We put the DYS in Functional, Completing our ABC’s

[Woth2982]

How heartbreaking to hear about your emergency stop. So sad for the family, I hope they were still able to enjoy their trip somewhat. Disappointing to hear that Triton's breakfast wasn't great. Cabanas is always so good, but you would expect the dining room to be better! Love that you all dressed up with glitter! So fun! Not shocked that M talked Claire into dressing up a bit, 14 year olds never listen to their parents about that stuff lol. I keep saying I knew SO MUCH from the ages of 14-18. I was a genius. Now I know nothing lol. Your photos are making me very excited for January!

Have so much fun in California! Hopefully the crowds wont be too bad for you! We went to DL for a day in January, and it was down pouring rain, every ride was practically walk on! We did the whole park in 4 hours. THen spent the rest of the day warming back up in the hotel room lol.

 

[TestingH2O]

I tried to get a pic of the After Hours carpet.

Have you done the ship tour? I love that the martini is actually Sorcerer Mickey's hat. Such a cool touch!

Man, that glitter is awesome. What fun for Claire to have a buddy on the trip, and how cool that you are getting some of the Concierge perks.

 

[jenseib]

I never know what kind of plane we are on either, but my dh was a pilot(Air Force and then commercial), so he knows what they all are. I read something today that said Southwest only flies those on the week-end, it didn't say why though. Hopefully you'll know really soon! Talk about stressful!

I wish I knew now. I don't want to change, but if I have to sooner is better. There are hardly any flights left at all now and we would have to change airports I think too.

How heartbreaking to hear about your emergency stop. So sad for the family, I hope they were still able to enjoy their trip somewhat. Disappointing to hear that Triton's breakfast wasn't great.

It was sad. I know this happens a lot more often than people think but this was the first time I was aware of it on my own sailing.
It wasn't bad, but it just wasn't over the top either. I didn't think they had a very big selection.

Cabanas is always so good, but you would expect the dining room to be better!

We do love Cabana's but we stick with a lot of the same things.

Love that you all dressed up with glitter! So fun! Not shocked that M talked Claire into dressing up a bit, 14 year olds never listen to their parents about that stuff lol. I keep saying I knew SO MUCH from the ages of 14-18. I was a genius.

M is a lot of fun and Claire just loves her. So if she suggests it, Claire is all for it. I remember know it all too....what a pain I was! hahaha

Your photos are making me very excited for January!

I want to go again now! I need to start saving!

Have so much fun in California! Hopefully the crowds wont be too bad for you! We went to DL for a day in January, and it was down pouring rain, every ride was practically walk on! We did the whole park in 4 hours. THen spent the rest of the day warming back up in the hotel room lol.

Last I looked the weather is supposed to be good, so I hope it stays like that. I have several friends there now and I just love seeing their pictures.

Have you done the ship tour? I love that the martini is actually Sorcerer Mickey's hat. Such a cool touch!

I have not and I did not know that....so I need to go back and look at the pictures! I've done it on the Magic, but no other ship.

Man, that glitter is awesome. What fun for Claire to have a buddy on the trip, and how cool that you are getting some of the Concierge perks.

Glitter is a lot of fun. I told Claire I would order some for the future. But with me, I am sure it won't be so much fun.

 

[jenseib]

Tuesday, Jan. 29, 2019, Aruba


Today we were all booked on the same excursion with the exception of T and D. We were going to De Palms, which is an all-inclusive type place, but just for a day. It is not a resort. My cousin had gone here before and said they really liked it.

When we all booked and looked at excursions, this place was not available and we threw around other options. It then opened up. I am not sure if they opened more spaces or if a big group ended up cancelling out.


Claire isn’t too big on breakfast and rarely eats it and since I was up early, I headed up for some.


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Obviously our detour yesterday wasn’t a big issue as we arrived and docked on time this morning.


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I saw a De Palms bus on the dock and J said she later saw a bunch of them lined up. There was more than one ship in port today.


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We got ourselves ready and our bag packed and headed to the Walt Disney Theatre to get signed in. It wasn’t long and we were led off the ship and then onto a waiting bus.


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Claire is usually so clingy, so I sat down and expected her to plop right next to me. Nope! She sat with M. You know she really likes someone when she will hang with them as much as possible. PT sat with me and we talked a bit and I just sort of went in a daze and took a few pictures. Our driver talked as we drove and pointed out things.


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I saw the Aruba sign and quickly tried to get it. This truck pulled up just as I clicked.


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I tried for a 2nd one knowing that we were probably already too far.


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Total fail!


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Seeing flowers and flowering bushes at this time of year is just so refreshing!


