Oh the Places We Go, The People We See Photo TR

[jenseib]

We decided Claire needed a picture with the flamingoes.

 

 

We enjoyed just watching them run around freely.

 

 

 

We then walked over and took a look at the leopard.

 

 

I think he thought we looked like a tasty snack.

 

 

 

 

 

 

We followed the peacocks around a bit. I wanted a full plumage picture …. I never was lucky enough to get one.

 

 

 

 

Geoff however, was very lucky.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I was able to capture a few flowers here and there.

 

 

 

 

We found some bobcat looking cats. Here kitty kitty!

 

 

Claire’s goal was to go see King Julian again, so we were heading that way.

 

 

 

 

Hail King Julian!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We made our way back just in time for the Marching Flamingo show. Mom was worried that we were going to miss it, but Claire and I got back just as they were bringing them in. No worries!

 

 

 

Now these are trained flamingoes. They are trained to march around and some have been marching for like 35 years. Now I am really not sure I would classify this as trained marching in my book. Now they were smart enough to know it was show time and all gathered in the ring, but as for synchronized marching, it really wasn’t that. It was more of the flamingoes running one way and then on cue running the other way. And some were defiant and refused to go along with the pack.

 

 

 

 

 

It was still really fun and neat to watch and kind of funny too.

 

 

 

Well hello there. This guy was a bit curious with us.

 

 

 

 

 

[jenseib]

While they were marching around, there was a lady on a microphone announcing things and facts about the flamingoes. I believe these guys were fed special to get that extra pink color, and I have to admit, they were beautiful.

 

 

 

They then call out for volunteers from each section to come out and let the flamingoes run around them. Claire and Alexis went out, though I think Alexis was a bit reluctant. Abby was not about to be left sitting in the stands and charged right out. Jude also made his way out too. This was going to be fun!

 

 

 

Abby and Alexis look like they now are not sure what they got themselves into.

 

 

 

“Aunt Bop Bop (that’s what my nieces call me), Don’t take pictures!”

 

 

“Aunt Bop Bop, I said NO pictures!”

 

 

Um, too bad Abby, it’s what I do!

 

Claire notices one coming their way.

 

 

 

The kids from the other section were freaking out over them getting so close. It was so funny. The lady kept announcing that they were only like 30 lbs and not mean and heck, they are pink for God sakes!

 

 

 

 

 

And then one got too close!

 

 

Abby was NOT having any of that! And soon we heard an announcement …”Do not touch the flamingoes!”

 

Look at the look she is giving them now. And Jude is starting to get slightly freaked as well.

 

 

OK, buddy, I told you NOT to come by me!

 

 

 

 

 

And then Abby grabbed that guy by his neck and gave him a HUGE shove! Oh my Word. I felt bad for the flamingo, but it was so hilarious! We were dying with laughter and we talk about it ALL the time. That flamingo probably told his buddies that he has been marching for 30 years and NO ONE has ever grabbed him by the neck before.

 

She’s really giving them the glare too.

 

 

 

That was enough. She had it and came back to sit with us.

 

 

Alexis isn’t all that keen on the flamingoes either.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Claire was safely in between her 2 cousins, so no worries for her.

 

 

 

The kids then were allowed to sit back down and the flamingos ran around a few more times.

 

 

 

One of the rebels.

 

 

 

 

 

See the 2 fighting on the right side? I was laughing and we were putting words in their mouths. “Did you see that girl grab my neck? I have been marching for over 30 years and NO ONE has ever grabbed my neck! I can’t believe she did such a thing”.

 

 

“I am filing a claim with workman’s comp!”

 

 

“I have never had my feathers in such a ruffle”.

 

 

“Let’s get out of here”.

 

 

 

 

 

That really was a fun thing to see. Not something I would want to do every trip, but I good thing to try at least once. The flamingoes are beautiful too.

[jenseib]

After the show we did a little more looking around.

 

 

 

With our tickets, we could get a free drink or snack, so we headed over to the snack bar and each got a pop. Well the rest of the family pretty much got bottle waters, but Claire and I got pops. When we got on the bus, the family noticed that the label said Bahamian water and they refused to drink it. They said after seeing the disgusting green water there, there was no way they would take a chance of drinking it. I am sure it was fine, but I wasn’t going to be the guinea pig on that one either.

 

We next headed towards Fort Charlotte.

 

 

We had the option of staying on the bus or getting off and taking a quick look around.

I believe this is when Aunt Mary said she was getting off to stretch and Abby comes darting down the bus aisle and says “I’m going with Murry”. We all laughed and said, “Um Murry, you have someone joining you”.

I think about half the bus got off, and Claire and I did as well. I took a few pictures. It was really neat to see, but sad to see the graffiti on the buildings.

You can see the ship from here too.

 

 

 

 

My beloved lighthouse

 

 

 

I love this picture.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I took a lot of pictures with the ship in the distance.

 

 

 

Dad, Rob and Alexis had walked up towards the Fort, but came right back down.

 

 

Claire and I went up there next. Now to actually go in the Fort it cost money. I think it was only like a dollar or 2, but since we had limited time there, I didn’t want to hold everyone else up by going in. I would probably get carried away with pictures inside and not pay attention to time. I believe Skip and I toured this Fort many years ago too.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I continued taking pictures of the Fort area.

 

 

 

I kept switching cameras, so I am not sure if these are in exact order. It was really neat and I was so tempted to go inside. But I knew everyone else would be waiting on me.

 

 

I just love the views!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Another fantastic view.

 

 

We all got back on the bus then and soon we were headed into town.

 

 

 

 

I tried to take pictures as we drove, but they aren’t the greatest from a bus with tinted windows.

 

 

 

At times we would see beautiful houses and other times we basically saw holes in the ground. My family did NOT like Nassau at all. They thought it was dirty and falling apart. I have to agree with both, but also recently seeing some other ports just about 6 weeks prior, I didn’t really think it was all that much worse than the other ports civilian areas. And we have to remember that a hurricane had come through just a week or 2 prior.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[jenseib]

As we drove along, our bus driver did point out things and tell us what certain places were or represented.

 

 

 

 

 

Some of us look a little tired.

 

 

Or perhaps bored?

 

 

We then approached Fort Fincastle.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As we drove around it, our driver asked if we would like to stop and take a look …and yes I did …but everyone else shouted no! UGH! I didn’t say anything, but I really did want to check this place out, more so than Ft. Charlotte. Oh Well, maybe next time.

 

Not far from there is the Queens Stairs.

 

 

This was made for the Fort so they could escape in an invasion. I actually think I read or heard that it never was actually used in that matter though.

 

 

We did stop here and some of us took a look around.

 

 

I wasn’t about to head down the steps …..because then you had to climb back up!

 

 

There was a man sitting there telling tidbits about the stairs, but he was there to make money. He wanted a tip. We didn’t stick around too long and then headed back to the bus and off back towards the port.

 

 

 

When we got dropped off, that is when we learned that our driver was brand new. He did such a great job and I never would’ve known it if we hadn’t been told. We all gave him a tip and headed on our way.

 

 

After we got done with our tour, we all made our way back to the ship via the customs House.

 

 

 

I was on the hunt for a magnet. They have a few shops there, but nothing was grabbing my attention. I decided I wanted to stay in port a bit and look around at some shops. I had not had an opportunity to do so on our last cruise here, so today I wanted to take a look around. No one else wanted, to, including Claire, so she headed off with the family and I went off on my own.

 

I browsed a few shops and found a magnet and also found a sun dress for Claire that was really cute. She has not worn it yet, so I sure hope it still fits for this upcoming summer.

 

I kind of just hung back and took pictures. I liked this horse and carriage.

 

 

See the guy walking behind the carriage? Well he liked me! UGH. I kind of got nervous as he came right over as he saw me take the picture and started talking. Let’s just say, he was CREEPY! He was missing the majority of his teeth yet he thought he was some sort of prize. He came over and told me how beautiful I was and how he would never let me walk around by myself if he was my husband. ICK>>>> Get away from me! Finally he did leave. Thank goodness. I made sure to stay in plain view of other people and right near an entrance to a shop.

 

After he went on his way, I took a few more pictures.

 

 

And I made my way back to the customs house, being sure to walk the long way around where that guy was standing.

 

 

 

I had to take a few pictures of the Dream in port. It’s one of those things you can never have enough pictures of.

 

 

 

 

 

 

A look back at the customs house.

 

 

 

 

A look up at the Aqua Duck.

 

 

 

 

Isn’t she just “dreamy”?

 

 

 

And back on the ship I went.

 

[jenseib]

While I had been shopping in Nassau and talking with Mr. Creepy, the rest of the family made their way back to the ship.

 

 

 

 

 

Rob later told me that the girls took off with Aunt Mary and they were on a mission to get back to the rooms and change and go swimming. I guess at one point, Claire panicked because she didn’t have her swimsuit, but Alexis, the wise, pointed out she was wearing her lanyard and it had her room key in it, so she would be able to get her suit. Yay, crisis averted!

 

Rob, Gail, Geoff and Abby had taken it slower to get back on the ship and when they got to the atrium there was a mass meet and greet going on and they stopped off to get many pictures.

 

 

 

 

Abby is all about the princesses, so they stopped and waited in line.

 

 

Evidently they didn’t have the ships photographers out, because there were no pictures of this meet on our CD. I do have Geoff’s pictures though.

