Solo Fun Aboard the Sunshine for BC7 (Feb. 16 - Feb. 23)

[Leo's Rule]

Once we arrived to Little French Key, our group agreed on a time our driver would pick us up and we walked over to the ferry pier. We received drink tickets (3 per person), a wristband for our entrance, and were offered a choice of rum punch or fruit juice while we waited for our ferry.

 

We're here...well...almost

 

Our driver

 

Stephen & Maribeth enjoying rum punch while waiting for the ferry

 

A pretty boat at the dock

 

The ferry arrived in no time and off we went on our 5 minute ride over to the private island. If I find myself in Roatan again, I will definitely do this excursion in a heartbeat! I didn’t realize how much fun I’d have here; it’s possible it could have been the group of people I was with too. I walked around the premises and took photos of the jaguars, the spider monkeys (I got to play with them too), the toucans, the parakeets, and some other animals. I took the jump off the platform at the bar into 10 or 17 feet of water…don’t ask me how high we were because I don’t know. When I came up my hair wasn’t completely on. LOL I probably should have reinforced my twist, but it was cool. LOL. I thought about doing the jump again but was afraid my hair would fall off completely and I didn’t want to deal with that; especially since I didn’t bring a comb to comb my own hair (I didn’t bring it on the excursion). I kayaked for the very first time and nearly killed myself. I steered myself right into the mangroves and it was amazing that I didn’t scratch my face or any part of my body!!!! Once I got myself out of the mangroves I got my behind out of that kayak so I could make sure I would live and leave LFK unscathed.

 

I was supposed to go out and snorkel, but I when I walked up to do the excursion, I had just missed the boat. I was told to come back in 45 minutes, but I was having so much fun that I completely forgot about it. I danced to the Wobble, Blurred Lines, the Macarena, and some other song. Some of the ladies decided to dance on top of the bar…that was a sight to see, but the bartender gave them all shots for doing it. I also decided it was time for me to eat and I enjoyed the nice lunch that was included along with some chocolate drink. I don’t recall the name; I called it a Coco Loco and a staff member informed me that I what I was drinking was an upgraded version of the Coco Loco. It was good and cinnamon was sprinkled on the top of the drink. Yummy!!!! While enjoying lunch, I was seated with Donna and her son; Donna jumped off the platform with me, and she asked if I liked Asian food. I told her that I ate it and she asked if I wanted to go to JiJi’s with her. I was in the middle of declining because I realized that JiJi was the new Mongolian Wok and if you’ve read my Breeze review you know that I became ill after eating there. And though it wasn’t the food that made me sick, it’s still etched in my brain that the sauce was the catalyst for my problem. But as soon as she said it would be dinner with John (John Heald) I said yes! I took down her cabin number to keep in contact with her.

 

I have to make an honorable mention here…I went to the ladies room and there were 3 or 4 guys outside of one of the stalls and I was trying to figure out what was going on; it turns out this lady locked herself in the bathroom somehow and they were fighting to free her. I snapped a picture of her once they freed her, but I won’t post it. It was funny to me. Another memorable mention is that I witnessed the jaguars swimming in the water. That was so neat!

 

Photos

Passing the bar with the platform

 

Did she have enough? LOL Seriously, these weren't all hers.

[Leo's Rule]

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A jaguar

 

Playful Spider Monkeys. They were pulling my cover up off! The one on my side; why did I try to catch him? I forgot they use their tails as hands as well.

 

He was a little escape artist; well, he was trying to break free, but I think he'll be successful with breaking loose.

 

 

 

Heidi and Dan after their vow renewal

 

[Leo's Rule]

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View from my kayak

 

Donna and I taking the plunge

 

Our big splash

 

My hair AFTER the jump

[Leo's Rule]

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Weird looking rocks

 

Me and Ronald. His drinks are potent

 

Our lunch

 

I couldn't resist snapping this photo

 

Michael carrying the jaguar to the water for a swim; and yes, I was standing that close

 

Jaguar going for a swim

 

[Leo's Rule]

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They were dancing earlier, but I missed their performance

 

Heidi shared her cake with us; it was good.

 

Silly a** Kevin. Can you see my hair is really jacked up? LOL

 

I don't remember his name. I saw him when I was returning my vest.

 

Ferry operator

 

After all of the fun I was having, I remembered that I wanted to snorkel. I walked to the area, but then I saw the ferry and some people were ready to go so I decided to head back to the ship with them. It seems like we made it back in record time and I looked around the port area and bought something for my uncle and something for my mom. Someone should start selling t-shirts for dogs; I’d surely get one for my baby. I briefly used my wifi while in port, but silly me posted on FB and didn’t call my mom to see how she was doing and to check on my dog. Oops. I head back to the ship, shower, wash my hair, and attempted to dress for the night’s festivities, but I passed out on the bed, wrapped in just my towel. I was tired: the sun drained me and I was tipsy from the 3 drinks I had in LFK. I got up once my room steward knocked on my door and he had just opened the door…good Lord, what if he had seen me. :eek: I dress and lotion the parts of me that were visible and I head to the magic show which starred Bobby Borgia. I’ve never heard of him, but he was good. One trick he did I think I know how he did it; he was standing close to me when he flipped one of his cards. My ring made it into his act and he loved my ring. He did some mind act where everyone in the audience thought of the same thing; I still don’t know how he did it. I’m sure if I had time to think about it, I’d figure it out.

