No Longer the SHORTEST Trip Report Ever....5/27..Pictures too!

[justmestace]

Someone needs to tell me how to change the title of the thread....not so short anymore......

 

[justmestace]

Tuesday...Costa Maya

We were up and watching before we could see anything at all. Pretty soon, I could make out the color orange. I knew we'd reached the port.
It was a gorgeous day...clear skies and not too terribly hot.

I was really surprised. I'd seen a lot of pictures of the port, but it was actually nicer than what I'd imagined.

I had contacted a dive shop to take my family snorkeling months and months ahead of time. It turned out that another group on the cruise had contacted the same place to take them diving. Somewhere along the line, the dive shop realized that I knew the other group, and since they (the dive shop) were just opening their own "resort" they suggested that we combine the group and have a beach party at their place. Some of the people had decided to just do the beach party while others snorkeled and dove.
A view from our spot on the beach:

I had been worried that the group that stayed on the beach might get bored, or too hot....but they say that they had a great time. There was a beautiful breeze going through, and they'd been fed chips and homemade guacamole. Once we all returned, we were served a buffet-style lunch. We had tortillas, chicken, beans, rice, quesadillas, and, oddly, potato salad (which was good!). In fact, it was all really good.
After lunch, some of us decided to either return to the ship or to look around the port, so they called us a few taxi's to come and get us.
The taxi's were all almost brand new. Small, but nice. I got to take some pictures on the way back through Mahajual. Got a shot of the very interesting police station...with a hammock inside for napping between crime fighting. (joking...we were told there is very little to no crime).
We saw the local school children outside for "recess", and were told that a fence had been put up around the school to keep the kids from taking a swim in the ocean during recess. Apparently, the school masters had trouble getting them out and back to class!

The two girls and I did some shopping at the port, while the "boys" opted to stay at the beach longer. I ran into cruise director Rachel in one of the jewelry stores (looking again like a drowned rat...me, not her) and she helped me get the piece I wanted at the right price. Very nice!

The girls got "henna" tattoos....temporary. I had to think about whether I wanted to encourage this or not....but since they wash off soon, I decided to let them do it. Turns out, they washed off much sooner than the girls were told, so I don't think they'll waste their money on doing it again.

We headed back to the ship and took our time getting our showers and waiting for the boys to get back.

Jay & I had dinner in Palo tonight, instead of our repeat night in Animator's. We weren't alone, it seemed that half of our "late seating" DIS group had ditched our regular servers for Palo that night. Left me wondering who was keeping the kids in line that night? (Sorry Irene & Sam!)

Guess I forgot to say, our servers were Oppie and Cyprian. Oppie did a great job as Asst Server. I never once had to ask for a drink refill, and he was great about running to get any little thing we might have wanted.
Cyprian did a great job, too...but a few of us were a little bugged that he kept mentioning the "Comment Card" that we get at the end of the cruise. He wanted to make sure that we marked "excellent" for service. He also seemed to get upset when I ordered the simple chicken breast and baked potato a couple of nights. I was leaving room for the fantastic desserts! But I guess he was worried that I was unhappy with the other choices.

 

[WDWLVR]

Someone needs to tell me how to change the title of the thread....not so short anymore......

You just go to post #1 and hit the edit button then edit your title.

 

[justmestace]

You just go to post #1 and hit the edit button then edit your title.

Thank you... guess no one would believe a "Blabbermouth" could have a short trip report, huh??

 

[justmestace]

Wednesday...Cozumel

We'd been in Cozumel in December and were in awe of the devastation caused by Wilma. But we were very impressed with how hard the people were working at rebuilding their island.

I was really surprised at the difference now. They've done a GREAT job. Trees planted, flowers, stores open....now all they need is sand for beaches. And they need to get their dolphins back from the mainland. I know a lot of people were disappointed at not being able to do the Dolphin Encounter at Chankanaab.
I could have sworn that I read that Chankanaab (though not the dolphins) was reopened, but our boat driver told us that it wasn't open yet.

Again, we'd reserved a boat to take us out to snorkel. We've discovered that it's not more expensive to "go it on our own", and in fact, is usually cheaper than a ship excursion...without the crowds. We only had to place a small ($40) deposit, and paid the balance in cash when we arrived, so even if something had gone wrong, we wouldn't have been out a lot of money.

