SORRY IT HAS TAKEN ME SO LONG.I'M SURE I LEFT THINGS OUT..BUT IT WAS A GREAT TRIP! CANT WAIT TO GO BACK!
Wow! There is so much to write! Our journey started Jan 29 2004 very early in the morning. We had a 630 flight-which meant having to get up at 3AM to make sure we were set to go. A friend of ours was taking us to the airport at 430 She insisted on taking us even though it was so early! We got thru security the lady ahead of us was making a big stink b/c they only had one line open and a lot of people waiting TSA told her that she didnt need to fly today if she was going to keep up the attitude. BF and I fought over the window seat on the plane So, we compromised. I sat in it the first half-he got it the second half. I doozed on and off during the ride to Atlanta. We grabbed a quick bite to eat and then caught our connection to MCO. We landed at MCO at 1200 noon. BF said he was going thru culture shock. He said At 0300 Im in the middle of snow and its cold. At 1200 noon Im in the middle of palm trees! We grabbed our MEARS transportation and we were off!!! The MEARS driver was great. We were his last stop and gave us a tour of the Disney Properties.
Once we got to the Polynesian we checked in with luck on our side our room was ready! We got our leis, KTTW cards and then headed over to check in at the DCL set up they had The woman we were talking to didnt speak English very well..and was getting frustrated that the people in front of us didnt understand her. Im kind of shocked that Disney doesnt think to put someone like that in a different position but it wasnt any huge deal. We got to our room-ground floor your basic hotel room really I didnt see anything special about it except that it was themed. After we dropped our bags we were off to MGM
MGM was great, and so is Disney Transportation!!! We took the bus to MGM a simple ride. We grabbed something to eat I took some bonine and we were off to the tower of terror!!! This is where BF and I made a decision should we ever have kids they will have to be 40 inches tall and not in a stroller we saw a poor little boy be told he couldnt ride TOT b/c he was only like 38 inches I know they do this for safety reasons but the look on the kids face was enough to tear your heart out! TOT was awesome!!! And I think one of BFs favorite rides We then headed to Space Tours, Indiana Jones and finished with the movie tour that was kind of boring by then the park was going to close so we headed back to our hotel and got changed and headed to Downtown Disney
The next day it was off to the Magic Kingdom BF woke up grumpy but that quickly changed-he said its hard to be grumpy here-after breakfast he was much happier! We hit all the attractions and with little or no wait. We only had to fast pass Peter Pans Flight. We rode Space Mountain TWICE!!! Then it was off to Downtown Disney If you get a chance DEFINITELY check out the magic shop!!! The magician was awesome and got BF & I into the act it was a trip definitely PLAY ALONG!!!
On our bus ride home we had a great bus driver. He was from New Jersey He was great and gave us all sorts of information about the grounds His wife works for Disney too we learned a lot on that bus trip back to the hotel.
The next day it was off to Epcot!!! We went on Mission to Space first!!! It was AWSOME!!! Again we hit all the attractions with little or no wait but I got kind of board with all of the shows It was pouring rain outside so we ran (and I mean ran) thru the different lands we wanted to ride Mission to Space again but it was closed apparently Disney was having problems with its electricity in our entire trip there-it was the first time we heard sirens and we finally got to see a fire truck!!! BF and I are both in EMS so this was a big deal We were off to Downtown Disney again We only had one problem while in the parks and that was at Wolf Gang Puck Express we ordered our food and then all of the staff got up and walked out we never got our food so BF went for a refund and then we left no sooner did we leave they came out screaming for us to come back they had made BF a sandwich but it was the wrong one so we left again-this time with a steaming BF who was happy he handled himself well-only to go to McDonalds-let me tell you it was the BEST McDonalds we have ever had!!!
