Carnival Spirit Journal with Pics - Cabo, Shots with Benefits, Wings and a Water Taxi

[steveNcindy]

Another great review - thanks for taking the time to put these together as they are a joy to read

[vanislandcruisers]

You guys are my idol. I would love to be able to drink and party like you guys. Love the review.

 

Thanks boaterette....We don't do this all the time Trust me...but we do make the most of our Vacation time

 

I wanna be like Jim and Dee when I grow up! :cool:

 

One step at a time Allen...lets get you out of those big-boy diapers first;):p:D

 

Another great review - thanks for taking the time to put these together as they are a joy to read

 

Thanks very much steveNcindy...they are a joy to live and to re-live when we are putting theses together...and in the end we have all the Journals full of our Memories

[trizzou]

She was very Hands-On when it came to her job and we could tell she really had a feel for it.

 

 

 

 

 

Finally I get to see what "shots with benefits" are! LOL.. thanks for the great review by the way.

[vanislandcruisers]

It was great to lay back and let the sun do its thing and just enjoy the heat. As we were laying there a couple of female Crew Members from either the Splendor or the Spirit walked up and laid 2 Carnival Towels down just to the right of us. We could see their Crew Badges but couldn’t read what Ship they were from although we assume it was the Splendor based on the Pink Carnival Towels as all we had seen were the Navy Blue Towels on the Spirit. As told to me by Dee; the 2 Crew Members stripped down to their 2-piece bikinis and then had a quick look around before recreating the Carnival Topless Deck. Conclusion #585: It’s not too often that the a Passenger gets a Gratuity from a Crew Member. Dee (honest, cross my heart) took a picture of the 2 of them - Conclusion #586: Not the 4 of them - merely for Journal purposes when they rolled over onto their stomachs. Once done rolling over they pulled their bikini bottoms up tight so as to create a pair of thongs Conclusion #587: Not to be confused with the ‘flip flops’ kind of thongs.

 

 

Again this is only hearsay as I am basing this solely on Dee’s recollection of the ‘event’ and the Picture as I chose to continue to look at the Pair of Ships and not the Pair of…Oh look a Pelican.

 

The Beer in our Cooler was Ice Cold so they were going down very smoothly and the temperature was definitely heating up and it had nothing to do with the Crew Members beside us – it was definitely getting hot out. Dee decided to go for a swim while I, not wanting to break the seal just yet, decided to wait as long as I possibly could before going into the Water.

 

Dee heading into the Water...

 

 

 

Dee in the middle - equal parts Spirit and Splendor

 

 

Finally, I was ready to go….for a swim so I walked down the Beach and then into the Water until I was waist deep. It wasn’t what I would call overly warm when first going in but soon enough the water seemed to get much warmer. After about thirty seconds I was done….. swimming so I walked out of the water and then up the Beach to our Towels, took the lid off the Cooler and then cracked open another Corona.

 

We spent the next hour getting some sun, enjoying the beach and going for the odd 30 or 45 second dip in the Water when we felt the urge….to cool off.

 

John arrived back at the agreed upon time and took us across the Bay to Medano Beach where, after reminding him that we needed to be picked up at 1:45pm Cabo time, and being creatures of habit and knowing what we like we asked him to drop us off at the Mango Deck for a couple of hours of Margaritas, Jell-O, Lunch and our planned walk up to the Hard Rock Cafe.

[vanislandcruisers]

Finally I get to see what "shots with benefits" are! LOL.. thanks for the great review by the way.

 

Your very welcome trizzou

[Margarita Mom]

It was a GREAT one Rick!!!.....Lots of Fun!!!!....and we still had the evening and the night to go;)

 

After reading about your Cabo adventures. I can't wait to see what trouble we are going to get in Key West.

[WeBeCruisin']

After reading about your Cabo adventures. I can't wait to see what trouble we are going to get in Key West.

 

The last time I was in Key West with you, I was appalled at your shocking antics!!!! :eek::eek::eek:

[vanislandcruisers]

Once at Medano Beach we told John that there were 2 Beer left in the Cooler that we “wouldn’t feel like drinking later" before we hopped out into the Surf and then up onto the Beach.

