Stacey's Semi-Solo Caribbean Conquest!!!

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[sunbird21]

Friday, May 6- Sea Day

 

 

 

I actually managed to sleep in a little bit, for me,and woke up around 8. Since it was a sea day, I was looking forward to having the Seaday brunch.

 

 

 

It was going to be a slightly busy day, as this was the day I was hosting our roll calls's pub crawl. I had planned on a bar bingo game, but still needed to copy a few more cards in case we actually had 30 something people show up. I left my cabin early, and wandered around getting some ship photos before going to the dining room.

 

 

 

 

As I was heading to brunch, I ran into C on deck 5, who was getting some coffee. When she heard that I was going to brunch, she was interested, so she quickly gathered her family and we met outside the dining room.

 

 

 

 

Dragana happened to be one of the morning hostesses, so she eagerly stopped by to consult on vegan meal choices with C. After placing her special order, I mentioned to C how I wanted to collect menus from each night to display here. C got up and collaborated with Dragana, and the next thing you know, Dragana gave me a master book of all of the menus for the cruise!!

 

 

 

 

I told you she was awesome!!

 

 

And THAT is the mystery as to how I obtained the menus for the nights I missed:)

 

 

 

 

I tried the chocolate chip pancakes today, which were pretty good. Everyone seemed to enjoy their meals, and we had a nice relaxing time chatting about the cruise thus far. P was eagerly asking when the next one would be.

 

 

 

 

 

There was a slight delay with C's meal- I think it was pancakes made with applesauce instead of eggs-when the server came back to claim that her substitution couldn't be accommodated.

 

 

 

 

It took a quick moment for C to consult her personal nutritionist, who pulled the poor server aside and gave him a tongue lashing, and C received her vegan pancakes shortly thereafter.

 

 

 

Vegans, I'm telling you- Dragana is your GIRL!!

 

 

 

 

We had a few interesting moments where O was feeling especially playful, and wanted to share his train with fellow diners by launching it through the air. His parents tried to take the toy away and calm him, but we did receive some dirty looks from the next table over. O responded by sending the train over to them at his next opportunity.

 

 

 

 

 

Unfortunately, this led to him being exiled from the dining room-by his mother that is, for a few minutes.

 

 

 

 

We wrapped up our meal not long after, and headed for Lido. We ran into M and V, awake and eating at the buffet.

 

 

 

 

We hung out on deck for a couple of hours until C and P took the kids to Camp Ocean and headed to the art auction registration. I didn't see anyone for awhile after that. I gave my sunburned skin a break and went inside to the computer lab to print some extra bingo cards.

 

 

 

 

I'll take this moment to touch on the computer plans- there are three different rates, and I had found the social media plan($5 a day) to be the most useful on my previous Dream cruise. However, on one of the last days, i needed to upgrade to the middle plan to access a website. I had thought that I could purchase just a day pass at that point, but they base upgrades on how you originally purchase. Since I purchased for the week, I had to upgrade to the week price of the middle plan, even though it had been the last day of that cruise.

 

 

 

 

This time, I decided to try something different-I purchased just a 24 hour pass at a time, mostly choosing the $5 plan, but paying for the $16 plan a couple of days. It actually worked out well for me this way, and I ended up spending not that much, since I didn't even buy any Internet two of the days. I recommend this method if you are unsure and think you may need the middle plan, but don't want to pay for the weekly price of it.

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Anyway, after I finished, I headed back outside just in time for the Hairy Chest competition.

 

 

I do admit that I did a rare faux pas and hogged a chair with my towel while I was gone, but was only away for about a half an hour. I found my lounger intact (on the Verandah deck, last lounger by the stairs over the Redfrog) but had people standing directly in front of it,watching the show. I would give them a pass since I wasn't there,but they were standing in front of people who WERE on the loungers as well.

 

 

 

 

I exchanged some annoyed looks with those people and got up to "adjust" my lounger and "accidentally" sacrificed a drink by knocking it over. The combo had a few people scramble away.

 

 

 

I watched the competition, which was entertaining, but enjoyed the next show better, which was the Last Wo/Man Standing. This is more of a scavenger hunt, where they get volunteers to find items and race back, as the host, Baby Jane, pulls away a chair, musical chair style One of the guys from the Quest show a couple of nights ago was in it, so it was pretty funny.

 

 

 

 

 

Afterwards, I found M and V at-wait for it- RedFrog. Of course, Vijay was on, and we chatted with him a bit. He had another rum that was similar to the Zegrapa, so he encouraged me to try that.

