Month: August 2023

……We Met a Wonderful Lady that Helped Us Celebrate Our Belated 50th Anniversary…..

w2bergen 2 Comments

The weather so far as been beautiful. Nothing but blue – blue skies, and lazy white clouds. The water is a beautiful blue with a few white caps as we sail south. No bugs in the air either. That is wonderful. But then we are miles and miles from land. So, no mosquitoes, or flies. But it is so quiet. No birds tweeting, nothing but sounds of the ship and the waves as we slide through the water. At night we usually sit out on our balcony after dark. Sometimes you may see the lights of a ship far, far away on the horizon, sometimes it’s just black.

The Moon and a star….and the Beautiful Sunset

Nothing out there but the sounds of the waves crashing into each other as the ship powers through the water. Sleeping has been no problem. I didn’t know if I might get a little nauseated. Rich has even done well. For me it was like being rocked to sleep gently like a baby. There wasn’t much movement. I would wake up in the morning and go outside and check the weather for the day. The TV was all Royal Caribbeans channels. Several Movie channels, but mostly channels about RC destinations and ships. The Activity Directors have a channel telling you all about the itinerary for the day. Then it was time for breakfast at the Windjammer and fun for the day.

On the last blog we stopped our exploration at the Solarium. After walking through their and testing the water….brrrrrr. we headed towards the double glass doors heading towards the front of the boat. There was a little hallway. In the center of the boat was another set of elevators. On one side was the entrance to the Hair Saloon and Spa. You can get anything done you want from your hair all the way down to your toes including a Fantastic Massage. They are there to please you. We took the stairs to the next level and followed it all the way down the side of the ship. It opened up to the very front of the ship….The Helipad…..

Helipad on the front of the ship.
Rich sitting on the bench of the Helipad area.

It was very windy up there. The row of the dark windows is the bridge of the ship. Where the pilots control the ship. Above the Bridge, {which you can’t really see}, there are several more decks with some walk areas with lounges to lay and enjoy. They are lined with tall glass railings so you can’t fall off. Also a deck above the Hair Salon and Spa, facing the front of the Ship was the large Fitness Center

Exercising with a Beautiful Window view, looking out the front of the Ship

The small port holes were more rooms. I’m not sure if they are some of the officers’ rooms and other staff or not. On the map diagram they are not listed. The Heliport area was freshly painted, and everything was very clean and fresh. I was surprised the wooden benches looked so good, not sunbaked or waterlogged. We continued around the other side.

Beautiful view of the waves made by the ship.
This bird kept circling feeding on fish from the ocean.

We walked back to the elevator and went down to the 6th floor. There was the Aurora Theater. It is in the front of the ship and actually is setting on Deck 4, 5, and 6. It is beautiful.

As you see, It is huge. It contains 868 seats. It has entrances on Deck 5, and 6. The seats were so comfortable. They have regular scheduled shows every day with Singers, Dancers, Comedians, movies also informational slide shows with presentations of upcoming Ports that we were stopping at. It was also the area we had to go to when we were in port and ready to leave for our Port excursion. We decided early on to enter on Deck 6. We liked to sit in the balcony. It was less crowded, easier to get to our favorite seats.

Entrance to the Cinema

Also on this floor they have a Cinema. It is small but sufficient. They show several movies every day. We tried to see a movie one day but it was so packed.

After the Cinema, heading back to the Centrum, is the Casino. It has a very nice bar, lots of slots and game tables. Usually, we don’t gamble much. This time also. The only thing I really like to do is play the slots. But I always lose. Its just my luck. On Deck 5, just below us is The Shops of Centrum.

They sell many high-priced items like diamond and other precious stone jewelry, Lots of souvenir items and a small area called the Drug Store for personal items you might need. Also the Photo Gallery is down the hall. They have walls of pictures displayed that they have taken of the guests on board. The photographers are always roving the boat as well as setting up outside at each port. They also have dress up sittings by the Centrum for your formal pictures. The Photo Gallery is where you pick out your pictures that you may want to buy.

Conmelia is from Jamaica. She has a delightful accent.

