Royal Caribbean Grandeur Of The Seas - Day At Sea Journal & Photos - December 1, 2006

2923-E Olney-Sandy Spring Road Olney, MD 20832 Phone: 301-774-4646 Fax: 301-774-3610		*Send Me An Email To* *Comment Or Book A Vacation* *mailto:lynx@lynx-travel.com* http://www.lynx-travel.com

I woke up fairly early for a day at sea and watched television for awhile before going out to the Centrum to check my emails. I also went upstairs to the Photo Gallery to buy the cruise DVD and our Grand Cayman disembarkation photo. I got to mom and dad’s room about 10:30 AM and helped get mom ready. I let dad do her hair and I went out to watch the towel folding demonstration. Mom and dad came out during the middle of the demonstration and we headed up to Royal Caribbean Online on Deck 8 so dad could check his email. We saw Alison and Jon at different times while waiting for dad.

It was about 11:45 AM so we went to the Windjammer Café for lunch at noon. We had to walk on the pool deck and the weather has really changed. It’s a little chilly now and in the words of George Costanza, “The sea is angry my friend”. While in mom and dad’s room, I actually saw spray from the front of the ship slamming into the waves splashing past their window. Everyone looks like they are drunk while attempting to walk around. They actually closed the pool while we were walking by. The pool is really rolling with waves. I took a bunch of pictures of splashes at each end that were going higher than my head.

After dinner we took mom to the Shipshape Center so she could get her hair done. It looked like a rats nest with the wind blowing it all to hell. Dad’s done his best to keep it looking good but with all the wind it’s a no win situation for him. She got an appointment for 1:30 PM so I left them there and headed down to get us good seats for the art auction. It’s about to start right now, I went and got my computer while I was waiting so I could catch up on my journal.

I ended up buying one more Alexander Chen piece at the art auction for $145 of Yosemite Falls. It was a take off item so I get to take it with me tomorrow when we depart the ship. Dad cracks me up at times. After the auction he told me I should have bid on a Fanch that was $240 and a take off. He was sitting right next to me, so he easily could have grabbed the bid card and made a bid.

After the art auction we headed back to our rooms to start packing. What a nightmare that ended up being. I told Craig to bring down an extra bag with him to New Orleans tomorrow. I can get everything off the ship but we definitely will need some help on the return flight. 5:20 PM was my art auction time to reconcile the day’s purchase. Also Chad had asked me to come by even if we didn’t purchase anything because they had misspelled our name on all the previous invoices. My take off Alexander Chen piece wasn’t ready yet so I’d have to get it after dinner.

I finished up and went to get mom and dad for the last supper. Dad said later in the evening that he thinks we got really lucky that our original people left the table and we got Jon, Carol, Alison, Eric, Alex and Maricel. We really enjoyed their company during the cruise. We invited them to dinner with us Saturday night in New Orleans at Pascal’s Manale. Unfortunately Clyde and Debbie won’t be able to make that dinner. At least everyone will get to meet Craig.

Of course as much as dad and I make fun of everything, including the Craig being the difficult son growing up, Carol is going to be a Craig fan immediately just to defend him. She’s been on mom’s side of everything we’ve made fun of during the cruise. She’s just a real cool lady.

For my last dinner I had a spinach dip, shrimp cocktail, Caesar salad and Mahi Mahi tempura. All really good as usual on the whole trip. The head waiter came immediately after dinner before we got our dessert menu and brought dad four giant scoops of pistachio ice cream. Dad had been asking all trip for pistachio or butter pecan. He got the improvised butter pecan last night and got a scoop of pistachio earlier so this was a treat for dad. Yogi just laughed at the whole thing.

Keisha, Yogi and the head waiter all joined the rest of the chefs and wait staff and sang a song for the crowd. I took a bunch of pictures of them. They were one of the best pairs we’ve had on a cruise during dinner. I especially thanked Keisha for being so nice to mom. She called her mom and even helped cut up her food for her every night. I did tell mom not to get too used to that service though as it ended tonight.

After their song we got our final dessert. Almost everyone got the chocolate brownie madness. Eric cracked me up talking about the madness of the chocolate brownie. They told me about last years cruise when he got to go on stage at open mike comedy night and tell a joke. He got me good with his joke. He asked if I’d remember him in one year and I said yes. Then he asked if I’d remember him in two years and I said yes again. He then started a knock knock joke and I couldn’t help but say, who’s there? I tried to pull the words back into my mouth and knew I was fished in hook, line and sinker. I sat there and waited for the inevitable punch line of I thought you said you’d remember me. Damn outdone by an eight year old. Oh well at least it was by an eight year old I liked.

We exchanged phone numbers with everyone and took some last photos of each other. Yogi took a bunch for us and then I realized Alison wasn’t with us. Jon had had her run to their room because the batteries died in their camera. She got back and we took a few more with her. It wouldn’t have been a proper group picture without her. The funny thing ended up being that when Yogi tried to take a picture with Jon’s camera with the new batteries it said the batteries were dead. After some adjustments we finally got the picture with Jon’s camera.

After dinner I got my computer and we met Jon on Deck 8 at the Royal Caribbean Online near their cabin. They needed a room for tomorrow night in New Orleans and I fired up my airline computer and booked them in the Embassy Suites where Alex and his wife were booked. I offered to book my travel agent rate for them at another hotel but then I mentioned that the best thing about Embassy Suites was a separate bedroom and living room with sofa bed. Not a bad idea for them after 13 days.

While we were talking I remembered I still had to pick up my take off piece and get my cruise DVD. I got to the Art Gallery and Chad and Mark were still there. They still had three take off pieces so at least I wasn’t the last to arrive. I told them what a good time we had and I did tell them earlier that these had been the best organized auctions we have ever attended. They were good enough that we had said we wouldn’t buy anything and ended up with close to $3000 worth of art.

I saw Alison while heading back to the Royal Caribbean Online room. She was looking for her mom and dad and I told her I was going to see her dad right then and walked up to Deck 8 with her. We said our good nights and headed back to our room. Jon and Alison went to see the entertainer for the evening who was a juggler. Good luck with that and the ship rocking.

I had to finish packing. What a pain in the butt. I took the rum cakes and my DVD case to mom and dad’s room to put in their luggage. Mine bags would definitely be overweight for a plane which is why I need Craig to bring another bag tomorrow. I finally got my giant bags outside and have three carry off bags. It should be interesting.

After packing I finished my journal for the cruise which brings me to this moment. It’s about 10:30 PM and I’ve got less than 12 hours left of this cruise. It’s been a lot of fun. I’m glad I got mom and dad back on a cruise. They haven’t been on one since the Celebrity Infinity Panama Canal cruise we took about five years ago. They love cruising. I think dad has given up on the Florida house and maybe I can get them on some more cruises now.

Towel Folding Demonstration	Huge Waves And Spashes In Main Pool		Grand Finale Art Auction
Windjammer Cafe		Miscellaneous
Closing The Main Pool		Final Dinner In The Great Gatsby Dining Room