We were awake again around 07:00. We were in no rush that morning. This was a sea day, and we had brunch booked later than day. We took our time to get ready. Then we headed up to the pool deck. They had Aqua aerobics on the schedule that morning at 09:00. This was supposed to take place in the sport pool. We had not seen this open yet since we had been on the ship. Graham went for a swim in the beach pool while I checked if the sport pool was now open. It was not. Graham warned me that the pool was refreshing. This was one way of putting it. This pool had gone from way too hot to freezing. I did not fancy this and sat down near the pool. Closer to 09:00, I headed over to the sport pool to see if there was something happening. A member of sport staff came shortly afterwards and made an announcement that the pool was just about to open and Aqua aerobics would start at 09:00. I let Graham know and collected my towel. I checked the water temperature,and this seemed pleasant enough. I put my stuff on a lounger and started to walk the few steps towards the pool. I was just about to get into the pool when somebody called out to me that my stuff was blowing around the deck. I had put my towel on top of my clothes and lanyard, but that did not help. Even my sandals were blowing around the deck. It was very windy by the pool. I rounded everything up. Then I decided to give up. Graham was about done, too. He got out and dried off. Then we headed back to the cabin.
I just chilled while Graham had a quick shower and got changed. Once he was ready, we headed out. I had brought my soda cup and filled it up with vanilla orange Coke at the Coca Cola Freestyle machine. Graham stopped by the Promenade Café where we got some coffee and some fruit. Then we headed up to the Schooner Bar for morning trivia. Although it had a decent turn out, it was not as busy as I had expected. We scored 16 out of 20. The winning score was 19. Thirty minutes later, they had Tri Bond trivia at the Schooner Bar, and we stayed around for this. This is a bit quirky, but we have always enjoyed this. There are slight variations on how this is played. On this occasion, three words were listed, and we had to guess what all of them have in common. One example was family, hair and tree and the answer was that all of them have roots. This incidentally was the only one we did not get right. We scored a very respectable 19 out of 20. The winning score was 20.
Once the trivia was over, we headed back up to the pool deck. We had brunch booked at Mason Jar. This is one of the newer specialty dining concepts on Royal Caribbean. It is only available Wonder of the Seas, Utopia of the Seas, and Allure of the Seas, where it was added during the dry dock in spring. I had eyed this with a certain amount of envy when I was on a work trip on Wonder of the Seas in 2022. I was delighted that I finally got the chance to try this. Mason Jar serves Southern comfort food that one commonly finds in places like New Orleans. I was not entirely sure where the entrance was, but we had plenty of time. The entrance turned out to be near the rocking chairs where we had sat the first afternoon. The theming is a farmhouse kitchen with dish towels instead of napkins and mason jars instead of glasses. The servers wore jeans with aprons and straw hats.
Our server brought us the menu. He also brought out “Doohickeys for Y’all,” which was a plate of Saltines and jalapeno cornbread served with pimento cheese spread and Cajun and whipped honey butter. Graham loved the pimento cheese spread. My favourite was the cornbread with the honey butter. We both got some filter coffee and ice water. Graham had the Southern Breakfast, which consisted of two eggs anyway y’al want, served with crispy bacon, sweet potato hash and Meemaw’s biscuits. He had his eggs sunny side up. I had the Breakfast Biscuits with bacon onion jam, cheddar, homemade sausage and gravy topped with eggs cooked to y’alls liking, which was also sunny side up. We both loved our food.
Mason Jar has some really unique cocktails. Graham had an Apple Pie Old Fashioned, which consisted of Ole Smokey Apple Pie Moonshine, Woodford Reserve Bourbon, bitters, and apple puree with an apple pie turnover on the side. I had the PB&J Old Fashioned Which consists of Skrewball Peanut Butter Whiskey mixed with Kentucky Bourbon, strawberry jelly and walnut bitters, garnished with a mini crustless PB&J sandwich. Graham was initially not too sure about his choice, but it grew on him. I loved mine.
For dessert, Graham had the Warm Bread Puddin’ which consisted of buttery croissants and raisin bread with a rich vanilla-bourbon custard, topped with creamy vanilla drizzle. He loved this. I made the wrong choice with mine. I had the Twice-Fried Oreos, which consisted of funnel cake battered Oreo’s, which were deep-fried, dusted with powdered sugar and served with a bourbon sauce. This was way too sweet for me. I had one and then I was done. Our poor server was mortified and kept asking what he could bring me instead. In the end, I had some ice cream. Bad choice with dessert notwithstanding, I loved Mason Jar. Most of the food was delicious. I liked the ambiance, and the service was outstanding. I am glad that we were coming back for dinner later in the cruise.
