A Perfect Day Indeed

The first official day of the cruise started off as a Perfect Day, literally and figuratively speaking. Today we stopped at Royal Caribbean's Private Island Perfect Day at Coco Cay. I woke up early like normal to catch us pulling into port at Coco Cay. Madison was still sleeping so I headed up to the pool deck to to watch the sunrise and grab a few photos of Coco Cay. We could not ask for a better day. Today was a relax and unwind kind of day for us. We did not plan on doing anything besides getting off the ship and exploring. We brought our own snorkel gear and figured we would find a beach to just relax and go snorkeling.

We got off to a later start which worked out well. Had a nice light breakfast at Mini Bites and then headed off the ship by 10 am. Make sure to bring your sea pass card with you as the Wow band will not let you off the ship, you need your card. And no I did not try and get off the ship with just my Wow band for those wondering. The best part of Coco Cay is the island is truly smaller then the ship so you can go on and off as you please and go anywhere you would like. As we headed off the ship, we were greeted with sunny skies and warm temperatures. Highs reached the low to mid 70 which were perfect. As we exited the ship I noticed several tram cars waiting to take folks to take them from the ship to the island. We decided to walk down the pier and take a few photos. It also gave me an opportunity to fully see the size of this ship from shore. Once we hit the island, they had music and dancers greeting you. They also had a tram then went around the entire Island to get over to South Beach and Chill Island. Madison and I decided we would stop and take a few photos on our way to Chill Island.

Once we arrived at Chill Island I located some lockers close to where we would be staying. The lockers on the island are free of charge and work similar to what your staterooms safes do. So we quickly put our stuff in the lockers found some lounge chairs and headed into the ocean. If you noticed, I left out put on sunscreen. This would present a problem for me later in the day as I turned from Minnesota Winter White to Caribbean Red in one afternoon. Thanks to my wife and children, I had a new GoPro to capture all the amazing things under the water had to offer. We snorkeled for about 2 and half hours. During that time, we saw numerous fish, multiple Sting Ray, and what appears to be a sunken ship. Although after some research, I learned that the "sunken ship" was artificial which we figured seeing it seemed to be concrete and not wood. And had cannons all over the place which seemed odd. But nonetheless it was neat to see and experience. We saved over $70 by bringing our own snorkel gear so if you have it I definitely recommend you bring it.

After snorkeling, we walked the rest of the island and headed to the Skippers Grill for lunch. They had a limited selection of items to eat including hamburgers, hot dogs, chicken, tacos, different types of sandwiches and way more sweets then I needed, including ice cream, brownies, cookies, fruit and much more. Okay maybe it wasn't that limited in selection. Needless to say, you won't leave the island hungry. After lunch it was off for more exploring of the island and a little shopping. This was also the point where I realized sunscreen would have been a good idea. Most of the shops on the island had the same little trinkets and clothes so it seemed a little redundant, but Madison found a dragon sword so that made up for it I guess. After hour and hours of shopping, actually more like 45 minutes we headed back to the ship for a little down time before our night on the town/ship.

Getting back on the ship was about as easy as it could be. We quickly went through security and then off the drop the sword and snorkel gear off at the room. Our idea of down time apparently was to quickly shower and then head to the Zip Line before the crowds got too big. Up first was Madison and then it was my turn. The Zip Line aboard the Harmony is pretty short and not very fast. Not going to lie, I hate heights and this sucked for me. Not sure how zip lining in Roatan is going to go. I think I might jump in a pool first that way if I wet myself no one will know. But I made it and am still alive to write this blog posting. Yay! After zip lining, I clearly needed a drink. So Lava flow number two for the trip it was. Then it was back to the room for a much needed 15 minute nap.

Tonight was the first night in the Main Dining Room. We had a 7 pm reservation and arrived a half hour early. They seated up around 6:45 pm in the American Icon Grill section of the restaurant. Our wait staff Edi and Noelia, were very helpful but seemed a little overwhelmed. It was a very different dining experience then the night before. The nice part of the main dining room is you can order whatever off the menu you want and as much as you want. I ordered the Seafood Cake and Fruit Medley to start. My first seafood cake seemed to have been lost, either that or I just ate it really quickly before I could get a photo. Either way, I ordered another one so I could get a photo and try it again. For the main course, Madsion had the New York Strip Lion and I have the Chicken Cordon Blue and the Braise Short Ribs. For dessert it was Apple Pie a la Mode for Madison and I ordered from the kids menu- Banana Split and Creme Brulee, which was not from the kids menu before you start judging me. All the food was excellent especially the Apple pie. Madison said it was to die for. I encouraged her not to go that far, she could just order another one.

After dinner we made several laps around the ship and up and down the stairs just so we could work off all the food we just ate. We then headed to the Royal theater to get our spot in line for tonight's show Grease. By our spot, I mean we were the first ones there. We met a nice couple from Canada and talked politics of all things for about 45 minutes. Never expected to do that. Once the doors opened, it was a made dash to get good seats. Actually it was a slow walk we were the first ones in. Picked out our seat and waited for the show to begin. The production was well done and very entertaining, however there were several parts during the performance that it was difficult to understand what they were saying especially during the songs. I asked Madison after what she thought, and she advised she felt it sent a bad message that women should change who they are for a man. Oh help me, I am in trouble. I asked her if she liked it. She advised absolutely, she had a great time. That's better.

It was off to bed for our first day at sea and hopefully an escape from the Rubicon. More on that tomorrow.