Cruise Day 3 & Dining

Day 3 was our last sea day before we began 3 days of port stops. We started the day with roller skating, which actually wasn't a lot of fun. The skates were uncomfortable and we had to wear a lot of protective gear--a helmet, knee pads, elbow pads and wrist guards. It was a bit much and it took a long time to help everyone get outfitted. But, the music and atmosphere were fun and we did enjoy the fact that we were roller skating on a huge cruise ship on a school/work day!

So much protective gear!

They knew what they were doing.

Not terrible for his first time.

Like the previous two days we had breakfast and lunch in the Windjammer, which is a huge buffet. They had an omelet station and every breakfast food you could think of. At lunch, there were fresh carved meats and nachos and salad and all kinds of good food. Luke and Jack ate a lot of pizza that week! My favorite part of the Windjammer was the ukulele player that was outside singing the "wash your hands" song to greet us. He wasn't there every time, but I was always so happy when he was!

That afternoon, we did Marvel Trivia and came super close to winning, but again, weren't the victors. We did another scavenger hunt and had dinner again in the dining room. The kids spent some time in the kids club and Thomas and I checked out the adult pool. We sat in the hottub for a while and enjoyed the break from activity. It was at the back of the ship and had an amazing view.

At some point during the cruise, we discovered the American Icon Grille for breakfast. You could go in and they would find you a table (no more searching through the crowds at the Windjammer). We ate with Frank and Marta every morning and generally the Wills too. A nice waiter brought a menu and you could choose something from that or order from the buffet or do any combination thereof. The buffet was small, but had everything we could possibly want--waffles, eggs, ham and cheese omelets, fruit, granola, cereal, bacon, sausage, etc. Anything they didn't have you could order from the menu. It was very nice and much more relaxing than the buffet. I wish we had discovered it earlier.

Luke's standard breakfast was waffles and grapes.

There was also a small snack place called Café at Two70. It was at the back of the ship and right next to one of my favorite places, Two70. It had two story windows and it was cool to just sit and watch the ocean. We played Uno in there and occasionally went for drinks or snacks (I loved the coconut cookies). It also had a small library with a good selection of books. I had brought my own, but there were several I would have been happy to read.

Uno in Two70. Sadly, no pictures of the amazing view the venue offered.

There was also a place called Sorrento's, which had different kinds of pizza. We only went once, but it was nice. As mentioned, we had dinner every night in the same dining room. They had two dining rooms for set times (5:30 and 8:30) and two dining rooms for My Time Dining. I preferred having the set time at the same table with the same waiters. It gave us an opportunity to reconnect every night and have a leisurely meal. At some point (maybe night 4?) we gave the kids the option of dining with the kid's club. You could register them and then drop them off at 5, the staff took them to the Windjammer and then back to the club to hang out. Luke much preferred going there than the long meal in the dining room. I believe he went happily every night once we found it (other than Thanksgiving). The older kids alternated, sometimes they went to the kids club, sometimes they joined us. Kara was excited to try new foods. She ate escargot, calamari, lobster and I can't even remember what else! The other kids mostly played it safe, although Jack and Anna occasionally shifted from their comfort zone. Sometimes, they ordered from the kids menu and sometimes the adult. The food was generally very good and the service was fantastic. We felt very pampered!

A table for 12 please!

Anna and Kara loved Jose, our assistant waiter.