When we were in the Windjammer one day, we were wandering around choosing our food. There was a lady with a tall white Chefs hat on. She was standing very professionally watching and checking the different food islands, making sure everything was full and the servers were in place to help the people. She was very friendly. We started talking and I mentioned that this was our Cruise for our 50th Anniversary, January 14, 2022. It was delayed because of covid so it was really 51. She was so nice and excited for us. She is from Jamaica and has a wonderful accent. Her name is Conmelia. She is a Sous Chef. Definition of Sous Chef…..A chef who is second in command of a kitchen. They rank just before the head chef. They generally manage the members of the kitchen for the Chef who is busy with other duties. She came over and visited with us at our table. She works in the Windjammer and down in the main dining room Cascades. She told us to come back the next day and she was going to do something special for us. We came back and she was so excited to see us again. After we eat our meal, she came back with this beautiful dish….

Conmelia brought this plate with a beautiful tasty dessert and 2 forks. She even sang a HAPPY ANNIVERSARY song to us. It was wonderful. This became the start of a new friendship. We all started looking for each other for each meal just to visit a little.

OMG….What a picture. Did I really look like that? lol

I’ve covered most of the big areas of the ship. There are many areas I haven’t covered. There are many bars and lounges situated all over as well as 11 different dining options. Some are just little snack areas, and some are upscale restaurants. I will probably cover some of those later. We have been at sea for 2 1/2 days. We will be Docking at our first stop, “Georgetown Grand Caymen Island, British West Indies” in the morning. It’s time to head for our room and get ready for bed. We are excited.

This is our hallway to our room from the Centrum at the middle of the ship. I bet you can’t see the last room at the left. Thats our room…….so far far far away…..

…….2 Days At Sea…….So Let’s Explore The Ship…… Part 2

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We departed the Port of Galveston on Saturday at 4pm right on schedule. It is amazing watching the process of docking and undocking. They make it look so easy. The ship slides like butter through the water. The pilots can maneuver it just like a car. But that’s why they get paid the BIG BUCKS. We will be at Sea heading south to Georgetown Grand Caymen for the next 2 days. So now it’s time to explore the ship. After a good nites sleep, we went for breakfast at the Windjammer Buffet {Casual Attire} on the 11th floor above us in the back of the ship. We are on the 7th floor. We filled our plates and headed to the back, outside. We found the back was open, and full of tables and chairs for dinning.

We could enjoy the beautiful warm and sunny weather. It did have a roof over it like a porch area. Such an enjoyable area to sit and eat your meal. You could watch the waves that were constantly churning away. If you were near land, you might see a few birds flying and watching for fish to eat from the ocean. The waves just kept rolling and rolling by.

I noticed a stairway on either side of the deck. So I went up to the top on Deck 13, while Rich enjoyed the view. I found a miniature golf course, and the kids pool area with water slide. A little further I found a basketball court. Right in front of me was a rock climbing wall. Ahead was a set of double doors. I went in and found the StarQuest Lounge, which is like a Disco Nite Club. Also in this area on the top level of the Ship is The Diamond Club, and the Viking Crown Lounge.

View from the very top of the ship….Level 13
Great View from the Lounges on Deck 13 overlooking the pool area and 2 hot tubs

Most of these are for the Nite Life people who like to enjoy the bar scene and have a Wonderful view out the windows that surround the bar areas. This is the area that many of the Diamond and Pinnacle levels hang out. So What does that mean” The Levels.” Royal Caribbean enrolls passengers into the Crown and Anchor Society. For every nite of a completed Voyage, you are awarded a point.

Well as you see, this is only our 2nd cruise. We are still sitting at Gold. They provide you with increasing benefits the higher you go. So for us, we were given a buy 2 8×10 pictures and get 1 free. The pictures were $10 each. We saved between both of us , $20. Not a lot, but at least something. Most of these people on board seemed to be Diamond and Pinnacle. After I did all this exploring, I went back down to Deck 11 where Rich was at the Windjammer. We decided to go swimming. Now back to the elevators, Down to Deck 7 and allllllllllll the way down the hall to our room to get our swimsuits. We decided after this, when we leave the room in the morning, we must be prepared to not come back till the end of the day. lol. “ITS A LONG WALK”. So, dress in swimsuits and cover ups all day is the plan. Now back down to the center of the ship to take the elevators back up. In the center of the ship by the elevators, is the Centrum. It is the Central Hub of Entertainment all day long. It is a large circle that is open from Deck 4 all the way to Deck 11. On Deck 4 there are chairs, love seats with side tables surrounding the edges. It is a very comfortable relaxing area with a bar right beside of course. The center is a large dance floor or stage. On the side is the area where the Entertainer performs, as well as the music accompaniment play