The next morning we were going to journey our way to Port Canaveral Unfortunately, I had to tell BF about the limo the 2nd day we were at the resort Apparently, if you stay on Disney property you have the option the day that you sail to go to Animal Kingdom for a character breakfast and then come back to the resort and get on the bus BF really wanted to do this So, one rainy night I had to break the news and tell him that we couldnt do Animal Kingdom b/c we had a limo waiting I also gave him the option to cancel if he really wanted to go to the Character Breakfast he loved the limo ride idea and was very excited! So, it was a quick morning We got up, went to Kona Café for breakfast came back to the room to chill out staff picked up our bags and we were off!!!
Our limo was right on time-I was expecting them to be early but on time was good too we asked him to swing by the new fire station so BF could get some pictures we did this instead of the grocery stop he was more than happy to however, while he was on his Nextel getting directions he didnt pay attention to the red light and almost got us broad sided!!! And then there was the illegal U turn that he made he didnt seem to know how to drive the vehicle-backing up was kind of funny but we got our pictures of the fire house and were off to port!!!
Once at port we got right in line! The only bad thing was that BF isnt much of a waiter so we sat there for just about 30 minutes we got to port pretty early but he dealt with it we didnt get our embarkment photo b/c he had such a scowl on his face but that soon changed when he stepped foot on the ship The announced us as we walked in and he thought that was a little weird They announced us by his last name! Um we arent married but hey! It seemed like everything was under his name!!! We hit the buffet and then off to make spa and palo ressies we got all the times we wanted! It was great!!! As we were walking around I got a quick picture of goofy and me! I think he was headed over to get out of his costume but its a great pic! We spent little time at the deck party BF doesnt dance and doesnt get into stuff like that so we went to see the ship sail away which he thought was really cool I was kind of upset that we didnt get to see more of the characters and stuff but what made it all better was when I thought I saw SHARKS around our ship!!! Come to find out those sharks were really dolphins playing around the ship as it set sail!!! That was really cool and I wouldnt have seen that if we were still at the deck party Captain Henry got on the PA and told us we were going to be hitting rough seas and to take some medication if needed I believe our waves were like 8-12 ft (BF says it was 20 ft Im not sure if I heard it right but I wouldnt dout 20ft) The ship rocked like you wouldnt believe!!! It was then off to our safety drill BF was so funny in his life vest I think that is the cutest picture he was in! We went down to animators palate listened to the talk and then really hoped they caught our number-they must have b/c we didnt get a nasty gram on our fish after that it was off to the Shopping in Nassau seminar I know that this is played every day-all day while at sea so we didnt need to go but it was worth it! WE got free coupons for all sorts of gem stones and bracelets I even won a beautiful set of pearls that were thrown out into the audience there was also the punch & play card where you go to stores and get these cards punched and then you could win a $500 gift basket After that it was off to Animators for dinner. We were with a couple from Tennesse and another from FL The FL couple didnt make it down the husband did but his wife was sick and he wanted to get back to her so he got food to go The couple for Tennesse we interesting our meals came and went and the best part was dessert BF ordered coffee which Fortune brought over telling him it was hot and them pretended to spill it on him no worries there was nothing in the cup but I dont think I have ever laughed that hard!!! The Southern Belle ordered nothing for dessert and that is exactly what she got! A plate that had nothing written in chocolate syrup on it!!! So, she got nothing After that we were sooo whipped we went to the room to hang and watched a movie and then it was off to bed BF loved the towel animals! And we had the best sleep I think weve had in a long time!!!
Nassau
Well, this was not what I expected! We got up-grabbed breakfast and were off to meet at Wavebands to get into our group for the dolphin encounter Once we were they they briefed us on what to expect, filled out our forms and got our tickets It was a very easy process. Then we were corralled off the ship and to the ferry to take us to Blue Lagoon The walk to the ferry terminal wasnt very far but let me tell you how small you feel standing in the ship yard! The water was an amazing blue and the sun was hot! We saw Atlantis from the ferry! There was even a guy parasailing-really just showing off to advertise we say a Mailboat and a couple of helicopters along the way once we got to Blue Lagoon they tried to take your picture but a simple no thanks worked..I was expecting them to be a little more persistant Im glad they werent. Once at BL they checked out tickets and got us into a briefing room-I dont think Disney does anything with out a pre-show it was very informative though I learned a lot they told us stuff about anatomy of the dolphin what they habits are like and that sort of thing it was really cool we then were broken down into our groups locked up our stuff and got into our wet suits that they provided they got us onto the pontoon and then told us what we were going to do first we took our family photo which we bought! That initial kiss was the first time I have ever touched a dolphin! It was an amazing feeling..kind of like a wet inner tube-Soca loved the attention! then we broke down into groups we danced, pet, hugged and kissed Soca they told us about training them it was a really neat experience!
