The “He Said”, “She Said” NCL Jewel Garden Villa 11/22/14 Review

[WildcatRock]

So, is this west coast or mountain time????

 

Ha! The Princess took a little longer than anticipated.....I'm posting it now my friend.

[WildcatRock]

Day 5 (Tuesday, November 25): Adventures in Jelly Fish Land, and Judy and Bill Become Professional Cruisers

 

So, today is Belize Day. The last time Cindy and I were here was two years ago when we cruised on the Star. Cindy and I, being the avid snorkelers, signed up for the NCL excursion “Barrier Reef & Island Beach Break”. To join the excursion we had to tender into the port at Belize City and wait for our powered catamaran to show up. We didn’t really walk around the port very much, but I did notice there was a long line for some business. But me being a dude, I didn’t really notice what it was – I found out later though. After a little wait the catamaran showed up and we hopped on board. After roughly 30 minutes puttering out to the barrier reef we hopped in the water. We anchored pretty close to the reef and hopped in. The seas were rough but Cindy and I didn’t care – the sights were awesome. The water was clear, the coral was beautiful, and the fish were plentiful.

 

Cindy’s snorkel gear is the color pink. I love this as, if we’re not snorkeling together, I can pick my head up and look around to see where she is – I’m a big believer in safety and always want to know where my Wifey is when we snorkel. So I love her pink snorkel.

 

We had what seemed like 50 people on this excursion, and all 50 people jumped in when we first arrived at the reef. Over time, as I kept looking to see where wifey was, I noticed that the number of people in the water kept declining. We hadn’t been in the water for more than 15 minutes when I picked my head up and noticed that there were probably only 7 people in the water. I asked one of the excursion employees who was near me in a canoe where everyone was at? His reply was that the water was too rough for them – he actually called them ‘wimps’. I asked how long we had left in the water. He replied that we had 45 minutes to go. Are you freaking kidding me? Wifey, me, and 5 of our now closest friends have the entire, freaking reef to ourselves for 45 minutes? How awesome is that?!? So Wifey and I got 45 minutes of awesome snorkeling in – we didn’t have to worry about getting kicked in the face or groin…pure happiness land. After snorkeling was done we went to the private island for a little while then back to the Star. Awesome freaking day.

 

Here’s when I found out why that one business at the port had such a long line. Wifey and I were walking back to our Aft Suite when a couple who had been on our excursion asked us if we wanted some Vicodin. They had a big bag half full of the happy pills. We quickly said no and hurriedly sprinted down the hallway to our room. I asked Wifey where they got ALL of those pills at? She then told me that the business was a pharmacy and that you can get whatever drug you wanted without a prescription. After the cruise I did some research and found out that ****** is apparently the #1 drug of choice at that pharmacy. ******?? On a cruise?? Huh………..sorry, I lost focus there for a moment.

 

So, we had a wonderful experience on this excursion. As a result, after booking this years’ cruise, we knew we HAD to take Credit and Debit on this excursion. Judy and Bill didn’t know what they wanted to do, but they knew they didn’t want to go snorkeling. Fine, no problem. They were either going to stay on the ship, or go on a land based excursion…………….what did they do…….?

 

He Said:

 

Unlike this excursion two years ago, this year the tender was picking us up AT the ship. Awesome. Our excursion was supposed to head out around 8:00 am so we arose, got our snorkeling attire on (swim trunks, t-shirts, and sandals) and headed to Moderno. No Judy and Bill. The day before, they had decided that they were going to take a tender to the mainland and go on some type of excursion where they got to ride on a train for a couple hours and see the sights. All Cindy and I said was, “that’s awesome, have a great time”. There comes a time when you have to let your children go…..let them have their own experiences……let them try life out on their own. So, we let them go…..we let Judy and Bill wander off….we let them try this new cruise experience….we let them try and figure what a tender was, how to find their excursion….but more importantly….how to get back on the ship. I fully expected though that, later in the day, Florentina would come up to the Villa and tell us that Judy and Bill were in…….. Panama……OMG it just hit me as I type this. Do you remember Mr. Magoo – that lovable cartoon character from the 60’s and early 70’s that was voiced by Jim Bacchus (the actor who played Thurston Howell III on “Gilligan’s Island”)? That’s who Judy and Bill reminded me of on this cruise…Mr. Magoo! They were literally…..Mr. and Mrs. Magoo!!!!! OMG, first I got to use ‘Wonkavator’ on the cruise, and now I got to use ‘Mr. Magoo. I’m so happy….but I digress again, sorry.

 

So, we’re at Moderno, no Judy and Bill, no biggie, they’ll figure it out and have fun. We ate, went to the Villa, grabbed our gear, went to Stardust to wait for our excursion group to be called, heard it, and hopped on the catamaran. We then left with 50 of our closest friends for the reef.

 

So, this is the point where this whole “He Said/She Said” is going to get interesting as I’m sure our recollection of the following event will be different. Or, more correctly, how ‘wrong’ my recollection will be. We arrived at the reef and dropped anchor. Immediately I realize that we’re farther out from the reef this year than we were two years ago. Apparently, the excursion crew had stopped by the reef, prior to picking us up at the Jewel, to see where the action was today. So, we get our gear on and get to jump in the water. Cindy and the boys were first in the water, I was a little behind them as I had wanted to dunk my facemask in the crews bucket of soapy water. So, I’m ready to go and before jumping I see the Cindy, the boys, a crew member, and numerous other snorkelers are already some 40 yards away from the boat. No sweat, I catch up to them. So I get to play ‘Navy Frogman’ and jump in the water with my snorkel gear on. I start kicking and as I pass probably 30 yards away from the boat I see a jelly fish……

 

Jellyfish have never bothered me in the past. That’s because the only jellyfish I’ve ever seen while snorkeling are the ones that look like floating breast implants. No tentacles, just breast implants. Nice and safe. So, I’m kicking trying to catch up to my family and I see a jellyfish…..a real jellyfish…..the breast implants with the long tentacles hanging behind them. Huh, that was pretty cool I thought. So, I keep swimming. Well, wow…..there’s another jellyfish…..hey, there’s one…….there’s a jellyfish……hey, there’s another jellyfish…….well I’ll be…..there’s another one……hey, there’s one…..then suddenly…..oh crap….there’s another one…..dang…there’s another one……holy cow….they are freaking everywhere!

 

This isn’t good….but I’m fine….I’m just swimming around them. I figure I’m in the ocean…in there domain, I’ll just adjust to it and deal with it. No big deal. Or so I thought…………I picked my head up to find Wifey’s pink snorkel and all hell was breaking loose. People were screaming and yelling!!! A lot of people were!!! I then hear Cindy’s voice very clearly say to the guide, “There are jellyfish everywhere! I think it’s HIGHLY irresponsible to be out here and we’re going back to the boat! Boys’ follow me! Who else is going with us?” A LOT of people shouted that they were heading back. I thought….what the heck is wrong with everyone? Wimps….these are just jellyfish! No big deal. It was then that two things happened……first, a young girl (early 20’s?), was passed in front of me as she was being taken back to the boat by a crew member on the canoe. She was hysterical. We found out later that a jellyfish had gotten between her body and her life jacket, and that she had gotten severely stung on her back, shoulder, and chest. Then, as I watched her being paddled towards the boat……hey, that hurt! Yours truly, got stung on the left knee by a jellyfish. I thought, Uh OH!....looked in the water, and counted 7 jellyfish in close proximity to me.

 

I then realized I was at least 100 yards from the boat, that everyone was heading back to the boat, that I was among the farthest out, and worst of all, that I didn’t know where my family was. So, I headed back to the boat, dodging A LOT of jellyfish along the way. I got to about 30 yards from the boat, popped my head up, and saw Debit standing on the boat. I shouted to him, he waived at me, and I asked if mom and Credit were on board. He said they were. Thank the good Lord….my family was safe. It was then, my “man-card” popped up and I thought…. (In ‘Caveman’ speak)….ugh….family safe….me swim with fishies. So I slowly….and I emphasis….slowly swam back to the boat. I found an awesome, large, chunk of coral with great fish counts and floated for a while.

 

I then noticed that, ‘Hey, most everyone’s on the boat, they’re drinking rum punch’….uh, I’m done snorkeling….in ‘Cavemen’ speak again…..Wildcatrock thirsty…..must have rum punch…..me need alcohol….So I swam to the boat, hopped on, my left knee really smarting from the jellyfish sting, and the Captain asks me if I got stung. I say yes, showed him my knee, and he sprayed vinegar on the sting. Awesome……I’m remember thinking at the time that I was glad he didn’t pee on my knee…..I just didn’t know him that well.

 

So I then find Wifey who asks if I got stung. I told her I did and she gave me a Benadryl. My wife is freaking (can you tell I love this word?) awesome. She’s always prepared. ALWAYS! I will freely admit to anyone that my wife doesn’t have 2 kids in her life….she has three…Credit, Debit, and me. And she ALWAYS takes great care of us. This is also a lesson to anyone who plans on hopping into the ocean….always be prepared. Have Benadryl with you, and here’s why – the Captain sprayed vinegar on my knee, Wifey then gave me a Benadryl. Within 30 minutes I was pain free. Zero, zilch, nada…no pain.

 

Once everyone was on board I began to realize the severity of what had happened – of the 50+ people on board, I would estimate that the VAST majority (90%+) had been stung in various degrees of severity. All four of us had been stung; fortunately all of our stings were minor. I can’t say that for everyone on the boat. There were people with stings all across their chest, or their backs, or arms, or legs. Holy cow, what had just happened?

 

The boat then took us to the private island where we got to spend two solid hours relaxing and nursing our wounds. On one part of the island is a shelter like area that had several hammocks hanging…..and I got one. Oh heavenly bliss. How freaking awesome. I swung in a hammock the majority of the time we were on the island talking to many of my new cruise friends. At one point late in the morning Credit came over and asked if I wanted to participate in a tug-of-war? Uh no….go away….daddy is pretending to be a Sloth…go away and have fun….he did.

 

So, the excursion’s time was over and it was time to head back to the Jewel. Once on board we were starving and, as it was lunch time, headed up to Moderno. While eating, Florentina popped by to see how our excursion had gone. As we told her the story her eyes got bigger and bigger. I think we (Wifey that is) said something along the lines that we (Wifey more probably) was going to go to the Excursions Desk and voice our displeasure about what had happened on our excursion. I forgot to mention this, but whilst on the island, we learned that the jellyfish had been brought in during high tide, and the excursion crew knew it, and they knew that A LOT of jellyfish were in the water before they had our excursion group jump in. Bad decision boys, bad decision. Florentina told us she’d take care of it so we didn’t go to the Excursions Desk.

