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

[karajeboo]

Originally Posted by Beth D

Hooray for FE and found stuff! That would have been about 40 DOD's! Or 39 too many in my book!

I love the expression on Ally's face in the last picture with Goofy!

It's cause she's, you know, too cool for characters.....

Originally Posted by weswife

WOW!!!!! Your report was AWESOME! I loved the pics and videos! Your details were great!

Your trip looked like everyone had an amazing time! I am super excited for our 1st cruise on the Dream! I hope my family enjoys our trip as much as yours did.

As a side note my DH's video skills are equal to yours. My DH took a few still shots last year because he was sick of people asking if I went on the trip!

Thanks for sharing your wonderful memories!

I know you'll love the Dream! My only complaint is that a 3 or 4 night cruise is nowhere NEAR long enough to explore that beautiful ship! It's ginormous and so much to take in! We did the 4 night and I feel like I missed half the ship.....

Originally Posted by RGirl

Exactly! I'm sure that, if I ever remembered to take enough video to create some kind of fantastic movie project, iMovie would be a dream come true. But surely there has to be some easy way to get a simple video clip from an iPhone (or other device) to a Mac and then onto a hosting site!

Still working to figure it out.....

Originally Posted by tony64

Hi Kara

Is it time for a McUpdate yet. Pretty please.

I hope to update this week and keep going.... First couple weeks of school for Ally, plus cheerleading practice, plus plus plus..... it's been a bit hectic!

Originally Posted by kgoldenh

Oh I am so loving reliving the whole trip over again with you. the Fantasy was huge compared to the magic. it was weird standing on the top deck and looking into balconies.

I am so glad the wave phone was found. Whew!


cannot wait to see the next update
Kate

Do you miss it as much as I do, Kate????

[kgoldenh]

Originally Posted by karajeboo

Do you miss it as much as I do, Kate????

Kara - Oh My yes!. oh oh oh I have to tell you! Our table mates from the cruise moved to our area over the summer and we just went bowling and out to lunch with them on Monday. We had so much fun together on the cruise and we had so much fun on Monday. It was nice to be able to remember and relive. We have another booked but cannot go next spring break. I looked at June 2013 and there is nothing available. Waiting for 2014 itinereries to see what we can do....

Kate

[karajeboo]

Originally Posted by kgoldenh

Kara - Oh My yes!. oh oh oh I have to tell you! Our table mates from the cruise moved to our area over the summer and we just went bowling and out to lunch with them on Monday. We had so much fun together on the cruise and we had so much fun on Monday. It was nice to be able to remember and relive. We have another booked but cannot go next spring break. I looked at June 2013 and there is nothing available. Waiting for 2014 itinereries to see what we can do....

Kate

Wow!!! What a coincidence!!! That sounds like so much fun!

We are spring break 2013 on RCI Freedom of the Seas, then NYE on DCL Fantasy. Then we may take a "cruise break" according to Jeff. He misses the all inclusives.... so that may be a Cancun trip or Turks and Caicos next.... I don't know, it's sure hard to pass up the cruise.....

[Disney owl]

great reports thanks

[karajeboo]

Well, seems I'm having a terrible reaction to poison ivy..... Just when I think it's getting better, I break out even more. So between the prescription, plus the added Benadryl, I'm sleeping a lot, and when I'm awake, I'm scratching! So that's why I haven't posted..... I'm just a mess right now. Hope to get something done soon!!!

[KristiMc]

Hope you start feeling better. I had poison ivy this summer on my arm and it drove me crazy.

[Misskitty3]

Yikes! Hope you feel better soon!!

[kgoldenh]

Originally Posted by karajeboo

Well, seems I'm having a terrible reaction to poison ivy..... Just when I think it's getting better, I break out even more. So between the prescription, plus the added Benadryl, I'm sleeping a lot, and when I'm awake, I'm scratching! So that's why I haven't posted..... I'm just a mess right now. Hope to get something done soon!!!

Oh so sorry to hear about the poison ivy. Hope you are 100% real soon. Good luck with the no scratching.
kate

[jenseib]

Originally Posted by karajeboo

Well, seems I'm having a terrible reaction to poison ivy..... Just when I think it's getting better, I break out even more. So between the prescription, plus the added Benadryl, I'm sleeping a lot, and when I'm awake, I'm scratching! So that's why I haven't posted..... I'm just a mess right now. Hope to get something done soon!!!

I had it last summer and it would NOT go away...this is what my BIL told me to do. It will sound crazy...and it is. Scratch the heck out of it...get open skin from scratching...and apply bleach. It will BURN baby...but it will take the itch away and KILL it...it worked for me...and I was shocked, but I was at the point that I was about ready to cut my arm off from the itchiness.

[tony64]

Originally Posted by karajeboo

Well, seems I'm having a terrible reaction to poison ivy..... Just when I think it's getting better, I break out even more. So between the prescription, plus the added Benadryl, I'm sleeping a lot, and when I'm awake, I'm scratching! So that's why I haven't posted..... I'm just a mess right now. Hope to get something done soon!!!

