The McSparklesons Sail the Magic... AGAIN! $500 Potato Chips! 3/13

[karajeboo]

Originally Posted by Cheryl726

Very nice pics w/the Captain! Looking forward to reading about Grand Cayman!

He was a bit goofy, but he tried to actually talk to us, bless his heart.

Originally Posted by Wicket's Mom

I love lemon foods, I agree with you they are very refreshing.

Dahlin, you look mahvolous! Love that red dress on you, the shoes not so much. Those things kill my feet ergo I won't wear them!

Ally looked so grown up in her red dress. Quite the young lady!

Those are truly VERY comfortable shoes!!!! And when you think about the platform, the heel is not nearly as high as it looks.... LOVE them!

I just asked Ally what color dresses we should wear for our Freedom of the Seas cruise this year. She's thinking about it.....

Originally Posted by KristiMc

We had Mo for our server at brunch also - very good.

I started a trip report. Steve and I are writing it together - should be interesting.

We had Mo for brunch AND dinner (we kinda requested each other!). Loved him! And I"m already laughing at your TR - you two are a hoot!

Originally Posted by kgoldenh

Oh Kara -you all look amazing in those photos. I love your dress!

I love the captain's reception - first cruise I had no idea those drinks were free so we skipped. This time though ... Well let's just say they were yummy!

hmm the food. I am thinking we must have skipped dessert that evening - wishing we had not. those desserts look amazing!

hmmm cannot wait to hear about grand cayman.

kate

Hey Kate! Isn't free always better? lol

Originally Posted by nkochrn

LOVED reading your TR, I feel like I was right there along with ya. OHHHHH I can't wait until January, reading these TR makes me so anxious to get to Port Canaveral.

I can't wait to hear about the rest of the trip and I'm starving thinking about all that food!!!

You'll LOVE it!!! So awesome, I'm jonesing for another cruise so bad!

Originally Posted by Beth D

MMM those drinks look so refreshing! And free is even better! We'll definitely have to hit the captains reception next time we cruise...

The SPANX were a must have for most of my dresses on the cruise too! Our food was FAB! Even mr grumpy gourmet dad loved every meal and didn't complain once!

I love the food on DCL - of course I don't have any other cruise lines to compare to... yet! But there has only been one entree I flat out didn't enjoy and that was the first night on this cruise. Everything else has been great!

Spanx are my best friend.....

[dvc4life]

Ah, hell, I think spanx are even to tight! Give me my baggie old sweats.

Great update Kara! You and your family always look so nice in your photos. Love that you and Ally always match. And free drinks. . . . . . always a plus!

[saintstickets]

Originally Posted by karajeboo

This is the first night the spanx started screaming.

That's when the spanx started SCREAMING!!!!

But that's not all that started screaming.....

Jeff and I headed back to the room to get changed and off we went to find some adult entertainment...

Spanx, screaming, adult entertainment.... I don't know...those DISboard monitors must be sleeping!

After reading this TR and enjoying it very much, I think I will take a chance and take DW on a cruise...even though every time we talk about a cruise, she wants to know how much life insurance I have!?!? Maybe we will go and I will just avoid any late night strolls on the lido deck!

[jenseib]

I have never worn spanx. I do the bike shorts under dresses...but I think I have stretched them too far out and should look into spanx!

Fun evening. I need to add Claire's b-day to our cruise. She's one month shy of it..but we're celebrating anyways!

[MAGICFOR2]

Nice update! Looks like Ally had the perfect celebration, well, minus the Jonas Bros. showing up to sing to her, but dancing with Minnie isn't bad.

Love the shoes - looks like they were almost worth the pain! I have just about come to the conclusion that Spanx scream just too much for me - I pack them, then think about wearing them and wonder how I will get it all tucked in KWIM?

DGS,4 just got up from his nap and wants me to share AND with you - he is intrigued by the smiley's

[CRdisMom]

Spanx actually were prescribed to me by my cardiologist instead of compression stalkings so I'll take them. They do put things in the right place for a while plus I need less chub rub when I wear them.

[anewmac]

Originally Posted by karajeboo

I think this is the day that our vacation REALLY started. I mean, Day 1 is so overwhelming that you really don't get to relax and enjoy. In this case, Day 2 was in KW and we didn't really get to enjoy as much of the ship, so we decided TODAY was the start of R&R for the week!

I have no idea what your talking about after the like 4th drink im relaxed on day 1... just saying

One thing we learned after our first DCL cruise.... the drinks at the captain's reception do NOT go on your shipboard account! Bottoms up!
we didnt make it last time.. I was PO'd


Now, I'm not sure if it was seeing two ladies in red, or if he was aware of our collision course with an iceberg, but ole Captain Robert was sweating like nothing I've ever seen!!!! I mean, SWEAT!
dear god you can see it.. I hope he never lifted his arms up LOL

Ally was ordering off the adult menu a lot this trip, and she ordered the Parma Ham Wrapped Chicken Breast - Stuffed with mozzarella cheese and vine ripened tomatoes on fingerling potatoes drizzled with spinach pesto and proclaimed it a "keeper."
I dont know everything looks GREAT

COFFEE! With a little sumpin sumpin on the side.... as in Frangelico!
yummo!