 

 

After the show Donna’s son ran down to me and informed me that dinner with John would be tomorrow at 7:30 and I programmed it in my phone so I wouldn’t forget. I head to the dining room for dinner. I don’t recall what I ordered for dinner other than the alligator and the bitter and blanc. That Bitter and Blanc was absolutely delicious! I found Ken after service and informed him that I wouldn’t be in the restaurant tomorrow night because I would be eating with John.

 

John had something planned for us bloggers; it was a comedy show/juggling act by Gronway Thom. The event began at 10:00 pm and I entered around 9:55 pm and all of the seats were taken, but I believe it was my sister (inside joke) who saved me a seat sitting next to her and her husband. Gronway was good, but I was still sleepy and found myself dozing off. The highlight of his show is when he called this guy up on stage to reenact a motorcycle; it was hilarious and I’m sure Calvyn was saying to himself, “damn, why didn’t I think of that?” LOL. There were other things going on around the ship, but I was tired, so I headed to bed. When I walked in my cabin I noticed I had a SOAS from John!

 

 

 

[Leo's Rule]

Photos

 

 

I never knew that cocoa beans looked like that. Ewe!!

 

 

 

This is where I stopped to get my passport stamped

 

 

[Leo's Rule]

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Carnival Dream was in port with us

 

 

 

 

 

 

Up tomorrow is Belize

[wrigley80]

Tuesday' date=' February 18, 2014 (Sea Day 2)[/b']

 

I woke up at 1:30 a.m. but shortly went back to sleep. I officially get up at 6:30 a.m. when my alarm sounds. I get ready and head to breakfast. I skipped the MDR because I didn’t want to waste food and headed out the secret door of the Waterworks deck to walk down to the Lido deck. I grab two ¼ halves of a waffle, a chocolate muffin, a slice of some type of breakfast cake, and a cup of the orange passion guava berry juice. I shared a table with a guy who works in the prison system for the state of Illinois. We chatted for a while then went our separate ways. I head to Live With John & Calvyn and am entertained. This event began at 8:30; had I known breakfast would have been provided for us I would have headed there from the beginning. Basically we learned some things about Calvyn and John. Towards the end of the session, John called up the couple who won the necklace in his welcome party (I didn’t mention that other prizes were raffled) and the guy proposed to his girlfriend and she said yes! I briefly spoke to John about my dining situation and he suggested I try the early or late dining. I couldn’t readily make up my mind because 6:00 is too early for me and 8:15 is late, so he asked me to drop by Tea Time with him later that day. Great, I have another event at 2:45, but I have to give John my decision.

 

I walked around the ship for a bit and ran into a member from one of the FB cruise groups I’m in and we talked for 15 minutes. I headed back to my room and watched The Hobbit until it was time to head to the Lido Deck at 12:00 for the Hairy Chest Contest. When I walked out the men had already been chosen, but it seems the criteria for being a judge has changed. A MILF, a grandma, and a college cutie were needed. I enjoyed the show; the men were awesome, well, some of them were. One man was cheated from continuing on in the competition by grandma. I think she misunderstood who was to be given the medal. Oh well. Though I continued to watch I can’t really tell you if the person who won really deserved it. After the competition I enjoyed a Guy’s hamburger while watching the ice sculpting demonstration.

If you read my Breeze review, you may remember that I said Guy’s burgers weren’t anything to write home about. It must be the cooks or something, because the burger I had on this cruise was awesome! I do wonder why the ice sculpting demonstration continues; the same thing is always sculpted.

 

This is the gentleman who was cheated

 

I really should be ashamed of myself because I headed to the Havana Bar to see what was served for lunch. Why did I order the meat lasagna and a side of spinach? The spinach was gross because it was salty and the lasagna was ok; I ate half of it, but I think that was roast beef in the lasagna. Now that my stomach is about to burst, I had some time to kill before the M&G with the Divas so I headed back to my cabin and took a nap. My alarm sounded at 2:45 and I head to the Piano Bar. When I walked in things were already in full swing; I didn’t leave my cabin until 2:53 and then I went to the wrong deck for the bar. I walked in around 3 pm. Turns out I set my alarm for the wrong time; the M&G began at 2:30. Oops!

