She said it wouldn't be boring!-WONDER WB Caribbean cruise - Bonus Posts Wrap up

[franandaj]

Packing and your costume? You're kicking booty. Get it?

No... I must be dense. I asked Fran and it went over her head too.

I'm so existed for you ladies. This is going to be a WONDERful trip. Can't wait to see pictures of that gorgeous ship and pleeeeease have a slice of cheese pizza for me. Are you going to try to see a movie on FunnelVision? It's so amazing.

A house got robbed in your neighborhood?

Thanks, I will do my best to try the pizza, we usually fill ourselves up on everything else and I never think about the pizza being there. I have watched movies on FunnelVision, just not an entire movie.

Yeah, our Gardener is like the little gossip monger, he tells us whose cats were killed by coyotes, who got robbed. I didn't really believe him on either account, but after the bunny incident, I didn't want to test his burglary theories any longer.

Hope you have a "Wonder"ful trip! I am looking forward to following along.

I hope that you enjoy our style of touring!

Have a fabulous trip. Catch you at the other end.

Thanks!

How exciting! You go today well done on packing. Re the pants vs shorts issue I always get it wrong! That weather always surprises me! Now I have these neat pants that you zip off and convert lol. Only suitable for day wear though. Night time pants still need packing!

Well wish you the best trip! Hope your kitties are ok. good luck with alarm system. Enjoy yourselves!

That's why I love dresses so much! They work for day or night, warm or cold!

In my neck of the woods, it's already October 29! Have a great flight! Who will be taking care of the kitties?
We did cab-to-Chankanaab, too, and it was great! The cab driver spent the entire drive trying to convice us to go to some other beach (where he no doubt gets a kick-back) but we stood firm. We were beach bums there, lounged around with rum drinks in carved out coconuts. Yum! I went snorkeling - it was ok - saw a barracuda! There was a lot more to do that we just didn't bother with! You'll love it! Oh, don't forget to take towels from the ship as you get off. We forgot. Luckily you can rent towels there, too...
Looking forward to following along!

I think at Chankanaab, we will be doing all the other things that you didn't bother with! The snorkeling might be fun if the walk to the beach isn't too far for Fran. Thanks for the hint on towels from the ship. We were thinking of bringing sandwiches from Goofy's as well.

I just realised that you already started your TR! I was going to ask you on my TR whether you were going to write one about your cruise on the Wonder! I guess I know now!

And I found it just in time to wish you a WONDERful trip!!

I'm glad you are joining in! Your PC cruise has definitely caused to build my excitement for this trip! I'm so happy to be going back on the Wonder again!

Have a fantastic trip!!!

Jill in CO

Thanks Jill!

Have a wonderful trip.

Corinna

Thank you! And when I get back, I have meeting up with you to look forward to!

 

[dolphingirl47]

I am glad that you got your security system sorted out and got at least some sleep.

Thank you! And when I get back, I have meeting up with you to look forward to!

I can't wait.

Corinna

 

[franandaj]

WOW! That's some countdown.

Glad you got your security installed.
Your layover is just perfect.
Food looks great.




p.s. I am seeing some strange posting behaviour on the Dis right now. It might be that the change in daylight saving hours is creating a disconnect with a few servers. In short....I hope this post appears in correct chronological order!

The long layover made for a long day, but at least we weren't running to get here and there. The food and drink was a welcome diversion from our long day.

Your post made it right in the right place!

What a hectic day! Glad you got some sleep though. Enjoy your next flight!

Jill in CO

I'm hoping that the cruise will really remedy the sleep factor as well.

Yay! The lounge looks great. Thats a nice free food spread. We've used Michael's United Cub lounge but the offerings weren't like that.

Glad the system is installed and working.

I guess American Express makes enough off of our fees that they can provide top notch food and libations. That burrito was made with brisket which was really good. Fran made herself a taco (no beans, add lettuce). Later I found some brownies that were so rich and I could barely eat two of them.

You achieved so much on leaving day well done! Alarm system sounds great for tracking movement in and out the house we have one of those also. It phones us if the alarm goes off too. Very reassuring.

Nice you have a cat sitter so that kitties stay in their own home. They do not like a change of environment do they. Plus it's a stressful thought for you. To know they are safe and somebody is checking on the house is an added bonus. Thieves don't like to break in where they are unpredictable movements.

