Cruise Day - 31st October.. Halloween!!

Nice sleep in today with scattered cloud and 78 degree temps on the balcony. Kelly is struggling with her cold but is slowly on the mend. Not the best time to catch colds for either of us!!

Kelly grabbed coffee’s and we checked out the events for the day on the cruise compass (this is the daily sheet that shows all the events for the day.) With highlighter in hand, we selected the various things that interested us. Lots of Halloween related events today along with the usual decor!

Even the car was done up!

The usual suspects!

Kelly went to a beading class while I went and played morning trivia. We then met up and went to the
Halloween scavenger hunt in Boleros Bar at 11am. We teamed up with Cathy & Bryan and with only 20 minutes of time, we bolted around the ship to complete the hunt. The team was required to take pictures of various items around the ship with the team in the picture. We also had to bring back a collection of objects like fake blood (ketchup pouch) etc.

We did pretty good but missed a few items and with time marching on, we returned to the start point.
Well we didn't win but had fun trying.

Team Vancouver Islanders at the Abyss.

Next up was lunch in the Windjammer and then off to the Blackjack Tournament in the casino. Most fun you can have for the least amount of money! LOL We did not make the final table but stuck around and watched the end. We then popped over to the Art action for a few minutes to see the action. Some very nice artwork was finding new homes.

The sun was blazing so we grabbed a cocktail and headed back to our room to enjoy the balcony. We  watch the ocean pass buy as we enjoyed the quietness... although you could faintly hear the steel band playing on the upper deck :-) 

Next up was our 5pm Trivia game and we met up with the usual crew to play. Once again we did not win but had fun chatting and catching up on each others day.  Cathy and Bryan had bought some more art at the auction and they had Wonderland booked for dinner. We told them to order "The World" for desert of course:-)

We then said goodbye as our dinning time was fast approaching. Off to the Silk Dinning Room and had a nice meal. For the first time that I can recall they ran out of our dinner choice but easily found
a replacement:-)

 We had nothing on the calendar for the evening but took in the huge Halloween party on the promenade. Lots of great costumes and fun!

Huge crowd for the Halloween Party

Clocks go back another hour tonight so we will be 5 hours ahead of Vancouver in the morn.

Cruise Day - 30th October

With the clocks moving back for the last few nights we were wide awake at 6:30 so we hit the track on deck 5 for some laps.  Both of us had signed up for the WWF run to raise money with the goal to walk the distance from Barcelona to Ft Lauderdale as a group.  The entry was $5 each and you also received a T-shirt. There was a guy recording the lapse and I believe we are on track to reach the goal. I’ll know more tomorrow.

We managed 5 laps round the ship before the coffee bug hit! This equated to just a shade over two miles distance. Not bad for an early morning walk.

Kelly went off to her knitting class and I went down the Abyss for kicks…. Hey I had to do it! Didn’t want her to have all the fun.

Walking around the ship.

From the Port fly-bridge looking aft.

 Following my "slide" it was off to grab some breakfast then back for a shower and clean up. Once Kelly got back it was off to find her some food and relax in Central Park. The Cruise Critic scavenger hunt had about 10 teams and it was a lot of fun. We scoured the ship for all sorts of interesting and strange items. Once the time limit ran out we all eventually gathered in the Solarium Bar for debrief and awards. For our first ever hunt on a ship, we only missed 5 of 42 items… with one being wrong. Kelly got extra points for going down the Abyss again. It was close and if we had read the instructions thoroughly it might have turned out better as we were a few minutes late finishing.

A wine cork image was one of the scavenger hunt items. The little ship is proof you found it during the hunt :-)

Trivia was on again at 5pm i the Schooner Bar and we did pretty good getting 15 of 17 answers… but we still lost:-) Patty & Guy joined us after for a visit & drink

Dinner at Chops Grill and it was very good. Kelly's lobster tasted fabulous... :-)

Cathy & Bryan held some seats for us (They are getting good at it..lol) and we joined them in the theater for a comedy/juggler show. He was very entertaining and had us laughing pretty good. Next was a quick jaunt across the hall to Studio B and the Quest Game. This was a departure from previous games we had witness as nothing really crazy went on.... well not too crazy!  The Cruise Director Abe put a twist on it with audience participation mandatory as teams were made out of sections of the a studio.  We had lots of laughs and saw some things that will be hard to erase from the memory bank!