 

I can’t count how many funship specials I had, but I was certainly tipsy and the rocking of the ship didn’t help. I was fortunate enough to get a raffle ticket and I won a lovely gift. OMG, I forgot to peep my head in for John’s Tea Time! After the cocktail party I head to the casino for the slot pull with the Divas. Our net winning per person was a -$5; therefore I got $10 of my money back. Some people have early dining so they head to their cabins but I sat in the casino for a couple of more minutes. I had no plans of going to the MDR tonight and I really wasn’t hungry so I head to the cabin for a while before heading to the 6:45 comedy show. When I walked out of my cabin I noticed that information for tomorrow’s excursion was under my door, but I didn’t have all needed items. (I booked an excursion with one of the FB groups and wristbands were needed for our group and it was obvious they had already been handed out, but I didn’t have mine). I went down to guest services so they could call Annette for me and it turns out that she and Kathy (a lady I’ve been talking to on the cruise) were roommates. Kathy told me what was needed for my wristband and I headed to the casino to see if I could find Annette. If you’re reading this saying, “I thought she was going to the comedy show”, well, I was until I had to stop at Guest Services.

 

The cutie pie server who was helping me at the Diva M&G

 

I chat with some people who I’m friends with on FB while in the casino, but I never found Annette. I look at my watch and see that I need to head down to the Limelight to catch the 6:45 show for Al Ernst. My plan was to catch the 6:45 for Al and the 7:45 show for Percy Crews, the 9:15 Playlist Production of Motor City, and head to John Heald’s event at 10:00. Well, the 6:45 show for Al was full and the door guard wouldn’t allow me to stand up to catch the show. I pleaded and begged to be let in, but he said no. I wasn’t hungry so I walk over to the Liquid Lounge and catch the 7:15 show of Motor City. After the show I head back to Limelight to catch Percy’s show and what do you know; it’s filled to capacity!!!!! I really wanted to see Percy Crews because I caught a bit of his show yesterday, but I didn’t see his entire routine and he was funny. He had a 10:15 that night but it was conflicting with John’s 10:00 event. :(

 

I walked around a bit, checked out some photos in Pixels, and I don’t recall what else I did, but I made sure to head to Limelight 30 minutes before Al Ernst’s 9:00 show. I sat next to my FB sister and her husband and we thoroughly enjoyed Al’s performance. My sis was tired and she didn’t make it to John’s event, but I headed to Liquid Lounge to catch Battle of the Sexes. If I failed to mention it, John and Calvyn are hilarious. I know you’ve gathered that from his blogs, assuming you read them, but man, the two of them together is a riot. There were two rounds in Battle of the Sexes. During round 1 there was one girl Calvyn chose to be in the battle and she really captivated John. She had large breasts and John kept messing with her. In this round the women had to answer questions that a guy would know and the men answered questions that women would know. The last person standing won a prize.

 

Me & Calvyn

 

I was picked for the second round. During this round it was women against men. John and Calvyn required us to get things from the audience and bring them to the stage. The first person back won that round. This continued until there was either one person standing or all of one sex remained on the stage. Well, the women won. It was 3 of us remaining on the stage and all of the men had been eliminated. Because there could only be one winner, we remaining three had to choose a guy from the audience and dress him any way we chose to dress him. I chose my guy and off we went. I told him to give me his clothes because he was going to wear my dress. He looked at me like I was crazy. LOL I told him that I trusted him and I hoped his wife wouldn’t be mad. If I had time to run to my room I would have put a bra on him. The audience chose who the best dressed man was and unfortunately, I didn’t win (well, my guy didn’t win which meant I didn’t). I honestly felt robbed and some people told me that I should have won, but that’s the downside to traveling solo…you don’t have friends and/or family there to cheer the loudest for you. But I congratulated the winner. Her guy was a hoot. After the battle, John was so tickled and told me that I should come work for Carnival. Hmm; how much do the Entertainment Staff make? Oh, I forgot to mention that the winner won some nice gifts; I believe a diamond necklace was one of them. I also failed to mention that I apologized to John for missing the tea time and he asked me to leave a message for him at guest services if I should change my mind about my dining preference. Before heading out of the lounge I walked over to Ken and told him that I enjoyed his singing at yesterday’s tea time and he asked me what time did I have dinner. Long story short, he asked me to come to late dining and I told him I’d come.

 

Pictures of the clothes swap

 

 

I wasn’t ready for bed and was ready to party but the club wasn’t open. It was a quarter to 12 am when Battle of the Sexes wrapped up. While walking on the Lido I ran into one of the DJs and he informed me that the party would be in the Havana Bar at midnight, but I’m not sure when they set up because at 12:15 there was no DJ in sight. I struck up a conversation with this lady and her husband; he was wearing a beer mug hat and she had on a hat with horns. That was the conversation starter, but they were the couple who were engaged this morning. We chatted a while longer and headed to the pizza place. I took a photo with the employee while waiting for my pizza and once I received it and ate it, I headed back to the cabin, showered, packed my beach bag, and watched tv until I fell asleep.

 

Me, Glo, and Mike.