We were off on the first tender, grabbed a taxi to the marina, and met our boat right away. They had some snacks available for us....oranges, bananas, and oddly, a bag of chocolate chip cookies... and also water and sodas.

Our guide was excellent at pointing out things that we would have maybe missed. He told us that it might possibly have been a once in a lifetime sighting of the flying fish that were in the sand, on the bottom of the ocean. I was a little disappointed, the only thing we didn't see this time, that we did see in December, were turtles. But the reef has definitely begun to recover, and there were tons of fish.
The driver let us set the pace. We had met with the owner at the marina, and she had told us that the boat was ours for the day, we could stay out as long as we wanted. A surprise to me, since I'd only reserved and paid for a two-reef snorkel. We hit three, and spent some time at the "wall"....where a lot of the divers go.
Still, we'd gotten an early enough start, that we were done and back at the marina by 1:00. There are taxi's waiting just outside the gates of the marina, to take people who've been out for the day back to the pier.

We had the taxi drop the guys off at our tender pier, while us gals were taken further up the main street to go shopping. My friend Diana and her daughter were with us, and Diana found us a great restaurant for lunch called Pancho's Backyard. Plenty of good food, and the prices weren't bad at all. It was a clean, nicely decorated place, and we felt very comfortable eating there.

Then I ruined my day. I was going through the pictures on my camera, when I accidentally deleted them. All of them. Castaway Cay, Costa Maya, Cozumel...both the land pics and the underwater.

I wanted to die.

 

[justmestace]

We finished our lunch and continued our shopping, but the joy was gone. Even buying jewelry didn't help.

The girls were searching for something, I don't even remember now what it was...and I doubt that I cared a whole lot....as we walked from the far end of the long street, on our way back to the pier.

I happened to check my watch, and realized that we were darn close to the time for the last tender back to the ship! And we still had a good few blocks to walk yet. The pace quickened.
The good thing about being one of the last...there was no line to board the tender, and no one else (much) onboard.

I realized then that we weren't the absolute last one, because four people had gotten OFF the tender, and were told that they had better hurry to get back. I'm only guessing that they had thought of something they needed to buy...???..... I don't think I'd want to cut it that close.

I do remember hearing a couple of times the announcement made over the speakers for people who hadn't gotten back on the ship yet. Not sure which ports...but they must have shown up, because we pulled out of port basically on time each time.

We got up to the room, and I had to tell Jay what I had done. He didn't say much. I know he was disappointed, but lucky for me, he knew I was mad enough at myself, he didn't add to it.

Another DISer heard what had happened and called to tell me that he thought the pictures could be saved. He told me to take the card out, and not to take any more pictures on that card.
Diana called me right after that to tell me that her husband had said the same thing.
So I wasn't feeling quite so bad, but I was still worried, as I had taken a couple of pictures on the way back to the pier.

Later, I headed down to Shutters to look for some pictures, when I ran into Pike. He asked me how my day was in Cozumel, and I told him "Horrible" and explained what had happened. He told me that they'd had a passenger on the previous cruise do the same thing, and that the "Miracle Workers" at Shutters had saved them.
I went and talked to Raj and he told me that they would take the card and work on it, but no guarantees.
By the time we were done with dinner that night, I had a message that "most" of the pictures had been saved, and that they were in the process of putting them on disk for me!! I'm guessing that they were putting them on disk so that I wouldn't be stupid enough to do it again.
As it turns out, if there are any pictures missing, I sure don't know which ones. As far as I can tell, all of the pictures are there. All 300 of them.

 

[justmestace]

I spend the most money on a cruise at Shutters. Needless to say, the guys there knew my name and room number by the 3rd day. Not exactly sure if that's something to be excited about or not........

I'm told that a few of the photographers who normally only work on the Magic, will be on the Wonder for the 10 and 11-Night cruises in September.

 

[Dancind]

I posted to tease you about cliffhanging, and you posted your next installment while I was waiting for my comment to load.

I hate slow internet!

 

[soothy]

Stacy I have a few questions..1 do the suites have free soda and water in the rooms or brought by room service? 2 Do they have robes in them for you to use on board? I know I have lots of questions!