The Centrum. The Center of the Ship from several floors up.
2 Glass Elevators in the Centrum traveling the full height of the ship.
Kinda of a Crappy picture but sitting watching the entertainment over the railing in the Centrum. Looked up and there were mirrors. So, I snapped a photo.

. Looking up is several Glass Elevators taking people up and down. Each deck is open to the Centrum with chairs and love seats surrounding the railings. It is like a giant theater. If you need a seat and the bottom is full, look up. See an empty Love Seat? Figure out which floor, RUN RUN for the elevator, pray it is fast, head for that floor and hope the Love Seat is still open by the time you get there. LOL. We did that alot. Most of the time, SUCCESSFUL. On each deck there is not only the Elevators on the Centrum side, their was 4 more elevators on the outside of the ship. So, you had about 6 to choose from.

Glass Wall extending from Deck 4 – Deck 11
Looking in through Elevator Doors to the outside
OUR NAME…..lol…It was on all the doors. But It was built in Germany. Bergen is located in Germany. We should be able to get discount?????

Not only were the elevators all glass, so were the outside walls of the ship, all the way from Deck 4 to Deck 11. So beautiful to ride up and down watching the views of the ocean. Back on the Elevator to Deck 11. Head out to the pool area. Hardly any one was their……Strange……I stuck my toes in...OMG….It was so cold. Now we are use to our Eastgate heated pool. It is normally around 89 degrees. With our 100+ weather, our pool has been running more like 92+ degrees. So this is unacceptable to my body. lol We tried the Hot Tub and it was so much better.

Our Pool and 2 Hot Tubs with the Bar at the far end. On the left side was a Big TV. The showed movies during the Afternoon and Evening
Rows and rows of chairs. Upper Deck was the walking track.

After that we headed forward to the Solarium. It is all glass enclosed, on the ceiling also. It is beautiful. I thought it would have warm water. But nope. It was cold also.

The Solarium. No Children Allowed

I hope i’m not boring you with all the ship descriptions. So many people of taken Cruises, but many have not. I will stop here and leave the rest of the ship descriptions for the next time. I will also introduce you to 2 pretty cool “VERY SPECIAL” people that we met from Jamaica.

So So Beautiful

It’s Been 2 Years. Time for a Blog….Bucket List Time…….

w2bergen 1 Comment

I’ve been planning on writing our cruise blogs all summer.  It’s been nonstop 100-degree days.  It’s really getting old.  It’s a furnace outside.  Ironically, as I look at the last blog, it was over 2 1/2 years ago when we just had a very cold week.  It was down in the 20’s for a week.  We were all freezing.  Can we ever be happy?  lol

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We finally did our cruise last April 2023 that we had been planning since early 2020.    This cruise was taken from our Bucket List.  Our 50th Anniversary was January 14th, 2022.  We started planning a Cruise through the Panama Canal.  But as we all know, life was interrupted with the arrival of Covid.  Life as we know it shut down all over the world.   We were going to do it sometime between 2021and 2022.  It seemed 2022 still was not a good time to Cruise.  The ships were just starting to sail again and to many regulations were still in force.  We wanted this to be a nice relaxing time and not worry about testing and any Covid scares that might rear its angry head again.  We finally scheduled a 15-day Cruise, April 20-May 6 2023.  We chose Royal Caribbean as Ron; our good friend and Park Manager is a Travel Agent.  The ship was the Radiance of the Seas leaving from Galveston Island, arriving in LA California.   We would have to then fly home. 

