MITSUGIRLYS JEWEL OF A CRUISE review and pictorial
Day 6: Cozumel
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. After all, we did have THIS:
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.
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 here we are in Cozumel. I have been here several times. We have been to Chankannab twice (it's our favorite place in Cozumel so far), Nachi Cocom, and Playa Mia. So this time around I really didn't have a LOT of time to do my normal researching (due to schooling) and a lot of nice places were suggested. However, I just couldn't do the research like I normally would. It was getting close to the time to go and with only about a week or two out, we needed to decide and book something.
Now we have friends we met on a cruise we didn't take. I know sounds goofy. We had booked a cruise on the Epic last year and we were on their roll call. We got to know each other really well. Then, I ended up changing my ship to the Dawn. Since we had gotten to know each other (we have similar personalities and humor), they ask me to stay on the roll call and fb page. Our ship (Dawn) was going to be leaving out of where they live and we decided we would meet up then. Then we, once again, changed ships (when I decided I wanted to do the Dawn out of Bermuda and didn't want to sail the same ship over) to the Star leaving out of NOLA. I mean I am a woman after all...I change my mind a lot. I'm always looking for a better deal.
We continued to be friends and talk daily. So, we were meeting up with them in Cozumel this time around. (They were on the Dawn the same week). I was so fricken excited we were finally going to get to meet!!! So they mentioned Mr Sanchos as the destination in Cozumel. I had thought about it, but I also like Paradise. My only concern was that I knew it was going to be a busy port that day with 7 ships in port and was a little concerned with not booking an AI.
So in the end, I just told them to pick where they wanted to go and as long as it wasn't some place I had already been, I was up for it. Meeting up with them was a little more important and I knew where ever we ended up at, we would have a blast with them. So Mr Sanchos it was for the day.
We finally made it to our taxi van and in we piled. It was a $16 trip to Mr Sanchos. Along the way everyone in our van got out at Paradise. I felt a lump in my stomach at that point for some reason. My husband ask me why we weren't getting out and I told him that's not where we were going. He kinda looked at me and said "Why not? I like the way that place looks." Then off we went on down the road.
We arrived at Mr Sanchos and paid the rest of our $$ owed, got our AI wristbands and was escorted over to the AI side.
Here's the famous pool you see everyone taking pictures of that have the bar stools in the water and backs up to the bar.
I'm walking along and looking down at the pool and noticed their rocks in the walk way was a little weird and you had to watch your step. Then Sakari notices what it actually was...stones with water trickling around them into the water.
We made it to the beach area
You could see the water toys over on the PAYG side and of course Sakari immediately notices them. Sigh. I explained to her that it was not for us and we wasn't aloud over there hoping that would tie her off for the rest of the day.
A waiter tried to offer us several different seats, but we kept telling him that we were looking for our friends that were supposed to be here and kept walking around. We looked everywhere and didn't see them. Well, it was still early, so maybe they weren't here yet (even though their ship arrived 1 hr earlier than ours). So we decided to go ahead and find a seat after walking in laps several times and peaking under the palapas at people. I know they thought we were weirdos at this point.
Then we are looking for a close enough spot at the tables that we would be able to see our things while swimming in the ocean. There really wasn't any left. The lounge chairs seem to be take, except for a few, and most of the tables were filling up quickly. We found one in the front row that didn't have anything on it and put our stuff down. There was a plastic table pulled up to it with personal items in the chairs and on the table, but not at ours. The waiter immediately said "these chairs are taken". Um ok, "how do you know?" He said "The family with this table has them." Soooooo.....why is it they have all of their stuff at the other table then??? We sat down anyhow and he said "Well, I guess you're sitting here. You might want to ask the family if it's ok" and pointed to them. I ask the gentleman (which was sitting in one of the lounge chairs as well) and he said it was fine. Actually, later when they would come up from their lounge chairs to eat at the table, there was only 3 of them. Mom, dad and a son. So why they needed 2 tables, 6 chairs and 3 lounge chairs was beyond me.