 

[justmestace]

Thursday....Sea Day...

Reality sinks in. The cruise that we've waited 18 months for is almost over.

I hadn't planned anything for today, except for the Rasul for Jay and I, and then later the Galley Tour.....and I knew that I really should take out the suitcases and start packing, but I just couldn't make myself do it.

We all did the Galley Tour. Jay and I had taken the one on the Princess cruise that we took without the kids, but we'd always wanted to see Disney's kitchens. It is so fascinating to see how huge that space is, and get a small idea of how it all comes together. It's a great opportunity to ask questions and find the answers to things like "What do you do with all of the leftovers?"
(They use several machines to chop it into increasingly smaller pieces and then dump it into the ocean for fish food)

I spent the rest of the day just walking the ship, stopping and talking to the DISers that I saw along the way.

I guess it's kind of pitiful to not have gone to the shows, or movies, or Bingo, or Art Auctions, or wine tastings....or all of the other things there are to do....but this was cruise #7 for us....5th with DCL...and even though there are still a LOT of things we've never done, we didn't feel like we were missing anything. We've done most of it, and it was nice to just kind of do "nothing" on a sea day.
Just watching the ocean go by.

 

[justmestace]

I posted to tease you about cliffhanging, and you posted your next installment while I was waiting for my comment to load.

I hate slow internet!

 

[justmestace]

Stacy I have a few questions..1 do the suites have free soda and water in the rooms or brought by room service? 2 Do they have robes in them for you to use on board? I know I have lots of questions!

There were about 6 cans of soda, some Coke, Diet Coke, Sprite....on the counter above the little refridgerator, and I think four bottles of water.
Our room steward brought more water after we drank the first ones, but not more soda. The only time that I ever called room service to ask for more soda (not on this cruise, but once when we were in a Cat 2) I was told by room service that if I wanted more I'd have to pay. I never did call concierge and ask them. I imagine if I called concierge, they'd send more soda, but I drink Pepsi, so I always bring my own.

Yes...there are two nice robes in the master bedroom closet and slippers. But the slippers are huge, so I can never wear them. I guess I shouldn't say "huge"....maybe a woman's size 10??

 

[justmestace]

A couple of notes before I finish. We've had a suite each time we've cruised, and each time, the level of service from concierge was different. We've been in the Roy, a Cat 2 twice, and now a Cat 3 twice. Some of the best service we ever had was in the Cat 2 and 3....one of the most "mediocre" was in the Roy. So I don't think the service you get is based so much on which room you're in, as it is which concierge "team" you get. Some are just much more attentive than others.

But...an important thing....we don't book the suites for the service. We book them for the space. We have two teens (and on this cruise three) ...a boy and a girl, so each needs their own bed. No way, in my opinion, is a suite worth the money based on the concierge service alone. Definitely worth the money for the extra space.

Also, we've had a HUGE difference in the service we received from room stewards. The best we ever had was in a Cat 3.
I don't know if they have done away with these or not, but we didn't have an ice bucket. On all of our other cruises, as soon as we returned to our room after being ashore, and after dinner, the ice bucket was always freshly filled. This time there wasn't even a bucket!

There's also a lot of talk about the "upgraded amenities"...shampoos, etc. Personally, I think the shampoo is very harsh, and we bring our own.
Don't taste the mouthwash, either....unless you like spitting involuntarily onto your mirror.

 

[justmestace]

Our daughter Jordan and her friend went to every show, every night, and sometimes the matinee, also. Amber has never cruised before and I was glad that Jordan was taking the time to show her all of it.

The kids also went to the movies, and to Bingo at least once.

Jay couldn't sleep one night, so he went up and watched Pirates of the Caribbean on the Dumbotron.

And I just realized that I skipped Pirate Night altogether! I guess I was so focused on my missing pictures.

I don't mean we SKIPPED it. I just forgot to mention it.

Jay & I dress the pirate way. The kids don't. They are, of course, too cool for that.

I think that Pirate night is the only night that our group of late diners actually left the restaurant before they had to tell us to.
We were always the last ones to leave. The crew would be setting up for breakfast all around us, and there we'd still be. Several times, we were visiting with Head Server Alexandra, so we didn't feel too guilty. If she wasn't chasing us out, then it must not have been a bad thing.