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I had only been half listening to our driver. He was talking about our destination a bit. PT then asks me, “Did he just say they serve Pee-nus Colada’s?” LOL!!!!! Yes he did. And he kept saying it. His accent was making him say Pina’s Coladas with a little bit of twist. We all started just cracking up. Then he started talking about the “Baby Beeeech”. Claire totally lost it then. She kept saying she was going to have a Pee-nus Colada at the Baby Beeeech.

And we never figured out where the Baby Beeeech is because we kept laughing.


We arrived at a small dock and were let off and then boarded a small boat over to our private retreat for the day.


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We are ready for our day!


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I just love the Caribbean blue water.


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On the way over they told us what was included and what is extra and where some things were. Unfortunately it was really hard to hear.


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We arrived and got off the boat and kind of wandered a bit to get our bearings and see where we wanted to go. We spotted some turtles.


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We found some chairs on the beach and claimed our spots and then went off to get drinks. The drinks were pretty weak, but that was ok by me. Claire had the virgin and I don’t think there was much of a difference. I did see some people asked for an extra shot in them (the frozen drinks were coming out of machines).


We just relaxed and enjoyed our time with each other.


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I had found some cute hats at Walmart last fall on clearance and I bought one for me and one for J. There were 3 left, so I bought the 3rd and figured I would have it on hand in the event of wanting to give it to a cruising friend. PT was the lucky one. We all brought our hats and were planning on having a picture with them on later today.


For now, I wanted to take some pictures I could use for any future vacations.


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Isn’t that just the cutest hat?

 

[jenseib]

After a while Claire and I decided to head out to the water with PT, and I think J joined us too.


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It was COLD!!!! So Claire headed back to the seat….. But after being in it a bit it wasn’t bad. The bad thing though is it was all rocks as you walked in and took a while before you got to sand and your feet would be ok.


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We splashed around and had a good time talking and enjoying the water and playing in the waves that came at us.


After a bit the girls decided to join us.


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And Z did too.


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We played in the waves as they rolled in.


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Such beautiful water.


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We saw the tops of these huts and I think this is a private area that can be rented for the day.


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After a while we got tired and headed back to our chairs. To get out, we got smart and basically allowed the waves to push us up over the rocks and land on the beach…basically like a beached whale. It wasn’t attractive, but we saved our feet.


Another shot of my hat as we sat there.


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This was my view from my chair.


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It was perfect!


Lunch was being served, so we headed to the buffet area. It was very basic with a salad bar and a few hot options. However, the food was just not very good and most of us threw a majority of it away. We knew they had some fast food in another area, so we headed over there. I think we were starting out with fries but then many of us ended up adding a burger or hotdog too. We sat around and enjoyed our food and chatted. This food was much better. Not high quality, but still better than the buffet.


The kids and F decided then to go on the banana boat and headed off that way. I laid on my lounger and played on my phone dozed a little.

When they came back, F said he was going to go snorkel. I kind of wanted to as well, but I was feeling lazy.


Before I go on, I will give my review of the place so I don’t forget.

The cost was pretty pricey. I believe it was around $105ish per person. It was all inclusive, but the drinks I had just weren’t great. I don’t need strong drinks, but I didn’t think they were super flavorful either. The buffet food was not good. The fast food was fine, but for the cost, there should have been more options.

They had a big waterpark area for younger kids. That did not interest us, but that did look nice.

There were a few activities included, like the banana boat and snorkeling. The beach was small, but it never felt crowded. The swimming area was small but never crowded. Again, it was rocky going out which I hate. Maybe they aren’t allowed to clear them away, but if they can, they should.

Snorkeling there was decent enough (yes, I did end up going), but it was super wavy and a lot of work…but that is mother nature, not their fault.

I heard later some that people asked to be taken back to the ship and asked for their money back as they thought it was a dump. I didn’t feel that way. I didn’t feel it was worth the price, but I didn’t think it was that bad either. I just think the cost should be less.


After a while we headed back out to the water again. I took video of J and PT trying to get in over the rocks and I was laughing so hard…but I won’t post that or they would kill me. I just went in on my belly and bypassed most of them by swimming out. It was cold, but worth it.


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We headed back in and grabbed our hats and told Claire to take our picture. She was supposed to get basically only our heads and she was awful! I had to crop our bodies out of most she took!


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They turned out cute though.


F came back from snorkeling and said it was pretty decent. Even though I felt lazy and didn’t want the chore of putting on a mask, I decided I would regret it if I didn’t.


Sooooo I headed over and got my gear and plopped in the water.


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When it came to coral and pretty colors…not much….but lots of neat and different fish.


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[TestingH2O]

For now, I wanted to take some pictures I could use for any future vacations.