The food on your first leg plan journey looks superb! Better than my one roll and jam on a 9 hour flight...

What a sight for sore eyes that lounge with refreshments when you land. Free wi-fi also. Nice photo of Fran.

I was so tired that I nearly collapsed standing up. Fran said we "had words" because she tried to make me go to bed, I wouldn't, but I was too tired to know I should. We get a text message for certain arming and disarming events with the system. I can also look everything up on an app on my phone.

There is no way we could let the kitties stay elsewhere, they don't relocate well like dogs do. They are so happy to be in their home, they just need people there a little more. Our catsitter told me today that his navy blue shorts were white from Bagle sleeping on his lap and purring and snuggling.

I'm sorry they messed up on your food on your flight. Mine was actually quite tasty for airplane food! I'm so glad they have that lounge in Dallas, I'm going to try to route any connections we have to make in the future through that airport!

Wow that was a very busy day. It is nice that you got everything done. Way to go Alison.

We have an alarm just like that. Many years ago while I was working Ib D.C. I for a call that alarm was going off. I could note get back to Maryland. Davis was on TDY. So one of my friend's drive over with about 4 cop car's. Turns out no break in, one of those sensors fell off the door.

Not sure if yours has a panic button but I'd it does just know that if it is pushed there is no turning it off. The police will come and search your house.

I'll keep that in mind about he panic button. Luckily we don't really have anything to hide if they were to search the house. I just hope that all the cats would hide so they can't count noses!

 

[franandaj]

I am glad that you got your security system sorted out and got at least some sleep.

I can't wait.

Corinna

It's going to be so much fun! AND the truffle Mac and Cheese IS now on the menu at Steakhouse 55!

 

[dolphingirl47]

It's going to be so much fun! AND the truffle Mac and Cheese IS now on the menu at Steakhouse 55!

I am definitely in need of a good dose of fun. Yes, that bit of news made my day yesterday. I can't wait to taste this again.

Corinna

 

[franandaj]

So I last left off as we were leaving the American Express Centurion Lounge. Our layover was almost four hours in Dallas, so we had a good two hours there in the lounge. My 15 minute chair massage was awesome and left me relaxed and ready to take on the next leg of our journey.

We got to the gate just in time for the Preboarding and we were in our seats in no time. I was having a hard time staying awake during the take off process, but once we were airborne, no matter how hard I tried, I just couldn’t fall asleep. That was one of the longest two hour flights that I’ve ever taken. I had a couple glasses of wine, and played spider solitaire on my phone and finally we landed.

It was after midnight when we finally got off the plane, and by the time we made it down to the baggage carousel, ours were the only bags left. Over tired and way too exhausted to be standing upright, we had words on our way to the stop where we were to catch our shuttle.

The trip to the hotel was painlessly quick and after loading up all the luggage, we were on our way to the room. I unloaded everything and by this time I was hungry again. I had forgotten to grab the kielbasa out of the freezer before we left, so all I had was my Velveeta Shells and Cheese. It hit the spot, and after “dinner” I climbed into bed around 2:00AM.

I took a couple pictures of the room before my camera too claimed “battery exhausted”.





The remainder of these pictures were taken the next day while I wrote this update.







Every inch of my body ached. I couldn’t fall asleep for the longest time. It was like every part of my body was quivering, as if electrically charged, and it was not a good feeling. Somewhere in there I dozed off but woke up at 4:30AM. I couldn’t believe I’d only been asleep about two hours. I took one of Fran’s pain pills and that did the trick, I slept like a baby and my pain in my body subsided.

When I woke up, the excitement was too great for me to fall back asleep, so I checked out the DIS on my phone decided to take a bath. That always helps my muscles to relax. By that point I was ancy. Fran was still asleep, so I went down to the lobby to get some coffee and took a walk around the neighborhood. I got an idea of where things were and went back up to the room to wake Fran. On my way back to the room, I stopped by the front desk to enquire about transportation to the Port of Miami. Most of the shuttles were comparable so I let them know I would run it past Fran and get back to them.

By this time it was 11AM and I was starving. We headed off, but first stopped in the lobby to ask if the hotel staff could make us a shuttle reservation. I need to check back with them and see if they were successful. Then we were off to a place called Kelly’s Landing Seafood Restaurant. They had a great menu for seafood lovers, a decent menu for land lovers, and a few choices for vegetarians.