Hope you're feeling better soon.

[hardingk]

Originally Posted by karajeboo

Well, seems I'm having a terrible reaction to poison ivy..... Just when I think it's getting better, I break out even more. So between the prescription, plus the added Benadryl, I'm sleeping a lot, and when I'm awake, I'm scratching! So that's why I haven't posted..... I'm just a mess right now. Hope to get something done soon!!!

Ugh...I have been there. Put bleach on cotton balls and apply directly to the poison ivy. It iwll dry it out. But be careful not to spill or touch anything...DH ruined our carpet this way! Or go swiming in a pool, the chlorine dries it out as well.

[jenseib]

Originally Posted by hardingk

Ugh...I have been there. Put bleach on cotton balls and apply directly to the poison ivy. It iwll dry it out. But be careful not to spill or touch anything...DH ruined our carpet this way! Or go swiming in a pool, the chlorine dries it out as well.

Yepp,I ruined a shirt.

[karajeboo]

The bleach is a Godsend!!!! I had a couple people on Facebook recommend it, too, so despite Jeff giving me "the eye," I tried it and after a split second of burning, it gets rid of the itch and really helps heal! I did it 3 times yesterday so decided to give my poor skin a break today and just use the steroid cream the Dr prescribed. Will bleach again tonight and hope I don't end up looking like Michael Jackson when this is all done....

Oh, and I"m working on an update now!!!!

[karajeboo]

As we made our way between the sister ships, we were amazed at how much larger the Fantasy was. I mean, I KNOW it's bigger, but it's really BIGGER!







We had our designated spot to wait for Tammi and Tori so we could make our way to a taxi, and soon they were there and we were off!





I did a TON of research on Cozumel and we decided we just wanted to do a "beach break" since Ally would have Tori there with her. It's tough sometimes having an only child, even though Ally is very outgoing, so we wanted to take full advantage of having another kid along that was the same age.....

So we decided on Mr Sanchos.

I was torn between Mr Sanchos and Nachi Cocom, and what I concluded was that Mr Sanchos was a bit more lively than Nachi, and that fit our group.

The taxi ride was $25 each way, and that goodness for the Taxi Nazis who were standing at the curb doing nothing but snagging cabs for tourists coming from the port. It was crazy and hectic, but all in all, it made sense. Does THAT even make sense????

The ride took maybe 15 or 20 minutes and soon we pulled up out front. We had already reserved our spots for the day, and got a 10% discount from a site onlne. I believe it was about $50 per adult and about $30 for kids. This was for the ALL-INCLUSIVE pass, which included all you can eat and drink, plus use of the oceanfront pool, and water park (mostly inflatables in the water).





I was really afraid this place would be PACKED with 5 ships in port, but maybe it was because of the overcast skies that it was not crowded at all.

As soon as we arrived, we were taken to our own palapa where we made ourselves at home and ordered the first of many drinks!!!







The girls headed straight out to the beach in front of us and we didn't see much of them for awhile (of course you know we mamas and daddys kept that one eye on them>.......)

As soon as our fruity drinks arrived, we ordered some shrimp ceviche and nachos..... Now I must say that the drinks came so fast we didn't even have to order them! Literally. As soon as they got low, Luis was quick with refills, which may explain why we didn't need much to eat. The food was very slow coming out, but the blended frozen drinks really filled us up.



Luis was a hoot, as were Julio and I cannot remember the 3rd server's name! They were so much fun and very good at taking care of us.





As the day wore on, the beach filled up a bit, but it never felt crowded at all.



Jeff took Ally and Tori to get snorkel gear and they spent all of 30 seconds snorkeling off the beach. It was very cloudy though, so they ended up meeting another girl and just hanging out on the beach.....





This day was just so relaxing. And the drinks just kept flowing.....

Continued next post.....

[karajeboo]

After a little lunch, we made our way over to the pool, since Ally and Tori were tired of the beach and sand where it shouldn't be......

And what did they have at the pool? A swim up bar!!!!



Over there to the left is the Non-all inclusive side of the beach. They do not have access to the pool or the palapas...... They can just order ala carte.







This was a lot of fun because we had our little table in the pool, the bar was right there, and the girls were swimming right there with us, so we were all together.

And of course they had great fruity drinks for Ally and Tori, too!







Oh yeah, I'm raising her right......





Really, this day could not have been any better. It was so relaxing....

But soon it was time to head back to the ship so we had to say goodbye to Luis and Julio and what'shisname......







Again, the taxi service was a piece of cake - there was a line waiting out front for us and we were off!

Time for a couple more pics before we boarded our girl.....



And keep in mind, that the Magic was sticking out past the Fantasy in the back - the Fantasy is not THAT much longer!





Up next..... Aargghh, it's Pirate Night!!!!