Heyyy everyone! It’s time for another in the post series covering the trip Nickie and I took in September 2025 to celebrate our empty-nest/mourn our children moving out of the house.
And yeah, I know. It’s been over a literal month since my last post. I mean, we have already been on another vacation since then. But I mean, it’s been the holidays at home and Q4 at work. So I mean.
But since I have made y’all wait so long by your laptops, phones, and tablets, I have a special treat in store for this one.
So a quick preamble here. As you might recall from Day 2, there was some rain y’all. And my phone? Well, it spent some time out there in the elements. Which left it unable to charge for a good portion of Day 2. At the end of the night, I gave it one more try and – stupidly – bypassed the charge warning and charged anyway.
Which wasn’t the best.
After Day 2, my phone wouldn’t charge. Skipping ahead, I thankfully found out it was only my cable that got burnt out and not my phone. But at this point, I wasn’t sure and being that we were on a cruise ship, there was really no way to get another cable.
I might as well tell the whole story now though. I did eventually find out that up on Deck 15, there was a spot to charge and leave my phone locked, which helped post-Day 3 (I would just leave it there overnight) but for Day 3, I was largely without a camera. Therefore, Day 3 was documented either through Nickie or not at all.
Since Day 3 is a bit lacking in photos, I am going to go ahead and cover Days 3 and 4 in one post.
So yeah – I know you have been waiting literal eternities for this post but look – it’s two days in one. Twice the photos. Twice the rambling narrative. Twice the puns.
So like, that’s good news right?
Let’s ah-go.
Our 12-Day Empty Nest Extravaganza Trip: Day 3
Day 3 was a sea day, meaning we were just gonna be out there, cruising. Also? Day 3 was a Monday.
Oh Garfield. Not THIS Monday.
Especially since on account of we woke up early enough today to catch the sunrise.
Specifically, we were up at like 5:45AM. Which is pretty intense.
But to cope with that insanity, we did put out an order for some room service breakfast on our door the night before.
GOOD MORNING MISTER BREAKFAST!!!!!!
He may look delicious, but donut linger too long staring into those soulless empty black eyes of his. One could go bananas.
After we finished up with our…ok?…breakfast, I went down to the gym to hit the treadmill while Nickie relaxed and read for a bit on the verandah.
Which is a pretty awesome place to relax and read for a bit.
Workout finished, I made my way back up to the room to rejoin Nickie and get ready for the day. We got ready for our day of exploring the ship and then walked on down back to the gym/spa area to get some smoothies. I think I went with some sort of fruity-milky-spinachy situation.
Here, look. This is the smoothie almost completely gone. Because I am THAT GOOD of a blogger.
And hey, eagle-eyed reader, did you guess what our first morning activity would be based on the background of my disgusting emptied cup photo?
You must have figured it out. I took that photo right B4 it started.
…
It was Bingo. Bingo was it’s name. Oh.
Being that I am a degenerate gambler at times, it’s kind of surprising how little I have actually played bingo. For instance. This was a morning game so it wasn’t like the main game of bingo, which meant it was just like, one game.
I didn’t actually realize this until after I had purchased the $40 Super Bundle thing, which included 9 paper cards and 4 instant win Crack-It’s. I mean, $40 to play one game of Bingo and most likely lose? I could make so many $5 football parlays with that money.
And most likely lose.
Whatever though. According to this picture, I was pretty happy about it.
Probably because Nickie also got me a Bloody Mary up at the bar.
And eh, I mean we didn’t win. Neither in Bingo nor on the Crack-Its. But it actually was a lot of fun. The crew members running the game were really good at keeping things high energy and what not. So even when you lose, you still feel like…
Well, you still felt like you lost.
But you didn’t care as much. Which is what gambling is all about, children. Losing money and feeling ok with it.
Being that we had our bathing suits on, our next stop was Deck 15 to hit the Solarium pool. On the way, we stopped off to listen to some live music out on the main deck.