Fran started off with the Lobster Rangoon, these were really tasty and quite unique. I don’t care for the Crab Rangoon that one gets at Asian Fusion restaurants, but I really liked these.



I started off with some Littleneck Steamers.





She had the Lobster Roll. This was quite good. Nice chunks of lobster, maybe it could have used a tad bit more Mayo, but it was solid. She ate the whole thing.



I got the two item fried combo for “smaller eaters”. Yeah right, it really shows in this photo right? Shrimp and Clam Strips. I also had a garden salad with Thousand Island, but I forgot to take a picture.



I couldn’t finish this, so Fran helped me out. We were both pleasantly full when we left and are considering returning tonight for dinner to try some of the other options. It was affordable and good, you can’t beat that! After lunch we headed across the street to the Winn Dixie to pick up some bottled water, Diet Mtn Dew, stain remover, and Mosquito repellent. They didn’t have a decent selection of wine, so right next door was a very high end liquor store that fit the bill.

I got some wine, Fran picked up some flavored Belgian beers, and a “bag” of margarita. I doubt we will actually drink all of this on the cruise, but we have the option.



This was a pretty high end gourmet shop (they had bottle of Tequila that cost $400 ) and they had a wonderful selection of cheeses, cured meats and some handmade candies. We got these “snails”. They remind me of what you can buy at Karamel Kuche.



What’s even nicer, is that once our cruise is over, we are staying at a hotel directly across the street from this shop. We may be back for some afternoon “cheese and cracker” snacks to enjoy during the Embassy Suites complimentary Happy Hour.

We headed back to the room, where (for those who have followed my reports before) Fran took a nap (hence the earlier picture). I worked on this report and will lay down once I post this and also take a nap. We have a “Bones” marathon on the TV, which just switched to “Castle” and we’re just relaxing until we go out for dinner tonight.

 

[dolphingirl47]

I am glad that you got some sleep in the end. Lunch looked nice and I am drooling over the Margarita.

Corinna

 

[cj9200]

OK, WAIT A MINUTE. YOU ARE CALLING THIS A VACATION? Lots of stuff packed into the trip. Surprised you are not driving to Disney on your free day, spend a few hours in the park and drive back to Ft. Lauderdale.

Would like to go up there and meet up or even go to the concert but it looks like I am going to have to hold out for a breakfast on an upcoming trip. Have a fantastic time and try to chill a little bit.

Looking forward to seeing how it all turns out.

 

[franandaj]

I am glad that you got some sleep in the end. Lunch looked nice and I am drooling over the Margarita.

Corinna

That's funny, the margarita is something readily available here, just chill and pour and you're good to go. If you saw the end of the other TR you'll know we have plenty in the fridge at home it killed me to actually buy any!

OK, WAIT A MINUTE. YOU ARE CALLING THIS A VACATION? Lots of stuff packed into the trip. Surprised you are not driving to Disney on your free day, spend a few hours in the park and drive back to Ft. Lauderdale.

Would like to go up there and meet up or even go to the concert but it looks like I am going to have to hold out for a breakfast on an upcoming trip. Have a fantastic time and try to chill a little bit.

Looking forward to seeing how it all turns out.

Well the part on the Wonder is definitely vacation. But that's how us crazy musicians spend our vacation time, putting on a concert! And that takes work. If it makes any sense to you, I declined auditioning for any solos this time so that I wouldn't have any stress. At the Gay Games, I had a huge solo and it cost me some sleep, so for this concert, I decided not to audition for solos, but Fran wants to see if she can play the solo on Bolero, so she is bringing her clarinet on the cruise to practice!

We'll be back in Orlando in April, so maybe it will work out for then. We've spent all of today chilling out, and I plan to spend most of the cruise doing the same!

 

[PrincessInOz]

Glad to see you finally got some sleep. I hope you're relaxing now and enjoying the vacation.

Love the sugar snails and I can definitely have the lobster roll too.

 

[Pinkocto]

Sounds like you're off to a great start! Well, after you got some rest in

Those snails look delicious!!!

 

[Paula Sedley-Burke]

I am sorry you had issues sleeping. That's the worse. After all that adrenaline pumping from packing, traveling and the pain your body is in flux! It can't calm down. Glad you found a little peace in the end. Do you guys like us enjoy the gentle rocking motion when you are in bed on the ship? I hope that provides you with a peaceful come down to rest. I don't want to read about any mad dashes around! I do hope some time in senses spa will be booked and resting on the sundeck!

