masonpips

I've been in 1560 which is the one towards the forward part of the ship.

We estimated the bow out was 16-24". Since we were just slightly forward of the whirlpools, we did get sun on the first half of the balcony and we wouldn't hesitate to stay there again. NO chair noise whatsoever!

The dreaded double post

Oooh Oooh, I want to play!

We booked our 3rd DCL cruise to leave on Dec 28 in 2004. We kept it a secret from the kids for 14 long months. I spent HOURS cropping pictures from past DCL cruises and having a puzzle made (actual puzzle pieces) of my creation, plus more hours planning a Chrismtas morning scavenger hunt. I packed what I could in secret, we pulled off the big surprise at Christmas and left the next morning.

We met friends in Orlando, spent a day at Downtown Disney and headed to Port C. It was COLD for Florida (50's for the high) and we boarded the ship on Dec 28. I felt cold all day, but attributed it to the cooler-than-normal temps.

We did Palo that first night and I continued to shake/shiver. By the next day I knew I had something and headed to the dr. He gave me a Z-pack but couldn't tell if it was bacterial or viral. By the next day I was OUT OF IT. I spent hour after hour sleeping in my bed w/the flu (not the stomach flu, but the upper resp version, stuffy head, congestion, aches/fever, etc.).

On New Year's Eve I managed to go to dinner and make it to 10 p.m, but went back to bed then and spent the next day in bed too. That evening DD got it and joined me in bed. DS and DH would scramble in/out of the cabin as fast as possible! DD had had a flu shot (I had not) so we hoped hers would be short-lived)

Flash forward to the last day. I was SICK (heart) that we had spent thousands and thousands of dollars on this cruise and I missed 75% of it and DD missed 50%. I took her outside to Castaway Cay and we walked around for about 30 minutes before we were both too wiped to continue. It was miserable.

We went back and napped and I forced us to take a shower so we'd feel somewhat better.

I'm helping her out of the shower (wrapped in a towel myself w/my hair up in another) and there is A TON of banging/yelling outside and then inside the cabin.

DS yells "Mom we won 5 MILLION dollars!!!" and I am thinking "what in the h*ll?" and DH comes in and yells "we won bingo".

I opened the bathroom door, looked at him (and our friends crowding in behind him) and said "If you are joking, I will KILL you!".

He was not joking, the winnings of JACKPOT BINGO paid for that cruise (so we booked another, but on RCCL lol) and I went to the gift shop and had my way with the souvenirs. It really helped make up for a rotten cruise for DD and me!

We did Western in Ocotober:

Sat - casual - we had beef in dining room- excellent

Sun - at sea - Formal #1 - we had beef in dining room - excellent

Mon - Labadee - had shrimp - not a favorite night of ours menu-wise

Tues - Ocho Rios - Caribbean Night - Pirate parade through dining room (we were supposed to do Chops, but DD wanted to be in the parade and we loved our table mates so we went to dinner, didn't like it much from what I remember)

Wed - Grand Cayman - Formal #2 w/Lobster

Thurs - Cozumel - crab cake appetizer + something for dinner (lol)

Fri - At Sea - casual (we did Portofino's and you must have the filet)

Hope this helps!

Also, the reason I work for vacation! Our 2005 Mariner cruise

DD in St. Thomas

DS belly-laughing at the clowns in the ice show