 

 

 

 

A couple of the roll call couples showed up and we all hung out for awhile.

 

 

 

Slight digression here….

 

 

 

I had originally scheduled the pub crawl at 3, but during the week, a few roll call people were suggesting that 2pm would be a better time. So, against better judgement, i posted that we would change it to 2. The roll call organizer verbalized being hesitant, as not everyone had internet access, but I was caught in a people pleasing moment, I suppose. I figured I would see who showed up at 2, and if not that many did, I would keep it until 3. Since the only people that I knew for sure knew it was at 2 were the six or so people I kept running into all week, I figured it would work out.

 

 

 

 

M and V left just before 2, since of course THAT WAS WHEN THE SECOND AND LAST HASBRO SHOW WAS BEING HELD….GRRR!!!! They were meeting up with P,C and family there.

 

 

 

 

I still had the two couples there and ready to go, so we made the long walk across the deck to the Blue Iguana, which was the starting point.

 

 

 

 

There were two other couples there, one of whom was on a scooter and said they didn't want to drink. I invited them over to talk to the others, which they did. The other couple said they were strictly non drinkers.

 

 

 

 

We all waited about 15 minutes,chatting, when I determined that the 2pm time was a wash. I asked the others if they minded waiting until 3. The two new couples, who were not interested in drinking, had other plans, so they took off. The original four were perfectly content to keep me company agreed easily.

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So, we relaxed at the bar and chatted a bit until 3 pm. One other couple showed up at the original time, also a couple that I've run into many times-actually the husband was in the mixologist competition with me.

 

 

 

 

This time, I waited another ten minutes, and my friends arrived to check on the status. It seemed like we were it, so I handed out the bingo cards and explained the game.

 

 

 

I had thought it would take a few bars before we got a Bingo, but one of the couples won quickly. Luckily, I had multiple "prizes," and theirs was an NYC shot glass.

 

 

 

Quick insert to say lesson for the day- if you plan an event, stick with one time and don't let yourself be talked out of it. That being said, I don't think the time confusion left anyone out, since I remained at Blue Iguana from 2-3:20.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Anyway, we progressed from Blue Iguana, back to the Redfrog, and then out the the aft pool bar. Then we made our way down to the casino bar and the sports club bars.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The lobby bar was our last stop, but we actually lost most people after the sports bar. The few remaining limped our way down the stairs to the lobby bar and finished with a round of espresso martinis by Pari.

 

 

 

And I was worried that we were missing out by being too early for Alchemy and the other night bars….

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It was absolutely time for food at this point. Three guesses as to where we headed…

 

 

 

If you guessed Guy's, you'd be…WRONG! I switched it up for a Blue Iguana burrito today.

 

 

 

By this point, it was just my original group, and we had the kids back with us-the kids club closes in the afternoon for a couple of hours.

 

 

 

Somehow, we ended up at the Vincent's club for early evening karaoke, which can only be enjoyed when you are truly wasted.

 

 

 

Thankfully,there were only a few others in there that were subjected to our singing…as L so bluntly told us later, we "were TERRIBLE!" O was passed out on the couch and missed all of the fun.

 

 

 

 

The guys naturally took this opportunity to go onstage and perform "Stacey's Mom," a song that they had been torturing me with all week.

 

 

 

We did do a group song to "Piano Man," which closed down the wild club and karaoke session.

 

 

 

It was definitely nap time after this, so we separated.

 

 

 

I took this awesome selfie as I collapsed onto my bed.

 

 

 

 

I woke up after a short nap with barely enough time to get ready for the second elegant night. I made my way directly to Monet(obviously not needing pre dinner drinks today), and my friends straggled in behind me, looking just as weary as I did.

 

 

 

 

We were all still full/hungover/still drunk, so we skipped appetizers and sped through dinner.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We had just the right amount of energy to wander deck 5 and take some formal pictures before the 10pm show, Divas.

 

 

 

The show was pretty good, with a lot of 70/80/90's female pop artist renditions- Whitney,Madonna, etc. It was just enough to wake us up and give us energy to go to the comedy show, which was Smiley Joe again.

 

 

 

Afterward, I was really having a hard time staying awake, so I separated from the crowd. C and P put the kids back into night babysitting, for which there was a fee until they closed at 1am, and headed to the nightclub in hopes of better dance music. I think V and M just hung out here and there, but it was definitely bedtime for me!

