Monday, April 21, 2008
It's a great Day at Sea, Sir!

Even though we could sleep in, I had a thing about wanting to watch the sun rise each day. But, since today's sunrise wouldn't be until 7:11, we were still sleeping in since we're all usually at work/school by that time. Once again, DH and I stroll up to Deck 9 together. This time, we decide to take the "secret" staircase - it was actually more relaxing being able to go "stealth" in our pjs and bed-heads. Coffee in hand and ready to dash back down the stairs, DH suggests we chill on the back deck for a while, so, we pulled a couple chairs up to the far aft table and watched the ship's wake for a while. Alas, no rooster tails for DH. Since we knew DD would be sleeping off her late night partying for quite some more time, we decided to enjoy the sunrise together from there. As we waited and watched, the yoga class gathered and started on the "Deck 7 not-so-secret verandah." Boy was I glad at that point that we had paid for our own. Sunrise, as always, was stunning and we refilled our coffees (clean cups of course) and headed back our stateroom - taking the main aft staircase and discovering it was further from our room and far too public for that time of morning. We enjoyed the rest of our coffee from the privacy of our verandah and DH contemplated breakfast while I perused the navigator. We took turns taking showers and leisurely approached the new day. DH and I had a spa appointment at 11am and DD, of course, wanted nothing more than to spend the day with the kids club. 

It was a little after nine by the time we were all neat and pretty, so we decided to try Lumiere's for breakfast, since we had missed dinner there the night before. We were seated right away - right next to the stairs, and our server pretty much ignored us. it took several requests and reminders to get a cup of coffee - for which we would never be offered a refill. We also asked for juice, but didn't get it until several minutes after our meal had arrived (and this is after we had asked two different people 3 times). There was a problem with one of our orders, but since no one ever came back to our table to check to see if everything was okay, we dealt with it and moved on. But it was definitely BAD SHOW.

After breakfast, DD went up to join the Lab kids on the sports deck, while DH and I headed over to guest Services to see if we could get into one the wine tasting that afternoon. Both scheduled wine-tastings were full, so we opted for the Tequila and Margarita tasting instead. We also picked up tickets for Alice's Tea Party on Thursday. We took a peek at the art being auctioned before taking the scenic route up to the SPA. We actually hadn't ventured up to the adult section of the ship, so the stark change to silence was striking. We checked in at the spa. I must say, I am NOT a "spa" person. I was never comfortable changing in a locker room and now, at nearly forty, I still feel like a bashful 12-year-old being forced to change into her gym clothes with half of her classmates in the same room. YUCK. It's kind of difficult to remove a t-shirt, shorts, and unmentionables while concealed under a robe that barely fits around your ever-increasingly rotund figure - but not impossible ;o) Of course, the gymnastics required to maintain modesty certainly goes out the window when you're about to enter the Exotic Rasul Room. Since many ask about this, here's my take on the experience: 

1. It's hot, but not inescapable - there is a shower you can use to cool off.
2. Don't bother with following the directions for the goop - unless you're really seriously there for the goop.
3. Save your money and play in your stateroom while the kids are at the club. (Unless they have sign out privileges - see below).

After leaving the spa, we headed back to our stateroom to enjoy a cocktail. As soon as we entered, we noticed DD's wipe-off board had been written on. Oh, look! What a good girl, she's doing what we told her to do. Let's see where she went and maybe we'll meet up with her: "I am on the bed." Yep, she had written us a note after returning from kids' club to tell us she was her bed, snuggling her fuzzies and watching TV. She said she remembered that she wasn't allowed to go out on the verandah without Mom or Dad, so she just opened the curtain and looked then turned on the TV and relaxed. Why wasn't she with the kids club? "Cause they're playing basketball and I don't like basketball." We asked if she had eaten, "Yep, I went and had a corn dog." What did she want to do? Go in the pool. 