 

 

Abby seems a little unsure with her meet with Cinderella.

 

 

Getting a bit friendlier with Tiana.

 

 

She was more comfortable with Belle, now getting into meet and greet mode.

 

 

 

I didn’t ask Gail how this worked, but it almost looked like they had to wait in a separate line for each princess. I know in the past, they had one line for all of them and that worked really well for us.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Princess Minnie was upstairs.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Oops, I was wrong; there was a photographer with Minnie.

 

 

 

And Jude even found them and got in a few.

 

 

 

And they found Daisy as well.

 

 

 

Abby was very happy and now on a Princess high.

 

 

 

Geoff headed back to his room then and this was his view.

 

 

I think Geoff then joined everyone at the pool for a while.

Once I got back on the ship, I also headed back to my room. I am not sure when I found Claire, but I am thinking she returned after they had a swim and a few rides on the Aqua duck. I know at some point Claire did ride it again with Geoff.

 

I took a few pictures from our verandah when I got back.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Oh look! They are building my new house!

 

 

I think our original set sail time was for about 4:30 PM, but we found out we were going to have an extended stay in Nassau till midnight (I think). When we had been getting ready to go on our port adventure that afternoon, the crew was doing some sort of safety drill. We saw them all over the ship in life jackets and announcements were made to them off and on. I guess because of this, they earned extra time in port.

 

Before we knew it, it was time for dinner.

We got ourselves dressed and headed to the dining room.

 

 

Alexis is ready as well.

 

 

Gail and Abby did not arrive with the rest of the family. If I remember right, Abby had fallen asleep and she was waking her up for dinner, plus she didn’t want her awake all night, and let’s just say she wasn’t pleasant. So Gail hung back to get her ready.

 

I took a quick picture of the girls dressed in their Alice in Wonderland outfits. Abby would be dressed as Alice, but sadly I never got a picture of her in it as she was not too sweet at the time and this was the only picture I got of Claire and Alexis and they both changed immediately after dinner.

 

 

We all sat down and bread was waiting for us.

 

 

 

I got my favorite drink, the Princess Delight, Passion Fruit Juice, Mango Puree. It does not have alcohol and it’s so yummy.

 

 

 

Gail had arrived with Abby now and she was not in a good mood at all. You can kind of see a little bit of the blue of her dress in this picture. No one was going to make her happy at this point.

 

[jenseib]

Food was ordered and soon the appetizers arrived.

 

This was Claire’s. Honeydew Melon Boat - with strawberries. We got it more because it said strawberries, as she is not a fan of honeydew, but it was lacking in the strawberry department.

 

 

I got the Iced Lobster and Jumbo Shrimp~ White and green asparagus, micro greens, and lemon-dill dressing with horseradish cream.

 

 

Rob got some sort of fruity drink.

 

 

This was actually the night where he got like 3 or 4 different drinks and when Gail went over her bill a day or 2 later she swore it was wrong and I told her yes indeed, he really did get that many drinks with dinner that night. LOL!

 

I next had the Escargots Gratines ~ Herb-marinated snails with finely chopped mushrooms, topped with garlic butter and breadstick.

 

 

And then the Belle's French Onion Soup with gruyere cheese crouton.

 

 

I was happy with all of them. Very tasty.

 

I think this is Rob’s salad. At this point, Abby was just not feeling in the mood for a dining room dinner and Gail left with her. We talked to Benjamin about having her food sent up to the room and he really didn’t want to do this. He acted like it was impossible, but I knew it wasn’t as we had done this a few times just a few weeks ago on the Magic with some table mates who had not been feeling well a couple of nights.

 

Rob basically told him to bring it out and he would deliver it to the room, so as things came out, Rob would take them up to the room.

 

 

Claire’s meal came quickly. Beef Tenderloin Medallion - topped with large shrimp.

 

 

And Alexis’ meal, Mickey's Mac n Cheese.

 

 

The beautiful light fixture.

 

 

Our entrées arrived.

I had some sort of steak, but I am not seeing it on the online menu.

 

 

The girls got Mickey bars once again.

 

 

 

Again, because the food came out early, they were done fast and getting jumpy. They weren’t bad, but they didn’t want to sit. I think Rob took them out to the atrium a bit and then came back for dessert.

 

It soon was dessert time and I believe I got two. One was the Peanut Butter Mousse

Dark chocolate infused with peanut butter, chiffon cake, and whipped cream. (I think)

 

 

And the other is one of my favorites. I find this one better than the one served at Palo.

Grand Marnier Souffle, Infused with fresh orange zest and served with creme Anglaise.

 

 

 

Dinner was very good and I felt bad that Gail couldn’t enjoy it with us. I did suggest Gail taking Abby to the kids clubs during dinner and just feeding her before, but she never did. I think she felt bad about doing that, but if she could eat in peace, it might’ve been a better option for her, for both really.

 

We did get a few pictures while at dinner from the ships photographer as well.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tonight’s show was Villain’s Tonight. I didn’t want to see it. It’s my least favorite show and I have seen it twice now. I’ll wait and see it again at another time when perhaps Skip is along. Claire however did want to see it, so I was going to send her with whoever went to it.

That plan changed at dinner though, as Aunt Mary suggested a few fun things like mini golf and Karaoke. Claire informed me that she would NOT be hanging with me tonight and I was also NOT allowed to be with her while she was playing with Aunt Mary. Ok, I am not going to cry about a little free time.

After dinner, she and Alexis headed off with Aunt Mary and I went on my own way. I guess they stopped in our room as when I next saw Claire she was changed out of her Mad Hatter dress.

 

After dinner I went on a nice walk around the ship all by myself.

 

 

 

I love Deck 4.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I found where you go to get to the Vibe ……Don’t ask me, because I’ll never remember in a million years.

 

 

 

 

A look at Nassau at night.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I headed back to the room for a bit. I don’t remember if I changed my clothes or got a sweatshirt …or both.

We had this guy waiting for us tonight.

 

 

I wandered around a bit more and look who I ran into.

 

 

They were playing a mean game of putt putt and I was told immediately that I was not allowed to join them or stay. I am so loved.

 

I ignored Claire and talked with them for a bit. I think Alexis was off with Geoff somewhere? I love this picture. It looks like Abby has some magical powers holding up that golf club.

 

 

As I talked with them, I took a few more pictures of Nassau at night.

 

 

 

 

 

Doesn’t the Aqua Duck look so pretty all lit up?

 

 

 

Gail and I decided to go off on our own for a bit with Abby. Aunt Mary and Claire were going to continue golfing.

 

[jenseib]

I just love how beautiful the Dream is all lit up everywhere. This is one area it trumps the Magic.

 

 

 

 

A few pictures with Admiral Donald.

 

 

 

I believe we saw Minnie Mouse out, but she was getting ready to leave. Abby threw herself to the floor and cried out “I want to see Minnie MOWWWWSE!” I heard someone say my name at the same time and looked to see JohnPA from my fish extender group. We exchanged hellos and he totally understood why Abby would want to see Minnie Mowwwwse.

 

After a bit of roaming, we decided to go to the D Lounge and watch a bit of the Karaoke to see what it was like. And guess who was sitting at a table as we walked in ….Aunt Mary and Claire!

 

We sat down with them and watched a bit. I was trying to get a picture of Abby and she kept telling me no.

 

 

 

Claire was loving this.

 

 

Abby was jumpy.

 

 

Soon Gail left with Abby. She just wasn’t going to sit still and it was not a highlight for her.

 

I am guessing Gail found Geoff and Alexis shortly after, as they had this picture taken before heading back to their room.

 

 

 

Claire, Aunt Mary and I stuck around the karaoke for a bit. Claire kept saying she wanted to sing. Claire is shy, so I thought this would never happen ….EVER. They looked through books and discussed song options. I took pictures.

 

 

 

They had a few issues with deciding on songs. Many that Claire picked out, Aunt Mary really wasn’t sure how they went. Claire insisted that she did, but I knew she only knew the chorus to many. Claire decided on Hakuna Matada. Aunt Mary let her know that she really didn’t know the song well. Claire said that was ok and they submitted their request.

Before you know it, the “Mary and Claire” team were called up.

 

 

Claire looked like she was a pro at this. Well at home in the basement she is, but not in front of people.

 

 

 

 

 

Well you would think this would be an easy song to sing, but it wasn’t. It had all the dialog they do in the movie and so there was lots of parts that were just talking. Claire is a slow reader and Aunt Mary just didn’t know the song well enough. That’s OK though. They were having fun.

So much fun that when they sat down Claire was ready to do another. I was in complete shock. I just couldn’t believe how brave she was. This is not like her at all.

 

 

Claire was now obsessed and wanted to sing again. Who would’ve thought that?

They decided to sing another song, but the wait was longer this time. We had to sit through quite a few bad singers out just having fun and a few good ones and a few who thought they were good, but were not. There was one young girl, probably preteen age and she got up there. I didn’t expect much, just thinking it was another kid up there for fun, and WOW! could she sing.

 

Soon the Team of Claire and Mary were up again. This time they sang Zippah Dee Doodah. They were much better this time as the words were a bit easier and Aunt Mary was a bit more familiar with the song.

