Questions, Answers and Rest
Gulf of Mexico
Sea Day #3
Morning
I woke up around 7AM and could not fall back asleep. The bed was just too hard.
Chris was still asleep and even while I was showering and getting ready for the
day, he was still zonked out so I left to let him get some sleep. I went to the
Main Dining Room to get breakfast but it was busy and there were not any tables
so I opted to go to the Windjammer. It was nearly 8AM and it was not too
crowded but there were a lot of people. I got my Freshly Squeezed OJ and a few pastries
then went to get some coffee at Café Promenade.
I stopped at the Guest Services
to see if our On Board Credit had been applied and after printing the bill I
noticed there were several charges on the 1st and 2nd day
from our Drink package fiasco. I explained it to Guest Services and they took
the charges off our bill. They were very helpful and friendly and while the whole
ordeal was a pain, it didn’t take too long. TIP- Go to Guest Services EARLY on
the last sea day or you will be waiting in line for a LONG time.
TRICK- We booked this cruise via CruCon Cruise Outlet (CRUCON Cruise Outlet) and received
the OBC Royal Caribbean was offering ($50 for an inside cabin at the time) and
CruCon matched that with $50OBC of their own. PLUS we got the $50 loyalty OBC
for booking another cruise with them. So just for booking with them instead of
Royal Caribbean, we received an additional $100 OBC. Check them out it you are
booking a cruise. Ask for Bill or Paige.
The weather was not great and the seas were very choppy. It
was really windy and pretty cold so I spent a lot of my morning inside.
The seas were not our friend on this day!
I made my way to the Star Light Lounge on Deck 5 Forward for the Question and Answer Session with the Captain and Head Staff members.
The seas were not our friend on this day!
I made my way to the Star Light Lounge on Deck 5 Forward for the Question and Answer Session with the Captain and Head Staff members.
Left to Right- Chief Engeinner, Captain, Hotel Director, Jeffrey (The Cruise Director)
This was once again a VERY
fascinating Q&A session. Royal Caribbean is already an industry leader but
they are way ahead of the game right now and will have 1 new ship EVERY YEAR
for the next 10 years. INSIDERS INFO- They also hinted at 1 ship per year for the next 16
years. The older ships in the fleet will not leave but all of the ships Royal
Caribbean will build will be Quantum Class size or larger. The larger ships
really are the money makers for Royal Caribbean so it is smarter to build then.
Some of these ships will include:
Oasis Class #5
Oasis Class #6
Quantum Class #5
Quantum Class #6
Icon Class
These ships will run on LNG (Liquefied Natural Gas) and will be smaller than
the Oasis class ships. This will be the new industry standard and will really
set the bar high for other Cruise Lines and Cruise Companies.
We also learned that Royal Caribbean is building a training
facility in China and plans for several of the ships mentioned above to sail in
Asia. INSDIERS INFO- This was interesting to me since NCL built the Norwegian
Joy to sail in China and after 1 year, they were not making revenue so they
pulled her out and she will now sail in Alaska in 2019- 2020. I am intrigued to
see if Royal Caribbean can survive in Asia.
Other Cool Info from the Captain’s Q&A:
·
The Chief Engineer was an Olympic Basketball
Player for Croatia.
·
Jeffrey, the Cruise Director, is the oldest
living CD at sea! (And one of our
favorites)
·
The Liberty of the Seas cost just over 1 BILLION
dollars when complete
·
The Oasis of the Seas cost over 1.5 BILLION
dollars
·
The Captains of Royal Caribbean ships have a 10
weeks on/ 10 weeks off schedule and he does get paid while on vacation.
·
The Hotel Director has a contract of 4 months
on/ 2 months off and does not get paid while on vacation.
·
The Liberty of the Seas uses 3K gallons of water
per hour and creates 55 gallons of water per person, per day.
TRICK- I always love the Question and Answer sessions on
cruise ships. Most cruise lines offer this on the last sea day in the morning.
