ceilidh1

DD was up and out early to have breakfast with her friends. DS wanted to sleep in, so I popped out to grab a chai and a snack! Big thanks to those on here that glued me into free Starbucks at the spa cafe! Why would anyone pay for Starbies when you can grab it here! I grabbed my drink and then headed to Park Cafe for a salmon/cream cheese burrito. I really want to try all the options but there are so many and it’s tough to branch out once you find something that works!

Captain just announced that we are diverting to Cozumel for a medical emergency disembark. This won’t affect the rest of the itinerary. Hope the guest is ok!

It’s 12:45am. I sat at the bar at the pub for a long time, enjoying the company of various folks (the cowboys were back tonight). I love the singer in there - @YVRteacher Sweet Caroline is hot in this pub! DD came by at one point to steal a mouthful of my drink before moving along with the teens. I’m now headed to the club with the cowboys. DS already called it a night and DD has curfew at 1am so I’m freeeerr FWIW folks complain about carnival people being drunk. It’s only day 2 on this ship and I have seen MANY people beyond drunk!!!

So I may or may not be drunk (disclaimer:I am). Someone has to explain the elevator situation on this ship. I swear to you, these elevators are like the Willie Wonka ones that go sideways and backwards. No matter which elevator bank I take to the room, I come out at the door decorated with “celebrate”… and instead of filling me with joy and excitement, my just feel sadness and despair as that room is like 100 rooms from my room. My room is literally next to an elevator bank, but for the life of me I can’t seem to find those elevators to get home. Let me tell you, trying to walk a straight line down those long hallways is no easy task!

I forgot to mention that tonight was formal night. We don’t do formal (though we do dress nicely for dinner) which is why I booked The Solarium rather than the dining room. I would say that less than 30% of people were dressed formally and those that were seemed to be in it solely for the pictures!

DS has called it a night. DD has headed to prom at teen club. I’m at the bar in the pub waiting for shenanigans to head my way!

Kids wanted to watch Grease tonight so I sat through it for the second time. The show was plagued with issues from the outset, it started 20 minutes late due to issues with the computer that controls sounds/lights. Then the actor playing Kinnicky fell off one of the bleachers. Then they had more technical issues and stopped the show for another 10 minutes. Then it restarted and stopped again after 1 minute. Finally, they did get it running to completion but many of the audience had left. Once again, the singing and dancing were stellar!

It’s a long way down

Walking drinks

Dinner tonight was at The Solarium. The food was all great and I loved the small plates, since I was still pretty full from dinner. What stood out was the inconsistency among tables in terms of service. Some table got asked if they wanted drinks, while others (ours included) were ignored. I’m not a “flag down a waiter” person, since I feel like that should not be required. In this restaurant, not only did we not get drinks, but we didn’t get water refilled or plates cleared. At one point, I had to stack them in the middle of the table so we could fit another plate on! The restaurant was NOT busy so no excuse. We watched as the table next to us got drinks, water, rapid clearing each time a plate was finished, and even asked if they wanted coffee. For us…nada. It’s not a make or break. I’m pretty low maintenance. But I don’t really understand why….

Todays views…

We sat at the pub for an hour or so playing cards. Someone was up in Central Park taking a nap and became the subject of a lot of photos and discussion! He did eventually wake up and was a good sport, waving down at everyone!

We got a stowaway!

I tried to get my dining reservations sorted (I wasn’t the only one - it seems lots of people got their reservations messed up and only realizing when going to eat). Of course, none of the times I chose were available at this point. To their credit, they did at least try to help me rather than brush it off. It ended with them suggesting I come at 5:45 as standby (originally I booked for 6:30). I didn’t want to make it into a big deal so left it at that. Then got back to the room a little later and found this! So confused!

DS and I have had a very chill afternoon. He was keen for me to get a drink from the robot…I broke the system! I didn’t know I had to scan my card to order and, obviously, whoever had ordered on the iPad prior hadn’t logged out. I had no idea how all this worked so just went ahead and ordered the drink. Then, of course, once it was made, I couldn’t claim it as my card wasn’t the correct one (I should say that two other people had the same issue). Anyways, some poor person got charged for my drink and the bartender dude had to come and release it from the robot. I started over and got a Banana Cake - this time successfully!

Lunch was at Hibachi. We all love this experience so pre-reserved ahead of time. It was a rough start - we sat for about 15 minutes with zero interaction from waiters. Finally, our waiter came over - I think he was new, and he also had a LOT of difficulty understanding us and us him (I’m speaking for the whole table). It took a long time to order as we had to repeat everything several times. I asked if I could get drinks (that hadn’t happened either) and he looked confused until he realized the drink menu was in his hand and not with us. When the drinks came, he gave DD (17) the cocktail and me the coke. Oops. Thankfully, our chef was outstanding, the performance was fun, the food delicious! It was the longest lunch in the world, though…we were in there for two and a half hours!

DD got her blowout this morning (she treated herself to the 3 blowouts for $149) and was very happy with the result! DS and I went to ride The Abyss (remember he rode it yesterday and told me it complete darkness and super fast?) I didn’t have that experience at all. One section was dark but the rest had lights, and I didn’t find it particularly fast. DS went down after me and confirmed that side of the slide was completely different. Hmmm. Now I’m going to have to try the other side!

This morning we had our gift exchange with the group. It was well attended and everyone gave and got three gifts. There were some very creative gifts and it was lots of fun!

Look what we found! Two in a row!

It did not. I’m a ball of frizz!

If I’m understanding correctly, the breakfast is complimentary but delivery for the American breakfast is $7.95? Not that I think we will do the room service, but nice to have the option.

DD had booked a hair blowout for 9am this morning, so we were up early. The ship feels empty! Where does everyone go??? We hit up Johnny rockets for breakfast. It was fast and easy and the food was ok. Then we headed to the spa to drop DD (I wasn’t sure if I needed to sign anything given she is still a minor - I didn’t). While there, I grabbed a chai latte (happy it’s covered with the drink package).

I forgot to mention that I’m trying out a new “hangover prevention “ this trip. It’s tough (and expensive) to find the popular ones most folk post on here, so I found a Canadian brand that had good reviews. It’s a pill form (I prefer that to powder) and I forgot to take it before I started drinking yesterday. I did grab one before dinner. Not sure how effective it was, but I do feel fine this morning!

After the show let it out, I was planning on going to balloon drop but really needed water. This is when the wifi crapped out and I couldn’t check in on DS (I assumed he would be done with teen club by this point). I stopped in at boot and bonnet and there were almost shenanigans…iykyk The seats at the bar were all taken so I just stood behind a couple of guys and tried to get the attention of the bartender. I just wanted to grab a bottle to go. The four guys were so sweet and one got up for me to have his seat. I actually didn’t need a seat. Just a water. No dice with getting the bartender to notice me. So then I got chatting to the guys. I think they must have barely been drinking age but were so fun. Suddenly, two bottles of water appeared and one of them joked that it was in them. These kids were raised right. Now I had a tough decision to make…hang out for shenanigans or be responsible and go check on my kid (stupid wifi). I was a model mom and said my goodbyes. DS was in bed (it was almost midnight) when I got back and didn’t want to do the balloon drop so I called it a night too. DD rolled in at exactly 1am (teen curfew). What a fabulous first day!!!