I bought a sunhat with words last year too! I can't wait to take it on trips this year. Your photos turned out great, and I think Claire did a nice job.

 

[jenseib]

More of my snorkeling pics…..


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It was really wavy and hard to swim. I didn’t want to go out too far as I didn’t want to have to swim all the way back in.


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I really had a work out out there so I decided to head back in.


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You have to be careful going up and down the stairs as there are crabs that hang out on them.


It wasn’t the best snorkeling I have ever done, but I saw a lot of variety of fish, so that was neat. I am so glad I did it. I just love taking pictures when snorkeling and seeing what I end up with when I get home.


Back to my chair to dry off before it would be time to leave.


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And then it was time to pack up. We wanted to head up to the boat area early so we could look at the gift shop. We stopped at the bathroom and there was a line up and I decided to wait. As we got to the shop, the others were looking around, so I decided to try the other bathroom since we still had quite a bit of time. That one was completely empty. Of course as I walk out Claire texts me to tell me to hurry up as they are getting on the boat! What? It’s early! So I rushed quickly and made it!


Time to head back across.


aruba111 by Jenseib, on Flickr


Once we got to the dock we headed to the bus and some people were kind of pushy. We all will make it back to the ship…don’t worry!

Well the bus was almost full and our party was the last ones on. We took off immediately and the rest of the group boarded the bus waiting behind us. My guess is they would not head back to the port till the next boat came to fill that bus.

 

[jenseib]

Back at the port we had to filter through a building with shops to get back on the ship. Some wanted to shop and it was too close to all aboard time to go anywhere but here.

I bought a magnet and then Claire, M and I headed back to the ship.


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M and Claire both wanted to shower right away, so M went to the spa to shower.


The show tonight was Mary Poppins. Claire and I have seen it twice already and we LOVE it, but it was going to interfere with our dinner tonight.


Once we were all beautiful, we headed up to T’s room and met with J and MK and T let us in her nice suite. I did not really take pictures because I don’t know T super well. She’s always nice to me, but I don’t want to invade on her space. Her room was VERY nice and BIG!


It has a dining cove with a nice sized dining table. We had just the right amount to fit in.


Our food came in stages, but we all chatted away. I did take a few pics and stole a couple from J too.


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Claire was a little shy at first and I think nervous about the experience, but she soon warmed up and was open to trying things.


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I think this was MK’s.


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We ate and chatted and it was soooooo good. Claire was in heaven! She definitely liked her steak. T eats like a bird, and I think she had 2 entrees and asked if anyone else wanted the rest of her steak. I knew Claire did, but was too shy to say yes. I spoke up and said she would probably eat….and she did.


It took a while for dessert to come and T called to see why it hadn’t arrived. They served us and they were one chocolate soufflé short. They tried to say it wasn’t ordered, but I saw the list and everyone ordered it. Actually I ordered the amaretto and the chocolate and figured Claire and I could share both or at least try both, since she doesn’t like desserts usually. T gave me hers and shared with D, which was very nice of her.


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Claire loved the amaretto soufflé and ate all but the 2 bites I took. In the future I am going to make her try the Grand Mariner soufflé. I bet she would like it.


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MK got this as well and said it was disgusting.


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T ordered ice-cream too and I could only basically take a taste. It was good, but I was full!


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It took a very long time for dinner, but we had a lot of fun. We then headed back to the room and Claire got ready to hang out for the evening.


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Another show by Mary Ellen Cooper tonight, and once again she was hilarious. One show was more about being a mom and the other was about being a wife. I was laughing sooooo hard!


Claire texted me and asked if she could get room service. Why not? Of course she is too chicken to call so I had to do that when I got back. I got some too then!


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We had a late night, but we would have another busy day tomorrow, so we finally went to sleep. M was off with her friends again and came in late and I never heard her.

 

[jenseib]

I bought a sunhat with words last year too! I can't wait to take it on trips this year. Your photos turned out great, and I think Claire did a nice job.

I thought it was so cute. I saw they had new ones out this year too, but I still like my out of office one the best!

 

[Lesley Wake]

For now, I wanted to take some pictures I could use for any future vacations.


aruba6jpg by Jenseib, on Flickr

LOVE that idea!

 

[tammy]

Love all the beautiful pictures. Every time I read your trip reports, I get serious cruise envy! I absolutely love the hats...you guys look soooo cute. I'm gonna do this for my girls trip to Italy this summer. Thanks for sharing.

 

[jenseib]

LOVE that idea!

I know! I thought it was such fun to do it too. I saw someone else do it last summer and I wondered where she got the hat and once I found them I knew I had to copy!

