DETAILED Trip Report 09/08/07 Magic!!!!!!!!!!!

[dmi188]

 

[fltink]

Ok ummmmmmmm Jennica.. whats the deal? You said you didn't take pictures that day but then later in the TR you said... and I quote "We chatted with her for a bit, took some cute photos and then went to The Promenade Lounge to chill out before dinner." Hmmmmmmmmmm holding out? Did you really think I wouldn't notice?

That's right! We did take one picture with Rachel.......

 

[fltink]

8:30a-9a- Adults: Friends of Bill W. in Animator’s Palate
9a-10:15a- Family: Open House in OceanQuest
9a-10a- 3-7 Yrs.: 5,4,3,2,1 Blast Off in the Oceaneer Club
9a-10a- 8-9 Yrs.: Games Galore in the Oceaneer Lab
9a-10a- 10-12 Yrs.: Hangin’ In the Stack and Improv Games
9:30a-10a- Family: Animation in the Promenade Lounge
9:30a-10:30a- Family: Mini-Soccer on the Wide World of Sports Deck
9:30a-10a- Family: Future Cruise Presentation in Diversions
10a-12p- Movies: The Wild in the Buena Vista Theater
10a-10:15a- Family: Bingo Pre-Sales in Rockin’ Bar D
10a-10:45a- 3-4 Yrs.: Fragile Forts in the Oceaneer Club
10a-11a- 5-7 Yrs.: Monstropolis Most Wanted in the Oceaneer Lab
10a-10:30a- 10-12 Yrs.: Culture Shock in The Stack
10:15a-11a- Family: Shopping Jackpot Bingo in the Promenade Lounge
10:15a-11a- Adults: Disney’s Art of Entertaining: Dazzling Desserts in Studio Sea
10:30a-11a- 8-9 Yrs.: Sports Deck Fun on the Wide World of Sports Deck
10:30a-11:30a- Teens: Coffee Break on the Deck 7 Aft Overlook
10:45a-11:15a- 3-4 Yrs.: Parachute Games in the Oceaneer Club
10:45a-11:15a- Family: Mr. Toad’s Wild Race in the Lobby Artium
11a-12p- Special: Castaway Clubhouse in Beat Street
11a-12p- 5-7 Yrs.: Animation Antics in the Oceaneer Lab
11a-11:30a- 8-9 Yrs.: Goofy World Records on the Wide World of Sports Deck
11a-12p- 10-12 Yrs.: Marshmellow Olympics in the Stack
11:15a-12:15p- 3-4 Yrs.: Do-Si-Do with Snow White in the Oceaneer Club
11:30a-12:30p- Family: Mickey 200 in the Promenade Lounge
11:30a-12:30p- Adult: Ping Pong Tournament on Deck 9
11:30a-1p- Teens: Ping Pong Tournament in the Stack
12p-1:15p- Teens: Who Wants to Be a Mouseketeer in Studio Sea
12p-12:45p- 5-7 Yrs.: Lunch in the Oceaneer Lab
12:15p-12:45p- 3-4 Yrs.: Lunch in the Oceaneer Club
12:15p-12:45p- 10-12 Yrs.: Lunch in Animator’s Palate
12:15p-1p- Special: Virtual Tours on the Ariel View Screen (Decks 9 & 10)
12:30p-1:15p- 8-9 Yrs.: Lunch in OceanQuest
12:30p-1:30p- Family: Disney Vacation Club Presentation in Diversions
12:30p-1p- Family: Juggling Workshop in Rockin’ Bar D
12:30p-1p- Adults: Singles Lunch in Parrot Cay
12:45p-1:15p- 3-4 Yrs.: Sliding Fun and Games in the Oceaneer Club
12:45p-1:15p- 5-7 Yrs.: To Infinity and Beyond in the Oceaneer Lab
12:45p-1:15p- 10-12 Yrs.: Stop the Bus in Animator’s Palate
1p-1:45p- Special: Discover Shopping Show in the Buena Vista Theater
1p-1:30p- Family: Eco-Quiz on the Ariel View Screen (Decks 9 & 10)
1p-2p- Adults: Secrets to a Flatter Stomach in the Promenade Lounge
1p-2p- Adults: The Making of the Disney Magic in Rockin’ Bar D
1:15p-2:15p- 10-12 Yrs.: Animation in Animator’s Palate
1:15p-2p- 8-9 Yrs.: Wonderful World of Magic in OceanQuest
1:15p-2:15p- Teens: Brains and Brawn Challenge 2 in the Stack
1:30p-2:15p- Family: Fun in the Sun at The Goofy Pool
1:45p-2:30p- Family: Art Auction Preview in the Art Gallery
1:45p-2:45p- 3-4 Yrs.: Nemo’s Coral Reef Adventures in the Oceaneer Club
1:45p-2:45p- 5-7 Yrs.: Detective School in the Oceaneer Lab
2p-2:15p- Family: Golden Mickey Red Carpet Arrivals in Preludes Lounge
2p-3p- Adults: Margarita and Tequila Tasting in Sessions (Pre-Book)
2p-3p- Adults: Wine Tasting in Diversions (Pre-Book)
2p-2:30p- Adults: Cake and Plate Decorating in Studio Sea
2p-2:45p- 8-9 Yrs.: Computer Madness in OceanQuest
2:15p-4:15p- Special: High School Musical 2 on the Ariel View Screen
2:15p-3:15p- Family: The Golden Mickeys in The Walt Disney Theater
2:15p-2:45p- Family: Paper Plane Making in the Promenade Lounge
2:15p-2:45p- 10-12 Yrs.: Mickey’s Match in Animator’s Palate
2:15p-3:15p- Teens: Disney Scene It in the Stack
2:30p-4:30p- Movie: Ratatouille in the Buena Vista Theater
2:30p-3:30p- Family: Art Auction at Sea in the Lobby Atrium
2:30p-3p- Adults: Pool Games at the Quiet Cove Pool
2:45p-3p- 3-4 Yrs.: Sliding Fun in the Oceaneer Club
3p-5p- Family: OceanQuest Open House
3p-3:30p- Adults: Giant Jenga in Diversions
3p-4p- Adults: Art of the Theme Show Ship Tour starting in Palo
3p-4p- 3-7 Yrs.: Aloha Luau Party in the Oceaneer Club
