Hi, I’m Julie McCoy, Your TR Director Review of the CB

[dizlove]

thianks!

[jenseib]

Great picture of your and your mom!

 

Next time you're onboard Princess try their Fettuccine Alfredo appetizer in a Parmesan bowl. You can even eat the Parmesan bowl! I get that most nights unless they have their black and blue onion soup. Your surf and turf looked delicious. For some reason I've never had that on ship. I'll have to remedy that next cruise.

 

I think Mom had that bowl!

 

thianks!

 

:D

[jenseib]

Hi,

You and Mom really look nice in your pictures. It's great to see you all dressed up like that. Looking great!

 

As for those mirrors, we never even thought of "selfies", lol, but if we have some it's by mistake. :D.

 

The champagne pouring event might be more for photo ops than actual pouring. I'm sure many of those ladies could have been very strong with that bottle and wanting to take control!! LOL. Those glasses were probably measured for stability. Just a thought.

 

I just looked at the actual departure date for our next cruise in January 2016! It's on a Sunday, so that probably means I'll have to miss two church services; I'm in the choir. So, I'll give the director fair warning, a year in advance and she can choose more unison music rather than parts. I'm an alto. However, there are more northerners back down here, then, so the section won't be so sparse. Ah, the logistics of cruising!! LOL.

 

Again, super shots! We're attending an open house at the Pastor's house today as part of the holiday festivities, but my mind goes back to the ships and reviews. Ha Ha. I'm continuing to sail with you.

 

Take care. Lynne

 

It's amazing all the things you have to arrange back home just to take some much needed fun time

[lynwar]

Hello,

The Pastor's party and the choir cantata are over. Check. This will be Christmas Sunday and I will be helping to serve communion during the service, and need to find a prayer for that. Then there is a special congregational meeting after church. The next event will be Christmas Eve. Yes, there are many logistics at this time of year.

 

I found the cruise ship departure line-up awhile ago. Drat, I missed "our" ship going out. (CB) I didn't read the list but the bar was across the back and figured it must be going on the 4 day leg. This will be the final weekend before Bert's winter break from his Crooner's gig.

 

I'm loving being along with you. I trust your holiday season is going well.

 

Lynne

[jenseib]

We headed towards the theatre and found seats a few rows back off to the side. We were early, but we just sat and talked. We noticed they were playing a lot of Elton John songs and I mentioned to Mom that I bet the show was going to be themed towards Elton John. That would only make sense as to why they played so many of his songs.

Sure enough when it started the songs were Elton John songs.

Now the costumes were good, the dancing was good, but the singing…UGH! The one guy was just down right awful, the other guy was hit and miss. Some songs he was pretty good and others he was really off. There were also 2 girl singers and the one was just awful. The other girl was pretty good but her voice was just not right for the songs she sang. She was one of those singers who really should only sing a certain type of song. Her voice was very deep and strong and it just didn’t seem to go with the songs. After talking with several other people onboard throughout the cruise we found that this opinion was pretty much the majority and some only went to one show (with many people doing a back to back cruise) and did not return because they just couldn’t handle the bad singing.

These were the 4 singers.

[jenseib]

The gal on the left was the best of the 4. We also wondered if she was pregnant. Some of her outfits looked like she may have a little baby belly going…..but it could’ve just been unflattering outfits that she was wearing.

She doesn’t really look pregnant here but you will see some pictures where her belly does look a little bigger.

[jenseib]

[jenseib]

Those dancers were constantly moving.

[jenseib]

Hello,

The Pastor's party and the choir cantata are over. Check. This will be Christmas Sunday and I will be helping to serve communion during the service, and need to find a prayer for that. Then there is a special congregational meeting after church. The next event will be Christmas Eve. Yes, there are many logistics at this time of year.

 

I found the cruise ship departure line-up awhile ago. Drat, I missed "our" ship going out. (CB) I didn't read the list but the bar was across the back and figured it must be going on the 4 day leg. This will be the final weekend before Bert's winter break from his Crooner's gig.

 

I'm loving being along with you. I trust your holiday season is going well.

