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Friday, March 2, 2018

Peak Experiences from Sea Level


Every vacation has its peak experiences—those I-will-always-remember moments. But it seems like cruising has more than most.

In a nostalgic mood, I thought about some of my own from the past year:

Exuberance and song. “Mamma Mia” on Allure of the Seas was nothing short of spectacular. How many shows have you seen where the audience jumps out of their seats in joyous appreciation? The wonderful ABBA music, the fabulous Broadway-quality voices and being on vacation converge for a knock-your-socks-off experience. I haven’t been able to get the songs out of my head ever since.

Savory and sweet on Central Park. On both Allure and Harmony of the Seas, the 150 Central Park specialty restaurants both delivered melt-on-the-tongue short ribs, smooth and silky squash soup with pumpkin seeds and an amazing sweet and salty chocolate tart. It once again confirmed that the specialty restaurants are worth the extra cost.


Nature reigned. The December super moon framed by the clouds over the lights of Harmony's Central Park, and the streaks of gold, rust and plum over the high rises of Ft. Lauderdale were vivid reminders that there’s no better way to see the drama of the skies than from the balcony of a cruise ship.


Techie treats. I was skeptical at first, but after watching the robo bartenders on Harmony, I had to admit, well, they’re kinda cute. Especially when they wiggle their upside-down containers to try and get the last drops of adult beverage into your cup. I can’t wait to see what Royal Caribbean comes up with next. Robo room stewards? Bionic baristas? Whizzy wait staff?  


Lapping it up in Labadee. Once again, it was a toss-up on what was the peak-er experience—bargaining for and buying the beach scene paintings that now grace my home office walls or floating on my back in Haiti’s crystal clear calm waters.


Then there was the day the sea was so still…the burst of cool from the gin and tonic in 
Central Park…discovering we could bring our free Diamond Club wine into the restaurant to drink with dinner…napping on the balcony on Harmony in the reclining chair


These were my peak cruising moments last year. What were yours?

Photos by RJGreenburg

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