Lots more pictures were taken.
...And that covers the trip.
Wow, if you made it through that entire picture post, you win something. I know it was long, and I know I'm forgetting details, but I wanted to document the highlights.
It's snowing here.