 

At the Mango Deck we requested a Table under some cover and away from the Stage not wanting to get enticed into any extracurricular activities and also wanting to be more aware of the time today. Conclusion #587: There was NO TOMORROW!!! We sat down, ordered a couple Margaritas and an order of Chicken Quesadillas for Dee and an order of Beef Fajitas for me. Our drinks arrived and were accompanied by the Tequila Man from the day before whose nickname we found out was ‘Big Johnson’. He is described on their Website as “the hefty tequila man, with his holster of tequilas and shot glasses.” Be prepared to lose an eye if you ask him where he got the name ‘Big Johnson’ and he answers by lifting up his Apron to show you. Conclusion #588: It’s just Hollywood Magic Dee. Now tired of Beer we decided to have a Shot of Tequila each. Conclusion #589: Blechhpffstt

 

Just before our food arrived a lady by the name of Pam, who Dee had met while playing Slots on the Ship, her husband, their son and a friend of their son’s came and sat at the Table next to us, said “Hi” and then told us they had ‘just returned from a 3-person Banana Boat Ride.’ The lady was of Asian Heritage but had been born in the States to parents who had immigrated to America. Man was she FUNNY and did she ever talk FAST!!! We asked her why if ‘there were 4 of them was it only a 3-person Banana Boat Ride?’ and she looked at us and “Are woo cwazy? I too bootiful for dat cwazy wide. That Dwiver wuz NUTS” and then she laughed and laughed and laughed. The boys went off to play in the Water and we literally spent the next 2 hours laughing to the point of tears while listening to the stories she told us….and she had a ton of them!!!

 

Her first story was how she met her husband and when we looked over at him he leaned back in his chair, lit up a BIG Cigar and flashed us a BIG smile which was a telltale sign that we weren’t going anywhere anytime soon. She said she met him when she was a “Cocktail Mattwess.” “What did she say?” I asked Dee before Pam said “You know a Cocktail Mattwess where they serve dwinks at Indian Casino. I start as Waitwess and be good girl. All dose uffer girls dey just Cocktail Mattwess for da men dat come gamble at Casino but me, good girl, BUUUUUUUUUT when I see him walk frough door I say Ooooo I wike dat and I gonna be Cocktail Mattwess for him and I marrwy him 6 months affer”

 

Apparently her parents were not excited about Pam marrying a non-Asian and she said “I tell my parwents I wuv dis white man. He make me verwy happy and he hava wot of money” before adding “I wuv MONEY and I wuv spending HIS money and all of a sudden he not so bad for dem!!!”and she laughed and laughed and laughed as did we. Once our food arrived we had a difficult time eating as it is extremely uncomfortable to have fajitas and quesadillas coming out of your nose.

 

The stories continued until we heard a familiar voice from behind us yell “JIM, DEE YOUR BACK!!!” We turned and saw our Jell-O lady from the day before waving at us. Pam said “Holewy!! You 2 come here offen?” to which we answered “Nope just yesterday”. We bought a round of Jell-O Shooters for Pam, her husband and the 2 of us and watching Pam laugh till she was in tears while her husband tried to swallow the Jell-O was so worth it. She was yelling at him to “SWALLWO DAT JELL-WO HONEY” before looking at the Dee and I and shouting through the laughter “PAYBACK IS A B***H” and she laughed and laughed and laughed as did we. When the Benefits part of the Shooter started for her husband Pam’s laughter went to another level and by this time Dee and I were having trouble breathing from laughing so hard for so long. The look on her husband’s face was priceless and we wished we could have bottled the sounds of Pam’s laughter and then it was Pam’s turn. Pam had no trouble with her Jell-O and when the Jell-O lady reached around and grabbed Pam’s Girls the look of shock on her face had us and those sitting around us falling out of our chairs. The Jell-O lady spent a little longer visiting the Girls than normal and only pulled back because she was laughing too hard when Pam screamed “I ****** WUV DIS LADY AND I DON”T EVEN WIKE JELL-WO.” We along with everyone around us busted up laughing.

 

Dee and I did 2 Jell-O Shots each with not near as much fanfare as Pam and her husband and then our Jell-O Girl spent the next little while visiting with the 4 of us before we said our ‘Good-Byes’ to her and she made her way on to another Table. The stories, laughter and drinks continued on until 12:30pm Ship Time when Pam’s husband rounded the 2 boys up and they all headed down to the Beach to get a Water Taxi. She did tell that ‘we better hurry up so we don’t miss the Ship and that they would see us in the Casino later’ and we said would be right behind them and would see them later.

 

The realization set in that we wouldn’t be making it to the Hard Rock Café to get my daughter the proper Signature Bear but I did know that one of the guys who works for me would be doing a 2-week vacation in Cabo in March ’12 and he had already offered to stop by the Hard Rock and pick the Bear up for us if we weren’t able to do so which meant we weren’t overly concerned about it. Unfortunately he got ‘Tequilaswayed’ when he was there too so now another friend has volunteered to do our Shopping for us this Fall. Conclusion #590: We just may have to take another Cruise to Cabo.

