DAY 6: COZUMEL, MEXICO

It's now Friday and I got my extra hour of sleep. Thank goodness because I would need it for today.

Now we knew ahead of time that we were the unlucky draw of the straw to be the NCL ship that had to tender. We were there with the Dawn and the Pearl. However, WHERE we tendered just didn't make any sense...and we had no idea what we were in for at the time.

So we woke up and I managed to get a few pictures...from our balcony of course.

We went down to fight the crowd in the buffet for breakfast but were able to score a table at the kids buffet area this time. Go us!

We headed back up to our room where we watched out of our balcony as we sailed into port.

I was told prior to sailing (when I posted my "booking my first balcony" thread) and was told that I was assured to see SOMETHING from my balcony (animals) and most people have seen dolphins, whales, sharks and so on. Well...so far I hadn't seen a thing. I was a little disappointed and was constantly on the look out.

Today would be the only day that we were able to see anything animal related from our balcony (and it's not something I haven't seen before) Sigh.

So here it is....

We pulled into port to find out we were not even in port with the other NCL ships. We were at INTERNATIONAL!!! With Royal Caribbean ships...ONE OF THEM BEING THE ALLURE!!!!!!!!!!! YIKES! Now why in the heck would they ever have us tender from there instead of the NCL dock? Someone explain this to me. It's make NO sense at all. I have been in Cozumel with 3 NCL ships before and the extra ship would tender right there from the NCL dock! But instead they decided to put us at the dock with THE MOST PASSENGERS??? Really NCL? What a cluster flark! Seriously. This was the absolute worse decision ever made by someone.

Ok, whew, so I'm not going to get myself in an uproar at this time. We would see how it goes and give it the benefit of doubt hoping that it works out ok.

So we, once again, never did hear them say that the ship was clear, but we headed on down to the Le Bistro and was taken right down the stairs at the Cigar Bar for our VIP treatment.

We got on the tender and all I can say it WOW...now this is a tender. It reminded me of a bus (like a Greyhound), but with larger rows. Sakari liked this tender...if you couldn't tell. It also had tv's and we wondered if we'd be watching Spongebob cartoons on the way over.

It was a very quick ride over and off we went. There was a ?beach? type area right there were we got off. I'm not even sure what to say about this area, but I would never hang out here myself. There was ?fake? sand and hard as a rock. But it looks like some people decided this was the spot for them.

We had a hard time finding our way out of this port. We stopped several times to make sure we were going in the right direction.

They did have signs other places to let you know how to get back to the dock to catch your tender.

Shopping areas as always...

I have to say, I really didn't care for this port at all. I don't know what it was, but I didn't like the set up or how it looked.

When we finally made it out of the port, there was an area that was roped off. What is this?? Ok, we were forced to stand in line, winding back and forth in line, to catch a cab. Yikes. That's the first time this has ever happened. We stood there, in the hot sun, with what seemed like forever.

Standing in the long line that went down the entire building.

We seen several carriage rides outside the port.

So the tab below is where you'll find my complete review of where we went...Mr Sanchos and why we picked that place. Click the tab.

It was a quick ride back to the port and I thought it went rather well since there were so many ships in port and we did happen to be at the busiest port, there wasn't a traffic jam or anything.

I really don't like this port. We were dropped off on the side of the road across the street from the port. There was non-stop traffic going by and it made me feel real uneasy about crossing the street with Sakari. Here it seems like the traffic will not stop for you to walk across UNLESS you just go ahead and step out in front of them and then they would stop.

Then once you start to cross, everyone crosses and then the traffic gets upset because they can't move because so many people are crossing. Outside the terminal coming in.

Ok, I see the sign on which way to go to the tenders. 

Hubby found his dream boat standing on the corner waiting for him.

Good golly oh molly...the line wrapped all the way around the entire port shopping area. It was ridiculous. We stood in the hot sun forever and moved slowly at first and then a little quicker.

We're almost there...

