Another Cruise for the Books
It's been two and a half weeks now since I returned from my most recent vacation over Christmas. I went on a Caribbean cruise you see. Did I enjoy that trip! It's not that it was my first sailing ever, it's just that for most of 2023, I stayed home and the trip last December was really my second and last travel for the year. I traveled to Malta in February 2023 but no more since then. You can imagine my hunger for a trip somewhere.
For my cruise, I once again traveled with Royal Caribbean. It was my second time to sail with them and although I was not really a big fan of this cruise line, I did enjoy my trip immensely. So much so that I wouldn't mind traveling with them again in the future. I got to visit six countries one of which was new for me. That was the island nation of Dominica.
It was so nice to be able to return to Puerto Rico, Antigua and Barbuda, as well as Sint Maarten after my very first cruise nearly 30 years ago. Although there wasn't much to see in some of these islands, walking around in their capital cities and seeing the locals go about their business getting ready for Christmas was so much fun. I could feel the excitement and joy in the air. It was unforgettable!
I traveled with my partner and together we loved being served our three course dinner in the ship's main dining room. What luxury it was to be waited on and served! There were even nights when we had dinner twice. All we needed to do was head to the Windjammer Buffet Restaurant barely an hour after having formal dinner.
On many nights, we watched shows by the ship's singers and dancers. Other nights there were visiting performers from Los Angeles and Las Vegas.
Going to the duty free stores on board was so much fun. Oh I can go on and on. I have to confess, I have been looking at cruises again for this year's Christmas. I found one that we might go on next. Another idea we had was to return to Asia in December instead. I'll be off for two weeks once again at that time and we both thought of going to Kuala Lumpur. We shall see!
Here's the dining room where we ate every night for ten days. I dream of sailing over and over again. I really can't get enough of cruising. I love it!
Relaxing at the ship's atrium taken on our first cruise day which happened to be a day at sea.
The ship, Grandeur of the Seas, was Royal Caribbean's oldest and smallest ship. It could only accommodate 2,500 guests compared to the present mega vessels which could hold as many as 6,000 travelers plus nearly 2,000 crew members. Many of the common areas like the stairs pictured above is typical of all cruise ships built in the late 1990s and early 2000s.
The theater where we watched shows on most nights.
We walked and walked for exercise on sea days mainly on the top deck and on Deck 5.
Here's Royal Caribbean's logo on the ship, Grandeur of the Seas.
The huge Christmas tree in the atrium was lit on our first night on board.
There were lots of gingerbread houses on the ship.
One of the lounges on board
I loved the animal figures left on our bed a number of times. Based on what I heard, these will soon be a thing of the past. Cruise lines want to cut the cost involved in cleaning these towels.
The pool area which was always packed!
A model of the Grandeur of the Seas on display on one of the decks.
The ship's atrium