All I Got Was A Lousy T-Shirt. . .(SleepyD's WetnWild Shower Fan Club -16 Feb 07)

[firstmickey]

waiting for the next one!!!!

 

[sleepydog25]

Okayokayokay! First things first: no, there was never a link to my pictures.

Second, I lied. Yes, I did have a link, two actually, to my pics. . .ALL my pics. So, for those of you who saw it then didn't see it, you aren't going crazy. Well, you may very well be mentally unstable, I do not know for certain. But. You aren't trippin' on THAT particular item.

Third. For those of you who heard about it and missed it, tough noogies. Okay, not really. The pics will re-appear, but doled out along with my future episodes. I am not a technical wizard by any stretch of the imagination--I just learned how to use a microwave last year. Don't even get me started on the DVR thingamajigaheebiejeebie. Satan's work there. So, the fact that I had provided a link to all my pics was news to me. Despite 1stM's assertion that she advised me not to put the link in the trippie, I had no frickin' (nof) idea I had! Help after the fact isn't help, missy, it's hubris. You may look that up.

Fifthly (I don't like the number 4 much), we've had seven (7) power outages since sometime around 10:30 this morning, and though none has lasted over 30 seconds, each one POWERS DOWN THE COMPUTER. And--wait for it--loses what I've been typing. I had nice responses to everyone's comments from the last episode nearly completely done (and this took some time because I do read each and every comment closely) when the first drop occurred. Happy not was I. So sayeth Yoda. Amen. As the outages continued without warning through the day, I opted not to retype said comments. But, please understand, I truly do appreciate them all, even the smart-ssa ones. . .well, especially those if I'm in cantankerous mood. And I will try to always answer each one, or at least the majority of them. I owe you that much for tuning in. Honestly, I've been shocked at the wonderful response to my admitted verbosity. Cripes, I can't even type this thank you without taking my own sweet time!

Finale. Due to the aforementioned outages, I did not work on my TR today, though as curlybop mentioned, it was a grey, cool, rainy day here in the Old Dominion. I will get to work on it as soon as I can unlock my fingers from the keyboard and this note. I shall be posting another eppie soon. . .with pics. . .

And. I shall endeavor to reward your patience. . .
Your humble (well, sort of) servant (okay, more like freelance help),
Sleepy

 

[firstmickey]

Hubris or hybris (Greek ,) according to its modern usage, is exaggerated pride or self-confidence, often resulting in fatal retribution. In Ancient Greek hubris referred to actions taken in order to shame the victim, thereby making oneself seem superior.



It was definitely NOT hubris...I was trying to be helpful! Honest!

 

[sleepydog25]

Hubris or hybris (Greek ,) according to its modern usage, is exaggerated pride or self-confidence, often resulting in fatal retribution. In Ancient Greek hubris referred to actions taken in order to shame the victim, thereby making oneself seem superior.



It was definitely NOT hubris...I was trying to be helpful! Honest!

Man, I hate it when folks have access to an online encylopedia! That was fast! lol

 

[sleepydog25]

Day 2: Day-Glo Orange Isn’t My Color​

Did I mention the crew were very friendly? After ogling our surroundings for a few minutes, I wanted to take a shot of Doc sitting in a huge porthole window. I know, I know. Not a good idea due to sunshine streaming in, but I liked the idea. As I lined up the picture, one of the ship’s staff walked up and offered to take a shot of both of us. So, here it is, the first pic with me in it. Can you see me?

Aarrgghh! We be sitting in a porthole off the main lobby of the Wonder. When can ye start drinking, cap'n?

