Host CMLA

54 minutes ago, Knights on the Beach said:

 

 

We (4 of us) had dinner at Rudi's on Mardi Gras in December 2022. I'm allergic to shellfish and don't eat any seafood at all. The other couple was dying to eat there, so we did. I was the only one to eat steak and the others all had seafood. None of them were impressed but my meal was delicious. 

The best meal I had all week was at Bonzai.  Next best was ChiBang.  Funny how the lower cost restaurants were actually better for me.  Or maybe I don't have a refined enough pallet to appreciate how fancy some of the food is?  I wouldn't go to Rudi's if I was making the dining decision.  It was a comp from the casino because I'm a player with them.  I wasn't heartbroken to not go just irked about the way the situation was handled.  

4 hours ago, wrightkj said:

I enjoyed your Live so much! Hope you slept well back in your own bed!

Thank you!  I'm so glad you enjoyed it.  I slept really well in my own bed.  😉 

I didn't do a write up of the day yesterday and today we debarked and traveled home. 

On Friday we were in Nassau.  It was overcast and off and on raining.  We didn't leave the ship, per usual.  We lounged a lot in the room watching on demand movies.  We watched Argylle, the new Hunger Games movie, and Mean Girls.  Mean Girls was for me and I'm sorry I made us watch it.  New Mean Girls is not classic Mean Girls. 

We did hit the Seafood Shack for a smorgasbord of fried food.  I could feel our arteries clogging as we ate.  It was alright.  I liked the fried shrimp the best.  The lobster roll was alright.  I make those types of buns at my house when we make crab salad rolls.  The seafood shack butters the rolls a lot.  Your hands will get greasy.  They don't come out of the oven that way.  They add the butter to toast them.  

We hung out in the room in the late afternoon packing.  By the time we were thinking about having some food, I did not feel like getting myself together and walking all the way to the back of the ship.  I didn't have dinner and it was OK.  We'd eaten a lot this week. We did have a reservation for the steak house as well that we canceled.  

Up bright and early today we made it down to the Carnivale dining room for 715 AM.  As Excel suite guests we were in group 1 to disembark where we carried off our own luggage.  It couldn't have been smoother.  We were off the ship and in a cab and at the airport by 8:30.  We had an 11 AM flight.  Plenty of time.  

I don't need to get into the delay we had getting home out of Charlotte.  It's never easy.  

Overall we got from the cruise what we wanted.  My son and I wanted to chill and hang out and have some nice meals and enjoy the view.  We did exactly that.  The Celebration is the largest ship we've ever been on and we may go back to older ships for the next cruise.  Maybe the Breeze, which we liked very much.  For the most part we enjoyed the food.  Bonzai and ChiBang were our best meals.  I eventually had Big Chicken on a busy day when the fries were hot and fresh and they were amazing so all the recommendations I got to have the fries were justified.  Unfortunately, for me, when I went during an off time, the fries weren't great.  The chicken strips were always good.  The forward corner Excel suite was fantastic but you will get in all of your steps everyday trying to get anywhere.  Maybe that's a good thing?  I had some luck in the casino and I played an hour or so on most days.  I did get a casino offer outside the door today.  Free suite with $200 funplay.  Have to book by June 28.  I'll see if there's something I want to book.  We enjoyed the Family Feud shows and the comedian shows we saw.  We attended the Platinum/Diamond get together which is usually a nice time.  Even with the few snafus, we enjoyed it and we will cruise again soon.

I appreciate y'all that followed along with me.  Like I said at the beginning, we're low key non participation cruisers.  We rarely get off the ship.  The room means a lot to us because we spend time in it.  That's how we cruise.  🙂 

13 hours ago, jimbo5544 said:

Sorry the thing at Rudi's did not work out.  That said, I think Carnival has been consistent in their no shorts on cruise elegant nights in the upscale restaurants, and I think it is in their doc, but what is done is dine.  How they handle it makes all the difference.  We travel in groups almost all the time and repeatedly have had some in our group push the envelope even though they understand the rules (regarding shorts).  Almost without exception, they were denied sitting but offered the opportunity to go change.  Kids are a different topic tho....   

