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

[jenseib]

 

 

 

 

 

[jenseib]

These guys are so incredibly talented and funny too.

 

 

 

 

You want me to get on that???

 

 

 

[jenseib]

 

 

 

 

 

[jenseib]

 

 

 

If you sit along the edge, be prepared for some interaction.

 

 

 

[jenseib]

 

 

 

 

And now on to the crazy stuff.

 

 

[jenseib]

 

 

 

 

 

[jenseib]

 

 

 

 

 

[jenseib]

 

 

 

 

 

My neck hurts every time I see this.

 

[jenseib]

 

They are such great performers. After they were done they came and retrieved the clothing they had stripped off and I heard the dark hair guy tell the lady “thanks for being a good sport”.

 

 

 

 

[MilliesMom]

Enjoying your review and the photos. Really nice. Thank you for taking the time to give such detail to your review.

[Homosassa]

Was the liquor in the shot glass at the end of the wine tasting lemony in flavor? If so, it was probably limoncello. The limoncello is a holdover from Sitmar (a cruiseline bought out buy Princess in the 80's) along with the great pizza and fettuccine Alfredo.

[chictravel227]

Yeah, I had forgotten the nightmare that was Hector. I did not think he had a good voice and really wanted him to stop after the first few missed notes. Then, the fact that we felt we had to applaud, and wait for him to finish, when we just wanted to get out of there. Not our cup of tea either and it was the last time we dined in that dining room.

 

I am thoroughly enjoying reading both this review and your one on the Disney cruise! Thank you for taking the time and energy to share.

[jenseib]

Enjoying your review and the photos. Really nice. Thank you for taking the time to give such detail to your review.

 

Thanks

 

Was the liquor in the shot glass at the end of the wine tasting lemony in flavor? If so, it was probably limoncello. The limoncello is a holdover from Sitmar (a cruiseline bought out buy Princess in the 80's) along with the great pizza and fettuccine Alfredo.

 

 

No I don't think it was as I have had limoncello before and I this was something I had never tasted before. Though I can't remember the taste anymore. I should've taken notes.

[jenseib]

Yeah, I had forgotten the nightmare that was Hector. I did not think he had a good voice and really wanted him to stop after the first few missed notes. Then, the fact that we felt we had to applaud, and wait for him to finish, when we just wanted to get out of there. Not our cup of tea either and it was the last time we dined in that dining room.

 

I am thoroughly enjoying reading both this review and your one on the Disney cruise! Thank you for taking the time and energy to share.

 

 

You totally crack me up. My Mom mutter some words along the same line. I didn't mind him but they kept saying at the end of the tasting we were in for a treat. It really wasn't one for me so much. Mom wanted to leave and wasn't too happy that we had to stay (or look foolish being the only ones walking out) and then clap. I thought he was fine but not fabulous.

[jenseib]

It was now time to head for the last show of the evening. It was going to be a Magician who was on Americas got Talent (I think that is the show he was on at least).

We found seats but it was a little harder tonight as the place was really filling up. I think because many people had been on a few back to backs on this cruise and this show was different, many came.

Landon came out and Oh my Word!!! He looks like a mixture of my son and my Ex husband. It was really weird how much he looked like them.

He had darker hair like my son, but had more looks like my ex. ….though my son looks A LOT like his dad.

His magic was more showy than good. It wasn’t bad, and some things I couldn’t even begin to figure out how he did, but he did a lot of showy stuff with it and in my opinion it took up time and we didn’t see many actual tricks.

His first trick went wrong too. The dog was supposed to appear when the cape was taken off the cage. Instead we saw hands pushing a dog up and the dog wouldn’t stay. The 2nd time the dog was there. But he joked about it not working later in the show and the girl was actually supposed to be in the cage the 2nd time.

The girl was his wife I believe…or at least his girlfriend and she was featured in the show quite a bit…and we were not impressed with her at all.

This was kind of a comedy joke where he did some deductions and told a person this was their baby picture…..of course the baby looks unisex so it could be anyone and it was made more like a joke than something amazing. It was kind of funny.

He brought up an audience member and told him to pick a number…any number out of the phone book and circle it. This was so hilarious. This guy did NOT understand what to do at all. He just kept standing there and he kept telling him what to do and he would give them the deer in the headlights look.

[jenseib]

He had to explain it over and over and we were laughing so hard, but finally the guy got it.

Now he is going to figure out the number.

And yes he had the exact number….how the heck he did this I have no clue.

Then the wife sang and he went around doing some showy tricks in the dark.

Sadly she wasn’t any better than the singers from the shows.

[jenseib]

And of course he is going to make her float.

Another guy was brought up on stage and I believe he had given him some money to put in the envelope.

I think he lit the envelope on fire and then cut open an orange and the money was now in there.

[jenseib]

This part was also a bit showy….

We didn’t see what was so amazing about this one as the girl was behind the paper the whole time…at our angle we could see parts of her.

He then picked a lady out of the crowd and I think she had to think of a number and then he went to work writing numbers on his paper. I believe she had to write her number on a small piece of paper and hold on to it.