 

 

 

Karaoke was running over in time so they were one of the last to sing for the night. Claire was all smiles. Aunt Mary ended up buying Claire a karaoke machine for her birthday too and it’s been a bit hit. Well a hit with her, a little noisy for me.

 

Family Fusion was up next in the D Lounge and Claire wanted to watch it. I needed to hit the restroom, so I left them there.

On the way back look who I ran into …..

 

 

Daisy was dressed so cute.

 

 

Some cute Duck tale.

 

 

She even posed for me.

 

 

After my run in with Daisy, I headed back into the D Lounge and found Claire and Aunt Mary up near the dance floor in seats waiting for the Family Fusion game to start. Now it was very obvious that some people here were VERY familiar with the game. They knew where to sit and how to attract themselves to be picked and then knew a lot of the questions that were going to be asked. There was some people there doing this to WIN! It was fun and funny and we had a good time.

Close to the end of the game Alexis and Geoff showed up. Geoff said he was in bed in his PJ’s and Alexis came over (Her family had all fallen asleep) and said she needed to go find Claire and Aunt Mary. Basically she was jealous that they were still out and she was stuck in the room. Geoff said he tried to talk her out of it, but gave in and took her. I was amazed that She knew exactly where to go, but Geoff said she knew they had talked about karaoke earlier and figured they would be there and she was right.

I told Mary and Geoff they could leave and I would take her back to her room, but I think they ended up staying, even though it was clear how tired they were. I think both girls wanted them to stay and they never tell them no.

 

After the game show was over, there was a little bit of dancing. Claire and Alexis went out for a bit, but it didn’t last long and we then headed our separate ways.

 

 

I guess Claire and I still had energy, because we went for a walk on deck 4.

 

 

I think this area is so cute. But the downside for many is that it is a smoking area for the evening hours. I don’t know if it has always been or if it is new as I only saw it once on our last cruise.

 

 

 

 

 

And then we headed over to Shutters to take a look at our pictures.

 

 

 

 

 

The atrium was EMPTY!

 

 

 

 

 

 

This CM looks very bored.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Looks like Guest Services now has a rush! LOL

 

 

 

I think this royal chair is so pretty.

 

 

 

A walk down by the shops, which were closed tonight being that we still were in port.

 

 

I have eyed this sweatshirt on this cruise so much as well as my last cruise in Sept. on the Magic. I never bought it and I should’ve. It’s so cute, but I was having a hard time getting around the price tag. I was shopping last weekend and saw a lady wearing it at the store and my heart had a little pang of regret and jealousy.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We headed back towards the elevators to go up and grab a drink before heading back to our room.

 

 

 

 

I think we might’ve gotten a little snack of an ice-cream cone as well.

 

 

 

We made it back to our room and got ready for bed. I think Claire was looking through a Fish Extender Gift. I swear between the Fish Extenders, my Mom and Aunt Mary, she constantly had something new. She was pretty happy about that.

 

 

 

We flicked on the TV and found they were showing the evenings performance of Villains Tonight. It was about half way through and we lay down and watched it. I soon drifted off and a little bit later awoke to Claire tapping me to let me know the show was over and I could turn off the TV.

I did so ….and I really wish they had a sleep timer on the TV’s. I use ours at home every single day and love it.

 

Soon we both drifted off to dreamland and ready to start another exciting and fun filled day. I had laid my head 2 consecutive nights in the same bed now. A record for this trip at this point, but I had been to another Country today.

I also met JohnPA from the disboards today as well.

 

Oh the Places We Go, the People We see!

[jenseib]

Day 6, Tuesday, Nov. 6, 2012

 

I think today I actually might have slept in till almost 7. Amazing, isn’t it.

 

I got dressed and headed out to see how close we were to Castaway Cay. I soon saw signs of land.

 

 

 

It was another beautiful morning!

 

I took pictures around the ship as we got closer.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I could see even from afar that the island was brown from the hurricane, but I was still excited to be here.

 

 

 

After enjoying the view for a bit, I headed back towards the room.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Claire was still dead to the world, but I think I kind of nudged her to get ready.

I walked out on the balcony to see our view.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Cast Members from the area were arriving as well.

 

 

 

 

 

Down the hallway, our family members were rising and enjoying the view as well.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I headed out once again. I think Claire had gotten up and was hanging with Mom and Dad if I remember right.

I wanted to go up top and watch us dock.

 

I thought I would check the deck outside of the Meridian, which is the bar between Palo and Remy.

 

 

 

SIGH!!!!! I wish I was there right now.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The outside deck is really a nice area.

 

 

 

It is a smoking area, however, for those who have issues with smoke, you won’t want to go here, especially in the evening, where I believe they have cigar smoking as well.

 

 

 

 

 

Tie us up tight! We don’t want our ship to float off to sea without us.

 

 

 

 

 

I believe the other side of the outdoor bar seating was no smoking though and these are the chairs over on that side.

 

[jenseib]

After admiring the views from the decks outside of the Meridian, I headed back inside.

 

 

Of course I shot a couple of pictures.

 

 

 

 

 

A quick walk through Cabanas.

 

 

 

 

The guy posed for me!

 

 

I walked around snapping away some more.

 

 

These stairs lead up to the AquaDuck.

 

 

 

I need this guy to come clean at my house. He actually pulls things out and cleans behind them.

 

 

Back to looking out at Castaway Cay.

 

 

A look down to where I had just been.

 

 

 

 

I just want to be there right now!

 

 

Looking down, one level is part of Cabanas outside seating and the other is Aft room balconies.

 

 

 

The infamous Palm tree.

 

 

Earlier when I had been on my balcony watching us dock, My Dad was next door watching as well. I pointed out that this was a fake palm tree that was really a tower for cell phones, etc. I really don’t think he believed me at first. I had to explain how it was so much bigger than the others and they just made it to look like a palm tree. And as you can see, up close, it doesn’t look real at all.

While we were talking about this, I had looked down and there was our fellow Dis member JohnPA a deck below us. What a small world. It never dawned on me when looking at the fish extender list that his room was practically right below us. We waved at each other and my Dad was all curious as to why I was waving at strangers. LOL

 

More pictures of my beloved island. I am sure someone in the family would be going down these slides later.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here comes the parasail boat. Geoff and Pete had the first appointment of the day for this excursion.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A few more ship pictures.

 

 

 

 

And back to Castaway Cay.

 

 

 

 

 

Look at all those towels waiting for us.

 

[jenseib]

I really like this shot.

 

 

 

 

After taking that shot, I headed down to the Port Adventures desk. I kept thinking about how my Dis friend Rinky had talked about the Jet Ski excursion. I knew I would enjoy it, I was pretty sure Claire would too, and I knew it would be right up Rob’s alley as well.

I inquired about it and I was told there wasn’t anything available for double riders, only singles and not for the same times. She then told me to check on the island itself, as they often have more openings there. I will tell you this now. Don’t even bother with the desk. They don’t have the correct info. All the jet skis hold 2 people for one and they had plenty of openings as well.

 

I headed back to the room then and got dressed for the day of activities and packed our bag. I switched over to the waterproof camera for the day as well. Claire was ready to go, but we had to eat some breakfast first. We met up with the family at Cabanas and got a little bit of breakfast. For some reason the kids were not in the eating mood this morning. But we did make them take a few bites.

 

 

Notice Claire’s Mickey waffle across the table is missing his ears? LOL

 

Abby was refusing to eat as well.

 

 

I made Claire take a few sips of her milk.

 

 

Geoff and Pete had already gotten off the ship and were on their way to parasailing. They were really excited about this, but it sounds a bit too scary for me. My mom actually wanted to go as well, but her bone Dr. suggested she not do it, so she passed on it.

 

After breakfast we decided to put the girl’s hair in ponytails and went back to Gail’s room to get the rubber bands. Abby went off with Mom and Dad.

 

I have no clue where I took these pictures. I do know I took the first one because the parasailing boat was just going around the front of the ship, but I just barely missed it. It almost looks like I am hanging in midair taking them.

 

 

 

 

While we were getting ready to get off the ship, Geoff and Pete already had started their adventure.

 

 

 

 

They we weren’t the first to go in their session, so they got to see a few before taking their turn.

 

Pete went up first of the 2 of them though.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

They were given an option to have a toe dip when they came back down and they both chose to do it.

 

 

 

And then it was Geoff’s turn.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Coming in for the toe dip.

 

 

Touch Down!

 

 

 

It appears they went up fairly high and they said each turn was a good amount of time. They both enjoyed this quite a bit and were very happy they did this. I still think it looks scary, but there is a part of me that wants to try it. That crazy part that I keep locked up and the key hidden!

 

 

It was time for us to get off the ship and head to our Port Adventure. I think Rob had to run back to the room for something, so Gail, Claire, Alexis and I got off and walked slowly.

 

 

 

We grabbed some towels to take along and spotted some characters, but the girls did not want to stop.

 

 

Um I swore we got pony tails holders for the girls, but obviously we didn’t put them in their hair at this point.

 

 

 

It was sad to see the brown up close, but I knew the island would bounce back soon.

 

 

And then we spotted him! My boyfriend, my future husband, the man I am leaving Skip for …..Captain Jack Sparrow.

 

 

I was informed I was not allowed to stop and see him at this point. The line was too long. What kill joys!

 

Hi Honey!

 

 

 

I did however stop at the little hut to inquire about the jet ski excursion.

