Get Off The Ship - we are running out of towel animals! Update 10/25 Day 31

[dizneeat]

Well, while I may be native apparently I mumble a lot. I guess I am hard to understand.

Seriously though, I rely a lot on facial expression and body language to know if I am getting my point across. Speaking on the phone just leaves me as to if they know what I am saying. I know that I say "does that make sense?" a lot when on the phone.

That's exactly my point, Ann. Speaking to a real person, you see how they react, speaking on the phone is something else.

We've also ordered room service for the kids on our Palo dinner nights. We feed them in the room, then drop them off at the club while we head to Palo. It's worked out really well for us.

We've never ordered room service either Karin, although I think I may have ordered breakfast one time (my memory is failing me!)

I had to smile, as we have quite often ordered room service breakfast, but that is different to me, as all you have to do is fill in a form and it is delivered. The big thing for me was to pick up the phone and order.

 

[dizneeat]

Day 13, August 19

A trip to Hell and back - Part 6

It was starting to get dark,











but we still needed to get a drink of the day, so we stopped by Currents and I picked up a drink of the day, while Tom had another beer.







It did get fully dark while we were sitting there enjoying the drinks and the sea air.





We then strolled the more or less empty ship as first dinner seating and a show were on.

















We returned back to our stateroom in time to unwind for a while before we got changed for dinner and headed downstairs to the Enchanted Garden for dinner.

To be continued ............ ​

 

[dizneeat]

Day 13, August 19

A trip to Hell and back - Part 7

We returned back to our stateroom in time to unwind for a while before we got changed for dinner and headed downstairs to the Enchanted Garden for dinner.
There we got in line, waited for a few minutes and were then led to our table. Our servers greeted us and Ryan brought two Diet Cokes right away, placed a basket full of



Multi-Grain Loafs and Country Currant Bread and a bowl of



Chickpea-garlic puree on the table. And while we were nibbling on the bread, we had a good look at the menu to decide what we were going to have for dinner.
Tom started out with the



North Atlantic Lobster Ravioli, with roasted garlic and sweet basil in a light tomato broth, while I was served the



Thyme and Garlic Brioche, filled with lobster, morels and porcini mushrooms and Leek Stew in a light buttermilk cream. Delicious! Main courses were served right after our appetizer plates were taken away.
They were the



Slow-roasted Prime Rib with thyme-roasted vegetables, double-baked potato, horseradish and natural jus, which was Tom’s choice and the



Roasted Pork Tenderloin seasoned with Smoked Salt, Citrus flavored polenta cakes and oven roasted carrots, parsnips and caramelized Granny Smith apples for me.
Again, both were very nice, but we had not been really hungry going into dinner, but we worked “hard” to finish as much of our main courses as possible. Neither of us really wanted any dessert, but our server brought out a plate with



cubes of fruit jelly and fudge covered in cocoa. We both had a piece each, but we did order the dessert sampler, to go! We had asked our server if it would be possible to have the sampler to go and his answer was just a smile and a big yes.
So here we were heading back up to our stateroom with our dessert sampler, the



Sweet Temptations which consisted of a trio of Passion Fruit Tart, Strawberry Cheesecake, and Sacher Torte. But we did not take it with us for ourselves. Once we had made it to our deck we looked for Raj, our stateroom host and brought him our dessert tray.
We knew he had a sweet tooth and he really loved his little treat. Desserts dropped off we headed back to our stateroom and found a huge towel peacock on the bed.



Again, Raj had outdone himself with another awesome creation. And after we finished taking photos of our towel animal we grabbed a drink out of the fridge and sat out on the veranda for a while before we gave in and called it a night.

To be continued ............ ​

 

[MEK]

Those pictures of the ship are night are just so gorgeous and so relaxing. Just lovely!

Dinner looks delish, as always. Those appetizers looks especially yummy! Nice to know you can get dessert to go!

Perfect end to another great day at sea!

Oh yeah - that chickpea dip looks yummy. How was it? I LOVE chickpeas!

 

[Linda67]

Love the night time photos, the ship takes on a wonderful atmosphere after dark
Sweet of you (no pun intended!) to take the dessert sampler for Raj

 

[dizneeat]

Those pictures of the ship are night are just so gorgeous and so relaxing. Just lovely!