I decided it was time for a "snack" hehe. I ordered Nacho's and guacamole. He ask about salsa and I told him I just wanted the nacho chips and guacamole dip. The hubby ordered chips and salsa and then we ordered drinks as well. Might as well get this party started before the friends got here.
When my nachos and guac came, it was not exactly what I expected or wanted. I guess when you say "Nachos" in Mexico, it means with everything on it. Here where I'm from, if you say Nacho's you get nacho chips and dip. I spent some time just digging around the chips trying to get to the chips underneath that didn't have any of the stuff on there and dipping it the guac. Yummy to the tummy. I didn't really care for the fake cheese dip and I'm not really a "bean" girl (I don't even order burritos because of the beans). Hubby seem to enjoy his plain chips and salsa on the side (yes, I stole some of his since they were plain).
Getting my morning drink on. Only on vacation can you do this and it be ok in society. Otherwise, you have an alcohol problem. LOL Well actually they teach us in nursing school, when we assess our patients and ask them how many drinks they drink in a certain period, any more than 3 in a week is considered for consultation because they're an alcoholic. I guess after each cruise, I'm considered an alcoholic then. Oops.
Still waiting for the friends to arrive....we decided to head out to the ocean (well, Sakari decided for us of course) to search for seashells.
I decided to go back up and do another loop of the place looking for our friends. Still, they were yet to be found. Along the way I would, of course, take pictures as I walked.
This is part of the buffet area they had set up
The bar area with the famous swings you see everyone take pictures at:
Some of the tables on the AI side (this picture was taken later in the day when people started to head back)
A building they were constructing over on the AI side. Anyone heard what this will be??? Oh my gosh, I just noticed there was a wifi symbol there.
Sorry the sun got in the way of this one. Lighting is either your friend or your enemy.
We knew ahead of time that this place had wifi. We all know what happened at the last place there was wifi. I brought the computer this time too. Yes, I'm forgiving at times and I also like to give people a second chance. This was the hubby's chance. He was looking at me with "are you sure?" look and was real hesitant to go to the dining area to get online. I knew he needed to check in and do some business. I also knew that it shouldn't take as long this time around since the dead line had already passed. He kept saying he didn't want to see me mad at him and he sure didn't want another repeat of our Jamaica day. I told him this is a little different. He didn't have to walk a mile to get to the wifi and it wasn't a huge place that I wouldn't be able to find him. I could see the building from where we were at. "No worries" I said in my "I'm testing you" voice given with a wink...which he would not know how to take that wink...good or bad. Ya gotta keep them on their toes I tell ya.
Sakari and I headed out to the water and he came down one last time...."Are you sure?" LOL
I laughed at him and took this picture. We swam for a little bit and then I decided I needed another drink. I kept running into our server that brought our chips over and he would give me this real concern look and say "Are you ok?!?!" I mean this happened every time we left the table. I was beginning to wonder if I had a mean or hurt look on my face. It was just the tone he had like if I really had something wrong with me.
Another girly shriek came out of this small child sitting beside me and I knew she just had to hold them.
Sorry for the picture quality. I'm taking a picture of a picture, at night, inside the house, with no natural lighting. They don't turn out very good and I can't use the flash or you get the flash in the picture. So it is what it is and it's what you get. The pictures really did turn out good and they are very colorful and bright.
This was hilarious...he had a diaper on. I guess one too many kids got pooped on. LOL
Sakari looked a little uneasy about this one. I think she likes the iguana better. After all, we did see a lot of them this trip.
Still no sight of the friends. I'm beginning to think they stood me up!
Sakari wanted to go over to swim in the pool since it was starring her in the face at that point. So I agreed. Oops, it's a little too deep for her but she jumped right in and found that out.
She didn't care. She's a big girl (which she continues to remind of daily).
"Mommy, watch this, I'm a whale" Yes, yes you are...or at least part fish.
I talked her out of the pool by telling her I needed another drink. LOL It worked and I got my other drink.
We went back to the table and here come daddy...already? LOL He was done. So time for a little more ocean swimming.