 

 

I didn’t have many people in front of me, but they were so slow, asking so many useless questions. Well they were useless because they didn’t pertain to what I needed! LOL

 

Finally I got up there and was told that the jet ski sign up was actually right up next to the jet skis. UGH. Wasted time!

 

I did however have the girls stand for a picture.

 

 

I think Rob did catch up with us at this point and we were off. We now were getting a little too close to our own port adventure time and needed to make some tracks.

[jenseib]

We now are heading to our excursion. This was something Claire had REALLY been looking for. Over a year ago I got a Castaway Cay Poster that showed snorkeling. Claire asked about it and I told her that they had a few options of snorkeling on the island. She was sold and said she must try it. After doing some research, we decided that it needed to be something easy for Claire since this was her first time. We also thought the stingray feeding looked neat and that offered snorkeling after it. We went with this. I had read mixed reviews on it. Most said it was neat, but not something they would do more than once. I will tell you now, I agree with that review.

When it came time to make our excursions online, I picked ours out right away. Gail was undecided, but I let her know the things we were planning on doing. She ended up going with the same things. She figured that Alexis would enjoy this as well.

 

So we were heading to do the Castaway Ray Stingray Adventure. Now you know me. I took pictures along the way, of course.

 

 

 

 

 

Let’s just say there wasn’t much time for slacking. Gail got my mother’s genes. If you need to be somewhere at a certain time, you are not going to waste time getting there. Gail was doing a major power walk and it took all I had to keep up with her and take pictures at the same time.

 

 

Notice Gail’s bag? She got that gene from my Mom too. She can pack a bag! I swear you can say, “I need a razor blade, an onion and some rope” and Gail would have all of those things in her bag. If she didn’t, my Mother would. LOL!

 

 

A look back at the ship and the jet skis.

 

 

 

We arrived!

 

 

We were given our gear and told to take a seat on a bench.

Alexis modeled the look for us.

 

 

I think we made a quick dash to the bathrooms before it started as well.

We settled in then and waited for the class to start.

 

The class was informative and since I knew next to nothing about stingrays, I found it interesting.

 

 

 

 

Soon it was time to head out to feed the rays. We picked a table to feed them and watched them swim around. I believe we had the 2nd feeding of the day, so they were still pretty hungry and they were swarming the area.

 

 

 

 

 

We were instructed how to hold the food and were to place our hand. The girls were a little iffy about this. We also were told they might slightly bite, but they don’t have teeth, so it wouldn’t hurt.

 

 

 

We got comfortable by petting them first. They felt so weird. Very soft and velvety. I think Rob and I took the plunge first and fed them.

 

 

 

What a weird feeling that was. It was like a suction or vacuum. Very strange. And then I was the first ….yep to get bitten! I had my knuckle slightly bent and when the ray came to take the food he got my knuckle as well. I screeched out of surprise and yelled “I got bitten!” Not a smart thing to do around kid’s who all had a look of horror on their faces. I quickly said, “It didn’t hurt, just surprised me and felt weird.” Luckily it didn’t scare anyone off.

 

 

 

Over the course of the feed, Rob also got bitten. He said he had his knuckle bent as well and agreed it was more shocking than anything.

 

After we filled the bellies of the rays, we then were allowed to go and snorkel with them. We instructed the girls on what to do and how to breathe. Both were instant pros. I was really impressed, amazed and proud at how fast they caught on to this.

Now for the down side …pretty much all you will see here are stingrays and a few random fish. It’s not an exciting snorkeling spot at all. The girls enjoyed it as they knew no difference, but we all have snorkeled before and got bored with it fast.

 

 

My little fish.

 

 

 

 

A few adjustments.

 

 

And then we have to have a picture of us looking our best.

 

 

 

There’s Rob!

 

 

 

Rob had found a few fish, so we headed over his way.

 

 

 

Swamp Monster Claire.

 

 

A shell!

 

 

 

Claire once again.

 

 

We were instructed that when you walk around you had to shuffle your feet so you didn’t directly step on a ray as they like to bury themselves in the sand.

 

 

 

 

This fence is around the area to keep the rays inside from what I was told. I heard it broke during the hurricane, which is why the cruise before us didn’t offer this excursion. They had to round up the rays again and get the fence repaired.

 

 

 

Gail’s’ family.

 

 

Alexis found a shell.

 

 

I had applied rainex to my camera lens before the Sept. cruise, and it worked really well, but I notice it must’ve been wearing off now as I had more spots on my camera today. I need to remember to reapply some more for a future trip.

 

 

 

 

We started to get cold and had seen all we wanted to see, so we did get out a little earlier than we had too, but not too much earlier.

 

We enjoyed this excursion, but it won’t be something I’ll be doing again. The feeding was fun, but the snorkeling was not. Claire did learn how to do it and that was a plus. But what we actually saw was pretty much nothing and for the price of this, there should be more. We will however be snorkeling again in the future and I now know Claire can handle it and we can do one that is more exciting.

[jenseib]

After our Stingray Adventure we headed out to find the family. Now we had no meeting place what so ever and were just winging it. We found a spot and sat down and within seconds Geoff found us and took us over to where the rest were sitting. We set our things down and then Rob, Alexis, Claire and I had a mission. At breakfast I had asked Rob if he was interested in doing the jet skis and Gail answered for him “Yes he is!” So the 4 of us were off to sign us up to do that later in the day.

 

Rob is also a fast walker and wow! Walking in the sand fast will give you a great workout!

We found the spot to sign up and they had PLENTY of openings for the day and they told us that the CM’s on the ship always tell people they only have so many double rider jet skis, but the fact is, ALL of them seat 2. She told us that in the future, just book it right on the island and you won’t have any issues. I think we signed up for the 12 PM session, which was about an hour away. We had to sign some waivers and give our room numbers, etc. And then I pocketed my receipt and then the lady said something about all being 8 and older. OOPS! Wait! Um no, Claire is one month shy of 8. And I am honest and told her that. Rob quickly chimed in that she was a big 7 and actually almost taller than his daughter who was almost 9. The lady said, well if anyone asks, she is 8 today! WHEW!!! That could’ve been a bit of a heartbreaker for Claire. At this point she was getting excited about doing this.

 

We headed back to the family once again and played for a bit.

 

 

And shells were also collected. For some reason, Claire just kept bringing me more and more shells and when she wasn’t looking I would throw them the other way. LOL

 

 

 

Time flew by and soon Rob mentioned it was time to go check in for our excursion. I turned around and looked back and they were already on their way. Holy cow!

 

 

I found out later why Rob was moving so fast. Alexis was doing a bit of whining about this excursion. She has jet skied before and sometimes she likes it and sometimes she gets scared. Today she was feeling scared. He was getting annoyed as he knew she would have fun, but she wasn’t letting up on it either.

 

Of the 4 of us, Claire was the only newbie to the jet skis. I actually used to own one many years ago, but it was a smaller tamer version, so I was a bit nervous at how fast we would go. I did know that Claire would have a good time though.

 

We arrived and got signed in and got our life jackets on.

 

 

We waited for the group before us to come in and we got a few instructions. I had to laugh how some came right in and a few were WAY back coming in very slowly. Then I reminded myself that I might be one of those persons in our group.

 

 

Soon it was time to pick a jet ski and take off.

 

 

 

 

I will tell you now, it’s really hard to take pictures while on a jet ski, so I didn’t get a lot and the ones I did get are not very good.

 

 

 

I easily got the feel for the ski and things came right back to me. No worries at all. In fact I was wishing we were going faster.

We had to go in single file and keep a distance between each ski as well. We would ride to certain areas and then stop. After the first sop, we kind of rearranged ourselves so that the slower people fell to the back.

Each time we stopped, we had to turn off our jet ski to we could hear the guys talk. Even then, with the waves crashing around and our skis bobbing it was really hard to hear them.

 

 

The waves were moving us all over too and it was easy to bump into each other just sitting still.

 

 

 

 

I must say this was really fun. I wanted to go faster, but we weren’t allowed to. Also no wild tricks were allowed, but I did try to hit the wake off of Rob’s wave runner and get a little height in some jumps. Claire was squealing in delight behind me. The downside to this was lots of saltwater in my mouth and eyes.

 

One of our stops was on a sand bar. I knew before the guy told us. I said to Claire, “Look, you can see the bottom”.

 

 

Of course the water spot on this picture is right over Rob and Alexis.

 

 

 

We made a stop near the island and were told about the Mangroves. My jet ski REALLY liked the mangroves. It kept floating over to them. I wasn’t sure what to do. We weren’t supposed to start our jet ski’s while they talked, but I knew I was too close. Finally they did tell me to move and I did. And sure enough, I started floating right back.

 

 

 

We then headed back. It was so funny how long our line was. Several of us were up towards the front. Some maintained a good mid speed and then a few were WAY behind and they looked terrified!

 

On this long about way back I really tried to do as much legal play as I could, and I noticed Rob was doing the same. We would try to run into the wake of the ski in front of us to get a bit of air with a jump. It was so much fun and Claire just giggled and laughed and held on for dear life! This really made me miss the days of going out every week or two and riding wave runners on a nearby lake. That was back in the days when my older 2 were young and they loved it too.