 

Sorry it happened and "flavored" your cruise.

I haven't experienced that on a Carnival cruise. Then again we don't usually go to the specialty restaurants which is why I looked to the Hub to tell me what was OK. Elegant night acceptable dress is different than the accepted attire listed in the Hub.  

It didn't negatively affect the cruise experience except that it was irksome but stuff happens. We never lacked food. LOL. Now we know.  

13 hours ago, jimbo5544 said:

Interested in your thoughts on thinking 5 day cruises are more appealing and older ships.  Can you expand on this?

Having done so many cruises and literally been around the world on cruise ships, to 5 continents, I've done all the excursions and activities.  Now when we cruise, we don't do those things.  It's a much more relaxed experience and after 5 days, we're ready to go home.  For me, it also might be that I like being at home.  I'm a homebody. I miss my stuff.  

The Celebration was my first time on a big massive ship. The last biggest ship I'd been on was the Vista.  At the time that felt overwhelmingly big.  I'm more the Sunshine speed.  There are newer restaurants.  Nice spaces.  Good size theater.  It feels more manageable.  You don't have to pack a lunch to get from one end to the other.  Also, I can drive to more of the ports with the smaller ships than the big ship ports like Miami, Port Canaveral, Galveston.  I can get to Charleston in 5 hours.  Mobile in 7.  New Orleans in 8 1/2.  Those are drivable.  

23 hours ago, tradewinds traveler said:

We really enjoyed the 6 days on the Horizon. I felt bad for your son & Rudi problem. He sounds like a sweetheart.

I felt bad for him too.  If we had known, I wouldn't have accepted the offer of dinner from the casino.  We go with the recommended dress code and even though it was elegant night, I went to the hub app and it aid it was casual and it listed all the different casual attire that's accepted and my son was wearing accepted casual attire.  Turns out that on elegant night, you can not wear the accepted casual attire.  You must wear pants.  That should be listed somewhere.  🤷‍♀️

3 minutes ago, Vacationdreamer<>< said:

I’ve come to realize it really am a 5-day cruiser.  Any longer and it’s just too much rich food. I like dressing up but I get tired of it. I like leaving the ship, but I get tired of the pack up. 
 

I hope you had a wonderful cruise and a safe trip home. 

We JUST said this earlier today.  My son and I agreed that we'd rather do 5 day cruises.  I told him we'd have to sacrifice the larger newer ships.  I'm not sure if he's ready to do that.  

We're done.  We canx dinner at the steakhouse.  We had something to eat at about 4 pm and we're calling it a day.  We'll eat again at the airport tomorrow.  I thought about going to the Lido but it's so far away and there are at least 150 people I'd encounter.  I've peopled so much already this week.  I'm peopled out.  I do love cruising.  The way I like to cruise is changing though.  Maybe shorter cruises on the older ships is my speed?  

2 hours ago, Vacationdreamer<>< said:

I absolutely get this  ♥
I am sorry the hair appliances weren't working.  That would break my heart and I would have a hard time thinking about anything else.

 

You're my people.  🙂  You can see how much I wrote about it to let you know how much I focused on it.  Every since it's been hit or miss on whether or not my flat iron will work.  Yesterday and today it won't stay on.  I'm having to do all kinds of stuff to use it.  We'll be home tomorrow night.  I'll never take my home set up for granted ever again.  

9 hours ago, fla33023 said:

Or even better - put it in the app if it's that important.

Great idea!  I'll put that in the survey as a suggestion.  

12 hours ago, wrcjr98 said:

I'm so sorry that the hostess at Rudi's was so RUDE!  My husband wears shorts every night.  Even elegant night.  He says he is on vacation, and he is not dressing up!  So - I'll know never to go to Rudi's!  And your poor son!   He need not apologize - he did nothing wrong!   On the picture you posted he looked great, you both did!  Don't let her ruin your trip.  I would definitely try to get her name, because when Carnival sends that survey our - she would definitely be on it - and I would tell Zoe today too!