We ordered a couple of ‘Roadies’ and then now shirtless John, with music blaring and a boat-full of 20-somethings, arrived back at exactly 12:45 Ship Time, so we paid our Bill, headed down to the Beach and hopped in. Once back at the Marina we gave John some money and made our way leisurely down the Pier towards the Tender Dock. Conclusion #591: What a difference a day makes.

 

Onboard at exactly 1:30 we headed up to the Cabin, showered, changed, mixed a drink and headed out onto the Balcony to enjoy Sail-Away. There were Parasailers and Jet-Skiers abound so we snapped some pictures...

 

 

 

 

 

.....and before we knew it we were saying ‘Until next time’ to Cabo San Lucas....

 

 

 

....and of course we decided not to open the Dom Perignon again. We finished our drinks, grabbed our Invitations and made our way down to the Versailles Lounge for the Past Guest Party which would be the start of a very interesting afternoon, evening and night.

[vanislandcruisers]

More Pics

 

 

 

 

The RIU Resort

 

 

Carnival Splendor

 

 

[vanislandcruisers]

 

 

 

[vanislandcruisers]

After reading about your Cabo adventures. I can't wait to see what trouble we are going to get in Key West.

 

Can't Wait!!!!...not to mention this January in NOLA, Cozumel, MoBay and GC to practice up!!!!

 

The last time I was in Key West with you' date=' I was appalled at your shocking antics!!!! :eek::eek::eek:[/quote']

 

Can't wait!!!!....Do-Over since we weren't there last time

[jrwadman]

We've done this itinerary twice, and had a blast both times. The Spirit is a fantastic ship. I see you had cabin 7300. We have the same room on the Miracle next year. Glad to see you liked it. Our friend had one of the wraps last time on the Spirit, and if we could spare the extra money, we would certainly do so.

[Margarita Mom]

The last time I was in Key West with you' date=' I was appalled at your shocking antics!!!! :eek::eek::eek:[/quote']

 

What happens in Key West stays in Key West. Did you get off the ship that day??

[vanislandcruisers]

When we arrived at the Versailles Lounge there was a line of Past Guests handing their PGP Invitations over to our Cruise Director, Stuart Dunn and the fellow from the Future Cruise Desk who, when he saw my Montreal Canadiens lanyard looked up and remembered us from the 3-day Cruise, for both entrance and a FREE Steakhouse Dinner for 2 Draw. We then made our way into the Lounge and found some seats. A Soloist, with an outstanding singing voice, was singing to music supplied by ‘The Big Band’.

 

As luck would have it one of the Drink Waiters working our Section was one we had come to know very well in the Casino and he very quickly made his way over to us and asked “Miss Dee, Mr Jim!!! So nice to see you here!!! What would you like? White Wine, Red Wine, Screwdriver, Whiskey Sour?” to which we answered “Yes.” He laughed and said “Yes I should know”. I went with a Screwdriver and Dee went with a White Wine and then I gave him $5 and asked him to come see us regularly. He said “Mr Jim you do not have to this” and I smiled and said “We know we don’t but we just wanted to let you know we appreciate the outstanding Service you have given us in the Casino and GREAT Service we just know you will give us today.” He smiled Back, gave the 2 of us a wink and then asked if we ‘wanted a round of our Normal Drinks on his next trip out’ and I said ‘Yes’ while Dee said she ‘would be fine sticking with the White Wine’ before adding “See we are already getting that GREAT Service from you” as we watched he and his tray disappear. He appeared soon after with 2 single Crown and Cokes for me and 2 Glasses of Wine for Dee.

 

We enjoyed several samplings of hors d’ouevres and took full advantage of the FREE Drinks. The $5 investment we made in our Drink Waiter paid off handsomely as he did indeed visit us often to the point that when the Party was closing down a couple sitting in the same row as us asked for the last the 2 drinks off his tray and he apologized and said “Sorry they have been ordered by these passengers” and gave us the last glass of Wine and the last Screwdriver.

 

This was our 7th cruise together and we believe this was the first Past Guest Party we have attended and that may come as a surprise based on the FREE Drinks angle and our corresponding relationship with liquid refreshments but our attendance in this case and non-attendance during the others probably has more to do with the timing of the Parties than our desire to ‘hydrate’ for free. In this case the Party was shortly after we got back on the Ship so we didn’t really have a chance to get involved in doing something else. This is one of the reasons why Dee and I would never do ‘Anytime Dining’; we really love the Main Dining Rooms but have a feeling that if we didn’t have a set time to go we probably wouldn’t make it 9 times out of 10 just because we’d be having a good time somewhere and wouldn’t have the get up and go to get up and go; it would be far too easy for us to procrastinate to the point where we would miss the Dining Room hours. Our nightly meal in the Dining Room aside we are probably the ideal Carnival customer from a business plan point of view; we don’t eat a lot saving them money on one side while we ‘liquid’ate our Savings into Carnival Earnings constantly earning them money on the other side.

