We set an alarm to wake up at 8am today so we could sleep in a little but then after breakfast we could head out to Costa Maya to explore. We’ve never been to this port but the excursion we had initially booked had canceled early on. We had the water park that has zip lines scheduled because we thought it would be fun for the kids and hadn’t really planned on any other water activities for this cruise. Apparently the water park hasn’t open back up after closing for Covid. Instead of finding something else to reserve, we decided to just explore the port and probably take a taxi to the village/beach area. Maybe get out in the water and snorkel a bit.
Those plans changed. As we were heading up to the Windjammer for breakfast, the captain announced over the intercom that we would not be able to safely dock in Costa Maya due to high winds and rough seas. We did have quite a rock night when we went to bed but I didn’t expect it to affect out port of call. So instead of getting off the ship, we were going to have an additional seas day. Unfortunately we don’t get compensated for this misfortune other than our port fees back.
Well even with this curveball thrown at us today, we still needed to eat breakfast so off to Windjammer we went. While eating we started to plan out our day. It looked like it would be filled with trivia and more of our usual favorite activities.
After breakfast, Ethan and I decided to try and play some morning pickle ball (open play every morning 8-11am). I said try because the wind was quite strong blowing the portable net and ball around. The far court furthest from the protection of the ship structure was unusable (we tried). As soon as the group that was playing on the middle court left, we shifted down to it. The sports court has a net over the whole playing area but with the net holes bigger than a pickle ball, we had to be careful not to hit the ball too high and get caught in the jet stream blowing it out of the court. We didn’t play long before we gave up and went to find the girls.
Next on our schedule was a puzzle trivia in On Air. It turned out to be an Easter themed crossword puzzle. With everyone searching for something to do on this unexpected sea day, every trivia we attended today was completely packed. Our family of 4 rocked this puzzle. We did it in 10 minutes and turned ours in first. Our prizes were better than usual. We received 2 metal Royal Caribbean water bottles! 
With our additional ship time from this added sea day, we decided to try the main dining room for lunch. We’ve only eaten lunch in the main dining room a few times over all our cruises. Usually the timing just doesn’t work out. We didn’t even check The menu on the app to see what all was being offered. We just showed up and took a chance. I have to admit that nothing really stood out on the menu. However, it’s still a better meal than I would be having for lunch back home. And if we did not like it, there was always the buffet as a back up afterwards. We all ended up getting some steak and Ethan got some spaghetti as a second option. The food was okay. I think we were just not that hungry probably due to the lattes and smoothies that we had in the morning. The floating island desert that Ethan and Amy got was quite a hit for looks at least.
The next thing on our to do list for the day it is, you guessed it, another trivia. This one was a celebrity name trivia. We had to match what the celebrities name is to their real name. It wasn’t really what we were hoping for when we showed up, but it would do. We only knew the answers to a few of them. The rest we made educated guesses. To our surprise, we only got two wrong and that was enough for us to win. The plan was to stick around in On Air for the next trivia, but it ended up being the exact same list of questions we did earlier in the cruise. So instead we went to family karaoke. Hannah sang twice. The second time she had picked out a song that was a duet but non of us were going to join her. Her plan was to just make it work somehow, but lucky for her a guy came onto stage and joined her.
I don’t think we will ever pay for a treatment at the spa on the ship. That’s not how we like to splurge on vacation. However, when they offer free massages, we can’t pass that up. The girls took advantage of this on one of the first days but this time all 4 of us got some sample luxury treatment. It felt good and apparently my shoulders were very knotted up which I wasn’t surprised to hear. Since the gym was attached to the spa, we did a little walk through to check it out. It was much larger than I anticipated. One of these times I might actually use the gym on a ship. The closest I’ve done was run on the outdoor track. Before leaving that part of the ship, we stopped by the spa bar. That bar was a regular stop for us for smoothies, etc. We then took them to Central Park to relax.
Tonight was formal night/lobster tail night. And for Hannah it was molten chocolate cake night. For a while the lobster was taken off the menu on the app prior to the cruise so we thought it wouldn’t be served on our 6 night cruise. A nice surprise that it was offered on this second formal night. Hannah said that this chocolate cake is her favorite desert. I didn’t remember much about it but it was pretty good. She ordered 2 but ended up taking one to go since she was full and it was pretty rich. Ethan and I ordered the lobster tails but we all got the cake for desert. Ethan also included his usual escargot that he had been getting. It’s a cruise and paid for, why not get all the fancy food.
Our dinner finished soon enough for us to catch some of the ice show we saw earlier in the cruise. We couldn’t find any seating easy to get to that would fit our family so we just watch from the back. Still a good show. Despite the big meal, we decided to grab some frozen drinks (still non-alcoholic since we are cheap and the others are paid for) and hang out where else, Central Park.
Still on the schedule for tonight was an activity Ethan really enjoyed on our last cruise (oh so long ago on Mariner in 2019), the silent dance party. On the Mariner it was held in the Viking Crown Lounge on the 14th deck. Here on the Allure it was held on the 4th floor in Blaze dance club. The concept was still the same. Everyone gets headphones that has a Blue station and a Green station. You can switch to which ever one you want to listen to as the dance mix is different on each station. This leads to a mixture of dance styles and singing at the party (and quite confusing for those without a headset.
After a while of dancing, Amy and I headed to the main theater to attend the Love and Marriage game show while the kids kept dancing. The game show was listed as 18+ which I think is a little harsh of a rating. It is definitely not G or PG rated but the things said are more suggestive than explicit. Amy and I found a seat on the top floor of the theater in what we referred to as one of the VIP seating spots (the same type of spot we watched Mamma Mia from). It is a high table with 4 chairs that is behind all the rest of the seating on a raised platform in an alcove. Because we were “isolated” from other people, we thought the kids might want to join us being they would not be seen by other people. Actually Hannah didn’t have a problem with attending but Ethan didn’t want to break the rules. There wasn’t anyone at the theater entrance “checking tickets” like other shows so we texted the kids to leave the dance party and come to the theater. The game show was the same format as it is on all other cruises where they have 3 couples from the audience “audition” to be on the show. One couple would be a newlywed (this one was married today), one couple married for ~20-30 years, and then one very experience married couple. They try to get the couple in the audience that has been married the longest to participate. This couple fit that category being married for 61 years. The show goes on by having the women leave and ask the guys questions and then have the women come back and see if their answers matched followed by the sending the guys away and so on. It’s and entertaining show and definitely enjoyed by the kids.
After the show it was off to bed and get some sleep to prepare for another sea day and the last full day on the ship.
Our cabin steward made us a monkey and sloth because of our trip to Roatan.