So, we let her change into her suit and brought her up to Deck 9. She didn't want to go in the Mickey pool, she wanted to try out the Goofy pool. We explained that it was 4 feet deep, with no shallow spot, but she still wanted to try it. Boy was that the biggest mistake ever. Dh and I sat on the edge of the pool while she entered the pot of people soup. I don't know what Disney was thinking when they designed that pool, but by God, that scene was downright dangerous. I saw people (mostly kids) literally climbing over others to get around. We stayed for about 6 minutes before she had had enough. She didn't want to go in the Mickey Pool, so we left. DD changed back into her clothes and went back to the kids' club. Dh and I decided it would be best to eat something before the Tequila and Margarita tasting, so we went up to Pluto's and grabbed a couple burgers. We carried them up to the adult section, pulled up a couple loungers, and watched the water and generally enjoyed the peace and quiet while we ate. We were surprised to see (and hear) children walking around the forward area, but when we asked about it, we were told that they couldn't go in the "pool area" but could be anywhere else. Well, why bother then?

DH and I took the forward elevators down to Deck 3 for the Tequila/margarita Tasting in Diversions. The tables were set up with four chairs per table, and in front of each chair were places three shots of different tequilas. We took seats up front and another couple, young DINKS joined us - can't remember where they were from, Boston? NYC? Timbuktu? The bartender was a Romanian (IIRC), who shared as much as she could about recognizing the finest quality tequilas. She said that she doesn't usually make it so much like a class, but she wanted us to have as much information as possible if we were planning on buying when we got to Mexico. We learned a tremendous amount and had lots of fun with the tasting. As soon as the Patron Silver touched my lips, I knew it wasn't for me and handed it over to DH, who graciously made sure that it didn't go to waste. I, in turn, helped him finish his Margaritas - kind wife that I am. Our favorite was the patron XO - a coffee flavored liqueur that we could definitely see ourselves enjoying with espresso. 

I took this opportunity to lead DH into the shops. I needed a sewing kit to fix the beads on my formal dress that had been loosened in transit and DH needed dress socks. So we wandered around treasure ketch, where I found the sewing kit and noticed a few things I wouldn't mind having in my home. Thankfully, for DH, I am fairly indecisive and am easily overwhelmed with too many options. This usually leads to my buying nothing. I did, however, fall in love with a blingy DCL t-shirt that I pointed to and said, I think that's the one I want, but since I hadn't really seen the other stuff available, I was going to withhold my decision until later. 

Afterwards, we went back to the stateroom to enjoy the view while DD played in the lab. Lo and behold, yet another gift from DVC!! this time it was a keepsake journal/photo abulm kind of thingie with a pen and lanyards for the three of us. We picked her up at 4:30 so that we could all get ready for formal night and make it for the Captain's reception and pictures in the Lobby. I finished securing the beads back onto the dress, got DD gussied up, freshened up my hair and make-up and slipped my dress on as DH was straightening his bow-tie. I had ordered the dress on-line and tried it on when it arrived. I had experienced some trouble with the zipper at home, but chalked it up to not having the proper undergarments. Now, at 5 minutes past 5, (the time I wanted to leave the stateroom), I couldn't get the *&%^#$%%$ zipper up. It was a side zip, so I had to twist myself like a contortionist to get it in the first place. I could feel beads of perspiration beginning to form on my face - which we all know will wreak havoc on my naturally curly hair. So, before working myself further into a frizzy frenzy, I enlist DH's assistance. Only, his fingers are too large for the zipper pull. So there we are, two fools, wrestling with this *&^%&^#$ zipper: him in my armpit, gathering the material closer together, while I try to grab hold of the zipper pull without flexing my lateral muscles, thereby making it more difficult to zip the darn thing. Finally, at 5:15, we have successfully managed to secure the seam and are off and running to the formal night festivities. 

It is as we start walking towards the elevator that I notice how dreadfully painful the shoes I have purchased specifically for formal night are. Understand that I dragged DH to approximately 15 shoe selling establishments before finally settling on this pair of shoes. So, i couldn't very well now tell him that the shoes feel like they were cobbled by Satan himself. Instead, I winced my way up to where they are taking photos and we forgo the character pictures in favor of the shorter, family only line. Thankfully, the shoes do not hurt while standing, only while walking, so I determine to do as little of that as possible henceforth. DH grabbed us a couple of cocktails while we waited. 



We decided to have a photo made with the captain, since, after all, it is his reception. 