The meal looks yummy and good value. I would def be back for more!

 

[dgbg100106]

So how are you getting all of that onto the cruise? I mean our last cruise we were allowed to take two bottles of wine, but they held our luggage till we came to claim, and to make sure we only had two bottles.

 

[Captain_Oblivious]

Sorry about the sleeping issues. I can never sleep on a plane, and it becomes a real problem with those late redeye flights. Hope you will be able to relax onboard the ship.

 

[dolphingirl47]

That's funny, the margarita is something readily available here, just chill and pour and you're good to go. If you saw the end of the other TR you'll know we have plenty in the fridge at home it killed me to actually buy any!



Well the part on the Wonder is definitely vacation. But that's how us crazy musicians spend our vacation time, putting on a concert! And that takes work. If it makes any sense to you, I declined auditioning for any solos this time so that I wouldn't have any stress. At the Gay Games, I had a huge solo and it cost me some sleep, so for this concert, I decided not to audition for solos, but Fran wants to see if she can play the solo on Bolero, so she is bringing her clarinet on the cruise to practice!

We'll be back in Orlando in April, so maybe it will work out for then. We've spent all of today chilling out, and I plan to spend most of the cruise doing the same!

Yes, I saw your stash. I love my Margarita and I cannot think of any branded pre-mixed Margarita over here. Supermarkets tend to do own-branded once, but I have never been tempted to try them.

I think I am probably too late, but my heart just sunk when I saw that Fran was taking her clarinet on board. This is every bit as prohibited as the travel iron you had confiscated on one of the previous cruises.

Q: What items are not permitted on board?
A:
In order to maintain a safe and secure environment for our Guests and crew, the following are examples of items that Guests are not allowed to bring on board. These and other similar items will be confiscated upon being found.

Weapons and firearms (including ammunition, knives—including dive knives—swords, daggers or any other types of weapons) are not allowed onboard under any circumstances
Realistic replicas of firearms and weapons
Highly flammable liquids and combustible substances
Non prescribed controlled substances, illegal drugs, medically prescribed and synthetic marijuana
Hookah pipes
Power Tools and Tool boxes (except those tools of the trade utilized by vendors providing services)
Sporting equipment (i.e., baseball and cricket bats, hockey and lacrosse sticks, pool cues, ski poles, fishing gear and archery equipment.)
SCUBA equipment (i.e., tanks, spears guns /slings, dive knives, pry bar, and underwater scooter)
Kites, balloons, surfboards, wave boards, inflatable floats/pools (including pool noodles), and wagons
Bicycles, Segways, skateboards, inline & roller skates, any footwear with wheels, (i.e. Heely's type shoes)
Electrical appliances such as rice cookers, hot plates, coffee makers, electric irons, bottle sterilizer and bottle warmers, electric blankets, electric blenders, etc. Please note: A limited number of approved bottle warmers and bottle sterilizers are available upon request through Guest Services. Also all ships offer laundry facilities with irons and ironing boards. Valet laundry service is also available for a nominal fee.
Candles & Incense
DVD, VCR, or Blu ray players or, Playstation, Xbox, and Nintendo Wii gaming systems are not allowed because of compatibility issues with the stateroom TVs
Musical instruments
Large Ice Coolers (Please note: small, personal-sized coolers, no larger than 12" x 12" x 12" brought onboard for the purpose of housing medications are permitted as carry-on luggage.)
Homemade, pre-cooked or other perishable food items plus any open snack containers
Metal detectors are not allowed on the ship or on Castaway Cay, as any object found using these devices would need to be returned to the owner or donated to charity
Personal fireworks or pyrotechnics
Seasonal and celebratory lighting strings
Liquid oxygen
Extension cords
Surge Protectors

Corinna

 

[rentayenta]

Kelly's Landing was on my list to try before me and Joshua's cruise. We didn't make it as we stayed with our friends in Miami but it looks fabulous.

 

[franandaj]

Hey all! Reporting in from the ship! We're having a great time and I haven't had a chance to sit down and get online. Fran seems to be feeling better than ever and she is keeping me really busy. We just docked at Grand Cayman and I'm trying to wake her up to go have breakfast.