Our very next stop was Guest Services, a place we frequented often. . .as do many others on cruises. It’s there that you can get all sorts of information and help, and not once do they look at you like the lunkhead you are for wanting to know which side is port and which is starboard. Doc had come across some good ideas of ways to show Princess that we loved her and did miss her. One of the best was dropping off a pillow case for the characters to sign. Doc had hand sewn a lovely Disney princess appliqué onto the pillow case, so it was very unique. However, she’d read where the autographing of such items had gotten so time consuming for the characters, that it was no longer a sure thing they would do it. Have I mentioned Doc is a planner? We spied a ranking staff member at Guest Services, walked right up, and explained to him our request. In the XL plastic bag along with the pillowcase were four pens—red, green, blue, and purple. Doc had also enclosed a cardboard backing so that the colors wouldn’t bleed through when they signed their names. There was a large card addressed to the characters with our information, a thank you note for their time, and an explanation why Princess wasn't tagging along on this trip with us. Most importantly, there was a huge bag of Hershey’s kisses for the characters to share. How could they say no? The officer smiled and gladly accepted the case. He chuckled out loud at seeing the chocolate kisses. We were so in!



Now, I know lots of first-time cruisers prefer walking around the ship instead of eating after first boarding. Not us. We were hungry. Remember the almond French toast? Uh huh. A quad venti latte with two raw sugars can only take one so far in terms of nutrition. Leaving Guest Services, we noticed the general crowd flow was headed toward Carrot Cay. Wait, make that Parrot Cove. Crap. I still can’t get the name of that restaurant right. As others have mentioned, there is always someone(s) stationed outside each restaurant with wet wipes, as well as these little stations where you can place your hands underneath a device that dispenses a small squirt of (I hope!) hand sanitizing gel. What everyone else has failed to mention is that just within your peripheral vision stands Guido. He wears a dark pinstripe suit and wears brass knucks. Moral: Sanitize or be sanitized.



Actually Carrot Cove was the restaurant we had decided not to visit for dinner during our cruise. The reason is we wanted to do Palo—the adults only restaurant on Deck 10. So, getting to eat at ParrotCave for our first meal was good karma. Plus, the other lunch option, Beachcombers Blanket Bingo Bonanza Buffet (something like that) was to be our choice each day for breakfast. We walked in still rubbing our hands with the wet wipes (I HAD seen Guido) and were promptly seated. Remember the wedding party I mentioned? Well, for some reason, it was assumed we were with them. Granted, Doc could pass for an angelic blushing bride or bridesmaid, but I look too. . .mature. . .to pass as anything but the father of the bride. We got a few odd looks from the actual wedding party guests as we were seated near them, but since there was enough room, all was well.



The food was quite tasty, too. The buffet was filled with delightful treats from ham salad (no, really GOOD ham salad with slivers of ham with olives, roasted red peppers, etc.), to baked salmon, to pork escalope, to chicken, to fresh fruit, to desserts such as tiramisu and cheesecake. We didn’t want to eat too much since we were still up in the air about our dining plans. Though we had made the Palo reservations prior to the trip, we knew we needed to tweak our ressies based on the dining rotation printed on our Key to the World cards we got at check-in. At any rate, we might be eating around 6, so moderation was the key for lunch.



Since our room wasn’t going to be ready until 1:30 (actually, it was ready at 1:27), we wandered around the ship to get our first good look at our home for the next three days and nights. It’s still amazing to me just how open and spacious the Wonder felt. Our first stop was at Wavebands to get our dining plans in order. We had reserved Palo for Friday night; unfortunately, our dining rotation called for PTA (that’s cruise talk for Parrot Grotto, , Triton’s, and Animator’s Palate) –remember, we didn’t want to include Carrot Key for a dinner experience. It was an easy fix. In short, we wound up with Palo on Friday night as planned , with Animator’s Palate tonight and Triton’s on our last night. Does that make any sense? Do you need a scorecard? From there, it was more ship exploration.



My javadar apparently was still on scan mode because soon we found ourselves in the Cove Café, or as I called it, a slice of heaven café. It’s an adults only coffee and drink bar. We introduced ourselves to Veronika from the CzechRepublic who was not only friendly, chatty, and cute (Ouch! Doc just whacked me. I simply made a journalistic observation, dear), but who also turned out to be a marvelous barista. She was my favorite CM. . .she held cay, er, key to my morning existence. . .quad. . .lattes. . .with. . .two. . .raw. . .sugars. . .and mochaccinos for Doc with a cute little heart made out of straw wrappers.



