Life Stinks! Season Three! Finalized 11/11

[anewmac]

Ya that crab race is fun.. sometimes for for the parents then the kids.. IM just saying LOL

hm bud lime huh.. ive heard about them too... really need to try since you gave it a thumbs up!

 

[cheeringmom]

I keep looking at your pictures hoping to see Me!! hehehe

I am so ready for another cruise. We should have went next week during spring break but have a Disney trip planned instead. And I, like your tablemates, am a Disney nut!

Loved the description of your neighbors at the beach!! hehehe I bet they were having a ball in all of that sunshine!

 

[anetnmike]

popcorn:

 

[Mozart]

popcorn:

Yeah, I've got a little crisis going on here and I haven't had much time to write recently. I'll get back to it as soon as I have a few minutes to spare.

 

[anetnmike]

hope it gets better!

 

[Mozart]

Hopefully I've got my little crisis situation solved. I got laid off last Thursday, but was already having discussions with a new company in the area about going to work for them. They offered me a job today, so we're just haggling about a few little things now.

Back to the story...

There’s going to be one common theme that you’ll see which took place over the course of the week. Crashing and burning. We did a lot of that. So it’s no surprise that upon return to our stateroom after our first day at Castaway Cay, we crashed and burned. And next thing we know it was dinnertime.

There is one thing that we noticed for the first real time during dinner that night. The Magic has an engine vibration that the Wonder doesn’t have. After dinner at Parrot Cay, we noticed the entire rest of the week that whenever the Magic was sailing you could feel a vibration when you’re at the rear of the ship. Very different from the Wonder.

So what was for dinner?

Well, I had the Baked Crab Martinique, which was very good., the Caesar Salad, which was just a plain old Caesar salad, and Island Roasted Rib Eye of Beef. The Beef came out a little undercooked from where I really wanted it, but I decided it was close enough that I could go ahead and eat it. Our server, however, was paranoid about it. He realized it was undercooked for what I wanted and he was really freaking out. I thought it was fine.

I know Disney is a different kind of cruise line. But I have to admit my disappointment in the dress that people are showing up for dinner in these days. After just two nights, my wife and I discussed that only about 50% of people were showing up in what I thought was dinner appropriate for a cruise ship. Jeans are okay on pirate night, but shorts should not be allowed in the dining rooms, except for young children. Apparently a lot of people who go on Disney cruises don’t agree with me.

So, after dinner, our assistant server is standing on the other side of the table and she says something to DW and I. Neither one of us could understand her because a) she had an extremely thick accent and b) she was mumbling. After about 3 times of asking her to repeat herself, I finally just nodded and said “Okay.” Which brings us to our tip for the day:

IF YOU DON’T UNDERSTAND WHAT YOUR SERVER IS ASKING YOU…DON’T SAY OKAY.

I’ve never had a mocha cappuccino. I didn’t even know that I was ordering one. But sure enough here comes two of them out to our table. My wife and I just look at each other in stark realization of what we did. When we replied okay to the mumbling we had acknowledged that we wanted after dinner coffee. Neither of us drink coffee. But since we were the stupid ones, we decided to sip on them. They actually weren’t that bad. Not that I’m planning on ordering them again. But they weren’t bad.

After shedding the caffeine kicks and coming back down to a reasonable level of hyperness for a cruise, it’s time to check out our stateroom account. Remember now, this is only the second day of our cruise. We had about a few hundred in stateroom credits for our account when we started. So how come we only have about $50 left. A few drinks, but not many. One picture, but it was actually free from the REAS package. How in the world do we have that little credit left?

2 phrases answer that question…Treasure Ketch and Mickey’s Mates. Seems my wife had been spending a little bit more time there than I knew about. I wondered what all those bags over in the corner were and now I knew. Better be something good in there for me is all I have to say.

We head back to the cabin and do what would become a nightly event…sitting out on the deck watching the waves go by. Things were a little bit surreal this night though. We passed ship after ship just sitting out there on the ocean. Looked like a lot of them were cruise ships and they were all stagnant. There was a hurricane to our south at this time, so I don’t know if maybe they had been rerouted because of that, but it was weird to pass by all these ships just sitting. We probably passed 15-20 of them, and that was only on the starboard side. There may have been more on port that we just couldn’t see.