Try to make the best of the time you have left!!  

Keep posting, your fans like us are loving it!!

Turns out you can wear shorts at Rudi's on the patio so if you don't mind sitting outside in the elements, you can eat there on elegant nights.  

My son got over it.  He's a teen boy like all teen boys.  Absolutely everything is an annoyance especially with their parents.  He had two lobster tails in the main dining room and moved on.  That woman was rude though.  Maybe there was a language barrier and she didn't realize she came across so harsh?  I can't imagine she would do it on purpose. Be mean.  Instead of, you aren't dressed nice enough to eat here, she could have said, please come over here with me...unfortunately on elegant night we require long pants for men.  We're sorry for the inconvenience or if that wasn't clear.  Would you be OK sitting on the patio or does he have pants he can change in to?  But no, you're not dressed nice enough.   Is 15 a man?  Is 15 not still a kid?  Does that make a difference?  I was in a dress with new shoes I bought specifically for this dress to wear on this cruise. Darn it.  

14 hours ago, beshears said:

Thanks for the "input" on the shower/picture, as I'm sure I would have NO clue either on how to use them.

I've looked at it all week and said to myself, I bet someone every week has to wonder how to use this thing.  

2 hours ago, VIFP1987 said:

I’m so sorry to hear about your experience at Rudi’s. I’m also sorry that the hostess didn’t offer you the option to sit on their patio. Shorts are allowed on the patio on Elegant nights. My husband likes to wear shorts as opposed to dress pants. We eat at Rudi’s 2-3 nights per cruise and always request the patio. It’s very pleasant outside and usually we’re the only ones out there. Private dining with a beautiful view! I realize your desire to return there is minimal, but I would encourage you to do so, as the food is excellent. Safe travels on your trip home! I’ve enjoyed reading your review and appreciate you taking the time to write it! 

You know she may have offered the patio.  I didn't hear her say that but I wouldn't have done that.  It's hot outside.  If I'm in my swimsuit or what not, outside is great but when I'm in a dress etc, it's too hot and humid.  Sweaty.  They are good views though. 

I'm not sure I'd go to that restaurant.  Not because of this incident but because it's more expensive than I would want to spend on a cruise where there are so many other venues that are included that we like so much.  I have heard the food is good.  I've spent extra money for Bonzai and a few Java Cafe sweets but for the most part we eat in the included venues.  

We go home tomorrow and my son and I are ready.  We miss home.  😞

Rolled out of bed around 10 am, still not feeling the best so I skipped the brunch but my son went.  I spent about 4 hours sitting on the balcony, streaming movies, writing emails, etc. I took a shower and today my flat iron didn't want to work.  If I go with the idea that it's based on demand in the wiring then it worked during port days when lots of people were off the ship and not when everyone was onboard.  What I did was I kept turning my flat iron on for the few places I wanted to use it on my hair and that worked. I am looking forward to not having this issue at home. 

My son and I are both Platinum and hit up the Diamond and Platinum party.  For a ship with over 6300 guests on board, I was surprised that there were less than 300 platinum and 35 diamond members.  Maybe experienced cruisers like us don't usually cruise right after school gets out with all the family groups etc.  I wouldn't do this time of year again.  So many groups everywhere.  Get behind one of those large groups in one of the restaurants and it delays you a bit.  

We visited all the shops to see if there was anything we couldn't do without.  There wasn't.  

I went to the casino at 4 PM to play for about 75 minutes before I met my son at Rudi's for dinner that was gifted to us by the casino.  I was wearing a summer maxi dress.  My 15 year old son was wearing dress shorts, a coollared shirt with t shirt underneath and brand new Vans shoes I bought him last week with socks.  He was wearing whaat I would call country club casual.  As we checked in to Rudi's the girl checking us in says, loudly, with about 8 other guests waiting behind us, You aren't dressed nice enough to dine here.  What?  Really?  It's elegant night and pants are required.  