 

All too soon this came to an end. It was so much fun and I am so happy we ended up doing this on the spur of the moment. Now price wise, this is kind of high and I believe you are out there just under an hour. But to hear Claire squeal like she did, it was worth every penny. She talked non-stop about it too. She couldn’t wait to go back to school and tell her friends all about her Castaway Cay day. They were NEVER going to believe it!

Oh, and Alexis had a good time too. Rob did say she was complaining a bit when he was doing some small jumps, but she still had a good time.

 

While we were getting wild out on the ocean, the rest of the family was having some beach fun.

 

Mom and Dad had brought Abby out. They had spent some time in the pool earlier, but she was ready for the beach. Gail had to slather her with some sun screen.

 

 

Who would’ve known that one of the highlights of the beach is a brown palm hanging low enough to grab?

 

 

Foolishly, Gail is taking her away from it too.

 

 

 

 

 

 

We caught up the family then. I believe they had all gone to eat while we were away, so we decided we better go get some lunch too. I did not take a single picture of my food. I set my camera down and my mind was set on food and never picked it back up to come along.

 

We had the basics though. Hamburgs, Hotdogs, chicken, ribs, potato salad and a few other items and about 15 of my favorite chocolate chip cookies.

 

We chatted about the fun we had and soon the girls were ready for ice-cream. I asked if they needed help, but no, Alexis assured me she knew how to do it and she would help Claire too. So they walked the short distance to each get a cone and after a few minutes they came back. I REALLY wish I had my camera now. The cones that came back were HILARIOUS!!!!! Obviously neither one of them knows how to make a cone. But Alexis’ was REALLY bad. It looked like she was making it sideways. This thing was defying gravity in all possible ways. It was the UGLIEST ice cream cone I have ever seen. We were just laughing so hard. Claire’s wasn’t very pretty either, but it was a little better. And they both put so much ice cream on the cone that both could only eat about half before they got sick of it.

 

We then headed back to the beach and we had a couple of floats, so the girls went out with Geoff to play in the water.

 

 

At some point in time, Gail and I went to one of the shops. That actually might have been before we went off to jet ski. She wanted to get something, but I don’t remember what, but I found a cute shirt and it was on clearance. SCORE! I didn’t have my Key with me, so Gail bought it and I paid her later. I think I also bought a magnet from the island as well. Gail purchased a few things as well.

 

Mom and Dad kept telling me to go get them a beer. I kept joking with every family member who walked by that they should go get Mom and Dad a beer and someone actually went and did it. I can’t remember who though. After a bit I got jumpy and went for a walk and made a stop for a drink for myself. I was going to get a beer, but I got a strawberry daiquiri instead. It was just OK and again, I didn’t take a pictue of it, but I did take pictures of the bar.

 

 

They were on island time too, because even though it wasn’t busy, it took quite a while for them to make it.

 

 

Taking pictures with a drink in hand is not easy, so I just randomly shot.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I took a walk over by Cookies BBQ Too and got a few shots.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Those are some pretty bad shots of the buffet and they were getting close to shutting it down, but at least I got a few.

[jenseib]

While I was out walking and drinking my cool beverage, the family was just chillaxing as well.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I continued my walk around as well. I was trying to get a glimpse of areas I had not seen before.

 

 

But when you drink a tropical drink, nature calls.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I didn’t do it this time, but it was tempting.

 

 

I had never made it down this far last year.

 

 

Or if I did, I don’t remember!

 

 

 

 

 

 

This picture makes me think of the Poly.

 

 

 

 

Spring a Leak! We made it here on our last visit and Claire had a great time. It’s a splash type area and I took lots of pictures ….. BUT ….. they were all on the card that I lost that trip. It still irks me that I never found that lost memory card.

 

 

 

 

 

From the back side of Spring a Leak you can see the Teen area.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I made it back over by Cookies BBQ Too and they had now closed up. I took a seat and had a little rest.

 

 

I took this video for some reason. I am thinking it was because of the music. It kind of had a circus sound to Be Our Guest.

 

 

After my rest, I continued on taking more pictures.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I absolutely LOVE this picture.

 

 

 

 

 

I walked over and checked out the Pelican Plunge too.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I just love the view of the ship from the beach!

[jenseib]

It was time to end my walk. I had actually thought about checking out Serenity Bay, but I figured I had been gone long enough and should get back to my Daughter.

 

 

The family had been having fun without me.

 

 

 

 

 

When I arrived back, my parents had gone back to the ship, and I think Gail had taken Abby back as well. Claire had been having a ball and did not miss me one bit.

 

 

Most of the gang wanted to go to Pelican Plunge, so we packed up our area and sent the girls off to get rinsed.

 

 

 

I chose not to go on the slides because that’s not my thing. They all got ready and the little ones got on life jackets.

 

 

It’s always exciting when you are going to do something fun with Uncle Geoff.

 

 

 

I stayed at the shoreline with the bags and tried to watch their progress, but it was really hard to see as the sun was shining right behind the slides and I was practically blinded.

I resorted to taking pictures around the area.

 

 

 

 

Every so often I would zoom in and see if I could tell if they were at the top yet.

 

 

 

 

I decided to get creative and take pictures of my footprints. I walked in the sand, then I made a big hop over to the side and came back and took the picture.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After a while it appeared that Claire was coming down. I think this is her splash.

 

 

One by one they all came down. Katie tried to stay near the slide to catch Jude but the life guard yelled at her and wouldn’t let her. Jude came flying down and got quite a bit of water up his nose. I don’t think he cared for it so much then.

 

 

I think some of them made the decision to go a 2nd time around.

 

 

 

We then decided it as getting time to head back to the ship. We still had time, but we all needed to get showered for early dinner.

 

 

We rinsed off, returned the tubes and then of course we couldn’t leave without a bit of shopping.

 

 

 

 

I don’t think anything was bought. Well Alexis might have, but I am pretty sure we didn’t buy anything.

We then made our way back to the ship. Geoff and I took several pictures along the way and I’ll post some from both of us. I am thinking that Geoff walked and we took the tram.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I wish I could take credit for the next couple, but Geoff took them.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[jenseib]

I will admit we weren’t rushing back to the ship. The island was so beautiful and we soaked up the views.

 

 

 

 

 

 

But all good things must come to an end so we headed back to the ship.

 

 

 

We got showered and ready for the night. It was Pirate night, so more fun to come. We did take a look out on the verandah to get a few last pictures and watch us sail away.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here are a few of Geoff’s pictures. There are still people on the island in them, so it was close to the end of the day.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It was finally time to set sail. We watched as we pulled out. Last time the Captain played all the different horns as we left, this time he only played the one. I did get it on video, but it’s so bad that when I watched it I felt REALLY sick and the wind was loud and you can barely hear it anyways.

 

I did take this video as we left and it’s not so bad.

 

 

 

It was now time for Pirate night!!!!

 

I was running a bit late. Turning myself into a pirate took a bit longer than I had planned. Well actually I didn’t get myself started early enough and played around. And my hair was not drying fast from the shower, so I gave up. It was going in a ponytail anyways and then a hat…Oh you know how good that looked by the end of the night!

 

I was excited to see who dressed up tonight or how much they did. I knew Gail’s family would be dressing up and that Katie had brought along a few things like eye patches and bandanas. Some were resisting though. Aunt Mary and Geoff said there was no way they would dress up. We kind of started giving Geoff a hard time about it in the months prior to the cruise. Just joking of course, but Katie would tell him he had no worries as she had stuff for him, etc. All in good fun.

 

So Claire and I rushed down to Animators Palate for dinner. We weren’t the last to arrive, so all was good.

 

 

 

It was nice to see that most of us did have at least a little touch of the pirate look to us. Dad went wild with the bandana around his neck.

 

 

 

 

Geoff and Mary still had not arrived, but it wasn’t unusual for someone in our family to be late. We dug into the bread while we looked the menus over.

 

 

Rob giving me his pirate look.

 

 

Aunt Mary finally arrived and let us know the Geoff had had too much sun on the island today and just was not feeling well. Oh man. I felt bad, because he seemed to have such a good time today too and I really didn’t want him to feel sick. She did say that he may try to make it by dessert after a little rest. Ok, well nothing we can do about it, but I was hoping this would be cured with a little rest and wouldn’t spoil the rest of the trip for him.

 

 

We made our orders and chatted with each other. All of a sudden we noticed some commotion at the end of our table. I noticed Aunt Mary had her iPad out and was taking pictures with it. That was unusual, because she doesn’t take many pictures, and usually Geoff does with his camera. I guess since he was ill, she was taking some. But what really stunned me was that she was taking pictures of a pirate at the end of our table. I glanced at him and I wasn’t sure if he was a Cast Member or just some guy dressed up really well and talking to people. It still seemed odd that Aunt Mary would take his picture. And then I heard the whispers …..I think that’s Geoff. What? Geoff is sick!

 

Nope, Geoff was dressing up as a pirate and made a Grand Entrance!

 

 

See, even in this picture, Claire hasn’t realized its Geoff.

 

 

 

 

 

We were in total shock. I couldn’t believe he dressed up and not only dressed up, but went all out!

 

 

Abby wanted to know who the heck that creepy pirate was.

 

 

It took her a while to realize it was Geoff and warm up to him.