 

[soothy]

maybe a woman's size 10??[/QUOTE]

That is like a house boat for me
I am not able to stop reading you're report..First a laugh then I cry then I laugh untill my face hurts!

 

[justmestace]

Pirates in the Caribbean Party

There was a group of about 8 of us who headed up to the party together. Somewhere among the crowd, we lost Jay and a couple of the others.
A few of us found an open spot on Deck 10 where we knew we'd have a great view of the fireworks, some of the other "surprises"...and now thankfully, the Dumbotron, so we could see what was going on down on Deck 9.

Music, dancing, pirates, Mickey.....this night has it all. There is a buffet, but since we just rolled out of dinner, the idea of even looking at it made me want to explode.

(average weight gain per DISer....SEVEN pounds!) You'd think by the end of the cruise, they'd need to start throwing luggage overboard. It's just a good thing the ship is using tons of fuel to lighten the load.

We were on Deck 10, watching all the fun, and this one annoying teen boy kept dancing all over the place....in his words "Firing up the crowd"......the kid was having a blast, and the crowd responded. Even the ship's photographer snapped a picture of this kid in action. He'd dance down one way, and back the other.

I would have thought it was pretty entertaining......if it hadn't been MY kid!


Some of the kids at dinner on Pirate Night. I LOVE the new frames:

 

[justmestace]

I love the fun things that Disney does, like Pirate night. I guess it's part of the "magic" that sets DCL apart.

We were lucky to be on Princess on Halloween, because they had a parade and costume contests, pumpkin carving....which helped make it more fun, but otherwise, it was a pretty "quiet" cruise.

But then, we didn't have our live entertainment with us then, either.

Note to self....sometimes it IS more fun to take the kids.

 

[justmestace]

Our last day at sea was Semi-Formal night in Lumiere's. We always try to figure out our dining rotation so that we're in Parrot Cay for pirate night and Lumiere's for formal and semi-formal.

We happened to head to dinner when there wasn't a line to have pictures taken in front of Helmsman Mickey, so we got some good shots that night.

This was one of the nights that I gathered up an extra pound or two. The dessert choices were too tempting, so I tried more than one.

I had also forgotten about Match Your Mate night, and had a few drinks at dinner.

Four of us left the restaurant that night together. We were going to roll up to our rooms to change clothes in time for the Dessert Buffet. Needed to put on the pants with the elastic waistband!

The photographer outside the back entrance to Lumiere's was still set up, and no one was there, so we decided to take more pictures. We were more than a little silly by this time, couldn't stop laughing...and I don't know about anyone else, but I could no longer hold my stomach in.

Needless to say, those shots went straight into the trash. I shudder to think someone might have seen them before I got to Shutters to toss them. Bad enough the guys AT Shutters saw them!

 

[justmestace]

Ahhhhh....the Dessert Buffet........

Better known as Death by Chocolate. Thank the dear lord for stretch pants.

 

[justmestace]

Friday.....our last full day and Second Scoop in our Double Scoop of Castaway Cay....

Of all the mornings on the ship, it just figures that this is the one where I really think I'm relaxed enough to sleep in. Maybe I'd really simply packed on enough extra poundage to hybernate like a bear........

But I did arise...I was really anxious to get that second chance at the Seahorse Snorkel. I'd said for years that despite all the places we've snorkeled, I thought that I had seen the most colorful fish in the Bahamas.....but I sometimes wondered if time had clouded my memory. Time and margaritas.

I wasn't disappointed, and I was right. The reef that the catamaran takes you to is very shallow, and I could see that if we'd had those rough seas that I had wanted to rock me to sleep, it would have been a little treacherous over that patch of coral that appears out of nowhere. But again, we had perfectly calm seas.
I can't recall any one place on any of our snorkel trips where I'd seen that many fish or so many varieties. My camera and I were in hog heaven.
I found a barracuda out there that was as long as my arm, so I followed him around for a while, making sure I got a good shot of him. Or twenty shots.

My dancing teenage son took great delight in telling every novice snorkeler in the water that there was a barracuda out there....just to see how many swam back to the boat as fast as their little legs and arms would take them.
I don't know where he gets that sick sense of humor.......