We had a very leisurely day in Falmouth. We decided to take it easy and walk around the port, then get back onto the ship. There were a couple things I wanted to do:
1. Eat jerk chicken and festival
2. Buy jerk seasoning
3. Eat a beef patty
Don't laugh- I told you food was very important to me on this cruise!
We left the ship around 10:30 or so after breakfast. On our way off the ship, we found this guy- anyone recognize him?
We liked the port shopping area. It's a little smaller than I expected. It's designed like a giant square. There was a DJ in the middle of the square who you could watch and listen to for the entire afternoon and be entertained the whole time. He was hilarious! Note that if you take a picture with the stilt walkers, they will expect a tip. Just FYI.
Off we went in search of Scotchie's, which is famous on the island for their jerk chicken. I heard around CC that there was a Scotchie's stand at the pier. After some walking, we decided to ask one of the women at an information booth. She said Scotchie's had to close up shop recently, and I'm pretty sure the reason was right in front of us:
I was a little sad that Scotchie's had to go. I understand the cruise line's strategy and point of view...it just would have been nice to experience the real thing that I had been reading about for months. I know, I know, we could have taken a taxi or a shuttle to get to Scotchie's or the Pork Pit, but we didn't want to pay $50 or so (and spend time with the commute) just to get some chicken. Despite all that, we were happy with our meal here. The service was friendly as well.
We decided to share a double portion of the jerk chicken, with french fries and rice and peas. I added a side of festival. Everything was delicious. The chicken was flavorful andhad a lot of heat, and the festival (sweet fried dough) helped balance that out.
We walked around a little while longer. Here are some more shots of the area:
I found my Walkerswood Jerk Seasoning in the duty free store. Yay! I've cooked with it already and it really packs the heat! Not quite the same as jerk chicken in Jamaica because of the way it's cooked, but it's still good.
Found a Jamaican patty stand. If you're looking for an economical way to get a quick bite of authentic food in Jamaica, go here! The patties are only $3 each, and they're delicious! Very flaky, buttery pastry pocket filled with yummy goodness. They have beef, veggie, and chicken.
We stood in the shade while I ate, and listened to that DJ for a while longer while we people-watched. I'm telling you, he's very entertaining
We returned to the ship....I think we were out there for about 2 hours or so. This was our view from our balcony:
We could still hear the DJ and his antics, so we hung out on the balcony for a few minutes to listen to him.
Wes took a nap, and I was determined to get some ice cream from the parlor on the Boardwalk. I got a scoop of vanilla in a (small) waffle cone. I think it cost about $2.50. If you've ever been to Cold Stone, the vanilla on the Boardwalk was closer to Sweet Cream than a traditional vanilla bean.
I had a total 'pregnancy brain' moment when heading back to the room. I walked all the way from the Boardwalk to room #590, and my room key didn't work. I totally forgot to go up one flight of stairs before going down the hallway, so I was actually at room #6590
! Fortunately it wasn't that long a walk to the forward stairs, so I made my way back upstairs quickly. When I returned to the room, Wes saw my ice cream cone and instantly wanted one, lol. So we went back down to the Boardwalk. That's another reason why I liked being on Deck 7- the Boardwalk was a short flight of stairs down. He got one of his favorites- Cookies and Cream in a cup.
We wandered up to the Sports Deck to watch the Flowrider for a while. It was fun watching some of the experts as well as those pretty new to it.
Some shots of the miniature golf course and the view down from the Sports Deck:
Once Wes saw that Izumi had hot rocks, he wanted to give it a try. We booked a 6 PM reservation, so we could watch sailaway from there...and also so we could go to the Main Dining Room afterward if we weren't full since the menu is pretty light. Here's a copy of the menu.
I have to admit I was a little skeptical at first, but we had a nice time. We had an INCREDIBLE view from our table.
First, we were given a complimentary bowl of edamame.
I tried the Shrimp Wonton Soup. The broth was rich, delicious...fabulous! The wonton itself was a little strange...too 'fishy' for me. Since the Miso Soup was complimentary, Wes gave it a try since he'd never had it before. He hated it, lol. I didn't like the taste myself.
I meant to just get some soup and the Chicken Kara-Age...but the novelty of the Hot Rocks took over and I ordered the same thing as Wes- the Chicken and Beef Skewer Rock.
We had a lot of fun cooking on the Hot Rocks. The meat was delicious and cooked quickly, with a nice sear on each side. Some coarse salt was placed on top of the Hot Rocks, which subtly seasoned the meat while it cooked. I was surprised that the rock stayed hot enough to cook everything through. You may want to cook all your meats in about two batches, moving them to the side where your veggies are when they're done. We didn't even need the sauces that accompanied the dishes. Total YUM
As we ate, sailaway started. There was the most beautiful sunset, and there were a lot of people lined up on the upper decks to take photos.
After dinner, we walked through the casino to Studio B, to see the How to Train Your Dragon Ice Show. I believe it showed at 7:30. No reservations needed for this one, you could just walk in and take your seat.
What a great show! They had a screen on each side of the rink that showed you the moments in the movie that corresponded to what was happening on ice. Very cool. If you can catch it, but sure to go see this one. It was only about 30 minutes long.
After the show, we went to the Royal Promenade to kill some time before dinner in the Main Dining Room. There was the dreaded $10 sale, and the Promenade was pure CHAOS. It was amazing how people were stepping over each other and pushing one another out the way, all for $10 watches and purses. Geez.
We sat a while and did some people-watching. We saw the Rising Tide Bar come down and go back up. Looked like a spaceship from our point of view:
Went to dinner in the MDR since Izumi didn't fill us up, lol. I just got the salmon this time. No appetizers since there were two desserts I really wanted to try (
): the Warm Chocolate Cake and the Strawberry Kiwi Pavlova. The chocolate cake was okay, and I loved the pavlova. 
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