Then it was off to the bridge tour this is a must see it was great! Did you know that the stabilizer fin on the bottom of the boat makes the wave 90% better! They showed us where the Mickey Horn was but we didnt get to push it L Oh well After that it was off to see Nassau We had gotten all sorts of free gemstone coupons from Michelle-the shopping lady We also wanted a chance to win the $500 gift basket so we were all set with our Punch NPlay Cards too! We had to go to like 6 shops and get them to punch this pink card then from there we had to drop it off at Tower Jewlery. So, we went got all of our free gem stones 1 blue topaz, 1 blue sapphire, 1 gold bracelette and 1 gold charm when we were done getting our punches we went back to Tower Jewlery BF thought that the store closed at 5:30pm but we were wrong-they must have closed at 5pm so we hung our heads and left but we still got some decent gemstones Im having the topaz made into a ring here.
The rest of the night we laid low we relaxed and watched a movie on our stateroom TV and then it was off to Parrot Cay for dinner!
Castaway Cay Day 3
The weather was beautiful for all of my worrying we were ok! We scheduled an early morning parasailing excursion..So, our first stop was Marges Barges we had our safety briefing and were off! We were the first ones to go I have NEVER been so scared in all of my life! I had a death grip on my harness but we were in the air! BF kept telling me to relax I was about as relaxed as I was going to get and then WHOOSH! A gust of wind would lift us higher!!! I definitely want to go on this again just b/c I want to know what to expect but WOW! What a view! It was fun in a strange way I guess
We got back and started to walk around we ate lunch but BF was starting to get a little dehydrated and burnt so we went back to the boat No worries BF was ok its just that he works nights and the amount of sun he sees in a year is less than an Eskimo sees so after we got to the ship, took care of our tips-which I wanted to get done b/c we were eating at palo the last night and didnt think we would make it to breakfast disembarkment morning I left BF on the ship and took off around Castaway Cay!!! I talked to Collin..the RN on the island he said there were about 40 people that live on the island they dont have many medical emergencies but should anything happen they could get Life Flight out of Miami to the airstrip over by the adult beach I got to look inside the First Aide building it was pretty simple really and then I asked for directions to the airstrip BF would have loved this since his part time job is with a helicopter service so it was off to take pictures of it so he wouldnt miss out I took the tram to the adult beach and walked back to the ship as I was coming back who did I bump into but BF! He didnt want the day to be a total loss so he figured that after he cooled down he would find me to hang for our last little bit We got our Konk Koolers and then were off to get out souvenirs at She Sell Sea Shells .He really got in to the pin trading something we will definitely be doing next cruise! So, it was off to the boat and time to get ready for dinner I decided that I was going to play bingo why not right??? Well, for $35.00 I could definitely think of other things to spend the $$$ on but I came I played I didnt win anything
I begged and pleaded with BF to get his picture taken with Mickey in his dress attire I finally got him to agree so we got our picture with Mickey and Minnie in their sailing attire its a cute picture but the ones at shutters sucked! But of course we bought one anyway when I got my pictures back the one they took with our camera was MUCH BETTER! It really is a cute shot!
