Cruise life and eating

What can I say about cruising to the Caribbean onboard Royal Caribbean's Grandeur of the Seas? First, there's the food, lots and lots of it. Had breakfast and lunch mostly in the Windjammer Buffet which had a varied menu. Eating there was fast but crowded. Among the more memorable dishes I liked were the Indian curries and lentil, the jerk chicken and of course the desserts. CJ, our Singles International concierge, had reserved tables for dinner at the Great Gatsby main dining room where the menu changed daily except for some permanent classic dishes. I ditched my diet and ordered multiple appetizers, or 2 main courses or 2 desserts. The food was pretty good. My favorites were the escargots, steak, and lamb shanks; for desserts I liked the souffle and everything chocolate. The Maryland crab cake appetizer did not come close to the real thing and I should know!

Buttery and garlicky escargots (without shells), sopped up with sliced bread. Yum! I ordered this appertizer 3 times, not often you can get escargots although Lidl sometimes has them frozen in their shells.

Way too big slices of prime rib done the way S. and I liked it!

I kept forgetting to take photos of the dishes I tried, I was so eager to taste them. Below was garlic tiger shrimp with rice and chocolate souffle (really good).

The best part of the dining experience was eating with the STI group, it was a lot of fun, especially sitting at the small table with the three ladies (you know who you are)! There was also specialty dinning in three different restaurants: Giovanni's Table (Italian), Izumi (Japanese) and Chop Grill (American). I signed up for Italian food was somewhat disappointed since I have slightly different expectations, having lived in Italy for 5 years.

Lots of activities to keep busy. I joined fellow cruise mates in the morning stretching and Zumba classes, line and Latin dance classes, silent disco, shuffle board, name that tune trivia during happy hours (closest was about 50% right), got into the solarium pool, etc.

A highlight was the balloon drop when the clock struck midnight on New Year's Eve. It was rather crowded at the Centrum, so a number of us watched it from the balconies on the upper floors, toasting the new year with champagne offered by the ship's crew. A great way to greet the new year. I went to bed shortly after since I had a shore excusion at our first stop in Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic.

Embarkation day!

Spent a very restful night in my room at the Hyatt, a big difference from sleeping in Millie of course! Met more fellow cruisers at breakfast, then we had a meet-and-greet + pre-cruise briefing led by CJ the Singles Travel International concierge for this cruise. There was just enough time, before I had to check out, to go look for a store that sold lottery tickets. The Mega Millions lottery was up to about $640M and I wanted to buy a couple of tickets. I'm one of those people who only play when the winnings get big enough to make the news. The Whole Foods across the hotel did not have them, but I found a little convenience store that did. Mission accomplished! I doubt I would win anything given the odds, but I can say I played. Embarkation went pretty smoothly, we were onboard by about 3 pm. I headed straight to the buffet since we missed lunch, got my luggage and unpacked. And then we sailed away just before sunset. I got to the upper deck and got some great photos. What a classic sunset!

Pre-cruise day in Miami

Checked out of Ortona South Campground to drive to downtown Miami, about 2 hours away. The drive took longer because I stopped by a Goodwill store to see if I can find some white clothing for the white dance night on the cruise (just found out about that on the RC app). I found an almost new white cotton top and Capri pants that fit plus a beach dress. Also bought a small saute pan, since I forgot to bring one with me. Total cost was less than $15 - I love treasure hunting in thrift stores! The drive to the Hyatt Regency was slow, with heavy traffic all the way there. I was able to check in and put my luggage in my room before jumping back into traffic, heading for the Hilton Airport Blue Lagoon where Millie will be parked for the next 10 days. The hotel is somewhat out of the way which was why I chose it. From there I got on the free shuttle to get to the airport, took the Miami metro rail to Government Center ($2.25 fare) and the metro mover (free) to Knight Station which was next to the Hyatt. So much faster than driving!

The Hyatt was a pretty nice hotel, the free 1-night stay was part of the STI cruise package. The hotel is in downtown Miami but there is a lovely view of the water from the back. There was a Whole Foods store across front of the hotel with an Amazon locker from which I retreived a last minute purchase. There were almost 50 people on the cruise. We had a nice dinner at a Brazilian restaurant nearby and started to get to know each other. There were a few veteran cruisers in the group, and it was nice to hear their stories and experiences.

Driving to Miami for a cruise

Back in May, I booked a 9 night New Year cruise with Singles Travel International to the Caribbean. I decided to drive down to Miami instead of flying, which turned out to be a good decision after seeing the mess with flights, especially on Southwest Airlines over the Chrismas holidays. Since I am driving Millie, I planned to do some camping along the Gulf Coast after the cruise. It was pretty cold when I left in the morning on Dec 27. I stayed the night at a motel in St. George, South Carolina. Another long drive on Dec 28 towards Miami. I could not find an affordable hotel in Miami (rooms were $150+), so I camped at the Corps of Engineers' Ortona South Campground near La Belle, FL for $10 a night (discountered with the senior national parks pass). It was a small but very nice park, looked like good fishing waters near the locks. I arrived rather late and did not bothered to connect to power since I was staying a night only.

Had a good night's sleep before leaving for the 2 hour drive east to Miami the next morning.