 

I just have to add that Aunt Mary and Geoff (I never call him Uncle Geoff, but all of our kids do, because they didn’t even get married till 1987, and I was out of high school at that point and had known him for 10 years already), are the best Aunt and Uncle EVER! They do so much for our kids, over and above what needs to be done by any Aunt and Uncle. They don’t have kids, nor did they want any of their own, but they treat our kids as if they are their own.

And Geoff is just like a playmate. He does so many fun things with the kids that I think they forget sometimes that he is an adult. LOL

 

We then heard the story about how Alexis kept going in Aunt Mary and Geoff’s room before dinner. They had the divider curtain up and Geoff was getting ready on the other side. Alexis wanted to see him, but Aunt Mary told her he was sick. Well that didn’t matter, she still wanted to see him, so Aunt Mary told her he was in his undies. You know that will make a kid run away fast. Nope, it wasn’t working. She still wanted to check on him. So Geoff popped his head out and told her he felt awful. Gail said Alexis came back to the room telling her that Geoff was really sick and even had dark circles under his eyes. LOL Well he had started putting his pirate makeup on and that’s what she saw.

Geoff had gotten a late start at dressing, so that was why he was late for dinner.

 

So after the shock, appetizers were being served and we all dug in.

I had the Pirates Golden "Pot Stickers" ~Oriental Pork "Dumplings" deep fried and served with a Tamarind-Ginger soy sauce and Pickled Vegetables.

 

 

And I believe this was Claire’s soup, but not sure what it was.

 

 

I don’t know who had this, but I took a picture.

 

 

They had specialty cups this evening and we got one for each of the girls.

 

 

Dad had The Buccaneer’s Sun Ripened Pineapple~ Fresh Island Pineapple with a Coconut covered Banana and Orange Glaze. This was pretty “wild” for him, but I think he enjoyed the pineapple.

 

 

 

[jenseib]

A few pictures of our pirates.

 

 

 

 

 

I guess Luke was getting fussy, so Thad left with him. Let’s just say their idea of fussy isn’t bad at all. LOL! He was so quiet, I never even heard him, but Katie said for him this was very fussy.

 

 

We also had a photographer come around and take a few pictures.

 

 

 

 

 

Rob makes a good pirate.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The second round of appetizers arrived.

 

This time I got the Caribbean-style Conch Chowder with sherry, sweet peppers, onions, tomatoes, thyme, and garnished with diced potatoes and crispy bacon bits.

 

 

I had enjoyed both my appetizers.

 

Dad got the Mr Smee’s Bib Lettuce Salad With Bibb Lettuce, Baby Greens, Chicory, Tomatoes, Toasted Pine Nuts, and Raspberry Vinaigrette.

 

 

Claire’s main course arrived then as well. You guessed it. Chicken strips.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Our main dishes arrived next. I am not a big fan of the pirate menu for the most part. I did enjoy everything I had, but I felt that the options that I would like were limited, which makes me get the same thing every time now that I have found things I like. That being said, one of my favorite dishes now on the whole cruise is the Treasure-of-the-Seas Grilled Shrimp and Seared Scallops served on strings of pasta and fresh creamy tomato sauce. I discovered this on the Magic, which was my first pirate night menu I have had on DCL. (The 3 night cruises, which I took last on the Dream does not offer a pirate menu). This dish is just really good and I could go for a helping of it right now.

 

 

I am pretty sure Gail got this dish.

Jack Sparrow’s Barbecue Marinated Beef Short Ribs Rubbed beef short ribs with tamarind-barbecue sauce served with onion red bliss mashed potatoes and plantain chip.

 

 

The meal was delicious. We also enjoyed the changing pirate scenes.

 

 

I think Rob is the one who discovered that the pictures kept changing. I thought that was a nice touch here.

 

The desserts offered on this menu just don’t do much for me. I was so stuffed from eating so much (and I had vowed tonight I would try to eat lighter…..yeah right) that I thought I would skip dessert. Abby was getting tired of being there and I offered to take her for a walk so Gail and Rob could enjoy the dinner. Rob quickly said he would take her. I told him it would be no problem as I was skipping dessert, but I knew he didn’t want to burden anyone. But I seriously didn’t mind. He did leave with Abby though and I ended up ordering a Mickey Bar. After all it’s just ice cream and it will slide right into all the holes left in my stomach ….right?

 

 

Benjamin also came over and did a trick for the kids.

 

 

Alexis was always trying to figure out how he did what he did and she would try it over and over and see if she could get it. I did get this one figured out and I shared the secret with Claire.

 

 

Claire also made the same choice as I and went with the Mickey bar.

 

 

We enjoyed the meal and waited for the drink bills to come once again ……and once again they just didn’t appear.

 

 

 

 

We basically gave up because we had a pirate party to attend to.

 

 

 

 

While we were having dessert, Rob took Abby for a few pictures. Aren’t they so cute?

 

 

[jenseib]

A side note..... See Abby's cute pirate outfit? It matches her parents ...but was not bought with theirs. They actually bought theirs several years ago for a halloween party. Abby's dress is from Claire. I had bought this about 5 years ago anticipating my 40th b-day. I wanted to sail on the Wonder that year and bought the dress for pirate night for Claire. Well Skip chickened out and we never did sail the wonder and ended up going to WDW that year. And it was still a fabulous trip. Claire wore the dress for Halloween though and made an excellent pirate. I am glad the dress finally has made it to a Disney ship for a pirate party!

 

 

 

[TBpony414]

Some of the pictures in these recent updates are top notch! Especially the one of the lifeguard chair and through the brown palm tree. I can't believe the last picture is of Claire in the pirate costume from years ago - she is so grown up now! She sure knows how to strike a pose, guess she learned it young.

 

As you know, I've been a fan of your TRs and check weekly for updates. I've been looking in the forum and haven't seen anything since the beginning of March and this weekend became really concerned that maybe something happened to you. A week or two between updates is normal, but over a month? No way. Well evidently I totally missed your updates and imagine my surprise when I figured out last night I had 2 full pages to catch up on, LOL! I should probably see about subscribing for updates so that doesn't happen again. Thought you'd get a chuckle out of that!

[jenseib]

Some of the pictures in these recent updates are top notch! Especially the one of the lifeguard chair and through the brown palm tree. I can't believe the last picture is of Claire in the pirate costume from years ago - she is so grown up now! She sure knows how to strike a pose, guess she learned it young.

 

As you know, I've been a fan of your TRs and check weekly for updates. I've been looking in the forum and haven't seen anything since the beginning of March and this weekend became really concerned that maybe something happened to you. A week or two between updates is normal, but over a month? No way. Well evidently I totally missed your updates and imagine my surprise when I figured out last night I had 2 full pages to catch up on, LOL! I should probably see about subscribing for updates so that doesn't happen again. Thought you'd get a chuckle out of that!

 

Thanks. Some of those nice pictures are Geoffs too. I can't take all the credit.

I have been slacking though with updates. We went to Williamsburg for a week and I came home to getting Claire ready for first Communion next Sunday, which means a party at our house and way too much cleaning for my liking.

 

I am glad you enjoy my reports. I am going to finish up this day and hopefully get the next one started in the next day or 2.

 

It's so unreal how fast my little girl is growing up! I keep telling her she is my baby and needs to stop growing, but she won't listen.

[jenseib]

We left the dining room and some of us split up. I believe Geoff and Aunt Mary went off to their room and I think Gail went off to find Rob and Abby.

 

Some pictures Geoff took of their rooms.

 

 

 

 

 

Most of the rest of us headed to the pirate show that is shown between dining times. We were running a bit late, but not too bad.

 

 

We could not see the stage from where we were, so we watched it on the screen.

 

 

A couple of pirates getting their groove on.

 

 

 

We had learned the ways of being a pirate. Soon Captain Hook’s men starting invading our ship.

 

 

 

But we know the ways of the pirates and we were going to win the challenge he had set forth.

 

 

We won our ship back and had such a fun time doing so.

 

 

 

 

Claire and I needed a few pirate pictures together.

 

 

 

We then headed back to Geoff and Aunt Mary’s room to find the rest of them.

 

Geoff was still dressed, which was good, as we wanted to go get some pictures taken all together.

 

 

Abby was obsessed with the parrot.

 

 

Rob had changed to shorts and tee and Gail made him get dressed back up again.

 

 

A look at the bunk beds in their room.

 

 

We all then headed off to the atrium for pictures.

 

 

 

 

 

The photographers were wrapping up for the night, but we convinced them to do a couple of quick shots. You could tell though they were not excited to do so. I asked for magic shots with the kids and they told me they are no longer an option. I have since found out that she was lying and that kind of irks me a bit.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A few more of our own.

 

 

Claire’s face in this next one cracks me up. I guess she was going for disgusted pirate.

 

 

And Abby needed a quick one with Admiral Donald.

 

 

We then headed back to the room. I think Claire wanted to change if I remember right and Alexis also went to change.

 

 

Our towel buddy for the night.

 

 

And back to Gail’s room to meet up to go to the fireworks. Crazy pirate Abby.

 

 

A self-portrait on the way.

 

 

It was extremely crowded when we got out on deck. Massive amounts of people. We weaved around and went up to the next deck, the family following along, but somewhere along the line we lost them. I had Claire and Alexis with me. We just stopped near a pole and made that our spot. There was just no way to be able to see very good with amount of people there.

