(Royal Caribbean) Cruise Day 2: Cafe Promenade, Windjammer, Basketball, FlowRider, SeaPlex Doghouse, Vitality Fitness Centre, American Icon Grill, Sorrento's

Started the day of the cruise early (in our definition) at around 10am, which also means that by the time we were ready and out of our room, breakfast service at the restaurants (Windjammers / My Time Dining) already ended. So, we dropped by Cafe Promenade to grab some pastries and (as usual) coffee instead.

Well, we also missed all the morning activities (Napkin Artistry, Sudoku Challenge, Origami Class) that I had initially planned to go for, so we had quite a bit of free time on hand before lunch is served. Sadly, the queue at the Flow Rider was super long as the Rock Climbing closed for the day due to strong wind and the rain. So, we took a stroll around, chilled at the Solarium on the sunbed, take in the magnificent view of the vast sea while waiting for lunch to be served.

Once it was 12pm, we made our way over to Windjammer Marketplace on Deck 14 for lunch, which, sadly, was not great at all. No doubt that they have quite a spread to choose from but the items (that we tried) were very meh. Some were even simply very salty. Like we were eating salt out of the jar. Didn't take any photos of the food because it was quite disappointing.

On to our next activity - the Basketball Free Throw Competition at Seaplex (Deck 15)! Quite many people participated and there were even some (pro) basketball players. Needless to say, as novice players, we did not come in as one of the top 3 players. So, no medals for us. At least we tried. Teehees~ 

After the Basketball Free Throw Competition, we went to take a peek at the FlowRider's queue, and, surprisingly, there was barely any queue (only about 5 people in queue)! WOOHOO~ Off into the queue I go! Yeobo didn't do the FlowRider (he did Boogie Boarding before) so his "duties" were to hold my stuff and to take photos and videos while I Boogie Board! Hehe. SUPER EXCITED! 

It was so much fun, but at the same time, it hurts when the super strong "waves" hit while I was on the board (I had bruises all over both thighs after). As fun as it was, one time is enough for me unlike others (mostly kids) who went to queue over and over after their turn. 

Needed some "fuel" after Boogie Boarding, so we went to grab hotdog buns at the SeaPlex Doghouse. Yeobo had the Coney Island (Classic American All-Beef Kosher Hot Dog ) and I had the German (Thuringer; Pork Genuine Old World Style). Both are so so so so delicious that yeobo went for another (German). 

It started drizzling (again), so we headed back into our room to rest and wash up before heading over to the Vitality Fitness Centre for our gym session. We are not gym people but wow, the gym on Royal Caribbean is amazing. It is huge, has a lot of equipment and its treadmills have a sea view. The best part of all is that it is not crowded!

Once we were done with the gym, we went over to the American Icon Grill (Deck 4) for dinner. We gave up on the food at Windjammers. 

At the American Icon Grill, multi-course meals were served. It is not buffet style, but we are able to order as many items from their menu and as many servings as we want. Basically, the menu has a selection of Starters, Main Course, and Desserts to choose from. 

For Starters, Yeobo had the Escargots à La Bourguignonne and I had the Crispy Coconut Shrimp. Both were pretty good, and at the very least, it is not just plain salty. It has flavors. Hehe.

Escargots à La Bourguignonne : baked snails in garlic-parsley butter

Crispy Coconut Shrimp : breaded coconut shrimp with a pineapple-red-onion slaw and sweet chili dipping sauce

For Mains, we both had the Aged Prime Rib of Beef, which was just okay but it definitely cannot compare to what we had at Chops Grille.

Aged Prime Rib of Beef : slow-roasted boneless beef ribeye with crispy potato croquette, broccoli, and horseradish au jus

To conclude our dinner, yeobo had his Royal Cheesecake and I had the Crème Brûlée for dessert. To be honest, both were just okay. You can't go wrong with a classic cheesecake and this definitely wasn't the best Crème Brûlée for sure, but it is okay.

Royal Cheesecake : velvety cheesecake garnished with glazed strawberries

Crème Brûlée : rich vanilla custard topped with caramelized sugar

Well, with all that being said, the food at American Icon Grill was definitely way better than the food at Windjammers (in our opinion)!

After dinner, we managed to go for another activity - Game Show: Friendly Feud at Boleros (Deck 4) before heading to Sorrento's (again) to grab some pizza to munch on while we watched movies (Wonder Woman 1984 and Love & Monsters) in our room.

It is only Day 2 of our cruise and we lost count of how many slices of Sorrento's pizzas we have eaten.

S O   Y U M !