Let me say that if there's a dress requirement, I will adhere to it or not go.  Nothing in any of the information about Rudi's says you have to wear long pants (for men) on elegant night.  As you can maybe imagine, my son was mortified.  We were both embarrassed.  There's a way to say this to someone and the way this girl did it wasn't the way.  We left.  My son apologized to me over and over for no reason.  He was upset.  I was a bit irked but we wanted to salvage dinner.  We went to Festivale and got a nice table with a view of the wake.  

I went back to the casino after dinner and let the host iknow what happened.  I did offer the suggestion that if you send guests to a specialty restaurant on elegant night, let them know about the drss code because, again, there was nothing saying that was a requirement.  The dress code actually says casual in the Hub.  One of the other casino hosts asked if we'd like to go to the steakhouse tomorrow night.  She confirmed that shorts for my son was OK.  

I played some of the money left in my player bank but there came a time when it wasn't fun anymore. It was loud and crowded and it was hard to get a machine that I like.  I cashed out what I had, added it to my onboard account and came back to the room by 930.  I feel done.  I'm ready to be home.  

Earlier today I did get an email from AA saying that flights this weekend in Miami might be impacted by the bad weather and we can make changes to our flights if we want to. For us, we can't leave any earlier and we aren't interested in staying in Miami for additional days so we'll cross our fingers and hope for the best.  

We're in Nassau tomorrow.  We're not leaving the ship.  There will be packing and having our last meals at places we like.  We may stream some movies then be in group 1 off the ship on Saturday.  

1 hour ago, fla33023 said:

He's perfectly dressed to me! Hope he's enjoying his summer break.

1 hour ago, tradewinds traveler said:

I am with you, I don't care if people wears shorts. We all are on vacation. 

It did not work out that way tonight.  

1 hour ago, fla33023 said:

I get it. As much as I love being on a ship, I get so tired of "getting ready." We gotta get ready for breakfast, ready to leave the ship, ready for dinner etc. I'm assuming those who take long cruises never leave the cabin some days.

Yes, this exactly.  You have to be ready to go and do anything.  I want to be in my comfy clothes and crocs.  I want to make coffee in my pot that I like that makes it perfect every time.  This is how it is everytime.  I love a cruise.  I also like being at home.  That's where all my stuff is. 

The longest cruise I've done is 21 days. I was single with no kids so the dynamic was different  I was happy to be out seeing the world. I cruised from Singapore to Sydney on an NCL ship then did 4 days in Sydney after. Worth the trip and the time away.  

Photo from last night before dinner.  This photo op is outside the Cucina Italian restaurant.  Yes, my son is in shorts.  I know that's a big issue for a lot of people.  We read the room and after the first day we saw that people were wearing shorts to all of the venues.  I personally don't care if someone wears shorts.  I know others feel differently.  

This is the part of vacation that I start to want to be home.  I'm sure that flies in the face of all cruise lovers.  It's not that I don't love cruising and go cruising as often as I can.  It just means I miss being at home.  I miss eating meals in sweats and a t shirt and crocs.  I miss my stuff.  I miss regular toilets.  I miss my husband and my other son.  I don't miss the dogs yet.  No. All the dog hair and them constantly wanting to be on me.  It takes a few more days away for me to miss them. 😉 

This is also the part of the vacation when my stomach hurts.  I should eat healthier on vacation but I don't.  About 18 months ago I changed my entire diet because I had a glucose problem.  Overweight and high glucose is diabetes waiting to happen so I made this life change to healthier foods and tracking calories.  Every calorie.  Meticulously weighing everything in order to visually see what a serving size is, etc.  Then I go on a cruise and I'm like a frat boy left unattended.  I go wild and eat all the foods I've been avoiding.  It's been 5 days.  My stomach hurts.  I bring Tums with me because I need to take them every night.  I'm dehydrated because I don't drink the water I normally do at home.  I've committed every vacation don't.  I'm looking forward to being home so I can get back to my normal diet. 