 

 

The little show started and this EXTREMELY tall guy comes and stands right in front of the girls. I couldn’t even see around him. He was abnormally tall and it was so annoying. The pole we were against had a railing around it and I propped the girls up in a sitting position on it to try to get them a better view. I couldn’t really take pictures because I was holding them in place and plus Mr. Tall was in the way.

 

I did get one of shot of Captain Jack coming down.

 

 

It was then time for fireworks. I am still trying to perfect those kinds of shots, but this was not a time that was happening. It was too crowded and I was getting bumped. Basically none of them turned out nice, but these are the best of the bunch, even though they are nothing like I would hope for.

 

 

 

 

After the fireworks we didn’t move too fast to leave. It was pretty much impossible to do so. I decided to take pictures of the Aquaduck then.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The dance party had begun so we moved over by the railing and watched a bit of it.

 

 

 

I did a little dancing in my spot …you know because I am cool like that …..but the girls told me I was bad and I needed to stop. Oh well.

 

We didn’t find any family members, but it appears Gail did take Abby to see Tinkerbell.

 

 

 

 

We then left and worked our way to the pirate buffet in Cabanas. We weren’t really hungry, but I wanted to check it out. We did get a few dessert items and both girls barely even ate a bite of it.

 

After we ate a bit, I ran back up to the buffet to take a few pictures.

 

 

 

 

 

 

They had a lot of fruit carved. It was so neat ….BUT there was a family with some kids and they took the musk melons off to eat!!! (cantaloupe to you city folk) Yep. The kids each took a melon off the display and put it on a plate. I was shocked that the parents didn’t say anything, but they just laughed wondering how the kids were going to eat all that. How could they not know this was just a display? Alexis and Claire were thoroughly disgusted by this too and kept talking about it …loudly and they were just 2 tables away, but I didn’t stop them.

 

 

 

 

While I was taking pictures, a CM came over and wanted to guide me around to take more.

He pointed out these and they were something carved, but I can’t remember what now. It might’ve been done out of chocolate? But that doesn’t sound right to me right now.

 

 

 

 

Alexis was now worried where her family was and wanted to leave. This was also code that she is tired. Claire didn’t use code with me, she plain out told me she needed to go to bed.

So we finished up our desserts, well they decided one bite was enough …and headed back to give Alexis back to her family.

I think we knocked on Mary and Geoff’s door as to not wake Abby, but if I remember right, she was the one answering the door. LOL

 

We headed to bed ourselves. It had been a long and very fun day. I don’t think we stayed up too much later. I think we flicked the TV on for a short while and then went out.

 

We had been to yet another port today! Same country, same bed, but new destination and I laid my head down on the pillow as we floated away from the Bahamas.

Oh the Places We Go!

 

I had seen Diser JohnPA right below our room that morning. What a coincidence to be so close!

Oh the People We See!

[RoCo]

Another very fun, entertaining report! I think my first cruise may have to be a Disney cruise. Don't know if I could handle the parasailing, but it does look awesome.

 

The pirates girls are adorable!

[jenseib]

Another very fun, entertaining report! I think my first cruise may have to be a Disney cruise. Don't know if I could handle the parasailing, but it does look awesome.

 

The pirates girls are adorable!

 

I do like Disney. They do it right in my opinion.

 

I don't think parasailing is my thing ...at least not yet.

[jenseib]

Nov. 7, 2012, Wednesday, Day 7

 

Today was our day at sea. So of course you sleep in right? NOT me! I think I was up before 6. I just have too much to do to worry about sleep.

I got dressed in my lounging around shorts and tee and went for a walk.

 

 

This was a good time to get some shots of Cabanas fairly empty.

 

 

 

The time at the different Disney parks throughout the world.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Heading out of Cabanas to the pool deck and drink station area.

 

 

 

It would be sacrilegious to pass by the sign and not take a picture.

 

 

Signs of life out at sea. I believe it was a Carnival ship.

 

 

I was making my way towards the adult area.

 

 

I actually sat up there for a while. There is a lady I had met on the ship in this area before and she was there again, so we chatted a bit. She was from Jersey and this was Jersey week, but because of the hurricane, many people from Jersey either postponed their cruises, or extended them. She came with her 2 kids, but her husband stayed home. He is an insurance agent, so he was very busy. On top of that, their business was pretty much destroyed.

Now, on top of all that, Jersey was going to get some other storm in the next day. Luckily she wasn’t heading straight back, but many people on this cruise were from Jersey and I heard many worried about things at home.

So we chatted a bit and it was nice to make a new friend and talk a bit about different things.

 

After a bit, we both left and I could see a tad bit of an island off in the distance.

 

 

I had a mission. Vicki had asked me the other day if I had ever been to deck 14. No I have not. Well she has. She asked a CM where it was and he took her for a tour. Now I cannot be outdone by a first timer, right?

So I went in search of it. I knew it was very small and in a funnel, but it actually took me a few tries to get the right elevator to go up to 14.

 

I took this while looking.

 

 

 

Finally I found the elevator and went up to deck 14.

 

 

Now what is on 14 you may ask? Not much. The broadcast center is up there and the Outlook Lounge. I have heard of the Outlook, but basically very limited info. I am not sure if/when it is open, but it sounds like not often, and not many people even know to go there. I have heard some people like it because it is like their own personal bar/lounge to hang out in. I have also heard sometimes things like parties and receptions are held here.

 

I was now getting my first look of it.

 

 

 

 

 

And this would be why it is called Outlook.

 

 

 

This was a nice little area and I can see how some people would like coming here. Maybe in the future I’ll need to see if I can find it open.

 

 

 

I headed out then and across the hall is the Radio Studio.

 

 

And I found the bathrooms and made a quick stop there.

 

 

This HUGE picture was hanging in the stairway.

 

 

And I believe I took the stairs down and found the Edge.

 

 

This picture is in the elevator shaft.

 

 

 

This is the little shop called Whozits and Whatzits. Up to this point I have never seen it open. I really wondered what its purpose was. It was on the pool deck, and sold a lot of pool type things, but honestly, on the Dream, you are in port a lot, which means you can’t have this open till out at sea and the evenings are not the best time to sell pool type items. I will let you in on a secret, it was open later this day…the sea day!

 

 

 

 

I then headed across deck past the arcade.

 

 

And I got myself a little bit of breakfast.

 

 

I returned to the room to get ready for my brunch today with my parents. Claire was still snoozing, so I set off to deliver the rest of our Fish Extender gifts. Claire, Alexis, and I had done some earlier in the cruise and I needed to get the rest out. I must say getting them is fun, delivering, not so much. I was all over the ship.

At one point I walked past a CM and he said Hi Jennifer and I said hi back and then turned around. How did he know my name? I asked him and he said yes he knew it but didn’t know why he did. And then he complemented me on my hair. Now cast members had been complementing me on my hair the whole cruise. I know it’s not really normal, and my mother hates it, but I like it and that’s all that counts. But it was funny at how many people stopped to talk to me and tell me how much they liked it. I then wondered if my name got spread around that way? LOL

 

In the meantime, other family members were waking up too. This is what Geoff saw out his room.

 

 

They all headed up for breakfast.

 

 

 

A Carnival ship nearby.

 

 

Don’t jump Jude!!!!

 

 

 

Somewhere along the line, I met up with Gail. She told me then that the Whozit and Whatzit store was actually open and they had swimwear clearancing out, but limited sizes. She thought they had Claire’s size. Well we HAVE to check that out.

 

We did find some great deals. We got her a princess tankini top, bottom and swim shorts for like $15 total. That’s cheap in Disney pricing!

[jenseib]

I believe while we were shopping, we ran into Gail and the girls again. I believe Alexis left with us. We had a little time to kill before brunch and then Claire was going off with them for a while.

We saw Daisy out, so we stopped for a picture. While we waited I took one of the 2 of them. I only had my point and shoot with me and they aren’t the best.

 

 

 

Soon it was our turn.

 

 

Alexis didn’t have her autograph book with her and was a little worried, but I told her Daisy would be OK with that.

 

 

We then headed back to our room. Claire was going to change into her new swimsuit and head off with Gail and family.

 

 

I have to tell you these girls were just so spoiled this trip. We kept finding extra gifts in the fish extenders. Mom had put a few things in there and Aunt Mary had put in a set of pins for each girl. They were in heaven. Aunt Mary also bought each girl a Disney cruise sweatshirt and sweatpants. She was worried about sizes, so Claire tried hers on. I found out later that while we were gone, Aunt Mary brought the girls back to our room and fished Claire’s out of the packed suitcases to try them on Alexis, as she had bought the next size up for her and they were too big. I think they always thing because Alexis is just over 10 months older than Claire that she is bigger, but in reality they are pretty much the same size now, and it actually looks like Claire might pass her if she keeps growing at the rate she has been.

 

We headed down to Gail’s room to leave the girls with her and look what I found. Alexis is a GENIUS!!!!!! She figured that by putting the privacy sign in the key spot to activate the lights it would work. I was so impressed.

 

 

I had brought a stack of used gift cards to put in mine so I wouldn’t have to keep putting my KTTW in there. It’s just a pain to put in and out. I pull the used gift card out enough to deactivate when we all leave, but many times I came back to find the card had been taken from the room host. It irked me a bit, but oh well, what are you going to do? I knew they wouldn’t take this sign though.