3p-3:45p- 8-12 Yrs.: Free Time and Paper Plane Making in the Oceaneer Lab
3:15p-3:30p- Family: Bingo Pre-Sales in Rockin’ Bar D
3:15p-3:45p- Teens: Chillin’ In The Stack
3:30p-4p- Character: Lilo and Stitch in the Oceaneer Club
3:30p-4:15p- Family: Movie Jackpot Bingo in Rockin’ Bar D
3:45p-4:15p- 8-9 Yrs.: Nestle Jr. Chef in the Oceaneer Lab
4p-4:45p- Family: Chip It Golf in the Lobby Atrium (Must Be 12 or Older to Play)
4p-4:30p- Family: Gemstone Seminar in the Promenade Lounge
4p-5p- Adults: Martini Tasting in Sessions (Pre-Book)
4p-5p- Adults: Beer Tasting in Rockin’ Bar D (Pre-Book)
4p-5:15p- 3-7 Yrs.: Color Yourself Heroic in the Oceaneer Club
4p-4:45p- 10-12 Yrs.: Around the World in 7 Days at Topsiders
4p-4:45p- Teens: SoccerFest on the Wide World of Sports Deck
4:15p-5:15p- Family: Volleyball on the Wide World of Sports Deck
4:45p-5p- 8-9 Yrs: Circles of Fun at the Oceaneer Lab
4:45p-5:15p- 10-12 Yrs.: DCL Trivia at Topsiders
5p-6p- Adults: Pub Trivia in Diversions
5p-5:15p- Teens: Chillin’ in the Stack
5:15p-6:15p- Special: Captain’s Welcome Reception in the Lobby Atrium
5:15p-5:45p- Character: Donald Duck in Preludes
5:15p-6p- Family: Family Dance Party with Wave in the Promenade Lounge
5:15p-6p- 8-12 Yrs.: Dinner at Topsiders
5:15p-6:15p- Teens: Marshmellow Olympics in The Stack
5:30p-6p- Character: Minnie, Sorcerer Mickey and Alice in the Lobby Atrium
5:30p-6:15p- 3-7 Yrs.: Dinner at Topsiders
6p-8p- Movie: Ratatouille in the Buena Vista Theater
6p-6:15p- Family: Golden Mickeys Red Carpet Arrivals in Preludes
6p-8p- Adults: NFL Monday Night Football in Diversions
6:15p-7:15p- Family: The Golden Mickeys in The Walt Disney Theater
6:15p-7p- 8-12 Yrs.: Karaoke in Studio Sea
6:15p-7:15p- Teens: Wii Ten Pin Bowlathon in The Stack
6:30p-7:15p- 3-4 Yrs.: Sports Deck Fun on the Wide World of Sports Deck
6:30p-7:15p- 5-7 Yrs.: Marzipan in the Oceaneer Lab
7p-7:30p- Family: DJ Music in the Promenade Lounge
7:15p-8:15p- Special: Captain’s Welcome Reception in the Lobby Atrium
7:15p-8:15p- 5-7 Yrs.: Stitch’s Great Adventures in the Oceaneer Lab
7:15p-8:15p- 8-12 Yrs.: Sports Deck Fun on the Wide World of Sports Deck
7:15p-7:30p- Teens: Chillin’ In The Stack
7:30p-8p- Characters: Daisy Duck in Preludes
7:30p-8p- Family: Cabaret: Randy Cabrall in Rockin’ Bar D
7:30p-8p- Family: Family Dance Party in Studio Sea
7:30p-8:15p- Family: Live Music with Wave in The Promenade Lounge
7:30p-8:15p- Adults: Piano and Vocal Artistry in Sessions
7:30p-8:30p- 3-4 Yrs.: Little Einsteins Adventures in the Oceaneer Club
7:30p-8p- Teens: Cabaret Show in the Stack
8p-8:45p- Adult: Commercial Break NFL Trivia in Diversions
8p-9p- Teens: Twister Moves in The Stack
8:15p-10:15p- Movie: Ratatouille in the Buena Vista Theater
8:15p-8:30p- Family: Golden Mickeys Red Carpet Arrivals in Preludes
8:15p-8:45p- 8-9 Yrs.: Hoop It Up on the Wide World of Sports Deck
8:30p-9:30p- Family: The Golden Mickeys in the Walt Disney Theater
8:30p-9:15p- 3-7 Yrs.: Games Galore in the Oceaneer Club
8:30p-9:30p- 10-12 Yrs.: Mysterious Islands on the Deck 7 Aft Overlook
9p-11:30p- Special: NFL Monday Night Football on the Ariel View Screen
9p-11:30p- Adults: Monday Night Football in Diversions
9p-9:30p- 8-9 Yrs.: Goofy Files in the Oceaneer Lab
9p-10p- Teens: Shout About Music in The Stack
9p-10:30p- Teens: Pump It Up in the Vista Spa
9:15p-10:15p- 3-7 Yrs.: The Royal Ball in the Oceaneer Club
9:30p-10p- Characters: Cinderella in the Lobby Atrium
9:30p-10:15p- Family: Golden Mickeys After Party in Studio Sea
9:30p-10p- Family: Think You Know Your Music in the Promenade Lounge
9:30p-10:15p- Adults: Piano and Vocal Artistry in Sessions
9:30p-10:15p- Adults: Golden Mickeys After Party w/Taylor Mason in Rockin’ Bar D
9:45p-10:30p- 10-12 Yrs.: Pizza Perfection at Topsiders
10p-11p- Family: Motown Music with Wave in the Promenade Lounge
10:15p-10:45p- 3-7 Yrs.: Memory Wall Game in the Oceaneer Club
10:15p-11:15p- 8-9 Yrs.: Marshmellow Olympics in the Oceaneer Lab
10:30p-12a- Movie: Invincible in the Buena Vista Theater
10:30p-11:15p- Adults: A Tribute to Frank Sinatra in Sessions
10:30p-10:30p- Teens: Crowning of the Couch Potato in The Stack
11p-11:30p- Family: Live Music in the Promenade Lounge
11:15p-12a- 8-12 Yrs.: Free Time in the Oceaneer Lab
11:30p-2a- Adults: DJ Music in Rockin’ Bar D
11:30p-12a- Adults: Piano and Vocal Artistry in Sessions
11:30p-12:15a- Teens: Karaoke in the Stack
12:15a-2a- Teens: Pajama Jam in The Stack