Our servers made a HUGE deal out of her birthday, much more so than last year it seems....
awesome!

I bought a special cake for her birthday, but I don't think I'd do it again. It was beautiful, and really tasty, but if I recall it was about $30 and we gave it to our servers to take back to their room.
so you bought cake for all the CM's to have.. your so nice LOL

Originally Posted by karajeboo

But spanx? They can help out a whole midsection. I mean, top to bottome. Am I right or am I right????
oh ya... i feel ya.. I have a few pairs.. they all are equilly my enemy (i guess its not totally their fault but still)

Now Minnie entertaining the kids is great. And this is exactly why I say the DCL is so much more intimate than WDW.
I agree no one wants to wait in long lines at the park for a 2 second pics with a rat, when there are lines to be waiting in to get on rides LOL. I would much rather wait in line at the bar while Goofy walks by in a conga line with the kids next to the pool!

That's when the spanx started SCREAMING!!!!

But that's not all that started screaming.....

Again, ladies, need I say more?????
aww man you are getting it from both ends.. err umm figure of speach. any consolation the shoes are HAWT! and you looked amazing in that dress!

I believe Tammi must have made the girls a better offer, because Ally ditched us and Jeff and I settled in to watch the show.....
maybe she was giving you guys time to make out in the back row.. not you and the mouse you and Jeff!

After the show we went to find Ally and quickly learned why she ditched us.....
smart girl!

Up next: Grand Cayman and the BEST port excursion EVAH!!!!

cant wait to hear what your doing

Originally Posted by CRdisMom

Spanx actually were prescribed to me by my cardiologist instead of compression stalkings so I'll take them. They do put things in the right place for a while plus I need less chub rub when I wear them.

I hear ya.. my thighs would be sweating more that Captain Robert... NOT PRETTY

and btw happy dance only 300 days till we get our drink on .. OH YA!

[mainstreet1997]

Oh you're pic with the captain is so much better than ours! In ours we are WAY to the right and Captain Tom was WAY to the left. Did I smell? I swear I showered before dinner - it was formal night after all. I swear we stood where the photographer told us to. He wasn't exactly smiling in the pic either. As you can guess, we didn't buy that one

[karajeboo]

Originally Posted by dvc4life

Ah, hell, I think spanx are even to tight! Give me my baggie old sweats.

Great update Kara! You and your family always look so nice in your photos. Love that you and Ally always match. And free drinks. . . . . . always a plus!

Spanx ARE too tight! And that's when you first put them on.... add food, booze, and THAT is why they start screaming!!!

I was just asking Ally last night what color we should wear next year and she said lime green.....

Originally Posted by saintstickets

Spanx, screaming, adult entertainment.... I don't know...those DISboard monitors must be sleeping!

After reading this TR and enjoying it very much, I think I will take a chance and take DW on a cruise...even though every time we talk about a cruise, she wants to know how much life insurance I have!?!? Maybe we will go and I will just avoid any late night strolls on the lido deck!

Don't kid yourself, I up Jeff's life insurance before every vacay.... icebergs, my friend. Icebergs.

Originally Posted by jenseib

I have never worn spanx. I do the bike shorts under dresses...but I think I have stretched them too far out and should look into spanx!

Fun evening. I need to add Claire's b-day to our cruise. She's one month shy of it..but we're celebrating anyways!

I actually prefer Vera Wang's version of spanx. They are softer and have a little more "give."

Originally Posted by MAGICFOR2

Nice update! Looks like Ally had the perfect celebration, well, minus the Jonas Bros. showing up to sing to her, but dancing with Minnie isn't bad.

Love the shoes - looks like they were almost worth the pain! I have just about come to the conclusion that Spanx scream just too much for me - I pack them, then think about wearing them and wonder how I will get it all tucked in KWIM?

DGS,4 just got up from his nap and wants me to share AND with you - he is intrigued by the smiley's

Jeff leaves the room laughing when I am "dressing" for dinner. And he was not happy about my shoes, thought they would make me taller than him, and it was close!

Originally Posted by CRdisMom

Spanx actually were prescribed to me by my cardiologist instead of compression stalkings so I'll take them. They do put things in the right place for a while plus I need less chub rub when I wear them.

Less chub rub!!!!

Originally Posted by anewmac

cant wait to hear what your doing


I hear ya.. my thighs would be sweating more that Captain Robert... NOT PRETTY

and btw happy dance only 300 days till we get our drink on .. OH YA!

Actually only 298 now.... just sayin....