 

At the end of the Party we did talk about the fact that it wasn’t what we were expecting based on what we had read about in the past. There wasn’t a film showing all the ships nor was there an opportunity to cheer for Ships we had been on in the past. Stu spoke about the upcoming move of the Carnival Spirit to his homeland of Australia and understandably he is very excited about that, they had a few songs where the passengers could dance, we listened to the Soloist and the Captain and a few of the other Staff were introduced, they did the draw and then we were on our way.

 

We headed back to our ‘Home away from Home’ on this Cruise; the Louis XIV Casino and grabbed a non-gambling table fairly close to the Bar. We ordered a couple of drinks and were soon joined by Stacia & Kevin and Mike & Jackie, both couples having also just attended the PGP. Shortly thereafter the Man from California and his wife showed up and they had taken full advantage of the Free Drinks at the PGP. The Man from California’s wife sat beside Dee and I and told us that ‘she never drinks’. Conclusion #592: Never say “never”. She went on to tell us that she had a “couple Whiskey Hours and 2 glasses of wine and I think I am knockered”. She was very much showing the effects of both ‘Hours’ and she was very much knockered. Her husband corrected her with regards to the ‘Hours vs ‘Sours’ and that did nothing to sour her next hour….. or the next few hours for that matter. Like a duck taking to water she jumped right on the hydrating train like it was the last ride out of town and based on the fact that we saw neither of them the entire next day it very well may have been the last train.

 

We spent the next 4 hours sitting in the Casino Bar swapping stories and the first 3 hours were a good time. The Man from California certainly took full advantage of the fact that his wife was knockered and had 3 heavy Martini Hours and proudly wore each hour in various wet spots on his Blazer. By about 6:30pm he was getting loud and sloppy to the point that he was attracting attention from other passengers and to a certain extent some Carnival Staff Members. We consider ourselves fairly skilled at holding our liquor - we carry it each hand so as to stay balanced – but the rate at which he was going through the Martinis was a concern. If this was a Martini Tasting he wasn’t taking the time to taste the Martinis. The fact that his ‘conscience was sitting beside him knockered’ which in essence gave him a Free Pass or a in essence a Liquor License certainly contributed to the situation and that attention he was bringing to himself was by association painting us with the same olive adorned stir stick so after getting in the middle of him and another elderly gentleman who were ready to really ‘put their cards on the Table in the Casino’ we said out loud ‘it was time to head up to the Cabin to relax for a bit and then get ready for Dinner’ and the 6 of us ALL suggested that the Californians do the same to which we heard “I FINK WE SOOD DO TAT TROO” and proceeded to do an arm-in-arm, leaning against each other, knockered walk across the Casino. Conclusion #593: FEE YOU WAITER ALWRIGATOR was a look into our very near future. With California now separated from the rest of the Group we spent the next hour winding down a little before eventually heading up to Cabin.

 

Once at our Cabin we got changed for Dinner before heading directly down to the Empire Restaurant and over to our Booth where we were greeted by our Dining Room Team and a very frosty Double Crown and Coke in a Tall Glass with Lots of Ice. Once we received our Menus to look at Dee gave our Head Waiter a ‘Cruising the Vineyards’ ticket stub and selected her Bottle of White Wine for the night. When he returned he poured us each a Glass and then we went about ordering. For her Appetizer Dee selected the Spinach and Artichoke Dip while I went with the Lobster Bisque. For our Main course Dee got ‘Ta-Ta’d’ again by our Head Waiter when she tried to order the Bacon Mac’n Cheese and was told that it ‘Was for kids’ Conclusion #594: And here we thought Trix were for kids. She relented and ordered the Chateaubriand with Sauce Béarnaise. To be honest she was a little disappointed that she got “Ta-Ta’d again by the Head Waiter saying to me after he left that she was really looking forward to the Baco Mac ’n Cheese’. I said “Let’s get him back and get you what you want” but she said ‘no don’t bother. I’ve got my wine so I’m good” so we left it at that.