 

[Donnica]

Thank you Jennica. Didn't want you holding out on us.

 

[Mr. & Mrs. Smith]

Great TR so far! DH and I are really enjoying it!

 

[imheather]

You are getting me so excited for mt May cruise I can't wait ti here about the rest of your port days.

Great Job!

Heather

 

[LivingtheWDWdream]

Ok i"m hooked what a great report! More please

 

[fltink]

Day Four- Tuesday- 9/11/07 (Our Anniversary!)
Grand Cayman

First Tender: Approx. 7:30am
Last Tender: 4:30pm

Evening Attire: Cruise Casual
Animator’s Palate: Master Chef
Parrot Cay: Master Chef
Lumiere’s: Master Chef

Drink of the Day: Land Ahoy

Happy Anniversary to us!!!! Two years ago from this day, Jay and I got married on this very same itinerary, but in Key West! What an awesome way to celebrate! And how exactly did we celebrate??? By not spending the day together! ) You’ll see what I mean!

Jay’s favorite place in the whole wide world is Sting Ray City so it was a given that he was going there. Because I know how expensive the Disney excursion is, I did some research and found a group that had a great reputation within my travel agency called Moby Dick Tours. (mobydicktours.com) It’s a small operation, run by just a few guys who love Sting Ray City and love sharing it with other people. Plus, the boats are smaller, so it’s fewer people, there’s no age restrictions, so my 2 year old niece was able to go, they allow you to get off at 7 Mile Beach after the excursion if you choose to AND it’s only $25 per person! Since they don’t really do anything in a formal manner, (no reservations, no pre-paying, cash only.) we didn’t have to decide who was going and who wasn’t in advance. Now, I had done Sting Ray City before and was not a huge fan. I mean, the rays are beautiful and it’s fun to see, but I tend to be afraid of fish touching me and so I didn’t enjoy the rays clinging to my body. I decided to skip the excursion with David and everyone else went.

In order to get their early tender tickets, the Sting ray City crew (Jay, Heather, Beth, Dee, Cady, Christine, Christina and Teresa) were at the Walt Disney Theater at 7am. They got one of the first tenders out. After a bit of location confusion, they met the Tour Guides from Moby Dick Tours on the end of the pier around 9am. I can tell you what I know about the excursion and maybe Christina can jump in after me and fill in the blanks. The group consisted of our crew, plus about 10-15 more people and that’s it. Very intimate and personalized. They took a van to where the “Moby Dick” was (the name of the boat, of course.) and headed out to the sand bar. The ride was fun and relaxing with lots of personalized discussion with the Tour Guides (William and Nicholas). They got tons of time at the sand bar with the rays and then also got to go to the coral reef and snorkel there as well. (Unfortunately all these pictures were taken on a water camera so I can not post them.) Our group had a blast and said that they would never do Sting Ray City with any other tour company again. The guys were great and the excursion was the best they had ever had!