Another fun filled day has come to an end.

Cruise Day - 29th October

Kelly was up early and off for coffee... just one of the reasons i love her!

Side note: This will be our last Starbucks coffee run as the cost is pretty high. (A medium coffee is around $5+ cdn after exchange... ridiculous really.) This item is NOT included in the "Ultimate Drinks Package" that we had pre-purchased...... besides the regular coffee is very good!

We met up with our group at 08:15 at the Silk Dinning Room for the tour of the ship (All Access Pass). We had about 14 people in the group and it started in the main galley behind the main dinning room. It was a huge operation considering the size of the ship. Everything was spotlessly clean and all the staff very friendly. The shear volume is mind boggling. A Galley staff member then gave us a tour of the facilities explaining what goes on in each section.

Cooking vats.

Cheese platters being prepped.

From the Kitchen we went down to Deck #2 and the Engine Control Room. Access to this deck and below is restricted to all passengers unless disembarking via the gangway.  Once we had passed through security screening we walked along the main hallway that travels the length of the ship called "Highway I-95".  Once in the control room we where given a presentation by one of the lead engineers. This is one of the highlights for me and I took my time looking at and trying to understand what each screen represented. He explained what was going on.... speed, number of engines operating to produce electricity, Azipod function etc.    All great stuff and he answered all questions asked by the group.  Great info on Azipod's here https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Azipod

Engine Control Room

Engines operating on left. One of the Azipod's on the right.

The layout was actually straight forward with monitors showing the various components and their status. The operations officer sat at the main desk and responded to advisory warnings etc through the computer screens in front of him. Issues that cropped up would automatically call up a resolution checklist that he would, if required, be used to resolve the relevant issue. (A digital checklist.)

Next stop was the Laundry and it was massive. Huge washing machines, dryers, presses, steamers etc all working away to keep up with demand. The temp was 10 degrees hotter in this section and you felt it! The care and detail put into doing everyone's personal (passengers) laundry was very impressive . There were a few strange gadgets that Kelly observed and wanted to take home! I was totally mystified of course! All I know is clean clothes come out! This is operation is clearly way above my pay grade!  

One of many washing machines!

Next on the tour was the Royal Theater and we were taken back into the staging area behind the set. Lots of set piece were jammed in with some easily recognizable from shows we had seen. Also some pirate ship stuff for shows upcoming. We also saw the main dressing/costume area. All very interesting.

The Crew Entertainment area was next and it looks at regular dance club with chairs and such just like the regular passengers. Also a "pub" type bar and other amenities. This also lead to the outside smoking area as well as the Helipad area.

Kelly strikes the "Lauren pose"for fun.

Let's just say a big helicopter could lad here!

Looking up at the Bridge.

 We had a good look around and took numerous pictures. The weather was cooperating as it could get so bad that the tour would not stop here. We lucked out!

Next stop was up ti the bridge after doing yet another security check. It was very quiet and peacful and we had a great tour by a Ships Officer and fellow Canadian name Ben (His goal is to skipper at BC Ferries!)  He explained the control console, the radar and plotter screens and answered all the questions thrown at him.

Starboard Control Console - Three Azipod controls and their positions on the left.

 We then moved over to the center console with the crew hard at work. Modern technology was clearly on display!

Center Console and command chairs... Looked very comfortable!

State of the art setup!

 Next up was the master control center behind the main console. This is where firefighting plans etc are actioned should issues arise. Big screens showed the status of the ship along with TV views of all the passenger areas. They can see you!!

Fire control panels showing sensors etc.

Ben gives the group the lowdown on ship operations etc. Very well done.

 This visit to the bridge reminder us of our departure from St. Lucia in 2011 when we had the opportunity to watch our departure! You can see that experience here.