 

Yep that is Glo and Smokey.....how can you not be friends with a guy in a beer hat and a woman in a hat with horns. I love them. They are getting married on the Carnival Dream on December 7....there is a big group of us going. I am their honorary Flower Girl

[Leo's Rule]

Thursday, February 20, 2014 (Belize)

So you already know what time my alarm sounded. I get ready for my cave tubing adventure with Butts Up; I don my swimsuit, shorts, and flip flops, but pack my water socks, towel, and sunblock and then I head out to the Alchemy Bar to get my tender number. It seems like I wasn’t the only one to read the information that was placed on my bed the night before that discussed where to go to get a tender number if you were doing non-Carnival excursions. Though there were several people ahead of me, I still wound up with a sticker for Tender Number 1. After securing my ticket I head to breakfast. While eating, I saw a Belizean Customs Officer and asked if there was a place in town to get my passport stamped. He informed me that I had to go to terminal 4. After breakfast I head back to my cabin to call Dave (our tour leader) because I realized I didn’t know where the group was meeting for the excursion. There were two times scheduled; 9:15 and 10:15 and we just had to show up for either one, but I didn’t know who was doing which time slot and I wanted to be with the first group. I remember Dave had given me his cabin number and what do you know, I no longer had it. I called Guest Services to have someone transfer me to his cabin, but no one answered his phone! Then I had to connect to Carnival’s Wi-Fi to see if I could catch him on his phone; $8.00 later and I still hadn’t connected with him, but I did find on the FB page that we were to meet in terminal 1. Why didn’t I put that on my spreadsheet that I drafted for myself? Oh well.

 

Belize was a tender port and it was a 20 or 25 minute ride over to the city so I had to hightail it out of my room if I wanted to make the 9:15 excursion. It turns out that Butch made a call for those with tender numbers 1 – 3 15 minutes before I left room, but I never heard it. When I existed my room he was making an announcement for those with numbers 4-6 and we were told to head to Liquid Lounge to be escorted to deck 0, but I ignored it and headed down on my own and make it in record time, but it was a stand still once I neared deck 0. I finally make it all the way down and onto a ferry I go. Though it was extremely windy out; the sun still found a way to bake me. It occurred to me that I hadn’t packed my floppy hat and Lord knows I really needed it.

 

Time was slowly fading away for me to make the 9:15 trip. It was 9:05 and we still hadn’t reached the city. We finally make it to land and off I go. I saw Dave waiting for people to show up, so I was relieved that I hadn’t missed the first trip. Dave instructed me where to go to meet his wife; a group was already waiting with her. I asked if I had enough time to run to terminal 4 to get my passport stamped (it was 9:10; I know, I know), but he said it was waaaaaaaaaaaaaaay down at the end and I would have time to get it stamped when we returned from the trip.

 

On my way to meet up with Michelle, Dave’s wife, I posed for a photo and then continued on. There was a guy selling cute bracelets, but I didn’t buy one because I knew I wouldn’t be able to open it to get it off. I bought my mom a bracelet in San Juan that used the same yarn or whatever it is, and it’s easy to get it off track. Also while waiting, a lady approached us offering her braiding services. I was definitely a target because my hair was in its natural state, but we told her we were going on a tour (which we were) and she gave us her card and said she’d be waiting for us when returned.

 

We’re finally led to our bus around 9:20 a.m. Dave shows up and alerts us that the tenders have stopped due to some accidents. Someone twisted their ankle and another person slipped and bumped their head. The person who bumped their head hit it hard enough for blood to gush out. I’m not sure what happened to those individuals, but I hope they are ok. Our guides inform us that the ride to the caves is long; an hour long to be exact, and he instructs us to go to the restroom if we needed to go because there would not be any stops. Several of us decide we should pay our water bills and head to the restroom. After making our payments, I asked a fellow tour mate to take my picture with the guard if he agreed to the photo.

 

 

 

We’re back on the bus and Speedy (one of our guides) receives word that tenders are coming in and he asks Dave to walk out to the terminal with him. 3 or 5 more people join us and we’re finally off at 10:20!!!! Or was it 10:30? Our guides were Speedy, Tigre, The Criminal, and I don’t remember the names of the other two guides. The Criminal allowed us to sample Walnut Wine (I’m sure the name is wrong; I’m typing this part of my review in a boring training I had to attend and can’t look at the picture for the correct name. So by the time this review is posted, I ask that you charge the mistake to my brain and not to my heart. And if I did get the name of the wine correct; YAY ME!!!) and it was horrible. It was a mix between Apple Cider Vinegar and skunk pee.

Criminal provided us with stories about Belize, he told us about the different sides of town people lived based on what they did for a living and he told us that the Maplewood Tree was symbolic for Belizeans. If you are caught cutting down the tree, you can be fined $100,000! At some point during the ride over to the caves, Criminal touched my hair to see if it was real. Normally it irks me for people to touch my hair because I have to spend a lot of time shaping it right, but since I didn’t take much time shaping it today, I really didn’t care.

