Courtney GThe fifth day of the cruise was a sea day. Because we’d been going to bed pretty early this whole trip (around 10PM each night) we were determined to stay up later. We thought we’d take naps during the day to have a longer night. However, we were in for a long day.
Lunch Time Entertainment and More
Packed Morning
I woke up first and got dressed to go to the gym. Even though we didn’t want to do the Morning Stretch, I still wanted to get some exercise in on sea days. I strategically chose a treadmill to watch the sunrise.
Once I walked for a mile and half and snapped a couple of photos, I went back to the room. My friends and I went up to breakfast in the Windjammer when we were ready. We ate outside this time because the weather was so nice. Not too hot, not too cold.
The Climb
After letting my food digest, I tried rock climbing. Before the trip, I kept saying I wanted to rock climb. I was so excited I’d finally get a chance. That is, until I saw it fully in action.
I was more scared than I thought I’d be. The climbing up wasn’t the scary part. It was the jumping down that scared me. I watched a kid climb with all their energy, ring the bell, and push off the wall to jump down.
Strapped in the harness I turned the crew member and said, “Hold up, I have to jump down? I can’t just climb back down?”
“No, climbing down is not an option,” he said, his monotone voice hitting one note and one note only.
“You know what? I’m good,” I said beginning to walk back.
“Just give it a shot,” the crew member said, Celeste echoing him. I expressed to them both that the thought of jumping frightened me. I’m not exactly light so what if something happens? In the midst of my internal freak-out another kid climbed up and rang the bell.
If the kids can do it, I can do it too, right?
I went maybe three blocks up (at my friends and the crew member’s encouragement) but couldn’t go further because I kept thinking about how far I’d have to jump down. The jump wasn’t so bad when I finally did it but I wasn’t going to try again. Just climbing a little was enough. This made me realize how weak my arms are!
Still Morning
I showered after my rock climbing attempt to change out of my workout clothes and put on my outfit of the day. We tried to do mini golf while we were still on Deck 13 but didn’t have enough time. I had another event to go to that morning. We knew we’d be back later.
My friends and I separated so I could go to a NextCruise presentation. I’m planning on going on a short cruise with my mom later this year so I thought it’d be nice to see what the presentation was like. If you book your next cruise on the ship you get money off or on board credit (the money off isn’t really that much depending on the length of your cruise and the type of room cabin you’re in).
Honestly, I could’ve skipped the presentation. I already had an idea of what I wanted my next cruise to be before I got the ship. Should’ve gone straight to the sign-up desk instead.
Active Afternoon
I met back up with Celeste and Cali for Marvel trivia which was in the next room. We only got 9 questions rights out of 15. It was fun though. Apparently, you can use your trivia sheet for a bingo card (but not the big prizes).
After trivia, we participated in the Zen Coloring activity in Quill and Compass. There was only one box of color pencils so everyone in the room had to share. It was nice quiet time actually.
Before we left the coloring, we went up to the bar tender to ask how ginger beer differed from ginger ale. The drink of the day was Dark & Stormy which a cocktail with dark rum and ginger beer. To our surprise, he actually cracked open a can, poured some in three glasses, and let us try it. It was sweeter than ginger ale in my opinion and non-alcoholic. Just thinking about it now, I’m sure I would’ve liked that cocktail.
Lunch Time Entertainment and More
For lunch, we went back up to Windjammer and watched the Crew vs. Guest volleyball tournament. It was lunch with a show! We cheered for the crew, of course. It was very entertaining to watch; the captain of the ship even played. He wasn’t the best volleyball player but he brought good energy.
After the tournament, we went back down for my friends to change, put on sunscreen. Had to prepare for mini-golf. On our way to the mini golf, we got a glimpse of the “world’s sexiest man” contest. Didn’t really see a lot of options. No shade to the men who participated.
The course was simple but the wind wasn’t in our favor. I ended in last place but had a great time regardless. My skirt wasn’t helping my chances because it kept flowing in the wind.