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Second formal night menu...

 

 

 

 

 

[sunbird21]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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[sunbird21]

Saturday, May 7-Final Sea Day

 

 

 

This was Day 8 of the cruise, and officially the longest itinerary I had been on. Surprisingly, it didn't feel too long, with the four port days. I really liked having the two sea days at the end to wind down.

 

 

 

I was up at my usual time, which was helpful because we all had early plans on this last sea day.

 

 

 

 

I had been intrigued about the Dr Seuss Green Eggs and Ham breakfast, and I know adults can attend without kids, but I had a built in excuse on this cruise, and I was running with it. Our entire group signed up for it, and despite the late night, everyone was up,dressed and at the dining room at 8:30 sharp, so I'm guessing we were all interested in it.

 

 

 

 

We took some pics of the boys in the Thing One and Thing Two cutouts before being shown to our table. We had a good spot, front and center to where they lined the characters up.

 

 

 

 

 

Some atmosphere photos…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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C decided that we needed to get into the spirit of the meal and wanted us all to get separate items and order our meals as each blurb was written in the book. We indulged her.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I do think we hit everything, green eggs, cat in the hat pancakes, cereal french toast, waffles. I was torn as to what to get-I had eyed the pancakes but they looked a little dry,plus I had had pancakes the day before. So, I stuck with a tried and true and got the Fruit Loops French toast.

 

 

 

After we ordered, the first characters, Things 1 & 2 came out for pictures. It was then as I was taking pictures of C and L that i noticed that my left arm was sore. Like, really sore. Like, I couldn't lift it past chest level to take a picture sore.

 

 

 

 

I didn't think too much of it yet, and went to get a picture with them. Then I noticed that it hurt too much to put my arm behind Thing 2, who was probably offended that I hugged Thing 1, but it was painful.

 

 

 

 

I tried moving it around a little during breakfast, figuring that I must have slept on it wrong and it would go away during the meal.

 

 

 

 

In the meantime, our meals arrived. Sadly, though they were photogenic, the taste factor was pretty low. My French toast,which is usually good, was VERY dry. M, who had gotten the multicolored waffles, only said that they were "disgusting." L didn't seem too thrilled with the pancakes, and the green eggs and ham did not go over well at all-can't recall who had that.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It was still an enjoyable experience, with the decor and characters. The Cat and Sam came around, although I refrained from getting my picture with them.

 

 

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Once we finished, we separated to various activities. C and family were off to the towel animal show, V and M to the gym. I opted to go back outside in hopes that the heat would relax my arm muscles. Hey, that was my theory, and I'm sticking to it.

 

 

 

Even though I wasn't completely burned out on the cruise, I was ready for a quiet day. I decided to get a lounger on the Verandah deck on the side, where it was shadier and quieter. I settled in with my iPad and read for a bit.

 

 

 

 

After awhile, I decided it was time to make my way through my last day of CHEERS, so I ventured down to my bar-you all know it at this point- and found Vijay to be not too busy. I asked him to make me a Monkey LaLa again (great guess!), and he remembered most of the recipe. He did forget to line the glass with chocolate, but I didn't want to bug him about it. However, once I made it back upstairs and took a few sips, it was pretty bland without it, so I went downstairs and politely asked him if he could just drizzle some on top for me to stir in.

 

 

 

 

He laughed, "I thought something was missing!" He refused to give me a drizzle, instead taking the drink and pouring it into a fresh, chocolate lined glass.

 

 

 

I totally loved this guy.

 

 

 

With a proper Monkey LaLa in hand, I went back to relaxing and reading on deck for awhile until V and M found me, having finished a jog on the track. We went back downstairs to Vijay and tried to round out the menu with drinks we had yet to try.

 

 

 

 

One of the roll call couples ended up there too, and we sat and did a Fireball shot while watching the poolside Derby race game and the Groove for St Jude.

 

 

 

 

After this, we were sunned out for a bit, so went inside to watch Charades in the lobby bar. We ended up having another espresso martini from Pari and chatted with her a bit. After 20 minutes passed the time the show was supposed to start, it became obvious that it wasn't happening. We weren't sure what was up, but they had random music playing and no one made any announcements to inform us that it had been canceled.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We wandered around the shops for a bit, and then separated.