 

I don’t recall what we did during the afternoon but know that we went to O’Sheehan’s for dinner with the boys, and then went to Stardust to watch Luminescence – what an amazing show. If you’re going on the Jewel you MUST watch this show. Simply amazing. After the show, we saw our friends Rob and Nicky at Malting’s. We also saw new friend’s we had made – John, an early 60’s aged man who had won Dancing with the Jewel All Stars, and three of his family members. We invited them and Rob and Nicky up to the Villa. After giving them a tour and hanging out for a while, John and his party left. While Cindy and I were talking to Rob and Nicky, Florentina stopped by our Villa with an update. She had spoken to the Excursions desk and EVERYONE on the excursion was going to get a 35% discount off the cost of the excursion. Wow, thank you Florentina and NCL! A 35% discount, we’ll take it. Rob and Nicky had also been on this excursion, had gotten stung too, and were thrilled to hear of the discount. Or so they thought…….

 

I don’t recall what else we did this night……my loss of memory I blame on my age and the copious amounts of Jack Daniel’s and other alcohols that were ‘forced’ on me. So I’m looking forward to “She Said” so I can hopefully find out what else we did.

 

Before I sign off I want to share this piece of news. A couple days later I got a print out of our account and sure enough we had been given a discount of 35% off of the Jellyfish Excursion. We told Rob and Nicky who then checked their account. No discount. They discussed with the Excursion’s desk that they had been told that everyone on the excursion had been given a discount. They were told that no, everyone had not been given a discount, only Garden Villa 14000 had been given the discount. When Florentina told us about the discount, she very clearly stated that everyone on the excursion would be given the discount. That did not happen, and that does not make us happy. Everyone on that excursion should’ve been given a discount – the tour operator knew that there were way too many jellyfish in the water, that it was not safe, and that literally everyone on the excursion had gotten stung. I’ve never been disappointed in NCL – until now.

 

But on to happier thoughts. I forgot to mention Mr. and Mrs. Magoo!!! Late in the afternoon while we were getting cleaned up to head out for dinner, guess who walked in all happy and energized…………..Judy and Bill!!!!!!!! They had easily found the tender back to the boat, and get this, had a WONDERFUL time on their excursion! They had tendered easily in the morning, and found their excursion, had a wonderful time, and had easily found their way back to the Jewel. Un-freaking believable. Who were these people? They couldn’t be the same two people who we had hopped on the Jewel with just a few days before. But they were, happily we realized, that Judy and Bill had found their stride, how figured the Jewel out, had figured out how to cruise. They were now, happily for them…and us!!....on a cruise adventure of a life time. Thank the good Lord…

 

I also realized I should’ve given Bill some $$$$ to stop by that drug store for me……………………….

 

She said:

 

The NCL snorkeling experience will be one of those “stories” you get to tell the rest of your life. He said tells it one, was and I will tell it another. As a reader, I would encourage you to look back at the “stories” DH has told and then remember how much he likes to drink Jack Daniels. This may have given him a slight disadvantage in playing the “from memory” game. So, read on for the accurate accounting of our experience.

 

We were able to get on the boat that would take us to the reef area directly from the Jewel. Such a timesaver over the previous way. This was a beautiful Caribbean day and our first real day of sun, heat and humidity. I stressed to my boys and Kent to make certain to cover every bare centimeter of their skin with 1,000 plus sunscreen. I don’t want to have to hear someone feeling unwell because they got sunburned and as the Mom, well it’s just my job to boss them around! Our boat slowed down and finally stopped. While everyone was distracted by a crew member talking about how to put on the gear and how to follow directions, I watched as another crew member put on a mask and snorkel and jumped into the water. He swam on the port side and around the front. (We were sitting at the front of the boat on bench style seats.) The crew member, I will refer to him as our guide from this point on, would look up and then put his head back down in the water. Once he got out of the water he stated that there had been reef sharks in the area earlier in the morning but they would not harm humans. Huh? Did anyone else here him say this? Was I the only person paying attention to the guide? Ok, that had me a bit freaked out but I’m a snorkel princess, so it isn’t stopping me from getting in the water.

 

Now I would guess there had been 35 plus people in the front of the boat and there were others in the middle covered portion and in the back as well. I don’t have any clue how many additional people there were onboard because I never walked around. But it was a large group of people who had booked this through NCL. Back to the water…

 

I side walked my way to the boats port side and prepared to jump in. Oh wow. Just wow. Uh, this is really high off of the water and I hate the feeling of falling and I hate jumping. So I had to step over to the side so others could jump in ahead of me while I mentally prepared myself to jump. While I was pep talking myself, it began. The cry from the water. Not the water itself but someone who was in the water. Someone was trying to calm the person down who was scared and it sounded like maybe they were hurt? I figured it was a first time snorkeler who got freaked out (maybe a kid) and was making a big deal about nothing. But then there was another person who cried out from a different location than the first person. By this time I had jumped into the water, everything was ok in my opinion, just a panicking snorkeler. I was adapting to the water temperature (Doesn’t it just take your breath away when you get in the water? It looks like it should be like a warm bath but it is usually chilly this time of year.), when I hear more yelling and then some screaming. Holly cow people! What is wrong with you?!!! I put my head down and started swimming along. Well, the water conditions were not the best as there was silt stirred up and there weren’t many rocks around for our little fish friends to be living. I better start to catch up with the people who jumped in ahead of me, I don’t want to miss anything. Oh, hello nice jellyfish. I think you might not be the good kind. Look at your tentacles. Cross one of those bad boys off my “What I saw snorkeling list”. Uh, guess I need to swim over to the left ‘cause there’s another one. I pick up my head and people in the water have their heads up as well saying, “Don’t swim over here, there are jellyfish.” I’m putting two and two together now. Guide jumps in water before us, person struggling in the water, people yelling in the water and I SEE JELLYFISH!

 

There were jellyfish everywhere. To the right, the left and below. There were a couple of other snorkelers near me and we were trying to alert each other where NOT to swim and where it was safe to swim. At times the options were quite limited. In my opinion I was dodging jellyfish and not snorkeling. Many, many people were announcing or crying out they were being stung or had been stung. The guide and his helpers brought out a kayak and announced that they would take the people who had been stung back to the boat. One. At. A. Time. The scene was like in a movie. Kids were crying and screaming. Mothers trying to comfort their kids. Water splashing all around due to the panic in some people. The guide would say “Come over here and see the spiny lobster.” “Oh look! A Grouper.” Ok, maybe not grouper, but some kind of fish that by then I didn’t give a rat’s behind about. I was NOT going to pretend to be snorkeling when in fact I wasn’t doing so. That is when it got me. If you have never been stung by a jellyfish, I can describe it like this: Hold a rubber band against your skin, pull it back and let it POP against your skin. Depending upon your pain threshold and the size of the band, it smarts. It smarts a lot! The bugger had stung me behind my left knee. That was the final straw…

DH knows that one of my nicknames is Tenacious C. When I get my mind set on something I will pursue it until I conquer it. That’s just how this princess farm girl rolls. I lifted my head up, locked eyes with the guide and announced to him (very, very loudly) that it was irresponsible to put us into the water with known jellyfish, that after the first 3-5 people had been stung he should have gotten everyone out of the water, and that I was GOING BACK to the boat. Who was with me? People raised their hands, yes, that was the comical part, and I yelled for Debit and Credit to safely make their way back to the boat.

 

The swim back to the boat was tough. I think I am in pretty good physical shape. I go to the gym, I lift weights. But by this time the light current had pushed us far from the boat and we were swimming in jellyfish infested waters. Although I had a long sleeved UV shirt on, I feared pulling my arms through the water because I was risking getting stung on my hands. So, I kept my arms by my sides and used my flippers only to swim back. The process was also slowed down as one couldn’t swim in a straight line. Too many jellyfish to swim to the right or left of. I would kick hard for 15-20 seconds and lift my head up and would only be 20% closer to the boat. All of my maternal instincts left me. Debit and Credit were on their own. It was do or die time in the jellyfish apocalypse.

 

The three of us made it back to the boat around the same time. They had been stung as well. I broke out my “medical baggie” with the Benadryl and popped some out for us. Nearly everyone who had been in the water had been stung. I was seeing huge welts across the chest and back of a teenaged boy. A newly married gal showed me her arms. She was having a reaction to the stings and had large red welts/hives from her wrists to her elbows. I offered Benadryl to those around us, but they all declined. These types of stings cause an allergic type of reaction in your body and taking an antihistamine will decrease or even block the body’s response. I had read this from an avid snorkeler here on C.C. and I am so happy that I remembered to pack it on this trip!!! It helped us out so much; I never, ever would have thought we would actually need to use it. As I sent Debit to fetch me a Rum Punch I began thinking that a refund was due us for this experience. Although we had not yet gone to the beach, I felt a 50% re-imbursement was not out of the question. I voiced my thoughts about this to others around us and they agreed. I would need to go to the front desk after we returned.

 

The rest of the excursion was lovely. The weather, the hammocks, the conversations with new friends. Both Debit and Credit participated in the Tug-of-War dismissing my “No, you could get hurt” Motherly response they have heard cross my lips over 100,000 times. They were not injured. The trip back provided us with a nice breeze and since most of us had a slight buzz, we didn’t talk much about the jellyfish apocalypse.

 

Once back onboard, we headed to Moderno, starving and drained from the adventure. I stopped by Florentina’s desk and she asked how our day had been so far as she knew we were taking the snorkeling excursion. Once I started telling her the story, her eyes grew wide and when she asked me if there were any children that got stung her eyes were starting to well up with tears. I told her that I felt it was completely reasonable for us to receive a 50% re-imbursement for the cost of our excursion and explained why. She said she would speak with someone about it, no need for me to go downstairs and she would get back with me. Later, while we were entertaining friends in the suite, Florentina came in and told our group (not just DH and I) that EVERYONE who had booked this NCL excursion would be getting a 35% refund as the tour provider had given that amount of money back to NCL. I asked her if it was everyone, yes, everyone, not just the people who had gone to guest services to complain. Well, I still thought it should be 50% but I would settle for 35% especially since everyone was getting a credit back. Later, we found out from friends, that when they didn’t see this on their account, went to customer service. They were then told that only we in #14000 would be getting this credit that we should not have told them (our friends) about the credit and that was wrong of us to do so. Ok, this angered me. We didn’t tell this to anyone, it was announced to us from Florentina. So someone deceived us. Was it NCL or was it Florentina. I would guess NCL. Why would Florentina announce this to others in our living room, others who told Florentina that THEY were on the same snorkeling excursion as us and lie to us all? Maybe NCL will read this and we will get a response. I’ve already notified NCL of this problem, so we shall see. Also, we booked this excursion before the cruise and paid by credit card. The 35% refund was put back as on onboard credit. Of course it was used up by the end of the cruise but if it had not been? From what others have said here on C.C. the check is in the mail. Weeks later, sometimes longer than weeks.

