Deck Adventures
February 21, 2023
Sea Day #1
It's DAY 2... We are ready!
Morning
Natalie and I woke up around 6:45AM to the sun beaming through our Oceanview window. The seas were calm and we were cruising right along. It felt like we were in a movie, the seas were so perfect! We were out the door by 7:30AM thinking we would meet the boys for breakfast but they had already returned from a full meal at the Windjammer. We meandered up to Deck 11 to the Windjammer to find it not busy at 8AM and the food was pretty good. TIP- The back of the WJ has the EXACT SAME STUFF and is much less crowded. Plus the omelet station on the starboard side of the AFT buffet is SUPER FAST!
I love this tradition on Royal Caribbean ships!
After breakfast when Chris went back to the room to take his medication, we went to the AFT to get a view of the gorgeous blue waters of the wake. This is the reason I cruise... This view!
This is just PERFECT!
With this view and my babies by my side... ALL IS WELL!
Picture perfect memories!
Be still my heart!
These kids are crazy sometimes!
After breakfast we went to the Main Pool area to enjoy the pool and hot-tubs before they got busy on the sea day. The Main Pool was not crowded... with adults! But with kids rather, so Chris and I went to the Solarium hot tubs while Natalie and Luke stayed in the Main Pool area. This worked out SO WELL. Every time I got up to get a drink from the Solarium bar, I would check on the kids and they were having a GREAT time just watching the TV and swimming in the pool with what seemed like the other 952 junior cruisers. This became a ritual for us daily and it worked out perfectly (with our kids ages).
After we spent about 2 hours in the pool, we went and changed and then went to the morning trivia in Boleros on Deck 4. We didn't really expect to win but we did fairly well... with Chris's help of course. Luke made a pit-stop at Café Promenade and enjoyed the chocolate-chip muffins. Tip- if you like continental breakfasts and not so much eggs, bacon and pancakes then Café Promenade is PERFECT for you and not at all crowded. Plus they have coffee all open hours!
Natalie and I decided to use our drink package and get the FREE Starbucks outside of the Café Promenade. Insider Info- Royal Caribbean offers FREE Starbucks at the Café Promenade and Royal Promenade area of ALL ships. However, if you go to the "stand alone" Starbucks venue (Quantum and Oasis class ships), you will have to PAY for those drinks. I was impressed with the menu and overall coffee experience. They also offer a 10 drink punch card for $31 which is a GREAT value if you are a coffee drinker and DO NOT have the drink package.
All of these options are FREE (with the drink package) on Adventure of the Seas as this is attached to the Café Promenade.
After trivia we sat for a bit in Boleros and then explored the Royal Promenade area of the ship as well as the outside of Deck 4. The kids LOVED this area as it had the shuffle board game. We, too, loved this area as it had loungers and was SHADED. This turned out to be the PERFECT way to spend our Sea Day morning. And also became a ritual for us. TIP- The aft port shuffle boards were vacant EVERY TIME we went to them. I think people forget about the back of the ship when walking the promenade and overlook this area. It is just perfect to lay out and listen to the sea pass you by!
The shaded Shuffleboard area on the PORT Aft of Deck 4.
Afternoon
After the kids played a few rounds of shuffle board, we went to the Main Dining Room for lunch. I am not a fan of the Windjammer in general and this is usually my favorite thing about a Sea Day. However, since Covid, Royal has taken away the "Tutti Bar" that served custom ordered salads. This was literally my favorite food item of any Royal Caribbean cruise and I was so upset it was not offered anymore. But we had a GREAT lunch anyway and we enjoyed being served and not having to fight the crowds at the Windjammer.
Sea Day #1 MDR Lunch Menu
Lunch in the MDR!
After lunch we changed back into swimwear and hit the Lido Deck. The kids spent the majority of the time on the Perfect Storm waterslides and Chris and I were in the Solarium. The hot tub did start to get crowded but we were lucky enough to find Solarium chairs in the shade so we spent most of the time sipping on cocktails and laying in the shade. It was absolutely GLORIOUS.
The kids spent nearly 3 hours in the Main Pool and waterslides and then decided they were done. Natalie asked to go back to the cabin and change alone and we wanted to see how they would. They did SO WELL. They both got changed and even brought their pool towel back to the towel hut afterwards. Luke was "dying of hunger" so they checked in with us and then went to Café Promenade for... you guessed it, PIZZA. I think this kid was averaging about 8-12 slices PER DAY! And a brownie bar (or 2) per trip to Café Promenade.
This boy LOVED the pizza and brownie bars.
Chris decided to stay in the Solarium and read his book while I took the kids to the "Peek-a-boo Bridge" area on Deck 11 forward. This is SUCH A COOL area on Royal Caribbean Voyager class ships. It is in front of the Fitness Center and offers a unique look into the Bridge where the Captain and his officers keep the ship afloat. We were able to see maps and coordinates in REAL TIME. Luke's nerdy geography brain was GOING CRAZY! The Captain even waved at us! TIP- Be sure to check this out in the daylight and especially on a sea day. It is absolutely FASCINATING!