After the excursion Beth, Heather and Cady went to Margaritaville, where Cady played on the waterslide of hours and suddenly discovered that she could, in fact, swim under water. She was so excited and so proud of herself! Jay and Dee headed back to the ship to meet up with David and I.

While all of this was going on, David and I had decided to sleep in and call one another in the cabin when we were up. Around 10am we met up for breakfast at Topsiders and took a walk around Deck 10, enjoying the view of Grand Cayman.

Shortly after, we decided to disembark and go walk around the island for a bit. We tendered in (I got some awesome ship photos as we did so)

and then set out for Margaritaville first. We had a drink ($25 US each!!!!!!!!!!!) and chilled out for a bit. Next we went to Donnica’s favorite Grand Cayman hangout, Breezes By the Bay. That’s the awesome bar that has a big porch that overlooks the pier and the ships. In honor of Donnica, David had himself a Hurricane Category 5 and I had a delicious Banana Mudslide.

After getting pretty wasted there, we went downstairs to the pirate gift shop, where David bought an awesome t-shirt.

(It’s was funnier if you know that “David” is only his middle name. His first name is really Roger.) We stopped into one of many perfume and cologne stores, where David picked out something for himself and I bought Jay some Vera Wang for Men cologne for our anniversary. Then, since it looked like the sky was going to open up, we caught a tender and reboarded The Magic.

After a quick swim and a change of clothes, David and I went to Think You Know Your TV Tunes in the Promenade Lounge. It was a fun little game where cruise staffer, Natalie, played a bunch of TV theme song clips and we had to guess what show they were from and answer a trivia question about that show. It was cute.

As soon as that ended, it was time for me to head up to the Vista Spa for my hair and scalp treatment I had booked. I checked in, got my robe and went into the hair salon to meet my therapist. Let me tell you……this treatment was phenomenal!!!!!! It’s official name is the Frangipani Scalp Treatment. You sit in a chair, close you eyes and for 30 minutes the therapist massages amazing smelling monoi oil form Fiji into your hair. This oil is extremely conditioning and is just so good for your hair. The massaging and relaxing pressure used were so fantastically relaxing. Next she rubbed a tingly cool gel onto my shoulders and neck for muscle relaxation. It was AWESOME!!!!! And guess what the best part of the treatment was…….it was only $25!!!!!!!!!!!!! Get outta town! It was good that I immediately booked treatments for Beth and Heather to come have it done because I knew they would love it. I couldn’t recommend it more. I think men and women alike would LOVE this!

When I floated out of the spa, I saw Jay and Dee at the pool so I popped out and said hi before I headed down to the room to get ready for Palo. (Yay, Palo!) As recommended, I left the oil in my hair for about 30 minutes. It washed out easily without any greasy residue and when I blew it dry it looked gorgeous! It was practically sparkling, it was so shiny and soft! After getting dressed and ready to go, Jay and I headed up to Palo to meet Heather, Beth, Dee and David for dinner. (That night’s show was Twice Charmed but because of our early Palo reservation, we missed it. No big deal for us, since we don’t care for the show anyways.)

We were greeted by our friend, Sasha and taken to our table, where we had a gorgeous view of the setting sun.

Let’s get right to the good stuff….we started with 3 pizzas, margherita, spicy sausage and pepperoni, all at Sasha’s urging, of course. Since he so loves to have us try a bit of everything, Sasha then brought us the grilled eggplant, tomato mozzarella salad, calamari and the warm shrimp salad. Beth was over the moon about the shrimp salad. Said it was to die for. Next was the sherbet course, to cleanse the palate. It was a very refreshing orange sherbet/sorbet. Then came the entrees. Around the table we had a couple of filet mignons (amazing, as always!)

, a rare seared tuna (wonderful!), a crabmeat stuffed tortellini (so flavorful!), and some linguine carbonara (delicious!)

Of course, for dessert we all wanted chocolate soufflé

but we also tried the panna cotta

and the cappuccino cheesecake

Finally, Sasha brought us some of those phenomenal lemon shots that close out your meal. Of course, we closed it out three times, with three rounds of shots! Beth LOVED those shots

and for the firs time in a very long time, got pretty wasted! It was so funny!

After our perfect anniversary meal, Jay and I walked along Deck 10, where he surprised me with a gorgeous string of Japanese pearls and matching pearl earrings. (I love that guy!)

