See ya’ real soon!

The day had come that the first cruise had come to an end. We slept in a little and got up around 7am, took showers and got ready for breakfast. On the way down to the restaurant, we ran into Oana and had a little chat with her. It was then that she told us that once we had checked in and were back on board (before anyone else) we would be welcome to just slide under the ribbon and come back to our stateroom to drop our passports and paperwork. Nice to know.

We headed downstairs for breakfast and joined the line of people to get into the restaurant. We quickly found our seats and our over friendly servers were right there to take our orders. Tom ordered some coffee and I just had some orange juice. They brought out two Fruitbowls with the drinks and soon after our breakfast arrived. Tom had ordered the Chef's Farewell, a large open-faced omelette topped with barbecued chicken, green peppers, onions and melted Swiss cheese, while I had opted for a Ham and Cheese omelette, served with hash browns. While we were still eating the head server came by to tell us that on our next cruise we would have the same table number and the same servers and that he hoped we had enjoyed the first part of our cruise.

We had. Once breakfast was consumed we headed back up to our room and grabbed the bag with the paperwork and then went back downstairs, just to be overwhelmed by the long line of people.

Since we weren’t in any hurry we found some comfy chairs and sat down waiting for the crowds to leave. And after about half an hour it was easy enough to get off the ship. Since we did not have any luggage it was easy to get through customs and while everyone else headed outside we just turned right and went up the escalator again. Check in had not opened up yet, so we found a table and sat down to work on our photos and surf the web a bit. At around 9.45 CMs started to set up the check in counters again and soon enough we were able to check in again and were then invited to wait in the concierge lounge. There was only a handful of people going back to back and we had more than enough space in there.

Shortly after 10am the ship was cleared and a CM came to lead us back onto the ship. It was fun to have the ship more or less to ourselves. We set out right away to explore and went all over the ship. Around 11am, just before the opened the doors to the new cruisers we were waiting for the elevator on deck 4 when we heard something behind us. And once we turn around there is Donald, waiting with open arms. Needless to say we had to hug the duck and take a few pics with him. We headed up to decks 11 and 12 and stayed up there for a while, then went back down and watched people get on board. At noon we walked down to the Enchanted Garden for lunch. They had just opened up and we were quickly led to a table.

A server took our drinks order and we were on our way to the buffet. We filled our plates with some yummy food, asparagus, grilled chicken breast, wraps, shrimps and some olives, vegetables and a sandwich. We found our table, sat down, sipped our drink and started to dig in. The food was fresh and delicious and we enjoyed it a lot.

We took our time eating and decided that instead of picking up dessert there, we were instead going to the Vista Café. Tom ordered a Cappuccino, 1/3 espresso, 1/3 steamed milk, 1/3 froth and a Frozen Cappuccino, 1/3 espresso blended with vanilla ice cream for myself and we picked up a plate of baked goodies, two eclairs, a chocolate brownie, a pineapple tartlet and a brownie pop. We had asked to have our drinks in china and made sure we had told the server twice before we had taken the desserts and sat down. To our huge surprise both drinks were served in a Styrofoam container. I mentioned to the server that we were disappointed they were in that container and he happily took them back to return with new ones about 10 minutes later.

So there we sat enjoying our coffees and desserts and soon the time had come so that we could go back to our stateroom. A few minutes later we were back in our stateroom, walked out onto the veranda and yip, same view as when we had left. We chilled for a while, put out the FE one more time and decorated our door with our magnets. Oana came by to chat a little and tell us that our host from former cruises, Narciso, had told her he intended to come visit us one night after his shift. Once everything was done and we had had a drink out on the veranda we walked down to deck 3 to join the DVC presentation. Again, we were handed hats, a shopping bag and found that we were not on their list.

We walked into the room found a nice small table and sat down. So there we sat enjoying our coffees and desserts and soon the time had come so that we could go back to our stateroom. A few minutes later we were back in our stateroom, walked out onto the veranda and yip, same view as when we had left. We chilled for a while, put out the FE one more time and decorated our door with our magnets.

By then the first dinner seating had started and the show had begun, so we picked up our first set of FE gifts and headed out to deliver them. After we had delivered them we stopped in at the stores one more time, to slip Oxana a little more chocolate and to chat a little while. Then it was time for us to return to our stateroom and get changed for dinner. Today’s dinner was at the Royal Palace again and we were quickly led to our table. Our servers came by to greet us and the assistant server just asked if we wanted the usual drinks, Diet Cokes. And while he was on his way to fetch them, we sampled the Warm herb brioche and the Olive spread, which were both very good.

It didn’t take long and our server took our food order and quickly brought out the first course. I had ordered the Double Baked Spinach Souffle, coated with a three cheese cream, while Tom had opted for The Comtesse Du Barry's Soup, a rich velvety cauliflower cream, topped with salmon caviar croutons. Both were as good as the last time we had had them. After we had finished them our mains were quickly delivered. Tom had ordered the Oven-Baked Salmon Royale, crowned with king smoked salmon and horseradish crust accompanied by sauteed swiss chard, truffle-infused cauliflower puree and white wine beurre blanc and I got the Double Cut Rack of Lamb with a Dijon Crust, with fine green beans, gratin potatoes and rosemary jus. Both were delicious and we enjoyed them very much. We had both ordered the same dessert, the Grand Marnier Souffle, infused with fresh orange zest and served with creme Anglaise, but our server brought us the Tahitian Vanilla Creme Brulee with a macaroon to try as well. Once we had finished our dinner we said goodbye to our servers and headed over to browse the shops one more time. After that we walked up to our stateroom, found quite a few gifts in our Fish extender and after having a good look at our goodies we sat outside on the veranda for a while, until the cigarette smoke hit our veranda again and we had to flee inside. We talked for a little while longer and around 11.30 we heard a knock at the door. We were not sure we had heard right, but there was the knock again. So we looked and low and behold, Narciso was there to visit it.

We welcomed him in and he inspected Oana’s work, before sitting down with us to chat. Once we were all comfortable he handed us a huge bag. He explained that he had gotten us some gifts which he wanted to give us now. Inside the bag there were two Disney Fantasy Maiden Voyage sweaters and a few bags of cakes from the Philippines. We were blown away. And while it was fun talking and catching up on old times and learning about his family life in the Philippines it was past 2am when he left. Now, it was no big deal for us, as we were on vacation and well rested, but Narciso had to be up by 5am again. And so, after he had said his goodbyes we both fell into bed.