Well here we were. WHERE WAS THE WELCOME BACK PARTY??? I mean if you're not going to dock us, you're not going to put us at the NCL port, and we're forced to tender at the busiest port, the least you can do is having a coming back party along this line. Really? I LOVE the coming back parties with the music playing and people dancing. I feel completely robbed!! We got cold rags and some watered down juice. Go us!

They had the big luxury boat that we came over on and they had 3 of these smaller boats. We opted for the smaller. In my eyes, smaller meant less time to fill up, quicker take off time, faster off the boat and onto the ship. I was right. Both the smaller boats were full and unloaded before the bigger boat pulled up. LOL

We had left Mr Sanchos at 3:09 and arrived back on the ship at 4:30pm. WOW. That's how bad the tender lines were. As I think I might have said already, we watched the other ships pull out while we were waiting on all the tenders to come in...leaving later than scheduled of course.

So we made it back to the ship right at 4:30pm...and there was still a line behind us. So obviously, once again, we pulled out of port late.

When we arrived back to our room, it looks like the room steward must have saved Trixie from the crab...or either she man-handled him and won.

We went ahead and took our showers and got dressed up because we wanted to go to Tsars tonight and we knew sitting on the balcony watching people come in was going to be awhile at the rate tendering was going.

I managed to get some pictures of the other DOCKED ships who were leaving on time as they pulled out.

There goes the Dawn and our friends that were a no show.

Then I looked at the time and discovered there's no way we would be able to eat in time (if the slow pattern with dining and everything else continued to be the same tonight) because we had to go to the Spongebob & Patrick meet & greet. I wanted to get there early so that we could get a good seat right next to the isle that they line up at and get our pictures done and get the heck out of there to go eat. We were starving by now, but the things we do for our kids. Sigh

This time the meet & greet didn't start until 6:30pm, but we arrived at 6pm and sat in the first set of chairs by the isle. There wasn't anyone there yet. About 6:20pm or so some parents came in and just walked down the isle and stood. Um...ok. By the time I realized they were actually lining up, I was once again at the back of the line. Double Sigh. When will I ever learn? So, I proceeded to go get in line.

While waiting in line I was forced to listen to a lady that complained over and over again how she was the first here the other day and everyone jumped in line and she ended up in the back of the line and she was pissed. (Hmmm, sounds kinda familiar at the moment). She went on and on about how she had been waiting for a half hour and was forced to the back of the line. Yep, been there, done that...as a matter of fact I'm doing it now, but I wasn't complaining about it. Just my stomach was complaining. Then she proceeded to tell everyone how once she made it up to the front of the line and it was their turn to take pictures she told the photographer there that they were going to take pictures of her family, the kids together and then the kids separate for them being there first but not getting to go first. Geesh people, lighten up!!! She told this story to everyone that walked by.

Finally it was our turn for pictures. They took my hand dandy notebook, no wait, that's Blue's Clue's, I mean my handy dandy camera and took a picture for us...

Then of course their picture making us look all spiffy by Spongebob's pineapple under the sea. 

As we walked out, we were handed their "autographs":

I have to admit, I love Patrick and just might have a crush on him. He's so playful and did funny things constantly. <3

We also wanted to go to the 7:15pm show in the theater, but had lost hope by now because WE MUST EAT!! I had the worse headache. I knew it had to be because we were so hungry and the hubby swore it was from all the alcohol today. You be the judge. hehe

We headed to Tsar's and was seated instantly. Woo hoo. This just might go well after all. No wait.

They had another gingerbread display in there.

Ok, hate to bust your bubble, but tonight wasn't any different than any other night. But this is the part that kinda ticks me a little. We ordered our starters and food (and I tried to order desert at the same time so they would anticipate bringing it out and not delay us anymore than needed), but they told me to wait until I was done eating. Sigh.

So here's were the "weirdness" came in. They brought out Sakari's meal. Yes, we'll stop there because our starters didn't come out or our food.

