DisneyZell
Likes Adventures on the High Seas
- Joined
- Sep 28, 2004
Ah, how time flies when youre not working on trip reports! Snow on the ground a snowstorm on the way and it's time to slide back into the dream world that is DCL.
by this time on the cruise time was really starting to march, but today was Tuesday, and we were docked at Cozumel. Today was a day for rebellion and relaxation. For today was a day we say "no thank you" to getting off the ship and instead stay at home the whole day.
I like to think of it as a bonus sea day...but with a kicker...no one else onboard! obviously that changed throughout the day...but you get my point!
However, before I go to far, wanted to share a pictures. This was taken by our neighbors in the cabin next to ours. I don't think I did a good end to end cabin shot...and they did....so I am stealing it for my purposes!
this is not our room. But looks very similar, only backward. 
Alas, today was a day we got to return to the promised land....Topsiders. I diligently used the hand wipes on the way in (by the way (yeah, here I go), I think that it is very cool that they do everything they can to keep everyone healthy. I know, I know, it's in their best interest, but the fact that they have it out there in front of you all the time just says good things about DCL. Heck, it makes me want to make the kids wash their hands before meals. Not that I never did that before, but it definitely makes you think about being clean, and how that might, just might keep you healthy. The first cruise on DCL I don't think they did that...and Dw and I both were sick as dogs for a full day. So I choose to believe the reason it didn't happen after that was because of the people who have to stand there and hold the towels out time after time. Do you think their hands get tired after a while? but I digress).
And yes, it was time for bacon. And syrup. A bowl of it actually. Yes, to some of you this might sound gross, but those of you who think that are clearly the folks who have never tried to dip your bacon in a bowl of goodness.
Now, one thing I must say is that from the last cruise until now Disney must have changed syrup. It wasn't nearly as good as before. Not so bad that I'd want to say something, or complain about it (uh...well...um...ok, other than here), but it was not as good. Yes, I continued to eat it every breakfast, but something was changed about it....I think it's a plot by THE MAN. no, I have no idea who the man is...do you?
After stuffing ourselves (we had to stuff ourselves...heck, it had been almost 9 hours since our last meal!
and you never know where you might find your next meal onboard.
Our next destination: Ocean Quest. Now, neither of our boys are old enough for Ocean Quest normally, but today was an open house. So we went and checked it out. It's basically a bunch of video game stations, and the mother lode, a ship simulator. There were kids playing it when we went in (who do they think they are???), so we dinked around on other things.
DW by this time was annoyed because it was just video games. While I remember this distinctly, I read in her journal what she really thinks of us and I quote "The 3 boys were in heaven. I decided to leave because I could play video games at home". Harrumph. Is it just me, or do you read into that sentence that she is implying that I am a boy? I mean...we have two boys...and the only other male member of our family was left at home in the Kennel. Do you suppose she could mean....me?
Anyhoo, she headed off to the pool while the kids and I hung around and shortly thereafter got to drive the Magic. Yes, DS6, DS10 and I drove the Magic. I didn't want to get involved. This was kid stuff, you know? But after driving the ship into the ground time after time after time (and the ship kept having to drydock, and I know how all of you hate drydocking because of the time you can't spend on the Magic), I felt it was time for me to step in where we successfully steered the ship on several missions including one where you had to turn it every few feet and maneuver through coral. We got a commendation for that one I believe, and I was SURE that Captain Tom was going to come and speak to us and ask us to come help him steer.
Surprisingly that did not happen. Ah well...such is life. Genius is often overlooked!
Now, if you were asking yourself why in the heck we would not get off the ship in Cozumel I think I already gave you the answer...but being generous I'll give it to you again!
In 2006 we did the same itinerary (except we didn't get to double dip!). So we had already dont Cozumel. In 2006 DW and DS10 (then 8) did the dolphin excursion, and DS6 (then 4) went to a beach which I can't remember the name of. Frankly speaking it was a nightmare. I was constantly worried about my video camera...we were hungry and I was a bit afraid of the food (being Mexico). We were supposed to meet the ladies and older boys at this beach but they never made it because the dolphin thing took too long...all-in-all it just was not a good memory for me. We weren't doing any excursions this time, so no reason to get off the ship. Woohoo!
Why woohoo??? Picture a sea day...with activities and really nothing to do but WHATEVER you wanted to do. Now picture that with no people. That's why the woohoo. Obviously if you have never been to a port you should try to get off, I'm certainly not discouraging that. However, if you get the chance, experiencing an almost empty ship is nice. And because it's your home you are steps from everything you need. The pool is empty because everyone is at the beach instead. And there is no sand involved. Woohoo!