Guess who gets to watch Sakari now? It wasn't me. I was going snorkeling. For some reason Sakari didn't want to snorkel. This will be a first. She was perfectly content with staying in the water at the beach (and truth be known, she probably didn't want her puddle jumper on because she's a "big girl" and she knew I would make her wear them where the water was deeper).
Now I don't recall anyone mentioning that there was any snorkeling to be done at Mr Sanchos, so instead of packing the full gear, I only packed my snorkel and mask....just in case. Even if there isn't snorkeling at the place I go, there's always something to see under the water and sometimes you get lucky and find something you haven't seen before. So, what the heck. I did see a few "darker" spots on the water and I did see a bunch of people with snorkel gear on...might as well try it.
Off I went, headed toward the dark areas to see what everyone was looking at. There were some rocks with fish and other sea life, but it kept taking me on down toward the other end of the place. I decided to get out, walk down to the beginning part of the AI side (there's a volleyball net there) and start from there letting the water carrying me down.
I'm sharing what I found that day with limited pictures.
I spotted a red feather duster (or sea worm) and I do believe it's probably the first time I have ever seen one this bright of red in color. Most are a brownish color and the salt water tank I had at home years ago had tons of them. So this is kinda a "first" for me (the bright red).
Someone please remind me to STOP trying to zoom in. It just does NOT work with a point and shoot camera. It's harder to capture the picture, know if you are pointing at the right object, you get 1/2 of fish in the picture, it blurs, and it just never works out for me. But yet, I continue to try it. So sorry for any of the zoomed blurry pictures. That's what I get for trying but I just get so darned excited.
In this picture I was trying to capture the hundreds of little neon looking fish that were everywhere. I like swam into this swarm of them and they were surrounding me. They were really glowing and pretty. I just couldn't prove it on camera.
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I did see sea sponges and sea fans out there...so there is more to see than just fish.
OH MY GOSH.... Someone tell me what that long brown thing as the bottom of this picture? Are there such things are a brown hairy looking sea cucumber? I didn't even notice it until looking at this picture. I must have thought it was just some type of sea grass. But looking at this picture, it looks like it has antennas or something. I'm off to see if I can locate hairy sea cucumbers. Anyone???
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Could it have been a hairy seahare? Or hairy sea slug? Nudibranch? I see different pictures online that looks like it. Come on, where are all my sea people that knows their sea animals? I need you right now. :D
There was this area of what I would normally call a gravel bed, but instead this was a seashell bed. A bunch of sea shells and crushed stuff was along this strip. It was pretty neat and ran along the entire beach. This is where Sakari would collect a lot of the shells we brought back with us for her collection.
I hate when I'm trying to take a picture and the water has me moving at a faster pace than what I want and then my shadow gets in the way. Then I proceed to trying to kick my way back, do a flip, then turn around only to find out what I was trying to get a picture of has already scurried off because I scared them with my water aerobic skills.
There were a bunch of anemone around the area...a lot more than I expected to find. They were really pretty when the sunlight hit them. They had a green glowing tip. Hey! That's not nemo!!!!
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Anyone see the antenna sticking out of the rock?
Yep, I had spotted my first lobster. Boy was it a proud moment for me. I missed it the first swim by and something told me to come back. At first it was out a lot more, but the more I did my water aerobics, the more it hid. I took tons of pictures and can't really say I'm happy with any of the results, but it is what it is. Of course my zoom feature was failing me again.
We headed to the "potty" ......and when I was in there I found something interesting...when I went to reach for the toilet paper, I couldn't find it or the opening. I wasn't really paying attention, but I knew my hands weren't feeling anything normal. When I looked over, I found the toilet paper coming out the side of the holder. I actually liked this. No feeling around of having to pull it down far enough to grab the end. All places should have this! So of course I had to take a picture.
When I came out, I found a path to the right...I just had to explore it and see where it went.
At this point Sakari was saying "I don't wanna go in there, it looks scary" but I kept trucking...There was a path...where was it leading? What was it for? I'm thinking "maybe" it was an employee entrance or something instead of them walking in the beachy/tourist area:
It came out to a building that was a surf type rental shop and then to the beach.
