Royal Caribbean Explorer of the Seas
9 Night Cruise to Bermuda, St. Martin, St. Thomas, and San Juan
Missed the previous installment? Here it is: Day 1.
Normally, when we cruise, we tend to sleep in, and today was no different. While getting ready late this morning, I noticed something amazing in my little bathroom: no steam from the shower. Here we have a bathroom SO small and a shower super-hot, yet no steamy mirrors. I was so impressed at how such a small vent over the shower could work so well. I silently wished my own shower had this magic vent. (Memo to self: Let’s look into that vent!)
Joe and Lex. (Lex is the one with the short hair.)
After everyone was up and dressed, Lex uttered his famous words (“I’m hungry”) so I quickly took him up to the Windjammer Buffet, as it was about to close in ten minutes. While eating breakfast, I noticed this strange yellow orb in the sky. Then then I realized, it was the sun! It has been a long time since I’ve witnessed the sun in all its glory. Then another reality hit me: the sun was HOT! It felt good, but then, it just felt plain old HOT.
With brunch over, Lex and Joe attended a Wii challenge competition, then family bingo. I, however, went to the spa.
Oh, how I love the spa. The ladies, with their South African or British accents, always look so pleasant and lovely. The waiting room overlooked the bow of the ship – a truly fabulous moment that just made me smile. The spa is always a wonderful thing to experience!
Today, I had my very first facial. This was no ordinary facial but a “La Therapie Hydralift Facial with Micro-Dermabrasion”. Now, whether this made me look any younger or gave me new skin, I don’t know, but it felt wonderful and peaceful. I would do it again in an instant!
Behold, the rock climbing wall.
Next, I met up with Joe and Lex for a family golf challenge. Joe ended up in 2nd place for the men, and I missed 3rd place by one stroke. This doesn’t say much since I truly stink at golf. I think everyone else must been drinking enough by 1:30 pm that it swung the competition in our favor. Ha!
When I returned to our cabin, I noticed there wasn’t any water in the toilet. Then I saw where it all went: There was a mini-flood in our hallway! One maintenance call and guest relations visit later, and – sure enough – our toilet had sprung a major leak. The repair crews arrived in no time and fixed everything up. The maintenance and cabin stewards even scrubbed our entranceway carpet and re-disinfected our bathroom floor and facilities. Yes, these people were all about clean!
In the late afternoon, I dropped Lex off at Adventure Ocean, then proceeded to bingo. I LOVE bingo. I don’t win that much but I still love it. I came close (don’t we all) but, no, I didn’t win. Maybe next time. Royal Caribbean has a new device that plays THIRTY cards electronically and you don’t have to lift so much as a finger. (It is also $55!!) I passed on the device and took the basic package, plus a free extra card (a bonus for Crown and Anchor members).
Tonight was Formal Night and the Captain’s reception. After 18 cruises, unless we are on one of the elite-level cruise lines, we always skip formal night. We put on better clothes to blend in a bit and headed for the Windjammer Buffet. Well, were we ever in for a shock: sushi, sushi, and more sushi!! In fact, they had an entire buffet area of just Asian food. What a nice surprise!
The view from Windjammer Cafe shows where we've been.
After dinner, we brought Lex back to Ocean Adventure for a few more hours of fun and games. Joe and I made our way through the Captain’s reception, picked up some free champagne, then we paused at the Schooner Bar for a bit of Ultimate Trivia. We weren’t too ultimate this first go-round but still had a fun time.
Our next stop was a special Make-A-Wish auction, held before the big evening show. For every $5000, a child gets their wish. One of the items up for bid was A TOUR OF THE ENGINES!!! I have ALWAYS wanted to see the engines, especially as a degreed engineer – so very exciting. We bid up to $250, but I was outbid very quickly. The winning bid was closer to $500. I was quite saddened since I was sure I would never get that type of opportunity again.
Royal Caribbean was auctioning off about seven big items, including free spa treatments, dinner with the captain, shore excursions, etc. Well, another item came up that just screamed “D’Andrea family, bid on me now!”
This time, I won!
It was a package deal that included $100 Arcade credit, $25 Casino credit, 120 minutes of internet access (worth about $70 at the full rate), a framed piece of art from the gallery (including shipment to our home), the requisite t-shirt and key chain … plus a private galley tour for 20, escorted by the executive chef himself. Just the arcade, casino and internet prizes would have convinced me to bid, but to win the galley tour? Bonus! Now we just have to make 15 more friends. Shouldn’t be too much trouble.
My winning bid was $225 so, after the arcade, casino, and internet credits, the rest only cost about $30. Yeah!
After collecting our winner’s certificates, I made a beeline to the casino to use my $25 on Caribbean Stud Poker. If you have ever seen any of these table games, you know there are these $1 bets you can put down for an extra chance at a bonus payout. Well, I ALWAYS put down the $1. However …
While I was playing, I started talking to the person next to me … and I forgot to put down my $1 bet. Just then, I get 4 Kings. I teared right up, as I just missed out on a percentage of the $20,000 jackpot! I could hear my father’s and brother’s voice in my head groaning that I forgot to put down the $1. I tried talking to the pit boss and explained how usually all the dealers remind us to put down our $1 bet, that my dealer hadn’t reminded me that one time, that I always play it, etc. No use. I lost the big one and ended up winning about $200 instead. It wasn’t part of the jackpot but at least it was something.
At this point, I was really mad at myself and the dealer. My fellow table mates were truly sorry for me and equally mad at the dealer. I soon moved on to Let It Ride – the one with the extra bet for your first three cards. I hit a straight flush right off the bat, enough to net another $300! In a matter of minutes, I went from giving money to charity, losing and winning money on one table, to winning even more money on another table. Let’s just say that enough was won over the course of the evening to get Joe a pedicure tomorrow, and I get to play bingo each day. While I feel badly about losing out on part of that jackpot, l feel even better that I won for about two hours straight, and all because I bid on a charity auction!
It has been a long and emotional day. We are having a grand time so far and tomorrow is our stop in Bermuda. Stay tuned!
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