 

I am not a fish eater. I just don’t care for it. But one of the foods I must have on an NCL cruise is Fish and Chips from Blue Lagoon. Although now it is O’Sheehan’s on the Jewel. I must say in the past, this has been a bad place to eat with good food. Meaning trying to get seated, getting a menu, water, silverware, placing and order and having the food placed in front of you take s a looooong time. This time we were promptly seated and one of the friendliest, smilingest (yes it is a word) gals waited and served us. My Fish and Chips were awesome and Debit and Credit ordered the Chicken Pot Pie, another highly rated food here on C.C. They both liked the pot pie, no complaints. We had ordered a couple of drinks and left a tip for the waitress, she was that good! Now to Luminescence. It started slowly, it proceeded slowly and ended improved. It wasn’t my thing. Both the performers are incredibly talented and supremely strong. The seas once again had picked up and they performed well under the rocking and rolling of the ship. It had been a long day for us all, and once again, I’m not certain what we did after the show. Both of our boys spent time in Fyzz watching and performing Karaoke with their group of friends, so maybe we watched a bit of that?

 

Now onto the Bliss bed. As I have mentioned before, I don’t sleep well. But, I sleep so soundly and deeply on a cruise from the movement of the ship and the NCL Bliss bed that I have an added part of the cruise to look forward to each year. The bed in the Master suite of the Garden Villa 14000 is NOT a Bliss bed. I don’t care who tries to tell me otherwise. It is NOT a good bed. The NCL Bliss bed is so supportive, yet so soft and squishy on the top. Your body sinks down into a giant cruise embrace for the night on an NCL Bliss bed. It lives up to its name…BLISS. This bed was hard, yes, it was hard, hard, and hard. The topper on it had been packed down to the right and the left and was nice and fluffy in the middle. Right where no one sleeps. I even laid down in the middle and it did not feel like a Bliss bed. I laid down on Debit and Credit’s bed and it did not feel like a Bliss bed. So, my general opinion is the Jewel Garden Villa 14000 does not have Bliss beds in it. I should have tried out Bill and Judy’s bed. Looking back, when Roland was showing us the rooms he pointed to their bed and said it was a brand new bed. So, I’m wondering if they had the good stuff and we had the not so good stuff. Had this been the case, I would have put some serious thought into trading them bedroom and giving them the bad bed. Aren’t I the nice daughter? They would not have known the difference, never sleeping in an NCL Bliss bed, but I certainly noticed it. Maybe DH will put his opinion about this as well?

 

He Said Part II:

 

Do I think it was a Bliss Bed? Wifey says NO!.......... So I say NO! You’re done right Wifey….that was NOT a Bliss bed………..although I slept really, really well on my side. Wifey, what is this line?.....” As a reader, I would encourage you to look back at the “stories” DH has told and then remember how much he likes to drink Jack Daniels”. Likes?? LIKES??!? No honey…. L O V E S. I freaking LOVE Jack Daniel’s – I’m a proud member of the Tennessee Squires (the official Jack Daniel’s fan club). And that has absolutely nothing to do with the “stories” I tell…….my age does…………remember…..I turned ‘50’ on this cruise. And as Molly Shannon says, “ And I can stretch, and I can kick….cause I’m 50!”.

 

Here’s a little teaser about tomorrow – our day in Roatan – Maya Key, snorkeling, the sea bed drops off to the abyss, and Judy achieves Titan status in the family as a snorkeler………

 

Here also are some more pics for you from the cruise from Le Bistro, to Debit participating in Dancing with the Jewel Stars, to cruise relaxation ……..

[DaisyGoldberg]

It was do or die time in the jellyfish apocalypse.

 

That made me laugh so hard! Thank you for this great report!

[DavyJoneses]

Interesting approach.

[newcruise12]

OMG! When Tenacious C asked, "who's with me?" about getting back to the boat, my hand shot up in the air, LOL. That was scary! Thanks for the tip about Benadryl, I get a bad allergic reaction to mosquito bites and will carry it with me for that... But I can't believe how irresponsible the tour guides were in letting y'all get into the water with those jellyfish around! And shame on NCL for not refunding everyone! Sooooo glad to hear that Judy and Bill were able to enjoy themselves and actually make it back to the ship on time!

[leslied2]

I met you guys in your suite and then again around the boat. Now reading your journal entries, I can't believe how cute you are. You guys are so lucky to have such a wonderful family. I'm so glad I had a chance to meet you. And thank you for welcoming us into your suite for the reception, guys.

[WildcatRock]

Day 6 (Wednesday, November 26): Our Great Snorkel Adventure over the abyss….and the arrival of Titan J

 

Cindy and I have many great memories from our snorkeling adventures: snorkeling off Cooper Island in the BVI’s, Buck Island off of St Thomas, Coral Garden in Grand Cayman, Chankanaab in Cozumel, our first trip to the barrier reef in Belize, and now we get to add snorkeling at Maya Key in Roatan.

 

I don’t know about Cindy, but my greatest snorkeling fear has always been deep water. I like to see the bottom, which initially preferred to be no more than 15 ft below me. Snorkeling off Cooper Island and at Chankanaab helped me overcome that fear as the ocean bottom slowly sloped off to the depths at both locations. Cool, no problem, I see the bottom and see where it’s going. I’ve always heard snorkeling in Hawaii is the best – it’s deep water but you can see the bottom where the coral and fish are. I can handle that now. No problemo.

 

The one fear I could not overcome is snorkeling where the bottom cannot be seen. Hey, I have no problem seeing the abyss on TV from the safety of my recliner in the Man Cave. You know, those shows in Discovery where people are swimming around whales, or sharks (idiots), and all you see is water. No bottom. Fine. Have fun – if I get too freaked out I can turn the channel to Sports Center on ESPN.

 

So, we book this cruise and the last stop is Roatan. We were there two years ago and went to Tabyana Beach. Nice beach that was supposed to have great snorkeling………..by a drop off. A drop off is basically where the ocean bottom suddenly drops off to the abyss. You’re snorkeling and you see coral…you see fishes… then suddenly…..bam!.....nothing….no bottom….it’s gone….all you see is water. Oh joy and happy days! So, I nervously looked forward to Tabyana and snorkeling at the drop off. So the appointed day arrives, we get to Tabyana, and the ocean was really rough that day. Snorkeling sucked and the natives said it really wasn’t worth heading out. Oh darn…shucks….I’ve always regretted that day…not getting to overcome what to me is my greatest fear…..deep water…..the abyss. That all changed on our 2nd trip to Roatan. I overcame that fear as did……………….Judy………….

 

He Said:

 

We were watching weather forecasts for our cruise starting the week before. Unfortunately, every port day had a high chance of rain. We were worried that our port stops would be ruined due to the weather. Not a worry we thought, we had a pretty nice pad, the Garden Villa, that’s a pretty nice place to hang out. Our fears were somewhat abated at our Meet & Greet when the Hotel Director, Steve Jacobsen, told our group that not to worry about the weather forecasts; when you’re in the Caribbean there’s a chance for rain every day and it usually ends up being dry. That was the case for our first two stops in Cozumel and Belize – beautiful days with warmth and humidity. That wasn’t the case in Roatan.

 

We again did our morning routine of getting up, putting our snorkeling clothes on, and heading to Moderno for breakfast. I don’t remember if Mr. and Mrs. Magoo at breakfast with us. After breakfast we all headed to Stardust again to wait to our excursion to be called. Once it was we headed off the ship. We did the Maya Key excursion. The cool thing about this excursion is that the boat picks you up right at the pier where the NCL ship docks. Then it’s just a 5 - 10 minute ride over to Maya Key which can’t be more than a mile from the ship (you can see the ship from Maya Key).

 

The weather was cloudy and we could tell rain was on its way. We no sooner arrived at Maya Key and the heavens opened and it starting raining. And it rained, and it rained. We were worried that our day would be a washout. Maya Key is nice, really nice and very beautiful. The dock is right next to a large building that contained a large room where you rented your snorkel gear, a large gift shop, and men’s and women’s locker rooms. Uphill to the east is the bar, a small palapa where they lay out the buffet, many tables and chairs, and the pool. Farther to the east and down a slope is the beach area. There are some shelters, but these were quickly snatched up by people who had either been there before, or who had done great research and knew they needed to get to them quickly. All of the other chairs and loungers are exposed to the weather. So, we knew, if it kept raining, our choices were to stay in the large building, bite the bullet and sit on the loungers in the rain, or head back to the ship.

 

Fortunately before we had to make our decision, the rain stopped. So we headed to the beach. As soon as we got there, Wifey, Debit, and I decided we were heading out to snorkel. Credit had no interest in snorkeling. Although he’s a great swimmer and used to swim competitively, there’s a reason Credit chose the Army for a career and not the Navy….he’s not a big fan of ocean water, deep water that is – like his papa. He was also still freaked out about the Jellyfish Armageddon that had occurred the day before in Belize and wasn’t too interested in seeing any more jellyfish today. So he hung back with Judy and Bill.

 

To snorkel at Maya Key you walk about 50 yards out on a pier that ends at a hut at the end of the pier. There they have two ladders that you step down into roughly waist to chest deep water, depending upon your height. You can either put your gear on before you get in the water, or after you get in. Once you’re ready to head out for the reef, you look at the bottom and follow a cable that has been laid. You follow this cable through the rocks and coral out to where the best snorkeling is….at the drop off.

 

So, Wifey, Debit, and I get our gear on; go down the ladder, and start following the cable. I know I speak for all three of us when I say…OK, for me at least, when I say, we/me were pretty darn scared. I know Debit was really scared as he’s only snorkeled a couple times in his life. So, we’re following the cable, we follow it, follow it, then after roughly 20 yards we got up to the end……I looked up….it was my day of reckoning…..finally my chance to overcome my greatest fear….deep water….the abyss….and what did I see……the drop off……………………………………. And it was freaking AWESOME!!!!

 

We saw incredible corals, amazing corals we’ve never seen before – the color, the shapes…wow. The fish – a lot of fish, beautiful fish, unbelievable. And we were floating over the drop off. What basically happens is the coral reef heads out to a point where there is literally a cliff that drops down to great depths. I’m not sure what the exact depth is of the drop off at Maya Key (I tried to find the answer on the internet after the cruise but had no luck), but I know around the island of Roatan that the ocean drops off to roughly 1,000 ft to 3,000 ft depending upon where you are. There are some sections at Maya Key where you can look down the cliff and see an outcropping of rock and sand, which I believe is roughly 80 ft down. There are other sections where you look down the cliff and all you see is water.

 

All of the beauty at Maya Key is at the reef at the drop off. There are sections of the reef where you can swim in over caverns and over shallower portions of the reef, but the real beauty is at the drop off. Wow. Unfortunately, while the three of us where out there the skies were cloudy so we didn’t get the full blast of color from the corals.