So, it’s almost midnight now, and I lay in my cabin with the TV on. On the screen is the fourth, sad version of Indiana Jones. I sit there after a long day, and just like Indy in the original Raiders of the Lost Ark, the gentle rocking of the ship on the ocean lulls me off to sleep. Of course, he was also kissing Karen Allen at the time, while my wife was sitting out on the verandah staring at the ocean.

I guess that’s the difference between a new couple, and one that’s been together 12 years.

 

[anetnmike]

Hey Mozart! Glad to see ya back!
I noticed that engine vibration on the Magic too! It seemed we were right over it on deck 2. I did not feel that on the Wonder at all and we were in the same area. I can't blame your DW for making the OBC disappear. There's alot of great stuff in those shops

 

[MicraPIP]

Keep it coming!!!

Glad to see you are soon to be employed again...

 

[Kborn]

We head back to the cabin and do what would become a nightly event…sitting out on the deck watching the waves go by. Things were a little bit surreal this night though. We passed ship after ship just sitting out there on the ocean. Looked like a lot of them were cruise ships and they were all stagnant. There was a hurricane to our south at this time, so I don’t know if maybe they had been rerouted because of that, but it was weird to pass by all these ships just sitting. We probably passed 15-20 of them, and that was only on the starboard side. There may have been more on port that we just couldn’t see.

Been reading your report, very good I might add

15 to 20 other ships? Are you sure the Capt. was not sailing in a big circle and you saw 3 or 4 other ships 4 to 5 times.... You mentioned a hurricane, you might have been in the eye and had to circle

Keep the report coming with MORE pics, that's the only thing that keeps me going on slow days

 

[Tink rules]

Glad to see you back and I hope everything works out for you

& yes... those little bags in the corner are VERY expensive...

 

[anewmac]

Glad everything is back on track for you guys. We miss ya!

Dinner sounded yummy!

 

[dvc4life]

Glad to hear you weren't out of work for long and are back on the boards posting about your trip. Looking forward to more of your report!

 

[Mozart]

Hey Mozart! Glad to see ya back!
I noticed that engine vibration on the Magic too! It seemed we were right over it on deck 2. I did not feel that on the Wonder at all and we were in the same area. I can't blame your DW for making the OBC disappear. There's alot of great stuff in those shops

We even noticed it up on Deck 7 when the ship was sailing at night. Something's pretty bad.

Keep it coming!!!

Glad to see you are soon to be employed again...

Problem is that all my stuff at home is IBM stuff that I got on employee discounts and now I have to replace it all since I'm going to another computer manufacturer. Gonna be expensive for awhile.

Keep the report coming with MORE pics, that's the only thing that keeps me going on slow days

You'll like the next update then. More pics. STRANGE pics, but I think I'll have a good number of them.

& yes... those little bags in the corner are VERY expensive...

The good thing is that we got them paid off pretty fast. The bad thing is that other than the shirt I bought and one sweatshirt she bought, I couldn't tell you what happened to any of the other stuff. I don't remember seeing it in awhile.

Glad everything is back on track for you guys. We miss ya!

Yeah, the real world is awhole lot different than being a Marine where you're pretty much guaranteed a job no matter what.

Glad to hear you weren't out of work for long and are back on the boards posting about your trip. Looking forward to more of your report!

Soon, very soon. I'm working on the next installment now.

 

[Mozart]

A beautiful day at sea. Weather is calm, waves are light, and the coast of Cuba is off the port side. We actually got up early this morning and got breakfast after the fiasco of the previous day. Yes, we were even out of bed by 8 AM. We don’t even do that at home! But DW was a little motivated what with her hair appointment for that morning. Her review was simple – “Well, it’s sure not Supercuts!” I meanwhile spent the morning roaming the ship trying to take strange pictures just for the heck of it.

It was pretty early when I got up to the basketball court, and there were no teenagers out there playing yet. After all, it’s about 9 in the morning, and they won’t be waking up for another 3 hours. So, I look around to make sure no ones watching, grab the basketball and take a 15 foot jump shot. SWOOSH! All this time and I still have my touch. But did I stop there? NOOOOOO!!!!! I proceeded to take shot after shot testing my ability to recollect my great days as a basketball player. Unfortunately, I only made that very first shot and then started banging bricks off the backboard, when I even could hit the backboard. It’s a young man’s game I guess. At 37 I think I’ll just retire now.