 

 

We made it to the premises for the caves and I had to pay my water bill again. Why did it take another 15 minutes before we actually stopped! OMG…I really had to go and the bumps in the road…I mean dirt path weren’t making it any better for me. I walked as fast as I could to the restroom! Now that I feel better, I head back to the bus to exchange my flip flops for my water shoes. I heard someone mention bugs and that’s when it hit me that I didn’t bring my bug spray. Thankfully I was able to use some of Moe’s. Our group begins our trek to the station to get our tubes, vests, and head lights. After those things are gathered we head to the river to cross over to the other side. We cross the river two times before we reach the area where we’re going to tube. Our tubes were collected and then we were instructed where to go. I really wanted to keep my tube because I knew I didn’t drag mine (earlier, Speedy stated someone from a different tour deflated theirs and they didn’t find out until they entered the river) and I was behind someone who dragged their tube the entire time.

 

 

 

[Cruzinbabe06]

Thank u for taking the time to write this review.:)

 

I envy you guys who travel solo!

 

You really have to have an outgoing personality.

 

Will be on the Sunshine later this year, can't wait to read more of your review.:D

[Lovetwocruz2009]

Enjoying your review...thanks for posting :)

[Leo's Rule]

Thank u for taking the time to write this review.:)

 

I envy you guys who travel solo!

 

You really have to have an outgoing personality.

 

Will be on the Sunshine later this year, can't wait to read more of your review.:D

 

I'll be back with more. Work keeps me swamped & when I get home I watch tv.

 

I don't consider myself to be outgoing, but my friends tend to think I am.

 

 

 

 

 

Enjoying your review...thanks for posting :)

 

Thanks. More will come..it probably won't be tonight though.

 

Sent from my Galaxy S4 using Forums mobile app

[Breadman54]

I'm really enjoying your review!! You have a great sense of humor. When you said that the wine tasted like apple cider vinegar and skunk pee, I laughed sooo hard that I had to go "pay my own water bill"!!!! Can't wait to read more!!!!

[Casinocouple]

If anyone wants to see a video of the a spa balcony cabin on the Carnival Sunshine we've posted one at

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eA86r0ZoeY

 

Hope it helps and enjoy your cruise

 

 

 

 

Sent using the Cruise Critic forums app

[ljslight]

I was on the cruise also! I did the same cabin crawl!!!!

It was a blast!

[pbmsmile]

Were you in a Spa Interior cabin?? If yes which one and what was your opinion of it? I am doing my first solo cruise next year and I decided to do a spa interior because i plan to spend a lot of time on serenity...opinion?? I am in #12021

[Leo's Rule]

Were you in a Spa Interior cabin?? If yes which one and what was your opinion of it? I am doing my first solo cruise next year and I decided to do a spa interior because i plan to spend a lot of time on serenity...opinion?? I am in #12021

 

There isn't a T Pool on Sunshine, but I didn't take advantage of my perks, I didn't realize two classes were included. Anyway, I enjoyed my room. I was in 10128. It was spacious. You may be in the smaller cabin.

 

Sent from my Galaxy S4 using Forums mobile app

[camgsf]

Leo - I just finished reading your review for the Breeze, had my gall bladder removed, so I know you were hurting bad. Hope you are much better these days. I really enjoyed your review and will read more of the them, so keep on entertaining us. We are doing Cozumel, Belize, and Roatan next month, so got to get reading this one, Thanks

Edited April 20, 2014 by camgsf

[Leo's Rule]

Leo - I just finished reading your review for the Breeze, had my gall bladder removed, so I know you were hurting bad. Hope you are much better these days. I really enjoyed your review and will read more of the them, so keep on entertaining us. We are doing Cozumel, Belize, and Roatan next month, so got to get reading this one, Thanks

 

I've been MIA, so I'm assuming you've already gone on your cruise. Thanks for reading the semi cruise from hell. Yes, I was in tremendous pain, but I had surgery in December and I'm 100% better.

 

Have fun on your cruise if you haven't already left or I hope you had an awesome time if you have gone already.

[Leo's Rule]

I'm really enjoying your review!! You have a great sense of humor. When you said that the wine tasted like apple cider vinegar and skunk pee, I laughed sooo hard that I had to go "pay my own water bill"!!!! Can't wait to read more!!!!

 

LOL...you just made me laugh. Glad you're enjoying the review and sorry that it has taken me so long to come back.

 

I was on the cruise also! I did the same cabin crawl!!!!

It was a blast!

 

I'm sure I know who you are, but I ran into so many people on the ship. I'm sure you had a blast during BC7 as well.

[Leo's Rule]

I'm back. I'd like to apologize for the delay in finishing up my review. I typically spend 10-11 hours at work and I had two reports due...so I was at work 14-16 hours several nights in a row. Then the State threw a last minute report on us. Needless to say, I was too drained to finish the review and I've spent the last 3 weeks doing absolutely nothing! Well, nothing related to me writing. But I'm back!!!!