 

After 40 minutes it was time for us to head back in. Debit had done great, as had Wifey. We all walked back to Judy, Bill, and Debit with an amazing sense of accomplishment and promptly shared our incredible experience with them. It was time to eat so the group headed up to grab some food. I wasn’t hungry and wanted to go snorkel again, but waited till someone else was ready to go. That person turned out to be Credit. He wanted to overcome his fear of deep water. So after he had finished eating, he grabbed his gear and the two of us headed out to the drop off. When we got there, the clouds dissipated and the sun’s rays came out while we were over the reef/drop off. OMG. WOW. Holy Freaking WOW. We saw amazing colors….it was truly awesome. Unbelievable. After 30 minutes Credit had had enough and we headed back to the group. Credit had been totally terrified snorkeling over the drop off, but he had done it. He had snorkeled over the drop off and I was proud of my boy for doing it.

 

So, Wifey gets done eating and is ready to head back out. Credit has no interest and wants to finish the day lounging in a chair; Debit wants to go see the animals (Maya Key is a nature sanctuary). So we ask Judy if she wants to go. We tell her about the drop off. I’m just waiting for her to say no, which would’ve been just fine…I know it’s coming…..she looks out to the reef…..looks at us…..and here it comes…..”I’m going to do it. I know I’ll probably never come here again and I’ll be kicking myself the rest of my life if I don’t go out there today.” YES!!! That’s the Judy I know. The Judy who went whitewater rafting years ago, the Judy who snorkeled for the first time just two days before in Chankanaab. The Judy that had that zest for life. Judy knew this was her chance, and probably only chance, to snorkel over a drop off.

 

So the three of us got our gear and headed to the hut and the end of the pier. I got my gear on and went into the water waiting for Cindy and Judy. They got in the water and put their gear on. To say Judy was scared would be an understatement…..she was terrified. When she was ready we started swimming out to the drop off – me in the lead with Cindy and Judy following. We got to the drop off and I turned around what did I see….I saw a beautiful sight…. I saw a daughter holding her mother’s hand as they floated over a drop off looking at the beauty of God’s creation.

 

As I’ve mentioned several times in the cruise review – I have an amazing wife. Cindy really took it upon herself to help Judy and Bill have a great cruise: she taught them how to get around the ship, she helped her mom learn how to snorkel at Chankanaab, and now she was holding her terrified mom’s hand as we snorkeled over the drop off and in and out of the reef. After about 40 minutes we headed back to the pier and back to our family on the beach. We all gave Judy big hugs as she smiled from ear-to-ear. I looked at my wonderful MIL with an amazing sense of wonder and the happy realization that she would be forever known now as Titan J.

 

The clouds started to thicken and we could tell rain was coming. So we headed back to the Jewel as the rain started falling. We got back on the ship and chilled out for a while in the Villa. Wifey, Credit, Debit, and I ate sushi for dinner which was very yummy. After that, frankly, I don’t have a clue what we did the rest of the night. I know we drank some drinks at Malting’s, but I don’t have a clue and am looking forward to what Wifey says below.

 

I guess my memory of the night is gone, probably due to my age…..but I think more so due to the fears that all of us overcame today, but even more so due to my loving amazement of what my dear, wonderful, MIL accomplished today. She is simply an amazing woman…..our Titan J.

 

She said:

 

Fairly accurate assessment of the day by DH. I will give additional details about our day that the readers who are planners, may enjoy.

 

Mitsugirly is the best at detailed reviews here on C.C. I trust every word she types and we have begun to make excursion decisions based on her reports. This is how we decided upon Maya Key. She has gone to both Little French Key and Maya Key and based on her reviews and the wants/needs/abilities and other factors of our small group of six, we made our decision on how to spend the day. I knew that my family would want to spend time snorkeling and lounging in the sun, but I had to also guess that Bill and Judy may not want to be in the sun or doing water activities. Mitsugirly also takes great photos and by looking through them, I knew my Mom would love the flowers and landscaping of Maya Key. So, decision made!

 

The day was windy (surprise, NOT) and extremely overcast. Low hanging clouds barreled over the mountains at the port. Rain would soon be coming and as soon as we set foot off of the ship it came and hard. We waited on the back side of the main building on a porch with an overhang. It also had a few chairs and a bench. How long would the rain last? I didn’t mind getting wet. I was going to be completely wet snorkeling, so I wanted to forge ahead and check things out. We ended up sending Debit and he reported back where additional sheltered areas were. We waited and waited and finally the rain stopped. Hallelujah!

 

Once you leave the main building you will go up several steps and reach a level area. To the left is a full service bar. To the right are many tables and chairs and just beyond that is a small pool. If you continue moving forward you will go down another set of steps that reach the beach area. If you turn to the right, you will find loungers, some with cover over them, to the left is the main beach area with access to the water. This area is great for families with little kids as the water is calm and shallow. If you had turned to the right, there is no easy access to the water. It can be reached but you need to step down from a ledge. We turned right, as I felt that there would be fewer families with little kids near us. I predicted correctly. We pulled our loungers close to the edge of the ledge. I had hoped we would have an un-obstructed view of the beautiful water before us. We almost always did!

 

Once we plopped down our bags Debit, being the curious soul that he is looked down in to the water. A small stingray was in the water, nearly 5 feet from the ledge in about 18 inches of water. This is exactly why I always wear water sandals with a closed toe. You can’t always see what is in water you are walking in. Maybe it is a piece of broken glass, a broken spork, a sea urchin, a sharp rock, or a sting ray. Same goes for the beach. I wear shoes nearly 100% of the time. It never harmed anyone and soon it was on its way.

 

For those who turned to the left, Maya Key has many lounge chairs to choose from. Because of the rain we had earlier, I would guess many people never set foot off the ship to go to Maya Key, because there didn’t seem to be a big crowd. If one continues to walk along the beach, you will come to the pier. This pier will give you access to the water to begin your snorkeling adventure. Or you can walk on it, gazing at the water and enjoying surrounding and not get into the water. Your choice.

 

Once you reach the end of the pier, it is an easy entrance into the water by nice wide stairs with handrails. The water was to my armpits that day as the water was rough. I would guess the water to be around 4 and a half feet deep. The water that day was murky from the rough water and the people who were going into and out of the water. Since you can touch here, there were several people who didn’t want to snorkel but stand in the water and look down at the fish around us. This made the water murkier still, but I knew once we got a little ways away, visibility would improve. There is a cable laying along the bottom of the sea floor. Every once in a while you will see an empty 2 liter bottle attached to the cable. This gives an extra point of reference as you are swimming along. Be certain to follow the cable, don’t go to the left or right as you are close to the reef and you do not want to brush up or kick against it. It damages the reef and you will suffer a scratch or cut in the process. There are areas where it is much shallower than others, so again, stay on the path or you may get into an area where it is much too shallow to safely snorkel. You will wind your way through the reef and there are areas where it is narrower that other places. Again, just follow the cable. Once you reach the end of the cable, you only have to swim around in a big circle, if you want. Or you can simply float and see the wonderful sea life below and around you. It is easy to see where the drop off is. Debit and I avoided this area for the first half of our first venture out. After we gained confidence, I motioned for him to head out with me and we did it!!! We only swam about 10 feet over the edge and then turned around so our feet were facing the deep and our heads the safety of the reef. The only thing that could have made this experience better would have been the sun AND warmer water. I began to feel chilly after 35 minutes and knew I should go in before I started to get cold. To get back to the pier, we simply needed to look for the cable and follow it back. If a person were to choose their own way to swim back, they would get in a bunch of trouble as there are areas where it is impassible due to the water level being too shallow. Also the employees there will yell at you if you do not follow the cable!

 

Although I said it did not seem as though there were many people at Maya Key that day, once the food was brought out a long line formed. You will be given a wristband at the port before you get on the boat for the short ride. At lunch the food is served buffet style and they will put a black sharpie mark on your wristband. So make certain to get enough food as they do not allow you to return for seconds. The food was delicious, chicken, rice and beans, fried bananas, a small salad bar etc. Beverages were included but we had brought our own water bottles so I don’t know what they served. You took a cup and filled it out of a big orange cooler and there were two coolers.

 

Judy was scared to return to snorkeling as she knew of the drop off. I stayed behind her as we winded our way out to the best snorkeling area. Once we could safely swim side by side, I did so and Mom just seemed to be panicky, so I took her hand and pulled her hand into my chest. It didn’t take long and she relaxed and we simply floated over the area and watched the fish go about their busy fishy lives. Personally, I saw so many fish I had never seem before and I enjoy being still and watching an area to take in all of the activity below. Mom would point to something and I would look, turn to her and nod. I would do the same thing for her. It was a memory I will hold forever, being there with my Mom, in the silence and just being so weightless in the water, watching God’s creation that is so different below the water as it is above the water. Kent did swim over to us at some point and we had our heads above water talking and Kent started pushing us. I knew exactly what was happening. We were drifting over the drop-off and Kent didn’t want my Mom to put her mask back on and freak out. While we were in the water, Mom and I did swim out over the edge and quickly turned around and faced back in. So, she can say she did it!

 

The day at Maya Key ended much too soon. The clouds were coming in thick and fast and we sensed another rain shower was approaching and it was after 1:30. The boat that takes you back to the ship almost beat the rain, but we were under a covered area and stayed mostly dry. I know we will go back to Maya Key on a return visit to Roatan. The snorkeling was great, no it was awesome! Debit and I went to the pool and hot (warm) tub briefly to get warmed up after our first snorkel. It might be a party place if it was sunny and hot but other than a couple of younger girls, no one was using it. Mom and Bill walked around and saw the rescued animals they have on location. No one bought anything in the gift store but the prices seemed to be what they are at other locations. The dolphin adventure and sea loin feeding were canceled due to the weather. A person who does not like to do water activities would be able to get their money’s worth out of the NCL excursion. It was a quiet, peaceful day for us. Two thumbs up!!!

 

The four of us ate sushi at the Sushi Bar. There is a per item ordered charge for this restaurant and I believe our bill was just over $40 with an added tip. We hit Malting’s again and our new friend Rob sat with us for a while. His family was eating at Chin Chin and they were having a frustrating evening of slow service and messed up ordered food. He stayed only briefly and went back to rejoin his family. I think Kent and I may have tried to sit in the hot tub again later that night. It was windy, the waves made the ship start rocking again, and it was just too chilly to sit in it. The wind would move across the surface of the water and a fine spray would pelt your face. We gave up and went inside. Tomorrow would be a sea day and we would be able to sleep in late. Hurrah! No wake up call, no getting everyone together at the same time, no packing a tote bag with essentials to survive jellyfish (or walkers for those TWD fanatics like me!), no keeping track of anyone. No, tomorrow I was going to sleep in as long as my uncomfortable bed would allow me and I would put on my swimsuit and spend a leisurely day in my lounge chair, drinking something yummy ( after consuming mass quantities of that delicious Lavaza coffee)and listening to my music.