 

The next thing we heard was all hell breaking loose at the Maître ’D Station. We could hear a man screaming something to the effect of “HOW DARE YOU ******* TREAT US LIKE THIS. TTHIS IS COMPLETELY UNACCEPTABLE. I DEMAND AN APOLOGY. I DEMAND TO SPEAK TO THE ******* MAITRE’D AND THE *******CAPTAIN. DO YOU KNOW WHO WE ARE??? I HAVE A FRIEND WHO IS A******* CARNIVAL EXECUTIVE AND I WILL BE REPORTING YOU AND THIS INSULT TO HIM. THIS IS ******* B******T. HOW DARE YOU GIVE OUR ******* TABLE AWAY AND TREAT US LIKE THIS” hearing the commotion Prasad, the Maitre’D, arrived back at his Station to rescue his Assistant and deal with these passengers. Dee looked at me and said “Aren’t you glad we are not sitting with those people?” I said “Absolutely” before curiosity got the best of me and I leaned to my right a little so I could see who “those people” were and what was happening at the Maitre’D Station. As soon as I saw the husband and wife I abruptly moved completely back into the Booth before any eye contact was made and may have even slid a little further into the Booth and encouraged Dee to do the same. “NO” Dee said before I laughed and said “Yep the Whiskey Hour continues.”

 

For a brief - Conclusion #595: ‘brief’ is not the right word; need a word to describe the time between brief and it never happened – moment we considered asking them to join us to help diffuse the situation. That less than brief moment of insanity behind us we peeked around the corner of the Booth to watch as the Maître ’D, the Man from California and Mrs. Knockered California 2011 walked from the Station towards the other side of the Dining Room. The silence was nice and you could feel everyone around us relax however the respite was short-lived as the loudness returned as, from our view from the floor underneath our Table, we could see the Man from California, Mrs California Knockered 2011 and the Prasad come walking back to the Maître ’D Station. Dee and I reached up onto our Table and brought our Appetizers and a couple of pieces of cutlery down on the floor with us. ‘Hope they didn’t see our hands?’ It turns out that the Californians’ Tablemates had told their Dining Room Staff the previous night that they would be going to the Steakhouse on this evening. The Wait Staff took that to mean the 4 of them were going to the Steakhouse making their 4-Top Table available for ATD (Any Time Dining). Simple mistake we thought and not something to get all bent out of shape about. Prasad was apologizing to the Man from California and at the same time reassuring him that he would find them a suitable Table for 2. They started to head towards the Stairs to head up to the 2nd level of the Dining Room and just as they hit the bottom stair the Man from California spun around to say something to his wife, saw us and the next thing we heard was a “WE’LL SIT THERE!!!! THEY ARE OUR FRIENDS” and when we looked up we saw a Martini stirring finger pointing directly at us just in case anyone at the Tables nearby were wondering who their friends were.

 

Prasad looked at us asked us ‘if that was OK?’ and after hearing the Man from California answer Prasad’s question for us with a very resounding “WHY WOULDN”T IT BE!!!” and then being instructed by the Man from California to stand up so the 2 of them could slide into the Inner Seats of the Booth, him on my side and his wife on Dee’s side, we realized the decision had been made. Conclusion #596: Oh and Man from California that’s not your bread….that’s what I am going to dip into my Lobster Bis…..Oh maybe I can order another piece of bread. Oh and we see you wanted a glass of wine too…oh and so does your wife.

 

I pretended to have to go to the Washroom and went past the Maître ’D’s Station to the Entrance to the Dining Room, where I was out of both sight and ear shot of our Booth, stopped, turned around and looked at Prasad. He came over immediately and I explained that ‘first and foremost the use of the word “friends” is a little premature as we just met these people for the first time 3 nights earlier in the Casino’ and added that ‘we hope that the Man from California’s actions this evening were a reflection of being “over served” today and not a true indication of how he normally treats the Staff.’ I told Prasad that ‘we would take one for the Team this evening’ and that ‘if there was any other trouble we’d do what we could to get the them out of there.’ He smiled and ‘thanked’ me and said he ‘owed us one’.

 

Back to the Booth I went for what I just knew would be a nice relaxing Dinner Service.:rolleyes: The Californians told us to go ahead and finish our Appetizers so I finished up a dipless Lobster Bisque – it was GREAT – and Dee had a few more Chips and Dip while the Californians enjoyed a Glass of White Wine. We could see that Prasad immediately went and spoke with our Head Waiter and shortly thereafter the Head Waiter brought 2 Menus to our Table and gave them to our ‘Guests’ - Conclusion #597: Please don’t order the Bacon Mac ’n Cheese. – while they cleared off our Appetizer dishes and cutlery. After ordering the Man from California was reaching/leaning/falling over to give his Menu back to the Waiter and his elbow made direct contact with my Double Crown and Coke in a Tall Glass with Lots of Ice and the entire white Table Cloth took on more of a rust colour. Our Head Waiter was not exactly doing cartwheels at this turn of events and waved his Assistant away to get a replacement Table Cloth which they placed over the rusty one all the while we could feel the watchful eye of Prasad following the goings-on. Against our insisting ‘it wasn’t necessary’ the Man from California told our Head Waiter to send over the Drink Waiter ASAP so he could replace my drink. Conclusion #598: Please be busy! Please be busy! Please be busy! For the first time in 7 Cruises together we were sad to see a Drink Waiter standing in front of us and were even sadder when the first order our Drink Waiter heard was a very slurred “Martiwi” with an added “and crum brack and sree us agrain and agrain.” Mrs. California Knockered 2011, who was actually doing a very good job of remaining upbeat and upright asked Dee ‘what that drink was she always has in the Casino?’ Dee answered that it was either the BBC or the Cruiser and after discussing what was in each of the drinks they both ordered Cruisers while I ordered the ‘Replacement.’