 

I left off in Belize with the cave tubing. Here's the rest of the review:

 

I don’t have great pictures to share with you all once we entered the cave; it was too dark and I don’t own a professional camera. I’ll share what little did come out well. We saw some neat formations in the caves. We saw a formation that looked like a bear, George Washington, Bob Marley, Jesus, and some others. I will tell you that when you’re looking up at the ceiling; keep your mouth closed, something may fall in it. And no, I’m not speaking from experience, we were forewarned and I’m glad we were because I was almost a victim. (he he)

 

The ride in the river was relaxing; I could have gone to sleep, but was scared I’d eventually hit a fast stream or something and fall out. We never did hit any fast streams, but I’m glad I didn’t go to sleep; Dave was trying to find a way to put his feet under my tube and scare the bejesus out of me. After our tubing adventure we headed to some place and had lunch. I’m not sure if I took a picture of our lunch or not, but we had chicken tamales and that was an odd tamale. I ate it because I was hungry, but I’ve never had a soggy tamale before. And the strangest thing about it was the chicken was still on the bone!!!! I didn’t discover that until I had part of the gristle in my mouth….yuck!!!!!!!!!! After our brief stop for lunch we were back on the bus and headed back to the city. I do believe everyone on the bus drifted off to sleep; I know I did. Criminal shouted out for us to wake up because we were getting close to the pier and they began taking up payment for the excursion and money for tips. We were alarmed because we were cutting it close on time to get back, but luckily a Carnival excursion bus was in front of us. I’m sure we wouldn’t have had this problem had we actually left at 9:15 a.m.

 

Dave is behind me...see the sneaky look on his face?

 

Our lunch spot

 

Remember, I wanted to get my passport stamped? Well, I didn’t think it would happen because we had to be back on the ship by 4:30 and the last tender was at 4:00! We get off the bus in record time and the lady who tried to offer her braiding services to us earlier in the day was waiting for us. We didn’t have time to get our hair braided and we told her that while still heading out of the area. One of her friends/colleagues seemed upset and asked us what took us so long to get back? :confused:. Then she shouted out we still had time because the ship didn’t leave until 5:30…um no, the ship left at 5 pm. I just kept walking.

 

There were two lines to go in; one for Glory and one for Sunshine. I asked one of the officers if I still had time to get my passport stamped and he told me I did. It turns out the tender was leaving after 4:00 (according to the time the officer told me; he said I had 45 minutes), but I didn’t want to risk being left; I ran down to terminal 4, which by the way wasn’t wayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy down at the end, entered the building, walked out and went to the little house, got my passport stamped, and headed back to terminal 1. But now that I think about it, he must have given me incorrect information because I made it to my cabin at 4:15 p.m. unless I read my watch wrong. I thought it was 3:45 when we got off the bus.

 

Back to me making it back on the ship. The tender was obviously booking it; we made it back to the ship from the city faster than we made it to the city from the ship, which worked for me because the Past Guest party was today at 4:30 and I needed a shower. Because I had very little time to spare, I walked up 10 flights of stairs to get to my room. I seriously contemplated going to the party with what I had on, but I just didn’t feel right. Normally I take 15-20 minute showers; sometimes longer, but I was out in 6 minutes and dressed by 4:30. I arrived to the party at 4:35 and enjoy the free flowing drinks.

 

Me with CD Butch at the Past Guest Party

 

A Blogger’s event followed after the past guest party, but in all honesty I don’t recall what happened. It was Fun with John & Calvyn (the name of the event) and any time those two are together it is always hilarious. The event ended at 6 pm and I had to hurry and get myself prepared for dinner with John. Tonight was the 2nd elegant night and I knew what I was wearing. I was going to wear my hair in my puff, but it wasn’t right to me; I could never shape it right, so I decided to do my Double Rope Bun updo. Dinner was at 7:30; why did I leave my cabin at 7:30? It took longer to do my hair; it doesn’t normally take that long! My hair is thick and it hurts my hands to gather my hair into a ponytail. I arrive to JiJi’s at 7:35 and everyone is already seated. I was greeted by the hostess and the first thing out of John’s mouth is, “Shavonne, you’re late”; talk about embarrassing. I did apologize to everyone and Calvyn tried to make me feel better by saying I had to make an appearance because I looked great.

 

My look for dinner

 

In the evening, JiJi is a family-style restaurant; they believe in sharing. It’s much like being at home; passing bowls/dishes around for everyone to serve themselves. I was pleasantly surprised about the dishes that were served because I really just thought this would be the Mongolian Wok. John took the liberty of ordering food for the table. I do believe there were 8 of us at the table; I’m not sure why we didn’t have our photo taken. I don’t recall everything John ordered for us; especially since I didn’t take a photo of the menu (though I would get one 2 days later) or the food, but his choices were excellent. I tried everything except 1 dish; the green beans; I don’t eat those.

 

Calvyn got the party started by wanting to order drinks and John gave him a hard time about it, but then told us all to order what we wanted. Calvyn convinced me to order the Green Tea Martini and let’s just say it was different. I learned that Calvyn was a bit of a vodka connoisseur and he has an apartment in a place I’d like to visit. During dinner I was a bit embarrassed to take photos of my food and of the menu; I didn’t want to appear uncouth in the presence of John and his staff (I didn’t care about the others). :) I did snap three (not the best) with my phone and Calvyn said, “oh, you’re one of those” and rolled his eyes. LOL. Now, don’t start flaming Calvyn, I wasn’t put off by his comment.