Since I know how that goes, I figured I had time to pop online and reply to some responses. BTW, they have some sort of new internet service and packages and it's a lot faster than our last cruise!

Glad to see you finally got some sleep. I hope you're relaxing now and enjoying the vacation.

Love the sugar snails and I can definitely have the lobster roll too.

We have definitely been relaxing since we got on the ship. It's been great!

Sounds like you're off to a great start! Well, after you got some rest in

Those snails look delicious!!!

It was a bit of a hassle actually getting on the ship, at least our first port experience, but I'll have details of that later! Since then it's been nice.

I am sorry you had issues sleeping. That's the worse. After all that adrenaline pumping from packing, traveling and the pain your body is in flux! It can't calm down. Glad you found a little peace in the end. Do you guys like us enjoy the gentle rocking motion when you are in bed on the ship? I hope that provides you with a peaceful come down to rest. I don't want to read about any mad dashes around! I do hope some time in senses spa will be booked and resting on the sundeck!

The meal looks yummy and good value. I would def be back for more!

That pretty much sums it up. It was like my body just couldn't slow down even though it was so over tired that it wasn't funny. A few no stress days has fixed that one.

I love the gentle rocking motion of the ship. Even if I'm not sleeping, just laying in bed watching movies on the TV is relaxing. OMG! On the Wonder it's Vista Spa and don't worry, we've got plenty of time in there! And plenty of money!

So how are you getting all of that onto the cruise? I mean our last cruise we were allowed to take two bottles of wine, but they held our luggage till we came to claim, and to make sure we only had two bottles.

Disney doesn't put any limits on how much alcohol you bring on the ship, but they do make you carry it all on yourself. You will see in probably the next update my "Fran the pack mule". We milk that scooter for every bit that it can carry!

Sorry about the sleeping issues. I can never sleep on a plane, and it becomes a real problem with those late redeye flights. Hope you will be able to relax onboard the ship.

The fact that I slept a little on the first flight shows that I was way overtired, usually I can't sleep either. And yes, we have definitely been relaxing on the ship. Today will be our first day that we out and active.

Yes, I saw your stash. I love my Margarita and I cannot think of any branded pre-mixed Margarita over here. Supermarkets tend to do own-branded once, but I have never been tempted to try them.

I think I am probably too late, but my heart just sunk when I saw that Fran was taking her clarinet on board. This is every bit as prohibited as the travel iron you had confiscated on one of the previous cruises.
Corinna

We have so much of that stuff at home, it was a shame to buy more, but even the most mundane of stores here now carry fully mixed margariatas. We have yet to break into these.

Well, they just let it go through security. We carried it on and they didn't bat an eye at it. Neither did they bat an eye at young kids carrying on swords, tridents and other such weapon resembling things. Which were also listed as prohibited. She has yet to actually practice it! I'm glad that I left mine seaside.

 

[franandaj]

Kelly's Landing was on my list to try before me and Joshua's cruise. We didn't make it as we stayed with our friends in Miami but it looks fabulous.

Since we're back in the same neighborhood and even closer than we were before, I'm looking forward to eating there when we get back in town. We'll have a car then, so we can go to any number of places in the last half of the trip!

 

[dolphingirl47]

Hey all! Reporting in from the ship! We're having a great time and I haven't had a chance to sit down and get online. Fran seems to be feeling better than ever and she is keeping me really busy. We just docked at Grand Cayman and I'm trying to wake her up to go have breakfast.


We have so much of that stuff at home, it was a shame to buy more, but even the most mundane of stores here now carry fully mixed margariatas. We have yet to break into these.

Well, they just let it go through security. We carried it on and they didn't bat an eye at it. Neither did they bat an eye at young kids carrying on swords, tridents and other such weapon resembling things. Which were also listed as prohibited. She has yet to actually practice it! I'm glad that I left mine seaside.

I am glad that you are having a wonderful time. I am even more glad that you did not have any issues bringing Fran's clarinet on board.

I have to check out the margarita situation when we get to the USA. I may have to send Graham to the grocery store while I enjoy myself in the parks.

I hope you have a great time in Grand Cayman today.

Corinna

 

[dgbg100106]

Disney doesn't put any limits on how much alcohol you bring on the ship, but they do make you carry it all on yourself. You will see in probably the next update my "Fran the pack mule". We milk that scooter for every bit that it can carry!

Hmm, I had no idea, how interesting!