Category: Travel

Didn’t quite make the sunrise but I was up in time to see the sun rise above the clouds :-).

Since was a sea day we decided to have breakfast in the dining room. We were seated in a different area this time and got a great view of the chandelier.

I had a mushroom and cheese omelet, which was delicious. We were seated with other people and Nan & Pop got to enjoy chatting with them.  It was good for them to experience another side of cruising that we often enjoy.

On the way out we spotted the Royal Caribbean logo (crown and anchor) made out of flowers.

After breakfast we wandered through the shops (again).

Lunch today was at the specialty restaurant – Izumi.

The decor is lovely and it’s position on Deck 14 means a nice ocean view but it’s also a bit more rocky.

There was edamame to start.

Kevin, Athena & Pop shared the hot stone plate – where you cook the food yourself – and some sushi.

I had some vegetarian sushi – it was nice but I’m that keen on seaweed. I had a few pieces and polished off the fried rice that came with the hot stone plate.

Thankfully there was plenty of room for the dessert sampler – which was SOOO yummy. My fav was the ice cream and mango mouse.

After lunch it was back to the room for quiet time. Some people (ie Kevin & Athena) had a nap while I played on my laptop. Then shortly before 5pm we headed down to Studio B for the ice skating show.

It was a different show to what we’d seen on Freedom of the Seas but it was just as good. Quite a few jumps were missed  as it was a little rocky.

From here we headed straight to the theatre for tonights shows. Which was just fabulous.

He sang a lot of older songs, including those by Neil Diamond, who I love.

As you can see our Cruise director was getting into the Christmas spirit.

After show we browsed the shops again before heading to dinner. Tonight we ALL had mozerella sticks for an entree/appetiser.

Then I had potato pie, which was very similar to last nights tart :-).

Of course after dinner it was back to our room and off to sleep.

Finally woke up early enough to actually see the sunrise…but unfortunately it was rather cloudy. Still it was lovely anyway.

It also meant I was able to sit outside and enjoy our arrival into New Caledonia.

Since our tour wasn’t until 11am and most people were already off the ship, we were able to have breakfast at Windjammers, and actually find a table since it was rather empty.

We then sat outside for a bit watching the action in the shipping yard.

At 11am we were off the ship and waiting for our train. Athena had opted to stay onboard as she was really tired and not feeling the best. Unfortunately the train was late and we had stand for over 30mins.

Finally it was all aboard the tchou tchou train for our tour around Noumea.

So many amazing views as we drove up a mountain, where we could see the ship in the harbour and have a little walk around a statue of Mary overlooking the town.

There was also a much appreciated soft drink and French pastry to enjoy.

We loved the drive around the town and how nearly all the locals would wave at us. Such friendly people. I think we should try and start this trend in Australia.

The views from our second stop were amazing as well. It’s been about 25 years since Kevin & I were here and it’s changed quite a bit but I was able to spot quite a few places I remembered.

With rain threatening and not a lot of time till we had to back on board we stayed on the train and got dropped off at the ship. It was straight up to have lunch in Windjammers as we were all starving. Today I was excited to find Black Bean soup.

After lunch we went back to our cabins, where we found Athena who had been waiting for us. I had assumed (incorrectly) that she would already have had lunch. It was here I discovered that my left leg/foot had swollen up (it’s never happened before except for flying so I’m not sure what happened). I sat outside on the balcony (with legs elevated) while we left port…

enjoying the beautiful scenery…

We didn’t have any shows on this evening so around 6.30pm Kevin, Athena & I decided to go up for a spa (Nan & Pop were already dressed for dinner). It was so nice and quiet at this time (with most people already at dinner).

We then went up and eventually got ready. It’s hard having such a late dinner with nothing on beforehand. It was “white” night but we hadn’t been told before the cruise so only Nan & Pop had white clothes to wear.

Dinner was delicious as always. I had a yummy salad…

Brie and asparagus tart…

and mango mousse…

Then it was back to our cabins before a bit of reading, then off to sleep.

Managed to sleep in to 6.30am – which means I got 6 hours sleep but it also missed the sunrise :-(.  Around 8.30am Athena, Nan & Pop arrived (Christy was still asleep) and we went for breakfast in the Dining Room. We had a porthole view but it was pretty salted up so you couldn’t see out too much. I had Eggs Benedict with no bacon (Kevin & Athena had the same with bacon). It was rather nice.

After breakfast we headed to the theatre for the Captain’s talk about the revitalisation project the ship has just been through. Absolutely amazing what they can do in just 4 weeks, even with 3,100 people working on it!!

From here we walked outside (where it was rather blustery)…

to the High Notes Lounge where we did some origami. It was pretty busy so hard to see what we had to do. Don’t think it was the best location for it, and like trivia – it was overcrowded. Still, I manage to make this heart.

There was more to be made but we gave up at this point, finished our drinks and decided to have an early lunch. On our way Athena & Christy turned up – having spotted us from their room :-). Even though it was 12.30pm and everyone (on board) seemed to have had late breakfasts, we couldn’t get a table Windjammers (again). Johnny Rockets was the next choice, but we couldn’t get a table there till 1.30pm, so it was back to the Dining Room, where we still had to line up to get into. Not sure if this normal on a sold out cruise or because of the number of kids/families on board, but we’ve NEVER experienced anything like it (this is our 10th cruise). And we’ve overheard a few other people make the same comment. Something has definitely gone wrong. Even on the Disney cruise (which was full of kids) we never had this problem of finding somewhere to eat. Moving along… lunch was delicious.

I had mushroom soup and a salad (made at the salad bar)…

and polenta cake…

After lunch we went back our cabins for a bit of rest time ie. Kevin’s sleep time.

Around 3pm I thought I was falling asleep reading so decided to get some sleep as well. Not even 10mins later Athena turned up our room, and Christy shortly afterwards.. So I suggested we go to Windjammers for an afternoon snack and going to the game room to play some games. Pop came with us, leaving Kevin to sleep and Nan to rest. Food was more meal-like than afternoon tea-like so I had a roll with some cheese. Unfortunately there were no free tables in the game room so we just came back to our cabin where we played go fish and then euchre.

We were lucky tonight and had the show BEFORE dinner. So at 6.15 we headed to the theatre with Christy, Nan & Pop (Athena wanted to have a bath before heading to teen club). We got some seats near the front (but had to move due to incredibly noisy kids in front of us) and ordered some drinks. We’ve noticed that they with the new drink packages, drink staff seem to have reduced in number, so now I could no longer get a frozen cocktail in the theater (like I have always done before). Instead I got bought a bottle of water, which I thought to be an odd substitute !! Kevin ended up going to get me a Sprite from the bar.

Tonights show was amazing – like we always find them to be. And Nan & Pop really enjoyed it. I think Nan is finally starting to find her sea legs (she’s not been feeling the best) and starting to understand the joys of cruising.

After the show we walked along an outside deck and hung out the cafe chatting before it was time to go to dinner.

We’ve now gotten used to our late dinners, we don’t mind eating so late. Dinner tonight was artichoke & eggplant tart…

bread rolls…of course….

and soft shells tortillas…

All of which was delicious, but there was no room for dessert tonight. We appreciated being able to have an early night and were asleep by 10pm.