Dinner at Tritons was ok I guess maybe I expected it to be better somehow it was just a plain old meal We sat and talked with our table mates for awhile and the couple from Tennesse wanted to know if the ground hog saw his shadow and then told BF that he wouldnt ask them that Ok word to the wise never EVER challenge BF he will to what ever it is just to spite you and that is exactly what he did he called Fortune over and asked him if he knew if the ground hog saw his shadow Now being that they have a different cultural backround they dont know what the ground hog is or what it means so poor Fortune walked all over the resturant and then finally called up to the deck to see if the ground hog saw his shadow Needless to say Fortune came back with a weather report from the bridge. BF and the rest of the table just laughed and then we tried to explain the ground hog to our wait staff only my BF! When we left we handed our wait staff their tip envelopes You would have thought we had given them a bushel barrel full of $100.00! I have never been thanked for a tip! The smile on their faces were priceless! They were worth every penny-that was for certain! Honestly, I think we doubled our wait staffs recommended amounts they were amazing!!!
Day at Sea
Our day at sea we had looked at the Navigators I had a massage ressie for 1pm. BF wanted to see The Making Of the Magic & Wonder at 130p and we had to do towel animals at 3p. Really, we spent the day exploring the ship like we havent seen it before. We were still amazed by everything! Time came for my massage and little did I know BF had something up his sleeve. He told me to go-get something to eat and then head over to the spa. I went ahead and grabbed something to eat. Later BF told me this story When we had gotten our documents he asked if he should read them figuring he never does what I tell him anyway I told him not to bother-I had done enough research-just follow my lead and call it good. What I didnt tell him is that I really wanted to glass piece in the documents with the ship lasered into it. When we finally got on the ship Treasures Ketch had it displayed I had made mention that I thought he would have had it waiting in our room BF asked why I didnt say anything and my reply was B/c I thought you might have done something on your own. Well, after he told me to go leave our stateroom (7 aft) he hurried up to TK (4 forward) only to find out that they dont take a discover card they will at guest services but not at the stores something about having the right antenna So, BF put not only the ship, but the laser Capt. Mickey and both light up pedestals on the KTTW card ran downstairs to GS (3 midship) had them put all of the room charges under my name paid off the charges for what ended up being my birthday and Valentines day gifts and then had GS fix everything to make it look like it was never touched. The he went back to our room and hid the gifts and made it to the making of the magic and wonder in wavebands When he told me that story I just laughed that was more priceless than the gifts!
For dinner it was off to Palo. BF was FLOORED our wait staff was wonderful all BF could say was that it was breathless. Not bad for a guy who didnt like to travel prior to this trip. The meals were amazing! I had the lamb which was like cutting soft butter with a warm knife and BF had a double..YES A DOUBLE filet the waiter didnt even bat and eye the chocolate soufflé was AMAZING but since we were in an Italian Resturant the waiter also brought us a tiramissu which was also amazing. We ran back to our state room to finish packing and almost didnt make it we looked like goofs trying to get all of our stuff ready and outta there. We slept well one last nite and then it was time to go home
Time to go home
That sucked! No just having to leave everything went very smoothly our porter was great and our customs guy had a sense of humor he looked at BFs passport and then at BF and said close enough-go ahead-BF was speechless we waited for our limo that was right on time. And it was off to the airport.
Going thru the metal detectors was a bit difficult they confinscated the lighter I gave BF for his birthday the first year we were together it wasnt the right kind it got thru in Syracuse I was really upset it still kind of bothers me but when we got home we got him the second generation. Its not the same. They wouldnt even let us put it in the mail or put it in our luggage. Apparently they dont allow all weather lighters something about them being pressurized but I can tell you after that experience I definitely dont have any faith in our TSA in Syracuse..had they found it then I could have called someone and had them come get it and we would still have something that was very sentimental to us the TSA in Orlando wasnt very polite nor did they try to help the situation..they treated us like we ment to bring it with us I guess now a days its more important to pay attention to people giving TSA a hard time about how long it takes to get thru the detectors and not what is actually going thru them IMO.
