RoyalVizier
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jun 4, 2006
Y'all have been so patient... thank you so much. Here ya go... enjoy!
Cast of Characters:
Ward thats me
Cheri the lovely wife
Sadie the lovely 13 year old daughter
Tuesday, May 23rd Day 4 Part 2: Free Massages and An Anniversary Surprise
So we were off to the pier to hop a boat to the Stingray City sandbar. This ended up being the highlight of the entire cruise for me.
I was very unsure of how I would handle this part of the excursion because of what had happened in Key West with the Dolphin Watch excursion. I was worried about feeling nauseous again when we headed out on the boat but all turned out well. We met up with another bus full of people and piled onto this boat. 
There were probably about forty of us on the boat and we took off into the great blue. The guides told us that it would be about 30 minutes out to the sandbar. That caused me even more worry
to me 30 minutes seemed like a long time on that boat crammed shoulder to shoulder with others. But this boat was much larger than the Patty C. was in Key West and I guess things were looking up for me because I felt absolutely fine the whole way out there. It is truly amazing that out in the middle of the ocean, no land in sight, there is a sandbar that you can stand on.
When we arrived, there were a few other boats there and already people were in the water. We could see the dark splotches, some small and some large, gliding under the surface of the crystal clear water. They were everywhere! It was so exciting to look at let alone know that we were about to be down there among them! We tossed the anchor, they handed out snorkel gear and we made our way in turn to the back of the boat to get out into the crystal clear and calm ocean full of various sized gray gliding kites! In all of the excitement (
) I left the camera on the boat as the three of us got down into the water. Almost immediately, as if sensing new friends, the stingrays started to come towards us. It was a bit alarming and intimidating at first. 
I mean, this was a new experience, not exactly your every day occurrence, so I was a bit timid at first. I would tense up whenever one got anywhere near me. But the more people that joined us in the water and the longer I was there, the more I began to relax and move around some.
One of our guides found himself a stingray to grab hold of and keep close so that he could talk about them and show us some of the stingrays features. He even held it up so that we could take a quick look at its underside and do you know what the guide did?! He gave the stingray a French kiss!
ICK! Unfortunately I didnt get a photo of that. So after that I knew that I had to go back for the camera. I made my way back to the boat, got the camera and got back into the water. I was a little worried about having our brand new digital camera with me in the water, but my wife told me to get over it. 
I was worried that Id forget it was strapped around my neck and Id end up dipping it into the water or something. So I took a whole bunch of pictures and took it back to the boat where it would be safe. Also, our guide was telling people to step right up to get a massage from the stingray. Well Sadie was all about that! So she stepped right up and the guide slid the stingray around her back. GOOEY!
Id say we stayed in the water for about 30 minutes or so, and then it was time to leave. We really hated to go. It was the best time ever really! When we got back to the pier, the bus took us back to the starting point and our excursion was over. We shopped our way back to the ship and were back on board at about 3pm. We were starving!! So yep, you guessed it we went straight up top for chicken fingers, pizza, and ice cream! It was a dream! After that, we lounged in the room for awhile, got our showers and thats when Sadie left for the evening. We watched us pull out of Grand Cayman from our verandah and then got dressed for dinner and the evening. We had some more pictures taken in the atrium and went to the nights show Twice Charmed.
Twice Charmed was so fantastic! Im a sucker for Disneys shows and this one is no different. Very magical and entertaining. I loved it although I must insert a minor complaint in here. Im a really easygoing guy and I dont like to complain but I just want to mention this really fast. Before the shows in the Walt Disney Theater they have drink service where Cast Members wander the theater taking drink orders and then theyll bring it to you. Well when you have a drink brought to you the Cast Member must them fill out a bill ticket and do some math and you have to show your Key to the World card and then sign the slip. Well I am recommending that this drink service be suspended at about 5 10 minutes prior to show time. The people right in front of us ordered a drink about two minutes before the show was scheduled to start and I just knew that their drinks werent going to come in time. Well sure enough, the show starts about five minutes pass and the Cast Member has to work their way past all the people in the row so everyone is standing to let her through and then they had to do all the paperwork that went along with it right in front of us.
This is a major disruption in my opinion. Okay
enough of that. Bottom line
Twice Charmed was fantastic!
Dinner was at Parrot Cay that evening and our entire table was present this evening. It was really a great dinner. It was very relaxed. By this time we had all kind of opened up and become more comfortable with each other so the conversation was good. We just ate and chatted and had a great time. Now, if you remember, this cruise was in celebration of our anniversary. Before we sailed, I had called and had a note put on my reservation that it was a special occasion. So far, no one had mentioned anything. Well Hector (our tablemate) told our server Octavian that it was our anniversary so the next thing we know almost every server in the restaurant is around out table singing and clapping to us telling us to kiss kiss kiss.
And best of all, they brought a cake for us. Well at this point, after two appetizers, and entrée and desert, we couldnt eat another bite so we asked if it was possible if they wrap the cake up. So Octavian took the cake away and brought it back wrapped up in a beautiful swan made of foil! Of course we took a picture. We were stuffed
we were tired
. It was time for bed. So we headed back to the room, read through the Cozumel info for the next day and hit the hay.
