Day 7 - Second Sea Day

After a less than stellar evening, I was hopeful a sea day would be so fun that we would erase the bad.  There was plenty of promise for that to occur as we had reservations to ride Bolt, the first roller coaster at sea.  It is an electric powered coaster that holds two riders.  Riders straddle the seat that reminds me of a jet ski.  The front set has handlebars with a throttle and boost.  I let Chris “drive” our coaster.  Each set of riders gets two laps.  It was very fast and thrilling.  It was so cool seeing the ocean views as we zipped around.  I will say that two laps is plenty as a third would have made me queasy.  All four of us had lots of fun riding.  It does cost fifteen dollars but I think it was worth it.  

The ride really worked up an appetite for all of us so we used the app to request a table in the main dining room for sea day brunch.  I wished I could get the same breakfast as yesterday but there is a different menu on sea days.  We all went to the brunch except one of the teens who chose sleep over food.  Most of us started with the chia seed pudding.  I’m glad I encouraged my friends to try it as Ammie really enjoyed it.  She ordered the breakfast board which she liked and I ordered the tower.  The tower is a bagel with your choice of two salads or smoked salmon as well as tomato, cucumber and cream cheese.  It did not come in the tower presentation so I had a bunch of different plates in front of me.  The smoked salmon was nice and I enjoyed that with the vegetables.  The bagel itself was not the best ever but it worked.  I think maybe you should get two if that is your whole breakfast.  

It seems like the big daytime activity is trivia.  I enjoy trivia but there is no way I could attend this much.  Also, most are very specialized such as Big Bang, Friends, Country music so that limited ones that we were all interested in.  Today’s was music from the 50s and 60s.  Ammie, Chris and I lost one teammate but we decided to give it a go.  The host was Kay (I think) and she was very fun.  We once again scored decent but it wasn’t enough for the win.  After a five minute or less break, it was Tri Bond trivia.  Chris is very good at these so we stayed.  If I recall, he got them all right except two but someone had a perfect score.  Close yet again.  We were very good at getting second place.  It is fun to play though and I enjoyed a nice Aperol Spritz while working out my brain.  The next was TV Commercial trivia and Joe joined us.  We once again did decent but that win still alluded us.  

It was after one so we decided it was time to try an actual Shaq’s Big Chicken sandwich.  The breakfast one was so tasty I really wanted to sample this offering.  I would normally eat most my lunches on cruises at the buffet but I had avoided it all week because I am not a fan of not having a crew member help remind guest to wash their hands.  They did have lots of hand sanitizer stations but I did not see people use them.  This seemed like an ideal Norovirus situation.  I really missed my giant salads because my normal routine on ships is to eat plant based and breakfast and lunch but I will just enjoy being more lax and hopefully avoid Noro.  Now, onto the chicken sandwich.  It was excellent.  All four of us were impressed by how good the sandwiches were.  Chris really liked the spicy one and I liked the MDE.  

The remainder of the afternoon was spent trying some more libations at the Fortune Teller bar.  Jason is the best bartender.  We had a few drinks we had not tried yet, enjoyed laughs and conversation.  To round out the afternoon, we spent some time up in Havana before dressing for the evening.

Tonight is the second elegant night of the cruise.  After fixing ourselves up, we met at our usual spot, Brass Magnolia.  The bartenders here have been outstanding.  If you enjoy any classic cocktails, this is your spot.  Ammie and I both ordered martinis, gin for me and a dirty one made with vodka for her.  This was her first ever traditional type martini and she enjoyed it.  Washboard Joe was performing and Ammie requested Bella Ciao from Money Heist.  The keyboard player played a few verses and we all excitedly clapped.  The musicians have been excellent this cruise which is probably why I really miss dancing.  

The second elegant night in the dining room did not disappoint.  We were joined by both girls so I liked catching up with them.  Chris decided to order my favorite wine, Caymus to share with our dinner since everyone was ordering the filet mignon.  The server returned and poured some for Chris to taste and Chris said it was excellent.  When I tasted mine, I was hit with a nasty smell.  I figured it must be the glass so I switched with Chris figuring it would likely not bother him at all.  He thought it was horrible and asked for a clean glass and then it was fine.  It was a shame that happened but no wine was wasted and we all enjoyed it.  That was the only miss of the meal.  The crab cake starter was very good as was my salad.  The filet was great and everyone enjoyed their meal.  One of the girls ordered the Indian vegetarian plate and it looked and smelled fantastic.  Dessert was a Grand Mariner soufflé which made me happy.  Soufflés are one of my favorite desserts and you do not find them on menus often.  Showtime tonight was Sweet Caroline another elegant classic.  

Chris is a glutton for punishment sometimes and we all went to see Street Magic with him which was right before Voodoo Moon that I had read good reports about.  Joe and I decided to grab a coffee before the show and I commented that the Mardi Gras show going on prior was not too good.  A guy in line said, “Are you talking about the Broadway show?  That was horrible.”  We all had some laughs and we went back to the seats with our coffee for the Street Magic.  I’ll let Chris talk about the magic.  The Voodoo Moon show probably would have been better from a higher vantage point than deck six where we were.  If there is any aerial parts to the show, the ceiling blocks the view.  I saw there was Adult Game night so we unanimously decided to leave to get seats.  When we arrived, the room was packed.  We could awkwardly stand to side but decided against that.  Using the app, a new plan was made to visit Jason then go see the late night comedy in the main theater.  

Jason at the Fortune Teller never disappoints with his drinks and personality.  He was a highlight of the cruise for sure.  We left around 11 to get seats for the comedy in the theater.  We opted to sit in the first row of the elevated back section.  It was a row for just four which was perfect.  Our new pal from the coffee shop came in and sat across the aisle.  After hearing his glowing review of the Broadway show and since our seats were high up, I joked we are like the old man muppets in the Muppet Show.  

The comedy was pretty good.  I cannot remember who they were and it wasn’t listed on the app.  Earlier Joe Marlotti and Lenny Schmidt had shows so possibly that is who we saw.  We had a bunch of laughs but mainly because a gentleman a couple rows behind us had the deepest, jolliest laugh.  It made all the jokes funnier.  I think it was the hardest Ammie laughed all week.  It really added to the show.  We all were ready to return to our cabins to rest up for that final cruise day.