This was the last stop on our tour and then headed to the Pub Crawl. As there is only one "pub" on board it was renamed the "Bar Crawl" and we hit almost all the bars on the ship as we moved around under a accurate, exact timeline... which of course faded away. We ended up at the stern bar right by the Abyss entry. We had a good look at the view from the platform but my clothes selection was not appropriate. Most everyone went down and even Kelly did it once finished her margarita. (liquid strength!!) She had fun screaming her way down lol.

The Abyss exit point.

We all met down at the bottom and enjoyed conversation as the Bar Crawl ended at the Mexican Bar! How convenient!

We broke for showers and to prepare for dinner. Tonight we met with Patty, Guy, Robyn & Kevin and went to Jamie's Italian. The food was good (too much again!!) but the dinner took almost two and half hours to get through. Seems as though these specialty restaurants drag things out a bit much. Generally this is not a problem but showtimes are set and you must be strict on showing up on time. The shows are all "reserved" so if you are late... the standby line goes in and you can't get a seat. 

Kelly was getting my head cold and was done basically done for the night. We had planned to attend the Headliner Show at 10:45 but bailed for the pillow.

Once again we set our clocks back an hour tonight so we gain and extra hour once again... In the morning it will be Vancouver Time plus 6 hours.

Cruise Day - 28th October

Kelly was on coffee duties this morning as the ship cruised westbound.  We enjoyed a great sunrise through the cloud layer... very pretty.

Amazing sunrise this morning!

 Last night we had a passenger take ill and a diversion was made to the Island of Madeira where a vessel came out and removed said passenger. We have been told that this not uncommon with a cruise ship, especially one this size. We hope all is ok… not the way you want to leave a ship.

I headed off to the David Kirkpatrick presentation on the production of Top Gun. Kelly met me there and we enjoyed the presentation and the little tidbits of casting issues, production and direction troubles that cropped up during filming. He had some video’s and other stories to add to the event.

I didn't like this movie... said no one ever!! LOL

Top Gun… they showed the beach volleyball scene… all the women seemed very happy :-)

Kelly went to her knitting bee and I watch some of the social media presentation… how to take selfies…  hey it’s a long cruise! I didn’t stay long though.

Next we met up and cruised the promenade and ran into Bryan & Cathy…. Bryan had his birthday today so we all sent in some “Shout Out” cards to the ships online TV channel and the ships cruise directer Abe read them out. All in good fun of course. Bryan has informed me that his name is spelled with a “y” so I will now go back through the blog and correct them. Sorry about that.

Lunch was at the Mexican specialty restaurant “Sabor" and we enjoyed a cool margarita with our tacos...  along with a huge pot of fresh made to order guacamole… it was amazing!!

Fantastic!

 Back at the room, Kelly wanted to try out her clothes washer bag thingy and I napped :-) Off we went to the Slot Pull put on by the cruise critic people. We won $800 between us so once it was all split we got $10 each back. Shower time before heading to our trivia game at the Schooner Bar. Met up with Cathy, Bryan, Patty and Guy for a cocktail and trivia… we got 12/17 this time… slow improvement.

We had our formal duds on and just headed off to our dinner in the Silk Dinning Room. We had a private table off in the corner and had fantastic service from the staff. Food was the usual high standard.

Once out of the dinning room we made a quick stop at the casino to help RCI finance it’s next ship…. which might have to wait as we won a few dollars :-)

Our last planned event was the Headliner Comedy Show in the “Attic”. AJ Jamal put on a "laugh out loud" show with great references to ships, passengers, the windjammer and other related ship themes. Very funny and I would recommend his type of humor to any adult.

Off to bed as we do the ship tour in the morning.  (Clocks go back another hour so it's YVR + 7 hrs tomorrow)

Cruise Day -27th October

Kelly was up and out the door for coffee as I struggled with a plugged head from my cold. Some medication and more sleep help.

She was now off to her knitting class to learn a few tips. Sounds like she spent some time helping out the beginners as well. I eventually got up and showered and was feeling much better. I then headed out to the boardwalk to see what was going on and meet up with her after the knitting bee.

Bryan and Cathy had plans to attend the art auction so we joined in to see what goes on. It was about 45 minutes late starting as they reviewed the rules and allow patrons extra time to look at the auction items. We watch the action for a bit then skipped out to attend the “Building of the Harmony' show in the theater. It was very informative.

A quick snack at the promenade and back to the room to freshen up before our 5pm trivia event.

We met Cathy & Bryan and Patty & Guy for Trivia in the Schooner Bar (another team from Canada won!) then it was off to Wonderland with Robyn & Kevin as well as Jean & Deb, folks from one of our excursions. The eight of us all had an amazing meal with a funky presentation and taste. The desert of choice was called "The World” and featured a globe of chocolate that was covered with hot caramel sauce and “melted” in front of your eyes. This revealed the salted caramel covered peanut butter ice cream inside.

I’ll attempt to upload it below :-)

Kelly walks out of the door to Wonderland.

Chair testing.

After dinner we headed over to Studio B for the 1887 Ice Spectacular and enjoyed the fantastic graphics as the ice surface transformed into various scenes… the best being a flooding river turning into a churning sea.

Off to bed.

Note: In the wee hours of the night our ship diverted to the Island of Madeira (the town of Funchal) and a passenger was taken off. We suspect a medical emergency but we are unsure at this point. We slept through it but some FB peeps reported it with some pics of the boat and city. Who knew!

Malaga

I managed to pick up the sniffles so I am now trying everything I know to get rid of them! Arghh!

We headed off on our last port day on this cruise. Figuring out which deck to disembark at various ports can be a pain but they have made it really easy. Get in any elevator and press the Star button and you are done. On arrival the elevator announces "Gang Way"... Great idea!

Can't remember the gangway deck? Just press the star button :-)

Once off the ship we walked towards town. It is relatively close by and the walkway is very nice. Lots of shops and great views. There were lots of people as three cruise ships all are in port right now but still plenty of room for all.

The most interesting ship in view was the Super Yacht "Octopus". This is owned by Microsoft mogul Paul Allen and it was over gorgeous. Two helipads, hanger for two helicopters (I saw what looked a Boeing Messerschmidt and an Euro copter tail at one point), submarine and ROV, and a glass bottom pool according to sources. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Octopus_(yacht)  

Biggest cruise ship and biggest super yacht together.

View from the ship.

We continued our walk along the waterfront and managed to grab a geocache (met some other cachers as well). The beautiful architecture and design always amazed us.

Malaga waterfront pedestrian walkway.

We walked over to the main shopping area with it's polished stone walkways. The eateries where just starting to open for the lunch rush and the stores were doing a huge business with all the cruise passengers in town. They were also getting ready with Christmas decorations on the main pedestrian street Calle Molina Lario.

Christmas decorations going up.

The walkway led to the main square called Plaza del Obispo with it's stunning architecture. Lots of art was placed along the walkways & narrow streets.

Plaza del Obispo

Impressive art was everywhere.

Clean and polished streets with amazing architecture.

Kelly also managed to find her favorite shoe shop and picked up some addition footwear. They remembered her from a couple years ago! Just kidding! We also picked up some postcards to send home and found a great tapas bar over in the Plaza del la Merced. We had stopped in this area last cruise and enjoyed the lunch time ambience. We chose the Picasso Tapas Bar of course. The food was very good but danger with the chili's in the sauce!!! :-)

A walk over to the post box (they are yellow btw) and then on to the old Roman Theater remains as we started to search out a gelato store.

Waiting for the show to start at the Roman theater.

More great views.

Neat eating spots.

Catedral de la Encarnación de Málaga

As we headed back to the ship, we managed to get our "last chance" gelato fix on the seaside walkway. Yes it's highly addictive! Once back on board the Harmony we changed and headed for the pool deck. With the sun beating down and the temps in the upper twenties we took advantage of every second. The pool was like a bathtub so Kelly was in right away:-)

Yes it's big!

 We showered and decided to change up the dinner tonight. We went to the Bistro at the front of the ship near the Solarium. Dinner was buffet style for appetizers, salads and deserts but you ordered the main course from the waiter. I finally had my lamb chops!! They were not up to the Chops Grill standard that we experienced on other cruises but tasty non the less.

Next up on our schedule was the Headliner show in the main theater. A British comedian/magician put on the show with some great entertainment highlights. He was mostly comedian this night!