Originally Posted by mainstreet1997

Oh you're pic with the captain is so much better than ours! In ours we are WAY to the right and Captain Tom was WAY to the left. Did I smell? I swear I showered before dinner - it was formal night after all. I swear we stood where the photographer told us to. He wasn't exactly smiling in the pic either. As you can guess, we didn't buy that one

I think that's how our pic with Mickey is! Jeff saw it and asked if I showered!!!!

[papertraveller]

Okay now all this spanx talk is just making me nervous! I can't even get brave enough to walk into the department at my friendly neighbourhood department store!

Every size is 80 sizes too small when I see it on the hanger. And once I'm in them, just how the #$%* do I get out?

[KristiMc]

The first time I did the spanx thing was on the March 2011 cruise. Let's just say I am done with spanx. It sucked everything in so much that I started getting sick at our Palo dinner - no where for all the food to go - never again.

[brookelizabeth]

Oh the spanx! Our formal night wasn't bad, but by semi-formal night when I had already gained 5 pounds and had to squeeeeeeeze myself into a dress, oh Lordy. It was ugly. I feel your pain!

Seeing all your pics makes me want to be back on that ship RIGHT NOW!!!!

[podsnel]

I don't care if the dress was tight or not- you looked GORGEOUS on formal night! You rocked that red, my friend!

Love the MIB dudes- did they ever find the aliens on board? (It was the captain, right?)

How many more days until CA? Joanie gets back from her southwest odessey tomorrow night- she's been sending me updates everyday, and it looks like they were VERY active and having a blast.

I had a dream last night and you came to visit me- for my birthday. Hmmmm........

[LittleGirlGrey]

Hi! Love all of your updates! I don't know if anyone answered your question about the Sugar Sculpture at Palo's?

But I'm a Chef *just graduated!!!* and yes, that is made of sugar. But not the sugar you eat. It would make you sick if you did!

Going to go read more now!

[karajeboo]

So soon Jeff was up (with no alarm again) and after roaming around and grabbing the sunrise shot....



it was time for him to wake the rest of us.....

We were all really excited to be seeing a new port today, so up on deck we went to check out Grand Cayman as we dropped anchor....

It's flat. Pancake flat. So not that exciting or beautiful to see upon approach. No mountains. Just flapjacks.....

We were all ready to go pretty fast because we had heard horror stories about getting on early tenders or being stuck waiting..... And McSparklesons do NOT like to wait!

We were on the second or third tender, mainly because we had a bit of confusion regarding our excursion.

Let me just say up front that this was the BEST excursion we've ever had in 2 cruises. So much so that we booked them again for next year's Royal Caribbean cruise.

But when I was doing final confirmations a couple weeks before we left, I was exchanging emails and asking what time we should meet them upon arrival. I was told 10:00 am.

But we were getting in at 7? No, I was told, GC Port Authority had us coming in at 9. But everything I read on DCL's site and our DCL confirmations, showed us arriving at 7.

They wouldn't budge because they have to go by Port Authority since they are the "authority." Hmmmm.

So I emailed Grand Cayman Port Authority and was told......"We have you scheduled at 9am but really anytime after 7 they can come in."

Well, isn't that just clear as mud!!!! No problem, we'll just hang out and enjoy the sights of Flapjackland until our excursion begins.

Even the map showed us tendered just off a pancake....



I think we made it on the 2nd tender so we were off for the short trip to the mainland....







There's just something about the lines of a DCL ship. Beautiful.





Once on land we wanted to get our bearings. Knowing we had to meet our captain (not Bobby, but my NEW favorite captain... Jordan ), at the Hard Rock Cafe at 10am, we quickly found the Hard Rock and just decided to kill some time until then. We told Tammie and Tori to just meet us there.

Ally quickly made new friends....







We were all getting antsy, wondering if our captain would show up early, knowing that we were already in. We tried everything to make a local call from the island, even trying one of the 6,457 pay phones advertising, "Call Home!" I felt like E.T. the entire time but still couldn't make a call!

That's when Jeff made a friend.

We asked this lovely lady at the "soda cart" how to dial local from the pay phones and she asked us for the number and called our excursion operator for us and told them we were ready.

They said, "Tell them we'll pick them up at 10!"

No problem. Because that's when Jeff said, "Well look who's coming...."



Here comes the Fantasy!!!!



At first I felt silly taking all these pics, but before long the street was full of other people just like me, all getting shots of "history in the making" again!





Nah nah nah nah nah nahhhhhh, we got here fiiiirrrrsssttt!!!!









Before long, we saw a van pull up with "Fat Fish Adventures" on the side. Here comes our ride!!!!!!

Up next, The BEST excursion EVAH!!! And here's why......



Oh yeah..... But despite our yummy captain, or maybe BECAUSE of our yummy captain, I was finally able to relax for the first time on this cruise......