 

After dinner we all chose our desserts and John asked if we wanted more drinks; most of us declined. John is always pulling some sort of prank on Calvyn and had the kitchen box several meals for Calvyn to take to his cabin. Our waitresses had no idea it was a joke and they looked so confused when Calvyn stated he didn’t want them. I don’t recall what John said, but the ladies laughed and Calvyn took the meals. I thoroughly enjoyed JiJi’s and if you find yourself on a ship with a JiJi’s; please eat there at night or whenever they begin charging the $12 fee because the food is A-M-A-Z-I-N-G! I was stuffed when I left there.

 

[Leo's Rule]

 

I don’t recall if I stated that tonight was our 2nd elegant night, if I didn’t, it was, and if I did, forgive me for being repetitive. :D After leaving JiJi’s I wanted photos taken with some pretty backgrounds I saw on the way to dinner. When I stopped for my photo shoot with Aleksander he said something to me that made my mouth open. When he wanted me to change my pose, he asked that I spread my legs while sitting on the chaise. I replied, “Excuse me? You want me to do what?” and he repeated it! OMG. Whether or not he mixed up what he meant or if he was dead serious, we both laughed when I told him the correct term was to cross my legs. He did apologize, but it was funny to me.

 

After taking photos I did run into some of my FB friends; they were all decked out in their pirates gear. Tonight was supposed to be John’s Cigars Under The Stars and a particular FB group pairs their pirate event with John’s event, but it was cancelled due to the high winds; it was to be held on deck 14. I was privy to the cancellation because John received a call while at dinner. A formal announcement of the cancellation was never announced but the word did spread like wild fire. I do have to thank Ann W. for bringing a pirate costume for me to wear, but I never changed into it; I was feeling pretty in my dress and I didn’t want to make a 4th wardrobe change. I did hang out with some of the “pirates” in the Red Frog Pub and took some pictures, but I eventually went to see Jaylyn Bishop perform (comedienne).

 

Arrgh!

 

I took pictures of the group

 

I attended the 11:15 comedy show and what do you know; it wasn’t packed at all. I was able to grab a good seat. While waiting for the show to begin, there was this girl dancing up a storm in the Limelight Lounge. At first I thought she was crazy and then I was like, she’s having a good time; I wish I were that outgoing. At some point I felt like I knew her; I’d seen her somewhere before, but I just didn’t know where. Now the lights dim and we know the show is about to start. Why was the girl who was dancing in the audience the comedienne? That’s why she looked so familiar to me; I’d seen her before. I found her material to be funny, but I liked her enough to see her again. She’s very friendly and down to earth. After the show she talked to everyone and took pictures if you wanted. Me and two other ladies were the last people in the lounge and talked to her for a good 30 minutes.

 

Me and Jaylyn

 

The ladies, whose names escape me now, asked if I were by myself and I told them yes. They said they had seen me all over the ship, but always saw me by myself and suggested I should join them for breakfast in the morning. We left the lounge and were going to call it a night, but we heard music coming from Liquid and made an appearance. I danced on 1 or 2 songs, but then the DJ went left with the music. I got the ladies cabin numbers so I could call them in the morning and we went our separate ways. Back in my cabin, this was waiting for me on my bed:

 

 

I watched Monster’s University and then I called it a night.

 

 

 

[Leo's Rule]

Friday, February 21, 2014 (Cozumel)

If you think I got up at 6:30 today; you’d be wrong. I got up at 7:30. I shower and get ready for my day at Nachi. I failed to mention in my Belize portion of the review that I ran into a fellow member from a FB group and we agreed to eat breakfast in the dining room and then head out together to share a cab ride to Nachi; this was before the two ladies suggested I eat breakfast with them. I did explain to them that I already had plans, but if they changed, I’d join them. I called Debbie S. when I got up, but she never answered her phone, so I call the ladies from the night before to let them know I could eat with them, but they are barely moving around. I explained I wasn’t ready yet and one of them suggested I call again when I was ready. I phone back at 8:00 and they still weren’t ready but asked that I meet them in the Havana Bar. I lollygag around the room for much longer than I should have; I knew our ship docked in Cozumel at 9 am and the “leader” for our excursion suggested we meet at Fat Tuesday’s by 9:15 a.m.

I leave my cabin and was just going to eat on the Lido; I really didn’t think the ladies would be ready any time soon, but my plans were halted just a little because I was greeted with this lovely view:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Leo's Rule]

After taking my photos, I head to the Lido Market; grab my food and that’s when I saw one of the ladies. I made a pit stop at the Pizzeria to say hello to my friend and he greeted me with a hug. I ordered a breakfast pizza, but I can’t tell you if it was good simply because it was runny. I love eggs, but I can’t do uncooked yolk. Yuck! I sat down to eat with the ladies and they introduced me to their roommates whose names I don’t recall now. I began to wonder if these ladies were lovers, but then one of them mentioned their husband and the thought of what they were trying to bring me in to dissipates. We chatted for a while, but I had to make sure I was at Fat Tuesday’s by 9:15. Butch made an announcement that debarking the ship would come to a halt because the Magic needed to dock and I told the ladies I had to go and took off. I made it to deck 0 at the right time because one of the workers told me and this other couple to hurry up so we could exit with the people in front of us; everyone else had to wait until the Magic docked. I arrived to Fat Tuesday’s no later than 9:25, it may have been sooner than that, but I didn’t see any of the Divas; I did however, see James C. and others who were doing the Bar Hop. I didn’t know at the time he was doing that excursion, but I asked if they were waiting for the Nachi excursion and that’s when I learned the group had left 10 minutes ago.