2 hours ago, jimbob22 said:

We ate here on MG in late 2022 and liked it.  I'd eat at BC for dinner but it closes at 5 or 6.  I've been lobbying for Carnival to keep BC, Guy's, BI open later.  

 

I wasn't real crazy about the slaw at Big Chicken, as the dressing seemed to be all oil, not much vinegar to it.  If you're feeling stopped up, a couple servings of the slaw should help get you cleaned out.

I haven't had any of the sides.  The chicken is enough for me.  I actually ask for 4 strips instead of 2 and that's what I've eaten.  

3 hours ago, wrcjr98 said:

I think it's great that your son is going to the Teen Club and participating if that is something that he doesn't normally do, good for him!!  I saw his name on one of your pictures, I have a grandbaby due in October, and that will be their name too!!  

I get it about the host of the show getting on your nerves.  I have made my husband leave shows when I thought the singer sounded like a "Disney Princess".  Perhaps that should be a good sound, but, it's not in my ears!  lol  

I'm with you on the spicy food!  My husband eats all things spicy!  I don't!  I get it!!  We had to come home and order all of those "Melinda's" hot sauces that they carry on the Blue Iguana Salsa Bar on the Lido Deck!!  
And as for not being productive, that is what you're supposed to do on vacation, absolutely nothing!!  

I'm just sorry that I mislead you on Shaq's fries.  I promise they were good in May!!  

Looking forward to todays report!!

Congrats on the grandbaby.  I heard the name Cooper on some TV show when I was pregnant and knew thst had to be the name for a girl or a boy.  It's a solid name. 😉

Don't be sorry at all about the fries.  We all have different tastes.  I put rice vinegar on fried rice.  My kids make gag faces when I do it.  To each their own.  The chicken has been really good and that's the main reason we've gone.  

1 hour ago, noshoobie said:

Wait.....what?? You can bring hair appliances on the ship? I thought you weren't allowed to. So I can bring my Dyson? On my last cruise I spent most of my nights with my hair in a clip because the dryer in the room was so bad. In fact, one night while getting ready it started to overheat and it wasn't until smoke started coming out of it that I turned it off. Believe me, I feel your pain about your appliances not working.

 

Thanks for taking time to do your review and enjoy the rest of your vacation. Beautiful pix of you and your son.

Yes.  I believe they need to have the auto shut off feature but I've always brought curling irons, flat irons, curlers, etc.  As we've talked about here, not all hair appliances work with the ship electrical system.  For me mine didn't work mid morning but using them mid afternoon was fine.  Who knows?  

4 hours ago, jimbo5544 said:

Never have had that problem….the needing of an ID for winnings.

I don't normally on cruise ships. I'm much luckier at land based casinos.  This has been a lucky trip so far for me but there are two days left!  My husband says they program the machines to win in the early days so you want to play then they're programmed to lose during the last few days so they get their money back.  

This was quite possibly the least productive day of my life including the time when I was an infant and I did nothing.  I went to bed last night at about 2 AM and set my alarm for 830.  That's a good amount of sleep for me.  The ship had a different idea.  At about 630ish we were arriving to Amber Cove and we back up into the space which meant about 15 minutes of reverse thruster things and the entire ship shuddered like an earthquake.  The higher up you are, worse it is.  It startled me awake.  I was up!  I spent the next 4 hours checking emails, looking at Pinterest, drinking ice coffee, filing my nails, etc.  I did manage to get dressed and head down to the buffet at 1030 to have some Frosted Flakes which is a rare treat for me that I only do on cruises.  

Back to the room at about 1115.  Lounging on the bed.  Streaming murder shows while looking out the balcony doors at the water.  By 115 PM it was naptime.  Set the alarm and got a solid hour of sleep.  Now it's after 2 pm.  All I've done is have a meal.  I feel like I should be ashamed of how I spent the day, wasting an entire vacation day, but I did what I wanted to do and it felt great.

I took a shower and got ready.  My hair flat iron worked perfect.  Again, I'm not questioning it.  It worked.  We made a reservation with Zoe for Cucina, the Italian place, for 6 PM.  Zoe must be the gatekeeper for good things.  Every reservation she's made for us has gotten us the best view of the water.  She has pull.  

For dinner I had the Fritto something.  Fritto Misto?  It was calamari, shrimp, veggies fried with a sauce.  I got the spaghetti carbonara and for dessert the frozen lemon torte.  It was all very good.  Zoe stopped by to visit as we were having dessert.  I was so blown away by the lemon dessert.  Zoe had them bring another one for me.  It is a very small dessert so I didn't feel bad.  While at dinner I got a notification on the Hub app that we could register when we wanted to disembark.  We always self disembark taking all of our luggage with us.  Being Platinum that usually puts us some of the first to leave the ship.   I chose the 750 to 810 am slot which is the first time available.  We have a flight out of Miami at 11 AM.  I probably could choose a later time but on debarkation day, especially with a flight before noon, I'd rather be off the ship with all our stuff and at the airport with time to spare rather than being later.  

Y'all I am terrible about remembering the names of things.  We went to the show that was something about age difference.  They choose 4 teams of 2, one older person and one kid.  This was all moms and dads and their kids.  It's set up like the marriage game on TV used to be.  they first ask the kids a question and the parent has to guess their answer.  Then they ask the parents questions and the kids have to guess the answer.  As a rule I don't usually enjoy the shows with kid volunteers but for the first time I could not stand the cast member facilitating the show.  I don't know her name but nails on a chalkboard would have been a welcome change.  I had to leave.  I couldn't take it.  

I hit the casino.  It's no secret, that's my usual cruise activity.  It's how I like to spend my time and I'm lucky.  A lot of the time I'm lucky.  I spent about 3 hours in the casino.  I have over 12000 points on my card.  While I was playing Jayvee came by and said he'd like to treat me and my son to dinner at Rudi's Seagrill with a bottle of wine if I wanted it and he also gave me a $50 voucher to use at the Seafood Shack.  Nice perks if you're a gambler.  I did have another hand pay for just over $1500 on a Bull Blitz machine.  That was fun.  

We hit up the late night snacks at Pig & Anchor.  I'm not sure if it's usually a mad house in this area of the ship but the two times we've been, there have been sporting events in progress or finishing up and all the tables were full of plates and glasses.  We couldn't get a clean space in the whole area and people are messy.  I don't know how they live at home but on this ship, they leave everything a mess.  

Sea day tomorrow.  Maybe I'll be more productive.  Maybe not.  I'm OK if I'm not.  I do want to go to Pixels and buy one digital photo.  I tried buying it on the Hub but you have to go to Pixels for digital downloads.  We also need to pick up our Platinum loyalty gift and ship pin.  I may run through the shops and see if there's anything I can't live without.  I do have a weakness for perfume.  

That's it for today y'all.  Paint drying is probably more exciting than my day.  😉 

3 hours ago, KarmaCruisers said:

That Singapore Chili Lobster is the best dish I’ve had on ANY cruise ship..it was GOOOOD! (And not spicy at all! But then again my California spice tolerance is probably much higher than a Midwest spice tolerance)

I'm a Louisiana girl originally.  Way way down south but I do not have the tolerance for spicy anything.  I find Taco Bell mild sauce to be spicy.  My mouth was on fire after one bite of that lobster.  Holy cow!  When it was remade with no spice then it was perfect for me.  Definitely one of the top dishes I've ever had too.  You people with your spicy tolerance levels rubbing it in to us lightweights. 😉 

ChiBang for dinner.  First of all, this is a high demand restaurant.  High high demand.  They open at 530 and there were a good 100 people in line with a table requested through the app.  It's a big place and everyone waiting was seated within about 15 minutes.  I don't know if this is how it is for every stateroom or we got a perk for the suite we have or because my son and I are both Platinum but for us our first visit to ChiBang is complimentary and any other visits are $8.  For the $8 you get an appetizer, main, side and dessert.  Because apparently I'm high maintenance I ordered something not included in the free or the $8 category.  I wanted the lobster.  My dinner was pork belly appetizer, lobster main, hakkah noodle side and brownie thing with some kind of ice cream on the side for dessert.    The pork belly, excellent.  Noodles great.  Lobster...holy spicy Batman.  It was way way too spicy for me.  I told the wait person that I don't do spicy and he said it's not really spicy so I went with it.  His idea of spicy and mine are different.  They remade it with zero spice and it was pretty outstanding.  The lobster dish was $23.  For dessert was the chocolate brownie thing or whatever it was called.  I don't remember the name because it was completely forgettable.  I should have read the other options. It was at best elementary school cafeteria quality.  Big thumbs down and I don't usually rag on something if I don't like it.  This, though, not good at all.  That's me.  Your mileage may vary.  

After dinner the Grand Spectrum was opening for the first Family Feud show.  For the love of Pete...why do some people send one person to save 8 seats?  I find it kind of rude.  You save one seat, ok.  Two, alright, let's not be greedy but OK.  Three is getting into obnoxious territory where those that showed up 30 minutes ahead of the show for the good seat can't have it because one person saved 8 seats for the rest of their party that saunters in 2 minutes before the show starts.  Again, that's how I feel about it.  I don't make the rules so you do you.  I'll do me.  I still think it's not good vacation form.  

We enjoyed the show.  Good clean fun.  Lots of audience encouragement.  We enjoyed it so much that we went to the second show a bit later with two new families.  Another great show.  

After the show I went to the casino to test my luck again.  I was successful.  I got myself another handpay.  Let's not talk about the money it took to get to the handpay.  I have almost 9000 points on my card.  I don't actually know how much money I have to gamble to get 1 point.  At a land casino I go to I have to bet $5 to get one point in the loyalty club.  It seems like much less on the ship.  Maybe $2 for a point?  Heck, it could be $1 for a point.  Whatever it is, I'm on track for the level of play I usually do so the casino offers should keep coming.  

I was back in the room by midnight feeling something I can't recall ever feeling on a cruise. I'm hungry.  What?  Yes.  Hungry.  There isn't much available right now or I'm not willing to walk to wherever there is food so I'll wait til tomorrow.  Amber Cove tomorrow.  No plans.  My son wants to try one of the pools at the back of the ship that's an infinity pool.  Speaking of pools, one of the wait staff told me that all the pools are fresh water.  Who knew?  

6 hours ago, vswan said:

For someone with stick straight hair with hardly any body, I would be happy to have those wonderful natural curls. I can curl mine, even using product, and within an hour it's stick straight again.

6 hours ago, lazydayz said:

 

Agreed.  I love her hair! 

Aww you're nice.  Isn't that how it always goes?  You want what you don't have.  This curly hair has been a frizzy mess my whole life.  

We did decide to go to the Pig & Anchor last night for late night snacks.  A lot of people had that same idea.  They were showing game two of the Stanley Cup finals in the Heroes bar area so there was loudness coming from that. There was a band playing in another corner.  Loudness coming from that.  Let's all agree that it was a loud area.  We grabbed a hot dog and coleslaw then came back to the room.  I imagine that part of the ship would be great to hang out with friends and other sports fans.  I'm planning to go for game 3 of the NBA finals tomorrow.  That's a tentative plan.  A lot can happen between now and then.  

Grand Turk today.  I had every intention of getting up at 930 and making it to breakfast at the buffet.  Best laid plans.  I hit snooze til 1020 am then didn't muster up the motivation to leave the room.  It was 1120 am before my son and I left the room.  Would it surprise you to know that the only place open for food between 11 and Noon today was Big Chicken, Swirls and Miami Slice for pizza.  That waws ok for us but if you were looking for food between 11 and noon, Big Chicken, ice cream and pizza were your choices.  I grabbed the chicken strips with fries.  I gave the fries another try as many recommended and I'm not getting it.  I don't care for them that much.  They're dry and they weren't fresh.  I'll go back for the strips and get the fries by default and maybe they'll be better but I've been twice and the fries weren't good.  Also, for the second time I asked if they had dark meat, which the menu advertises, and again I was told it would be 20 minutes.  At some point the menu that's advertised should be what's available.  I shouldn't have to go at a busier time when everything is moving fast.  I should be able to get the menu items listed.  

