A couple of hours later and the surface of the water is ridged/rippled
We started out by meeting John and Norma for a breakfast buffet at the Windjammer Cafe at 7am. The buffet wasn't bad and had a good variety of foods which were all pretty fresh. I had scrambled eggs with tomato and onion, a cornbread-like biscuit, diced potatoes, a turkey sausage link, a pork sausage link, sliced pineapple, watermelon and cantaloupe, a hash brown, fiber cereal, a banana, decaf coffee, water, and a chocolate iced donut hole. What can I say? I like variety, and I had small portions of each item.
After breakfast Todd and I changed clothes and did a 2-mile power walk on the outdoor track on deck 12. Afterwards we walked around and took in the different activities available. I ended up doing a wall climb for the first time (go me!). I did pretty well if I do say so myself, and made it to the top relatively easily though my arms were a teeny bit rubbery afterwards!
Wave rider
Sport court
Mini miniature golf
The wall
There I go
Good form
Realizing I can reach the bell from here
It looks more imposing from down below, but it was easy and fun
Next we tried to find the helipad on the prow of the ship, but couldn't figure out how to get there. We gave up after a while and stopped by the Promenade Cafe on deck 5 for a decaf coffee and a donut. After our snack we tried again and finally found the prow and helipad (you could only access by walking outside toward the front of the ship on deck 4, then taking stairs up to it on deck 5. We took in the view for a bit then went back to the room around 11am.
I can see the helipad through the window, but how do we get to it? Oh look, it's the bridge.
How'd we get to the back of the boat ship?
Made it to the helipad. There's the captain in the bridge window.
In a couple of days this helipad will be put to use in the evacuation of someone for a medical emergency.
The view from the prow
We cleaned up then met Todd's parents at the Windjammer Cafe for a buffet lunch. It was a complete nightmare. After fighting through crowds of people to get a plate of food, there was no place to sit. Every table was full, many with people who were holding down the fort while someone else went through the line. After walking around the entire dining room 3 times we put our plates down and left. Instead we went down to deck 3 to the Sapphire Dining Room (the main dining room) and were seated immediately.
The difference between the two dining areas is that the Windjammer is an all-you-can-eat buffet and the Sapphire is a sit-down, table service restaurant where you select from a menu. Both are included in the price of the cruise. There are also other restaurants on board that you can pay extra to eat at, but I'm not sure if the food would have been that much better or not. Anyway, back to lunch. I had a salad with spinach, sprouts, mozzarella, parmesan and bleu cheese dressing, a roll, and Singapore noodles. For dessert I had a strawberry napoleon. The food was ok. The lesson learned was don't go to the Windjammer at peak times.
We had planned to watch the Lego Batman movie at 1:30pm in the Palace Theater, but the extra time spent in the lunch fiasco didn't place us there in time. So we split from Todd's parents, got a strawberry ice cream from the soft-serve machine, and walked around before going back to the room. From our balcony in the room I briefly saw the back and tail of a killer whale (orca) disappearing into the water.
Around 3pm we went back to the Windjammer for snacks. I had a coconut custard tart, peach pie thingy, and pavlova with strawberry (the best). I snagged a cup of decaf coffee on the way out and we went back to the room.
I'll insert here that there's a lot of downtime on the ship, which was nice. During the entire cruise there were only a few fleeting moments of boredom, but mostly it was just relaxing. Now, we could have been much busier if we wanted to attend one of the many sales/promotions/"seminars" that were constantly being pitched.
That was one downside to this cruise (I imagine many cruises): they were constantly pushing 1) Luxury watches at low, low prices! Be one of the first 100 to get extra tickets for the lottery to possibly win a discounted luxury watch. 2) Tired, aching feet? Bad posture? I bet I can easily pull you off balance. Well worry no more: These amazing shoe inserts (for upwards of $100) will make you feel young and stable again! 3) Gemstones! 4) Come hear our port shopping liaison tell you about all the wonderful local shops you'll find in our next port of call where he's worked with the locals to get you great deals on luxury watches, shoe inserts, gemstones, and more!
The constant selling was a huge turn-off, but we ignored it. To be fair, there were also other activities such as trivia contests, audience participation game shows, the casino, presentations with the ship's crew, etc., but we knew before going that those really didn't appeal to us. We were happy just to sit on the balcony, walk around and people watch, or go out on deck and take in the air and our surroundings. We entertained ourselves and had a great time.
One of my downtime activities
Tonight's dinner was one of two "formal nights" (aka dress-up night; doesn't really have to be formal, formal) on the ship, so we dressed for dinner and met John and Norma at 7:30 to find our table was occupied (remember yesterday we were told by our waiter that we could have the same table at the same time every night - he actually said we just had to show up on time and the table would be waiting for us - well, that was wrong). We got seated a table over, but still in front of a window.
John and Norma.
Here Norma, take a picture of us with our phone.
Todd and I
Do you hear that clicking sound? She's taking a burst photo...
Let go of the button Mother / Oh no
Grabby vs. Gimme
800+ photos later.
These are the only ones we kept.
For dinner I had cold banana rum soup, artichoke crepes with toasted cheese, and a bittersweet chocolate soufflé with espresso sauce. After dinner we changed clothes and went to John and Norma's stateroom for a bit, walked around the ship a bit, then went back to our own room. We rested before getting out later to see a movie.
After dinner we found a rabbit and the next day's itinerary on our bed. You stop noticing it, but the ship vibrates a lot when it's under power. See below.
It's an interesting pose for a rabbit. I'm getting an idea for the next day...
...a naughty idea...
...I'm already laughing
Norma taking photos
The sun rises at 4am and sets at 10pm with twilight lasting until around 11pm. It was super easy to forget what time it was and stay up really late.
This was taken from our balcony around 9:15pm.
9:45pm
10:15
10:30
10:40
We sat at the Promenade Cafe on deck 5 while I had a coffee, then went to the Palace Theater for an 11:30pm showing of Kong: Skull Island. Seeing the movie on board at 11:30 was fun; the movie itself was just ok.
Open 24 hours with no-extra-charge sandwiches, pastries/desserts, pizza (I think), etc. They also have a beverage station with self-serve coffee, tea, hot chocolate and water.
Decks 3 & 4: The Palace Theater
Deck 5: The Star Lounge
The stage production show that takes place in the Palace just let out - we're waiting for it to clear out before going in for the movie
Waiting for the movie to start
Afterwards we called it a night and went back to the room and to bed. The next day would be our first port of call: Juneau, Alaska.
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