*Fake* LIVE thread from MerionMom on the Navigator NYE 2010

[crusinmama06]

Oh Carol, you really know how to liven things up! Can't you just take a relaxing cruise for once? :p Well, try not to get snowed in at Cozumel or something, now THAT would be classic. :D

[crusinmama06]

Wait! Carol! I have a VERY IMPORTANT QUESTION.....go to the restroom and find out if the toilet paper has 1 ply or 2.

 

THANKS! :D;):p

[ckrobyn]

Wait! Carol! I have a VERY IMPORTANT QUESTION.....go to the restroom and find out if the toilet paper has 1 ply or 2.

 

THANKS! :D;):p

 

OMG Michelle!!!!!! Too funny!!!!!! :p:p

[Blizzard54]

Congratulations on getting to your ship Carol.

 

You should cruise on the west coast more often where getting to the ship is not as much of an adventure.

[alwayshappytocruise]

Lost my last post. :mad:

 

Concierge Lounge has been empty.

 

Diamond Event has been empty.

 

Must be mostly newbies on board this cruise. The good news for us stockholders is that they seem to be spending like crazy.

 

My crystal block appeared on my bed tonight. It struck me as strange that it was just put there (there IS a note) on Night 2. Has anyone else received a block like this?

 

Carol, that's how we got our Freedom crystal block last month........

[Merion_Mom]

Thanks for letting us vicariously cruise through you, Carol. :) We've got a snowstorm going on here, so it was great to spend a few minutes on Cococay with you.

 

 

 

 

 

Yep... we had ours for 60 on Brilliance a couple of weeks ago delivered that way, sans the note. They left it on the bed on either Day 2 or 3.

 

We did get acknowledged at the party though... we were high cruisers on board and they made a much bigger deal of it than they generally do... We got the normal champagne, along with flowers, and a crystal that says "Congratulations on being top cruiser - Brilliance of the Seas - Diamond Celebration 2010" Then they did a photo op with the Captain, the LA, and (I think) the Cruise Director. We really had no idea they were going to do it, we went straight from dinner in the WJ to the party in our t-shirts and khaki pants... we would have freshened up and dressed had we known. :o

 

 

I wasn't the most-cruised - I was number 2 - but they still gave me a diamond crystal block that says "top cruiser" Diamond Celebration 2010, on it.

 

No champagne, though. Picture with Captain, yes. :)

 

Had a heads-up, so we left Matthew and Gunnar early (!!!!!:eek:!!!!) to get to the Ixtapa lounge.

 

Went back for the whole second show, though. ;)

[Merion_Mom]

Day 3 - Sea Day - was very nice and relaxing. Played trivia, ate, read book - it was COLD early in the day, and I changed out of my skort and t-shirt and put on jeans and a long-sleeved shirt.

 

NELSON NIGHT. Great show, as always. (same show as always, actually ;))

 

Took a picture afterwards. Will add it to the ALBUM. :D

 

Love and Marriage Show was fun, but Mitch is clearly still finding his way. He has only been a CD for a few weeks, having been elevated from Activities Director. (I miss Abe, and I suspect that RC does, too) That show dragged on for AN HOUR AND A HALF. Yowzah! :eek:

 

Glad to have my beach bag for Grand Cayman, since the water bottle was delivered to the cabin, not the bag yet.

 

We skipped dinner in the MDR because of all of the activities (mainly Nelson shows and Plat/Dia reception. Had a very good dinner in the WJ.

[Merion_Mom]

Congratulations on getting to your ship Carol.

 

You should cruise on the west coast more often where getting to the ship is not as much of an adventure.

 

Hey, John!

 

I brought y'all the Mariner! And WHAT did you do with her?!?!?!? She's leaving you!

 

But I'd love to do Alaska with you again!

[Merion_Mom]

Wait! Carol! I have a VERY IMPORTANT QUESTION.....go to the restroom and find out if the toilet paper has 1 ply or 2.

 

THANKS! :D;):p

 

That is, INDEED, an extraordinarily important question, Michele!!

 

And I made sure to notice when first I entered our stateroom bathroom.

 

And the answer is...........

 

.

 

.

 

.

 

.

 

.

 

.

 

.

 

TWO PLY!

[Merion_Mom]

We are having a FABULOUS CRUISE.

 

These are OBSERVATIONS, not complaints.

 

The Nav is showing her age.

 

Furniture (desk/vanity) lots of rub and chip wear.

 

NO chrome left on the bathroom drain.

 

NO varnish whatsoever on the balcony railing.

