Sail Away!

December 10, 2022

There are a few more people in the hotel's restaurant this morning; but there's no problem finding a table. No one wants a "real" breakfast, just coffee and a bread product, except, of course, for me. I have oatmeal and they have such interesting toppings! Sliced almonds, dried cranberries, cinnamon, brown sugar! And a choice of fat-free or 2% milk!

She's the receptionist at the hotel and I actually saw her type with these!

Maureen showed me her favorite beach in West Palm!

interesting life-guard stand

Clever way to keep the beach clean!

It's a leisurely morning because we are only an hour away from Port Everglades and we can't arrive before our appointed time of one-thirty. There's a little re-arranging of the cargo between the two cars and lots of sitting around before we take off.

When we arrive there is some confusion as to which pier is ours butt we finally arrive at Harmony of the Seas and it's even bigger than I had imagined! After getting the luggage unloaded and the car parked and Tobi situated in her chair we enter the terminal and find the process much easier than TSA! No removing computers and no dumping of water bottles. We breeze through check in and I find that Maureen is already on board! Go Roomie!! The endless ramp finally deposits us on Deck 5 and we're here! Deck 5 is a happening place! It's one of the nerve centers of the ship and everyone is here. We hurry to one of the banks of elevators and wait for one that has room for the wheelchair and three other bodies. Finally we go up to the fourteenth deck and find our staterooms.

This will be a little different. Instead of our balcony opening onto the ocean, it opens onto the center of the ship, which is a vast open-air atrium! It overlooks Deck 6, called The Boardwalk, which has tons of shops, a carousel, rock-climbing walls, two huge video screens which are currently showing the England-France quarter finals game, and the Aqua Theater!

Robin and Ma are right next door and we ask our room attendant to separate our beds and to open the gate between our two balconies. Tobi and Dean are a bit down the hall.

Grilled tilapia! I did succumb to the GF pear crumble for dessert!

Notice the dangling whisks!

miles of desserts

Everyone is hungry so we go exploring the lunch options. The Silk Main Dining Room has everything! There are hot dishes, deli offerings, salad makings, a stir-fry station, hamburgers and hot dogs and desserts galore, many of which are gluten free! Everyone finds something delicious andd when our tummies are satisfied we split up for either go exploring or to take a nap! Maureen, Robin, Ma, and I report to our muster station to complete our check in and then Maureen and I go to the internet desk to get that all straightened out!

We're learning how to use the Royal Caribbean app which has everything! Maps of all the decks, schedules of all the shows and classes and activities and your own personal calendar to keep track of the events you have booked!

We're supposed to go to dinner at five, which isn't much after lunch, and we decide to visit the Sail Away party first. There is line dancing! What a blast! And some guy in the hot tub shows his appreciation! Oddly enough we run into him again in an elevator and he says, "Hey! You're the dancers! You did a great job!" Robin and I are duly pleased!

We're heading down to dinner from Deck 15 to Deck 3. Maureen and Ma are taking the elevator; but Robin and I take the stairs! Dancing and stairs? I'm feeling so virtuous! Of course going down is easier than going up; but every little bit helps!!

That's a Princess ship and I think ours is larger!

The putt-putt course is across from the pickle-ball court

Couldn't pay me!

Our stateroom is one of these.

Christmas is acknowledged but not over-done.

so many curves

We couldn't stay up for the balloon drop at midnight!

Something fun to see everywhere you look!

Truly like being in a park! All the plants are real!

Even orchids!

And plants growing on the walls!

She runs the zip line that passes by our balcony.

One of two rock-climbing walls

This is the narrow passageway through which these monsters navigate.

We all find our way to dinner and after some discussion with the maitre d', are seated at a table for six. As you would expect there is a ton of food on the menu and I was really proud of myself for not getting a dessert. Truth to tell, I don't know where I would have put it!

Maryland crab cake

Prime rib with potato croquette, broccoli, and grilled tomato

After dinner the four of us go exploring and Maureen and I show the girls Central Park, then go down to deck five where there is live entertainment. We sit for a while then go up to our rooms only to find that there is a show in the Aqua Theater which we can see fairly well from our balcony!

mini selfie

Live entertainment on the boardwalk

One of two bars that rise up to the next deck every half hour or so!

For those who can't use the app or forget where they are!

"Caution! We bought the drinks package!"

Such a strange and interesting show! The stage rises and falls, filling with water. Sometimes only half of it is submerged! The performers are dancers and swimmers and the choreography is robotic and war-like.