After brunch, we went our separate ways for a bit. They had a matinee performance at the theatre that afternoon, which was called Voices of Royal Unplugged Featuring the cast of Mamma Mia! I figured this was something that was right up my street. I did ask Graham if he wanted to come along, but he decided to pass. I was he first person inside the theatre and ended up with a front row seat. Various cast members from Mamma Mia sang songs from different musicals. There was some serious talent there. The song choices were quite obscure, but I really enjoyed this.
Once the show was over, I headed back to the cabin to check if Graham had decided to go back to the cabin to take a nap. He was not there. My next guess was the pool deck, but he was not there either. I used me being up there as an excuse to swing by the Lime and Coconut bar to pick up one of their signature drinks by the same name. This consists of Malibu Coconut Rum, coconut milk, coconut syrup, Monin guava syrup and lime juice. This was the first time this cruise that I managed to go to the Lime and Coconut bar. It was pretty busy on the pool deck. I decided to head down to On Air as Graham knew that this was where afternoon trivia was taking place that day. I was quite happy to just sit while enjoying my book and a nice cocktail.
Graham did indeed arrive not long after me. Just before afternoon trivia was due to start, a bar server made the rounds. Graham had a glass of Sauvignon Blanc. I had a Curaçao Cosmo, which consists of Malibu coconut rum, blue curaçao, pineapple juice, and tart cherry syrup. We scored 8 out of 16 and the winning score was 11. After trivia, we quickly stopped at the backdrop that had been set up right across from On Air and then we headed back to the cabin to get changed for formal night.
On the way to dinner, we stopped for some photos near the entrance to Central Park. Then we headed inside the restaurant. I had been curious about 150 Central Park ever since we had sailed on Symphony of the Seas in 2023. This is one of the pricier specialty restaurants. However, it is covered under the unlimited dining package. I was excited to try this. We checked in and were seated. The restaurant looks gorgeous. Our server introduced himself and guided us through the menu. He also explained about their signature drink, the Urban Garden Martini, which consists of Grey Goose Vodka, cucumber, basil, and lemon juice. This is prepared table site. We decided to order one each. I was a little surprised by the ingredients, but this really worked. Shortly afterwards, our server brought out a loaf of their bread loaf with garlic, thyme and lime butter. I could have made a meal out of this.
Graham had the roasted organic beet salad with goat cheese, crispy beets, prosciutto, candied walnuts, Champagne vinaigrette for his starter. Graham enjoyed this very much. I was torn between the crispy Berkshire pork belly or the braised short rib for my starter. Our server warned me that those were very substantial portions. That did not sound good to me as I definitely wanted dessert that day. Instead, I had the roasted spiced pumpkin bisque crème fraîche, sourdough croutons, applewood smoked bacon. This was delicious
I had eyed the roasted tenderloin of beef for two when I looked at the menu before the cruise. Graham fancied something different on the day, but did not want me to miss out on something I had looked forward to for weeks. We both got what we wanted. They do actually offer a smaller version of the roasted tenderloin of beef. This is what I went with. It was served with truffle potato purée, baby vegetables, black garlic, and selection of bearnaise and Bordelaise sauces. I loved this. Graham went with a lighter option and had pan-seared halibut with warm potato salad, mesclun leaves, and a saffron and truffle hollandaise.
Graham passed on dessert. I had the fried cheesecake with Nutella, whipped cream, and caramelized popcorn. I was still a little spooked about the misstep with dessert earlier that day and was worried that this would be another disappointment. I explained the issue to our server and asked him if this is very sweet. He put my mind at rest. This was totally different from what I expected. The main part of the dish were little fried balls of heaven that were filled with the most decadent cheesecake you can imagine. I would go back just for this. The restaurant was absolutely not what we normally gravitate to, but the ambiance, outstanding service and the quality of the food made this a truly magical dinner.
After dinner, we got some photos on deck 5. I got one of my favourite photos that day. Then we headed back to the cabin. We got ready for bed and Graham went straight to sleep. I read a couple of chapters in my book and then I went to sleep as well.
Dolphingirl’s Travels 
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