 

The next 45 minutes went fairly well with the 4 of us enjoying our Main Courses even getting a discreet thumbs-up from Prasad, until unfortunately a point while we were waiting for the Dessert Menus. The Man from California had neither food on his plate nor liquid in his ‘Martiwi’ glass to occupy his time and attention so he began to become agitated all over again. It got to the point, despite our efforts to calm him down, that he was so worked up that he began to cough and snort to the point that he reached down and grabbed the edge of the ‘new’ Tablecloth and much to the horror of myself, Dee and the lady sitting at the Table for 2 just to his left behind the wood and glass-topped partition he blew his nose into the Tablecloth. I just threw up my arms and immediately called him by name and said “let’s you and I get out of here and go have a smoke somewhere.” Mrs. California Knockered 2011 in her infinite wisdom seconded that with a suggestion that “You boys go to the Casino and Dee and I will meet you there after Dessert. Conclusion #597: But Dee and I like the Casino and the Staff there. I looked at Dee and I am sure she could read my mind that my preferred destination would have been an outside deck with a railing, preferably a lower one (and of course I am talking about the Deck and not the railing;):D), but the boys’ destination became cemented in stone when I heard a “Thrat’s a Grood ideara my swreet. Se wroo threre” from beside me so off we went to what I thought could very well be my very last visit to a Carnival Casino.

[vanislandcruisers]

We've done this itinerary twice, and had a blast both times. The Spirit is a fantastic ship. I see you had cabin 7300. We have the same room on the Miracle next year. Glad to see you liked it. Our friend had one of the wraps last time on the Spirit, and if we could spare the extra money, we would certainly do so.

 

We really had a GREAT time!!!...We've now been on the Spirit twice ...Extended Balcony 6259 and Aft Extended 7300 and also had an Extended Balcony 6269 on the Miracle last February - in fact there were 5 Cabins from the same Group in a row so we had quite the Extended Balcony....We really loved both ships!!!

 

Hope you enjoy your Miracle cruise!!!

 

We have our 1st Aft Wrap on the Conquest out of NOLA this January...looking forward to it!!!

 

What happens in Key West stays in Key West. Did you get off the ship that day??

 

Has Allen ever got off the Ship???

[4hunters]

lmao! Love the wiskey "hour" versus "sour" story+. :D Perhaps our cruise itineraries will cross someday -- would LOVE to cruise with you two someday.

[CoasterJoe]

Ah, you cant just leave us hanging there! Great review so far.

[Sea Turtle]

No one lives to tell a cruise like you do, Jim! :cool:

[vanislandcruisers]

lmao! Love the wiskey "hour" versus "sour" story+. :D Perhaps our cruise itineraries will cross someday -- would LOVE to cruise with you two someday.

 

That would be awesome if we were on the same Cruise....We've got 1 coming up this January and a B2B in October '13...Join us!!!!

 

Ah, you cant just leave us hanging there! Great review so far.

 

Thanks CoasterJoe...will get more up today

 

No one lives to tell a cruise like you do, Jim! :cool:

 

Thanks Pam!!!...and you do a GREAT job yourself...Can't wait to see you again !!!!

[WeBeCruisin']

What happens in Key West stays in Key West. Did you get off the ship that day??

 

Indeed I did and I saw every second of your scandalous antics at Irish Kevin's. And you even corrupted that sweet little Angie girl. :eek:

[WeBeCruisin']

 

 

Has Allen ever got off the Ship???

 

There have only been two cruises where I didn't make it off the ship.

