Hi, I’m Julie McCoy, Your TR Director

[jenseib]

I decided I wanted to check out Skywalkers while it was empty.

I headed inside to get up to the right floor.



Here is the entrance to the tunnel that leads up there.



And the tunnel/walkway.









And inside.

















I got a little startled when I realized I wasn’t alone in there. I almost walked right on someone sitting in a chair reading a book. They were so quiet that I never even realized she was there till I walked practically right on top of her. But I can understand why she chose here to read. She was looking out the aft window and it was so quiet and peaceful.















With that I headed out. I thought about looking to see where the kids clubs were located as I had seen signs for them, but for some reason I decided to pass on that for now and headed outside. I never did go and find then and I never made it back to Skywalkers, even though they had some elite events there. I just never had enough time and it wasn’t a priority for me.

 

[jenseib]

Back outside I continued my exploring.





This is where the Movies Under the Stars takes place. (MUTS)





I wanted to find how to get to a particular little top deck that I had seen people standing on when we sailed away. I found the stairs and made my way up there.







Taking the next set of little stairs I found the golf putting green.



I didn’t find it impressive at all, but I am not into golf at all. It was definitely not a putt putt green and probably only used for putting practice? I can’t see this being a big draw for people, but again I am not into golf.

A nice view of the Sanctuary from here though.





Zooming in.



I headed back down then. I was later told that this circular area with the loungers actually used to be a hot tub. There were 2 of these areas and both are now just small decks. I had heard they were changed because the hot tubs leaked, but again that’s just a rumor I heard.



I had to make a trip to Guest Services to see about getting a fan for the room, so I headed back inside and made my way through the Casino.





Being Elite, you get a special line for Guest Services…..but there was no one in line, so it really didn’t matter.

I went up and asked about getting a fan. The guy said no, I said yes, he said no, I said I know it can be done. I know people who have gotten them before, he said no. I said I need the room cooler somehow and he said we keep our rooms at such and such Celsius. I told him that didn’t mean anything to me as I don’t know the conversion from C to F and whatever it was, it was still too hot for us. He asked if we knew how to turn the air on or use the controls in the room….yep, I have had it set on the lowest setting since we arrived and it still is fairly warm in there. He said he would send someone to look at it and see if there is an issue.
I then asked about the questionnaire form I was to fill out. He actually knew what I was talking about, but he said it was generated shore side and it should’ve been in my room. It wasn’t, so he made note of that and said he would get back to me as soon as he knew anything and he would contact the Circle Host desk….. and also suggested I talk to the Circle Host desk……just a note….he never got back with me about anything. And he had made it sound like he would leave a message in my room by noon….not a single message came from him.

Ok, I was a little happier at least that they would look at the air problem.
I went on to take a few more pictures.



















I then headed back to the room to see if Mom was up and about.

 

[dizneeat]

How funny he would tell you the temperature in C. And I don't understand why they have to keep it fairly warm in the rooms.
I guessed he would not get back to you, even before you wrote about it.

The ship on the other hand looks pretty neat. I like all the little "secret" decks you discovered.

 

[jenseib]

How funny he would tell you the temperature in C. And I don't understand why they have to keep it fairly warm in the rooms.
I guessed he would not get back to you, even before you wrote about it.

The ship on the other hand looks pretty neat. I like all the little "secret" decks you discovered.

It really is a neat ship...and it is heading over to Europe soon.

 

[dizneeat]

It really is a neat ship...and it is heading over to Europe soon.

Good to know and thanks for the hint, Jen!

 

[jenseib]

Good to know and thanks for the hint, Jen!

Sure thing!

 

[Beth D]

UGH! I hate to be warm when sleeping. We deliberately keep our house cooler so we sleep better. It's scientifically proven!

 

[canyoncam]

Loving the pictures!

I work in customer service and hope I never come across as arrogant as the guy you dealt with at guest services It is very frustrating when you know more than the person behind the desk.

I am falling behind with work getting busier for me. Will try to check on your reports at least once a week though. Who knows how my TR will get done!

 

[jenseib]

UGH! I hate to be warm when sleeping. We deliberately keep our house cooler so we sleep better. It's scientifically proven!

We do too. At night we keep it pretty cold.

Loving the pictures!

I work in customer service and hope I never come across as arrogant as the guy you dealt with at guest services It is very frustrating when you know more than the person behind the desk.

I am falling behind with work getting busier for me. Will try to check on your reports at least once a week though. Who knows how my TR will get done!

That guy was awful and not helpful at all.
I know what you mean about falling behind....I am behind a lot lately. But I work on this when I can and it will eventually get done.

 

[jenseib]

Mom was up and ready. She said she wanted to get breakfast….Um ok…I had eaten but sure, it’s vacation, I’ll eat again. We headed to the Coral dining room and soon were seated.



I didn’t take a picture of my food, but it was basic breakfast food and it was good.

After breakfast I wanted to head down the Island dining room where they were having a $10 sale. I walked around and browsed at things, but it was mostly either junk…stuff from old sailings they were trying to get rid of, or nothing of interest to me.





Mom had gone off to the stores and shopped a bit and I met up with her then.

We noticed a food art show was starting so we stood and watched that. It was amazing the things they created with food…fruits and vegetables and of course I took a lot of pictures.













So cute!



Aren’t these birds amazing?





















They were machines, building one right after another.





And then they were done and they invited everyone to come down to look at all the creations up close and take pictures….so of course I headed that way. On my way I passed Guest Services and took this picture of flowers that you could order today. It was formal night, so I think they were pushing them to buy for the occasion.



I thought this was interesting…I believe it was a donation globe, but I don’t remember what for.

 

[jenseib]

I went downstairs and got in line to take pictures of all the food creations. Mom took a seat off to the side.