Love all the beautiful pictures. Every time I read your trip reports, I get serious cruise envy! I absolutely love the hats...you guys look soooo cute. I'm gonna do this for my girls trip to Italy this summer. Thanks for sharing.

I plan to bring my hat next week too. Hopefully I remember to take at least 1 pic!

 

[Cinderbrella1]

Joining in! Love all of your beautiful pictures. You guys are having so much fun!! I'm glad that you were able to take pictures of the concierge lounge and deck! Thank you and more please!

 

[lklgoodman]

Oh man I LOOOOOOVE those room service cookies!!! You got some great pics of the fish, so many different kinds!! My dh makes fun of me because I freak out if any fish gets anywhere near me. I can go swimming with dolphins, turtles, and stingrays and have no problems, but if a minnow gets within 5 ft of me I have to get out of the water, I'm not scared of them, they just freak me out!!

 

[jenseib]

Joining in! Love all of your beautiful pictures. You guys are having so much fun!! I'm glad that you were able to take pictures of the concierge lounge and deck! Thank you and more please!

Thanks for joining!
We were really lucky to see and do some different things this trip.

Oh man I LOOOOOOVE those room service cookies!!!

They are good.

You got some great pics of the fish, so many different kinds!! My dh makes fun of me because I freak out if any fish gets anywhere near me. I can go swimming with dolphins, turtles, and stingrays and have no problems, but if a minnow gets within 5 ft of me I have to get out of the water, I'm not scared of them, they just freak me out!!

That's how PT is too. She won't snorkel because she doesn't want to know of any fish in the water with her. hahahah

 

[bcwife76]

So heartbreaking about the passenger passing away

Your excursion in Aruba looked fun (jagged rocks and mediocore food aside) though yes, $105 sounds rather steep for what you got. Love the snorkeling pics though!!

If you can't come back before your trip, have an awesome time in Cali!!!

 

[KGmomoftwins]

I seriously love your trip reports. Your photos are AMAZING! What type of camera do you use especially your ocean pics? Thanks so much!

 

[rndmr2]

Found your TR a couple days ago and am now caught up. Seems like a great trip so far, too bad Skip had to cancel but I guess it couldn't be helped, good thing that M could join you. Great that you have been on all of the ships now. It is a beautiful ship from your pictures.

I used to listen to the Sirius satellite radio in the car a lot (I have been listening to CD's of my fave band, a-ha lately) and I mostly would listen to the comedy channels and have heard a lot of that Mary Ellen Hooper, she really is funny, so cool you got to see her on the ship.

Love the snorkeling pics, lots of really pretty fish. I really like snorkeling for what I can see but I am not the best swimmer and really hate the salt water in my mouth so I don't do it often. I really like the "Helmet Diving" that they do in some places (Bermuda is where I have done it a few times) because you see everything but don't get the water in your face and can walk around.

I guess you are on your do-over trip, hope you are having a great time!!

 

[Grumpy's Wife]

I love your hats, so adorable!

 

[jenseib]

So heartbreaking about the passenger passing away

Your excursion in Aruba looked fun (jagged rocks and mediocore food aside) though yes, $105 sounds rather steep for what you got. Love the snorkeling pics though!!

If you can't come back before your trip, have an awesome time in Cali!!!

We are back! We had a good time, but full of ups and downs...of course.

I seriously love your trip reports. Your photos are AMAZING! What type of camera do you use especially your ocean pics? Thanks so much!

Thanks

I used to use my 35mm a lot, but over the past few years I am using my iphone and an Olympus Tough point and shoot....which sadly is probably going to have to be replaced as it is acting up. But great camera for snorkeling and pretty decent regular pictures too.

Found your TR a couple days ago and am now caught up. Seems like a great trip so far, too bad Skip had to cancel but I guess it couldn't be helped, good thing that M could join you. Great that you have been on all of the ships now. It is a beautiful ship from your pictures.

Glad you found me.

I used to listen to the Sirius satellite radio in the car a lot (I have been listening to CD's of my fave band, a-ha lately) and I mostly would listen to the comedy channels and have heard a lot of that Mary Ellen Hooper, she really is funny, so cool you got to see her on the ship.

She's really good. I would love to see her again.

Love the snorkeling pics, lots of really pretty fish. I really like snorkeling for what I can see but I am not the best swimmer and really hate the salt water in my mouth so I don't do it often. I really like the "Helmet Diving" that they do in some places (Bermuda is where I have done it a few times) because you see everything but don't get the water in your face and can walk around.

I would love to try helmet diving too.

I guess you are on your do-over trip, hope you are having a great time!!

Yes...it was fun, but a little stressful and very tiring!

I love your hats, so adorable!

Thanks...and I forgot to pack it this trip. I had it setting out, but then never actually put it in the suitcase.