Not only did he guess her number but every number he put in a list would add up to that number every which way. It was pretty amazing.

She kept asking him how the heck he did that.

That was the last bit and it was crowded so we slowly made our way out of the theatre. We happened to be walking next to the lady who had been asked the number so I asked her if she was in on it and she said no. She was totally shocked and she said she was so nervous when he picked her. She was quite befuddled so she was either a good actress or she really was telling the truth. Mom and I were trying to figure out how he had guessed it. We wondered if there was some sort of camera on her that could see the number and then he was told?

I do love Magic and I love to try and figure out how it is done, though many times I have no clue. This was a pretty good show. Not the best magician but still good and fun. I just wish there was more magic and less of the showy stuff like his wife singing and dancing around in between things.

Mom was tired and was mostly packed. She didn’t have enough room in her suitcase so I told her I would put some stuff in mine since I brought 2 big ones. Well she had packed some during the day and I found out she put all her shoes in mine and it was the one I had already packed full and heavier. I had wanted her to put them in the other one….and then she had put them in the outside zipped pocket which made it front heavy. I was going to rearrange them but it was still underweight…..I REALLY wish I would have.

I finished my packing and we put our cases out in the hall to be picked up.

It was so sad that we had to head home tomorrow but we knew our families were probably missing us.

Mom went to bed but I wasn’t tired.

I took my laptop up top and logged in online. I still had quite a bit of my free internet minutes unused so I started to chat with 2 of my co-workers. They filled me in on things going on and I told them about the cruise. As I was chatting with them some more people came up top and we all started talking so I logged off and we all chatted about different things…what we did on the cruise, people we met….and things about home life, etc. I had a nice time talking to several different people that night. It was getting late, but I still wasn’t that tired…and I had internet minutes to use.

The internet was really slow tonight and spotty. I moved to a few different tables to try and pick it up.

I decide to go see the Movie Under the Stars. It was Maleficent which Mom and I had just watched a few days ago but I didn’t mind watching it again. There were quite a few people over there watching tonight. I took a seat and tried to get online but it wasn’t a good spot to pick up much. After watching a bit I moved again and got online one final time and chatted again with my friends and answered some emails.

I was sure we were going up the Florida cost. I could see lights off in the distance and it was so neat to see that hue as we sailed along.

When I was sure I was close to using almost all my minutes I went back to the room to go to bed. I really did not want this trip to end. Yes I missed my husband and Claire and I was excited to soon be meeting my new granddaughter, but it was just so nice not having to worry about anyone else but myself.

It didn’t take too long and I was out like a light. I knew I should’ve went to bed earlier as I knew tomorrow was going to be a long day, but I just couldn’t.

[lynwar]

I always hate to end a cruise. I'm usually "wired" the final night because I know we'll be in port the next morning. More often than not, I'm up to 1-1:30 and force myself to try to rest for a few hours. However, I only half sleep because I know that the coastline lights will be approached soon and the ship's engine will slow its speed. I get up between 4AM-5:00AM and get dressed really quickly, take my camera and head up to the Horizon Court for a cup of coffee. Nobody is there that early, except for a few early birds like myself who head up to the top deck-to watch us the final maneuverings before heading in. Last time, on the Caribbean Princess, I finally settled on the little putting green that is higher than the bridge, after trying different spots.

 

It was so quiet up there....with just a couple of walkers here and there or a cruiser standing at the rail. The pool guy was working on the Sanctuary pool. Then, the flags were hoisted. They go in a certain order and signify different countries and things but I don't remember the formula right now. Finally, the pilot boat came out.. the ship had swung around to face the port by this time and then we just ever so slowly started the trip in. The ship was idling, while waiting for the pilot.

 

The airplanes started their morning flights as the ascended, one by one. The port started to come alive as we glided in... more lights of the city....power grid noises... a train whistle.. and once at the white building, it was almost daylight ... It was and usually always, interesting to witness the ship turning around and backing into its "parking spot". We went in straight, last time, though.

 

So, I'll leave you with that image, while I go to the webcam for today's departures. And, by the way, it's between 75-80 here today and the house is opened up again, as if it were summer!!! Your turn will come!! :)

 

See you later. Lynne

[jenseib]

I always hate to end a cruise. I'm usually "wired" the final night because I know we'll be in port the next morning. More often than not, I'm up to 1-1:30 and force myself to try to rest for a few hours. However, I only half sleep because I know that the coastline lights will be approached soon and the ship's engine will slow its speed. I get up between 4AM-5:00AM and get dressed really quickly, take my camera and head up to the Horizon Court for a cup of coffee. Nobody is there that early, except for a few early birds like myself who head up to the top deck-to watch us the final maneuverings before heading in. Last time, on the Caribbean Princess, I finally settled on the little putting green that is higher than the bridge, after trying different spots.