We grabbed a second set of cocktails on our way into dinner - perhaps the additional alcohol will anesthetize the pain from the shoes. Dinner was at Lumiere's tonight. The menu was "Mexican Riviera" - although I still can't, for the life of me, figure out how this pairs with "formal night" but, whatever - and the menu was replete with seafood. Now, I am not, by any stretch of the imagination, a seafood eater. I will eat shrimp - if it is peeled for me. I will eat lobster, if someone takes it out of the shell for me. And, I will sometimes eat clams if they are chopped really small and mixed to almost unrecognizable with other, stronger, ingredients like cheese, breadcrumbs, bacon, or peppers, etc. Of course, DH, who grew up on the Great South Bay, cannot fathom not eating seafood and has been trying to get me to try it for the entire 12 years we've been married. I decided that since we had already paid for the food, and if I didn't like something, I could ask for something different, I decided to be adventurous and try the ceviche as an appetizer. What's more, I even tried the scallops with the main entree - don't remember what it was. 

After dinner, we stopped by the DVC desk for the pin-of-the-day and to thank them for the book. It was here that DD met Tyler, the DVC rep, and became fast friends with him. 



He remembered me from the members meeting but was really impressed with DD. He gave us each a DVC "Lady and the Tramp" pin and asked if we were enjoyed our cruise so far. He aslo gave DD a DVC colroing book and crayons and asked if she had been to the kids' club. She told him all about her day and who her favorite character was, etc. Tyler got a real kick out of DD and invited her to come back tomorrow for a surprise. By the time we finally headed over to the Golden Mickeys, we had missed the red carpet thing, but so much the better, I wouldn't have wanted me, my sausage dress, and the facial expression produced by the footwear from Hades to show up on that huge screen anyway. The show was cute, but I found myself shaking off sleepiness. After the show, DH was exhausted and wanted to head straight back to the room. Neither I, nor DD wanted to turn in so soon, so we got a picture of her with Minnie in her formal attire and did a little shopping. 



I just love how this one looks like Uncle Walt is right in the picture with them:


DD chose a few things for her friends back home and we headed back to the stateroom together. She wasn't interested in the kids' club and I was all happy to avoid the extra steps to get there. We watched a few minutes of TV together and I checked out the new navigators while the other two fell asleep. I wasn't far behind. 

My rest was all too short as I awoke at about 2 am to "that feeling". You know the one, where your up-chuck reflex is fighting against every fiber of your being to hold what's in your stomach down. Well, the up-chuck reflex won and I sprinted to the bathroom to make the first of six trips that night. Oh, dear, I'm vomiting on a cruise ship. I'm going to be quarantined. I felt my head - no fever. Had I had too much to drink the night before? Nah, I'm not dizzy or anything. Did I get food poisoning? What the heck did I have to eat? Seafood! I wondered whether if perhaps I was allergic to something I had eaten. But wouldn't I have experienced this earlier? Was I the only one to have what I ate? No, DH had the same thing. He wasn't up-chucking. I resolved not to tell anyone. I washed my hands thoroughly, just in case. My last trip to the commode was fairly mild, I knew that was the last of it. My stomach felt right as rain again. But when I pushed the button, no flush. Just a slight goink goink goink, the water went nowhere. Maybe it needed to refill. I pushed the button again. goink goink goink nothing. Oh, great. Now I have to call custodial and they'll see the vomit and know I was sick and I'll be quarantined for sure. goink goink goink. Oh, God! Flush for heaven's sake!!!! Nothing. I went out to the bedroom to see if DH was awake. zzzzzzzz Nope. Panic, Panic, Panic. Have I reached my flushing quota because of the extra flushes for the vomiting? Oh geez, how will we make it through the rest of the cruise if we've run out of flushes? goink goink goink. DH is gonna freak! goink goink goink whoosh. Oh, thank God! (I would later come to find out on the DIS that a fellow cruiser had experienced a flood in their stateroom early that morning, so I'm guessing there was a water pressure problem associated with that. When I described the scene to DH later on that morning, He shrugged, yeah, the scallops were a little "al dente" [read: undercooked] I can handle it, but maybe since you're not used to eating seafood, it made you sick. Yeah, maybe. Thanks for the warning darling.

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Smile Mon! You're on Cayman Camera