The morning was just relaxing and unwinding because coming up we had one of those events that we all look forward to on a cruise: Brunch! At Palo’s! 11:30 comes along and we find ourselves being escorted by Cecilia throughout the setup that we all know and love. As we’re going through the tables, Cecilia points to one when my eyes spy it! There, sitting on the top row of the pizza table, in all its ethereal splendor sits the most hallowed thing onboard a Disney cruise ship….the grape and goat cheese pizza! For those of you who’ve been around since Life Stinks Season 1, you know just how much I love this stuff…and how disappointed I was when it was not on the Wonder for our 4 night cruise. So my joy at seeing its return was almost overwhelming.

After Cecilia was able to resanitize the pizza table from where I had drooled all over it, we sat down and had a wonderful brunch. There were multiple helpings, but this will give you an idea of where we started.

At one point during the brunch Cecilia asked us why we requested her as our server. We mentioned that she had been recommended to us based on the suggestion of some people from the Panama Canal repo cruise. When she asked who, I simply stated that he had an unusual beard. She smiled, mentioned a unique earring he had and the fact that he was a vegetarian. Then she said that he was really nice and a lot of fun to wait on.

I got the impression that they really like some of us.

Of course it helped that as we were walking out of Palo, Cecilia stops us and comes walking up with a Palo plate covered in aluminum foil. “For your room” she says. I peek under and there are two grape and goat cheese pizzas in there. I think I undertipped her.

Hmmm…haven’t given out any of Mozart’s dogbiscuits in a while. To recap, they have been earned by:
Seared Beef Medallions from San Francisco (F&W Festival)
Shrimp with Salsa from Argentina (F&W Festival)
Cheddar Cheese Soup from Canada (F&W Festival)
Shirley Nelson at The Perfect Gift

I’ll think I”ll give one to our 4th and final food of the trip:
The Grape and Cheese Pizza from Palo's

And just for good measure:
Cecilia from Palo’s gets one too. Even though she’s only half earned it so far.

 

[anewmac]

we didnt get palo so Im SOOO jealous! that food looks yummo!

 

[anetnmike]

I agree!
almost too pretty to eat...almost!
DH would be amused at the abreviated fire station picture.

 

[Tink rules]

Ummmm Mozart...

I don't have a mustache...

 

[Tink rules]

The whole group... Ian, Me, My mom and Sukie

& the "famous" mustached one (Sukie) and his best friend Cecelia...

 

[Mozart]

After brunch we continued the theme of fine dining and expensive alcohol by going to a wine tasting. I learned one very important thing about wine that I kind of already knew. I can’t tell anything about wine. I can detect if one is a red or a white, but that’s about it. I certainly can’t notice the subtle fragrances that everyone else seems to rave about. I came to the conclusion that I have a bad sniffer. To me wine is like sushi, I either think it’s good or bad. Not much beyond that I can really tell you about it. I was able to notice that a Riesling smells like a good black tea. DW on the other hand, was calling out the subtle fragrance differences. How nice for her.

After the feeling of incompetence which resulted from the wine tasting, my wife and I did that thing that all cruises should be centered around. We went to the bar, got a fruity drink, and headed down to the room for some quality time on the verandah. After a few hours of just watching the waves go by and feeling the wind on our faces, we decided we needed to go do something. What did we do? We grabbed another round of drinks and created new buttnotches at the Cove Café for a few more hours. I read Stephen Colbert’s entire book that afternoon, and started on one by Tim Russert. Holli just slept most of the time.

So, finally it became time for the early dinner seating to head down to eat. Now, if you ever wanted a little quiet personal time on a Disney ship, this is it. NOONE is out during early seating. All the early seating people are at dinner and everyone else is at the show. We had decided not to attend the show so we just hung out on deck. As we walked to the front of the ship, there stood a ping-pong table. It looked lonely. DW and I decided that we would give it some company by playing a little match.

Here’s where I got myself in trouble for the next few days. First one to 11 wins right? My wife jumps out to a lead of like 9-2. I’m confused, I don’t remember how to play the game. My confidence is shot. Then, it happens. SLAM! TAKE THAT SHOT, HUN! Next thing either of us knows, I win in a miracle comeback.

It would not be forgotten, much to my chagrin.

Next Up:
Define table manners.

 

[anewmac]

oh your day at sea sounded so relaxing! Thats what I will be doing next time.

Oh and dont feel bad about not smelling the differences I cant either.. but thats cuz I CANT SMELL. seriously nothing nada zero zilch. A fire would have to be in my nose burning the nose hairs for me to smell smoke! lol