 

The first was the Southern Crossers on the Victory where my mattress attacked me at 4 a.m. and I was grievously injured.:(

 

The second was on the VD at Sea Miracle trip in February where a vicious nightstand attacked me and seriously injured my foot. It was on one of the pre-cruise nights at the hotel where I was doing my Man From California imitations. :eek:

[WeBeCruisin']

No one lives to tell a cruise like you do, Jim! :cool:

 

I assiduously and vociferously concur! :)

[vanislandcruisers]

The Man from California and I exited the Empire Restaurant and after my suggestion of heading up to Deck 3 and heading to the Coffee Bar was met with a resounding “NRO” I took the lead in a head-down-straight-to-a-stool-at-the Louis XIV-Casino Bar jaunt where we each lit up a smoke and then were greeted by the ‘many, many times’ Bartender with a “Where’s Miss Dee???” and “What can I get you???” My response to her first question was “Dee is just having dessert in the Dining Room with his wife” and that was met with acknowledgment from both the Man from California and the Bartender. My response to the second question of “I think I have had enough to drink for a while and think I’ll just have a Bottle of Water” was met with a stagger backwards and a grab of the heart from the Bartender and a resounding “NRO!!! I WRANT TO BRRY ROU SOME DRINKS” from the Man from California Conclusion #599: ‘Some’ is more than one. So I quickly relented and the next thing I felt was an arm around my shoulder and then the beginning of a one-sided, spit-laced bromance commenced. The Man from California began to tell me how much he ‘liked Dee and I’ and how I ‘had made the Cruise so much more enjoyable for him and his wife’ and how the next time we ‘are in California we have to stay at their place.’ I was certainly appreciative of everything he was ‘spraying’ and felt that a corner had been turned with how the rest of the night was going to go. Our drinks, a Martini for him and a Double Crown and Coke in a Tall Glass with Lots of Ice for myself, arrived and he signed the invoice and pounded the Martini in a couple of swigs, pausing only to take a breath, ordered another round for the both of usI don’t even have the paper off the top of the straw on this drink. – then got off his Stool and headed towards the Washroom. I quickly realized that the corner I thought we had just turned was really just an ‘S-Curve’.

 

Dee and the Mrs. C showed up, having finished a relaxing Dessert and Cappuccino each, just as the 2nd Round of Drinks arrived so when Mrs. C asked me if this was ‘his first drink?’ my answer of ‘if you are only counting this 5-minute segment it is’ was met with one raised eyebrow and a shake of the head. She said that she ‘hates it when he drinks this much’ and we told her in all honesty that we ‘probably aren’t the best people to be hanging around with if that is the case.’ She said “But you guys are so much fun” and since Mr. C hadn’t returned as of yet she asked the Bartender of many, many servings to add 2 Cruisers to the last round. When Mr. C returned he signed for the 4 drinks we all grabbed a seat at the same tables we had spent the afternoon around and soon after were joined by Stacia & Kevin, Sean & Danielle and Mike & Jackie.

 

We actually had an uneventful next 3 ½ hrs with the 10 of us splitting time between the Party Tables, the Blackjack Tables and the Slot Machines. We spent quite a bit of time speaking with Doug, who is the Soloist in the Louis XIV Casino and has been so for years, as he was born and raised on Vancouver Island; when we told him the names of the place we lived in and the one we worked he had a story for each. We really enjoyed him on both of our Spirit cruises. While playing BJ Dee and I started a Winning Streak that would continue until the end of the Final night.

 

The Man from California turned off his Martini filtering system about 1:00am and after saying they would ‘see all of us tomorrow because it’s the last day and we will really tear it up” he and his Mrs. repeated their arm-in-arm, leaning against each other, knockered walk across the Casino into the Neon Sunset. We packed it in about 2:30am and once in the Cabin we met our 4th Towel Animal.

 

 

And how appropriate as it seemed like there had been an Elephant in each room we had been in on the Ship that day the only difference being no one was talking about the Elephant in this Room

 

I decided to check our Folio Balance for the 1st time since we embarked to see what the damages were and was confused by all the “$2.00 charges in the Louis XIV Casino on Dee’s Folio Number. When I asked her ‘what they were’ she looked at the TV Screen and said “those were from the Tips I was adding to my FREE Drinks” and before I had a chance to say anything she added “and look how little time there was between each of the $2.00 charges” Conclusion #600: To Insure Prompt Service. Somewhere in the Crew Quarters there was a Drink Waiter lying in his bed giggling after a few days of some $20/hour Shifts.

 

We both realized that we had lots of ‘Beer, Tequila, Rum, Vodka, Wine and Whiskey’ Hours during this day and were both knockered so we went to bed. As we put our heads on the pillow we could swear we could hear a very faint “GROOD NRIGHT DREE AND JRIM”

[vanislandcruisers]

A Cop, a Song, a Table and Winning

 

I woke up about 8:30am feeling surprisingly refreshed and jumped in the Shower. Once ready I woke Dee up and asked her if she was ready to’ tear it up’. The pillow to my face suggested that she needed a few more minutes of shut-eye. I tend to snore, just a little, when I have been drinking and apparently the previous few nights had been somewhat of a perfect storm. Undeterred I headed down to the Coffee Shop and got Dee a Latte, then went to the Lido to get some Orange Juice on Ice and after returning to the Cabin Dee was already in the Shower so I popped open the bottle of Sparkling Wine and made a couple Mimosas.