 

Lynne

 

 

Yes, it is going well...but I have been so incredibly busy. I am hoping that I can take it a bit slower this weekend. I am just about done with shopping, have a few things to wrap yet, and the school functions are almost done! I have to do some work for a certification and get that sent in so I hope to finish that soon too.

[jenseib]

Continuing with more show pictures.

 

 

This is one of the outfits that I thought made this girl look pregnant.

 

 

 

 

 

[jenseib]

[jenseib]

This gal was my favorite dancer. She was really good and I thought she was so cute.

And with that, the show was over. I think we headed back to the casino for a little bit and both of us played some. I am not a big gambler so I don’t spend very much at all in the slots, but it is fun to push that button and hope to win.

We then called it a night and headed back to the room. Well Mom called it a night. I changed into comfy clothes and headed back up top for a while. I found M up there and a little later the rest of her family came and joined us and we all chatted for a while. We had a good time chatting and a lot of it was again Disney chatter.

As much fun as it was, we all were starting to get tired so we called it a night and headed back to our rooms.

I slept really well this night now that it was a bit cooler in the room.

I really was enjoying the cruise and taking it slower each day than I normally do on vacations.

[lynwar]

Hi,

We only went to one show. There were two Latin looking male dancers who were really good. One looked he could have been one of the singers. I didn't think the blond guy's voice was that great, and one of the female singers had a much stronger voice. I think she was brunette. See how much we paid attention? We were further down front than usual, like on the first tier by the side door to the right-which I think was too close for us. It didn't look as "showy" as farther back to get the more overview look. It was enjoyable, but we're in the casino most nights and miss the shows.

 

Yes, those coins add up in the machines. We were playing the penny slots with the little devil-on the front. If the right combination was pushed then the furnace would open and go around and you could get more times the amount you'd one, like 1x, 2x, up to 5x or, I'm not sure if anyone hit higher than that. It became quite popular by the end of the week. The poker slots back by the wall were unused some nights. No big payouts, I guess. I did return with a bundle of cash last year on the Royal, so there could always be a "next time". lol. ;)

 

Cruises are casual and slow moving for me, usually. They used to be one week of my annual vacation from work-where I could be pampered and not be serving others. (retirement community=activities dept. As much as we talked about getting up early, we seldom made it, except for me on the very last day coming into port.

 

Goodnight for now. I'll be looking forward to your next report. Lynne

[jenseib]

Hi,

We only went to one show. There were two Latin looking male dancers who were really good. One looked he could have been one of the singers. I didn't think the blond guy's voice was that great, and one of the female singers had a much stronger voice. I think she was brunette. See how much we paid attention? We were further down front than usual, like on the first tier by the side door to the right-which I think was too close for us. It didn't look as "showy" as farther back to get the more overview look. It was enjoyable, but we're in the casino most nights and miss the shows.

 

Yes, those coins add up in the machines. We were playing the penny slots with the little devil-on the front. If the right combination was pushed then the furnace would open and go around and you could get more times the amount you'd one, like 1x, 2x, up to 5x or, I'm not sure if anyone hit higher than that. It became quite popular by the end of the week. The poker slots back by the wall were unused some nights. No big payouts, I guess. I did return with a bundle of cash last year on the Royal, so there could always be a "next time". lol. ;)

 

Cruises are casual and slow moving for me, usually. They used to be one week of my annual vacation from work-where I could be pampered and not be serving others. (retirement community=activities dept. As much as we talked about getting up early, we seldom made it, except for me on the very last day coming into port.

 

Goodnight for now. I'll be looking forward to your next report. Lynne

 

We often sat up towards the front to the side as well.

I kept hoping they would get better but they never did. But bad singing on a ship is better than good singing at home on a normal day. ;)

[scubacruiserx2]

You got some great photos from the show , much better than mine ! Can you share your camera settings with your fellow shutterbugs and readers ? Thanks :) :D

[cruiselvr1]

The International Café is in the Piazza and offers all sorts of goodies and desserts. (All included with your cruise fare)

The elevator area looked a little busy so we decided to head forward and see about catching one there.

We made our way through the art gallery.

Um…am I on the right ship? I see Disney paintings.

Both my DW and I have agreed that we would not like being announced coming onboard. We have seen that happen on a TV special on Disney ships.