And serendipitously, right next to said music, there were these pretty things all lined up in a row.
Which, if memory serves, were pineapples filled with pina colada.
So of course I got one. It was served in a pineapple. Thing was health food.
The Solarium pool was all kinds of hopping today.
And due to the whole “human soup” vibe going on, we spent maybe like a half-hour or so in there. Which worked out anyway because it was almost 1:00. Which meant it was time to grab some pizza from Sorrento’s and head over to Spotlight Karaoke for some Disney trivia!
And given that I write posts (at least occasionally) on a blog called weheartdisney, you’d assume we won in a landslide. And you know what? You would be absolutely…
I know. It’s shocking.
We DID come in second though. So that’s something. Something shameful and wrong. But something nonetheless.
Also, like I said. I did get some pizza. But even though she was feeling better, Nickie still wasn’t pizza-ready. She opted instead to, after trivia had ended, grab a grilled chicken sandwich from Johnny Rocket’s on Deck 6. I of course got no pictures of the chicken sandwich due to my phone charger being a jerk but Nickie did snap one of me enjoying my Strawberry Shake (which btw was included as part of the Refreshment Package).
And I did for sure. That was a hell of a Strawberry Shake. Nickie’s Grilled Chicken Sandwich was also pretty tasty as well. I can guarantee Johnny Rocket’s will be making a few more appearances on this blog for sure.
After we finished up at Johnny Rocket’s, we made a quick stop back at the cabin. And when we got there, we found this little guy waiting for us.
Yup, a suggestively-posed bunny. Magical.
And man, the water off the verandah was looking hella-pretty. Especially check out this rainbow situation.
Also looking hella-pretty? This little pot of gold.
Hot stuff.
Speaking of hot stuff, at this point we decided to give the Solarium another shot so back up to Deck 15 we went. But rather than trying our luck at the Solarium’s lone tiny little crowded AF pool, we went straight for the hot tub.
As we were enjoying the hot tub, we noticed the sun deck off the Solarium was pretty much empty.
It was a little after 4PM at this point and seeing as we didn’t have dinner until like 8PM (late dining FTW) we snagged a couple lounge chairs looking out onto the ocean to get some chill-time before getting ready for dinner.
I mean, after a full day of not doing anything all that strenuous, it was really important we got some down time.
And I know I keep saying it, but oof my wife is attractive.
I’d say we spent about an hour and a half or so out there. And place was relaxing as h-e-l-l-double-hockey-sticks. I even dozed off for a few minutes. And like, even when we were going over our favorite moments of the trip later, this hour stood out for both of us. Just the two of us, looking out over the ocean, doing nothing but being together. There is so much to like about a cruise, but moments like these are for sure high on the list.
But alas, we did have to leave our little sanctuary there and head back to our room to get ready for the night. On the way, I snapped this pic looking down from Deck 15.
We made it back to the cabin and as we were getting ready, the sky was like ‘oh hey don’t forget about me over here.’
The sky can be such an attention-whore.
But yerp. We had to get ready. And like not normal ready. On account of tonight was formal night which meant Nickie looked amazing and I wasn’t wearing a graphic tee or tank top.
Before dinner, we took our time walking around and exploring before heading to the main dining room. When we arrived, we talked with our “sort of table-mates” – the two couples I mentioned in my earlier post that were sitting at the table next to us (Nickie and I had a table for two) and said hello once again to our amazing waiter, Satish, and assistant waiter, Kausal, before ordering our drinks.
I, of course, started off with a dirty Grey Goose martini.
Nickie went with a Sauvignon Blanc.
Tonight’s main dining menu was “A Taste of France”, which actually is laid out pretty well in this visual guide on Facebook. Though we didn’t have no pictures on our menu. Menus are just way more helpful with pictures. Too bad all restaurants don’t feel the same.
I guess not everywhere can be Applebee’s.
Anyway.
Nickie didn’t get a starter, but I went with the Iceberg Wedge Salad (chilled iceberg lettuce, tomatoes, bacon, and chives drizzled with blue cheese dressing).