(Royal Caribbean) Cruise Day 1: Ocean View Stateroom, Sorrento's, Improve Walking in Comfort, Royal Esplanade, Chops Grille

Earlier in July, yeobo and I went on our mini-moon onboard Royal Caribbean's Quantum of the Sea!

Once again, this was an impromptu trip so, undoubtedly, the prices weren't at their cheapest as we picked a sail date that was less than a month away from the time of booking, but, still, I'm so glad yeobo made the decision to go for it because it was W O N D E R F U L !

With COVID still around, it was mandatory for us to get tested before our sail date. Luckily, all the pre-testing costs were already included in our package, so all we had to do was book our appointment and head down to get the PCR test done at least two days before our sail date. 

With all the pre-testing cleared and required documents ready, check-in was a breeze at the Marina Bay Cruise Centre. In less than 30-minutes, we cleared immigration, received our tracelets, and off we go - onboard our cruise ship! 

Once on board, we were led to our designated station for a safety briefing (our reporting station was at Schooner Bar) before we were able to head to our room.

For this trip, we booked an Ocean View Balcony Stateroom, which was located on Deck 12 (we pre-picked this) and was furnished with a king-size bed, sofa, balcony, wardrobes, vanity area, and a bathroom. Honestly, it is a cozy little room and a good size for two pax. 

The view from our room's balcony

After unpacking, we quickly head out to the Fitness Center and SeaPlex to book our slots for all the activities for the upcoming days ahead. But by the time we arrived at the SeaPlex, only a few slots for the xbox and foosball were available for booking. So, we booked a slot for an xbox session and went without the foosball. We had more luck at the Fitness Center as we managed to reserve our evening gym slots for the next three days! 

After booking all our activities for the trip, our first stop was Sorrento's to get some pizzas! Why? Because all of the blogs and vlogs I've come across reviewed that their pizzas are one of the best! Honestly, it was really delicious, just that I wished they served Hawaiian pizza too.

Our first (booked) activity for this trip was - Improve Walking in Comfort. It's a "class" to learn about our feet and how to improve posture and reduce stress / pain in the back, which honestly, was very insightful 30-minutes. Now I know why I fall down even when walking on flat surfaces. Hahaha.

After the "class", we found ourselves at the Royal Esplanade admiring some marvelous art pieces and reserving one of Thomas Kinkade's pieces, which will be auctioned on day 3 morning. It was love at first sight for both of us, but more research needs to be done! 

So, off we go for our dinner reservations at Chops Grille! Super excited to dine there as we have heard so much rave about their flavourful melt-in-the-mouth steaks! 

As a start, we each chose an appetizer and soup. So, we had the Tuna Tartare, Grilled Black Pepper Bacon, Wild Mushroom Soup, and Lobster Bisque to share.

Tuna Tartare : avocado, ginger, wasabi caviar

Grilled Black Pepper Bacon : slow-cooked Berkshire pork, sweet and spicy glaze

Wild Mushroom Soup : scented with white truffle oil, chives
Lobster Bisque : brandy, tarragon cream

For mains, we both had the Prime Bone-In Ribeye as recommended by our waiter, along with Truffled French Fries, Creamed Spinach, Sautéed Mushrooms, Yukon Gold Mashed Potatoes, and Mac & Cheese as sides to share. 

Prime Bone-In Ribeye : USDA Prime 16oz bone-in cut, well-marbled for peak flavor, deliciously juicy

The steak is  A M A Z I N G !!

Every bite of it is packed full of flavor and melts in your mouth! The steak was also huge in size. Yeobo managed to finish his, but I couldn't. I was so reluctant to see it go to waste so I ate as much as I could until I was too stuffed. Still, so sad to have to see it go to waste.

Truffled French Fries, Creamed Spinach, and Sautéed Mushrooms

Yukon Gold Mash Potatoes, and Mac & Cheese

All the portions at Chops Grille were huge, including the sides. That aside, out of the five sides we ordered, we loved the Yukon Gold Mashed Potatoes the best. It is so creamily good! If our tummy can hold more food, we would definitely order more of it. 

There's also dessert, which initially I didn't want to have because I AM SO FULL! But the waiter highly recommended that we get them, so we did. Yeobo ordered the Cheesecake and I had the Red Velvet. Again, the slices were big but really good too. 

Red Velvet Cake

New York Cheesecake

After a 3.5-hour long dinner, we left Chops Grille for a night walk to ease our happy stuffed tummy. Well, the food at Chops Grille was truly divine. We loved every bit of it and did not regret any bit of it. Hehe. It is (perhaps) the best restaurant on this entire cruise ship!