 

Would tomorrow go as I had planned? Until then…..oh, and tomorrow we also learn the value of having trip insurance….but fortunately, not for us….

 

Below are some pics from our day at Maya Key….

[KW_Cruisers]

Not to worry about being downgraded to Norwegian anymore for us. We're signed up for the Grand Med Cruise on May 19 from Barcelona to Venice. There are some horrendous reviews from people having cruised NCL and on Spirit, while a few say it's not top notch, but food is edible and cabins small but can be manageable for 2 over the 12 day, 10 port adventure.

 

Yours was among the best all-time reviews I have ever read. Thanks

 

You are right about Texas having some unusual laws, rules, customs, etc.

 

In October I drove in England & traffic, etc. was even worse than Houston.

 

Sailing back to Bayport terminal in Houston was a read PITA, with whoever parks the ship could not figure out how to get Emerald Princess along side the dock, so they moved, shook the ship for over 2 hours and disembarking was a mess, being over 2 hours past our scheduled time. Pasadena is not really one of the most scenic areas or LaPorte - but they move a bunch of goods through that port. BTW, were you aware we paid the 2 cruise lines a few $Million to bring ships in, as the powers to be built a terminal about 5 years ago, having no contract with any ships.

 

We have sail Norwegian Pride of America last year and many years ago The Majesty just before it was sold to a European company and was struck by a

rogue wave, killing two passengers. We survived both, even though not designated dining or formal nights.

 

Wonder if Spirit will have chocolate buffet?

[Diller12]

The last 5 times i was on the Spirit she had the chocolate buffet..

Edited December 13, 2014 by Diller12

[GORDONCHICK]

Wonder if Spirit will have chocolate buffet?

 

My understanding is that Norwegian has done away with the chocoholics buffet altogether. Instead, they now have an evening where chocolate desserts are featured in all restaurants.

[WildcatRock]

Day 7 (Thanksgiving Day, Thursday, November 27): In our cruise groove, rough weather, and some else cooks the Turkey

 

We’ve read countless discussions on CC about whether or not someone should take out cruise insurance. If they do, whether they should buy it from NCL from a different company. All I can say is, after what we saw Thanksgiving morning, if you can afford it, buy it. We’ve always trip insurance, and have taken the easy way out buying it through NCL….and we will for every cruise moving forward. You just never know what could happen….

 

Also, we’re had rough weather on previous cruises, but nothing like this. Now, I’m in no way comparing what we went through on Wednesday night to be comparable to ANY of the accounts we’ve read on CC: cruising through a hurricane, in the Bering Sea, in a Nor-Easter. But for us, the night before Thanksgiving was rough, real rough, loud, real loud. It was a tough night to get any sleep.

 

He Said:

 

We’d had some pretty crappy weather on this cruise. The day we left Houston it was cloudy, chilly, and drizzly. That first night the boat got clipped by thunderstorms and it was windy and a little rough. A minor drawback being in the Garden Villa is that if the ship gets hit on the starboard side by a strong wind, you really hear it. Our first sea day was cloudy, chilly, and rainy. Fortunately, the weather had cleared up for our stops in Cozumel and Belize. Roatan had turned out to be a good day even though it rained in the morning and later afternoon. But man, did our luck ever run out on Wednesday night.

 

We obviously sailed through a storm front that night as storms raged all night long. The wind howled, the rain fell, the GV shook and made noises, and the ship rocked and rolled. At one point during the night I got up and turned on the TV to see how fast the wind was. With the ships speed included we were right at 70 mph. A record for one of our cruises. Fortunately I was able to get a little sleep after I crawled back to bed.

 

After a while I awoke and something seemed to be different. The storms were still raging but I had the sensation that ship was really booking…as in going fast. I got up, and for some reason, didn’t turn on the TV, and opted to look at the front window of the GV….man was the storm blowing. I went back to bed and listened to the storm rage on.

 

I woke up early in the morning, the storms were gone, and the sun was shining, but something wasn’t right……it was real quiet outside. Real quiet. As in, the ship isn’t moving very fast quiet. I looked at our bedroom window and was looking right at Punta Langosta – our docking location 3 days previously when we stopped in Cozumel. After such a rough night, the first thought that hit me was there was something wrong with the ship. OMG, that would be freaking awesome if we had to stop here for a day to repair the ship. Or two days…we’re in the Garden Villa. Oh please Mother Nature, delay our arrival in Houston by a day or two. Or I thought, maybe we came to Cozumel for shelter away from the storm.

 

Cindy was still asleep so I went in to the living room and turned on the TV. Looking at our path when we left Roatan it was obvious we were going to pass to the east of Cozumel then turn towards Houston. But about half way up between Roatan and Cozumel the ship had made a sharp turn left and headed up for Punta Langosta. Either something’s wrong with the ship, or I began to think, there’s something wrong with someone on board the ship.

 

I walked back into the bedroom and Cindy was up looking out the window. It was very confusing looking outside as you weren’t expecting to see what you’re seeing…..Are we in the Bahamas? Grand Cayman? Where are we? Hon, we are back in Cozumel. Cozumel? Why Cozumel? Not a clue. So we grabbed the camera and headed up to our sundeck to see what was up. Once up there it was obvious that the Jewel was hovering about 50 yards off of the pier we had docked at 3 days earlier. There were some boats floating around us and it seemed as if they were waiting for a decision to be made. I then noticed that the pilot boat was right by us. I told Cindy I bet the pilot has come on board and the ship is trying to decide if it’s going to dock, or have another boat come up beside us. I then told Cindy…”Someone must be hurt”.

 

Just a few minutes after I said that, we saw it. An ambulance coming up the street with its emergency lights on. It pulled into the pier where the water taxi that takes you to the Mexican mainland is located. Then, after just a very short period, it was clear a decision had been made as the Jewel started to head back to the pier. The ambulance drove back out to the highway and turned into our port, and drove down our pier. By this time I was down on Deck 13 just outside the entrances to Cagney’s and Moderno. The ship had been pulled up right to the doc, but did not put out any lines to be tied up. The ambulance pulled up, the gangway was put out, and the stretcher pushed on to the ship. There were several people on the dock including NCL crew members. We then saw luggage come out. Then, a middle aged woman walked off and into the ambulance. After less than a minute, the stretcher was wheeled off the ship. On it was a middle aged woman in a neck brace. Uh oh.

 

She wasn’t in the ambulance 5 seconds and the gangway was being taken up and the Jewel pulled away from the doc. Close by us we saw a Royal Caribbean ship and assumed they were probably waiting for us to pull away.

 

We then went to Moderno for breakfast and asked Florentina what had happened. She didn’t have a lot of info, and frankly, it’s no one’s business what happened. But she did say that the passenger had fallen and had suffered a spine injury. The ship’s doctor and Captained determined she was hurt severely enough that they needed to get her to Cozumel ASAP. So the ship had made that turn I saw later on the TV, and headed to Cozumel.

 

This was our first sea day coming back to Houston, and frankly, I really don’t recall doing much during the day other than chilling and relaxing inside the GV. It was still really windy so we couldn’t spend much time outside. Our big event this day was that we were going to have our Thanksgiving Feast in the GV in at the large table in the living room. On our first day on the ship I had talked with Florentina about the possibility of arranging a dinner for Judy and Bill with the ship’s Captain. She had said she would get it arranged. Later on the cruise, on Wednesday I think, she had informed Cindy and me that all dinners with the ship’s officers had been cancelled for the rest of the cruise. However, the Captain would be stopping by our GV on Thursday night while we were eating dinner in the GV.

 

I felt sorry for Roland – we were one of 4 of his suites that had arranged to have Thanksgiving Dinner served in their suite. Fortunately, we were the first one on the agenda, and he did not disappoint. He had set up a fantastic spread in the GV – fine linen, china, etc. We took our places at the table and the food arrived. It was very good. So good that Judy, who is a freaking awesome cook, said that it was THE BEST turkey she’s ever had. As we got close to wrapping up dinner and dessert, the doorbell rang and in walked Captain Persson and the Hotel Director, Steve Jacobsen. Boy were Judy and Bill surprised and blown away.

 

We’ve had the pleasure of meeting some pretty awesome ship’s officers in our previous cruises with NCL. But none like Captain Persson. What a great person. He genuinely seems interested in talking with you and takes the time to spend some quality time with you. The same thing goes for the Hotel Director, Steve Jacobsen. What a great guy. They spent probably 15 minutes with us, had a nice talk with us, and took some pictures with us (see below). I’m sure the fact we were staying in the GV played a large part in them stopping by, but we genuinely appreciated them doing so. It was one of the highlights of our cruise, and is something we’ll remember forever.

 

After dinner we went to the Stardust to watch the show, Le Cirque Bijou. I really enjoyed it. It had the duo from Luminescence, and lots of singing and dancing. I really enjoyed it, not sure if wifey did.

 

Thursday Night was the White Hot Party so we headed to Spinnaker after the show. We all went Credit, Debit, Judy, Bill, and us. We had a good time, did lots of dancing. Debit even asked his Grandma to dance and she did it! Judy danced to modern dance music, and did so with a huge smile! She had a great time.

 

Our buddy Rob showed up dressed in his while suit – you looked great dude! We talked with him a while and heard about their latest experience with poor service in the main restaurant. His general review……the service sucked. It had taken them over two hours to have dinner. Unfortunately, this was a common experience for them on this cruise.

 

The White Hot Party gets to a point where the music changes – it changes to that type of music that people aged 45 or above have never heard before. When that happens that’s our queue to leave. So sometime after midnight we left, Judy and Bill having left even earlier. Credit and Debit were rocking out with their friends having a great time.

 

We had had a great day.

 

She Said:

 

The Cozumel story is not accurate, so here is what actually happened.

 

I slept. Yes, I slept and slept and slept that night. Unfortunately at 6:30 the phone rang. I jumped out of bed, picked up the receiver and slammed it down. We did not have a wakeup call and just a day earlier had complained to Florentina about receiving a call when we did not have one scheduled. She said there had been a problem with MANY people getting calls when they should not have but the situation was corrected. It was not corrected because on this day, I was to sleep in late and I was actually asleep and the phone had woken me up at 6:30 on a sea day. I stumbled to the bathroom but something did not feel right. The Garden Villa was silent, as in not squeaking, sloshing, grinding, squealing, scraping or whistling. SILENCE. Something wasn’t right. I couldn’t feel the ship moving around. I decided to go peep out of the bathroom door curtain to see what it looked like outside.