As 1:30 approached, we went to our room and saw that it was ready for us and met our steward, Oliver. The first thing we noticed was the gift basket. Yep, we had ordered one and it was waiting for us, overflowing with wine, chocolates, cookies, cheese, and crackers. We cracked open the wine and sipped on a very nice shiraz while gnoshing on the cheese and crackers.

A present aweigh-ts us. . .

We got our first look at the stateroom and once again thrilled at the roominess of our accommodations. Disney did their homework. We had a Cat 6 room which means a verandah. There was ample closet and drawer space. We had brought an over the door shoe holder for extra storage, but for 2-3 people, we found there was plenty of space. Add another adult or two, however, and we could see how the shoe holder would come in handy. (See? Another friendly tip brought to you this time by Doc.) The bathroom is actually two small rooms with a sink and mirror in each—one has the toilet, the other holds the shower/bath. Closer toward the verandah was a couch that could be pulled out for a separate sleeping arrangement and a vanity area with mirror, along with a small TV and a cooling unit for drinks, etc., cleverly hidden in a cabinet. The crowning touch was a sliding glass door leading to the verandah which held two deck chairs and a small table. We paused to lean against the railing, reflecting about the good times that were to follow in the next few days. Doc touched my arm, turned me around, and looked deep into my eyes.

“You know,” she said softly, “we are going to be in sooooo much trouble when we tell Princess where we were.”

“Oh, yeah.” I chuckled. . .the chuckle of a man soon to be walking with painted feet. . .



About that time, Doc remembered the door decoration she had made for the voyage. Apparently, a lot of cruisers make signs to hang or stick via magnetic tape to their stateroom doors. Doc took it as a personal challenge to do it up right. And she did. Here’s proof:

Okay, I have to give all the credit to Doc for this. And it's the best one I saw on the whole ship. Have I mentioned we left Princess at home?


We had agreed to meet with our online friends at 2 p.m. by the Mickey pool, so we quickly headed up. By the way, we decided that having a stateroom on the 6th deck was serendipitous. Easy access to any deck of note. Want to go to a bar? Three decks down. Want Cove Café? Three decks up. Since the elevators tend to be very busy during normal hours, we walked nearly everywhere, and three flights of stairs is easy. Anyway, we met our friends Momsully, FatherForce, Fallon & hubby, Mickey4Diane, and Bethsg. Some were there with kids, others with a spouse or friend. None of our dining schedules seemed to match up well with each other, nor excursions either. As it turned out, this was the first and last group meeting, but it was still delightful to put faces with names and get to know each other a little better. It was also rather cool to bump into friendly faces during the cruise and to hear about their experiences. Speaking of, FatherForce, where were you and the missus on Friday afternoon at 2 p.m. after your "spa" treatment? Weren't you guys headed to the wine tasting? (Quick plug: FatherForce has done his own TR to include a pre-trip to WDW.

Bloat and Float Trip 06 Go check it out—he’s a funny man!)


After the meet, it was back to the room to check on our luggage. Mine had arrived. . .as in Doc’s had not. Uh-oh. I reminded her that we were told it could be as late as 5 p.m. which soothed her not given that we planned to go see the 6:15 show of Hercules, The Muse-ical. For you non-cruisers, the show times and seatings at restaurants coincide, so that if you have a late dinner ressie you can make the early show and vice versa. A more pressing issue was that the mandatory lifeboat drill was dead ahead at 4 p.m. which would cut into the time needed for Doc to unpack and get ready to go out. Besides, the Sail-Away Party follows immediately after the drill, and Doc didn’t want to miss out on the booty shaking. Me, either.



Sure enough, the announcement for the lifeboat drill began playing over the intercom and through the TV, voiced by our cruise director, Christiaan. “Welcome aboard the Disney Wonder! This will be the last time that I use the overhead intercoms located in your rooms.” Well, that’s good to know! Naturally, I began to wonder if there were cameras, too. . .hmmmm. . . Christiaan continued:

“Please take a moment to locate your life jackets.” What he really meant to say was, you can’t miss the day-glo orange blocks of Styrofoam sitting in the closet, and yes, you will look silly in them.