We made it back to Syracuse with a couple of delays but we made it back I look forward to going again Im hoping in 2006 were planning on Kennedy Space Center and a 4 day cruise I loved every minute of it!
Wow! There is so much to write! Our journey started Jan 29 2004 very early in the morning. We had a 630 flight-which meant having to get up at 3AM to make sure we were set to go. A friend of ours was taking us to the airport at 430 She insisted on taking us even though it was so early! We got thru security the lady ahead of us was making a big stink b/c they only had one line open and a lot of people waiting TSA told her that she didnt need to fly today if she was going to keep up the attitude. BF and I fought over the window seat on the plane So, we compromised. I sat in it the first half-he got it the second half. I doozed on and off during the ride to Atlanta. We grabbed a quick bite to eat and then caught our connection to MCO. We landed at MCO at 1200 noon. BF said he was going thru culture shock. He said At 0300 Im in the middle of snow and its cold. At 1200 noon Im in the middle of palm trees! We grabbed our MEARS transportation and we were off!!! The MEARS driver was great. We were his last stop and gave us a tour of the Disney Properties.
Once we got to the Polynesian we checked in with luck on our side our room was ready! We got our leis, KTTW cards and then headed over to check in at the DCL set up they had The woman we were talking to didnt speak English very well..and was getting frustrated that the people in front of us didnt understand her. Im kind of shocked that Disney doesnt think to put someone like that in a different position but it wasnt any huge deal. We got to our room-ground floor your basic hotel room really I didnt see anything special about it except that it was themed. After we dropped our bags we were off to MGM
MGM was great, and so is Disney Transportation!!! We took the bus to MGM a simple ride. We grabbed something to eat I took some bonine and we were off to the tower of terror!!! This is where BF and I made a decision should we ever have kids they will have to be 40 inches tall and not in a stroller we saw a poor little boy be told he couldnt ride TOT b/c he was only like 38 inches I know they do this for safety reasons but the look on the kids face was enough to tear your heart out! TOT was awesome!!! And I think one of BFs favorite rides We then headed to Space Tours, Indiana Jones and finished with the movie tour that was kind of boring by then the park was going to close so we headed back to our hotel and got changed and headed to Downtown Disney
The next day it was off to the Magic Kingdom BF woke up grumpy but that quickly changed-he said its hard to be grumpy here-after breakfast he was much happier! We hit all the attractions and with little or no wait. We only had to fast pass Peter Pans Flight. We rode Space Mountain TWICE!!! Then it was off to Downtown Disney If you get a chance DEFINITELY check out the magic shop!!! The magician was awesome and got BF & I into the act it was a trip definitely PLAY ALONG!!!
On our bus ride home we had a great bus driver. He was from New Jersey He was great and gave us all sorts of information about the grounds His wife works for Disney too we learned a lot on that bus trip back to the hotel.
The next day it was off to Epcot!!! We went on Mission to Space first!!! It was AWSOME!!! Again we hit all the attractions with little or no wait but I got kind of board with all of the shows It was pouring rain outside so we ran (and I mean ran) thru the different lands we wanted to ride Mission to Space again but it was closed apparently Disney was having problems with its electricity in our entire trip there-it was the first time we heard sirens and we finally got to see a fire truck!!! BF and I are both in EMS so this was a big deal We were off to Downtown Disney again We only had one problem while in the parks and that was at Wolf Gang Puck Express we ordered our food and then all of the staff got up and walked out we never got our food so BF went for a refund and then we left no sooner did we leave they came out screaming for us to come back they had made BF a sandwich but it was the wrong one so we left again-this time with a steaming BF who was happy he handled himself well-only to go to McDonalds-let me tell you it was the BEST McDonalds we have ever had!!!
The next morning we were going to journey our way to Port Canaveral Unfortunately, I had to tell BF about the limo the 2nd day we were at the resort Apparently, if you stay on Disney property you have the option the day that you sail to go to Animal Kingdom for a character breakfast and then come back to the resort and get on the bus BF really wanted to do this So, one rainy night I had to break the news and tell him that we couldnt do Animal Kingdom b/c we had a limo waiting I also gave him the option to cancel if he really wanted to go to the Character Breakfast he loved the limo ride idea and was very excited! So, it was a quick morning We got up, went to Kona Café for breakfast came back to the room to chill out staff picked up our bags and we were off!!!