The Mystery Game
We went back to Schooner’s Bar to do a mystery game. That bar had to be the main spot for entertainment. We came late so we missed some instructions which ultimately was our down fall. We needed to have at least six people on our team so the crew paired us with a family who also wanted to play because we needed at least six team members.
The mystery game was so complicated but I think that’s because we didn’t realized there were clues all over the room as well. It was enjoyable but frustrating. I’m sure it would’ve been better if we’d gotten there on time to hear everything.
That was our last activity we had planned before our dinner at Izumi. We hung out in the room a little bit before but we definitely didn’t get a nap in.
Izumi
You get to Izumi from within the Windjammer. There is another entrance from the outside deck but it was blocked off. The restaurant was much smaller than I expected. It could probably fit maybe 10-15 tables. With that being said there were only 2-3 other groups there when we came for our reservation. We paid and made our reservation for Izumi during our initial planning so the only thing we’d have to pay for is drinks/cocktails.
I order She’s a Geisha which was $14. It was really sweet and I couldn’t taste the sake at all. This is the kind of cocktail I like. Drown my alcohol in juice, please. Drinking the cocktail so fast, my friends were worried I’d get drunk. I didn’t see why; I only had one glass.
For my courses, I order the pork gyoza for an appetizer, the spicy crispy tuna roll and tonkotsu ramen for my entrees, and sesame balls for dessert. The prix fixe meal we paid for included a choice of two entrees but I was so full off the sushi alone. They gave me six pieces (which I heard now they only give you four if you get the prix fixed meal versus ordering a la carte). Everything was delicious. I was surprised there weren’t more people here. Well, based on the demographic of our particular cruise, I guess I wasn’t too surprised.
Eavesdropping and Mochi
However, we’d overheard the family behind us talking about their dessert. They got the mochi ice cream. Mochi is a Japanese snack made with rice flour and can be chewy. Mochi ice cream is the mochi snack stuffed with, well, ice cream. You may have seen a MyMochi box at your local grocery store. Because I had easy access to mochi ice cream off the ship, I opted for the red bean-filled sesame balls.
This family however, has never had mochi before. I remember the wife saying it had the texture of a gummy bear (I disagree but to each their own). My friends overheard this too and they were so appalled at the fact that the family had never had or heard of mochi before.
I didn’t understand why they were so surprised. The couple was older. They may not be as adventurous. My mother, who is many years younger than them (I’m assuming) had never heard or had mochi until I told her about this night (even though I definitely bought mochi ice cream from Publix when she and I were in Alabama for her kidney surgery). Would my friends be outraged by her?
They both live in diverse cities, one in California, the other a short drive from Chicago. The family may be from rural Mississippi or Minnesota for all we know. I’m from the suburbs of Atlanta but if I hadn’t gone to college in Chicago, who knows if I would’ve already had mochi by now.
Anyway, I went into that tangent to say there probably wasn’t a lot of people there because sometimes people are afraid to try new things. They shouldn’t be but hey, what can you do?
Radiance at Night
After Izumi, we went to watch the dance contest in the Centrum. At first there were couples dancing together, but then the crew changed things up.
It was so entertaining to watch as guests were put into teams to have a dance off. Then, they were paired off within the team and made to do different dance challenges.
Feeling the energy surge through the center of the ship as people looked over from multiple floors got my friends and I excited. We wanted the excitement to continue so we went to the crazy quest game.
It went from people putting on red lipstick to people taking off their pants and other items of clothing. We just watched that game play out. We didn’t know what they were going to have people do so we purposely came late so we wouldn’t be forced into a team. I don’t regret coming late. It was absolutely hilarious.
We ended the night glowing from laughter and were ready for our early morning in Progreso.
How do you prefer spending you at sea days? Lounging by the pool? Exploring the ship? Going to the spa? Let me know!
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