Which was like a really good wedge. Not to be confused with a really good wedgie.
Which was something I obviously never got in school on account of how cool and popular I was and because of the fact that I DID NOT belong to the Rocky Horror Picture Show fan club.
I did not, you guys.
But it was a really good salad. The lettuce was fresh and crisp and the generous amounts of both bacon and blue cheese dressing in there completely ensured that I was not eating something healthy.
For my entrée, I ordered the Roasted Beef Tenderloin (served with creamy mashed potatoes, asparagus, and a peppercorn sauce).
Another surprisingly stellar dish. We had heard such mixed things about the main dining room on the Oasis of the Seas, but man. They kind of just kept dropping bangers. This meat was so tender and while the meat itself had some nice flavor, the peppercorn sauce definitely kicked it up. Mashed potatoes were also on point.
The Asparagus continued to be a stringy affront to all other vegetables. Except Kale. Which is devil’s weed.
Why? Why is asparagus so prevalent? So many better vegetable choices out there.
Nickie really wanted some beef tenderloin as well but she wasn’t sure how it would agree with her stomach so she opted to forego the peppercorn sauce and get some grilled chicken alongside it.
Which is kind of a pro move. Like, “hey, instead of sauce, can I just get another kind of meat?” Brilliant.
She also, as you can see above, replaced her asparagus with some mixed veggies since carrots felt like a safer choice than asparagus (she didn’t eat the broccoli.)
And I must have missed the “you don’t need to get asparagus” memo because I would eat carrots and broccoli all day over that vile weed.
We went with two desserts to share tonight – the Crème Brulee and the Warm Apple Cobbler served with Vanilla Ice Cream.
Both were good, but gun to my head I’d give the Crème Brulee an edge.
Oh right, I also ordered my usual cappuccino to enjoy with dessert.
So yeah, another great dinner at the main dining room on Oasis of the Seas. Food was delicious and the service continued to be stellar.
We were probably done and out of the dining room by like 9:30ish. And we both were in the mood for a walk. Which like, these Oasis-class ships facilitate pretty well. While you could go for a walk around the ship or on the actual walking/running deck (which we do later in the trip), the ship legit has a park you can walk through – Central Park. And I know I have mentioned it before, but the fact that this place is filled with live plants and trees is kind of mind-blowing to me.
There was even a live jazz situation happening out there.
At this point, it was 10PM but we weren’t quite ready to call it a night. So we checked our app and saw that there was some sort of adult “What Am I?” gameshow thing happening. It kind of stressed this was 18+ so we were curious what made this thing so adult.
We found out pretty quickly.
Let me lay out the rules first though. How it worked is your team had a bunch of slips of paper. During each round, the host would begin by reading one clue describing something. If you knew what it was based off that one clue, you would write it down on your slip of paper and bring it up front. She would then read another clue. If you could guess off those two clues, again – you would write it down and bring it up front. This continued through four different clues and the points you would receive for a correct guess would decrease as more clues were read. And of course, if you already guessed, you couldn’t guess again until the next round.
Pretty simple. And I mean, it sounded family friendly and what not. The whole 18+ thing was still not all that apparent to us.
Ooooh, these clues are dirty y’all. I mean, I don’t know if you can see them to her right up there, but like here below is a better look at a later round.
lulz. You said balls.
And the clues were funny, but some of the guesses were even funnier. People were getting nasty up in Spotlight Karaoke.
BTW -if you know the answers to either of those sets of clues, let me know in the comments.
And speaking of Spotlight Karaoke, after that dirty little game finished, the place did finally switch over to its intended purpose – karaoke.
And I mean, YOU KNOW I sang some songs. Here I am looking dapper AF and singing “Sweet Caroline”.
Ever heard that song before? I know. Kind of an underground choice. Sweet…some woman’s name. I can’t remember.
