Adventures in Paradise: September 2011

Friday, September 30, 2011

Day Seven of Adventures in Paradise!

Today was the second day we had At Sea. The weather was much better than yesterday, and we finally got some blue skies and sun. As for activities, we saw a sushi demonstration from Izumi's, the Japanese restaurant. Other activities included seeing a demonstration on Tahitian Black Pearls and playing Bingo. One amazing thing that happened today was that we met a Turkish waitress who had served us in the dining room two years ago on another ship. She transferred to this ship and remembered us. What a surprise to see her again, small world, huh?! On a side note, speaking of restaurants, there is the complimentary dining room, the Windjammer Buffet and also the specialty restaurants that offer more premium food options for a price. These include restaurants as the Samba Grill (Brazilian Meats - $30 pp), Rita's Cantina (Mexican, a la carte), Izumi (Japanese, a la carte), Giovanni's (Italian - $20 pp) and Chops Grille (Steakhouse - $25 pp). Today, mom and I ate at the Park Cafe (Free cafe eatery) for breakfast, the Windjammer for lunch, and the dining room for dinner. Tonight's entertainment was called the Piano Man and featured the Royal Caribbean singers and dancers doing a tribute to artists like Elton John, Billy Joel, Barry Manilow and Stevie Wonder. After the show, mom and I headed back to our cabin and went to bed. Stay tuned tomorrow for Day Eight, another day at sea and our first crossing of the equator!

Octopus Sushi Demonstration

Watermelon Carving Demonstration

Our Balcony Stateroom

The Small Bathroom of our cabin

Our Tiny Shower

Tahitian Black Pearls

The Beautiful Pacific Ocean

Balconies

The Casino

The Cinema

Tonight's Entertainment

Sunset over the Pacific

Onwards towards the night!

Thursday, September 29, 2011

Day Six of Adventures in Paradise!

Today was our first day at sea. My mom and I basically toured around the ship and did all the different activities they had in our Cruise Compass (Daily Planner). Unfortunately, the weather was really lousy with rain, clouds, and of course, wind. This made the ship really rocky, but luckily we didn't get seasick. For dinner, we at in the Mexican specialty restaurant Rita's Cantina and had a wonderful meal of Chicken Fajitas with chips, salsa, queso, and guacamole. These were topped of with delicious Bora Bora Breeze drinks (pineapple, grenadine, and ginger ale). Yummy! Some other thing we got to try was the European version of Bingo called 90 card Bingo. It's very similar to the American edition but just done in a different format/shape. They also had Polynesian music and Hoola dancers for the entertainment side. The main entertainment for this night was the famous comedian Marty Allen and his singer wife Karon Kate Blackwell. They were great. After the show, mom and I walked around the decks and then went to bed. Day Seven coming up tomorrow, don't miss it!

The Glass Elevator on the Radiance of the Seas

They change the day sign on the elevator everyday

A European Bingo Card (90 Numbers instead of 75). In this game, they call your numbers and to win, you have to have all your numbers called on one of these cards (each card has 15 numbers on it, so there are six green cards in this picture).

Sunset over the Pacific Ocean

A Hula Dancer

A Polynesian Band

Our Entertainment Tonight: Marty Allen and Karon Kate Blackwell

They were a great duo: Comedy and Singing!

Wednesday, September 28, 2011

Day Five of Adventures in Paradise!

Alright, today was the first day of the cruise! We woke up at Ann's house and left around 6:30 am towards McDonald's and Jamba Juice for breakfast. At Jamba Juice, they had interesting tropical combinations and I got the Groovy Guava smoothie. With breakfast done, we headed towards Pearl Harbor. There we spent our time looking and reflecting at the USS Arizona and USS Bowfin. This took around three hours (from 7:30 – 10:30 am). Next, we got Ann and said our goodbyes to her as she took us to the ship, the Radiance of the Seas. At the ship, we got checked in and boarded around 11:45 am. We then had our lunches and were able to enter our rooms at 1:00 pm. After this, we spent our times touring around our new home for the next 17 days, from top to bottom. We had our dinner and gourmet fare at Giovanni's (an italian restaurant) at 6:30 pm. Finally after stuffing ourselves, we headed back to the cabin for some good shut-eye at 10:00 pm. Unfortunately we didn't get to see the sail-away because it was at midnight, and we were tired, still getting used to the new timezone. Anyways, tomorrow is Day Six of our trip, our first day At Sea on our cruise. Stay Tuned!