Our limo was right on time-I was expecting them to be early but on time was good too we asked him to swing by the new fire station so BF could get some pictures we did this instead of the grocery stop he was more than happy to however, while he was on his Nextel getting directions he didnt pay attention to the red light and almost got us broad sided!!! And then there was the illegal U turn that he made he didnt seem to know how to drive the vehicle-backing up was kind of funny but we got our pictures of the fire house and were off to port!!!
Once at port we got right in line! The only bad thing was that BF isnt much of a waiter so we sat there for just about 30 minutes we got to port pretty early but he dealt with it we didnt get our embarkment photo b/c he had such a scowl on his face but that soon changed when he stepped foot on the ship The announced us as we walked in and he thought that was a little weird They announced us by his last name! Um we arent married but hey! It seemed like everything was under his name!!! We hit the buffet and then off to make spa and palo ressies we got all the times we wanted! It was great!!! As we were walking around I got a quick picture of goofy and me! I think he was headed over to get out of his costume but its a great pic! We spent little time at the deck party BF doesnt dance and doesnt get into stuff like that so we went to see the ship sail away which he thought was really cool I was kind of upset that we didnt get to see more of the characters and stuff but what made it all better was when I thought I saw SHARKS around our ship!!! Come to find out those sharks were really dolphins playing around the ship as it set sail!!! That was really cool and I wouldnt have seen that if we were still at the deck party Captain Henry got on the PA and told us we were going to be hitting rough seas and to take some medication if needed I believe our waves were like 8-12 ft (BF says it was 20 ft Im not sure if I heard it right but I wouldnt dout 20ft) The ship rocked like you wouldnt believe!!! It was then off to our safety drill BF was so funny in his life vest I think that is the cutest picture he was in! We went down to animators palate listened to the talk and then really hoped they caught our number-they must have b/c we didnt get a nasty gram on our fish after that it was off to the Shopping in Nassau seminar I know that this is played every day-all day while at sea so we didnt need to go but it was worth it! WE got free coupons for all sorts of gem stones and bracelets I even won a beautiful set of pearls that were thrown out into the audience there was also the punch & play card where you go to stores and get these cards punched and then you could win a $500 gift basket After that it was off to Animators for dinner. We were with a couple from Tennesse and another from FL The FL couple didnt make it down the husband did but his wife was sick and he wanted to get back to her so he got food to go The couple for Tennesse we interesting our meals came and went and the best part was dessert BF ordered coffee which Fortune brought over telling him it was hot and them pretended to spill it on him no worries there was nothing in the cup but I dont think I have ever laughed that hard!!! The Southern Belle ordered nothing for dessert and that is exactly what she got! A plate that had nothing written in chocolate syrup on it!!! So, she got nothing After that we were sooo whipped we went to the room to hang and watched a movie and then it was off to bed BF loved the towel animals! And we had the best sleep I think weve had in a long time!!!
Nassau
Well, this was not what I expected! We got up-grabbed breakfast and were off to meet at Wavebands to get into our group for the dolphin encounter Once we were they they briefed us on what to expect, filled out our forms and got our tickets It was a very easy process. Then we were corralled off the ship and to the ferry to take us to Blue Lagoon The walk to the ferry terminal wasnt very far but let me tell you how small you feel standing in the ship yard! The water was an amazing blue and the sun was hot! We saw Atlantis from the ferry! There was even a guy parasailing-really just showing off to advertise we say a Mailboat and a couple of helicopters along the way once we got to Blue Lagoon they tried to take your picture but a simple no thanks worked..I was expecting them to be a little more persistant Im glad they werent. Once at BL they checked out tickets and got us into a briefing room-I dont think Disney does anything with out a pre-show it was very informative though I learned a lot they told us stuff about anatomy of the dolphin what they habits are like and that sort of thing it was really cool we then were broken down into our groups locked up our stuff and got into our wet suits that they provided they got us onto the pontoon and then told us what we were going to do first we took our family photo which we bought! That initial kiss was the first time I have ever touched a dolphin! It was an amazing feeling..kind of like a wet inner tube-Soca loved the attention! then we broke down into groups we danced, pet, hugged and kissed Soca they told us about training them it was a really neat experience!