 

 

 

 

I was getting tired,even though it was early, so I headed back to the cabin. On the way, I ran into the girl who was in the competition with me. She and her husband had been given one of the $50 spa credits that had been floating around, but didn't want to use it. She offered it to me since I had given them a free drink the other day. Of course, I declined at first, but when she insisted that they weren't using it, I accepted graciously.

 

 

 

 

 

I was pretty doubtful as to whether or not I could actually use it, so I called the spa upon my return to the cabin. Surprisingly, they accepted it, so I made an appointment for later that afternoon.

 

 

 

 

My arm was still hurting, which was another reason I was feeling pretty washed out. I was hoping a nap would help-since the heat did nothing.

 

 

 

Unfortunately, after my nap, the arm was still sore, and I still couldn't lift it very high. I was starting to get a little worried. I took some Advil and got ready for my massage.

 

 

 

 

On my way to the spa, I stopped by the Cleveland couple's room to write Happy Birthday on the board,as it was the woman's birthday. They heard me outside, and invited me in for a minute. They had an ocean view cabin, which was set up very similar to my balcony cabin on the Valor, with a sofa and bed-just a window instead of the balcony, of course, but pretty nice. We chatted for a few minutes before I headed back to the spa.

 

 

 

Once I arrived, I told the masseuse about my sore arm and asked for it to be eliminated from the massage-at this point, i didn't trust anyone to touch it. She offered to lightly massage some pain ointment onto it, which I accepted.

 

 

 

 

During the massage, she asked me what activities I had done, and I honestly could not think of ANYthing that would be causing this much pain.

 

 

 

 

Then she asked, "What about shore excursions?"

 

 

 

Ding. Ding. Ding.

 

 

 

 

As images of me dangling my body weight from a metal swing and throwing myself into the ocean played in my head, I hesitantly verbalized the action.

 

 

 

 

The masseuse nodded, confirming that that was the likely culprit.

 

 

 

Now I had visions of a torn rotator cuff and surgery playing. Needless to say, the remainder of the massage, though it was good, was NOT relaxing.

 

 

 

 

Afterwards, she made her usual sales pitch, especially emphasizing for me to buy the pain ointment. I declined, giving my usual line of having purchased the products "just a few months ago" on another ship.

 

 

 

She tried to sell the pain ointment again, but since we were land bound in about 18 hrs, I declined,saying that I would go to the emergency room the next day, if needed. There wasn't much argument to that!

 

 

 

 

Upon my return to the cabin, my paranoid brain was working overtime, and I made a semi coherent call to V, who is a PA. She came to my cabin, assessed me, and said to watch it for a day or two to see if the pain decreased/mobility increased. She was doubtful about a rotator cuff repair but was willing to take me to an urgent care/ER the next day if need be.

 

 

 

 

With that, I got ready for our last dinner, having some difficulty with changing my shirt. I forced myself to do so when I realized that I was going to have to call a friend to help me, and pride managed to lift my arm just enough to get the job done.

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We all met at Alchemy for our final pre dinner drinks and had Juliana serve us some fruity shot with a mint leave that she set aflame. It was tasty!

 

 

 

 

For our final dinner, we had the appetizer and meal but skipped dessert, since we wanted to see Smiley Joe one last time, and his only show was at 9:30. Unfortunately, this meant we missed the "Leaving on a Funship" song, but we did take time to say goodbye to Rafael and Daniela.

 

 

 

 

 

 

We made it to Degas one last time to find a full house. Smiley Joe had quite the reputation.

 

 

 

 

 

The final show was hysterical, and we were rolling, until he gave his closing speech. He then talked about the importance of a positive attitude and talked about his difficult childhood and his son's murder and his wife dying from cancer. It definitely quieted the crowd, as he left us with a heartfelt "cherish the moment" goodbye. We all gave him a standing ovation.

 

 

 

As we headed out, the others were going to the Latin Nights show, but since they had packed earlier, while I was at the spa, it was my turn to be responsible. I returned to the cabin to pack and put my luggage outside by 11.

 

 

 

Putu left me with a final towel animal…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I scrambled to pack and just made the final cutoff. As soon as I put my bags outside, someone came down with a rolling cart and swept them away.

 

 

 

With that, I collapsed in bed for the final night of the cruise.

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Final night menu....

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[sunbird21]

 

 

 

 

 

 

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[sunbird21]

Sunday, May 8- Debarkation/Ft. Lauderdale Day

 

And so we returned…

 

I was up early again, and gently tested my arm. It wasn't hurting by itself but I still couldn't lift it.

