Saturday Feb. 18-At Sea

We sailed away from Manhattan at 4pm on Feb. 18th.  It was such a fun way to begin the trip.  Living in NY, it was very convenient to drive to the port and hop on the boat without having to hassle with airports and flights.

The sailing away party was held in the Spinniker Lounge on deck 13 and it was a great party. Drinks for the adults and dancing and games for the kids.  We watched as we sailed by the Statue of Liberty and enjoyed watching the city sail by.

That evening we all went for our first restaurant experience on the boat.  We ate at Teppanyaki, which is the hibachi restaurant.  $20pp for the adults (usually 25 but certain nights there are discounts at the restaurants, inquire with the reservations desk when you board)  and $12.50 for children ordering from the specialty menu. This restaurant is great, but extremely small and fills up FAST!! 

I suggest deciding when you will want to eat here and make your reservations upon arrival to the boat.  I made my whole week’s reservations when we boarded to avoid being closed out of any restaurant.  Dinner was delicious and the chef was entertaining and very friendly.

After dinner we went to the 9:30 show, which was a sampling of all the acts to come during the week.  I have cruised a lot, and the caliber of performers on this ship were well above others I have sailed.  Each night we were impressed with the show.

 Sunday Feb 19-At Sea

Our day Sunday was a lazy one.  Waking up late and eating in the buffet on deck 12.  Upon entering the girls will spray you with sanitizer, which was one of the catch phrased on the boat, “Washy, Washy”  The buffet is extensive and food is great.  There is usually limited seating available during the busy breakfast time, and you can find additional seating in the restaurant called Mama’s across the ship.  This was a little known fact, and there was always ample window seating in there. 

We spent the afternoon at the pool.  It was cold out, but the pools are kept at a warm 85 degrees and the hot tubs were available too. 

 We spent the day relaxing, you can use the spa, and there were a number of activities going on on board. 

We used the kids club for the first time and Lauryn loved it!  They keep them busy with a lot of activities and it is really good for the little ones.  I think some of the 9-12 year olds, were not quite as happy because they are in the in between stage and some of the activities were a little babyish in their room. 

That night we went to a great production show featuring songs from the 70′s.  Good music and great costumes and dancing and singing. 

At the end of the night..you will always find some sort of towel animal back in your room.  Lauryn loved seeing what was there each night:)