So she's eating and then she's done. We are still waiting on our food. So then they ask if she wants desert. She decided on ice cream. Yes, we are STILL waiting on our food. She gets her ice cream.

...and then she's done with desert. Um ok. Nice of them to bring all of her food out and we are still waiting on our starters!! Really people? Shouldn't this all come TOGETHER AT THE SAME TIME?? We would like to eat as a family. We don't want our daughter to eat her food AND be done with her desert before we even get started. What do you suggest I do to entertain her while we are trying to eat and she's done and ready to go??? Sigh.

It took them 45 minutes before our starters came out. Of course there was no hope that we would be able to make it to the 7:15pm show. It was already past that time by now.

So we take a few pictures trying to entertain her while we waited. Mommy did her hair curly tonight and she insisted on so many photos that night. LOL 

Finally our starters came out. I had the broccoli soup and it was wonderful as always.

Hubby had the mushroom soft taco thingys (I'm so tired I can't even think of what they are called at this point but it's the same thing I had in Azura the first night), but minus the mushrooms. LOL So basically it was just cheese.

We gobbled that up and then we wait....for our actual meal. 

Here comes the singing waiters. Maybe they were back in the kitchen rehearsing instead of fixing our food this entire time. Yeah, that had to be it. Either way, it entertained Sakari for a good 2 minutes.

Finally our food came out and I had chicken...(I have to say that the mashed potatoes are fantastic, but all I got was the smallest scoop possible and it was about 2 bites...seriously)

...and at this point I really didn't care what the hubby was having....just kidding, I snapped a picture with my greasy fingers as I continued to shove as much food in my mouth at the same time as possible just to get done because Sakari was complaining. I ate so fast that I forgot that I had even eaten at this point. This is the part where I'm embarrassed to say we probably would have fit in with the White family. 

Once we won the prize for fastest full meal eaten, we started to head out and the waiter starts with "Would you like some des..." Me "No". There's no way I was about to wait even longer.

Here's the picture they took of us when we were eating (and I actually had my mouth full at the time they took the picture...I swear I threatened my husband to smile and squeeze the mashed potatoes through my teeth with the camera snapped just to show the mood I was in at this point)...

Yea, that looks like a happy child. She had to fake smile it that night.

They had also taken a photo when we were at Azura's too that I forgot to post.

As we raced out of the dining room, I snapped another pretty picture...no matter how rushed you are, there's always time for another picture!!! My rule I live by.

Hey you guys...say cheese? Or slow service if that makes you smile.

I do have to comment, at one point during the "wait" time, I walked up the steps to ask the lady at the desk checking people in where the closest restroom was and she was busted shoving a butterfinger candy bar in her mouth. LOL I totally caught her off guard and I have never seen anyone try to hide a candy bar so quickly...well, I take it back, we do it all the time at work when the boss passes by. Then to see her covered her mouth while she tried to get the words out for directions was pretty hilarious as well. Don't they feed these people? I'm just kidding, I'm sure it was a WELL deserved candy bar. We laughed about it and I went tinkle.

One last shot as well walked out. This is the ceiling (and the lady with the hidden candy bar). LOL

We dropped Sakari off a the kids club and we knew by the looks of her that she would not last long tonight. We was already tired from our day in Cozumel and now her belly was full.

We signed up for the after hours sitting services since tonight was the White Hot party. Even though we were beat as well, we didn't want to miss it.

We spent a short amount of time in the casino, trying to kill time actually, while we waited until it was time to go to the 9:15pm show. The hubby decided to play my Gold Fish game that I had won on earlier in the week and he was doing really well. I kept telling him to cash out while his winnings were so good, but he didn't. It was almost 9pm and I told him we needed to get going in order to get a good seat for the show. It was the Le Cirque Bijou show and this was one that I didn't want to miss. I heard it was wonderful. So that finally got him to cash out and he was pleased with his winnings. It wasn't HUGE like mine, but it was a lot more than what he walked in with.