 

I got ready and did a final cabin sweep, collecting my remaining items into my purse. I tried to help Putu by throwing everything else into the bins before heading up for a final breakfast.

 

 

 

Yes, the dining room is open for a couple hours the final morning.

 

 

 

Wow, I'm using the word "final" a lot. Depressing.

 

 

 

Anyway, I had my eggs benedict one more time, and even managed to get a Coke, despite the CHEERS package being done as of last night. I guess they figured a soda wasn't going to kill them.

 

 

 

 

It was still very early, so I went outside to take some pictures of the outside decks. It was pretty quiet.

 

 

 

 

 

As I walked around, I managed to catch photos of the sunrise. It was a pretty peaceful sail in, and I saw the Allure next to us as we pulled in.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I was on the upper decks, near the bow, when I saw the area where Serenity is located on other ships. On the Conquest…it's just empty space. I don't know why they don't just set up a Serenity area up here, even without the hot tubs. It wouldn't require a dry dock and would give adults another quiet place on sun days.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In either case, if you're looking for extra spots on a sea day, check this area out. I doubt a lot of people found it.

 

 

 

Once I was done taking ship pictures, I returned to my cabin, gathered my belonging, and bid it goodbye. I found Putu outside in the next room and gave him an extra $20, since he had been the best steward I had had in the last three cruises. It's sad that the traditional service is fading.

 

 

 

 

I know that this is a HUGE debate on the boards, and I'm not trying to incite it. I do think that these workers are overworked and I know that the auto gratuities are a huge part of their salary.

 

 

 

However, I do think that the original service was part of the auto gratuities, and with the rates being increased, I feel that the level of service should be staying the same, not being decreased. I know its not the stewards fault, that they are being given double the work-and that is the fault of the company. I definitely think that there is some greed going on here, and they are trying to justify it by giving the option for some passengers to decrease the amount of work for the stewards. When the passengers protest and request the same level of service that they expected (especially for a higher price), they twist it around and make it seem like people are acting "elite" and "entitled."

 

 

 

And the way they accomplish this is merely by having forums, be it Cruise Critic, Facebook or John Heald's page, be the outlet for passengers to turn on each other. If someone says, "No, I'm paying upwards of $15 a day, I want twice daily service and a towel animal," others are quick to call them out by saying "Oh, but you don't get that in a hotel/resort/home." It's kind of genius, actually, and very few people realize what the real argument is, and who the real culprits are.

 

 

 

 

 

That being said, they did get me to appreciate traditional service, which is why I let Putu know this, and gave him an extra tip.

 

 

 

Anyway, end rant.

[sunbird21]

I went upstairs to relax on deck and read until my friends made their appearance known. It didn't take too long before I saw them and their belongings emerge onto the Lido deck.

 

 

 

 

I met up with them in the buffet and we chatted a bit while planning the day. We wanted to go to the air show on the Ft Lauderdale beach, so I placed a call to my post cruise hotel, the Hyatt Regency, to see if I was allowed to let them store their luggage there.

 

 

 

 

Luckily, they said it wouldn't be a problem. I let them know, and we planned to get a cab to the hotel.

 

 

 

 

V had purchased some photos prior to arriving at the buffet. C had said there was one last picture of L by the piano that she wanted to buy, so she wanted to go downstairs to get it. V told her that they were closed-it was just after 9.

 

 

 

 

I was doubtful about this, as the photo gallery was open well past 10:30 on the Dream. In fact, my mother and I had been browsing the photo walls right up until our number was called to leave the ship.

 

 

 

So, I opted to go down with C to check it out. Sure enough, the walls were closed, but a cashier was still there.

 

 

 

We approached and asked about finding L's picture.

 

 

 

The girls glanced at us. "We close at 9."

 

 

I tried to debate the timing with her as C pleaded to be allowed to search for the photo.

 

 

 

The woman shook her head. "All the photos have been destroyed," she deadpanned.

 

 

 

It was 9:15. "You mean to tell me that the thousands of pictures have been destroyed in the last fifteen minutes?" I asked.

 

 

 

She glared at me. "They have been transferred off the ship already to a secure location."

 

 

 

"In the last FIFTEEN minutes??" The ship had JUST started letting people off.

 

 

 

She remained impassive, so we left her in search of someone else. Luckily, we ran into a photo manager just outside the gallery.

 

 

 

We told him the story, including the belief that the gallery was open until at least ten. We described the photo,which night it had been taken, and pleaded to be allowed to look for it.

