Documenting the dream western caribbean 01/21-28/2012; the money monkey goes cruising

[smplyblessed619]

I'm feeling your pain! I'm from Lexington, KY and we are cruising from Port Canaveral this year. Not looking forward to the drive! It's 17 hours from here to Miami.

 

I know! We're leaving Sat 8p and hoping to be in a hotel by Sunday evening (so that I can rest). 18hrs from Louisville, factoring in rest stops (which will be gas stops too) I'm thinking more like 20-21. There's gotta be a better way...hahaha. Baltimore, NOLA, even Jacksonville is closer.

PS- Loving the additions to the review. I'd probably be one to stay around the port.

[radrayjax]

DOCUMENTING THE TRIP CONTINUED:

Finishing Cozumel and Monday the 23rd.

 

When last we saw our erstwhile explorers they had recently returned to the port…

 

A jardin (garden) at Puerta Maya. 2:07 PM

 

Souvenirs. 2:12 PM

 

And more souvenirs. 2:13 PM

 

A lot of places had these; I thought they were cute, but not for $8.00. 2:13 PM

 

We had almost made it back to the docks. It started to rain a little (I had an umbrella), but Fran was still trying to clinch a deal on something. At some point she did buy two dresses for $30.00.

 

Some minutes were lost between photos – PM Shops. 2:51 PM

 

Native dance troupe. 2:52 PM

 

[radrayjax]

DONE WITH PUERTA MAYA, BACK TO THE SHIP...

 

This guy looked fierce. I tipped him. 2:57 PM

 

Hand-painted billboard, this was alongside the fellow above. 2:58 PM

 

Finally, we’re back on the pier, going through the final shops. Fran made out; I only bought the Kahlua. 3:02 PM

 

Bound for the Dream, Puerta Maya is done. 3:10 PM

 

Closing in on the gangway. 3:12 PM

 

REALY closing in on the gangway. 3:14 PM

[radrayjax]

We quickly got through security and I surrendered my two bottles of Kahlua.

 

Back on board, heading aft on Deck 0. 3:23 PM

COZUMEL SUMMATION:

 

Before moving on to the rest of the day (and giving my feet a sorely needed break) I want to leave you with the correct impression of my (bank bust) “failed” numismatic expedition:

 

Though I didn’t obtain currency I had a GREAT time! I mean that. As a long time collector/investor/dealer, I am very used to travelling to shows, looking for a certain something, and coming up empty handed. There have even been cases where I’ve spent YEARS, going to many, many shows over distances looking for a particular item and not finding it in the right CONDITION until the show where I finally did.

 

Other than the minor issue of my feet wanting to come up and SLAP me upside the head for five hours of abuse…To spend a few hours wandering through a (to me) new, exotic town in a foreign land and learn, and see, and document as much as I did, the minor disappointment of not finding new currency really pales.

 

This just allowed me to free up budget and concentrate on Belize City the next day. THERE, I had a strong plan, and, after all, I was going to the capital.

 

BACK ON BOARD; LATE LUNCH/EARLY DINNER:

 

We went up to the cabin to unload. Fran wanted to eat at the MDR and I wanted to catch the sundown and eat something right away so we split. She went up to the spa and at about 3:45PM I went forward and down to the Lido Deck Gathering to see what I could gather up.

 

I settled on the grill and for the only time that week I got a cheese burger and fries but I ate few of the fries. I really concentrated again on my plate full of salad, slaw, and fruit.

 

Cheeburger, Cheeburger with mushrooms, and (mostly) unused fries on the side. 3:52 PM

 

My ubiquitous salad, slaw, and fruit plate. 3:52 PM

 

Of course, I had to have some soft serve. NICE shape on this one. 4:12 PM

[radrayjax]

The ship was set to close the doors at 5:30PM and depart at 6:00PM. I still had time to do some exploring and get a few more outdoor shots before then.

