12/26/17
We cruised through the night to arrive at Falmouth, Jamaica port in the morning. The port itself is small and is all shopping. We decided to opt out of disembarking the boat. Andrew (his first time on a cruise ship of any nature, got off to explore on his own for a bit). We ate at the Bistro together, lounged in the sun for a few hours before eating lunch at Windjammer. This lounging life is a world I am not use to and not much my style. We had booked the Escape Room – Escape the Rubicon ($12USD/person). It was about 2 hours long and really well done. We had our group of 4 plus another family of 4 and a family of 3. We didn’t escape in time but came really close!
The cruise ship has a outdoor gym that has scheduled timeslots for certain sports and I thought I’d be productive and play some volleyball. The thing is when it is open volleyball, it isn’t all top notch players and literally anyone can jump in to play. I’ll just say it was a little rough to say the least but at least it got me moving.
After getting a little exercise in, showered and joined the full family for dinner at Windjammers. Our evening entertainment for the night started with iSkate show in Studio B. The skate cast, created another program that showcases songs that they like to listen to or inspires them and performed a more modern show which was excellent. The skate cast (pretty much all the staff) all originate from different places in the world. The skaters and aquatics show cast vary from ex-olympians to ex-competitive athletes who want to entertain others, meet new people and travel the world.
Following the ice show, we had reservations at the Aquatheatre with their show – Fine Line. The show showcases a collection of aerialists, acrobatics, slackliners, divers and synchronized swimmers who perform a multitude of skills and dancing. It starts off with one man literally spinning for 15 minutes non-stop – It made me so dizzy. The show itself was by far the most entertaining and sensory overload with multiple things happening at once that you would be looking at the main stage then an aerialist would be flying over you to a person emerging from the pool with the hydraulic pool platform lower for a diver diving from the 17th deck level to a tightrope walker. It had wonderful dance sequences and even included a bit of Maori haka dance. Later in the evening they transformed Studio B (the ice rink) into the coolest nightclub on the waters by turning it into “Red Nightclub” lowering the temperatures and covering the ice with a rubberize surface to dance on.
12/27/17
A full day of cruising so we all slept in. When you are in your statesroom (especially the rooms with no windows) you are basically in a dark room with no clocks so time can standstill. The TV in your room has the about 15 channels – about 9 of them are Harmony of the Seas information. There are a few channels you can watch cartoons, Dreamworks movies and reality TV.
Same routine as the day before – Bistro for breakfast, tan session in Solarium then lunch at Windjammers. Don’t forget about the frozen yogurt stations for a little cool treat.
The Aquatics cast also has a secondary show called The Hideaway Heist. I must say, some gorgeous, perfectly chiseled performers. Yes I know I had watched the main aquatics show the previous day but this show, there was no intense black make-up on or too elaborate costumes. This show showcased more diving and incorporated more individual elements such as slacklining, trampoline and more opportunity for intricate dives with a mix of kooky dancing.
What else is there better to do on a cruise ship than eat and tan? Gym session. Relatively empty so I could do my workout freely and end off walk the outdoor track. I spent a little time hanging out in Central park before meeting up with everyone to have dinner at Windjammer. We met up with the parents and watched the Columbus Broadway. The cast of Grease starred in this musical number which at first glance everyone thinks is about Christopher Columbus but it’s actually not. It’s a strange musical to say the least but the flying sharks were definitely the best. Still very confused at what I watched but good.