 

LAND!!! LAND???? This is a sea day. Why is there land? What land is this? Where are we? Did we have such bad weather that NCL decided to go back someplace and give us another port day? What? Cindy, you are stupid as NCL would never do that as it costs them money to send people ashore. I was confused and I thought I should wake Kent up. So I walked back to our bedroom and he was standing at the curtain peering outside. I am blonde and sometimes (maybe more than sometimes) say some really stupid things. As in I don’t think about what I am going to say first and I spew it out. I ask him where we are. He says he isn’t sure. I say, Oh, that’s a really big resort, is this Nassau? I know, I know, that was an idiotic thing to say, but I don’t know anything about geography. I can barely label all fifty states and can only do that if I have a list of them and I can cross them off and narrow them down to the hard ones at the end. He says we are in Cozumel. This is so strange. Why? I grab a blanket and wrap myself up, pick up the binoculars and we go up the stairs to the sundeck to try to figure things out.

 

I did head downstairs after a bit to make myself a double latte. No sense in trying to go back to sleep after the excitement was over since I was wide awake now. The sun was out but the winds were brisk and it was a bit chilly outside. I rejoined Kent upstairs but he thought he would move back to deck 13 so he could get a straight look down to the gangway to see. The ambulance pulled from the street and drove down the pier and to the ship. I was not able to see any other activity from my vantage point but Kent did. After a short time the ambulance drove away and the ship pushed back out of the area. Not many people were outside during this time and I would guess few people knew it was going on. The captain made a one sentence announcement about our “detour” later that morning but I didn’t hear anything more from the crew about the incident. The seas had been extremely rough (for a Caribbean cruise this time of year) and our guess is someone fell due to the ship’s movement. But that is only speculation.

 

Judy is a fantastic cook and she has never purchased store bought rolls in her lifetime and I bet she never will. So Debit and I concocted a little joke for her. Around noon, several of us were sitting in the living room and Debit tells Grandma Judy that she needs to find out if there is fresh yeast on the ship. Mom looked confused and asked why she would need to find out if there was fresh yeast. Debit then replied that she was going to need to get down to the kitchen and start making the rolls for Thanksgiving supper tonight. Oh, my Mom had to think for a couple of seconds first and then she laughed and said she was not going to be making any rolls for this holiday. She was going to enjoy being off duty.

 

I think we had some friends up for a couple of drinks during the afternoon. I can’t remember these details as well. The weather was not suited for sunning as it was cloudy and (maybe?) stormy once again. I do remember that I wanted to have plenty of time to get cleaned up and look nice for our dinner. Just before the food was to arrive Debit asked if he needed to have shoes and socks on. No, this was a cruise and he could go barefoot if he liked. Roland appeared and we were served our appetizers. Earlier in the day we had slipped down to the buffet for a light lunch. I searched the salad bar area and could not find one of my favorite, hummus and pita bread. I stopped a crew member and asked if they had hummus. Not today, they rotate the foods. I might have pouted just a little at this point. I really love their hummus; I had been looking forward to this hummus, and no hummus. Just about this point here comes a man in a tall white hat. The crew member motioned him over and asked me to speak to this gentleman about what I was looking for. Um, hummus, I love your hummus and pita bread. This nice man in the tall white hat pulls a pad out of his pocket and says he will make me hummus and send it to my room. What is my cabin number? I pull out my card and hand it to him. Now, I’m not suggesting we received any preferential treatment because we were in the Garden Villa. He had NO idea what cabin I was staying in when he offered to make it and send it to me. But I can say that we had a huge bowl of fresh hummus and a pile of pita bread to accompany our Thanksgiving meal. And it was perfect!!!

 

The officers came in during the main course. Judy and Bill were completely surprised when the doorbell rang. My Mom spoke out loud, “Who is this going to be now?” before they walked in. Thanks to Florentina for making this Thanksgiving so special for my Mom and her husband, truly a memory they will hold for their lifetimes!

 

The turkey was delicious and if my Mom proclaims that it was moist and perfectly seasoned, well it was, as she knows how to cook a turkey. There was not a thing my Mom ate during this cruise that she didn’t proclaim to taste delicious and she ate a lot of food, far more than she eats at home. My Mom has a huge garden and she cans and freezes nearly all the fruits and vegetables that they eat year round. She has drunk raw milk her entire life as her family is second generation dairy farmers. I was a little concerned that her taste buds might not appreciate the mass quantity food style of cooking, but she loved eating it as much as she loved not having to cook it!

 

I did enjoy the show Le Cirque Bijou. As a Mom, I fear someone getting hurt and it makes me wince just a little seeing people twirling in the air, suspended by a scarf, holding on with their legs, high up in the air. I am not able to relax watching these types of shows, but I did appreciate their skills and strength. My Dad broke his neck in a fall from a two story deck he was repairing and lived as a quadriplegic for 16 years, so I am a bit sensitive to watching this type of risky behavior. The show was entertaining and our family group enjoyed the time together.

 

Next, we hurried up to the Spinnaker Lounge for the White Hot party. Debit and Credit arrived before we did and joined their friends in the prime seating up front. We took a place at the left center at the high-top bar on the bar stools. An excellent place to see all of the action. I ordered off of the special White Hot party menu. I don’t recall the name of the martini, but it was rimmed in coconut and was absolutely delicious! It is listed last on the menu, so try it out if you like a sweeter fruity martini drink. Kent went back to the G.V and brought down a bottle of our champagne, we were brought some glass and Rob appeared just as we poured our first glasses. He and my husband are brothers from a different mother. Sometimes you meet someone and just click having the same interests. Well, that was Rob and Kent. His wife Nikki and I had to sit back and allow them to be themselves, all excited about Star Wars, movies, etc. We certainly enjoyed the time we spent with this couple! I danced with the CHAMPION of the Dancing with the Jewel Stars, John and worked up a fierce thirst, which was quenched with more champagne and another special martini. Oh, and lots of water, as in several glasses of water. This was a fun White Hot Party with great music, and with lots of people dancing and having fun. At these types of events, you can’t take yourself too seriously. Don’t know how to dance? Just go out there. Someone will show you how to do that line dance and if not, just wiggle your hips and put a smile on your face and you will fit right in. Don’t have a dance partner? Step onto the dance floor and find another set of smiling faces and join them. Three is NOT a crowd, it’s more FUN!

 

I think we decided to call it a night around 1 a.m. which made for a very long day. I was going to sleep in and soak in the rays on this sea day. Neither of which happened. Which proves that on NCL you just need to stop making plans and simply freestyle!

 

Pic #1 is all of us around the dinner table on Thanksgiving Day. Pic #2 is Captain Persson and Hotel Director Jacobsen greeting us. Pic #3 is a group picture. Then some food porn pics. The last pics are post Turkey Day food pic of Debit chilling on the sofa, Credit chilling in a chair, and Kent chilling in a chair.

[KW_Cruisers]

Day 7 (Thanksgiving Day, Thursday, November 27): In our cruise groove, rough weather, and some else cooks the Turkey

 

We’ve read countless discussions on CC about whether or not someone should take out cruise insurance. If they do, whether they should buy it from NCL from a different company. All I can say is, after what we saw Thanksgiving morning, if you can afford it, buy it. We’ve always trip insurance, and have taken the easy way out buying it through NCL….and we will for every cruise moving forward. You just never know what could happen….

 

Another great review, but I was reading all the way through trying to figure out where you used the extra insurance that you bought on everyone ...

 

I guess you were referring to someone else having a use for insurance, but not sure it's a really great idea based on the cost for a short cruise, especially since many things are not covered, have exclusions and some insurance has deductibles.

 

Do you get the insurance or extra warranties on everything, total vacation coverage for flights and rooms plus cruises or other transportation, extended warranties on TV's, cars, rental cars, tires, appliances, phones, computers, etc.? Would it not be more prudent to investigate what is covered for each policy and the cost on everything and if you have duplicate insurance or warranties. Then, if the total cost seems like it's a good idea to self-insure, whatever needs to be covered for any reason could be paid for with the money saved from buying all the individual coverage. Even many credit card companies have insurance for you if and when needed and many health insurance plans cover healthcare in areas all around the World. Most of these cruise plans require you to file a claim with your primary health insurance company and pay only in situations that are not covered, where there is not pre-existing conditions and many other clauses that people are usually not aware of until something happens and they decide to read what they have purchased.

 

Some insurance is required like fire insurance if a mortgage or car insurance by law or health insurance because our all-knowing government wants to control healthcare and didn't know a better way. So, if the deductibles are set high enough to keep cost low enough, some insurance is needed, but paying extra just seems kind of like paying more tax than needed.

 

But, like you say about the lady who seems to have gotten hurt on your cruise, it's not really our business and people will continue to purchase insurance based on fear, rather than need. The cruise lines need to make profit too, like the airlines who figured they could get away with charging for baggage and now insurance to keep their profits up 500%(UAL) over the past 5 years.

 

So, good luck, have fun and Happy Cruising and Insuring!

[realcindylouwho]

Our decision that we NEED insurance is based on fact (not fear) that my Father in Law has Pulminary Fibrosis and can become critically ill very quickly. From what I have read, Medicare doesn’t cover health care services you get when the ship is more than 6

hours away from a U.S. port. There is a good fact sheet that can be viewed at medicare.gov concerning medicare coverage outside of the United States for those who would like to check the facts before purchasing travel insurance. A supplimental policy is a necessity. I don't have time to wonder if we are covered or not in a foreign country while sitting in their E.R., while my loved one is fighting to breath, fighting to live. In addition, the cost of canceling the Garden Villa for six people before a cruise would be painful to the wallet. Maybe Bill had gotten sick ten days before the cruise and was hospitalized in serious condition? NCL's cancelation policy allows for a re-imbursement of 0% of the full payment at 55 days and less when a high-end suite is booked. That is the price of an entire semester of out of state tuition, dorm fees and living expenses and we would never throw that amount of money away! We happily paid NCL $X amount of money with the guarentee that we would receive $XXXXXX amount of money back had we needed to cancel based on the health of Bill and his pre-existing condition. Just this re-assurance alone was worth the price for us. Everyone needs to make their own decisions based on facts, risks involved and amount of money lost.

 

Our family fully participates in life and doesn't sit in the bleachers watching from safety. We snorkel, climb, hike, zipline, swim, play tug-of-war and dive. We break ribs, wrists, arms, hands, fingers and elbows. Two of the four of us have had emergency appendectomies, myself and Debit. Life happens and you can't control accidents or illnesses. I had five surgeries in six year, three accident based and two illness based. Our friends joke that the Peterson family must have paid for an entire wing of our local hospital. I sometimes think it is partially true!:rolleyes:

 

As for the reference to needing travel insurance, the Jewel was diverted off path back to Cozumel so an injured passenger could receive quicker medical care rather than stay on the ship and wait an additional two days for medical intervention inthe U.S.. I certainly hope they had insurance to cover this unplanned event. Many people do not have any type of medical coverage. Last year I worked with a gal who loved to cruise on Carnival once a year. She and her husband did not have health insurance, as they preferred to spend their money in other ways. My family personally knows the extreme cost of a spinal cord injury as my father broke his neck resulting in full paralysis in '93. He had excellent federal employee health insurance but blew through the million dollar policy in 6 months. He had to sell all of his assets to recieve Medicaid. A serious injury can wipe out all best laid plans and turn a life inside out.