Royal Caribbean is so innovative in the industry so I would HIGHLY recommend
you attend if possible. Check the Cruise Compass for details.
INSIDERS INFO- During the Q&A we also learned that Royal
Caribbean was going to announce the Adventure of the Seas calling Galveston its home-port in Fall 2020- Spring 2021 with hopes of becoming a long time ship to
call Galveston home. This is HUGE news for Texas cruisers as it allows a
Voyager class ship to start running 4-5 days cruises instead of the smaller 78K
gross ton ship, Enchantment of the Seas, we currently have. These voyages are
available for booking now.
Afternoon
After the Q&A, Chris found me and we made our way to
Hoof and Claw pub to enjoy some day drinking before heading down to the Casino
Royale on Deck 4. TIP- From 11AM to 1PM, the casino offers “lower limits” on
table games. There is only 1 blackjack table and 1 roulette table in this offer
and they fill up fast. The minimum bet is now $6 instead of $10 but we enjoy this.
I played my allotted money and lost within an hour.
When I checked the bill in the morning we noticed we had all
of the OBC so we thought about dining at Sabor for dinner but unfortunately,
they were all booked. TIP- Again, try to book these in advance to avoid
disappointment.
Chris had lost his hat on Day 4 while eating lunch at Windjammer and we had been frantically searching for it each day at Guest Services. It is a large brim hat that protects his delicate red-head skin and we knew he was going to need it throughout the rest of the cruise so we bought a new one in Jamaica. I decided to go down to Guest Services just one more time and check... BAM! It was there! Thank you Lord!
The Case of the missing hat has been closed! WE FOUND IT!
Chris had lost his hat on Day 4 while eating lunch at Windjammer and we had been frantically searching for it each day at Guest Services. It is a large brim hat that protects his delicate red-head skin and we knew he was going to need it throughout the rest of the cruise so we bought a new one in Jamaica. I decided to go down to Guest Services just one more time and check... BAM! It was there! Thank you Lord!
Thank you kind cruiser for turning it in!
We decided to go to Johnny Rockets since we had not tried it
on our previous Liberty cruise. There was a 20 minute wait since they were not
utilizing the tables due to high winds. Once we got seated it was a FABULOUS experience.
Our waiter was fast and efficient and brought us a “surprise” of onion rings
and fries. Each of us had a hamburger and we shared 1 of the specialty burgers.
We also ordered Chili Cheese fries (which never arrived but we were stuffed so
it was OK). Each of us had a shake as well as an ice cream sundae at the end of
our lunch. We left bloated and stuffed to the brim but it was a good
experience.
Johnny Rockets Menu
The "Surprise" our waiter brought us!
(Our kids would have LOVED the ketchup smiley face)
Frozen Burgers being made by the dozens!
Our shakes! They came FREE with the Drink Package but otherwise are $4.95.
The #12... Named as a 12/10. It was good and our favorite one!
The Original!
(Sorry, but not as good as Guy's. Not even close)
Smokehouse... I really liked this one as well!
The Ice Cream Sundaes for dessert!
(Our kids would have LOVED the ketchup smiley face)
I had ordered the Vanilla shake but they accidentally made the strawberry... It still tasted great! Besides, who cares! I'm on a cruise! Relax a little!
The Original!
Smokehouse... I really liked this one as well!
TRICK- Johnny Rockets is a flat rate of $9.99 ($11.74 with
tip) per person and you can order ANYTHING you want on the menu and “as many as
you want” our waiter mentioned. The shakes and malts are NOT included unless
you have the drink package. Each meal is finished off with an ice cream sundae
as well. Overall, we enjoyed this experience but it is in no way as good as Guy’s
Burgers which is completely FREE on Carnival ships. At $50 for a family of 4 it
is way too pricey in our opinion. The service was good for a specialty restaurant
but again, nothing to write home about. Again, it was a good experience and we basically
did it for FREE (thanks to our OBC), BUT we would more than likely not do it again!