Dinner looks delish, as always. Those appetizers looks especially yummy! Nice to know you can get dessert to go!

Perfect end to another great day at sea!

Oh yeah - that chickpea dip looks yummy. How was it? I LOVE chickpeas!

Mary Ellen, if you have a chance, the time when the first show is on and people are at the main dinner seating, is the best time to enjoy the ship. It is so quiet and the sun starts to go down. BEAUTIFUL!

Dessert to go is no problem. They will even get you a dessert from another dining room if you ask them nicely.
On the last day of one of our cruises we just couldn't finish packing in time and we ran down to the MDR to let them know that we would not make it to dinner. Our head server, Zan, offered to just pick dinner and he would have it brought up to our room. They go out of their way to please you!

The chickpea dip is one of my favourites! It is really yummy!

Love the night time photos, the ship takes on a wonderful atmosphere after dark
Sweet of you (no pun intended!) to take the dessert sampler for Raj

It's so beautiful at night and so peaceful. We just love to sit on the top deck and enjoy the peace and quiet, especially knowing that there are 4000 guests on board.

Raj was such a great stateroom host - he deserved every little sweet we could get for him.

 

[jenseib]

mmm. I wish someone would make me some of that right now!!!!

 

[franandaj]

That makes sense about tipping the folks in the Dining rooms at lunch and breakfast.

Your day sounds wonderful, I'm glad that you finally decided to order room service.

We had a trip where Fran was very ill and didn't feel very good about going out, she was nice enough to let me book the cruise and bargained with me that if she didn't feel like leaving the room we didn't have to. One of the days we stayed in the room watching the TV and ordered room service. It was very relaxing and now we have no worries about ordering, in fact we did it on the last cruise as well. I like that you can get an additional snack without leaving the room. While for most it's easy to run up to the top deck and get something, for us it's not quite as easy and far more relaxing to order in!

I love it that you two make such use of the verandah. I like to do it as well!

 

[dizneeat]

mmm. I wish someone would make me some of that right now!!!!

How is Claire in the kitchen? Maybe one day ......

That makes sense about tipping the folks in the Dining rooms at lunch and breakfast.



Your day sounds wonderful, I'm glad that you finally decided to order room service.

It was good that I finally called and tried - we have ordered more from room service lately. Yeah for getting over the language barrier!

We had a trip where Fran was very ill and didn't feel very good about going out, she was nice enough to let me book the cruise and bargained with me that if she didn't feel like leaving the room we didn't have to. One of the days we stayed in the room watching the TV and ordered room service. It was very relaxing and now we have no worries about ordering, in fact we did it on the last cruise as well. I like that you can get an additional snack without leaving the room. While for most it's easy to run up to the top deck and get something, for us it's not quite as easy and far more relaxing to order in!

I could not agree with you more. It sometimes feels good to stay in, watch a movie or just sit out on the veranda. And having some nice munchies from RS is the icing on the cake.

I love it that you two make such use of the verandah. I like to do it as well!

Nothing better than to look at the waves and listen to the sounds the ship makes gliding through. I especially love it at night when the underwater lights are on.

 

[MEK]

Thanks for the tip about the first show and touring the boat.

 

[JulieODC]

I am SO late to your TR, but I just caught up all in one morning and am loving it!!!

 

[JKSWonder]

This ship is so pretty at night. Just ridiculously pretty. I can't wait to see it again.

 

[LoveMickey]

I am enjoying your trip report. I think I was on the 2nd portion of your trip. We had first dining. But I keep looking at pics to see if we are in the back ground. You take great pictures. We'll be back on the Fantasy next month, love looking at your pictures to remind us of a wonderful vacation.

 

[KatMark]

Karin, what beautiful photos on the ship at night...they are stunning.

And, as always, dinner looks so yummy.

 

[eandesmom]

we absolutely love being on deck during first dining. We've been known to miss a show as a result!

Fun update, sooooooooooo pretty at night!

 

[dizneeat]

Thanks for the tip about the first show and touring the boat.

You are welcome, Mary Ellen! I am sure you will enjoy your cruise very much.

I am SO late to your TR, but I just caught up all in one morning and am loving it!!!

