Sea Day with parade and "Hairspray"

 Monday, November 10, 2025

We don't have to get up to an alarm;  but I'm up at six anyway and Maureen isn't too far behind me.  I do a leisurely yoga routine and room service brings the continental breakfasts we had ordered last night.  We just hung a hang tag on our door with our requests and like magic a genie appeared at our door this morning with coffee and pastries and fruit plates!  A leisurely morning on the balcony and eventually the four of us decide to venture forth.  Our only real reservation is for dinner at five but we are also hoping to catch "Hairspray" at nine this evening.  Maybe Ma will be our entree again!

When we do set out we have two objectives, Maureen needs new reading glasses since hers decided not to play nicely on the trip and I need tech support so I can switch between my phone and my computer without having to pay for two devices accessing the internet!  Eventually we are both successful!  That explains the strange font shift in yesterday's post.  I had to write some of it in Text Edit (Thank you, Betsy!) so as not to have to do everything today!

I've dropped off my computer and go to find everybody on Deck 6, which is a little challenging because you can't always get there from here.  But when I do they are listening to a Dixieland band and behind them the Top Tier Event is taking place.  It's for high rollers but no one stops us so we get to watch a short water show and meet the captain - well, see him on stage.  Doing some quick math we decide that the ship is only about half full! Hurray for us if not for Royal Caribbean!

They're dancing to Blue Suede Shoes

We're all lowly Golds.  The top cruisers were introduced and I don't know
how you can fit that many cruises into one lifetime!

The blue part of the "stage" goes up and down allowing both swimming and dancing!

The captain

We're starting to get a bit peckish and go investigate the Windjammer (monster buffet of which you have seen photos!).  It's about eleven thirty and maybe lunch is available?  Well, not really, but breakfast never goes amiss and while we're there lunch makes its appearance!  So what if we've just eaten!  There are so many wonderful thing to sample!!

Washee Washee!!

See?  Just little sample bites!

We finish in time to catch the Anchors Away Street Parade on the promenade at twelve thirty.  Fun boats and characters in costumes representing pirates and Vikings and Chinese junks and others.  We aren't quite in position to see everything, but it is still fun. We're pretty sure that the dance routines are performed by the kids from the shows and the rest of the characters are crew members who can at least walk a straight line and have some rhythm!

Maybe it's time for a little siesta and a lot of blogging!  After all, we're supposed to be on a relaxing Caribbean cruise!  It's a little complicated for me because I am keeping in touch with Ginger as her saga continues!  She's been accepted by a to-flight ortho surgeon but she's been bumped several times because he is in such high demand!  Maybe tomorrow??

That rain never came near us;  but the weather at home is going to be COLD!!!

We cruise around the shops (see what I did there?) and try on the pretty evening wraps but nothing really works and eventually we go back to our rooms where we find a...swan?? I don't know what Ma and Robin found, though.  We spend some time perusing the entertainment options and this time when I click on "Hairspray" I can actually get us two tickets.  And just a few moments later, when Robin tries, she can't even get one!  Ma has decided to call it an early night, so one was all she needed!  We're gonna give it a try anyway!

This is Dan and Diana's favorite artist!  We wander through the art gallery and have 
to go through the casino (shudder) to get to the dining room.

Dinner is at five and on the way we run into Dean so this time we won't be late!  Of course there's no such thing as dinner without drama and first Dean has to guide Ma along a different route to our table so she doesn't have to naviage a large pole.  Then, as we're nearly there some lady announces that that is her table because she and her large party (they have three tables! and a small, loud child) had it yesterday.  There's a whole discussion about how it is our assigned table and Dean told them when we first boarded that we would't be there last night or tomorrow.  We get to meet the manager and get his card and everything. And hear the story several times so we for sure understand why Dean is aggravated.

But the food is lovely and I really like the Trumpeter Malbec.  Dean has to check that it's available here, even though I've already found it on the wine list.  Anyway, I get my annual Escargots à la Bourguignonne, herb-crusted salmon, and cappuccino chocolate cake. 

The show is at nine and it's only about seven so we bid Dean a good night as he goes into the casino and we entertain our selves by listening to the jazz band that's playing above the Royal Promenade on Deck 5.  We also watch the Bionic Bar's robots making cocktails and gape at the young woman who must be celebrating her quinceañera! Last night at dinner we were joined by a bridal party with the bride in her gorgeous gown!

We head down to the Royal Theater which has entrances on both the 4th and 5th decks and decide to try the lower one.  Maureen and I can breeze right in and we think the young man will certainly let Robin in with us;  but she's gone!  She didn't want to stand in the long line of people without reservations.  We find three seats and text her to come back!  We've got a seat for her! I'm fretting and keep watching the entrance and about five minutes before curtain there she is!!  Hurray!!  She just waltzed right in without there even being anyone guarding the door!!  There are still some empty seats, which is a real shame, because this is definitely a Broadway-quality production!! There isn't a flaw or an area that I would improve.  The talent is astounding, the sets, music, costumes, staging, everything is top-notch!  We wish we could see it again!!  Alas, there's only one more show and it conflicts with Dean's anniversary dinner tomorrow.

The screen to the right shows which ingredients are being added and has snarky comments that
one robot makes about the other!  And if nothing is going on it has trivia about which 
age group prefers which cocktails!

They have a slide for all twenty cast members.  This is the role that Matthew McGee
played when American Stage did this show In the Park a couple of years ago.

OMG!  OMG!!  This woman, with the BS in mechanical engineering, is
beyond fabulous!  What an amazing voice!!!

Pretty theater.

That's a live broadcast on the right!

A standing ovation was so well-deserved!!!

I think I've found the ice show!  We had talked with Dean about it at dinner and he couldn't find one either; but it's cleverly disguised!  It's just called 1977 and there isn't a hint in the description that it's an ice show.  But it you look at the picture, you can convince yourself that they are skating.  And we are lucky enough to get four reservations for Day 4.  We no longer know the name of the days, just their numbers!  I guess that's why the elevators all have the day of the week in the floor!!

We're really revved up after "Hairspray" but it's late. and we're going to bed anyway.  We'll see what happens.  There's a lot of reading before the lights go out!!