RADIANCE OF THE SEAS

The Radiance of the Seas is an older smaller ship than the new ones they build today. This series of ships built at this time were known for all the glass. The elevators were all glass capsules, and the outside walls from the elevators were walls of glass. Its maiden voyage was in April of 2001, built at a cost 350 million. It is 960 feet long and cruises at 25 knots. It has 13 decks with a capacity of 2501 passengers and 859 crew. It was refurbished in 2016 and went through routine Maintenace in 2021. This ship did not have all the fun things for kids like the bigger ships of today. They did have mini golf, basketball court, and a small pool and water slide for the little kids. On our cruise there were only around 20 kids and babies on board. Also, it was during school time. So, it was nice not having many kids on board.

Our itinerary was designed to stop at 5 Ports, not including Galveston or LA.  1. George Town, Grand Cayman in the British West Indies 2. Cartagena, Columbia 3. Colon, Panama, travel through the Panama Canal 4. San Juan Del Sur, Nicaragua, and 5. Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.  What an exciting itinerary.  At each Port, we booked excursions through Royal Carribean.  Before we left, they gave us a change.  San Juan Del Sur, Nicaragua, was removed.  We were excited about that one.  We had booked a trip to a Hacienda by Lake Nicaragua.  We would have been served lunch by the owners.  It looked like a beautiful setting with mountains in the background.  It was replaced by Huatulco Mexico.   We asked later and was told it was a political issue. 

As time went by, we picked our excursions online.  Royal Carribean creates an online site for your individual account.  You can see and book all the excursions with descriptions and costs.  You check the times you arrive and depart, the costs that you incur by your ability to purchase souvenirs, special meals, and drinks and anything else.  The ship takes no cash or credit cards.  Everything runs through your account.  On board they also have their own special ship internet.  It is the daily itinerary of activities on board.  Believe me, there is no dull moment.  Plenty to do.  We decided to pack as light as possible.  We didn’t want to pay to check bags.  It is also so much easier to check in on board and also easier to get off and through Customs when the trip is over.  So we each had 1 carry on size roller bag.  Also 1 beach type bag, qualifying as a purse. 

Finally the day came to leave.  We had friends take us to Galveston.  We left around 6am and arrived around 1pm.  We missed most of the crowd boarding the ship that late. It was a breeze getting through.  We checked in, showed our passports, received our Sea Pass cards (Ships Credit and ID Cards).  You need these anytime you buy on board, and always when you exit the boat.  We purchased lanyards to wear onboard.  Now the pictures begin. 

They had a photo op set up in the boarding terminal.  They took lots of pictures through out the cruise. They post them daily, and you picked them out later during the trip at the photo lab.  All 8x10s….so hard to choose.  The rooms weren’t ready for another hour or two, so we went to the Windjammer Buffet. 

Food Islands of the Windjammer
Breads and Pastrys…yummmm
Formal Dinning Room, 2 levels

This will be our most favorite place on board for the next 15 days.  Islands and Islands of food.  Main dishes, Side dishes, all kinds of breads, a whole island of fruit and desserts.  Just amazing.  …….ALL FREE….  There is also the Main Dining Room for the Sit-down dinners.  But we don’t like to dress up, we prefer buffet style.  We filled our plates and found a table near the windows so we could watch the people still boarding and watch the skyline.

Rich on our Balcony as we were leaving Galveston
Very comfortable and spacious. Love seat on the left, TV on the right

Finally, the rooms were ready for us. We found ours and unloaded our clothes. This would be home for the next 15 days. We chose a Balcony Room. It was a fabulous balcony as it was double wide due to the location on the ship . Unfortunately, when Ron booked it, there was only 1 left. It was the very last room on the Starboard side. It was the farthest away from all activities. It seemed to get farther and farther as the days went on. The Windjammer Buffet was above us, but we had to walk to the middle to get to the elevators. But on the other hand, as much food as we ate it was probably a good thing…. lol… So now we are aboard, we have eaten, the boat is preparing to leave. Time to explore this ship. We have 2 days at sea before we arrive at Georgetown, Grand Caymen, British West Indies. So I will leave you with a vision that never got old. This picture was taken in the very back of the boat. We could fill our plates in the Windjammer, and head outside to the tables and chairs. We sat their for hours, during the days, when we went through the Panama Canal and watched so many sunsets……Next Stop Georgetown Grand Caymen.