Day 2/ Royal Caribbean 3 day to Ensenada Mexico

 One thing I want to add about the room, and not sure if it was just our room, but there were no USB ports. Luckily, I had my charging cord with a plug in.  I believe there was 2 outlets in the room, which most cruise cabins don’t have a lot of outlets and we usually bring a power strip. Depending on the cruise line, I am hearing that some do not allow power strips. Earlier in our cruising days, we had our teens, so we needed all those outlets, but now that it’s just me and my husband, we don’t need a power strip. So be sure to bring a plug in!

 

On Sea day’s I like to have breakfast in the MDR because I’m not rushing.  On port days, I will have breakfast in the buffet. My husband likes to have salmon on bagel, and I had egg’s benedict w/out the ham and fruit. It’s not crowded in the restaurant, so it’s enjoyable and relaxing.

Today I’m going to go on the slides because I’m the thrill seeker. There is the “Blaster” slide which is a 2-person raft, and you get the raft at the top. This was a longer line for that one and they would not allow you to go by yourself. I would have waited at the bottom for another single rider, but the line was a little long for me. (Plus, it was the early afternoon and I’m sure it’s less crowded if you go earlier). So, I decided to go on the “Riptide” which is a mat, and you hang onto the 2 handles and go head first. This line is not as long and goes fast. The water may be semi heated because it didn’t feel super cold to me. Anyways, you through this tube and parts of it are dark with neon lights and parts of the tube are clear. You are not allowed to take your phone or camera with you, just remember it in your head, ha-ha. When you are done with the ride you will hand off your mat to the next riders who carry it up the stairs. I would definitely do this again, but I didn’t want my husband to wait around all day for me.

 

The Riptide - Here I come!

We continue to discover the ship and find Mini golf at the front of the ship, and we try our hands at it. I’m someone that likes to keep active, so I want to try everything. It’s challenging, at least for me, but I still have a lot of fun doing it. I only hit the ball out of the area twice! After all this we decide to sit poolside and relax a little.

Photo ops everywhere

This is Paradise

Putt Putt Golfing around

We sit pool side for awhile and I order the “Rum Punch”, which is Spiced rum, Bacardi superior rum, guava and passion fruit syrups, pineapple juice, lime juice and a float of kraken Black Spiced Rum.  Your first sip is super strong because of the floating Kraken Rum, but after you stir it up it blends in.  I went to the El Loco Fresh and asked for 2 chips because I was going to just have chips and guacamole. When she saw I didn’t have any food on my plate, she asked for my plate and just put a plate full of chips on it. Then I went and added guac and Pico de Gallo for my own little lunch/chip and dip plate.  

Enjoying the View

Time to Relax

Putting our feet up

 

We decided to eat dinner early, which anytime dining opened around 6:45pm and we got there around 6:30pm and they seated us on the 2nd floor. That’s how I know the second floor is much nicer then the first floor. It was not crowded, and the servers were super nice, and even the head waiter came over and talked to us. He thought my husband looked like a famous chef from India and wanted to make sure it was not him. Lol. My husband had salmon again, and I had the Seafood linguine. Food does not disappoint on this cruise. I have no complaints as everything was delicious!!!

Dinner in the Main Dining Room

On to the production show which I know was booked up. The production was called Past, Present and Future, with the dancers and singers, and I always love these shows. I admire all the dancers and their hard work, everchanging costumes, great voices. Another great production show Royal!

 

We love karaoke. We are used to Princess where it is in a small type of theater style setting, and not in a bar setting. But on Royal it’s in the Cosmopolitan bar which is on the very top of the ship, and you have to take the elevator to get there (I think because I didn’t see the stairs). Anyways that started around 10:00 pm and glad we got there early so we could seats, which I would advise to do. At first no one was there, but at 10:00 I felt like someone just dropped off a busload of people because all of a sudden tons of people were filing in. Karaoke was an hour and a half, and everyone was having a great time, singing, drinking, and talking to each other. It’s more of a club scene than watching the singers. One thing for sure, Royal passengers like to have a good time!!

The view from the Cosmopolitan

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Day 1/ Embarkation Day

 Day 1 /Embarkation Day

 

Dinner was at 8:00pm. Here is the big difference I discovered on Royal. They are more nighttime people, more fun, and they like to stay up late. 🤣 I thought it might be not crowded because on Princess they usually eat early. I did anytime dining but you can make reservations on your phone. However, the 8:00 reservation didn't mean anything because there were 2 long lines and some people had reservations, and some didn't. Some people were up front yelling and complaining because they had reservations, but I feel like, why do that? It's not the end of the world. Everyone is working hard and doing their best. So we had to wait for awhile to get a table, and even then, it was hard to get served. Instead of getting bread right away we had to ask for it twice. We ordered our food and still needed to ask. We thought this is how it is all the time, but to be fair, this was an anomaly. I chalk it up to first night madness and this is a popular time. Because the next 2 nights we go earlier around 6:30 and their is absolutely no lines.