I think I may have also sang some Elton John tonight. But who knows. I mean, I sang A LOT of karaoke on this cruise. Much to Nickie’s…
Delight? Chagrin?
I dunno. It was one of those.
We stayed at Spotlight Karaoke until about 11:30 or so but we HAD to get to bed on account of we had an early AF day on Day 4. On Day 4, we were….
Our 12-Day Empty Nest Extravaganza Trip: Day 3
…up at like 5:15AM.
I knoowwww. Right?
But today was a port day, you guys. And we had ordered like real-deal pay-for-it breakfast to enjoy on our verandah before heading out.
But like. This is how early it was. It was “it’s-still-dark-as-crap” early.
As you can see below, we got some pancakes, eggs, hash browns, sausages, bacon, English muffins, and croissants along with coffee and juice.
Honestly, though? It wasn’t really that great. The croissants were good and the bacon and sausage was fine. But both the pancakes and English muffins were hard and the eggs were cold. I am only basing this on this one experience, but the free continental room service breakfast was much better than the $7.99 American Breakfast.
Now you know.
But at least we did have some food in our bellies by the time the sun came up and we pulled into our Day 4 port – Cozumel!
Those pictures were taken at around 6:20AM and by 6:40, we were down at the Cafe Promenade on Deck 5.
To grab a quick iced caramel latte before heading off the ship.
I like when they write my name on it because possessions are very important to me.
Annnnyway.
We were off the ship by 6:50 and on our way to Cozumel.
Which gave us a nice look at this girl.
We had an excursion today but it was still like 45 minutes away so we spent some time just sort of exploring around the SSA International Pier. It was a cute little spot, but there wasn’t A TON to do.
There were some gift shops, pharmacies, a few restaurants, including both a Senor Frogs AND a Margaritaville.
But the best part about that port is that you definitely will never forget where you are.
And just to prove we were there…
Oh right, I should also mention it was hot as….um….something that’s really hot today in Cozumel. Like, we were legit sweat monsters by the time we lined up for our excursion. Sweat. Monsters.
Right, ok. So the excursion we booked was the Fury Catamaran Snorkel & Beach Break excursion. Just to be clear, this is the Fury catamaran experience. Not the furry catamaran experience.
Which is like a whole different experience.
Rather than explain what the excursion entails, I will just sort of let things unfold so you get the full experience.
Well, not the full experience. I mean, you’ll just read about it. But if you want, read it in the shower. Then you’ll be wet at least.
Look guys! Our catamaran!
Nickie and I hopped on and grabbed a seat off the back so we could have the sun on our face. On account of why stop sweating now.
Pulling away, we got some nice views of the ship.
After we boarded, the crew introduced themselves and went over some safety information. And once that nonsense was over, they started giving us beer and margaritas. Which was a real fun juxtaposition. Be safe. Also though? Get drunk.
And um, jump in the water.
Yup, about a half hour after pulling away from the dock, we anchored in this little area off like Money Bar Beach or whatever. Like right here.
The nice thing was the boat had this little ramp underneath the boat that led right into the water. No ladder or anything, you just sort of walked right into the water. The con though? It was just sort of A LOT of people crowded together in one little area, which sort of made it feel, I don’t know….less peaceful? Less serene?
But eh, I mean…that’s kind of what you get on these sorts of excursions. And like, we did still see some marine life and what not down there.
Like this right here.
Based on the coloring and shape, I would say that is, um. That is a fish. Yes, definitely a fish.
I think we snorkeled for about 30 minutes or so before getting back on the catamaran. Which meant more alcohol.
Obvs.
We were off to our next destination!
And our next destination was Cozumel Beach Club, which is a little beach that kind of seems like its only used by these catamaran tours. We were the first there but as the morning went on, I think maybe like four more catamarans arrived? So, like, while our boat wasn’t the only one there, it still never felt crowded. Which was really nice.
When we arrived, Nickie and I claimed a couple lounge chairs and I went up to the bar to grab a couple drinks. Which btw – continued to be unlimited on the beach.