It was a fun experience!
After lunch we made our way to the Deck 4 Outdoor promenade
to lay out. It was still windy, cold and now it was starting to sprinkle and drizzle but we
found covering in the aft of the ship. Chris was not feeling 100% but purchased
some Benadryl from the General Store and was feeling a little better. We found
some chaise lounger chairs and moved them to the very aft of the ship to enjoy
an afternoon nap curled up in our blankets from our cabin steward. TIP- We
always ask our cabin steward for extra pillows and blankets on the 1st
day for events such as this.
ANY day at sea (even a cold and windy one) is better than a day on land or at work!
My favorite view!
There were swells a good 6-10 feet throughout the day!
Our little secret spot! Not many people were OUT in this cold weather and hardly anyone came back to this area of the aft of the ship!
My favorite view!
There were swells a good 6-10 feet throughout the day!
After lounging around for nearly 2 hours, we got up and made our way to the FRIENDS trivia in the Schooner
Bar. I have won this trivia on 2 separate cruises but failed to win on this
cruise. I got 13/15 but missed two, what
would be, obvious questions but I love this trivia and always find a way to
play!
Evening
We made our way to Olive and Twist and for the first time of
the cruise, it was packed. It had, up until this point, been a hidden gem and
there were usually not many people there. But thanks to the cold winds and
choppy seas, there were lots of people. We sat and enjoyed people watching
and watching the workers shut down the SplashAway Bay area, Main Pool and hot
tubs. It was a very ROCKY afternoon and we heard many guests were becoming
seasick. It was definitely not our worst seas but it was 180* change from the
day before. TIP- Always bring DRAMAMINE or some type of motion sickness medicine as you never know what you will get on a ship.
We then made our way to dinner in the MDR for our last night
with Roy. In looking at the menu we were not impressed with the offerings but I
am so glad we went ahead and ate in the MDR. It turned out to be one of our
favorite meals of the entire cruise. Roy and Aventus did not disappoint and it was
fabulous evening. We gave Roy his additional tip and then went to catch the
last sunset of the cruise. TIP- Gratuities are $14.50/ per person, per day standard
on Royal Caribbean and this is split between the room steward, MDR waiters,
Windjammer waiters and many others. We always try to give an EXTRA tip for
exceptional service and this cruise that proved to be Roy and Aventus.
The Spaghetti was shockingly good!
Roy's hefty tip! THANK YOU ROY for your tremendous service!
We went back to our room and packed our suitcases. We
decided to do Traditional Disembarkation which meant we had to have our luggage
outside our room by 11PM. INSIDERS INFO- With Self-Assist Disembarkation becoming
so popular nowadays, fewer and fewer people are using the traditional method.
We missed the sunset but one last pic on the Promenade!
We then went to Vintages and met up with Nate and Julie
before going to the Battle of the Sexes game-show in the Star Light Lounge. This
was a fun and competitive game show and a great way to end our cruise. Of
course, we had to get one more slice of Sorrento’s pizza before calling it a
night around 11PM.
The cruise had come to an end and it was hard to believe we
had to go back to work on Monday but we were so anxious to see the kids. I
swear as much as I proclaim needing a break from them, I think about them more
and more as the cruise days progress. This turned out to be a very good cruise
and once again Liberty of the Seas has proven to be our favorite ship!
I hope this blog has helped fellow cruisers and answered some
questions! I love sharing our cruise with y’all and I love even more going back
and re-reading these all when I am getting Cruise Fever!
Day 7 RECAP!
Coming Up… Disembarkation Day
God is good… ALL the time!
Carnival Legend- ALASKA- 2016
God is good… ALL the time!
Click on a link to see our past cruising adventures:
The Norwegian Breakaway- November 2018
Royal Caribbean Liberty of the Seas- 2018
The Norwegian Breakaway- November 2018
Royal Caribbean Liberty of the Seas- 2018
Carnival Legend- ALASKA- 2016
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