 
 

The Main Dining Room

So I'm learning the ways and times of the ship. The restaurant is beautiful. The top 2 floors I believe were for timed dining, like early or late, and the bottom floor is anytime dining. The 2nd floor and 3rd floor I thought were much nicer. The food I am always happy with, my husband had salmon, and I had something seafood, I just can't remember what I had the first night. There are no shared tables, but the tables are pretty close together. 

 

And don't forget dessert

We still have time to make our comedy show after, and as usual, they start 15 minutes late. LOL. We had reservations for this as well. I could tell some people didn't have reservations so they were stopped and they would make reservations on their ipads before letting them in. The comedian is Kivi Rogers and he is hilarious!!! He also has an adults show around 11:00 pm and we never stayed up that late to watch, but really wish we had because he was so great! So far, we are super impressed with their shows and talent.  

 

The bridge from our balcony

Forgot to say, we brought one bottle of wine with us ( you are allowed one per person, but since it's a short cruise we just do one) and we have a glass on the balcony before dinner. Our room steward, is super nice, and brings us some glasses. I have to say, I always love our room stewards. They have a hard job and always make you feel so welcome. 

 

The ship at night

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Day 1 on Navigator of the Seas Royal Caribbean to Ensenada Mexico

 Day 1/Embarkation day Con't.  -  Exploring the ship from top to bottom. We go to Lime and Coconut deckside for a sailaway drink. I'm more of a girlie or exotic type drink so try the Goombay Smash. (Photo below of drinks from the bar). We didn't have the Sailaway Party due to Covid, so it's a quieter sailaway that we are used to.

Exploring the Ship

Drink Selection

Our own Sailaway Party

Embarkation Day walking around the ship

The rooms were ready (I think around 2:00pm or may have been just a little earlier) and they announce it over the intercom, so we go to our room to unpack our carry-ons and see if our big suitcase shows up. We had a balcony, and it had the basic bed, T.V. , small refrig. , safe, and small bathroom which is expected because we are used to the small spaces. The only weird thing was the closet door would always hit the bathroom door. So one person could not be doing stuff in the closet if someone was opening the door of the bathroom. No big deal, but it was a little annoying. They had the big space under the bed for your suitcases, beds were okay and I was fine with everything. I will say the only complaint I have, (which is really not a big deal or deal breaker) was the movie selection on the T.V. And here is where I will compare to Princess. Princess has the Movie under the Stars with the latest movies, and you can watch them on your stateroom T.V. They usually have the latest movies, like when you are flying, and there is no extra charge. I think there were a couple current movies and there was a rental charge. The other movies were kind of old. Not that I'm always watching movies in my stateroom, but sometimes when we want to take a break or rest, I would watch a movie. Like I said, not a big deal, just something I noticed. We get the big suitcase, unpack, and we had made reservations for the ICE show, dinner, and the Comedian Show. 

 

Embarkation night time

We go to the Ice Show , which I believe was at 7:00 p.m. I made reservations on my phone. The show started 15 minutes late , ( which I realized later , most every show started a little late) and new we had reservations at 8:00 pm for dinner. So I was a little worried, because I thought everything was scheduled, but really I found out, not so much. The Ice Show is amazing!!! The talented Ice Skaters do a great job, and it was soooo fun watching them. Because we like to arrive early we had the best seats right in front and center. So if you want the best seat, go 1/2 hour early. Because of Covid the first row is vacant, so we were in the second row, and they have spaces between you and the next person. Also it is every other row, and when you leave, they have you go in sections. I remember hearing that unvaccinated people had to go the 2nd floor seating on top, but there must not have been many people because I don't remember seeing too many people up there. I can only assume there was a small percentage of people that weren't vaccinated for some reason because we had to show everything when we boarded. The rules are you can't videotape and I really wish I could because the photos just don't do it justice. And since I followed the rules, I don't have any video to show. I really think this is a "Do not Miss" show, you are right there experiencing them on the ice and can hear every little movement. Great job Royal!! 

Royals Ice Show

80's Themed Ice Show

RC's Ice Show

RC's Ice Show

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