[jenseib]

You got some great photos from the show , much better than mine ! Can you share your camera settings with your fellow shutterbugs and readers ? Thanks :) :D

 

I would have to look as I shoot mostly in manual but if you click on each picture it brings you to flickr and will give you the info. I do edit in photoshop. I am not super fancy with editing but I do some basic things.

for the shows I usually shoot in 3200 ISO and wide open.

 

Both my DW and I have agreed that we would not like being announced coming onboard. We have seen that happen on a TV special on Disney ships.

 

I know some people don't like it but you don't have to give your real name either. We have given fun fake names before.

[lynwar]

Yes, I remember several Disney paintings, like Mickey, etc. The new ships have less of those "traditional" type ones, and offer newer artists. There was even one on our ship (Royal) last year who demonstrated his painting methods and produced one during the week. I may still have hid name and that of a different chap, if you are interested.

 

I always enjoyed walking through the art gallery on my way to our cabin tucked behind Vines on a couple of recent cruises. And, it was designated "Home Base" by me-as to what side of the piazza/atrium we were on. ;)

 

Lynne

[jenseib]

Yes, I remember several Disney paintings, like Mickey, etc. The new ships have less of those "traditional" type ones, and offer newer artists. There was even one on our ship (Royal) last year who demonstrated his painting methods and produced one during the week. I may still have hid name and that of a different chap, if you are interested.

 

I always enjoyed walking through the art gallery on my way to our cabin tucked behind Vines on a couple of recent cruises. And, it was designated "Home Base" by me-as to what side of the piazza/atrium we were on. ;)

 

Lynne

 

I walked through a few more times and I did notice they would move the paintings around in there too. And then of course after the auction they were gone.

[jenseib]

Oct. 1, 2014, Wednesday Day 5

Costa Maya

As usual, I woke pretty darn early. I got dressed in some comfy shorts and head upstairs to see if we were docking.

Yep.

Now I have mentioned it before, but I will say it again. I am not a fan of Costa Maya at all. It’s not a great port at all and if I were to pick a cruise for ports alone I would avoid any stopping here. Since this cruise just worked out best time wise for me I didn’t worry about the ports we were stopping at. I did warn my Mom that this was not a fabulous port and be prepared to be disappointed.

I also swore the next time I ever did come to Costa Maya I would do an excursion to get me out of the plaza area. They do offer some ruins tours, but they are a few hours away and honestly I just wasn’t excited about sitting on a bus for 3 to 4 hours in one day. Also they were not exactly cheap and this was my 4th trip this year where I flew to a destination. For some that is no big deal, but for me that was a lot of traveling for one year and I was trying to keep it somewhat budget friendly.

So in the end we decided we would just walk around the plaza a bit and then head back to the ship.

I took pictures from the ship…I believe we were still docking at this point.

This is the nearby town.

I have never visited it myself but my friends did last time we were here and they were not impressed at all.

This is the plaza.

[jenseib]

The pools were pretty empty.

This hot tub wasn’t even filled yet for the day.

I was trying for an artsy shot.

[jenseib]

I think that is the sports deck but I don’t think I ever went up to check it out.

The ship had been given the all clear and people were making their way off the ship. I had to laugh how some seemed to be in such a hurry. I hope they had other plans other than just the plaza as I think they will be disappointed.

I think that person was leading the pack.

I saw one person running, which I found kind of comical.

Another shot of the port.

I walked around a bit more.

[jenseib]

I peeked over the side again and saw the tram filling up.

[lynwar]

Nice shots. I liked the "artsy" ones of the pier and ship. We usually walk through the plaza area because we have no idea where to go from there. It seemed to have some different or additional stores in September than the last time we were there. We've been going on the Eastern itinerary.

I would send you some of my photos if I knew how to do it!! We stopped by the little band on the corner area, and sat in a restaurant by Fat Tuesdays. And, I had my picture taken with a couple of "statue people". LOL.

 

I look forward to your escapades very much. Thank you!

 

Merry Christmas!! Lynne

[smeck]

Next time in Costa Maya your should check out Maya Chan an all inclusive beach day. They limit the number of guest to around 50, food excellent and the day very relaxing.