Ladies and Gentlemen, We are Experiencing Technical Difficulties
Saturday, July 8th
Sea Day #3
This is always the saddest day of the cruise... It means it is almost over!Morning
We both slept much better and we woke up around 8:30AM. We got ready and then went to eat breakfast in the Main Dining Room. This was fairly late for a sea day so there was a line to get a table in the Main Dining Room. TIP- Carnival has REALLY stepped up their game and uses their app to reserve/ request a table and will send you a notification once your table is ready. Then you have 10 minutes to arrive. This eliminates the waiting and lines. I think with the advancements in the use of technology, RCCL could easily do this and for a ship that holds over 6K passengers, it would really cut down on the wait times.
Oh sweet Saturday... How I love you!
Our breakfast was good but the service was slower than we expected. TIP- We did order made-to-order omelets, and those take a lot more time, but the service was just not up to par for a Sea Day in our opinion.
The made to order omelet was SO GOOD... Just not sure it was worth the wait! After breakfast we went back to the room so Chris could take his medication before we went to walk a few laps on the Deck 5 Promenade. We walked about 1 lap before Chris began to not feel well. As I have mentioned before, this is just one of the many concerns he has living with T2D and he has one of these "lousy" days about once every 5th day and unfortunately, that meant 2 of those days on this cruise. I let him rest and recuperate while I went to the Sports Deck to try out the Zipline. I still cannot even fathom how a ship can get a ZIPLINE on it's top deck but it was SO COOL. The line was about 10 people deep at 10AM when I did the zipline. TIP- Be sure to wear non-restrictive clothes, closed toe shoes and take off all jewelry and hats. Unfortunately, I was not able to take a picture or video but this was SUCH A COOL EXPERIENCE! I know Natalie would have LOVED it!
I seriously could just sit here all day and stare at God's gorgeous creation!
But... it's time for me to do the Zipline!
After my zipline fun, I walked around the Sports Deck and watch several FlowRider wipeouts before making my way back to the Royal Promenade to do a little shopping on board. TIP- The Shops on Allure of the Seas are many and extravagant. They have a Kate Spade store, Michael Kors and Regalia stores just to name a few. The prices at the Kate Spade store were even lower than an outlet store and it is tax and duty free. Unfortunately, I spent most of my spending money in the casino so I walked away without a new Kate Spade purse, which just about killed me! I did get our customary cruise souvenirs like the Coffee Cup and magnets!
Afternoon
Shortly after 1PM Chris woke up and we met in the Main Dining Room for lunch. The food was good but the service was somehow even slower than breakfast. In fact, it was so slow that we left without our dessert.
The Sea Day lunch menu (Sea Day #3) 
Tomato Soup- 4.5
It was rich and creamy.
Mozzarella Sticks- 3.5
These were standard cheese sticks.
The Lasagna- 4.5
RCCL really knows how to do this right. We then spent the next 3-4 hours in the PUB talking to the great bartenders and learning all kinds of things about Royal Caribbean and the life onboard as a crew member. This was one of the best conversations we have ever had with crew members. TIP- Be sure to talk to the crew members you see frequently throughout your cruise. Remember, they are onboard for 7+ months at a time and away from family. Oftentimes, just talking to them helps them relieve some of the depression that comes with being away from your family for so long!
We made our way to the very top of the Allure of the Seas on the Sun Deck 14 to get a Titanic type picture since the Allure does not allow passengers on the helicopter pad like other Royal ships. It was a very hot and muggy day but we loved getting to see the open ocean! TIP- This is somewhat hidden and if you do not know to look for it, you will miss it. Go to Deck 14 and go INTO THE cabin hallways and then go all the way forward. It is a gorgeous spot to admire God's beautiful creation!
We then went back to the room to take showers, get ready for dinner and unfortunately, pack our bags as we were getting on the ship the next day. TIP- There are two options for getting off any cruise ship; luggage assistance and self-assist. In recent years, it seems the majority of the passengers choose to do self-assist and wheel off their own luggage. This means there are fewer people choosing to participate in the luggage assistance and for that reason, we have opted to pack our bags early and leave it out the night before (by 10PM). This allows for an easy "walk off" the ship and we can not have to drag all of our stuff with us to breakfast. Every cruise line and ship are different but we find this works best for us. Royal Caribbean also does not require numbers tags for debarkation. They call you based off your muster stations. We packed out bags and left them outside our room around 5:30PM. TIP- We purchased alcohol while on board and it was delivered VERY early at 4:30PM.
Evening
We then made our way to Vintages for one last evening sipping wine and eating delicate cheese and talking to Roger and other guests. This proved to be my personal absolute favorite thing about this cruise and I was so sad to leave this tradition.
The larger than normal Tapas Cheese plate.
There was a very light turnout for the Wine Tasting in the afternoon so they had leftovers! We went to dinner early so we could go to the 9PM Ocean Aria show in the Aqua Theater that was postponed from the night before. Our waiter, Oliver, was accommodating and was able to get us in and out in time to get great seats for the Aqua Show.
Night #7 Bon Voyage Menu 
The French Onion Soup- 5.0
I love this SO MUCH!
The Seafood Cake- 4.0
This was good and had lots of fresh seafood chunks!
The Mediterranean Tapas Plate- 4.0
I am not a humus fan but this was really good.
Grilled Mediterranean Steak-4.0
This was a good cut of meat and the sauce was great. The show started right at 9PM and it was going really well. But at 9:22PM the Cruise Director came over the intercom and said "Ladies and Gentlemen, we are experiencing technical difficulties". Chris and I looked at each other and we knew what this meant. A short time later, they started the show back up again, only to stop again a few minutes later. They eventually had to cancel the rest of the show for the safety of the performers as the seas were beginning to roll yet again. TIP- Be flexible with the Aqua Show (on any Oasis Class ship or higher) as they truly do depend on the weather and the sea conditions. I would encourage you to reserve seats for the very first show of the cruise as well. The show was cancelled with only 3 minutes left in the performance but once again, the safety of the performers is the top priority!
It was a gorgeous (not so humid) night in the Aqua Theater!
The acrobatic performers!
This was SO IMPRESSIVE! We ended the night in the Schooner Bar with Iputu and Matthew. We learned about all of the bartender rotations for the next cruise and the Coast Guard inspection that would happen the next day. In fact, the July 9th passengers were told to arrive 3 hours LATER than originally planed due to this inspection. I am so very glad this was the NEXT cruise and not ours! TIP- This happens FREQUENTLY we learned. Remember, a cruise is what you make of it and the key is to be flexible!
These strawberry mojitos were my jam this cruise... I had to get another one (or two). We went to bed a little earlier shortly after midnight as we had a long day ahead of us and I flew to Columbus, OH for a Teacher Workshop and Chris got ready for the 9 hour drive to pick up our kiddos in Lubbock from Gigi and Grandpa!
This cruise was absolutely incredible and just what we needed as we head into what is sure to be the absolute busiest time of our lives. Thank you Allure of the Seas and Royal Caribbean for another excellent week on the high seas!
Up Next... Debarkation in Galveston.
God is Good... ALL THE TIME!
Carnival Conquest- 2006