 

 

 

The guy hesitated. "You know what night it was for sure?"

 

 

 

Our hopes were raised as we swore up and down we did-C even knew which wall it had been on.

 

 

 

The guy hesitated another minute, then looked over at the cashier. She shook her head.

 

 

 

"No, I'm sorry-they're all gone," he said.

 

 

 

***?!?!

 

 

 

We tried to debate, but he insisted that they had magically disappeared in the last few minutes. Then he claimed, "Besides, all of the passengers have to be off the ship in the next few minutes."

 

 

 

I argued back. "They just called Group 5, and we are group 21, and we don't have to be off until 10:30," I countered.

 

 

 

"No, thats not true, all passengers are leaving in the next ten minutes," he insisted.

 

 

 

"You're actually telling me that they're just going to disregard the assigned times and order hundreds of people to leave in the next ten minutes?" I snapped.

 

 

 

He shrugged.

 

 

 

I was starting to get worked up-this wasn't about the photo anymore, it was about the fact that 1. This guy was clearly lying and 2. The photo was obviously still within reach,as he took the time to inquire how easily it could be located-he just changed his mind.

 

 

 

 

C decided that we might have better luck at guest services, so we announced that and headed downstairs.

 

 

 

Luckily, there was no line, but the guest services rep gave us the same line about the photos being transferred to "an offsite location" and therefore not accessible. At least she admitted that the manager was inaccurate in his claim that we were all disembarking in the next ten minutes.

 

 

 

 

So if you're stuck waiting to embark the Conquest, just know that its the priority debarkation OF THE PHOTOS that are holding you up.

 

 

 

 

With that, we headed back to Lido. I apologized to C, knowing that she was disappointed, and feeling like a failure because we couldn't talk them into turning the photo over.

 

 

 

 

She shook her head. "I'm not leaving without that picture," she insisted. Purposefully, she headed back to the photo gallery. No employees were in sight.

 

 

 

She headed for the wall where the picture had been. As she did, I glanced in the disposal shredders and saw them with some pictures still inside. We could also see some still on the wall in the slit between the paneling.

 

 

 

 

"Help me try to open this," C said. With that, we each pulled lightly on part of the door.

 

 

 

 

Just then, we heard a crash as something slipped. We froze.

 

 

 

 

"Abort mission!! Abort mission!" C yelled, as we scurried out of the gallery and up the stairs.

 

 

 

 

Once we were safely out of view, we collapsed, laughing.

 

 

 

Now that we officially lost the photo, we headed back upstairs with our proverbial tails between our legs.

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As we retold the story to the others, we headed outside to the Lido deck. We all relaxed on the loungers for the next 45 minutes or so, as we heard each zone called at the times listed.

 

 

 

V had a phone charge on her account that she wanted to clear up, so we headed back to Guest Services to clear it up. We planned to meet up with everyone on the lobby deck when they called us.

 

 

 

 

Once we straightened it out, we met up with M just as our zone was called. We tried calling C, who was still upstairs and planned to meet in the terminal.

 

 

 

 

We took some sad selfies as we walked off the ship for the final time.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Once inside the terminal, we found our luggage easily-despite the different cabins, all of our gear was clustered together, and most of the luggage had been collected already. C and family found us just as we were getting our luggage.

 

 

 

 

Then it was time to get in the massive line.

 

 

 

 

On my last cruise, the luggage collection and customs line was extremely disorganized, but we got out quickly. This time, it was organized, but the line was LONG. I'm not sure which situation is better.

 

 

 

It took about 30-40 minutes to get to the customs counter and cleared to go.

 

 

 

 

Once outside, M's sister was there ego pick him up, so we said our goodbyes and set out to get a cab. We found a driver willing to take us and all of our luggage, but was charging $30 for a 5 minute ride across the bridge.

 

 

 

 

I knew we were being ripped off, but our luggage had already been loaded, so we went with it. We looked longingly at the Conquest as we zipped out of the port.

 

 

 

 

Sure enough, we arrived at the Hyatt within minutes. I got outside myself to check in, in hopes that a room was open, and we could just take everything there.

 

 

 

I was in luck-check in was quick and they had a garden room ready. They offered an upgrade to the tower, but it wouldn't be ready yet. I chose the garden room, since I wasn't going to be there that much and was leaving early the next morning.

 

 

 

 

I returned to the cab to find a bellman loading the volumes of luggage, carseat,stroller, and bags onto a cart. He followed us to my second story outside room,where we unloaded.