Welcome!
You are not late at all, I have not even made it to the halfway point in my TR.

This ship is so pretty at night. Just ridiculously pretty. I can't wait to see it again.

We just love the ship at night. There is something so peaceful about being out there at night enjoying the breeze and watching the ship gliding through the sea.

I am enjoying your trip report. I think I was on the 2nd portion of your trip. We had first dining. But I keep looking at pics to see if we are in the back ground. You take great pictures. We'll be back on the Fantasy next month, love looking at your pictures to remind us of a wonderful vacation.

Yeah! Welcome, fellow sailor!
Let me know if you are in any of my pics - it would be awesome if we had "run into each other" without even knowing each other.
Have fun on your Fantasy cruise - our next Fantasy one is still over a year away, but we have two Magic cruises to help us pass the time.

 

[dizneeat]

Karin, what beautiful photos on the ship at night...they are stunning.

And, as always, dinner looks so yummy.

The ship is so peaceful and quiet at night and it has that sparkle with all the lights and the aquaduck all lit up - so beautiful.

Cruise food is yummy - I guess you need to try for yourself one day.

we absolutely love being on deck during first dining. We've been known to miss a show as a result!

Fun update, sooooooooooo pretty at night!

Isn't that the best time to be up on deck? It looks so empty with half the guests at dinner and the other half at a show.
We have seen most of the shows several times, so have no problem with missing them.

 

[dizneeat]

Day 14, August 20

A once in a lifetime experience – Costa Maya - Part 1

Today marked the day of our first Mexican port of call. I was up pretty early and sneaked out onto the veranda to see if there was something to see and yes, I was greated by a beautiful dawn. So I sneaked back inside so not to wake Tom and grabbed both cameras and waited a bit for them to “de-fog” before taking a lot of photos of the sun rising.























Tom had just woken up when I returned inside, but we were both sure it was too early to get up, so we both went back to bed.
Around 8am we decided to finally really get up, had a shower and then got ready to head downstairs for breakfast.
Royal Court crossed our minds, but we decided against it and instead headed to Enchanted Garden. It did not take long and we were seated at a nice table towards the back of the restaurant and after ordering coffee and juice, we headed for the buffet. It did not take long and we returned to the table with plates full of yummy breakfast fare.





And while we were still enjoying our breakfast our server stopped by to chat a little. She was a cute girl from South Africa and had a lot to tell.



We really enjoyed her company and when we had finished our breakfast we made sure she received a little extra tip and then Tom went back to our stateroom to get a few sweets for her, while I sat and waited in front of the restaurant.
And while I waited another Cast Member, who was handing out wipes was entertaining not only the incoming guests, but me too. We chatted whenever there was no one else and had a lot of fun. Needless to say that she ended up with a hand full of sweets and we were thanked with a huge hug, tears showing in her eyes and telling us that she was going to share it with her boyfriend here on board.
I went inside the restaurant again, looking for our server and finally saw her. She was concerned something had been wrong, but once she was given her little treat her eyes lit up and more hugs were in store. We then went back to our stateroom to find the Fish Extender full again, so we emptied it out and took it inside to have a really good look at our presents.













And after packing up our own Fish Extender gifts we went on the long trek all over the ship to deliver our gifts. It took us a little over an hour until we returned to our stateroom and had a little break out on the veranda, beverage in hand.



We relaxed a bit in the room, then went to the top deck to see the ship pulling into Costa Maya.







We only had an afternoon at Costa Maya, so even before we had docked we decided to head for lunch at Royal Court before getting off the ship.

To be continued ............ ​

 

[Leshaface]

Isn't room service so nice? Delicious, fast and convenient. I'd do more in the future as well.

Very nice of you to give your dessert to Raj. Not gonna lie...That would be difficult for me to do since I love my dessert so much

Sounds like the girls really appreciated the treats that you gave them. So nice of you and Tom! I'm shocked you guys don't carry a fanny pack around filled with chocolates so you don't always have to go back up to the stateroom for some!

 

[englishrose47]

Great Updates , your meals at Enchanted Gardens looked great .How sweet t give your dessert to Raj!! That Swan animal was magnificent . I didn't realize Enchanted Garden had a breakfast buffet!!Can't wait to see how your port visit was !!!