That night, they were premiering a new party in Rockin’ Bar D called the Spring Break Bash. Since Jay and I had gotten a personal message from the assistant cruise director, Clayton, demanding that Rachel wanted to see us there or we would be dragged from our rooms, we decided it was best we go! ) What a cute party! It featured High Frequency and DJ music of all of your favorite party/beach songs, including the famous, “Dollar” song, “Hot, Hot, Hot” and “The Cha-Cha Slide”. ( Brief side note…..High Frequency was awful! Oh, how we missed the Charles Marshall Band! HF tended to play the same songs over and over, as well as making odd song selections, like switching from “Love Shack’ to a Spanish folk song. On top of that, their accents were incredibly hard to understand and they sounded, as Christina said, “like they were playing for My Big Fat Hungarian Wedding”. Just terrible!) There were ice sculptures that they were pouring martinis through and free Jell-O Shots!!!! It was tons of fun! That is, until they brought out all of the balloons. They had all these long balloons that they were giving people to dance around with and since Jay is deathly allergic to latex, we had to head out. Cruise director Rachel felt SOOOOO bad! She even called and left a message on our voice mail saying that she was sorry we had to leave and apologized for the balloons as thought they were her fault! She’s so sweet! We opted to have a cabin party instead and invited Christine and Christina and David back to the room for drinks and room service. I promptly fell asleep, before room service even got there. For what I was told, Christina fell asleep shortly after me and not too much later, everyone was all tucked in for the night. Cozumel…..are you ready for the Self Party Posse? Cuz we’re coming for ya!

 

[Donnica]

Yay to Jennica and David for going to Breezes for me! And to David for having my favorite Hurricane catagory 5!! For those who haven't been... they have different catagories there and of course the 5 being the most "fierce"!!! They top it off it some 151 as if it NEEDS more alcohol. hen David and I went we made little islands out of the orange slice and umbrella's from all of our drinks.

 

[fltink]

David even asked if they had a Category 6 and the bartender kind of laughed at him a little!

 

[Donnica]

Too funny... Strick asked too!

 

[LivingtheWDWdream]

Sounds like a great day! And those photos of the ships are awesome!

More please

 

[fltink]

Day five is in the works, as is the Day Four Navigator Break Down.

 

[Mr. & Mrs. Smith]

I can't wait! I'm loving these. Thank you Fltink!

 

[fltink]

My pleasure, I just wish I had one large chunck of time to sit down and get it done. Although, dragging it out is allowing me to relive my trip for a longer amount of time!

 

[chepic]

Dragging it out for us is good too.....keeps the excitement high!!!! Great TR

cheryl

 

[fltink]

Ok, FINALLY coming tomorrow, Day 4 Navigator Break Down and Day 5 Trip Report.

 

[Donnica]

<looking at my watch knowing it's tomorrow>

 

[fltink]