 

Final money shot of the Voyager of the Seas. I didn’t realize it was going to leave before us and I never heard it leave. I was inside when that happened. 4:33 PM

 

On our side of the docks things are starting to look fairly quiet. 4:33 PM

 

Final looks at the pier shops before we batten down the hatches. 4:33 PM

 

Looking north, the Norwegian Sun, some two miles away, can be seen past the bow of the RCCL Voyager of the Seas. 4:36 PM

 

Telephoto shot of the Norwegian Sun. This shot was taken before the above shot. 4:35 PM

[radrayjax]

SUSHI SNACK TIME:

 

For the next hour I explored and photographed. At about 5:30 I decided to check out the Wasabi Sushi Bar on the promenade deck, starboard and aft of the Ocean Plaza.

 

Dream Aft half deck plans, location of Wasabi Sushi Bar

 

Wasabi Sushi Bar

 

They had an eggplant roll, a salmon and cream cheese roll, and I think a tuna ball. I had one of each. I’m not a salmon fan, but the cream cheese made this one very mild. It’s always great when the real wasabi clears your sinuses.

 

Those not familiar with sushi/sashimi, at the lower left is sliced ginger root to clear the palate, and at the lower right are pickled cucumbers.

 

Sushi snack from the Wasabi Sushi Bar. 5:39 PM

[radrayjax]

PRE-SAIL AWAY:

 

By this time the hatches were battened and sail-away was imminent. Since I was already on the Promenade Deck I went out and climbed the steps of one of the port side hot tubs to take a look at last-minute going-ons. The dock is very quiet, but in my first look I do see something out of place on the other leg of the pier that leads to the shops.

 

 

Forward view from atop the port side midships hot tub. The forward hot tub counterpart can be seen near center. 5:43 PM

 

Forward telephoto view near where the forward gangway WAS. There appears to be three stragglers, right, being addressed by security personnel. 5:44 PM

 

Not to get too distracted from the goings-on on our dock, but I look aft to see that the Voyager of the Seas has gone! Don’t ships blow their horns anymore? I can tell you throughout this voyage I could almost never tell when another ship was coming and going and I was LOOKING for these things!

 

Also, I can now see the companion, and, as a reader has pointed out (also by cropping and magnifying a portion of the photo below), is revealed to be the Jewel of the Seas.

 

Aft view, over the lip of the port hot tub shows the Jewel of the Seas now alone at its dock. 5:45 PM

 

Cropped close-up of the Jewel of the Seas. 5:45 PM

 

Okay, back to our dock. I can now see a figure walking AWAY from the ship, accompanied by a security person. IS THIS A MISSED-THE-BOAT PERSON? It sure looks like it. And he has a large rolling suitcase with him…

 

It looks like somebody has missed the boat! 5:46 PM

 

Within a few minutes I head topside to catch the actual undocking. And, as seems to be the course so far for the trip, I MISS it! RATS! These ships move so smoothly, I never feel it. Not only that, we started moving a few minutes early.

[radrayjax]

SAIL AWAY:

 

First shot of movement and we’re already a few dozen feet out. 5:58 PM

 

Aft look at the end of the dock where we were. 5:59 PM

Looking back at Puerta Maya as we start to pull away. 5:59 PM

 

Moving laterally away from the dock. 6:00 PM

 

Looking to the east as we begin to move forward. 6:00 PM

[radrayjax]

THE PILOT BOAT COMMETH:

 

The pilot boat is coming. 6:00 PM

 

The pilot boat is here. 6:00 PM

 

Moving further out by the minute. 6:01 PM

 

Beginning to move forward. 6:01 PM

 

A final telephoto shot of Puerta Maya. 6:02 PM

 

Puerta Mays begins to recede. 6:03PM

 

[radrayjax]

THE PILOT BOAT LEAVETH:

 

The pilot boat leaves. 6:05PM

 

Looking ahead, the coast of Cozumel stretches away to the south. 6:06PM

 

The sun is getting low in the sky. 6:07PM

 

I mentioned rain earlier. Actually we had a light rain on and off during the afternoon and the decks were still wet. I caught a couple of interesting shots.

 

Passengers’ reflections on wet decking, Spa Deck. 6:08PM

 

The funnel’s reflection on wet decking of the jogging track near the golf course, Spa Deck. 6:10PM

 

Aft view from the rear of the Lido Deck, Cozumel and the Jewel of the Seas are showing some distance. 6:11PM

[radrayjax]

SUNSET JANUARY 23, 2012

 

 

To the west, the sunset is only minutes away. 6:17PM

 

There were some low-lying clouds on the horizon but the colors were outstanding!