“Once you’ve put them on, please note the location of your muster stations on the ship and the directions on how to get to them.” No one is listening, so blah, blah, blah, and I know almost none of you know aft from forward or port from starboard. Just get out to the hallways, and we’ll have people telling you where to go.

“This is a mandatory drill. Though we don’t expect to have any problems on the cruise, we want you to know that safety is one of our paramount concerns.” We know you’ve seen the video of a competitor’s ship nearly tipping over, so you really don’t want to miss this little demonstration now do you?

“Please place your vests on BEFORE you assemble at your muster stations.” If you wind up in a real emergency, you ain’t gonna want to be fooling with the strap while climbing into a boat.

“With everyone’s cooperation, this drill won’t take long, and we can proceed to dancing and drinking Bahama Mamas at the Sail-Away Party!” No matter what I say, some people are going to ignore my comments, but that’s okay, we’re used to it, and we can proceed to dancing and drinking Bahama Mamas at the Sail-Away Party!”



For the record, the life-jackets are low-tech, so I was able to figure out how to put them on. Doc has no comment on the matter. Of course, what’s a cruise trippie without proof that you, too, can look attractive in bright orange.

These jackets are sooooo cute. Are they sold at Macy's?

C'mon up and see me some time. . .I'll be your personal flotation device. . .

After donning our gay apparel, we hoofed it to our muster station. Surprisingly, the crew not only knew who belonged in their area but whether or not you had showed up. So much for me bellowing an “aye, aye, Cap’n!” when my name was called. The hardest part was scooting in close to your fellow cruisers. I mean really close. It wasn’t that I was afraid to breathe, just that I couldn’t. Sardines have it easy comparatively. As advertised, the drill was short-lived, and soon we were back in our cabin. . .no new luggage.



To calm Doc’s anxiety, we headed up to catch the Sail-Away Party. And to shake our collective booties. A little. By the time we got there, the festivities had begun which included, ironically enough, a Shake Your Booty contest between three men. One we’ll call Frat Brother, the second is dubbed Forever in Blue Jeans, and the third is Gramps. First up was Forever in Blue Jeans, and he did, well, just okay. For all the agitation going on in his pants, he had all the rhythm of an arthritic T-Rex. Frat Brother was next, and he was a good 15 years or so younger than the first competitor. Obviously, he had been watching wayyyy too many Beyonce videos. Just imagine Fred Flintstone doing the grind. Finally, there was Gramps (so dubbed by the DJ), the prohibitive dark horse in this contest. It looked like he had to put down his Marlboro and Schlitz beer before starting, but he was startingly. . .not bad. And. He was the crowd favorite by a large margin. What did they get for all their public display of humor? Free spa packages from Vistas Spa! Crap! Next time, I’m there down on the front row!!

Digital card for camera: $36 Digital camera: $225 Dancing Disney characters: Priceless (okay, not really--these trips are expensive!)

Naturally, the crowd was urged to sing, dance, and drink. Yes, drinking is a common theme even on board a Disney cruise. Several Disney characters joined in the revelry as the Wonder slowly slipped into the sea (okay, I know it’s an ocean, but I wanted some alliteration). Doc and I stepped over to the railing and watched Port Canaveral sliding by. Hey, there’s Grills! And some of the diners are standing at their tables waving big Mickey hands! Cool! Oh, and there’s Dude Man playing “In-A-gadda-da-vida” and shooting at us with his index finger! Again.



As the port area slipped farther and farther behind us, we heard the ship's horn blast the first few notes of "When you wish upon a star. . ." Now if that doesn't give you chills as you're standing on the deck anticipating your first cruise, then check your pulse. It was time to stop our daydreaming and get back to the task at hand--seeing if Doc’s luggage was waiting for us in our stateroom. Still, it had been a great day already. We were actually cruising. . .



Next episode, experience the excitement, feel the heat, explore the Wonder with Doc and Sleepydog in Day 2: Guess Who’s Going to Dinner? and Other Muse-ings

 

[firstmickey]

I disagree...>I think Day Glo Orange is sooooooooo your color!