 

I headed out on the Balcony to see that the Pacific was a little choppy and even though we were in an Aft Cabin I could feel quite a bit of breeze. I quickly covered one ear and the wind died down. Dee came out on the Balcony and I handed her the Latte and told her that I had already made her a Mimosa. She gunned her Latte and we sat on the Balcony and had our Mimosas and a smoke; it was a perfect way to start our last day. We also made a plan to get our packing done earlier in the day as on previous cruises we have run into some poor packing due to being in poor shape. Conclusion #601: Too much pouring.

 

We headed up to the Lido Deck and grabbed a couple of made to order omelets, some bacon, sausages and hash browns and then headed Aft to try and squeeze as much sun out of the morning as we could. Once there we found a couple of loungers and a small table. All that was missing was Bucket, some Ice and 4 Beer; an oversight we corrected as soon as we saw a young man wearing blue shorts and a blue Golf Shirt who was carrying a tray.

 

There were a couple of Group Scavenger hunts going on that brought back memories of our 2nd Carnival Splendor Cruise; one in particular when a fellow at the very back of the Deck was a very good Sport and ended up putting on a ladies Bathing Suit complete with the Cover-Up.

 

Smart Man....put on the Cover-Up first....

 

 

and Not backwards this time

 

 

It was very warm when the sun was visible....

 

 

but when it got behind a cloud bank you could certainly differentiate between us Northerners and the Southerners as they broke out the Sweaters, Hoodies, Sweat Pants and Carnival Robes. We spent about 3 hours or 3 Buckets if we were keeping time that way laying out in the Sun before we decided to call it a morning and head to the Empire Restaurant for lunch and more importantly to see Alongkot and Edward.

 

We stopped at the Photo Gallery and picked up our Welcome to Cabo San Lucas Picture from our 1st Day there as well as the one with the Mexican lady from Day 2 which was dated and did say Cabo San Lucas on it. When we got to the Restaurant the Assistant Maitre’D laughed when she saw us and asked if we “would be dining alone or would our ‘friends’ be joining us?” We laughed and told her we “didn’t have any real friends; just imaginary ones” and then she ‘Thanked’ us for the night before and said we could sit wherever we wanted to. We asked her what Section Edward and Alongkot were working in and soon enough we were being escorted their way.

 

Before Edward and Alongkot even made it to our Table we were greeted by the Drink Waitress and told that our drinks would be compliments of the Maitre ’D either now or at this evening’s Dinner’ and that ‘it was our choice’. Conclusion #602: Nice!!! but what about our friends??? I asked her ‘if the $2.00 off per shot was in effect during Lunch’ and she said ‘it wasn’t’. We decided to have our drinks now just in case we didn’t feel like drinking later on Conclusion #603: That’s our story.

 

We ordered our drinks and then Edward and Alongkot both showed up and since it wasn’t too, too busy they visited with us for several minutes. They were both giddy with excitement knowing that they would both be going home the next day. They were back and forth to our Table and Edward, who was the Assistant, was having so much trouble concentrating on the job at hand that at one point he was just chatting away with us and the next thing we saw was Alongkot, the Head Waiter, struggling with a Tray of food that was stacked sky-high. Edward looked at him decided he was fine and once Alongkot had managed to get the Tray safely on the Stand he said “I better go help him.”

 

We both enjoyed a lunch consisting of a Soup and a Sandwich and especially enjoyed the FREE Drinks. Had there been another day to the Cruise we may very well have invited the Man from California and his wife to dine with us that night in order to cut our Alcohol costs the next day. With our lunch done Edward spent some more time visiting with us. We exchanged emails and facebook info and were chatting until he looked at a 10-Top just across from us and realized those passengers had been waiting for quite a while for Service. “Crap!” he said, “Those are my people” and gave us each a hug and off he went. We said our "Good-byes" to Alongkot and gave him our email address and he gave us his and with a hug for each of us we were off. They are truly 2 very good guys.

[hockeyluver]

Just wanted to say "I am loving your review!!! " After being up till 2am reading it, and then finishing it off on this lovely rainy day, I want to thank you.

 

oh and Dee GO WINGS GO!!! Living across the river from Detroit, there is no better team to cheer for :D