I have no idea what these things are. I thought maybe where they hang hammocks, but none were there.
A lot of people were para-sailing today. I really want to do this some day. But I'll have to wait until Sakari is a little older.
We arrived back at the table and decided to check out the buffet. I love buffets and like seeing the items before I get it and picking out only what I like. It's just simpler that way for me. It was all good. I was pleased and FULL.
The people next to us (with the table pulled up to ours) had placed an order with the waiter and he would try to deliver someone else's drinks to our table. They weren't ours and weren't the table next to us. Then he delivered her meal to our table, but yet it was not exactly what she ordered. When he came back and ask her what was wrong, she said she was still waiting on the food. He pointed at the food on our table and she replied it wasn't what she ordered. He was all messed up this day. I remember at one point he ran around trying to find who a couple of drinks went to and never did find them so he offered them to us and we took them.
Sakari tried to make a sand angel i honor of Christmas.... It didn't turn out as expected. boo
She got a souvenir from the sand.
I bet you all can guess what this meant...yep, she had her excuse to head back to the water where we wouldn't be able to drag her out for some time.
Off she went while I followed in her footsteps.
She was much better now and decided to build a sand castle.
But she would soon learn that the waves were unpredictable and no matter how far up she moved, the waves followed her.
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​For the next hour or so (at least it seemed like it), we dove for sea shells and coral for her collection back home. She enjoyed this so much. My hand were constantly full and we definitely got our exercise walking back and forth to the table. I finally decided to grab a huge zip lock baggie that we stored out power cord for the computer in and take it out with me.
This was the collection she ended up with for that day. Quite the collection for 1 day I think.
When we were diving for shells, there were 2 fighter jets that went by. They would continue to circle for quite some time this day. It was pretty neat to see them so close together moving in the same direction when they turned.
I wanted to take a picture of the beach line. When we went to Nachi Cocom, we did not care for the beach part at all. It was pretty, but it was so hard to walk in when we were there. Plus there was a bit of a dip in the water, which got a little too deep too quickly for my taste with Sakari being so little.
Mr Sanchos had sand that was a little difficult to walk in only if you were going up. It also has a bit of a dip in the water, but either Sakari grew a little since the last visit or she was handling it a lot better. Either way, I didn't feel too bad about it. She definitely couldn't go out too far before it was over her head and she was pushing off the bottom to swim back. I also kept pulling her back because it was a little wavy there that day and it wanted to keep taking you down to the left. But we managed.
The beach line seemed to be a lot wider and smoother than Nachi. The only problem was trying to get up over the hump in the water. It was kinda difficult. I actually helped push a lady up at one point. But once you were up over the hump, it was fine. You didn't sink in trying to walk in the sand.
I think I need another drink...collecting sea shells will make you thirsty.
Sakari agrees...diving down and collecting sea shells will definitely make you thirsty.
BTW, all of the drinks we had here today were good with the exception of the strawberry daiquiri. It was WAY too sweet. Like WAY too sweet for my taste. It also left a big red ring on your mouth and made you look like you were smiling all day. I assume it's the same thing as what Sakari was drinking plus the alcohol.
Also, we found that this place makes STRONG drinks. They are probably some of the strongest I have had at any AI or PAYG. They were terrific.
Playing in the sand while mommy finished her drink.
So of course by now, we had figured we were not going to get to see our friends. Either they stood us up or....maybe I misunderstood them and they were on the non AI side (PAYG).
One last attempt to find them and I was done searching. We walked over to the other side to look for them and check that side out. Along the way, I'm of course snapping pictures.
This is the main dining room for the PAYG peeps. I assume that this is what they are building over on the AI side because it was pretty big as well. Maybe they felt like they should have one over there too because it was pretty nice.
