The Latest Scoop: Sailing & Singing in the Caribbean -Part 1

Yes, we have been traveling again! 😁

It was November of 2022 when friends of ours, a ladies singing group called Graceful, posted on FaceBook that they were going to be part of the entertainment on a Christian cruise in 2024. They invited us to go along; we checked into it but turned it down for personal reasons I won't elaborate here. They were persistent, till we reconsidered. In April last year we put a down payment on our first Sail & Sing cruise. This was our first cruise since the infamous virus and we were excited!

February 1 was D-day. Jeremy drove us to the airport early in the morning and we hopped on a flight heading south...

...well, actually we flew east to Dulles first, then south to Orlando.

If we have ever been in Dulles before, it was a long time ago. What a huge airport; so much walking!

We caught the hotel shuttle in Orlando at 4pm, then walked to Waffle House down the street for a late lunch/early dinner. The street name was McCoy Road so we felt right at home.

It was clean for a Waffle House, the food was good and the staff were friendly. We give it a 👍. We immediately started seeing lots of Mennonites & Amish. We did not know till halfway through our meal that Graceful was staying in the hotel behind Richard in this photo.

Friday morning (Feb 2) we used Cruise Control shuttle service to get over to Port Canaveral. We had a bizarre beginning when a fellow passenger was telling an R-rated story when we boarded the shuttle.😖 I had booked the shuttle before we were assigned a check-in time at the port, so we were 2 hours early but our driver said we can go inside anyway. Since we had completed the check-in process online, it was quick & easy onsite -the whole process is streamlined since COVID.

Checked in & waiting for the Royal adventure to begin...

Fortunately for us, we didn't actually have to wait till 12:30 to board; it was around 11:30 when our row was called. Adventure of the Seas was our ship this time.

Normally we use the time until our stateroom is ready to explore the ship, but this one was laid out the same as our last cruise so it felt familiar -hooray for not getting lost till we learned our way around. The whole checking in at one's muster station has also been streamlined since COVID, so that is a plus.

It's been a dreary winter thus far so I'm lovin' me some sunshine!

The all-you-can-eat ice cream cones begin immediately (because the buffet wasn't open yet). We took this photo for our grands; they were disappointed that we weren't taking them along.

At 1pm, the cabins were ready so we ditched our carry-on luggage in our room, but our suitcases had not been delivered yet. We went to the theater for the Sail & Sing orientation. This was where we collected our name badges and started playing the Mennonite Game with the other 900 Sail & Sing passengers.

At 4pm we went up to deck 12 for the sail away. It's not like we've never seen it before, but never with so many Amish & Mennonites. Bon voyage!

We were most of the way out the channel when we came to a dead stop. What?! It wasn't until we were in the dining room that we found out there had been a medical emergency and we stopped to off-load the unfortunate person. Rumor had it that it was a broken arm.

We were assigned to Deck 4 of the main dining room, table 412. I had been hoping we don't get seated with a table full of strangers. Well, I got my wish- we were seated alone at a table for 2. I almost regretted my wish at times.

The main dining room is always a highlight of a cruise for us. Love the royal service & the delicious food that I didn't have to cook. This day we started with spinach artichoke dip...

grilled chicken (Cheryl)...

chef's recommendation of the day- fried chicken (Richard)...

Key Lime pie...

and dark chocolate mousse.

Afterwards we walked laps on the jogging track. Richard worked up an appetite while I barely made a dent in burning calories. O Menopause, how I resent thee!

The boat was rocking. We have never been on a cruise that was so rough right out of the "gate". So much for telling first-timers that it's so smooth you won't even know you are moving! Fortunately for me, I did not get seasick. Motion sickness patches & ginger are my friend when we cruise.

Day 2 was an 'at sea' day. Pictures don't do justice to the size of the waves. Some people were down for the count with seasickness, but we were spared. Considering how easily I get carsick, and occasionally airsick, too, I'm amazed that I have never got seasick. Knock on wood.

We were sitting on deck chairs, soaking up the sun. Richard wandered off to find his uncle & cousins. A lady came along and asked about his chair- she was looking for 2 chairs together for herself and her seasick husband, so I moved over to make room for them. I can't quite say how I knew, but I had him pegged as a truck driver and thought to myself "just wait till Richard gets back- he's going to hit it off with this guy!" I was not wrong. Turns out they live in the area where I grew up so we have a number of mutual acquaintances, and the longer he & Richard talked trucking the more they found in common. I hope we really did distract him from feeling yuck, that he wasn't just saying it to be polite.

We watched people riding the Flowrider (surfing simulator) for awhile. We later met the man who is on the surfboard here, and he is also from near the area where I grew up. The staff guy who was working that day was a good teacher -he was so patient with everyone from little kids to grandpas.

I did not keep track of how much pizza we consumed, but I can tell you that there was always a line at the pizza parlor on the promenade deck and the slices we got were always hot & fresh.

It is a proven fact that cruisers gain weight from the abundance of good food; I make it my mission to not be the average cruiser. We take the stairs instead of the elevator, although that doesn't come as easy as it used to. All the cruises we have been on had a jogging track and I use it. I have learned that the best time is after dinner/dark because there are less people around. This day I made the mistake of trying to walk after breakfast. It was super annoying because there were so many ~~Amish & Mennonites~~ people standing on the track talking, completely oblivious that they were making us break our stride. Like there was nowhere else to stand around visiting! I so wanted to make snarky comments, but I found my inner maturity instead.

For dinner, I started with escargots in a butter sauce -I've had them before and actually like them. Does the fancy French name make them taste less like snails??

Richard had French onion soup...

Seafood linguine for me...

...and beef tenderloin for Richard.

Creme Brule

Cappuccino Chocolate cake

Most of the Sail & Sing people must've gone straight to the concert venue after dinner, but we went up to walk on the jogging track first. Till we got back down there, it was full. They started setting up chairs in front of the stage so we got next-to-front-row seats.

Our name badges were our ticket to get into these exclusive activities.

Dan & Amanda...

We were not familiar with all the artists who were singing, so initially we weren't sure we'd sit through the entire 3 hour concert but we enjoyed it more than we anticipated. I'm not a fan of harp music, but I've gotta hand it to Eduard Klassen -he was way more entertaining than we expected.

I kept looking at these people, thinking "I know them from somewhere" but I couldn't quite put it together. Turns out she is Richard's cousin's daughter and they own my favorite bookstore in Holmes County. Bingo! Not only that, but she was the other Cheryl Miller on board. The man on the left has connections to Richard from the veal feed days. (And that is rather how the entire 10 days went. LOL)