 

We are thankful that the money we paid to NCL for travel insurance was thrown into the wind and blown away. Had we needed to use this policy, we wouldn't be happily typing away at our computer recalling all of these crazy memories!!!:D

Edited December 15, 2014 by realcindylouwho

[Happy Traveler 0923]

You guys are bringing up a subject that Mike and I didn't even approach when we asked you if you buy insurance. (This whole health issue, we hadn't even thought of that contingency) After our wonderful 15 hour bus ride to get to the cruise terminal since all the fog closed the Wichita airport, we swore that we would always purchase the insurance! I didn't buy the insurance as I booked our trip so close to sail date and we have never missed a vacation, I simply didn't see the value. Now that I see how "iffy" airline service can be, I have already purchased insurance for our next cruise in April. No way am I going to let something that I have absolutely no control over (airplanes not taking off) ruin my vacation, or at the least lose all of the money I shelled out for our suite.

Mike knows that I hate to buy insurance and we asked everyone we met on this Thanksgiving cruise if they buy the insurance. Every single person we talked to buys the insurance. Me being the cheapskate accountant always thought of this as extended warranties and just another way to separate me from my money. But no more.

[SuiteCruisin14]

THANK YOU!

 

This was a very fresh and enlightening review. I thoroughly enjoyed every minute of both writing styles.

 

Also, thanks for explaining about Medical coverage away from the USA, we buy every time but many are not aware that they may not be covered.

 

Lynda

[KW_Cruisers]

I was not really trying to be critical of anyone buying insurance that gives them peace of mind to enjoy their vacation to the fullest.

 

What I meant to say was that many folks thought their insurance covered things that it did not or had duplicate coverage. For instance my supplemental to medicare covers up to $50,000 worldwide for such things as ER, etc. Some other plans, like the basic medicare may not cover much. But Cigna Healthspring Preferred HMO covers a lot of stuff and has no additional cost beyond medicare. My credit card covers additional insurance on rental cars and I do carry the policy statement explaining what they cover and who to contact if in need.

 

Like I said, (and you did too in He Said), It's really not our business - If people have coverage, what is covered for others medical, trip interruption, how they can get reimbursed, etc. I've talked with many people that hoped their insurance plans covered much more than they really did and others who thought they could get insurance to pay, but found out they could not. Just hoping people find out before they try to make a claim if their insurance covers what they need it for at the time. With my plan, everything is covered, even if I decide not to go at the last minute or miss a plane or hotel or ship. Now, if my house or car burns up, I have double coverage, but we hope that doesn't happen.

 

Heck, our main plan is to prevent injuries and accidents anyway & not use any of our plans. I rarely comment on insurance or self-coverage, but as you started your last review with the comments about insurance, it brought up the subject.

 

Anyway, we are thrilled that you enjoyed your cruise, even with the mishap at sea, enjoyed the adventures of traffic, barren port areas and car rental in Houston area.

 

Have Fun & Happy Holidays,

John

[WildcatRock]

I'm glad you brought it up! Wifey and I talked this afternoon that I need to find out if our insurance covers us when we're out of the country. You are absolutely correct that people need to read these trip insurance policies to see what they do and do not cover. I remember a while back there was a thread that was covering this and it was started by someone who had taken out trip insurance for a cruise on NCL. They stopped in Cozumel and went in the Taste of Cozumel excursion. During the excursion they drank a little tequila, just a little sample. While walking out of the building they were in, they fell and broke a bone - their ankle I think. They filed a claim on their trip insurance.....and why was it denied??? Because they admitted they had sampled tequila. They weren't intoxicated, they simply tripped, but the ship of tequila negated their claim.

 

Another fact about the insurance company - they will quickly take your premium money; then if you file a claim, they will try their best to not pay!

 

We take out the trip insurance for piece of mind. But we've read the policy and know what it covers. I would encourage everyone to research trip insurance before they buy it as it may or may not be a fit for you.

 

Sent from my XT1080 using Forums mobile app

[GORDONCHICK]

One thing to note about rental cars being covered by your credit card - if there is damage to the car, you are responsible right on the spot to pay for it. Your credit card won't, but you will have to somehow. Your credit card may or may not reimburse you in the end after they investigate and if you can afford to replace the car, then don't worry about it. Otherwise...

 

Besides my credit card covering it, so does my regular car insurance. But it still won't pay immediately. Same issue.

Edited December 16, 2014 by GORDONCHICK

[realcindylouwho]

One thing to note about rental cars being covered by your credit card - if there is damage to the car, you are responsible right on the spot to pay for it. Your credit card won't, but you will have to somehow. Your credit card may or may not reimburse you in the end after they investigate and if you can afford to replace the car, then don't worry about it. Otherwise...

 

Besides my credit card covering it, so does my regular car insurance. But it still won't pay immediately. Same issue.

 

I want to bang my head against the counter when Kent purchases the liability insurance when we rent a car. I hate any additional expenses and love to research costs and benefits, trying to find the best option for us. Now I need to more closely check into our credit card to see exactly how they handle this type of insurance/re-imbursement/etc. Thanks Carmen!

 

However, we had our rental car's windshield crack in June on vacation at Ormond Beach (we have no idea how it happened) and we simply turned the car in and walked away. Our personal car insurance was not notified and there were no forms to fill out. We had to have two of our own car's windshields replaced in 2013 and the price was less than our deductable, so we paid it out of our pocket. Since we had a reasonable idea what it costs to replace a windshield in our town and the additional insurance we purchased at the car rental agency is less than that, we came out ahead.We figure if there are no claims, then there will be no increases to our policy's yearly cost because of a filled and paid claim. Debit costs us a fortune on our insurance since he is an 18 year old driver and they have some of the highest rates due to distracted driving, inexperience, etc.

 

While there may be a less expensive way to be fully covered, Kent prefers the simplest, easiest way for us. Hand them the keys and walk away.

[GORDONCHICK]

Rick's head spun around when I told him I bought the flight insurance for our Alaska trip in May/June. It was $120 for $2000 in airfare. While we are flying to Vancouver the day before we get on the ship, it would really mess up the rest of the trip if flights were canceled, weather issues, etc. After hearing about Happy Traveler's bus ride to Houston to catch our ship, I made an executive decision on the insurance. Besides Rick's head spinning more than once, it's a done deal and can't be reversed anyway. It's just peace of mind. I'm never relaxed until we are in the embarkation port city anyway.

[Happy Traveler 0923]

I want to bang my head against the counter when Kent purchases the liability insurance when we rent a car.

 

You're funny, and I feel your pain - I never get the insurance at the rental car counter. I am right this minute finishing up an insurance claim for a rental car. We had a fender bender over Labor Day weekend. Turned in the rental, but no one was working the counter at 6am in Brainerd, MN. Made contact the next day, let Hertz work it out with our insurance Farmers, we didn't have to do anything. Farmers negotiated a lower amount (the rental companies always throw in "loss of use" and a processing fee) and paid just last week. I have now forwarded the balance over to my credit card company and so far, so good. I have found that our credit card covers a lot of things that we just don't know about. I did ask if they would have covered anything if we missed this cruise since our flight was cancelled, that was a no go. But they do help me when I have a flight delayed and have to spend the night...they pay for hotel and if I have to purchase any toiletries because I don't have my baggage. I don't intend to sound like a commercial for Discover, buy I have been very pleased with them for over 15 years.

[KW_Cruisers]

... It's just peace of mind. I'm never relaxed until we are in the embarkation port city anyway.

 

I'm just curious - how did they all know your name on NCL Spirit? Name tag?

 

Anyway, the main reason I jumped on this forum is we were trying to get some info about how things might be on Norwegian Spirit for our upcoming Med cruise in only 5 months now. Seems like it was renovated since 2009, but see where you stayed with NCL on others after that, so must not have been a bad cruise. As we saved about $2000 from Island Princess cruise, figure we can eat at specialty restaurants if things are really as bad as described on the mixed reviews. :rolleyes:

 

We were on Mariner OTS from Rome (Civitavecchia) TA a couple of years ago and really enjoyed the huge CC group, many private excursions, etc. How do you think it compared with NCL? :confused:

 

We think we should survive the Freestyle cruise May 19 from Barcelona to May 31 in Venice, great ports along the way, NTR (no tux required), better port hours & should not spend much time in the tiny cabin with micro balcony anyway.

 

Happy Holidays,

John

[GORDONCHICK]

I'm just curious - how did they all know your name on NCL Spirit? Name tag?

 

Anyway, the main reason I jumped on this forum is we were trying to get some info about how things might be on Norwegian Spirit for our upcoming Med cruise in only 5 months now. Seems like it was renovated since 2009, but see where you stayed with NCL on others after that, so must not have been a bad cruise. As we saved about $2000 from Island Princess cruise, figure we can eat at specialty restaurants if things are really as bad as described on the mixed reviews. :rolleyes:

 

We were on Mariner OTS from Rome (Civitavecchia) TA a couple of years ago and really enjoyed the huge CC group, many private excursions, etc. How do you think it compared with NCL? :confused:

 

We think we should survive the Freestyle cruise May 19 from Barcelona to May 31 in Venice, great ports along the way, NTR (no tux required), better port hours & should not spend much time in the tiny cabin with micro balcony anyway.

 

Happy Holidays,

John

 

It's a strange thing. I met the concierge on that cruise the first day - but we weren't in a suite or anything, nor had we met or had use of one on any other cruises. We just kind of hit it off and chatted when we saw him, but he was always on the move but seemed to very attentive to his suite passengers. He and I exchanged email addresses and are still in touch even though he left NCL. Anyway, he introduced us to the HD - the incomparable Sean, and after that, it seemed everyone knew our names (except the captain, which was fine) no matter where we went. On our previous cruises, our cabin steward knew our names and that was it. But on that cruise, we'd get stopped by officers around the ship just to chat. Definitely a new thing for us.

 

Anyway, the Spirit is a lovely ship and very easy to navigate. We did have a great cruise on the Spirit because we got home and turned around and booked the Pearl for the following year (and as luck would have it, our concierge buddy happened to get transferred to the Pearl and disembarked the same day we did, and he of course introduced us to more great officers and crew).

[KW_Cruisers]

Thanks for the info.

 

We've had experiences kind of like that too - on a TransPacific cruise from Sydney to Honolulu one of the officers was from Texas, noticed my wife's shirt that she wears sometimes with U of T. He would eat with us sometimes, took us on a private tour of the bridge, etc.