 

We said our good byes and went back to meet up with Mom and Dad. I had scheduled a brunch at Palo for the 3 of us, my treat.

I had done dinner at Palo on the Magic and I wasn’t super impressed and it will be a long time before I do dinner again, if ever. It just wasn’t enough of a wow for me to spend the extra money. However, I had heard from many people that brunch was better, and I was willing to give it a try. I actually had booked this BEFORE I booked the dinner on the Magic and already had told my parents, so there was no backing out now.

 

We arrived a little early. Our reservation was for 12:30. We were told to wait in the Meridian Lounge and we barely had a seat and were called to go in to our table.

 

I love the light fixture.

 

 

We had a nice table right next to a window.

 

 

 

Marco from Italy was our server. That was easy to remember because Geoff had a college roommate in NYC whose name was Marco and he was from Italy as well. Geoff still goes and visits him every so often.

 

Marco explained how things worked and then took us on a tour of the buffet and also told us we could order pizzas and specialty main courses as well.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And my favorite course ….DESSERT!

 

 

 

I love strawberries dipped in white chocolate. After many years of picking strawberries growing up (my Dad farmed strawberries) I don’t have a huge desire for them at all, but in chocolate is a whole other story!

 

 

 

 

 

Marco told us we got a complimentary glass of mimosa. We all ordered one, though Dad wasn’t sure what it was. I think he drank it all though. I also got a diet coke.

 

 

Dad is pretty picky when it comes to food, so I could see he wasn’t sure about some of the options. He is not too adventurous, but I thought it looked like there was enough to fill him up. And when all else fails, he could eat his heart out with desserts.

 

We headed up to the buffet and picked out some yummy items.

 

 

Dad’s plate.

 

 

I think this is my second plate.

 

 

We also ordered two pizzas. I was thinking this would be something Dad would like, but I am not sure he even had any. We should’ve just gotten one.

 

We got a pizza with sausage on it.

 

 

And the Margherita.

 

 

That was my favorite! And let me tell you, this pizza was out of this world good. I could go for some like that right now.

 

We were getting full fast. We kept going back up and stuffing ourselves. But I really wanted to order a main entrée as well. I asked Mom if she wanted to share the chicken parmesan, and she said yes.

While waiting for this, we really seemed to be getting full and we wanted to have dessert as well. I decided I better go eat one strawberry just in case I got too full after.

 

 

Mmmmmmmm!

 

By the time the meal arrived, I was about to explode. I told Mom that I think I was only going to take a bite or two to try it and that was all I could fit in, and she agreed. There was just no way she could eat much more either.

 

Doesn’t it look good?

 

 

Well, let me tell you, this was fabulous, awesome, delicious mouthwatering, sensual, whatever you want to call it, it was that. This was just amazing. The risotto it was on was the best stuff I have ever had. Mom and I were basically fighting over it to get the last bite. Yes, we ate every single bite and we wondered if it would be wrong to lick the plate! Dad just laughed at how we were only going to eat one bite and ended up devouring it. But this was just really good.

 

While eating we talked with Marco, and he was a really nice guy. He was soon to be married, but it sounded like after that he would be back on the Dream again.

 

Time for desserts. Yes, I actually ate more. I couldn’t pass up trying several things out. Most were good, some were just not my thing.

 

 

I settled up the check and then we headed out. I still had to get a few pictures. Dad photobombed this one.

 

 

 

 

We told Dad to stop and pose. I have no clue what he is pointing out.

 

 

And a few of the light fixture.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I can’t remember if this door was part of Palo or Remy.

 

 

Now after trying both dinner and brunch at Palo, even though it was 2 different ships, I must say that brunch is the winner by a landslide. It was very good and I didn’t leave feeling like I wasted extra money. It was also nice because it didn’t interfere with any of the main dining room meals. I will definitely try to get back to brunch again.

[jenseib]

While we had been gorging ourselves at Palo, Gail took the kids swimming. This is always a highlight to Claire. She can never have enough swim time. I guess she is part fish down the line in her genes.

 

 

Claire looks like she is imitating a beached whale in this next picture. And I have no clue what Abby is doing.

 

 

Abby finally got to go in though and was all smiles.

 

 

 

Life is good. You can swim and watch some cartoons on the funnelvision.

 

 

 

 

And then time for a ride on the aquaduck!

 

 

They then decided it was time to get dried off and find out if we had finished up with brunch.

Geoff took some pictures of his room at this point and I’ll share those.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

When I got back to my room, my bed was already set up for the night. That was very early, but I guess our guy had many things to do.

Now let me tell you about our stateroom host. On our first evening, I heard him go into Mom and Dad’s room and talk to them. I think I must’ve left or something, because I never saw him. And then we never saw him again at all. On our last day a guy stopped by and said hello and that he was taking our guys place that day and that everyday someone had been filling him for him as he had gotten sick and wasn’t able to work. That was fine, the guy was nice and our room was clean each day and I now knew they were probably really busy. Then a little later a guy came in and it was our actual stateroom host and he introduced himself and said he was back and that he had been very sick the last few days with blood pressure issues and I think he had passed out, so they kept him for observation and to try and maintain his pressure. He REALLY wanted to talk about it, which I thought was cute, and I listened and told him I hoped he got better. So I think our guy had made the bed up early to keep up with his chores since he still wasn’t 100% well.

Anyways, here is the picture I took.

 

 

I don’t remember if I went in search for Claire or if they came back to our room, but I do know we found her right away and she was dressed again.

We decided we had to do some shopping. We had been looking through the shops when we had time, but now was the time to buy.

 

I thought this Minnie sailor outfit was really cute, but just too high in price for the use we would get out of it.

 

 

We found other family members at the stores too and we kind of split up and looked at things and would run back into each other again. The shops were quite busy too.

 

Claire found a Rapunzel Barbie and a few other must haves and we purchased those. I asked her if she would like some Minnie ears in the headband form and she did, but I could tell she didn’t want to spend her own money on them. I told her I would buy then and then there was a big yes, so I got the black sparkle ears for her. I will warn you, those are super cute, but her head would hurt after wearing them for a while and your hair will get caught in the sparkles. We had a few times of tears as we tried to get the tangled hair out of the sparkles.

 

I was on a hunt for a watch. They had a white DCL watch I wanted, but it was one of those purchase so much and get it for $14.95. So I looked around and tried to think what else I might want for myself.

 

 

Alexis had joined us as we hunted around. I started looking at other watches and found one I really liked. The girls liked it as well and both said it was the one I should get and it was enough to be able to purchase the white watch as well.

Then Alexis disappeared. I asked Claire where she went and she said she saw family and headed off with them. Shame on her for not telling me. We had to wait in quite a long line to pay, as someone at the counter was purchasing dishes and every single one had to be wrapped and ready to ship.

Finally we got up there and I paid for both watches.

The funny thing is, even though Alexis helped me pick out the watch I bought, throughout the rest of the trip, she asked me like 3 different times where I got that watch and that she thought I was getting the white watch. I told her each time I bought this watch so I could get the white watch, so I ended up with 2 new watches and she seemed to forget each time. And a while after we got home, she saw me wearing the watch again and again asked me where I got the watch. LOL

 

There was also a sweatshirt I had been eyeing, but I just didn’t love it enough to get it for the price it was. Of course I regret not getting it now.

 

After our purchases were made we headed out to the atrium and I had Claire sit in the Princess chairs for a few pictures.

 

 

 

 

She was starving, you know to the point of dying, so it was time to find her a quick bite to eat.

 

 

 

 

You guessed it, chicken strips it is!

 

 

Mom! Stop taking my picture.

 

 

And an ice-cream for dessert! I think I had one too.

 

 

We then ran into Katie and Vicki and they told me what a wonderful vacation this had been and they really were enjoying things. Katie said that her and Thad were going to rebook for the Fantasy and asked how that worked. I gave her some basic info on that and let her know that she could just make a dummy date for now and change it in the future. They were thinking sometime in 2014, which at that point the dates hadn’t been released yet.

 

I’ll let you know that they ended up changing it up to this coming Sept. and they have some friends coming along as well. And then last week Vicki decided she wanted to cruise again as well and her and her SIL as well as Vicki’s granddaughter from her other daughter are going on that cruise as well. It really makes me want to work a way to get on there too!

 

We headed back to the room and I basically have no more pictures for the rest of that afternoon. I think we did a lot of packing up and getting things straightened away. I think we also did a load of laundry with mom and just chilled out too.

The bad part about the last day is being sure that you are packed up and the short cruises are just way too short.

 

 

We then got cleaned up for dinner. Our last night and we were going to be in Animators Palate with the show tonight.

Katie and Thad were going to Remy tonight and she stopped by before they went and told me that Thad went and booked a cruise and she was all excited.

 

We headed out to dinner for one last time.

 

 

Claire was in her sailor gear tonight.

 

 

We headed down to Animators Palate and got seated. The boat was really rocking tonight. I was glad I was taking bonine daily. It really did help. I could feel the rocking, but not actually felt sick. Alexis on the other hand was feeling green tonight. That surprised me as she is pretty good with that type of stuff. Abby is the one who gets motion sickness usually.

 

Rolls were waiting for us at our table.

 

 

Dad thought it was important that he display the butter that goes on the rolls. (Yes, my family makes fun of me for taking pictures of food)

 

 

While we sat there, I took several shots around the area from my seat.