 

 

 

 

I explored the room for a few minutes while we took turns getting changed and collecting our beachwear before heading back out to the beach.

 

 

 

 

 

V managed to get an Uber that took us to the main boardwalk area, and we walked around for a bit before heading to Hooters for an early lunch/snack.

 

 

 

 

We got a good table on the balcony with a view of the beach and the air show in progress overhead.

 

 

 

 

I wasn't too hungry, so I chose the buffalo chicken dip,forgoing the nachos for once.

 

 

 

In the meantime, I had been trying unsuccessfully to transfer my SIM card from my broken 5s to the 4s, so that I would have cell service. Unfortunately, the card slot was stuck on the 4s, so I was in search of a place that would be able to pry it open for me. V kindly lent me her phone to do the search, and I found a cell store about a mile away. I planned to stop by there after our meal.

 

 

 

We spent the next little while just relaxing with our food and watching the show.

[sunbird21]

Once we were done, we walked around a bit, and I took the opportunity to try out C's baby sling backpack and carried O around. He didn't protest and actually fell asleep.

 

 

 

When we were done, I was going to head to the store, but V offered to get another Uber and drive me there,and then the rest of us back to the hotel to hang out there for a bit.

 

 

 

The driver was very polite, and didn't have a problem waiting outside the store while I attempted to fix my phone.

 

 

 

 

Unfortunately-long story short, they were unable to pry the card slot open. The salespeople were afraid to attempt any harder, and referred me to the Apple store. They were also unable to fix my 5s, so I was SOL.

 

 

 

 

With that glum news, we returned to the hotel. I was feeling pretty crabby at this point-it's one thing to be incommunicado on a cruise, but back on land, I was feeling very uncomfortable without phone access.

 

 

 

 

C let me borrow her phone to make some necessary calls-Mother's Day call to my mom, call to cat sitter to make sure my cats were ok (I still had my sick cat at this point and worried when I was away) and did my "sick call" to work for the next day. Luckily, I was able to use a version of the truth with my arm-which was actually feeling a bit better.

 

 

 

 

Once that was done, we headed outside to the pool. It was the first time I noticed the pool area here, and it was GORGEOUS!! It rivaled the Hilton next door…

 

 

 

 

They had a large green area with bocce ball set up, hammocks,and of course,plenty of loungers by the two pools and WATERFALL.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

L jumped in immediately, and P took O in. The three of us girls headed to the poolside bar, had one final beverage and chatted, watching the Cavs-Hawks game in the background (which we won, of course).

 

 

 

 

 

 

After a bit, the others were ready to head back to V's house, so she called another Uber and we got another bellman to load up there belongings. We said our goodbyes, as I was leaving the next day.

 

 

 

 

I had thought about venturing out to the Cheesecake Factory again, but I was spent at this point, so I collapsed onto my bed and ordered room service pizza later.I spent the evening relaxing in my room,reading and catching up on the news from the last week.

 

 

 

 

It was a nice, quiet evening to close out my final night of the trip. I didn't even venture out to the hotel bar-I think CHEERS shut my liver down for the time being.

[sunbird21]

Monday, May 9- It's OVER

 

 

 

I had an early wake up call for my 9am flight, so I got ready quickly in the morning. I had a few minutes before I needed to leave, so I walked around the pool area and took some last photos.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My arm was feeling better by now, and I could lift it a bit higher but couldn't rotate it completely.I was hoping that more time would heal it completely. I decided to baby it a little and asked for help wheeling my luggage out to the cab.

 

 

 

The hotel had cabs waiting, and I checked out and was inside the vehicle within minutes. It was about a 15 minute ride to the airport, costing $18 with tip.

 

 

 

I had JetBlue on the way home, which was the first time I had ever been on this airline. I had the free carryon,thankfully, but still the checked bag fee. I was able to use curbside check in and completed that quickly.

 

 

 

 

Once inside, security was average-it was about 10 minutes from entry to shoes back on.

 

 

 

I had about 90 minutes before my flight, so I looked around for a breakfast spot. I found Chili's open and serving breakfast, so I settled in here for a quick meal and medicated myself for the coming flight.

 

 

 

 

After I finished, I wandered through the terminal, picked up some flight snacks and last minute souvenirs. The meds were starting to kick in,so I headed to the gate and waited.