Then it was off to the bridge tour this is a must see it was great! Did you know that the stabilizer fin on the bottom of the boat makes the wave 90% better! They showed us where the Mickey Horn was but we didnt get to push it L Oh well After that it was off to see Nassau We had gotten all sorts of free gemstone coupons from Michelle-the shopping lady We also wanted a chance to win the $500 gift basket so we were all set with our Punch NPlay Cards too! We had to go to like 6 shops and get them to punch this pink card then from there we had to drop it off at Tower Jewlery. So, we went got all of our free gem stones 1 blue topaz, 1 blue sapphire, 1 gold bracelette and 1 gold charm when we were done getting our punches we went back to Tower Jewlery BF thought that the store closed at 5:30pm but we were wrong-they must have closed at 5pm so we hung our heads and left but we still got some decent gemstones Im having the topaz made into a ring here.
The rest of the night we laid low we relaxed and watched a movie on our stateroom TV and then it was off to Parrot Cay for dinner!
Castaway Cay Day 3
The weather was beautiful for all of my worrying we were ok! We scheduled an early morning parasailing excursion..So, our first stop was Marges Barges we had our safety briefing and were off! We were the first ones to go I have NEVER been so scared in all of my life! I had a death grip on my harness but we were in the air! BF kept telling me to relax I was about as relaxed as I was going to get and then WHOOSH! A gust of wind would lift us higher!!! I definitely want to go on this again just b/c I want to know what to expect but WOW! What a view! It was fun in a strange way I guess
We got back and started to walk around we ate lunch but BF was starting to get a little dehydrated and burnt so we went back to the boat No worries BF was ok its just that he works nights and the amount of sun he sees in a year is less than an Eskimo sees so after we got to the ship, took care of our tips-which I wanted to get done b/c we were eating at palo the last night and didnt think we would make it to breakfast disembarkment morning I left BF on the ship and took off around Castaway Cay!!! I talked to Collin..the RN on the island he said there were about 40 people that live on the island they dont have many medical emergencies but should anything happen they could get Life Flight out of Miami to the airstrip over by the adult beach I got to look inside the First Aide building it was pretty simple really and then I asked for directions to the airstrip BF would have loved this since his part time job is with a helicopter service so it was off to take pictures of it so he wouldnt miss out I took the tram to the adult beach and walked back to the ship as I was coming back who did I bump into but BF! He didnt want the day to be a total loss so he figured that after he cooled down he would find me to hang for our last little bit We got our Konk Koolers and then were off to get out souvenirs at She Sell Sea Shells .He really got in to the pin trading something we will definitely be doing next cruise! So, it was off to the boat and time to get ready for dinner I decided that I was going to play bingo why not right??? Well, for $35.00 I could definitely think of other things to spend the $$$ on but I came I played I didnt win anything
I begged and pleaded with BF to get his picture taken with Mickey in his dress attire I finally got him to agree so we got our picture with Mickey and Minnie in their sailing attire its a cute picture but the ones at shutters sucked! But of course we bought one anyway when I got my pictures back the one they took with our camera was MUCH BETTER! It really is a cute shot!