7:30a-9:45a- 3-12 Yrs.: Free Time in the Oceaneer Lab
8:30a-9a- Adults: Friends of Bill W. in Animator’s Palate
8:30a-9:30a- Family: Discover Shopping Guide Available
8:30a- 9:15a- Adults: Spinning in the Vista Spa
9:45a-10:45a- 5-7 Yrs.: Eggsperiments in the Oceaneer Lab
9:45a-10:30a- 8-12 Yrs.: Giant Jenga and Invade OceanQuest
10a-10:45a- 3-4 Yrs.: Ocean Moves in the Oceaneer Club
10:30a-11:15a- 10-12 Yrs.: Wonderful World of Magic in OceanQuest
10:45a-11:45a- 3-4 Yrs.: Pinocchio’s Party in the Oceaneer Club
10:45a-11:15a- 5-7 Yrs.: Stormin’ the Oceaneer Lab
11a-11:45a- Family: Animation in the Promenade Lounge
11a-11:45a- 8-9 Yrs.: 4th Pig’s Pasta Palace in the Oceaneer Lab
11:15a-11:45a- 10-12 Yrs.: Games Galore in OceanQuest
11:30a-1p- Special: Finding Nemo on the Ariel View Screen
11:30a-12:15p- 5-7 Yrs.: Lunch at Topsiders
11:45a-12:15p- 3-4 Yrs.: Hide and Seek in the Oceaneer Club
12p-2p- Family: OceanQuest Open House
12p-12:30p- 8-12 Yrs.: Lunch at Topsiders
12p-1a- Teens: Chillin’ in The Stack
12:15p-12:45p- 3-4 Yrs.: Lunch in the Oceaneer Club
12:30p-1:15p- 5-7 Yrs.: Parachute Games and Free Time in the Oceaneer Lab
12:45p-2p- 3-4 Yrs.: Quiet Time Movie and Capatin’s Closet in the Oceaneer Club
12:45p-1:30p- 8-9 Yrs.: Free Time and ABC Scavenger Hunt in the Oceaneer Lab
12:45p-2p- 10-12 Yrs.: Road Tour in the Oceaneer Lab
1p-2p- Family: Chip It Golf in the Lobby Atrium (guests 12 and over)
1p-2p- Teens: Shooting Stars Part 2 in The Stack
1:15p-2p- 5-7 Yrs.: Craft Corner and Free Time in the Oceaneer Lab
1:30p-2:15p- 8-9 Yrs.: Now a Word From Your Sponsor in the Oceaneer Lab
2p-3:30p- Special: Lilo and Stitch on the Ariel View Screen
2p-4:45p- Movie: Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End in the Buena Vista Theater
2p-2:30p- Family: Ping Pong Tournament on Deck 9
2p-3p- Adults: Wii-embldon in Diversions
2p-3p- 3-4 Yrs.: Rescue Rangers in the Oceaneer Club
2p-3p- 5-7 Yrs.: Let’s Make Crepes in the Oceaneer Lab
2p-3p- Teens: Chip It Golf in the Lobby Atrium
2:15p-3:15p- 10-12 Yrs.: Villainous Ventures in Rockin’ Bar D
2:30p-3:15p- 8-9 Yrs.: Speed Stack Challenge in the Oceaneer Lab
3p-4p- Family: Twice Charmed in the Walt Disney Theater
3p-4p- Adults: Darts in Diversions
3p-4p- 3-4 Yrs.: Aladdin’s Fun Adventures in the Oceaneer Club
3p-4p- 8-9 Yrs.: Pinata Party in the Oceaneer Lab
3p-4p- Teens: Gender War Extras in The Stack
3:15p-4:15 p- 5-7 Yrs.: Ultimate Challenge in Rockin’ Bar D
3:15p-3:45p- Family: Cruisin’ for Trivia in the Promenade Lounge
3:30p-4p- Adults: Art Auction Preview in the Lobby Atrium
3:30p-4p- 10-12 Yrs.: Computer Madness in the Oceaneer Lab
3:45p-4:15p- Family: Mini Soccer on the Wide World of Sports Deck
4p-4:15p- Family: Bingo Pre-Sales in the Promenade Lounge
4p-4:45p- Adults: Museum Legends in the Lobby Atrium
4p-6p- Adults: Pub Master Challenge in Diversions
4p-4:45p- 3-4 Yrs.: Oodles of Doodles Parachute Games in the Oceaneer Club
4p-5p- 8-12 Yrs.: Animation Cells in the Oceaneer Lab
4p-5p- Teens: DJ Training in The Stack
4:15p-5p- Family: Jackpot Bingo in the Promenade Lounge
4:30p-5:15p- Family: Cruising Sounds with High Frequency at the Goofy Pool
4:30p-5p- Adults: Singles Mingle at the Cove Café
4:30p-5p- Adults: Yoga and Stretch in the Vista Spa Fitness Center
4:30p-5:15p- 5-7 Yrs.: Sports Deck Fun on the Wide World of Sports Deck
4:45p-5:15p- 3-4 Yrs.: Memory Wall in the Oceaneer Club
5p-7p- Family: OceanQuest Open House
5p-6p- Family: Latin Fiesta with the Cruise Staff in the Promenade Lounge
5p-6p- Teens: Mickey Mania in Studio Sea
5:15p-5:45p- Character: Sorcerer Mickey in the Lobby Atrium
5:15p-6p- 8-12 Yrs.: Dinner at Topsiders
5:30p-6p- Character: Cinderella in the Lobby Atrium
5:30p-6:15p- 3-7 Yrs.: Dinner at Topsiders
6p- 6:30p- Character: Alice in Preludes
6p-6:30p- Character: Stitch in the Lobby Atrium
6p-7:45p- Movie: Wild Hogs in the Buena Vista Theater
6p-7p- Adults: Women’s World Cup Soccer in Diversions
6p-6:30p- Teens: Chillin’ in the Stack
6:15p-7:15p- Family: Twice Charmed in The Walt Disney Theater
6:15p-7:15p- 8-12 Yrs.: Mickey Mania in Studio Sea
6:30p-7:30p- 3-4 Yrs.: Where’s Tink in the Oceaneer Club
6:30p-7p- 5-7 Yrs.: Stormin’ the Lab in the Oceaneer Lab
6:30p-7:15p- Teens: Dodgeball on the Wide World f Sports Deck
7p-7:30p- Adults: Sports Trivia in Diversions
7p-8:15p- 5-7 Yrs.: Nestle Junior Chef in the Oceaneer Lab
7:15p-8p- Special: Officer Pin Trading in the Lobby Atrium
7:15p-7:45p- Character: Sorcerer Mickey in the Lobby Atrium
7:15p-7:30p- Family: Bingo Pre-Sales in the Promenade Lounge
7:15p-8p- Teens: Chillin’ In The Stack
7:30p-8p- Family: Cabaret: Rich Purpura in Rockin’ Bar D
7:30p-8p- Family: Spy Party in Studio Sea
7:30p-8:15p- Family: Fiesta Jackpot Bingo in The Promenade Lounge
7:30p-8:15p- Adults: Piano and Favorites in Sessions
7:30p-8:30p- 3-4 Yrs.: Brother Bear in the Oceaneer Club
7:30p-8:30p- 8-9 Yrs.: Ultimate Challenge on the Wide World of Sports Deck
7:30p-8:15p- 10-12 Yrs.: Free Time in OceanQuest
7:45p-8:15p- Character: Princess Minnie in the Lobby Atrium
8p-10p- Special: Cars on the Ariel View Screen
8p-10p- Adult: Pub Master Challenge and Games in Diversions
8p-9p- Teens: Hip Hop in The Stack
8:15p-8:30p- Character: Snow White in Preludes
8:15p-10p- Movie: Wild Hogs in the Buena Vista Theater
8:30p-9:30p- Family: Twice Charmed in the Walt Disney Theater
8:30p-9p- 3-7 Yrs.: Picture This in the Oceaneer Club
8:30p-9:30p- 8-12 Yrs.: Capture the Flag on the Wide World of Sports Deck
9p-9:30p- Adults: Cognac and Cigars Club in the Cove Café
9p-9:15p- Teens: Chillin’ in The Stack
9:15p-9:45p- 3-7 Yrs.: Snack Time in the Oceaneer Club
9:15p- 10:15p- Teens: Hot Tub Hour at The Goofy Pool
9:30p-10p- Characters: Mickey and Minnie on Deck 4 Midship
9:30p-10:15p- Adults: Piano and Vocal Favorites in Sessions
9:30p-10:30p- Adults: Live Music with High Frequency in Rockin’ Bar D
9:45p-10:15p- Family: Seafarer’s Saga in Studio Sea
9:45p-10:45p- Family: AJ at the Piano in the Promenade Lounge
9:45p-10:30p- 3-7 Yrs.: Journey to Neverland in the Oceaneer Lab
9:45p-11p- 8-12 Yrs.: Camp Out in the Oceaneer Club
10p-10:30p- Character: Belle in the Lobby Atrium
10:15p-10:45p- Family: Family Disco with Wave in Studio Sea
10:15p-11p- Teens: H20 Splashdown at The Goofy Pool
10:30p-12:45a- Movie: The Prestige in the Buena Vista Theater
10:30p-11:15p- Adults: Spring Break Bash in Rockin’ Bar D
10:30p-11:15p- Adults: A Tribute to Sting in Sessions
10:30p-12a- 3-7 Yrs.: Movies and Captain’s Closet in the Oceaneer Lab
10:45p-11:15p- Family: Think You Know Your Music in the Promenade Lounge
11p-12a- 8-12 Yrs.: Free Time in the Oceaneer Club
11p-12a- Teens: Pizza Time and Smootie Hour in The Stack
11:15p-12:15a- Adults: Live Music with High Frequency in Rockin’ Bar D
11:30p-12a- Adults: Piano and Vocal Favorites in Sessions
12a-1a- Teens: Karaoke in Studio Sea
1a-2a- Teens: Summer Beach Bash in Studio Sea