 

OLD OLD OLD TV - it really is becoming increasing obvious, because TV technology has come so far since those things appeared on the Navigator when she was launched 6 years ago.

[Merion_Mom]

I love this place!

 

The tender line, as always, was out of control at 8 a.m. You take the elevator down to Deck 1, innocently enough, and are confronted with a line that goes up the stairs who-knows-how-high.

 

We got a tender pretty quickly, but it was a mess. We, and most others, dutifully went up the stairs and found the end of the line. Others very rudely pushed in on deck 1.

 

If you are going to Grand Cayman and want to visit the stingrays and go snorkeling, RUN do not walk to your computer and book with stingraysailing.com

 

This is our second outing with them, and they are just THE BEST. It's a man, his wife, his father and a couple of hands, including a professional photographer.

 

Sure, one picture was $20, BUT.......................five for $30! And it got even cheaper if you wanted lots more.

 

And that's burned on a disk, so you can print as many as you want.

 

Speaking of burn, I got some. :( ;) :p :rolleyes:

 

We lucked out on the tender back - got on board, and off she went.

 

Second formal night tonight - it's NEW YEAR'S EVE!!!

 

Happy New Year, everyone!

[Blizzard54]

Hey, John!

 

I brought y'all the Mariner! And WHAT did you do with her?!?!?!? She's leaving you!

 

But I'd love to do Alaska with you again!

 

We even had both the Mariner and the Radiance for one winter. Then they took BOTH away! I am not very happy about it but not too much I can do other than vote with my credit card and sail with other lines that are still out here.

[ladylawyer]

Happy New Year, everyone!

 

And to you and the Kids, as well, Carol! :D

[mjldvlks]

Carol - Hope you are having a wonderful time with the kids - love the posts!! First time I have had a chance to look at them.

 

The Maj just wasn't the same after you left -- you definitely liven things up!! Miss you lots lady - give me a call when you get back. Have a wonderful New Years celebration my friend!! Mary

[chuck/debbie]

Gunner and Matthew have signed a contract on the Freedom of the Seas they will be on for a few months.

[Merion_Mom]

Carol - Hope you are having a wonderful time with the kids - love the posts!! First time I have had a chance to look at them.

 

The Maj just wasn't the same after you left -- you definitely liven things up!! Miss you lots lady - give me a call when you get back. Have a wonderful New Years celebration my friend!! Mary

 

I have a present for you, girlfriend! Or should I say, "presents". ;)

[Merion_Mom]

Gunner and Matthew have signed a contract on the Freedom of the Seas they will be on for a few months.

 

Wow! They didn't mention that. Are you sure that it's "for a few months"? They usually pop on for two cruises at a time, months apart.

 

Just saw them. They not only did their regular night of two shows in the main theatre, but they just did an "acoustic set" on the Royal Promenade.

 

Those of you who have seen the story that they filmed and show over and over and over again on the stateroom TVs will recognize that they did a show like that on the Adventure, years ago.

 

They did a show like that. About an hour, just the two of them and their guitars. GREAT show. A couple of hundred people sitting on the floor, in the few available stools and such at the pub and the ice cream stand, (I dragged a chair from the Café) - I made two movies, and if they transfer well, I'll post a link when I get home.

 

They were gracious as always. Lots of eye contact. ;)

 

They were selling a new CD of Nelson Greatest Hits and Rarities. Took more pictures, got more signatures - they said, "Bye, and see you next year!" :D

[Merion_Mom]

Yes, that burn just keeps on burnin'. OUCH. REALLY bright red - quite fluorescent, almost.

 

Day 5, Cozumel.

 

Ah, yes, Luis.

 

Got a huge hug. DD got an even bigger and longer HUG.

 

:)

 

Great class. There were some camera guys in the class filming for RC. We may be on the next RC commercial, either for the cruiseline or for the Culinary Excursion. (if you have seen the excursion tapes that they run in the cabins, the ad for this excursion is at least 4 years old, as they still show the tent and the cooking outside.)

 

It was a blast, as always. Lots of drinking, lots of cooking, some fun surprises - which we got on film, of DD suddenly setting her fish on fire and her reaction!

 

Too burnt to sit in the sun afterwards, so we just took the excursion bus back to the pier. The kids did some shopping, but I came back and took a cool shower.

 

Last night we skipped the show. DD and I ended up in the casino, and I kept losing, as always. Earlier I had witnessed a woman win more than $1,000 on a nearby slot machine (don't remember if I mentioned that earlier in this thread) - people near me have great luck. THIS time, I hit a BIG (for me) jackpot - enough to wipe out my losses earlier in the cruise. Not enough to bring home any extra.