The line was very slow moving, but I was glad to have a chance to look at each creation up close. Super amazing work.



Mom and I sat in the Piazza for a while and just soaked in the atmosphere. I think she went off to get a glass of wine and I sat and watched a couple nearby. I did a lot of people watching this trip.
The lady appeared to be foreign, the guy was obviously American. The lady was …shall you say…very shapely…but you could tell she was a bit older, not old, but older. I think she may have been older than the guy….anyways…I listened in on their conversation. It was funny as this guy was basically telling her about himself. They were also filling out some paper and she would ask him questions and he would tell her more about himself. It appeared they really didn’t know each other…which I actually seemed to see a lot of couples like that on the ship.
Anyways, she was filling this paper out and she asked him what his last name was. I swear I almost bursted out laughing. She is on a cruise with this guy and doesn’t know his last name. He told her and she said “oh that’s right”. And then he gave her a kiss and hug in a playful manner.

My mom returned and we sat a bit longer and the couple left. Mom immediately asked me if I had noticed the couple and I told her yes. She then told me she didn’t think they knew each other and her English wasn’t very good. Of course I told her the last name story and we just laughed…..and we made up a story about them. We concluded she was a mail order bride…or girlfriend…from Russia and they were either spending their honeymoon on the ship or just getting to know each other. We did see this couple often throughout the cruise…and we eaves dropped…of course…and each time this guy would tell this lady things about him so it was very obvious they haven’t known each other for very long. ….And I am not saying there is anything wrong with that, it just made for some fun conversation for us.

After a while we decided we would take a walk and explore the ship a bit.
We went out on the Promenade deck to walk around the ship.



I just love the blue water.







I had to take a picture of this sign as some of the Disney ships have been built here as well.



At one point you have to walk up a deck to make the complete circle.









The water was so incredibly calm. This was the calmest cruise I have ever been on.

 

[dizneeat]

Again ...... great photos and the vegetable/fruit art looks awesome!

I just loved that story about that couple. Made me - so funny. Thanks for sharing.

 

[rndmr2]

I love to see the fruit and vegetable carving demonstrations when I go on a cruise, they are so cool. they made some interesting things, I think my favorite is the one of the bird playing the guitar under the palm tree.

Love the pics of the water, I love to look out at the Wake too.

 

[jenseib]

Again ...... great photos and the vegetable/fruit art looks awesome!

I just loved that story about that couple. Made me - so funny. Thanks for sharing.

My Mom was so funny talking about that couple...she was quite "colorful" in her thoughts about them.

I love to see the fruit and vegetable carving demonstrations when I go on a cruise, they are so cool. they made some interesting things, I think my favorite is the one of the bird playing the guitar under the palm tree.

Love the pics of the water, I love to look out at the Wake too.

It's so amazing the things they come up with and how fast they can do it too.
I can sit and watch the wake for hours.

 

[franandaj]

Those animals were really cool! I love watching the water go by. It's one of the reasons that I really love a stateroom with a verandah.

Too funny about the couple who barely knew each other. I'd be afraid of the situation where the wife got thrown overboard, that was on the news.

 

[dolphingirl47]

Holy cow...it's Nov isn't. Have fun on your trip!

The trip has been and gone and was absolutely fantastic. I am hoping to get the trip report started in a couple of weeks.

I am all caught up again. I am really enjoying the photos from around the ship. Dinner looked great and those food creations are amazing. I had to smile about the couple who did not seem to know each other.

Corinna

 

[JKSWonder]

Ha! The couple....priceless.

Have I mentioned before that I am a family law attorney? Yep, I divorce people for a living. And it would probably shock you to your core to know how many times I interview people and they know NOTHING about their spouse. Not their birthdate or their social security number. And this is sometimes true even when they have been married for a while. Its crazy.

Worse, is when they can't remember their kids birthdays....

 

[Beth D]

Love the pics of the food. I think my favorite is the fishy!

I like the story about the couple. We would have fun making up stories about them too!

I will get to see blue water on our next cruise. We moved from inside to a porthole cabin! It was less than $100 to move up about 3 levels on Dis. Now I just need to update my signature…

 

[jenseib]

Those animals were really cool! I love watching the water go by. It's one of the reasons that I really love a stateroom with a verandah.

Too funny about the couple who barely knew each other. I'd be afraid of the situation where the wife got thrown overboard, that was on the news.

I really do love Verandahs too.
The couple was pretty funny.

The trip has been and gone and was absolutely fantastic. I am hoping to get the trip report started in a couple of weeks.

I am all caught up again. I am really enjoying the photos from around the ship. Dinner looked great and those food creations are amazing. I had to smile about the couple who did not seem to know each other.

Corinna

I hope you had a great time. Be sure to let me know when you start your report...though I can already tell you I will be behind.

Ha! The couple....priceless.

Have I mentioned before that I am a family law attorney? Yep, I divorce people for a living. And it would probably shock you to your core to know how many times I interview people and they know NOTHING about their spouse. Not their birthdate or their social security number. And this is sometimes true even when they have been married for a while. Its crazy.

Worse, is when they can't remember their kids birthdays....

Thats funny. Skip is actually better at remembering dates than I am amazingly since he remembers next to nothing else.

Love the pics of the food. I think my favorite is the fishy!

I like the story about the couple. We would have fun making up stories about them too!

I will get to see blue water on our next cruise. We moved from inside to a porthole cabin! It was less than $100 to move up about 3 levels on Dis. Now I just need to update my signature…

I think the fish is my favorite too!
Yay for the upgrade!

 

[dolphingirl47]

I hope you had a great time. Be sure to let me know when you start your report...though I can already tell you I will be behind.

I had an amazing time and will definitely give you a heads up when I have started the trip report.

Corinna