 

[fltink]

Day Five- Wednesday- 9/12/07
Cozumel

Ashore: Approx. 9:45am
All Aboard: 6:30pm

Evening Attire: Pirate or Cruise Casual
Animator’s Palate: Pirates IN the Caribbean
Parrot Cay: Pirates IN the Caribbean
Lumiere’s: Pirates IN the Caribbean

Drink of the Day: Pineapple Mojito

It’s the day we always look forward to, Cozumel Day and Pirate Day!!!! After a quick bite to eat at Topsiders, the whole crew decided to disembark and walk around Cozumel for a bit. Jay, myself, David and Dee took a quick walk through the outdoor mall before finding a taxi driver that would offer us a good rate to get to Chakanaab National Park, where we would be doing our dolphin swim. (I had scheduled the swim on my own, directly through the park. You will find that this is a MUCH better option than doing it through Disney! Through Disney, they only allow the Dolphin Encounter option, which consists of standing on a platform while the dolphin does tricks and getting to pat the dolphin. If you book through the park itself, you get the option of the Encounter, described above OR the Dolphin Discovery Swim, where you get to hold on to a dolphin while it pulls you through the water, as well as kiss, hug and play with your dolphin OR the Royal Dolphin Swim, where you get to be pulled through the water by two dolphins and you get a second ride, balanced on the dolphins’ noses! These last two options are MUCH more hands on and if you book through the park, the are only $103 and $139!)

We grabbed a taxi, who agreed to take all four of us to the park (about a 15 minute ride) for just $10 US total. It was a scenic ride in which I tested my Spanish skills and asked our taxi driver about the sites that we were passing, and then translated back to the group. When we got to the park, we checked in, got our park admission bracelets (included with the price of your dolphin swim) and headed in.

This place is GORGEOUS!

Not only is it clean and well cared for, the water and beaches are some of the most beautiful I have ever seen! We walked through the giant Disney-like gift shop, over to the locker area. (A side note, the on-line order form states that ONLY biodegradable sunscreen is allowed for dolphin safety. We purchased this special and hard to find item in their gift shop for only $12 a bottle. However, we soon discovered that we must have been the only ones who read that advisory because everyone else was using regular sunscreen and no one said anything to them. Weird. Must not be all that important.) We got a free locker and changed into our swim suits in the beautiful bathroom. (Gotta tell ya, I was shocked to see a bathroom this clean and this nice in Cozumel!)

We were quite early for our 1pm swim times so we decided to check out the park. Aside from it’s nice restaurants and bars it has gorgeous beaches,

iguana sanctuaries where the lizards are just inches away from you,

snorkeling areas

and nice little tropical huts that you can catch some shade under.

All of this AND no one is pushy or trying to sell you things! It’s amazing! So we took a dip in one of the pools while we waited for Christina, Christine and Teresa to meet up with us. The sky got ominously black, but we managed to avoid a storm.