 

 

 

We boarded on time, and I settled into my aisle seat just as the level of effectiveness increased on the meds. I was in perfect condition by the time we took off.

 

 

 

 

I spent most of the flight sleeping, but was awake enough to discover that JetBlue has free wifi, and they passed around a basket of name brand chips,cookies,crackers-for FREE.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I did get chilly and asked for a blanket-that was $5. In my groggy state, I paid it. At least it was in a sealed bag and appeared clean.

 

 

 

The remainder of the flight was smooth-yay,two smooth flights! Then again, it could have been the Xanax.

 

 

 

 

We landed and I made my way home and found my cats still functioning(at that point). I let the Xanax fully take effect and slept a good chunk of the day,resting up to return to my job the next day, for the final 10 days at that location.

 

 

 

And so ends another trip!

 

 

 

Just 69 days until Alaska!!

 

 

 

Thank you all for reading, I will be back to post final thoughts and replies.

[Debra Lynn]

Well done... Thanks for the review... so sorry about Sydney...know that pain all too well.

[believerincruising]

This was so amazing! I just happened to stumble over your post tonight and had to read the whole thing before I allowed myself to go to bed! I picked the right day to find it too...just noticed you finished today! GREAT JOB...I am inspired as I will be talking my first cruise solo 8 days before your September cruise. I am totally geared up now!

So from one "Stacey" to another "Stacey"... thank you for such a awesome post of your vacation. I will definitely be reading your others!

 

Stacey:)

Edited July 5, 2016 by believerincruising

[mickev99]

Loved it! Thanks for the pre planning tips for the ports, very helpful!!

[Karmalady]

Thank you for such a fun review! It was delightful to read and I found myself laughing with you at some of your stories. We are on the same ship with the same itinerary or almost in September. It helped a lot to read all the ship and port info. Have fun in Alaska! I look forward to that review too.

[sunbird21]

Mickey99 I know you went to Roatan the same week I did, so I figured you might recognize the drink, but Zeta3 gets credit for the win!! I have actually not had a bushwhacker, though I know its the drink from St Thomas. Hmm, I guess I'll just have to go back and try it! If its originally from Florida, i'll go there too LOL. No worries, it wasn't an interruption-I welcome all discussion,especially about drink recipes! Thanks for the feedback on port planning:)

 

 

 

 

Gagirl2006 Thank you for the compliment, and hope you enjoyed the rest!!!

 

 

 

 

Winddawn Yeah, i couldn't really figure out how to swing that one. just trust me on this-picture tall, blond, Swedish looking with muscles. And I don't usually go for blond guys, but he was drool worthy.

 

 

 

 

Buckeyes22 You absolutely missed out on Quest, but it's ok-it wasn't well advertised, and now you know why! Actually, it's funny that you say you were with your mom, b/c one of the ladies who had to "audition" on stage was AT THE SHOW with her mother…she looked mortified and I thought she was going to run off the stage, but she pulled through and gave a good performance!!

 

Yes, the game was out of this world-my Cleveland friends/relatives were partying all week. Wish I had been able to make it there!

 

 

 

 

Ladygal4.4 Thank you for the compliment!! Hey, if I am encouraging you to cruise more…wonder if the cruise lines can give me a cut of the revenue..? Worth a shot LOL!!! BTW, the sunburn was a progression of the week, especially the last three port days…it was above 90 and humid each day.

 

 

 

Ansoninc Thank you!!! I hope the rest was enjoyable as well!!

 

 

 

 

Debra Lynn Thank you for the compliment and condolences!! It gets a little easier each day but still miss him. At least my other cat seems to be adjusting well.

 

 

 

 

Believerincruising Thank you other Stacey:) and I'm glad you were able to read all at once!! I'm honored that my review held your attention LOL!! I hope you enjoy your solo cruise-I'm starting to miss those days, as the last few have been with others! Each has its advantages. I just need to hit the "couples vacation" category…maybe one day.

 

 

 

Karmalady Thank you!!! I'm glad I made you laugh, and hope that it was helpful!! Enjoy your turn on her!!

[kite5280]

Thanks Stacey for your review, I enjoyed it. We are family of 5 (3 kids) sailing on Conquest in December (Christmas cruise).

 

I'd love to know between those two hotels by the port which did you like better? was the price much different? One easier to get the boardwalk from?

[mickev99]

If you mentioned it before, I don't remember. Is your Alaskan cruise solo? I can't wait to hear all about it either way! That is definitely on my bucket list.