Dinner at Tritons was ok I guess maybe I expected it to be better somehow it was just a plain old meal We sat and talked with our table mates for awhile and the couple from Tennesse wanted to know if the ground hog saw his shadow and then told BF that he wouldnt ask them that Ok word to the wise never EVER challenge BF he will to what ever it is just to spite you and that is exactly what he did he called Fortune over and asked him if he knew if the ground hog saw his shadow Now being that they have a different cultural backround they dont know what the ground hog is or what it means so poor Fortune walked all over the resturant and then finally called up to the deck to see if the ground hog saw his shadow Needless to say Fortune came back with a weather report from the bridge. BF and the rest of the table just laughed and then we tried to explain the ground hog to our wait staff only my BF! When we left we handed our wait staff their tip envelopes You would have thought we had given them a bushel barrel full of $100.00! I have never been thanked for a tip! The smile on their faces were priceless! They were worth every penny-that was for certain! Honestly, I think we doubled our wait staffs recommended amounts they were amazing!!!
Day at Sea
Our day at sea we had looked at the Navigators I had a massage ressie for 1pm. BF wanted to see The Making Of the Magic & Wonder at 130p and we had to do towel animals at 3p. Really, we spent the day exploring the ship like we havent seen it before. We were still amazed by everything! Time came for my massage and little did I know BF had something up his sleeve. He told me to go-get something to eat and then head over to the spa. I went ahead and grabbed something to eat. Later BF told me this story When we had gotten our documents he asked if he should read them figuring he never does what I tell him anyway I told him not to bother-I had done enough research-just follow my lead and call it good. What I didnt tell him is that I really wanted to glass piece in the documents with the ship lasered into it. When we finally got on the ship Treasures Ketch had it displayed I had made mention that I thought he would have had it waiting in our room BF asked why I didnt say anything and my reply was B/c I thought you might have done something on your own. Well, after he told me to go leave our stateroom (7 aft) he hurried up to TK (4 forward) only to find out that they dont take a discover card they will at guest services but not at the stores something about having the right antenna So, BF put not only the ship, but the laser Capt. Mickey and both light up pedestals on the KTTW card ran downstairs to GS (3 midship) had them put all of the room charges under my name paid off the charges for what ended up being my birthday and Valentines day gifts and then had GS fix everything to make it look like it was never touched. The he went back to our room and hid the gifts and made it to the making of the magic and wonder in wavebands When he told me that story I just laughed that was more priceless than the gifts!
For dinner it was off to Palo. BF was FLOORED our wait staff was wonderful all BF could say was that it was breathless. Not bad for a guy who didnt like to travel prior to this trip. The meals were amazing! I had the lamb which was like cutting soft butter with a warm knife and BF had a double..YES A DOUBLE filet the waiter didnt even bat and eye the chocolate soufflé was AMAZING but since we were in an Italian Resturant the waiter also brought us a tiramissu which was also amazing. We ran back to our state room to finish packing and almost didnt make it we looked like goofs trying to get all of our stuff ready and outta there. We slept well one last nite and then it was time to go home
Time to go home
That sucked! No just having to leave everything went very smoothly our porter was great and our customs guy had a sense of humor he looked at BFs passport and then at BF and said close enough-go ahead-BF was speechless we waited for our limo that was right on time. And it was off to the airport.
Going thru the metal detectors was a bit difficult they confinscated the lighter I gave BF for his birthday the first year we were together it wasnt the right kind it got thru in Syracuse I was really upset it still kind of bothers me but when we got home we got him the second generation. Its not the same. They wouldnt even let us put it in the mail or put it in our luggage. Apparently they dont allow all weather lighters something about them being pressurized but I can tell you after that experience I definitely dont have any faith in our TSA in Syracuse..had they found it then I could have called someone and had them come get it and we would still have something that was very sentimental to us the TSA in Orlando wasnt very polite nor did they try to help the situation..they treated us like we ment to bring it with us I guess now a days its more important to pay attention to people giving TSA a hard time about how long it takes to get thru the detectors and not what is actually going thru them IMO.
We made it back to Syracuse with a couple of delays but we made it back I look forward to going again Im hoping in 2006 were planning on Kennedy Space Center and a 4 day cruise I loved every minute of it!
-em
