I LOVE Comedians with Guitars......You didn't tell me that part...

[jenseib]

The other gals had ordered food, but since we had just eaten, we didn’t, but we did each order a pop.

 

 

We weren’t there for long and decided to get moving. For some reason the waitress put it all on one bill. So annoying. I swear she said that it was $1.50 American to $1 Grand Cayman, but we asked Carolyn how much we owed her and she gave us a price that seemed way too little. I think Lisa gave her the money for our drinks since I paid the tip on the snorkeling excursion, so I am not for sure what the exact total came to.

 

We decided to take a bus around the island and see what it looked like. Lisa and I debated on this a bit. It sounded fun, yet we weren’t sure we wanted to do it. Finally we said OK and went along.

 

As we headed out we took picture of Margaritaville.

 

 

 

 

 

[jenseib]

Lisa and I.

They had a pool area here too.

[jenseib]

Another stop for touristy pictures.

We had a few issues finding this bus stop. We were told it was behind Margaritaville, but honestly we just didn’t see it, nor any buses around.

We decided to look in here a minute because who ever heard of bamboo socks?

Well they had them and sheets and just about anything you could think of made out of bamboo. The clothing was VERY soft, and PRICEY.

We won’t be taking those home with us.

We kept on looking

Lots of Banks in Grand Cayman. And jewelry stores. At one point Shelly asked what the local time was as it was an hour ahead on clock she saw. I thought that was correct, but the ship stayed on Galveston time. But then later we saw another clock that had the same time as Galveston. Weird. We never figured it out. Some people said they were the same, while other said it was an hour ahead.

[jenseib]

Finally we asked someone where the bus stop was. Well we weren’t too far…and this was not really a bus. There was an area with lots of vans parked. These were the “buses”. They asked where you wanted to go, more like a taxi that followed a route. We said we just wanted to make a loop and end up back here. So we all got in and started off. This van still made stops throughout the island, but very few people got on or off. You could tell some people used this to get to and from work, and I must say, if you got on near the beginning of the route and worked near the end, that is a long ride …..at least it seemed like it to me.

The whole reason for this ride was to see some local life. I will warn you now, I took quite a few pictures …through a window in a moving van, so needless to say, they are not great, but it will give you an idea what the island is like.

Our bus is fresh too!

[jenseib]

Let’s just say some of the decor is kind of interesting.

[jenseib]

We passed some resorts and nice houses along the way. And some not so nice as well.

And we spot some beach!

[jenseib]

I think they must’ve been doing some remodeling, as all the bedroom furniture was outside.

[jenseib]

And here is a sight you don’t normally see every day ……….

[jenseib]

Unless you are me! This is a common sight out in my back yard every day.

In case you didn’t know, my husband is a dairy farmer.

On our route we made stops and picked up some people and dropped them off. It was obvious that some were coming or going to work. I wouldn’t mind taking this bus to the beach, as it was close, but coming back would take a lot longer. Keep that in mind if you ever decide to use this option. It would be cheap transportation, but time wise coming back, not very good.

One last shot before we made it back to where we started.

[jenseib]

Before our trip, Lisa had talked to Verizon about adding international calling so she could call her husband. While at Margaritaville she had tried and punched in the code she was given. It did not work. I think she said she heard a recording and it wasn’t in English, so she had no clue what it even said. She was frustrated. I didn’t even bother with my phone, as I figured it wouldn’t work if hers didn’t.

She tried a few times throughout the day and never did get it figured out.

After our bus tour we split up with the others. I wanted to shop for some junk. You know what I mean, right? That stuff that is very touristy and fun to bring home to the kids. The others didn’t want to so they went back to the ship. I think Lisa would’ve rather gone back too, but she stuck back with me. I want to add it was super-hot this day. We were roasting. Some places were cooler than others and that determined how long we stayed in the store.

I thought this fountain was cute.

Sadly, I just couldn’t find what I wanted.

This area seemed to have more high dollar places, or really cruddy places. I bought a few small things, I think a magnet for myself…this was my new “thing”, starting to buy magnets from different places and Grand Cayman was my very 1st one …sadly I don’t always remember to do so ….a stone turtle for Claire, and I think Lisa bought one for her grandson. I don’t think anything else was purchased, but it’s been a while, so I may have forgotten.

It was so darn hot that we didn’t venture too far down the road and gave up. I have heard that if I went further, I probably would’ve found more of what I was looking for.

We made our way back to the tenders then. We were getting closer to all aboard time and we didn’t want to be rushing back.

We spotted an airplane coming in.

It didn’t take too long to get on the tender. This time is was more crowded and we had to wait a little bit. They were bringing on supplies. Boxes of food, etc. I assume this was all for the ship. We also saw several people bringing on cases of alcohol. I need to brush up on this, but I thought there was a limit on how much you could take home, but I am not sure if it is the same from all ports. Maybe these people were hearty drinkers and planned to drink it all before they got back?

Finally we set sail back to the Magic.

I took this picture after we boarded, but I can’t remember where it was now.

[jenseib]

We headed back to the room to lounge a bit. We decided we should order room service, after all it had been at least 2 hours since we last ate. LOL! I made the call and ordered some Mickey bars and chocolate chip cookies and the cheese plate.

While we waited for the order to come I stood out on the balcony and soon we started turning around.

I wondered if we had everyone onboard, as it was not 4 PM yet. I then saw some more tenders come. I heard that some people barely made it back and were on the last tender …….I believe those people were part of Mary’s gang too. LOL

I wanted to capture the ships horn on my video, but it never worked out. I kept turning on the camera and I would get nothing, in hopes of it playing. I got some really crappy video that will make you sick, and no horn. I kept walking back in the room to listen for the room service knock, and wouldn’t you know it played while I did that.

We did eventually get the food though.

Lisa arranged our Mickey bars.

They were melting fast, so we went right after them. YUM! I ate the ear off of it and then plop! The whole darn thing fell off the stick onto the carpet. I think I had those eyes of horror and shock! Lisa looked down at it and me and smiled and kept eating hers. I looked down at it and back at her and said “I’m still gonna eat”! She started laughing. But when I picked it up, it had carpet fuzz all over half of it. There was just no way to do so. I could handle the germs, but not the fuzz. The other ear was still free from fuzz and I did eat that. I figure the best way to build the immune system is introduce a few germs into it.

That was such a disappointment.

Lisa kept eating hers and after a bit she said she really wasn’t an icecream person, and she didn’t know if she could finish hers. Then she looked up at me, saw the look on my face, and said, “but I think I better”. LOL.

I did enjoy the cookie. It was huge, but just as good as the ones they serve at Topsiders. I think we put the 2nd cookie in the fridge for a snack later, which at some point I did eat too.

The cheese plate was great too!

I got a last picture of Grand Cayman as we pulled away.

[jenseib]

I had started carrying my Castaway club backpack instead of my camera bag. This was sooooo much better on my shoulders. I happened to find this little goodie in there that I had missed earlier.

We then showered and got ready for the evening show and Pirate night.

Tonights show was Villians tonight.

I had seen this on the Dream and it wasn’t a favorite of mine. I was going to give it a 2nd chance. I am glad I did. I liked it much better this time around. I am not sure if there was much difference, but I guess I liked the jokes a bit better, or maybe it was the way they were presented this time around. They do change some of the jokes to keep up with current events. I also think a few things were slightly different.

I was happy we went and saw it and that I gave it a 2nd chance.

After the show, we headed back to the room for a bit.

This guy was waiting for us. Lisa informed me that he could only wear her sunglasses tonight as she would need them tomorrow, so I better get a picture now. LOL.

We started watching Men in Black 3. Lisa had never seen it, but I did, but we both really got into it and we almost were late for dinner because we got so engrossed in it.

As we walked to the dining room we saw Pirate Stitch. Sadly I didn’t have a good setting on my camera as I took the picture and it was really dark and grainy. Such a shame, because he posed for me too.

[jenseib]

Tonights dinner was back in the Lumieres. It was pirate night and we were all (well most of us) wearing our pirate gear. We had a pirate menu too.

Food was ordered and we were having a blast with our waiters.

Lisa had the Jerk Chicken Salad - strips of jerk-spiced chicken on fresh garden salad with plantain chips.

And I got the Pirates Golden Pot stickers, oriental pork "dumplings" deep fried and served with a tamarind-ginger soy sauce and pickled vegetables.

[jenseib]

Julie was nearby, so I took a picture of hers too, which was The Buccaneer's Sun-Ripened Pineapple - fresh island pineapple with a coconut covered banana and orange glaze.

I also got the Caribbean-style Conch Chowder - with sherry, sweet peppers, onions, tomatoes, thyme, and garnished with diced potatoes and crispy bacon bits. I think Lisa also got this.

Our entrees then came out. I got Treasures of the Seas Grilled Shrimp and Seared Scallops - served on strings of pasta and fresh creamy tomato sauce.

Our head server (Kapor, I think was his name), came over and cut the shrimp out of the shells for me.

So far all the food was good. No complaints with this meal.

Lisa got the baked salmon.

After we gorged ourselves, the dessert menu appeared.

[jenseib]

We made our selections and then our waiters disappeared.

Soon the fun started. There was a pirate parade of the waiters.

At one point we all joined the line and went around the restaurant in conga style line and limbo’d under the stick.

I have no clue why I took this picture of Lisa, Brook and Luis, but I must’ve had a reason.

[jenseib]

Carolyn found a higher perch to take pictures from.

After we settled down from all the fun, a little birthday surprise came out. Today was Susan’s actual birthday.

I did a nice job at focusing on her ARM!

Lisa once again got the Sweet Temptations - a trio of fruit cobbler, floating island and chocolate cake.

Most of the dessert choices didn’t appeal to me tonight. I ended up getting the Angel Food Cake - with strawberries and whipped cream off the no sugar added section.

I enjoyed it though. I love Angel food cake!

We were running a bit late with dinner though. It was time to head out as we had a pirate show to catch!

[jenseib]

I think we all separated. I actually think Lisa and I left first from dinner. We went up top and tried to find a spot to watch the pirate show, which was very busy! A lot of my pictures are taken through people’s heads and arms and at one point I just started lifting my camera over my head and hoping for the best. People were ruthless and rude. Many would walk right in front of you and then just stop. It annoyed the heck out of me. Lisa hung back to the side and I would look at her and roll my eyes. The music was loud and a few times I would shout back to her things like “She just walked up and stood in front of me, can you believe it?” And these people still never got a clue.

Then there was ipad lady. She was recording the whole show on her ipad, held high over everyone heads, which is fine, except she never stopped moving and would push her way in front of people all the time. And of course with the ipad held high, no one could see around her. I hope she got all she wanted.

These are some of the better shots I got.

Mickey will save the day!

I am really having a hard time remembering the story line. It’s different than the Dreams party, but kind of similar. There was a LOT of dancing going on at this one though ……. more songs.

[jenseib]

The Dream is different too, because there is a pirate show between the 2 dinners, this one is all AFTR the last dinner. So the fireworks are with this, while on the Dream they are at the later dance party.

[jenseib]

[jenseib]

During all the fun, the bad pirates invade!

[jenseib]

Continuing with the bad pirates.

 

 

 

 

There can only mean trouble when Captain Hook is around.

 

 

At this time we see Brook, Carolyn, and girls up above us, so we headed up a flight and stood by them.

 

Mickey is here to save the day!!!

 

 

[jenseib]

Then it was time for fireworks.

It’s really hard to get firework shots without a tripod. Obviously I wasn’t using one, so this is what you get.

[Rudyard]

People were ruthless and rude. Many would walk right in front of you and then just stop. It annoyed the heck out of me. Lisa hung back to the side and I would look at her and roll my eyes. The music was loud and a few times I would shout back to her things like “She just walked up and stood in front of me, can you believe it?” And these people still never got a clue.

Then there was ipad lady. She was recording the whole show on her ipad, held high over everyone heads, which is fine, except she never stopped moving and would push her way in front of people all the time. And of course with the ipad held high, no one could see around her. I hope she got all she wanted.

 

Ugh! I hate people like that. I had to leave a show on Triumph early into the second number because a woman behind me kept taking flash pictures. After the first few I even turned around and said "Excuse me", but she ignored me and wouldn't even make eye contact with me. She had this look on her face like 'I know I'm wrong but I don't care'. And this was just a few minutes after the CD had asked that there be no flash pictures during the show.

[jenseib]

Now these fireworks are not the best you are ever going to see, BUT it is really neat to see fireworks at sea, especially when you know other cruise lines do not do this.

The party continued.

We saw Peter the cruise director off to the side, so we knew he was about to come out too.

He was hard to get because he was on that upper stage and that roof was in my way, but you can kind of see his coat in the first couple of shots.

[jenseib]

He was dancing away, and boy he’s got some moves. This was a really fun part for me.

He brought the party to a close then,

I think I like the way the Dream does this better. This party was a bit too long in my opinion. I was getting tired of music and just wanted to see the fireworks. I could tell that Lisa was getting a bit tired of the dance party too. Sure I loved seeing different characters on stage, but it needed to be shortened up just a bit.