 

Starboard view. 6:27PM

 

6:30PM

 

6:32PM

 

6:33PM

 

6:33PM

 

[radrayjax]

6:33PM

 

6:34PM

 

6:35PM

 

6:37PM

With the sun down and captured, I checked out the Lido Deck and saw that they were playing Thor on the large screen.

 

Anthony Hopkins 6:40PM

[radrayjax]

TO THE SPA!

 

I decided that it was finally time to give my feet a rest and go to the spa so I headed forward to my cabin to change. While there I got a position fix, even though we had been underway for less than an hour.

 

Still within reach of the island. 6:45PM

 

This is where I tried to put on the too-small spa slippers. Well, they mostly made it. Then I headed forward and upward to the Spa Deck. I switched out cards for the access card.

 

Spa VIP Access Card:

 

The first thing I did was head forward to the Thalasso Pool for a blissful half hour floating….

 

Thalasso Pool 6:55PM

 

After that I took to a lounger in the Tepidarium for another half hour….

 

My view from a heated lounger in the Tepidarium 7:48PM

 

 

I felt like I had no bones and NO cares after an hour….wow. Then I showered in one of the hall showers. I was not in rush to be anywhere.

 

The hall shower (Photo taken another day)

I followed that up with a trip to the men’s locker rooms for more dry time.

 

To the locker room 7:57PM

[radrayjax]

BACK TO THE ROOM TO COMPARE NOTES…AND A LATE DESSERT:

 

Back to the cabin for a quick change and found that Fran was there. I asked her how her dinner was in the MDR. This is when she told me that she accidently wound up on the Atlantic Deck at the upper level of the Crimson DR where the Anytime Dining section was. At first she couldn’t figure why was waiting in line. It was straightened out within a few minutes and she went downstairs to the right table.

 

She had a starter of a quesadilla and black bean soup. The main course was braised beef short ribs with a béarnaise sauce with eggplant. She had sides of green beans and rice. For dessert she had blueberry ice cream with cinnamon sponge cake and coffee. She said and said everything was delicious. Of course I was elsewhere so there was no food porn in my absence.

 

We didn’t want to repeat the comics so the only thing we wanted to that night was the Fun Force Dancers. They would be performing in the Atrium Lobby on the Lobby Deck (3).

 

But first, now that it was over five hours since my hamburger, I was a little hungry for dessert. We headed aft and down to the Gathering.

 

First, just a little soft serve 9:10PM

The main dessert line at the aft section of the Gathering (remember, below the pasta bar?) was still open with a few leavings. I took a look around.

 

I ended up with a threesome of some kind of chocolate crumb cake (which didn’t seem to be on the menu), strawberry cheese cake, and Kahlua Chocolate Mousse (that works).

 

Dessert choices in the Gathering 9:21PM

 

My choices. I liked two out of three, but I’m never a fan of strawberry cheesecake 9:16PM

 

After this, we quickly headed forward and down to the Promenade Deck…

[BandM]

Nice review, I think I just acquired ADD trying to read it. Glad you had a great time!

[radrayjax]

THE FUN FORCE DANCERS

 

We had to find a spot two floors up on the Promenade Deck, by the Carnival shops, because it was standing room only everywhere. This is one time I should have shown up a half hour early. I took a gazillion photos, most of which were out of focus. I now realize I could have used a “Sports” setting to capture high-speed action. The only problem with the fast shutter speed was that the light was fairly low and the photos might have been too dark to use.

 

SRO for three decks looking on the Fun Force Dancers 9:40PM

They’re doing something, I just don’t remember what 9:42PM

 

Some 20 shots later I finally capture a piece of the action 9:45PM

 

Well, it is interesting 9:46PM

 

This works (almost) because I capture the top of the ark where they slow down 9:46PM

 

Audience participation time. They TRIED to get the participants to use maximum body language and pass a “wave” from one end of the line to the other 9:50PM

 

 

With the “wave” the idea was to WAIT for the person before you to really use a lot of motion BEFORE you picked up on it and slowly built up your own motion. These jamokes just didn’t get it and the whole wave passed to the end in about five seconds.