[Merion_Mom]

So, they had a "special" menu for NYE dinner. It was good, but it was a limited menu. (fewer items to choose from)

 

I had brought some celebratory facewear for all four of us. We had 2011 sunglasses that I had bought in Times Square in NYC back in October. EVERYONE kept asking were we got them! Some tried to buy them from us; we decided that if we were offered enough cash, we'd take it! I'll post pictures when I get home.

 

We decided to be part of the insanity on the Royal Promenade, so after the Family Feud game show in the Ixtapa Lounge, we grabbed some champagne off a table where they were pouring it and yelling at us "You can't take that yet!", and went out onto the RP.

 

It was already a mob scene at 11:15. We stationed ourselves halfway between the sky bridge and the Christmas tree, in the center. As time passed, RC personnel came around with bottles to refill glasses. At around 11:45, there were two crew near us, with two bottles each, and they were just trapped by all of the people. So they stood there with us, screaming, yelling, laughing - and constantly refilling our glasses!!!!!! They were adorable. I offered one (who will remain nameless) a swign out of my glass. She said, "NO, I'm not allowed to do that! I drink when I'm in the pantry!"

 

We counted down with CNN, and there was screaming and noisemakers and a balloon drop that wouldn't drop, but they finally loosened it, and down they all came.

 

Then we and almost everyone else went up to the pool deck, where it was total chaos and noise. Good buffet, lots of music, and people getting really really really really drunk.

 

Let's just say that my son SWEARS that he didn't buy anything at the Sky Bar, yet there was the charge on the TV, and there was a receipt in his jacket pocket, with his signature on it. :D

 

New Year's Eve on a cruise ship is THE BEST!!!!!!!

[Merion_Mom]

Slept in. Had a galley tour. (had a backstage tour yesterday; forgot to mention that. :o)

 

VERY interesting and very different from any previous galley tour. Our guide was the Executive Chef himself - a 3 striper!

 

He gave a very different perspective on the whole issue of food and meals on the ship. Almost everything that he showed and told us had information about cost and expense and budgets and savings.

 

When, at the end, he was taking questions, I asked him the amount that RC gave him as a budget per passenger per day, he said that he couldn't and wouldn't ever tell me. (I didn't tell him that other chefs, not exec, had told me on other ships. ;))

 

He was very nice. He's from New Zealand. He also told us all about the process of getting various certifications for chefs on board. Fascinating stuff.

 

Had the Tutti Salad Bar for lunch today. yummmm Had really good cream of mushroom soup, too.

 

This afternoon, the trivia is "Crown & Anchor Society Trivia." How do you think I'll do?!?!?!?!? ;) :D :p

[Merion_Mom]

Quest was last night. In Studio B. I just don't like it nearly as much in that big place. Give me a lounge on Radiance, Vision or Sovereign class any day.

 

Mitch was good, but like the Love & Marriage Game show, it ran a little long. (hour and 20 minutes.) LOTS of newbies.

 

Not very racy. I did see some parents send their kids away after the initial announcement.

[ladylawyer]

Carol, is the CD Mitch, the one who was the Activities Director when we were on the Oasis? Richard Spacey referred to him as his "Little Hobbit Friend." :)

 

Sounds like you are having a great time. I'm so glad, because I know you NEVER get to have fun on a cruise! ;)

 

Happy New Year, my friend!

[CodyC815]

You said your balcony was kinda run down and showing it's age, do you mind if I ask which one you have? We'll have one of your favorites and I wanna make sure that's not it :p

[DivingPrincessE]

 

This afternoon, the trivia is "Crown & Anchor Society Trivia." How do you think I'll do?!?!?!?!? ;) :D :p

 

Was your CAS Trivia as outdated as the one we went to on the Navigator? It seems like the answer to at least half of the questions were waaaaaay out of date. The Nordic Empress was the answer to two or three questions regarding "which Ship, still currently in service,..."

 

Why even have the trivia if they can't spend 30 minutes every couple of years to make sure it's still accurate?

 

Also, just curious, why is the name of this thread *fake* LIVE thread. Seems like a real thread to me *shrug*

[Merion_Mom]

Carol, is the CD Mitch, the one who was the Activities Director when we were on the Oasis? Richard Spacey referred to him as his "Little Hobbit Friend." :)

 

Sounds like you are having a great time. I'm so glad, because I know you NEVER get to have fun on a cruise! ;)

 

Happy New Year, my friend!

 

Yes, it was The Hobbit. :D