The rest of the morning was spent swimming and hanging out. Foosball was on the menu (I believe this was the day when everyone (ok, DW and DS10) was annoyed with my spin server in Foosball. Jealousy. We also took our turn at Shuffleboard. But I learned later in the cruise that I was doing it wrong. Who knew there were rules???
dinner was a casual affair made up mostly of Pizza. OK, so I just spent 10 minutes looking through my TR to make sure I hadn't already shared with you my tip for pizza. I feel like I have, truly...and if there is one tip you should keep with you this is it. So because of that I'm going to share it with you again, if I'm repeating myself...well....skip this part.
I like the pizza onboard. it's not fantastic...and certainly not the best pizza anywhere. But I discovered a trick to make it even better. the main thing to me is that I like my pizza crispy and the pizza they make onboard just isn't. So when I went up I asked to have them put a couple slices into the oven for a few minutes. I'd go get soda from the drink station and when I get back...hot fresh and crispy pizza! this made all the difference in the world, really it did. I didn't know if it would matter the first time...but boy once I did that once I was hooked. The guy got to know me pretty well. OK, so he saw me coming. One day a new lady was there and there was confusion...luckily the cook saw me and remembered me and grabbed the pizza and threw it in the over. Ah! life is good.
Lunch on deck.
Kind of cool to be in port right next to these other big ships.
As you can see we started doing some wandering and picture taking. This reminded me that we have one picture we have taken on all three cruises with DS6:
2008
2006
2004
Yeah, unfortunately I didn't remember exactly where Connor was in the previous years...but still, it's kind of neat to look back and see how he has changed while basically the ship has stayed the same.
Speaking of which, I've read a few places where people said they could see the wear and tear of a 10 year old ship. I really didn't see it. DNH said he did...but I have to say that IMHO that they do a great job of keeping the ship in great shape. Honestly if I didn't know it I wouldn't have known the ship was 10 years old. However, it did just come out of dry dock...so that's part of it, and the natural progression. Dry Dock, however, did not blow me away other than the TV's. The TV's and the added channels were fantastic. Not that we spent a ton of time watching TV, it's nice to have them available when you want them, you know?
Both boys at the rail. Throwing them over wasn't really something we had to consider...they were actually pretty well behaved!
Captain Tom gets us ready to go
If you have been following along so far and not skipping ahead to this chapter (and if you are skipping ahead, stop and go back to the beginning. ok, do what you want), you know that we have not been pleased with our servers. So we did what I never thought we would ever do, we skipped dinner.
by this time on the cruise time was really starting to march, but today was Tuesday, and we were docked at Cozumel. Today was a day for rebellion and relaxation. For today was a day we say "no thank you" to getting off the ship and instead stay at home the whole day.
I like to think of it as a bonus sea day...but with a kicker...no one else onboard! obviously that changed throughout the day...but you get my point!
However, before I go to far, wanted to share a pictures. This was taken by our neighbors in the cabin next to ours. I don't think I did a good end to end cabin shot...and they did....so I am stealing it for my purposes!
Alas, today was a day we got to return to the promised land....Topsiders. I diligently used the hand wipes on the way in (by the way (yeah, here I go), I think that it is very cool that they do everything they can to keep everyone healthy. I know, I know, it's in their best interest, but the fact that they have it out there in front of you all the time just says good things about DCL. Heck, it makes me want to make the kids wash their hands before meals. Not that I never did that before, but it definitely makes you think about being clean, and how that might, just might keep you healthy. The first cruise on DCL I don't think they did that...and Dw and I both were sick as dogs for a full day. So I choose to believe the reason it didn't happen after that was because of the people who have to stand there and hold the towels out time after time. Do you think their hands get tired after a while? but I digress).
And yes, it was time for bacon. And syrup. A bowl of it actually. Yes, to some of you this might sound gross, but those of you who think that are clearly the folks who have never tried to dip your bacon in a bowl of goodness.
Now, one thing I must say is that from the last cruise until now Disney must have changed syrup. It wasn't nearly as good as before. Not so bad that I'd want to say something, or complain about it (uh...well...um...ok, other than here), but it was not as good. Yes, I continued to eat it every breakfast, but something was changed about it....I think it's a plot by THE MAN. no, I have no idea who the man is...do you?
After stuffing ourselves (we had to stuff ourselves...heck, it had been almost 9 hours since our last meal!
and you never know where you might find your next meal onboard.Our next destination: Ocean Quest. Now, neither of our boys are old enough for Ocean Quest normally, but today was an open house. So we went and checked it out. It's basically a bunch of video game stations, and the mother lode, a ship simulator. There were kids playing it when we went in (who do they think they are???), so we dinked around on other things.