I was buzzed. Is what I am saying to you now.
When I got back from the bar, Nickie was already in the water. Right in front of the aqua inflatable park thingy.
We btw never went on those inflatables on account of we watched a whole slew of people – people that looked like they would be much better than us at getting on those things – have a lot of issues. Falling off the sides, tumbling down the ladders and steps, and one girl’s top even came off.
To be fair, a good number of these folks were also taking full advantage of the unlimited drinks as well.
We just kind of hung back and enjoyed the water and you know. Just kind of looked good.
At around 10:30, it felt like the right time to put some food on top of all that alcohol so we made the decision to have an early lunch up at the grill. Before eating, Nickie and I both hit the restrooms behind the grill and Nickie took a picture of me in the shower.
NSFW warning.
Easy, ladies.
While I went up to order the food, Nickie grabbed us a table in the sand.
Now, I should mention that while the drinks were included in the excursion, the food was an additional charge. They only serve Angus Cheeseburgers and I think they were like 10 bucks? But I gotta say, this was a tasty-ass burger.
The burger also came with Mexican potato chips. Which are a cool time because they tell you right at the top how terrible they are for you.
Yup. Calling out high calories and high sodium right on the package.
You think THAT will stop me, chip package? Pfft, you don’t know who you’re dealing with.
We got called over to our boat at around 11:30, which means we spent like TWO HOURS on the beach. Amazetown. Population: Us. Right?
And now? We were back on the boat.
Bai beach.
Raise the sail.
Batten the giblets. Masten the hatchet. Other sailor person words.
I know. I’m a salty seaman.
…
What?
On the way back to the pier, the crew turned the music up, kept the drinks flowing, and got some line dancing going.
And these kids came to party.
All good things must come to an end. And we were back at the ship by around 12:30PM.
But I gotta say, this was an AWESOME excursion. If you ever find yourself on a cruise that ports in Cozumel, I highly recommend the Fury Catamaran Snorkel & Beach Break. It gave us some snorkeling, some beach time, boat time, and unlimited drinks. Everything went super smooth and the crew was fantastic.
Back on the pier, outside the ship, the Royal Caribbean crew members were outside with cold towels and some cold water. Some of it with lemons in it, guys.
Love me some spa water.
I also remember as we were walking back, we ended up walking back with an older gentleman who couldn’t stop telling us how much he loves Royal Caribbean and how lucky we all were to be where we are, experiencing what we were experiencing. This guy really put a nice bow on what had already been a pretty spectacular day so far.
And we still had so much day left, you guys.
Though we had not so long ago eaten some cheeseburgers, Nickie and I were a little hungry. Like not “full lunch” hungry but still were looking for something to eat. Soez, we made the call to hit Windjammer – the ship’s buffet.
And I mean, eh.
I really do like buffets. I do. I find the opportunity to have Indian food, chicken tenders, AND like prime rib such an enticing situation. But Windjammer was a bit of a letdown for us, at least whenever we decided to eat there.
That doesn’t mean I didn’t get food, though. I mean, come on guys. You know I still ate.
Up there, I got some chicken cutlet kind of situation, made myself a little Italian sub at the deli section, and had some macaroni salad. Aside from the macaroni salad, it was all pretty mid. I mean, the sandwich was fine, but the bread was a little stale and that chicken was dry AF.
But whatevz. I’m glad we ended up getting that burger on the beach. Thing was <fire emoji>.
We really needed to wash that buffet out of our mouths at this point so we hit the bar. At the Solarium. Again.
As you can see up there, Nickie got a Sauvignon Blanc. Me? Well, if you recall from Day 2, which was our first day on the ship, the bartender told me the drink of the day was a Cozumel Sunrise. But it turned out, in fact, the Cozumel Sunrise was NOT the drink of the day on Day 2.
However.
Today it was the drink of the day. Which makes sense. On account of we were in Cozumel today.