For dessert we hit the gelato stand for tiramisu.  It was OK.  Not a strong flavor but OK.  After lunch it was Loft 19 time.  It was empty except for 3 or 4 other people.  I sat in the hot tub and had a few drinks.  My son joined me for a while.  Someone brought around ice cold washcloths every so often. There was someone bringing around frozen fruit and popsicles.  Nice touches.   We came back to the room around 230.  I used the time to get ready for the day.  My son went to Club O2 for a sand art activity.  He had fun and there were about 12 other kids there.  My son is anxious about being around strangers.  I'm not going to be political with this.  I'm just saying that when they sent kids home in 2020, it affected kids at different ages in different ways.  My son was 12 and just started middle school where kids learn so much about social cues and building relationships with peers and exercising independence that they didn't have in elementary school. We have a whole group of kids 15 to 17 that never had those socialization years and some kids didn't do great with it.  Unfortunately my son didn't do well.  For him to go to the club and participate in something with strangers is a big deal for him.  At home he only does stuff with his set group of friends that he's comfortable with.  I'm proud of him for getting out of his comfort zone.  

As I said, I got ready for the day and my flat iron worked when I wanted to use it.  One of my other hair appliances still doesn't work and that's OK.  It's not the main thing I use.  I can live with it.  It seems to be a complete time of day issue when power might not have as much demand as it did yesterday morning.  I'm attaching a picture of frizzy curly hair to show the situation I'm working with and how critical the flat iron is.  IYKYK

At 4 PM I was going to go to the Military Gathering in the Grand Spectrum but I didn't get myself together in time.  I'm a veteran of the United States Navy and I'm a Gulf War veteran.  If there's another gathering later in the week, I'll try to make it.  

The last photo I've included is the door handle of the pocket doors in the Excel corner forward suite.  I'm not sure where else you would encounter this type of door handle.  Ladies, this is not manicure friendly.  If you have nails, you need to carefully twist this thing to open these doors.  Thankfully I haven't broken a nail yet but when I do, I will curse this door handle.  

We're having ChiBang at 545 then hitting the Family Feud show at 745 PM.  That's the most planning I can stand right now.  😉  My crochet stuff has not left the bag yet.  

9 minutes ago, LatinaInTexas said:

Good advice about carrying ID in the casino. Last trip I won a jackpot and when she asked for my ID I realized I had left it in my excursion bag from earlier. 

She said she would wait while I ran to get it. I got flustered and turned about and ended up all the way to the other end of the ship before I realized my mistake and had to backtrack all the way to the other end and then all the way back to the casino.

 

Ack!  For me the guy gave me the slip and told me I could go anytime before the end of my cruise to the casino cashier to get the cash.  I would not want to be running back to my room which is why I usually carry my ID.  Good advice to remember.  

3 hours ago, jimbo5544 said:

Wait….people actually WIN at casino’s?????😮  When did this start?

It's a new activity but it doesn't come cheap!  First you have to give them about 5X the amount that you want to win.  That might be a conservative amount.  You do get a few hours of entertainment chasing that small pittance of return on your money but you're dedicated.  Finally when you do win something barely above the $1200 thresh hold, they make you fill out a tax form so you can pay taxes on your own money that you just gave the machine.  

If you're fortunate enough to have a couple of wins throughout the year, that tax bill can add up so then you want to itemize which means keeping track of any money you took from your bank to gamble on dates that coincide with your trip etc.  You have to go on the Carnival website at the beginning of the year and get a win/loss statement for each ship you won something on.  

😉