Last morning on the ship and re-cap of our cruise

We woke at 5:45am to get ready to get off the ship. Self-debarkation was 6:30-7:30am and we wanted to get off early since we had a 7.5 hour drive ahead of us.

We went down to the Cafe Promenade for the last time for breakfast. There was a line-up for coffee. All the carafes were empty and everyone was waiting for the coffee to finish brewing. I went and got us muffins while Wayne waited in line. Only had to wait a few minutes and the coffee was ready. We sat in the Promenade and had our coffee/muffins.

Back to the cabin, gathered all our stuff and headed off at 6:50am. Down to deck 5 and we walked right off the ship. No lines - hardly any people around. We were really surprised. Into the port building again hardly any people and no line at Customs. We went from our cabin to outside the port building in 5 minutes - this was our quickest/easiest debarkation ever!

Called our car service and they were a little late arriving due to traffic. Back to the hotel we had left our car at we grabbed another coffee and hit the road.

Driving home we drove through many areas in upstate New York with snow squalls and hail and temps around 1C! Once we hit Canada it had warmed to 9.5C. We arrived home at 4pm. Sad the cruise is over but it is nice to be home!

Our thoughts on our cruise and the Quantum of the Seas

Pros:

• It is a BEAUTIFUL ship!! Love the decor and colours.
• Itinerary - loved the ports
• People - we met some great people on the ship
• Our cabin steward - Samsudin!!
• Our cabin - we had cabin 6570 - an obstructed view cabin with a large angled balcony and it was great!
• The internet - very fast

Cons:

• Food - We both thought the food was lacking in taste especially in CHIC. The buffet had lots of section and the food was just ok. Our favourite restaurant was SILK
• Drinks prices - $30 for 2 umbrella drinks is too much!! I like to have an umbrella drink while laying in the sun. Royal lost money on us with these prices. We switched to beer and I had the 2 for 1 Michael's beer special - not the best beer but I liked the price. Wayne tried a few of the craft beers and he never found one he liked.
• Mini bar staff - We emptied it and put everything on the counter and we asked our cabin steward to remove it. He said he would have the bar staff remove it. Day 2 still there... we asked again and he said he would call them again. On the morning we left the ship it was all still there... 
• Coffee - the coffee in the buffet was undrinkable! Just horrible. We drank coffee from the Cafe Promenade. We had coffee from room service once and it was ok.

April 24, 2015

We are home!
I will post about our last morning and a re-cap of our cruise tomorrow.

April 23, 2015 – our last sea day

I woke early this morning (6ish), looked out and saw a pretty sunrise.

Went back to sleep and when we woke around 8am it was still really nice out and surprising warm. We called for room service and sat out on the balcony. Around 8:30 a big storm cloud started to move in very quickly. Here are some photos of the storm arriving and then just as quickly passing by us.

There was even some hail the size of peas!

The storm lasted about an hour. After the storm passed it was a really nice morning and I sat on our balcony enjoying the sun.

Walked around the ship for a while and then went to the pub for lunch with our NS friends.

Later we went on a cabin crawl to see each other’s cabins. One couple had a regular balcony cabin and the other couple had an interior with a virtual balcony which was pretty cool.

After Wayne and I headed up to go for a walk but it was too cold and windy outside so we walked around taking a few photos of the ship.

We went to the buffet for dinner and then went back to the cabin and watched a movie. Then it was time to pack…

Tomorrow Bayonne, NJ and then home.

April 22, 2015 – Sea Day

Another quiet day at sea. We woke to overcast skies and then we saw this

Coffee/muffins from Café Promenade for breakfast and then the buffet for lunch.

The rain only lasted an hour or so and then we had overcast skies with temps in the low 20’sC. A nice day to spend reading on our balcony while enjoying a mimosa.

We met our Nova Scotia friends for dinner. We tried to get into American Icon but they were full so we went to Silk. We had a nice meal with nice people.

Wayne and I went up to do our nightly walk and the temperature was still comfortable for walking.

Later we went to see Sonic Odyssey. Wayne liked it but I didn't enjoy it… 

Tomorrow – our last sea day and our last day on the ship

April 21, 2015 - Sea Day

We woke to another beautiful day.

We went to American Icon restaurant for breakfast. Nice place but the food was just ok.

I had an IFly reservation at 11:15am but let Wayne go in my place. He really enjoys it and he is going to look at doing it back home since we live near an IFly location. I took some photos of the wake and flow rider while waiting for Wayne. Love the view!

Here is Wayne in the IFly.

At 1pm we met up with our fellow Nova Scotia travel buddies at the pub. We spent a couple hours chatting with them. 

Then we all decided to go up in the North Star. That was fun and the view from up there is amazing!

 

A few photo from the walk back to our cabin.

Back to the cabin and rested for a while and then we got ready for dinner. Tonight we went to Chic. Again a very nice restaurant but the food seems to lack taste… The deserts were the best part of the meal.

We did our nightly walk and then stopped in to see the entertainment in the theatre.

Tomorrow – a sea day.

April 20, 2015 St. Kitts

Another quiet morning with a later arrival in St. Kitts today. It was pretty sailing by Nevis and into St. Kitts – our last port of call this cruise.

We docked at 11am and met up with a group for a tour. After hearing how long the tour was and Wayne still not feeling good we decided to not do the tour and just stay close to the ship. We have been to St. Kitts before and it is a beautiful island. We did head down to the medical centre but it was packed with sick people… so we just went outside for a walk.

Walked around the port area which is very touristy but very nice.

 

We did find a local woman selling hand painted items (instead of things made in China) which we love so we bought a small piece of her work.

Wayne bought a shirt and I bought a skirt and then we stopped for a snack and some beer.

The guy at the restaurant was very entertaining to watch how he interacted with people trying to get them to stop.

Walked around a while longer and then headed back to rest. 

Wayne has a cold/cough and it has settled in his chest. I also have a cough (as do a LOT of people on the ship) but not as bad as his. He will see how he is doing and will go see the Doctor if he feels it is not getting better soon.

We went to the buffet for dinner and then enjoyed sail away while we walked the jogging track.

Tomorrow – a Sea Day