Oh, and the drink was like a Tequila Sunrise (which is tequila, orange juice, and grenadine) but instead of orange juice, this drink has mango and lime juice.
But there was still tequila. So, like, replacing the word “tequila” with Cozumel doesn’t really make sense. It also, though, thanks to the grenadine, still has that sunrise effect. So I don’t know. Maybe it could be called a “Teq-ozumel Sunrise”?
You’re welcome, Royal Caribbean.
We brought our drinks out to the sun deck to enjoy while we looked out over Cozumel.
After spending maybe 2 hours or so out on the sundeck, we made the call to head back to the cabin to chill on our balcony for a bit.
And of course we played some Rummy 500.
Because that’s what we do you guys.
At some point, though, we had to actually put on real clothes. Because dinner. Tonight was white night. So like, we wore white.
And I know I have alluded to this before, but sitting out on the balcony of our cabin, just looking out over the water, is legit a top 3 aspect of cruising. Even just looking at these pictures gives me all kinds of the cozies.
I want to go to there.
Dinner tonight was in the Main Dining Room again and the theme was Mexican Night.
My meal started with the Grilled Sweet Corn Cak…wait no.
My meal actually started with those amazing cheese rolls I mentioned before.
I miss those rolls. Those rolls are legit a top 3 aspect of cruising.
But right. My first actual course were these Grilled Sweet Corn Cakes (served with grilled vegetables, tomato avocado salsa, and fresh cilantro).
Real good stuff right there. Tender. Fluffy. And a nice mix of sweet and savory.
For her main, Nickie continued her Grilled Chicken trend. Once again served with Mashed Potatoes and Carrots. And once again, she really liked it.
I went with the Chili-Lime Crusted Salmon.
Which was served over a sweet potato, mushroom, and kale hash and topped with mango and bell pepper salsa.
And yeah, I really liked this dish a lot too. The fish was cooked well I thought and the mango-bell pepper salsa added a nice tang to it. Despite the presence of that devil’s weed, kale, this was a solid dish.
F you kale.
We weren’t starving tonight so Nickie and I split the Tres Leches. Look how pretty.
Man, I love me some Tres Leches. And this was some real good Tres Leches.
Which is Spanish btw. Meaning “Three Leches.”
As per usual, I paired my dessert tonight with a yumtown cappuccino.
Another solid dinner at Main Dining. Kind of killing it, Oasis of the Seas.
Our night wasn’t quite over just yet. You bet your ice it wasn’t over. Because we also had plans to go see the “Frozen in Time” ice show in Studio B.
That was why I said “ice” earlier. Instead of a-s-s-. Cuz it sounded like that word sort of but it also alluded to the fact that we were seeing an ice show.
Humor.
But right, an ice show. Which meant, right. There was an actual ice rink on this ship. Check it out.
The show was based around the fairytales of Hans Christian Andersen. So like, it was a lot like Disney on Ice. Except, you know, instead of chumming it up with Sebastian and combing her hair humorously with a fork, the Little Mermaid has her tongue cut out and considers murdering Prince Eric after he falls in love with someone else.
…
…
Annnnyway…look though. Pictures of the ice show.
Specifically, the show focused on The Ugly Duckling, The Little Mermaid, The Emperor’s New Clothes, the Red Shoes, and there was a sand artist that kind of beautifully told the story of Thumbelina.
It was a fun show. The skaters were for sure super talented and what not. And it was just sort of cool to see an ice show on a cruise ship. If you find yourself on the Oasis of the Seas, it’s worth a watch but I am not sure if we end up back on this ship, Nickie and I would make it a must-do.
Maybe if the Emperor was actually naked or the girl in the Red Shoes actually exploded like she does in the story.
I wrote both as suggestions in my comment card.
You’re welcome, Royal Caribbean.
And yeah, that was it for Day 3 and Day 4. Totally worth the wait, right?
No?
Well, whatever. Day 5 will hopefully be out sometime in 2027.
Last post – Day 2!
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