My head cold was taking a firm hold so after a walk around the promenade we pulled the pin on this great day.

Our first of nine sea days starts tomorrow. Lots to do though!

Cruise Day - Palma to Malaga

A nice sleep in this morning as Kelly quietly slipped out and grabbed us some coffee’s.  She also stopped by the infirmary after texting with her boss last night. (Dr. Jovic in Brentwood Bay).   Her ankle that she rolled in Rome was no longer swollen and after discussing the fact that she has walked about 30 kms since, they determined that there was nothing major to worry about…. just needs rest and relaxation… we can do that!! :-)

We enjoyed our coffee on the balcony as we went through the Cruise Compass and highlighted all the events that we plan to try and attend today. We had a official meet & mingle with the Cruise Critic gang at 11am in Studio B and it was packed! They welcomed the "critics" and then gave away some prizes. Our friends Cathy & Bryann from Nanaimo, BC won the grand prize... a gemstone worth a couple dollars and a dinner for two at Chops Grille worth $100 CDN! Very nice!

Next we wandered through the casino just in time for the Black Jack Tournament. It was the most fun you can have for $20. Both Kelly and I didn't make it to the final table this time but I suspect more opportunity will be available.

Lunch at the Park Cafe and then more exploring of the ship. We found Dazzles Night Club and several other places that we had not visited before. Yes this is a big ship! Back at the cabin to figure out our calendar for dinners and shows. As there are so many people on this ship it is mandatory to pre-book to ensure space. We have a few conflicts that need to get sorted but plenty of time to get it done.

We met up with Cathy & Bryan for the trivia contest at the Schooner Bar at five pm. We did ok but didn't even come close on some answers. Arghh! Good fun though. It's formal night so most of the crowd was dressed up but some, like us, still sported casual wear.

Off to the room to spiff up then to the Silk Dinning Room for our dining experience. We were seated at a table for ten and quickly introduced ourselves. They all happened to be Americans from all parts of that country so they were familiar with Victoria and numerous Canadian port destinations. Clearly all high time cruisers. We had a good time socializing over dinner and the food was once again fabulous. We also said hello to Patty and Guy who sat right near us.

Next up was the Fineline Aqua Show at the rear of the ship. The stage turned into a pool and we were dazzled by high wire acts, dives and a great stage show. We both were very impressed!

 
A quick stop at the casino but I was not feeling lucky so watched Kelly play some roulette.  The 50's & 60's dance party was just getting underway so we joined in the fun. Kelly's ankle was still sore so we enjoyed the music mostly. She did get up for a slow one though :-)

We met up with Cathy & Bryan again and closed out the dance party. Next up was a drink in the pub then off to the rack.

Malaga tomorrow!

Palma #2

Up and off the ship at 08:30 as we meet up for another tour of the city and outlying areas. We went though the western portion and up to the Castell De Bellver. We enjoyed the views of both the castle and the city although the sun wasn't cooperating... i.e. blinding us :-)

Next was a tour downtown where we had the option of free time (which we took) or a group tour of the Cathedral. We broke away and toured the cathedral ourselves. It was amazing with it's stained glass Rosetta casting light onto the columns. The pictures don't do it justice really.

Inside the Cathedral of Mallorca and the west Rosetta

The colored light was ablaze on the pillars

Amazing!

Pipes of the organ.

We walked the old part of Palma grabbing a bakery item to stem the hunger. Kelly did some shopping and came away with a necklace and a pair of shoes to bolster her collection. We met up with our group and headed off to the town of Valdemossa in the mountains.

Valdemossa

It was very nice and had a much more "old town" feel to it. It had narrow streets and many shops & several restaurants. Good views were available and it was just a nice relaxed pace for us. We had lunch with Patty and Guy who were also on our tour.

Narrow streets of Valdemossa

 A requisite Gelato break followed and then back to the ship to relax as we awaited our departure to Malaga.

Dinner was at the Japanese specialty restaurant Izumi this evening so we got to enjoy the chef cooking on a big habachi. It was great! A stop at the casino on the way to the Promenade was also in order before retiring for the evening. Sea day tomorrow