 

[Grammyof2]

Dog - Great - we are on the ship

Loving the pictures, but remember I am a Grammy, so could you make em a little bigger next time. Pretty please, with Catsup on top

 

[sheridac]

D~

Thank you soooooo much. For that. No, really. Thanks. A lot.

One thing's for sure.

I will NOT be going on a cruise. ANY TIME SOON.

I would sooooo not be caught dead in one of those!!!

Eeeek!!

 

[FatherForce]

"Speaking of, FatherForce, where were you and the missus on Friday afternoon at 2 p.m. after your "spa" treatment? Weren't you guys headed to the wine tasting? "


Uh, I, I mean we, uh...

I'm writing our Cruise report now, but some of that time might not be included.

 

[curlybop]

Once again, another great installment. Oh, it's nice to see you did actually go on a cruise too. Doc, the door signs look marvelous!

I am just waiting on how you told Princess where you went, and how she reacted - besides the painted toenails of course.

 

[dallastxcpa]

Another Great episode. Sounds like a great start to a Wonderful cruise.

 

[RoyalVizier]

The crowning touch was a sliding glass door leading to the verandah which held two deck chairs and a small table.

Nice description of the room!

I don't know if you realize or not, but you provided another handy dandy tip to your readers regarding the verandah door. It slides, people. Slides! I'm just saying...

 

[pppiglet]

I don't know if you realize or not, but you provided another handy dandy tip to your readers regarding the verandah door. It slides, people. Slides! I'm just saying...

Hee Hee...I remember!

 

[Ski-and-Sea]

Sleepy,

You never would have been able to pose like that with the old lifevests DCL used to have.

Cheers to person at DCL who ordered the new lifevests....and is that an approved use of a PFD???

 

[grumpydude]

Dog

Your TR is most remarkable. Undoubtedly one of the better ones I have read. I am humbled by your museings.

Grumpy Dude

 

[miztigg]

I need the next installment PLEASE

 

[Backstage_Gal]

Dog, most excellent report, but we need more Cowbell!!! Umm, I mean pictures, yeah, that's it!

 

[sleepydog25]

I disagree...>I think Day Glo Orange is sooooooooo your color!

I disagree with your disagree. I think day-glo lime green is my color. . .

Dog - Great - we are on the ship

Loving the pictures, but remember I am a Grammy, so could you make em a little bigger next time. Pretty please, with Catsup on top

Ever hear of glasses?

I will NOT be going on a cruise. ANY TIME SOON.

I would sooooo not be caught dead in one of those!!!

Eeeek!!

You've got it all wrong. The idea is to be caught alive in one of those. . .silly Irish woman. . .

Uh, I, I mean we, uh...

I'm writing our Cruise report now, but some of that time might not be included.

Once again, another great installment. Oh, it's nice to see you did actually go on a cruise too. Doc, the door signs look marvelous!

I am just waiting on how you told Princess where you went, and how she reacted - besides the painted toenails of course.

I have a good editor. And. Thought it was gonna be false advertising, eh? And. Just a hint. . .Princess was, well, ummm. . .no hint. . .you gotta keep reading. . .

Another Great episode. Sounds like a great start to a Wonderful cruise

Thank you! It was and it was!

I don't know if you realize or not, but you provided another handy dandy tip to your readers regarding the verandah door. It slides, people. Slides! I'm just saying...

Actually, it was completely inadvertent. Doc had to fill me in on the back story. Umm, and did said people also have an issue with the cooler? I mean, there were two doors on that sucker!

 

[NAB]

I'm glad I have a face to the name now.....Even though the life jacket was almost all that you saw. And the first one your halo was so bright I couldn't see either.

Our room was on the first floor the both times we went. First time they gave us that room and the second time we requested it. We didn't mind all the stairs up to the 9th. Good exercise since we ate to much.

 

[firstmickey]

I disagree with your disagree. I think day-glo lime green is my color. . .

We are gonna need pics for proof.