We got an excellent seat and the crowd started pouring in. There were certain seats marked off up and down both isles that you couldn't sit at. We knew this meant that they were going to be using this area for the show (and NOT saving it for the VIP White family).

The show started late of course, but it was well worth the wait. Oh my goodness it was AMAZING. Now here's the thing. The show was just like the last show they usually put on (that we have seen) where they are doing so many things at once, using the stage, the isles, the ceiling. Just about the same thing. I expected this to be the last night show like before and we really wanted to let Sakari see this and she was missing it. I wish I would have known that's what this show was ahead of time so I could have just brought her with us. She would have been amazed.

At the end of the show, a bunch of the staff came out from each department and was all on stage. Of course I know that they do not allow pictures during any of the shows, so this was the ONE AND ONLY night that I decided why bother to bring the camera? I mean how many pictures did I really need of the Peacock curtains changing colors? You guys can only take so many of those right? BAD ME! I just completely contradicted what I just said about always having a camera on me. Darn!

We returned to our room to change after the show and get ready for the white hot party. 

Here's our VIP plate for the day.

We also had a monkey hanging from the ceiling that night. (Yes, these pictures were taken the following day, hence the daylight). But we received it tonight.

So it was time for the White Hot party. I seem to bring the same outfit every cruise. It's basically the only thing I own dressy that's white. A white mini skirt and a tank top dressy blouse with sequins all over it. Sequins don't feel too great on your arms because they scratch them when you move and especially when you dance. I always end up with marks on my arms. From the last 2 days in Grand Cayman and Cozumel, my arms ended up a little red.

I put the outfit on. All it took was 1 scratch and I screamed bloody murder...just kidding, I have a very high tolerance level (remember me breaking my hand on my cruise and continuing to snorkel 2 more days after that???) and didn't scream. Then I thought about it. People wear the white hot tee shirts to the party all the time. They sell them in the store on board. I had brought mine. However, I threw caution to the wind and said "You know what, this is my cruise, I'll do what I want, when I want, however I want...that's freestyle cruising". Off the clothes came and on went the jeans and a tee shirt...but I was being risky...I didn't even put my White Hot tee on! I ended up wearing my "new" tee purchased this cruise that said "Party like a Brazilian"! Yep, that's right. I changed it up. Daring huh? 

Well we headed down to the party and all I can say is...boy did I feel out of place with most people dressed up. Sigh. Oh well.

Did you realize that the Jewel had ghosts? I thought that was only the Dawn. LOL But I caught them in a picture!!

They have the entrance all decked out in white. I do have to admit, I like it better when they have the party on the pool deck instead. It's a lot more fun.

It was time to order a drink and forget about it. I was comfortable. We met up with our Epic friends and I danced and danced, then drug my hubby up to dance, then spent some time waiting for Mr & Mrs Epic to get drunk enough to get up and dance and we danced the night away. Well, at least until around 12:30am and the hubby was ready to fall asleep and couldn't take it anymore.

We usually take a bunch of pictures at the White Hot party (or in my case tonight, not hot), but for some reason I snapped 2 pictures when we first sat down and laid my camera down on the table as I went out to dance and completely forgot about picking it up again. Sigh. Usually the hubby is busy snapping pictures while I'm dancing. Once again, he was so tired that he didn't even do that.

We said goodnight to our friends and we darted off to go pick up Sakari from the kids club. We just knew that she would be asleep and we were right. Daddy was forced to carry her all the way back to the room. There would be no sleep walking for her tonight. You would have thought he was in a marathon walking so fast.

When we made it to the room, we were able to wake her up long enough to find that Trixie was acting like a monkey with her new friend...right above the HUBBYS side of the bed and in his way. hehe Oops

We were all very tired and I decided tomorrow would be a sleep in or not kinda morning and I was throwing caution to the wind and not getting a wake up call. It's a sea day, it'll be ok.

So that ends our Cozumel-Friday