The guy with the picture of the parrots and iguana's came by for us to check them out. I did hear him talking to a person in front of me about the pictures. I heard him tell them that a picture was $12 alone and if you buy the picture and the frame they had it in, then it was $20. Then I heard them tell them ok...$10. So I bought all 3 of mine for $10 each. Sakari is sitting here right now as I type this starring at the pictures and talking about her holding them. She is drawing (because that's all she ever does) pictures of them. I have to say, she's quite the artist at times.
Shops along the area heading over to the PAYG side. I ended up buying a couple of magnets from this place (my oldest collects them).
The small pool on this side:
Loved the bright colored tables and chairs over here i the dining area.
Ok people....are you ready for this? The FISH SPA! I was like what in the world? I had to check it out. People sitting in there while the fish ate away at their feet skin. Um...ok. I ?guess? it makes sense??? It was just odd. I can't imagine too many people doing this because most people are ticklish, but I sure did see a lot of people going in and out and sitting in the chairs with their feet in the aquarium. I however, am not ticklish and could have done it if there was time. I would be interested in knowing what they charge for it. Imagine coming home to family and friends telling them the fish cleaned your feet.
This was the shower and restroom area. I thought it was pretty neat looking. You walked up all these stairs to it and it was kinda pretty. I was already at the top when I took this picture.
I snapped some pictures of the menu. I did find out after I returned home (from another thread) that the PAYG side menu is different than the AI side.
The pool area. It was a lot smaller than the AI side and it wasn't deep at all. It was only 3' and just the right size to make me feel comfortable with Sakari in it. It was actually perfect for her.
Mommy joining Sakari in on the fun.
THIS DID NOT TURN OUT GOOD. I'm sure you can guess.....
She played it off like it didn't sting, but I'm pretty sure from the looks of it and the sound that it did have to hurt some. But she kept going.
Are you trying to dive now? Again, not a pretty ending.
Man these drinks are strong. I've been going strong all day long and I think the hubby was a little far gone too. Maybe we should back off just a little. When it comes to the time where you're too drunk to take a picture holding your glass anymore and you have to use your feet...it's time to stop. Take note!
So here we would sit for the rest of the time we had and let the ground stop moving under our feet. I didn't realize that Mexico had earthquakes on an hourly basis. Who knew?
After awhile, I told Sakari I needed to get her "Christmas Santa Hat" picture for the day. She whined all the way to the spot and then did a quick "I'm precious" pose and then ran. Sigh
I gathered what little bit of balance I head and told the hubby I was going to attempt to walk over to the "shopping mall" they had and take a look around. I got the "you can do this babe" look from him and I was off.
VERY blurry picture and I debated sharing it, but wanted you to see there was more than just a few stands set up here.
Then I came across this...
Now I know the one is a male peacock and I would assume the other is a female. But, it looked like the same birds my uncle use to have on his farm, which were guineas.
I ran back to tell Sakari about them. It took F-O-R-E-V-E-R to talk her into getting out of the pool and coming with me. I got the "I don't want to leave" over and over and I kept telling her I had a surprise for her. I thought I had regained her trust after the stingray day, but I guess not. She finally came and daddy had to stay. That way she knew she was coming back to the pool area. She loved the Peacock and couldn't wait to get back to tell daddy about them. When we returned, she wanted daddy to come look and of course we couldn't just leave our stuff sitting there while we went around the building, so we seen this as an opportunity to make a run for the exit (the peacocks are right there as you leave) and get a cab back to the port. She wasn't happy about it, but she went.
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.
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
Oh darn, I forgot to share this and meant to put it in the review. Well, better late than never.
For those of you that will ask "Does Mr Sanchos have lockers?" Here's your answer. I have no clue how much though.
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.
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​I manged to get some pictures of the other DOCKED ships who were leaving on time as they pulled out.
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There goes the Dawn and our friends that were a no show.
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So I'll try to continue out this day (Friday Dec 20) since I made it safely home from work (and a night of craziness I might add).
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.
I went ahead and jumped in the shower because we wanted to dress up tonight and go out to eat at Tsar's tonight.
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.
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.
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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 and 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.
His face and lips completely cracked me up. Such detail.
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 funner.
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.
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​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.