 

Before it was over I decided that my angle just wasn’t cutting it, and I was tired, so we headed back up to the room.

[radrayjax]

END OF DAY:

 

When we got back to the room we found that the towel “animal” was something totally different: A Central American Indian chief!

 

 

The Indian Chief towel “Animal” 9:50PM

 

The Money Monkey was in a quandary. He couldn’t very well hump and Indian chief because the Indians ATE monkeys! A decision was made…

 

The Money Monkey makes nice and PALS UP with the Indian Chief 9:50PM

 

Time for another position fix, just after 10:00PM. We’re about 40 miles south of Cozumel. If you note the lower left corner of the image below, the upper boarder of Belize can be made out. Speed was just under 18 knots.

 

Our position, now south of Cozumel 10:03 PM

 

 

Fran decided to wear one of her Cozumel dresses as a house dress. She really favors this one and has worn it a number of times since the trip. So, I had her model the dress.

 

Fran in the Cozumel Dress 10:13 PM

Close-up of the upper design of the Cozumel Dress 10:13 PM

[radrayjax]

Fran was ready for bed so I didn’t have her model the other dress until the next day, but I’ll show those photos now.

 

Fran in the 2nd Cozumel Dress 1/24/12 8:49 AM

 

 

Close-up of the 2nd Cozumel Dress 1/24/12 8:49 AM

 

After this I did the usual and spent the next hour or so uploading, quickly reviewing, and backing up the 657 photos for the day.

 

Then I went to sleep, early for me.

 

The next morning I had a 7:28 sunrise, immediately followed by an 8:00AM arrival. We were going to Belize! An I was excited! A second money expedition was hours away.

 

But, before that, I’ve got more ship to document:

 

TOMORROW: DOCUMENTING THE SHIP: CHAPTER 5: THE LIDO DECK (10).

[radrayjax]

Nice review, I think I just acquired ADD trying to read it. Glad you had a great time!

 

Thanks...440+ posts in and I'm not quite half way done!

[BC Gal Ann]

I hope you are enjoying writing and posting your review as much as I am reading it. Thank you so much....:)

[Pennyscandy]

Your photos are gorgeous! Some could be postcards. Want to see the dancers, will have to find a seat early. Thanks for the wonderful and detailed review.

[radrayjax]

I hope you are enjoying writing and posting your review as much as I am reading it. Thank you so much....:)

 

Your photos are gorgeous! Some could be postcards. Want to see the dancers, will have to find a seat early. Thanks for the wonderful and detailed review.

 

Thanks to you both! I COULD use more sleep, though. The next few decks will be short work. I may have to work deck 5 (Promenade) in around a couple of the days (of the trip) because it is so involved and I have 100's of photos to organize for that deck.

[Ltcsquad]

I leave in 6 more days for my dream cruise. I will at least have a head start on the upper decks navigation. I look forward to the rest of your narration . Thank you

[radrayjax]

I leave in 6 more days for my dream cruise. I will at least have a head start on the upper decks navigation. I look forward to the rest of your narration . Thank you

 

Thanks. I'll have you through decks 6-10 over the next few days. 6-9 are a breeze. Also a surprise chapter....

[radrayjax]

DOCUMENTING THE SHIP: CHAPTER 5: THE LIDO DECK (10).

 

The Lido Deck seems to be the main gathering place among the upper decks, but I think I’ve shown that the Panorama Deck has just about as much to offer, if you’re not stuck on using the pools.

 

The Lido Deck has four fairly well defined areas: A forward cabin section, followed by the central Waves Pool area. Next is The Gathering, the main buffet restaurant, followed by the aft pool area.

 

LIDO DECK PLAN

 

I’m going to split the deck in half covering the forward cabins, forward elevator lobby and atrium, and the middle waves pool through the center elevator lobby. Tomorrow I’ll cover the Gathering and the aft pool section.

 

Lido Deck Forward Half Deck Plan:

 

We begin far forward on the observation deck. This can be reached by stairs from the Vista Deck (9) observation deck.

 

Starboard view of Lido Observation Deck:

 

Forward and downward view from Lido Observation Deck:

 

Port view of Lido Observation Deck: