I LOVE Comedians with Guitars......You didn't tell me that part...

[jenseib]

I sure hope that the hospital food there is better than it is here in Louisiana. Maybe he's trying different foods because nothing tastes good.

It sounds like the best bet would be to have the IV meds while at home. At least that way, he may stay still.

Hum, maybe you need to gather up a bunch of farm books before you go visit him. Do they have farm books that can be downloaded on the Kindle?

The food is actually pretty good there. he has a menu and can just call whenever he wants. We ended up going to visit him today and he ordered 2 bags of chips and 2 bags of pretzels while we were there.
Of course Claire grabbed on bag immediately.
They have a really good cheesecake and if I was staying there I would be ordering it about once an hour. LOL

Farm books? So NOW who's boring?

I know. Talk about snoozer there. When I visited today I really worked at talking and I kept telling him he needed to chat back because I was updating him like he wanted.

I think I might work on a update tonight. I have been working on work off and on all day and I am just so ready for a break from it.

 

[jenseib]

Sept. 28,2012 Day 8

Navigators of the day.

I believe I actually tried to sleep in a bit today. Which might mean I slept till 7. I think by 7:30 this was the view from our balcony.

That Carnival ship was still out there in the distance.

We still had a full sea day left, but it was kind of sad that we were heading home.

Lisa and I got some breakfast.

Rumor is that when the Magic goes in dry dock they are going to take this aft seating out or at least make it smaller. That saddens me. This was our favorite spot to eat every day. It was just beautiful and peaceful.

After we ate we headed to the adult pool area and just sat around and watched the guys work.

We decided to head to the guest service desk and check our accounts. We both paid ours off with cash. I wasnt sure if I would add anything more to my account, but it was nice not to have it all go on my credit card.

Then of course we headed to the shops.

Lisa was looking for something here, but I dont remember what or if she found it.

We browsed around and I had been looking at a sweatshirt. It was on sale. Not screaming Disney, but did say Disney cruise line on it. I decided to get one for myself. I dont have pictures of it. At least not that I remember taking any. Its blue and pretty basic with an Anchor on it, but I liked it and the price was good. I also found one in Claire's size, also on clearance and grabbed it. Then I thought .....hmm , my niece Abby just had her b-day and her family party was going to be the day after I got home (Sunday). I hadnt gotten anything yet for her besides a small purse in Cozumel, so I got one for her as well.
And I also had been looking at the frame. I bought a few prints last year on the Dream and some were on odd size and I have yet to find a frame to fit them. So I took the plunge and bought one that would fit the picture. I immediately framed it when I got home.

I also debated on getting Abby a Disney gift card. They had the cutest one with a DCL theme on it. But I only wanted it for $10. Just a filler gift. The minimum had to be $25, so I passed on it.
I got some candy and a few other small things for Claire and her cousins and added right back to the account I had just paid off.

We then headed back to the room and put away our purchases and went to the pool.

I sat under my favorite spot, the waterfall for a bit.

The other gals were out there again too. The water was a bit cooler today, but still nice and not as high either. We bobbed around in the pool again for an hour or 2 and chatted away. This is the life. I am not a swimmer, but I dont mind bobbing around and talking on a hot day.

After a while we got hungry so we headed off to Topsiders.

It was a seafood buffet today and also a BBQ on the back deck.

We headed back to our favorite spot and found a table.

MMMMMM! Crab legs!

We enjoyed our meal and as you know, when eating crab legs, it takes a bit to crack them, but it is so worth it. These werent the best I ever had, but they were still good.

We never got anything off the BBQ grill, but I did take a couple of pictures.

We then headed back to our room.

 

[jenseib]

I got changed. I wanted to go to a towel animal class. No one else had seemed interested, which was OK by me. I think Lisa went back to the pool.

I found a seat quickly. I seemed to have a good view from what I could tell. We were given some towels and a sheet with some directions.

While I was waiting for it to start, a Mom came in with her 2 sons. They sat down in the row in front of me, but luckily they were not blocking my view. But I found them kind of annoying. Mostly because the Mom was a loud bragger talker. You know the kind, they talk really loud so you can’t help but hear every word they say and then it’s about things they are sort of bragging about and then you see them kind of look around to see if others heard and wanting a reaction. I really can’t stand those kinds of people. I can take them in small doses, but she just kept going on and on and on about things. Things that had nothing to do with the class.
So she bragged away and I played around with my camera and then all of a sudden the Dad of the family surprised them and walked in. Well she got even louder then. She was so excited that Dad chose to come to the class, and blah blah blah, but we ALL heard about it. And of course he sat right in front of me and his head was totally blocking my view, so I ended up moving my chair so I could see better.

Soon our host arrived and he brought up another helper who just kept making towels for show.

He told the kids to go out on the floor where you would have more room and loud talking Mom went out as well, but she still never shut up.

We were instructed on a few towels. I thought it was fun.

My elephant.

My dog.

Working on a monkey.

I had the most trouble with the monkey, but I am sure with practice I could master him.

After we were done, I went and took some pictures of some of the sample animals.

After the class I just went around and took more pictures on the ship.

I was trying to get Mickey from every angle.

 

[jenseib]

A few more pictures around the Atrium.

The port excursion desk was empty now that we were heading back to Galveston.

And walking down the hallway.

I decided I needed more pictures of the Promenade Lounge.

 

[jenseib]

The Lounge had a ton of these mirrors all over and I tried to get pictures of most of them.

There is also an internet café located here.

I made my way out and took more pictures along the way.

I headed out towards the pool. I think I found Lisa on the top deck catching some rays.

And look who else I found.

I went down and sat along the edge and chatted with them.

I took a couple of pictures while sitting there too.

 

[dolphingirl47]

I love your pictures as usual. You did a lot better on your towel animals than I did during my only attempt in 2008.

Corinna

 

[jenseib]

I love your pictures as usual. You did a lot better on your towel animals than I did during my only attempt in 2008.

Corinna

Thanks. I thought it was a fun thing to do.

 

[mom2rtk]

OK, I just showed Katie your towel animal class photos. She's totally on board with a Disney cruise now! Too bad my husband isn't!

I knew she'd love that though. The server at Be Our Guest showed the girls how to fold the napkins into roses and every meal of ours from there on out was a rose folding competition!

How can it even be possible that you're on your way back already!

Did you get Skip to sign off on your next cruise before agreeing to take him home from the hospital?

 

[vleeth]

Wow, missed so much in so little time.

So sorry to hear about Skip. Dave had a detached retina last spring and I remember all too well the stress of it all and having to take care of him. Try to remember to take care of yourself too!

I keep seeing things in your trip report I missed on my cruise. We never made in the adult pool and I totally missed the waterfall. We ate outside several times and didn't ever see them grilling. But awesome tr as usual.

 

[Wicket's Mom]

The towel class looks like fun. I also like to fold napkins which I do if I'm trying to be fancy at holiday dinners.

On our cruises I would come back to the cabin to find my nightgowns on the bed in animal shapes. It was fun waiting to see what kind of creature was next. Now it seems creepy! LOL

I like how you can go off on your own, not have to be together all the time. I like to be off alone at times.

 

[Beth D]

THey have since blocked pictures on this site when i'm on at work, so no more lunch hour TR reading!

I hope the patient is doing better! Thoughts for a speedy recovery!

DH and I did Palo dinner on our cruise and loved it, especially that balslamic vinegar on the antipasto cart! However my dad is Italian, so much more was familiar to me! The only thing wrong with my chocolate souffle - I was too full to eat it all, and a little queasy from first night and motion!

Maybe next time we'll try brunch with my parents...

Again - love all your pics!

 

[jenseib]

OK, I just showed Katie your towel animal class photos. She's totally on board with a Disney cruise now! Too bad my husband isn't!

I knew she'd love that though. The server at Be Our Guest showed the girls how to fold the napkins into roses and every meal of ours from there on out was a rose folding competition!

How can it even be possible that you're on your way back already!

Did you get Skip to sign off on your next cruise before agreeing to take him home from the hospital?

You could always got to WDW for like 3 days with Drew and then when he goes home head over to the port and cruise for a 3 or 4 nighter.
I did mention to Skip yesterday that since he missed out on my b-day that I was working on my gift and had a good idea in mind. He didn't even ask what.

Wow, missed so much in so little time.

So sorry to hear about Skip. Dave had a detached retina last spring and I remember all too well the stress of it all and having to take care of him. Try to remember to take care of yourself too!

I keep seeing things in your trip report I missed on my cruise. We never made in the adult pool and I totally missed the waterfall. We ate outside several times and didn't ever see them grilling. But awesome tr as usual.

Men are not very good patients at all. I may go insane before this is all over with.
You can read about the same trip by 3 different people and get totally different aspects of it. I bet if Brook wrote about her experience you would learn a few other things I didn't mention. Plus she did different things at different times too.
They only grilled that last sea day that I know of. I know years ago when I sailed on NCL they almost had a grill out daily.

The towel class looks like fun. I also like to fold napkins which I do if I'm trying to be fancy at holiday dinners.

On our cruises I would come back to the cabin to find my nightgowns on the bed in animal shapes. It was fun waiting to see what kind of creature was next. Now it seems creepy! LOL

I like how you can go off on your own, not have to be together all the time. I like to be off alone at times.

The class was fun. I agree though I am not really sure I want them using my personal clothing as part of the art, but I heave heard it is done as well.
I do love going off on my own. And Lisa was good with doing her thing too. Thats one reason we travel well together. I have another friend that I think would've followed me everywhere, even if it wasn't something she wanted to do.

THey have since blocked pictures on this site when i'm on at work, so no more lunch hour TR reading!

I hope the patient is doing better! Thoughts for a speedy recovery!

DH and I did Palo dinner on our cruise and loved it, especially that balslamic vinegar on the antipasto cart! However my dad is Italian, so much more was familiar to me! The only thing wrong with my chocolate souffle - I was too full to eat it all, and a little queasy from first night and motion!

Maybe next time we'll try brunch with my parents...

Again - love all your pics!

The patient is still sleeping this morning. So I have a little quiet time.

I don't think the antipasto cart is my thing. I know lots of people do love it though. I really enjoyed brunch on the Dream though. That was darn good!

 

[francis6306]

Again there you are with pictures with NO people in them on the cruise… yet that PERFECT shot on facebook from EPCOT you get some random kids??? Clearly, you are just meant to take pictures for the DCL!

 

[jenseib]

Again there you are with pictures with NO people in them on the cruise… yet that PERFECT shot on facebook from EPCOT you get some random kids??? Clearly, you are just meant to take pictures for the DCL!

LOL.
that picture at Epcot is just too cute. I wish I knew who the kids belonged to and I would send them a copy

 

[jenseib]

After chatting with the girls by the pool, I made my way back towards the room. We were going to meet a little later and go on the Art of the Theme Show Ship tour.
As I was walking I took a few pictures once again.

This totally cracked me up. This little girl was getting her hair braided and was sound asleep.

Toy Story was playing on the big screen.

I headed back to the room and freshened up. I believe Lisa came back for a bit too. She wasn’t in the mood for a tour, so she was just going to go off and do her own thing.

The tour was to meet outside of Palo. I was one of the first to arrive.

And while you wait, you take pictures ….right?

Brook and the others arrived. Brook took this picture. I have the stupidest look on my face. LOL

This was our guide. I believe his name is Andy.

One of the last to come in for the tour was Jazzy! Remember her, the lady who can dance. We are such dorks, but we acted like we had a celebrity joining us.

Andy started up. He was really good. He was fun and informative. We learned about the book Palo has. Everyone who dines there is supposed to sign it. Something we did not know, and I had planned to go back later and sign it but I never did.

He also told us about the glass in Palo, and for the life of my I don’t remember its importance anymore.

We also learned about the guy that watched the ship being built and made this mask as a gift.

We moved on making stops here and there and learning different things like the carpets and how some have different meanings and the different signs on the ship. Many of it you notice, but not really, more subliminal.

Andy made a joke about the wave phones. He said he had been with Disney since Feb (it was now Sept) and he still couldn’t figure out how to use the dang things. Which was pretty funny as they are horrid. I can’t figure them out to save my life.

While standing here Lisa comes walking down the hall. We tried to get her to join us, but she left shortly after. It was kind of funny as Andy had said something about Fluffy. I can’t even remember what, but I looked up and saw Lisa, and Fluffy is her nickname. Back in our bar days she always had a ton of fluffy hair and people just started calling her that.

We made a stop near the nursery. I didn’t know this, but originally the ship was not built with one. This was an extra kitchen area. After a few months of sailing they realized this was a must for Disney and they gutted it and converted it. The Wonder was built the same way and on her transatlantic crossing she was gutted and redone into a nursery as well.
Also I did not know the glass was on one way mirror so parents can come and look in, but the kids don’t see them.

 

[jenseib]

We next made our way towards the atrium.

See the lady with the yellow tank top? That’s Jazzy!

Something I did not know was that the chandelier is made of plastic and not glass, as glass was too heavy.

And look who we spot! It’s always fun to see a character out.

I LOVE you Goopy!!!!!! (Claire used to always call him that and he was her favorite when she was about 2)

We checked out these pictures with facts about the ship. If you ever get a chance take a look at them. They are really interesting.

Another character sighting! The Big Cheese himself!

If you remember way back earlier in this report I mentioned that Walt was missing something in this picture.

It was his cigarette! I am not sure if the original ship mural had it or if it was made this way from the start. I have heard from some that it was there, but Andy made it sound like it wasn’t.

Moving on.

It was kind of funny as when we would stop at times, a few other people would stop for a bit and listen in. I am sure not everyone realized they had “free” ship tours. I am really glad I read about it and took it. It was very interesting.

We started to head outside and guess what? It was raining! But Andy said he had something he wanted to show us and we had a roof over us, so we would be fine.

The ships belly button! This is where the 2 halves were brought together and welded. The Wonder also has a belly button, but was made as a whole rather than halves, but they felt she needed a belly button to so they just put one on her. I don’t think the Dream and Fantasy have them though.

Trying to get artsy while Andy talked.

The sun was trying to peek through.

Andy then told us the story about the ships color. Monica Blue. I have heard this story before and it is always similar, but not always the exact same. Basically the story is that they were trying to come up with a color. They wanted black like the old ocean liners had, but yet that was drab, and they wanted blue, but there was some issue with that. Monica, who was a secretary or something along those lines was wearing a very dark blue skirt, dress, or pants, depending on who tells it and they said I want that color and they had the color made specially going off her clothing. So it is now called Monica blue. And she still works for the company, and if I remember right is quite high up now.

And then a freaky thing happened. Look at the sky.

It cleared up in a matter of seconds. Andy looks back and gives this funny look and says “well that is a bit creepy”. LOL

We finished up talking a bit outside and headed back in for the final bit of the tour.

 

[Luv2Diz]

Enjoyed reliving our cruises via your Art of the Theme Show Tour photos. We've done it twice now and would do it yet again - we've learned different things each time. Andy wasn't the guide on our tour but we saw him a number of times around the ship and he was a hoot!

 

[jenseib]

Enjoyed reliving our cruises via your Art of the Theme Show Tour photos. We've done it twice now and would do it yet again - we've learned different things each time. Andy wasn't the guide on our tour but we saw him a number of times around the ship and he was a hoot!

I would do it again too. It was really neat and I love all that info. Andy was fun. I saw him many times too throughout the cruise and he is always so cheery.

 

[francis6306]

Monica Blue… how funny is that! I love it!

I can't believe that the ship was built without a nursery!! That just seems crazy to me! Not that I'm one to go on a cruise all the time, but it just seems to me that it would be a no brainer!

Funny story tonight- Cortlyn and I were catching up on Live with Kelly and Michael and Cortlyn says "Mom, one day, can we go back to Disney World?" I said "of course babydoll!" The next statement- I swear… ALL on her own: "Can we live on a cruise boat that time?" (Cortlyn says "live" instead of "stay") I looked at her and smiled and said "I think we can work something out on that!

 

[Beth D]

The tour looks fun! You must have sailed right out of the storm!