 

It was so quiet up there....with just a couple of walkers here and there or a cruiser standing at the rail. The pool guy was working on the Sanctuary pool. Then, the flags were hoisted. They go in a certain order and signify different countries and things but I don't remember the formula right now. Finally, the pilot boat came out.. the ship had swung around to face the port by this time and then we just ever so slowly started the trip in. The ship was idling, while waiting for the pilot.

 

The airplanes started their morning flights as the ascended, one by one. The port started to come alive as we glided in... more lights of the city....power grid noises... a train whistle.. and once at the white building, it was almost daylight ... It was and usually always, interesting to witness the ship turning around and backing into its "parking spot". We went in straight, last time, though.

 

So, I'll leave you with that image, while I go to the webcam for today's departures. And, by the way, it's between 75-80 here today and the house is opened up again, as if it were summer!!! Your turn will come!! :)

 

See you later. Lynne

 

I totally understand that and can envision it all. I am an early riser too and love the morning when it is so quiet.

 

I am so jealous of your weather...It was 7 earlier today when I went out.

[jenseib]

Oct. 4, 2014, Saturday, Day 8.

 

Rise and shine! I got up very early. Sadly our time was coming to an end. I headed up top to see where we were at.

 

 

I believe we were just docking then.

 

 

 

Another ship coming in as well.

 

 

 

[jenseib]

 

 

 

 

 

 

I had a seat and relaxed for a bit. M had come up there too and we chatted. I hadn’t seen her the last few days so we caught up a bit. I asked her about Princess’ disembarkation process and told her the number that we had been assigned. I was hoping since we had a late flight that we could just hang on the ship and be one of the last to walk off. She told me no, they are pretty strict on how it works and unless you request to walk yourself off with luggage you have to go with the assigned time. I wasn’t too happy with that. We were assigned a fairly early time. At least much earlier than I wanted to get off.

M offered to take Mom and I to her house to wait for our flight. It was a generous offer but there was no way I was going to impose….and I also know Mom would never do it either.

Another plus for Disney…..I have always just gotten off when I wanted to and one time I waited till they said all passengers had to be off before I left.

[jenseib]

We said our goodbyes and I headed back to the cabin to finish getting ready for the day and then once we had everything we went the Carib Café to get some breakfast.

 

 

A view of our morning.

 

 

After lingering over breakfast we headed to the Piazza to just sit and wait till it was time to get off the ship.

 

 

 

I can’t believe I had never even gone in here the whole time to check it out and take pictures.

 

 

[jenseib]

 

We sat for quite some time. Mom had turned her phone on and there were several messages from my Dad. “Why aren’t you calling me”…”You said you would call”…”I called Verizon and they said you could make calls from the ship, why haven’t you called.” Then there were texts from my sister to both of us. “Dad wants you to call him. He says mom told him she would call him every day and he hasn’t heard from you since you got on the ship”.

 

We just busted out laughing. First off I heard Mom tell him on more than one occasion she would not be calling him from the ship. I told him we couldn’t call as well. And her last call to him before we set sail she also told him she wouldn’t be talking to him till we got back. As for making calls from the ship…sure you can…for an expensive price.

Mom called Dad and he was so worried something had happened. We just kept laughing and she went on to tell him once again that her phone was turned off and that she had told him over and over she wouldn’t be calling. Crazy guy.

 

I called home as well….I wasn’t missed so much. LOL! Yes they did miss me, but they weren’t gushing all over me.

 

While I sat I found this paper and took it home with me. I thought it was a cute game and shared it with some friends lately and we tried to figure them all out.

 

 

We did some more people watching….seeing some of our favorite characters leave the ship.

 

 

 

Finally it was time to head to the Island dining room where we checked in and had a seat. We had to wait here to be let off the ship. I guess there was a backup downstairs so we had to wait a bit longer than normal and the next group was already checking into the dining room before we were called to disembark.

 

Finally we did get called and headed out. Again, doing it on Disney is a bit more magical somehow.

 

We headed out but they stopped us at the top of the escalator and told us we had to wait as it was still really crowded downstairs. I guess several custom agents had taken a break and they weren’t caught back up yet.

[jenseib]

After waiting a few minutes they let us go down to find out bags. Mom and I decided to get a Porter. It’s well worth the tip money to get one.

 

We got in line and it moved pretty slowly. I did more people watching because it is just so funny to listen to conversations and watch people who have been together for a week and either are sick of each other or just ready to get home.

 

Once we passed through customs…which was just a breeze…our porter led the way to the Alamo shuttle.

 

 

 

 

 

He dropped our stuff off and told us which shuttle to watch for. Several different car rental shuttles would be coming through. We saw several come and people get on them and then refused and had to get off and unload their bags. I am not sure if it was the wrong shuttle for these people or if they just wanted to try and see if they could use the shuttle verses a taxi.

 

It seemed to take a long time till the Alamo shuttle came. I even walked around a bit and came back.

Finally it arrived and we got boarded and handed off our bags to the lady driver to load them. We sat right up front across from the driver’s seat. I took a picture of it because my friends and I have a joke about driving the bus and I sent it to them and asked if I should jump in the seat.

 

 

Too late, she was already in there.