Up Next: A Turbulent Morning and Bargain Blankets
Cast of Characters:
Ward thats me
Cheri the lovely wife
Sadie the lovely 13 year old daughter
Tuesday, May 23rd Day 4 Part 2: Free Massages and An Anniversary Surprise
So we were off to the pier to hop a boat to the Stingray City sandbar. This ended up being the highlight of the entire cruise for me.
I was very unsure of how I would handle this part of the excursion because of what had happened in Key West with the Dolphin Watch excursion. I was worried about feeling nauseous again when we headed out on the boat but all turned out well. We met up with another bus full of people and piled onto this boat. There were probably about forty of us on the boat and we took off into the great blue. The guides told us that it would be about 30 minutes out to the sandbar. That caused me even more worry
to me 30 minutes seemed like a long time on that boat crammed shoulder to shoulder with others. But this boat was much larger than the Patty C. was in Key West and I guess things were looking up for me because I felt absolutely fine the whole way out there. It is truly amazing that out in the middle of the ocean, no land in sight, there is a sandbar that you can stand on. When we arrived, there were a few other boats there and already people were in the water. We could see the dark splotches, some small and some large, gliding under the surface of the crystal clear water. They were everywhere! It was so exciting to look at let alone know that we were about to be down there among them! We tossed the anchor, they handed out snorkel gear and we made our way in turn to the back of the boat to get out into the crystal clear and calm ocean full of various sized gray gliding kites! In all of the excitement (
) I left the camera on the boat as the three of us got down into the water. Almost immediately, as if sensing new friends, the stingrays started to come towards us. It was a bit alarming and intimidating at first. I mean, this was a new experience, not exactly your every day occurrence, so I was a bit timid at first. I would tense up whenever one got anywhere near me. But the more people that joined us in the water and the longer I was there, the more I began to relax and move around some. One of our guides found himself a stingray to grab hold of and keep close so that he could talk about them and show us some of the stingrays features. He even held it up so that we could take a quick look at its underside and do you know what the guide did?! He gave the stingray a French kiss!
ICK! Unfortunately I didnt get a photo of that. So after that I knew that I had to go back for the camera. I made my way back to the boat, got the camera and got back into the water. I was a little worried about having our brand new digital camera with me in the water, but my wife told me to get over it. I was worried that Id forget it was strapped around my neck and Id end up dipping it into the water or something. So I took a whole bunch of pictures and took it back to the boat where it would be safe. Also, our guide was telling people to step right up to get a massage from the stingray. Well Sadie was all about that! So she stepped right up and the guide slid the stingray around her back. GOOEY! Id say we stayed in the water for about 30 minutes or so, and then it was time to leave. We really hated to go. It was the best time ever really! When we got back to the pier, the bus took us back to the starting point and our excursion was over. We shopped our way back to the ship and were back on board at about 3pm. We were starving!! So yep, you guessed it we went straight up top for chicken fingers, pizza, and ice cream! It was a dream! After that, we lounged in the room for awhile, got our showers and thats when Sadie left for the evening. We watched us pull out of Grand Cayman from our verandah and then got dressed for dinner and the evening. We had some more pictures taken in the atrium and went to the nights show Twice Charmed.
Twice Charmed was so fantastic! Im a sucker for Disneys shows and this one is no different. Very magical and entertaining. I loved it although I must insert a minor complaint in here. Im a really easygoing guy and I dont like to complain but I just want to mention this really fast. Before the shows in the Walt Disney Theater they have drink service where Cast Members wander the theater taking drink orders and then theyll bring it to you. Well when you have a drink brought to you the Cast Member must them fill out a bill ticket and do some math and you have to show your Key to the World card and then sign the slip. Well I am recommending that this drink service be suspended at about 5 10 minutes prior to show time. The people right in front of us ordered a drink about two minutes before the show was scheduled to start and I just knew that their drinks werent going to come in time. Well sure enough, the show starts about five minutes pass and the Cast Member has to work their way past all the people in the row so everyone is standing to let her through and then they had to do all the paperwork that went along with it right in front of us.
This is a major disruption in my opinion. Okay
enough of that. Bottom line
Twice Charmed was fantastic! Dinner was at Parrot Cay that evening and our entire table was present this evening. It was really a great dinner. It was very relaxed. By this time we had all kind of opened up and become more comfortable with each other so the conversation was good. We just ate and chatted and had a great time. Now, if you remember, this cruise was in celebration of our anniversary. Before we sailed, I had called and had a note put on my reservation that it was a special occasion. So far, no one had mentioned anything. Well Hector (our tablemate) told our server Octavian that it was our anniversary so the next thing we know almost every server in the restaurant is around out table singing and clapping to us telling us to kiss kiss kiss.
And best of all, they brought a cake for us. Well at this point, after two appetizers, and entrée and desert, we couldnt eat another bite so we asked if it was possible if they wrap the cake up. So Octavian took the cake away and brought it back wrapped up in a beautiful swan made of foil! Of course we took a picture. We were stuffed
we were tired
. It was time for bed. So we headed back to the room, read through the Cozumel info for the next day and hit the hay.Up Next: A Turbulent Morning and Bargain Blankets
I look forward to your next installment. 
Did you hear the thunderous applause and trumpets when the "Royal Vizier" came online? We heard it and came running over to see what you were posting! 