The Captain and his officers keeping us all safe and navigating the ship!
We then decided to try our luck at the "Disney Song Trivia" in the Schooner Bar. This was a lot of fun but VERY CROWDED. We did not win but we got a LOT of the songs correct. (TIP- Know the oldies but goodies if you want to win). It is here we noticed that these type of well attended trivia's should be hosted in a large lounge and not a bar area. It was just WAY TOO CROWDED.
Disney Trivia Time... This was a lot of fun!
We went back up to the helicopter pad as we all really enjoyed this area. We stayed for a little while and then Luke had an idea for the kids to go back to the Peek-a-boo area and see if we could see them. Sure enough, we could see them from the helicopter pad. It was so cool to wave at them. The Captain himself noticed us and waved at all four of us in the process.
Natalie and I having our TITANIC moment at the very tip of the ship!
This is such a hidden gem and not at all busy on most sea days!
Later we went back out to the outside Promenade deck for the kids to play shuffle board while Chris and I read our books. It was absolutely PERFECT and the seas were SO CALM. As the sun was beginning to set, we had the most perfect view of God's Gorgeous sky painting. I've said it already many times in this sailing's blog but THIS truly is my favorite thing about a cruise...The SUNSET. A perfect sunset at sea... It just doesn't get much better than that!
God sure does paint a GORGEOUS picture!
God is good... ALL the time!
I am so glad they were here to share this with us!
They LOVED the sunsets too!
This was one of the best sunsets of the cruise with the deeper orange and pink hues!
My heart is SO HAPPY! This is where I want to be... Right here, with these THREE!
Evening
Shortly after the sunset, Natalie and I went back to the room to get ready for Formal Night while the boys made another pitstop at Café Promenade for pizza. TIP- This was such a benefit of having 2 cabins and not have to feel rushed or cramped getting ready for dinner each night!
One of the few towel animals of our cruise!
My teenager LOVED dressing up for this formal night.
Now, the high heels... not so much! But it was an experience!
Us girls are READY!
I love my little family!
Before dinner, we met up with the boys to take some professional pictures. The more I cruise, the more I pass these up but I wanted to get some this cruise as it had been SO LONG since the kids had been on a cruise. We went to a few backgrounds and then went to the Sapphire Dining Room for our dinner.
OMG... Where did my BABIES go?
Seriously... Where did they go?
This was on their last cruise- Norwegian Breakaway November 2018
(Luke has practically DOUBLED in age)
I love my little family!
We knew the service would be slower on this night but it was exceptionally slow. It took right at 2 hours for the complete dinner experience. Our head waiter did a great job but was servicing 2 large group tables and that never bodes well for the smaller tables on the same waiter's ticket. The food was good but I did miss the lobster. (Royal took away the lobster on 4-5 night cruises. It is still available for purchase but not as a free menu option.)
Formal Dinner in the MDR.
Love, love LOVE this picture of these two!
After dinner we wanted to walk off our meal so we walked the outside promenade area and the Royal Promenade on Deck 5, neither of which were very busy.
The Royal Promenade at 10PM
LOVE THESE PEEPS!
Royal Caribbean Voyager class and above have CLASSIC cars in the Royal Promenade.
Luke thought this was SO COOL!
We ventured into the Imperial Lounge for "Finish that Lyric" gameshow but none of us were very interested in that. We expected some kind of Mardi Gras parade or deck party as this was FAT TUESDAY but there was no such event.
We went back and changed out of our fancy clothes and then went to the Lido Deck to watch none other than Top Gun Maverick. We missed the first 45 minutes but it was still AWESOME to watch this EPIC movie at sea. TIP- We were NOT impressed with the AOTS movie screen. The placement of the Splash Pad and kiddie waterslides make it nearly impossible to see the full screen. I know the Splash Pad area is part of the "Revamp" and "Amped Up" additions but this was TERRIBLE engineering. My advice would be get there EARLY and reserve a seat if you are interested in watching a movie on deck... Otherwise you will have a stiff neck.
Talk to me Rooster...
By this time we are all tired and exhausted from our relaxing day at sea so we called it a night. We did stop by Café Promenade on the way back to the room. Luke had already eaten SO MUCH on this day but got more pizza. He must be in a growth spurt, and I better start the savings account for the teenage years SOON. This boy is gonna eat us out of house and home! But he sure did love that Café Promenade pizza and brownie bars!
It was a GLORIOUS day spent aboard the Adventure of the Seas and we were so excited for our massages on the beach at Costa Maya tomorrow.
Up next... Costa Maya, Just Kidding!
Stay Tuned for the details!
God is Good... ALL THE TIME!
Royal Caribbean Liberty of the Seas- March 2019
The Norwegian Breakaway- November 2018
Royal Caribbean Liberty of the Seas- 2018
Carnival Legend- ALASKA- 2016
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