 

But here's the most hilarious part - My wife likes to go to all the dance venues, line dancing, zumba, whatever. I was going to enjoy the Hawaiian group that had boarded in American Samoa, but just before they were to play it started to rain on the open deck and all the equipment got covered & the show cancelled - They noticed that I was at a table by myself and ask if they could sit there under the covered area. Soon a ukelele was brought out, then another instrument and they did some practice, then the girls showed up and practiced their hula - People walking by asked who I was, the manager?

As it was their first cruise, they attended almost everything and when coming into the show that night each of the girls leaned over and kissed me on the cheek, while the guys said Alohas - Well, my wife wondered what was going on, so I told her these are the people I mentioned I had met in the afternoon. Sure, I introduced her to them all, but it was even more enjoyable for the cruise. You say, were they from Hawaii? It seemed like it, but they were really from San Diego. They even went to exercise classes in the morning - my job was to not do the exercises, when my wife went to these things, but I took photos. Kind of like being a manager.

 

Aloha & Merry Christmas,

John

[WildcatRock]

Day 8 (Friday, November 28): Sea Day #2, Judy and Bill get their “Groove On”, Credit and Debit go on The Quest

 

We’ve always enjoyed sea days – namely, the relaxation one gets to experience by doing absolutely nothing. You get up in the morning, put on your swim suit, shirt, and sandals, grab some breakfast, and then either lounge in a chair by the pool, or lounge in a chair on your balcony watching the ocean glide by. Yes this is somewhat muted by the knowledge that in 24 hours you’ll be back in the ‘real world’ travelling home, your wonderful cruise vacation already a memory. But there you are, lounging in a chair, the sea before you and the blue sky above you. Maybe you go to a martini tasting, or a Mojito tasting. You go out for dinner one last time, go catch the farewell show in the Stardust Theater, then go laugh your booty off watching The Quest. What a great day….a sea day. The great thing on this cruise, and the first time for us, we had not one, but two sea days coming home. And it was pure bliss.

 

He Said:

 

I really don’t have a lot to say about today, other than it was, for me, probably the best sea day I’ve ever experienced. The weather was perfect – a sunny and warm day. By far, the best day of the cruise. This was evident by looking at the pool deck and the loungers on the deck above – both were full of cruisers happily to be able to finally soak in the Sun’s rays.

 

Our day began as usual – heading to Moderno for breakfast. But as we left the GV, again, there was no sight of Judy and Bill. Where could they be? That question was quickly answered when we got to Moderno and the hostess said, without us asking, that Judy and Bill were already there, and were waiting on us. What? Mr. and Mrs. Magoo were there….waiting on us? We walked into Moderno and saw them at the table………who were these people I wondered? There they were, happy, smiles on the faces, relaxed, clearly enjoying themselves. I studied them throughout breakfast – there was something different about them. I wondered what it was.

 

Towards the end of breakfast they told us what their plans were for the morning – where they were going. I heard this and choked on a bite of English muffin - what the freaking heck?!? Judy and Bill made plans….and now where they’re going…..and know how to get there?!?! Who are these people?

 

Breakfast concluded and we then headed to the bridge for a tour. We've been on a bridge tour before but this was a first for Judy and Bill, and boy were they excited. Capt Persson did not disappoint as he spent a lot of time with us and gave us a lot of interesting info. After the bridge tour the family split – Judy and Bill went on their adventure, Credit and Debit left to find their friends, Wifey and I, I think, walked around the ship a little bit then went to the GV and up to the sun deck.

 

We spent the majority of the day there, leaving only to grab some lunch. This was, by far, the best day yet, and the best day we’d had to enjoy the sun deck. And we were not going to miss this opportunity. We relaxed in the hammock, in the chairs, in the loungers. Credit and Debit showed up throughout the day with their friends and either spent time in the hot tub or on the sun deck relaxing with their friends and us. Judy and Bill showed up, smiling, and having fun. The looked relaxed and happy. Judy sat down with Cindy and played some Scrabble.

 

A band started playing some old time tunes that Judy and Bill knew and could dance to. And guess what, they did dance. I was sitting in a chair by the front railing overlooking the pool deck and noticed Cindy was taking a picture of something behind me. I turned around and……..OMG…..what??? Judy and Bill were dancing!! Who are these people I thought? This wasn’t the same couple who had walked on the ship almost a week before confused, frustrated, trying to understand how the Wonkavator worked. They were different. Then it hit me……………Judy and Bill had become…………..CRUISERS!! Their transformation was complete – they were relaxed, happy, comfortable with the ship, and with cruising. My week was complete when I saw them dancing as I knew Cindy and I had accomplished what we had set out to do – to show Judy and Bill that great cruise experiences were possible.

 

That night we went to La Cucina for dinner, and had a very yummy meal. For me, La Cucina is a hidden treat – a lot of people don’t know where it is, it’s a smaller restaurant, but the food has always been good. The service this night was excellent – a great way to end the cruise.

 

Wifey and I hit Malting’s and chatted with friends. Credit was there with some of his friends and we all celebrated the culmination of this wonderful cruise week.

 

Later that evening, Wifey and I realized The Quest had started so we hurried over to Spinnaker. We assumed that our boys were going to be participating…..and they were. I’ve always been fascinated by The Quest and what people will do for fun when they’re on a cruise ship, with people they don’t know, all just trying to have fun. Inhibitions go away and people do crazy things. It didn’t take us too long to find they boys…..we’re talking seconds. It was easy to find Debit. He was shirtless and had a big red heart drawn on his chest, a BIG red arrow pointing down from his chest, his pants unbuttoned, lipstick applied all over his mouth. Fortunately, some fellow cruisers decided they wanted to contribute to his college savings plan by putting some $1 bills in his underwear. Credit got to do a striptease…………..I was such a proud father. It was actually freaking hilarious seeing our two boys out there on the stage, participating in The Quest, and having a great time. Isn’t that what cruising is all about, letting loose and having fun? They had a great time as did Wifey and I cheering them on.

 

I really enjoyed our second sea day but as we walked back to the GV it hit me that in less than 12 hours we’d be leaving the Jewel. But my usual final night sadness was damped by the incredible experiences we had over the past week, and the amazing memories that we’ll have the rest of our lives.

 

She Said:

 

I completely agree. A sea day is a wonderful thing. This day brought us nearly complete sunshine, less wind and a comfortable outdoor temperature. We spent time in the sun and I will say that on this cruise there were very few chair hogs. I did note on this last, beautiful sea day of ours, even at lunch time, there were always two unused and unsaved loungers next to each other on the 13th deck just above the pool area. So, take the stairs up and do a sweep of this area if you are trying to locate loungers in the sun! The crew had set up a fantastic poolside BBQ and after smelling it for an hour and then peering down at the choices I decided that was what I was having for lunch. Kent, Bill and Judy decided they were hungry also and we all made our way through the quick line and headed back up to the suite to enjoy our meal at the covered outdoor table. I don’t recall Kent and I ever eating from the poolside BBQ before and I will make certain to pick this option on our next cruise as the food was delicious!

 

After lunch, Mom and I decided we needed a rematch in Scrabble and a fierce competition began. My Mom’s mother was a teacher and at 98 still enjoys playing Scrabble. I grew up playing Scrabble and still enjoy playing it to this day. Kent and I have played many games of Scrabble together and because he frequently accuses me of “creating” words, we own the official Scrabble dictionary. I had packed the game, but felt we wouldn’t need to refer to the dictionary on our vacation. My Mom won the first game and I won the second. We decided we were equally matched and declared we were both winners of our family cruise!

 

The service at La Cucina was the speediest of the cruise. Although we had reservations, they were unprepared for our arrival. While we waited at the hostess stand for them to make up the table, we witnessed a family try to walk up and be seated. The hostess stated they were full and they would need to choose a much later time in the evening or dine elsewhere. The strange thing was there were many tables available inside and I would guess only 25% of the tables were occupied. It also seemed as though there were only a few waiters in La Cucina. They certainly hustled to take care of their tables so maybe they had lower staff coverage here to place waiters in other restaurants? This would explain the empty tables with no availability. Weird. We were not offered the chocolate desserts for the Chocoholic Night. We ordered off the standard menu and then I mentioned to our waiter about the chocolate. Seriously, I love good chocolate and he had not offered the special menu? So he said he would bring out a sampler of all of the desserts. When it arrived, it had four desserts on it, two each of two of the desserts. He said these were his personal favorites. Again, weird. Why not bring us one of each of the four? Did someone drop a plate of the other two? What happened? I shrugged and dug my fork into both of them plus the tiramisu I had previously ordered. There was a mouse type dessert in a small crock that was great. The other one I can’t even remember, it was unimpressive. In around 50 minutes we were able to order and complete our meal, record time for this cruise! I’d had a couple of glasses of wine at supper but now I realized I hadn’t had the Mojito flight yet and it was the last night! Off to Modernos!

 

Modernos was busy and there were only three bar stools open at the bar. The tables near the door had people occupying them waiting for their dinner tables to be turned. Kent and I each ordered a flight. We should have ordered one flight and shared. One thing I was disappointed in was that these mojitos were premixed and the bartender added the alcohol, chilled the glasses and poured them. I would have preferred they had been hand made as ordered. The mojitos I loved, Kent didn’t care for, and vice versa. The one both of us could not drink was the one with the jalapeno. It would have been fantastic if the heat were lowered. We spent awhile in Moderno sipping our flight and people watching. This bar services Cagney’s and the wait staff from them were certainly hopping placing the drink orders. Our bartender was on solo duty and he worked fast and furiously. We knew that we would be meeting Rob and Nikki at Malting’s so I polished off what I could and we headed back downstairs. Nikki had a bottle of wine and I think I also had a bottle that needed finished off, so we went to work! As time went by Kent was ordering nasty shots (like Concrete Mixers!) and I’m certain we were loud and happy by this point.

 

Being a Quest audience member or participant requires you to be 18 and above and not easily insulted at adult behavior. This is all the caution that is required. Once you see Quest, you will either love it or hate it. Be prepared to laugh until your sides hurt or you tinkle just a little bit. Sometimes both may happen. It is a hilarious way to end an evening but be forewarned, while trying to fall asleep after watching Quest; you may not be able to get some visions out of your head.

 

Back to the room and I started to throw my clothes into the suitcase. Why does it take so long to pack for a cruise and it is quick to pack to return home? It was going to be a short night of sleep as it was a late night. As I waited for Mr. Sandman to arrive, I began to wonder if our flights tomorrow would be on time. After all, the numerous ways of transportation getting to the ship had worked perfectly and there couldn’t be such thing as a 100% score for transportation for the entire cruise, could there?

 

I do want to mention that every night of our cruise there was a Holiday Special at Malting from 6-8 p.m. Buy on Get One Free on the Fire Giving Cocktail, Angry Orchard, Winter Resolution Martini and Sam Adams Winter Lager. They also frequently advertised Fire Ball Shots for $4 at all open bars (blech!)

 

Tomorrow: Our wonderful cruise adventure ends……