At about 12:45pm, after finding the rest of our group, we went over to the meeting areas, ready with our water cameras, which are encouraged. Jay and Dee were doing the Royal Swim and the rest of us were doing the regular swim, so we were separated. They then broke us into groups of 10-12 people, so David, me, Teresa, Christine and Christina were all able to stay together. Jay and Dee were together in their group as well. We got a brief tutorial on the hand gestures that we would be using with the dolphins and were instructed on how to tough them and kiss them (as our guide told us, “Kiss them like us Mexicans do, long and raunchy!”) Next we got our required life jackets and mask and snorkel. Then we were off to meet our dolphin and our trainer. The area is separated into various pens,

each swim and encounter pen containing one dolphin and each royal swim pen containing two. Our trainer’s name was David. Up on the dock he talked to us about what to do (pay attention, follow directions, hold onto the fence when you are standing on the platform, smile for the photographers.) and then instructed us to go down the steps and into the water. We all walked across a platform which put us so that we were standing at about chest-level in the 24 foot deep water. There we got to meet Titan, the wonder dolphin! He was very excited to play with his new guests and started jumping and splashing right away! (Another quick side note, I am deathly afraid of fish touching me. I know that sounds weird, but I hate when fish brush up against me, which is why I never snorkel or really even go in the ocean much. Much to my dismay there were MANY fish in the water and the circled right around the trainer and dolphin since they both had food. I was forced to face my fear and deal with the fish. For the sake of spending time with Titan, I sucked it up and got through it!) Right away David explained that Titan only understands Spanish commands and instructed Titan to wave hello to us, jump for us and to swim along the platform and allow us to rub his belly. After showing us some of the basics, David had us start one at a time stepping up to the edge of the platform and getting kisses from Titan. We also got to swim out a bit and “hold” Titan and hug him. The next part was swimming out about 20-30 feet from the platform one at a time and then waiting for Titan to come get us and pull us back while we held his two lower fins. It was SO much fun!!!! After we had all done the riding part, David had us swim our into a large circle with our masks and snorkels on. We observed some of Titan’s underwater behaviors, got to listen to him “sing” and got to pat him as he swam around and played. The whole experience was phenomenal! Jay and Dee did similar activities, but they were pulled through the water by holding onto their two dolphin’s dorsal fins. Then they got to do a “dead man’s float” in the water and the two dolphins swam up, put their noses on the person’s feet and pushed them up and our of the water.

We all had to much fun and LOVED this experience! After the swim, everyone goes back to an individual viewing room where each group sees a video that was shot by the park’s photographers. You, of course, then have to option to buy it, but it was not high pressure. We ended up buying our professional photos because they were great and it was a once in a lifetime kind of thing.

After the swim, David, Jay, Dee and myself caught a cab back to the downtown area, while the other ladies stayed back for a bit to swim and explore. We knew where we were headed! Right to Carlos and Charlie’s! Let the games begin! We ordered some food and some yard long margaritas and got silly. The rest of the ladies met up with us soon after and we all had a blast. (Yes, yes, we got very drunk.)

After many shots, many margaritas

and much dancing, David and I decided to head back to The Magic to get dressed for Pirate Night.

We stumbled back to the ship, stopping for some photo ops

and to be goofy. When we got back on board, we went up to Deck 9 to get something to eat and to wait for Jay and Heather. (WHo had closed the place!)

Not too much later, Jay and Heather showed up

(way more drunk than we were!) and everyone went to get dressed for Pirate Night! The events which took place between then and dinner are somewhat foggy but I do know this. Jay invited Christine, Christina and Teresa to come to the room and have a party (while I was in the shower!) and the four of them had themselves a grand old time laughing away and ordering room service. The girls all left and next thing I know, Jay is throwing up everything he drank. Turns out, he had been served rum at Carlos and Charlie’s and he’s allergic to it. He ended up sick in bed for the rest of the night! He missed Pirate Night, despite having and awesome costume that Beth made for him. I got dressed and since he didn’t want to do anything other than sleep, I headed up to dinner.

It was the Pirates IN the Caribbean menu at Parrot Cay that night, and everyone came dressed appropriately.

I had the beef tenderloin, but didn’t really eat it. It was great, I just wasn’t hungry yet.

After checking on Jay and bringing him a basket of rolls which our servers, Putu and Emmanuel, insisted that I bring to him, I went up to Deck 9 to meet David, Beth and Cady for the Pirate Deck Party.

The event was in full swing, complete with dancing, an appearance by Pirate Mickey and a GREAT fireworks display! Following the show was the buffet on deck but we avoided it since the line was so long. After a while, David and myself decided to get changed and go down to Karaoke in Rockin’ Bar D with our friend, James. I went back to the cabin, checked on Jay again, changed and met David and James. Beth, Cady and Dee had gone to bed and Heather was “missing” and had been since dinner. After a little while of people embarrassing themselves singing, Heather showed up. She had fallen asleep in a deck chair on Deck 4 and had been there for 2 hours!

Karaoke wasn’t too exciting and there was no way I was singing so I went up to Deck 10 to watch Pirates of the Caribbean 2 on the Ariel View Screen. It was a gorgeous night and the breeze was great! After the movie was over, I headed down to the cabin and climbed into bed with Jay who was finally feeling better. At least we had a day at sea to look forward to tomorrow for him to recover.