DW by this time was annoyed because it was just video games. While I remember this distinctly, I read in her journal what she really thinks of us and I quote "The 3 boys were in heaven. I decided to leave because I could play video games at home". Harrumph. Is it just me, or do you read into that sentence that she is implying that I am a boy? I mean...we have two boys...and the only other male member of our family was left at home in the Kennel. Do you suppose she could mean....me?
Anyhoo, she headed off to the pool while the kids and I hung around and shortly thereafter got to drive the Magic. Yes, DS6, DS10 and I drove the Magic. I didn't want to get involved. This was kid stuff, you know? But after driving the ship into the ground time after time after time (and the ship kept having to drydock, and I know how all of you hate drydocking because of the time you can't spend on the Magic), I felt it was time for me to step in where we successfully steered the ship on several missions including one where you had to turn it every few feet and maneuver through coral. We got a commendation for that one I believe, and I was SURE that Captain Tom was going to come and speak to us and ask us to come help him steer.
Surprisingly that did not happen. Ah well...such is life. Genius is often overlooked!
Now, if you were asking yourself why in the heck we would not get off the ship in Cozumel I think I already gave you the answer...but being generous I'll give it to you again!
In 2006 we did the same itinerary (except we didn't get to double dip!). So we had already dont Cozumel. In 2006 DW and DS10 (then 8) did the dolphin excursion, and DS6 (then 4) went to a beach which I can't remember the name of. Frankly speaking it was a nightmare. I was constantly worried about my video camera...we were hungry and I was a bit afraid of the food (being Mexico). We were supposed to meet the ladies and older boys at this beach but they never made it because the dolphin thing took too long...all-in-all it just was not a good memory for me. We weren't doing any excursions this time, so no reason to get off the ship. Woohoo!
Why woohoo??? Picture a sea day...with activities and really nothing to do but WHATEVER you wanted to do. Now picture that with no people. That's why the woohoo. Obviously if you have never been to a port you should try to get off, I'm certainly not discouraging that. However, if you get the chance, experiencing an almost empty ship is nice. And because it's your home you are steps from everything you need. The pool is empty because everyone is at the beach instead. And there is no sand involved. Woohoo!
The rest of the morning was spent swimming and hanging out. Foosball was on the menu (I believe this was the day when everyone (ok, DW and DS10) was annoyed with my spin server in Foosball. Jealousy. We also took our turn at Shuffleboard. But I learned later in the cruise that I was doing it wrong. Who knew there were rules???
dinner was a casual affair made up mostly of Pizza. OK, so I just spent 10 minutes looking through my TR to make sure I hadn't already shared with you my tip for pizza. I feel like I have, truly...and if there is one tip you should keep with you this is it. So because of that I'm going to share it with you again, if I'm repeating myself...well....skip this part.
I like the pizza onboard. it's not fantastic...and certainly not the best pizza anywhere. But I discovered a trick to make it even better. the main thing to me is that I like my pizza crispy and the pizza they make onboard just isn't. So when I went up I asked to have them put a couple slices into the oven for a few minutes. I'd go get soda from the drink station and when I get back...hot fresh and crispy pizza! this made all the difference in the world, really it did. I didn't know if it would matter the first time...but boy once I did that once I was hooked. The guy got to know me pretty well. OK, so he saw me coming. One day a new lady was there and there was confusion...luckily the cook saw me and remembered me and grabbed the pizza and threw it in the over. Ah! life is good.
As you can see we started doing some wandering and picture taking. This reminded me that we have one picture we have taken on all three cruises with DS6:
Yeah, unfortunately I didn't remember exactly where Connor was in the previous years...but still, it's kind of neat to look back and see how he has changed while basically the ship has stayed the same.
Speaking of which, I've read a few places where people said they could see the wear and tear of a 10 year old ship. I really didn't see it. DNH said he did...but I have to say that IMHO that they do a great job of keeping the ship in great shape. Honestly if I didn't know it I wouldn't have known the ship was 10 years old. However, it did just come out of dry dock...so that's part of it, and the natural progression. Dry Dock, however, did not blow me away other than the TV's. The TV's and the added channels were fantastic. Not that we spent a ton of time watching TV, it's nice to have them available when you want them, you know?
If you have been following along so far and not skipping ahead to this chapter (and if you are skipping ahead, stop and go back to the beginning. ok, do what you want), you know that we have not been pleased with our servers. So we did what I never thought we would ever do, we skipped dinner.
. But boy do they ever know how to push the buttons. It's like one thing after another. sheesh! 
My DH told me that in a flash I was gone...he jumped up so quick not knowing what had happened..I was bruised but okay...That was enough for me, I was done with the pool and we went to the spa instead and sat in the rainforest room for about an hour heating up my bruised areas!
and naturally it was while I was travelling. Not much we can do but have someone clear the roof off and look at it again once everything melts. Yuck! Anyway, Hi! 