 

I race to the taxi area and state I want to go to Nachi and one of the guards mentioned that I just missed a group that was going. I keep asking were they in one of the vans that was still there or had they already left. Long story short, a van pulls right by me and I see my TA in the front. I’m waving trying to get them to stop and I could have sworn she looked at me and had a look on her face that said, “You weren’t here on time.” I even told the guard that was the van with my group on it. When I booked this excursion I had already prepared to have an extra $32 for cab fare ($16 each way) in the event I wouldn’t have a shared ride, but I didn’t want to pay it. Yeah, call me cheap if you want to, but I’m being honest.

 

I asked countless people if they were going to Nachi, but several were going downtown to shop or they were going to Mr. Sanchos. I asked one of the guards was Nachi and Mr. Sanchos in the same area and could I just share a ride with someone going there and he said no. I was instructed to either pay the $16 or wait for more people to show up who were going to Nachi. I waited another 20 – 30 minutes and got fed up. I didn’t want the guards to get my taxi, so I walked across the street and hailed my own taxi. I don’t recall his name but he was the sweetest guy. The cab ride may have been 15 minutes; I’m not sure, but I can tell you I was upset when I saw that Mr. Sanchos was maybe a 10 minute walk from Nachi! Those lying buzzards could have let me share a cab with the people who were going there!

 

Pictures along the way:

 

 

 

Now I’m at Nachi, but I need an attitude adjuster. I was a bit miffed when I thought my TA saw me and still let the taxi drive off. I probably should have asked her if she saw me there, but the more I thought about it, it was silly and not worth it because I’m sure…or I’d like to believe that she wouldn’t do that, but I couldn’t let go of the feeling right away. I saw where the group was seated and headed their way. Stephen saw me and asked how I was doing and I told him that I wasn’t in the best of moods but would be over it soon and he offered me a margarita and said it should help me cheer up. I would say the margarita did help, but truthfully, I knew I was being silly and got over it.

 

Now I can ramble on and on about every little detail, but I won’t. I had a nice time at Nachi. One of the divas, Ashley H. and I went parasailing and it was fun! This was my 3rd attempt at parasailing and if it didn’t happen for me today, I was going to give it up. The first time was in Lake Havasu City, AZ and it was cancelled. So I tried again in Half Moon Cay and it too was cancelled. If it had been cancelled in Cozumel, I figured God was trying to tell me something. Initially, Ashley and I were to do a tandem ride, but the tour operator said it was too windy for the tandem ride and stated we were going solo. Ashely somewhat freaked out and I don’t blame her, but I asked her if I could pray for her and she agreed. We both had fantastic times in the air!

 

 

Me, Ashley, and our tour operators

 

After parasailing we went back to our lounges and had to hunt down our server so we could order food. I enjoyed my food and took advantage of our drinks. I began ordering 4 or 5 drinks at a time because our server was just that slow. And no, the drinks weren’t just for me; they were for Ashley and her husband too. At some point we head over to the hot tub and join in with another FB group that was there and we start taking shots of something. I didn’t like the shots; they were too strong for me, but we had a good time.

 

Having a ball in the hot tub

 

[Leo's Rule]

We decide to leave Nachi at 2:30 so we can walk around the port a bit before we had to board the ship. Those strawberry margaritas had gotten to me. I was tipsy. I remember taking a photo in the lap of our taxi driver and I asked Ashley’s husband to take a picture of me with the Puerta Maya sign. Going through my photos it was funny because it reminded me of a flip book. LOL Ashley and I took a photo with some Mayan Chief and we look for souvenirs.

 

 

 

 

I was photo bombed. LOL

 

He scared me. I thought he was a statue and then he moved!

 

We’re back on board and I must have gone to Guy’s for a burger before taking my shower. I was headed to my room when I spotted Ashley and her husband in the hot tub. Mike ordered drinks for us and lord knows I didn’t need another drink and we chatted for a while before they headed to their cabin to get ready for dinner. I remember Ashely asking if I would join her and her husband for dinner, but they had early dining; I told them I knew I wasn’t coming tonight, but stated I’d join them tomorrow IF I didn’t eat anything too close to 6 pm. When too many kids entered the hot tub, I proceeded up the stairs and through the doors for my cabin and showered.

 

There was another Blogger’s event at 5 pm; karaoke, but I didn’t attend, I was just tired. I took my time in the room and watched a movie. I wanted to attend Hasbro, but missed the first one that started at 7 pm. Actually, I never saw it listed. I finally get dressed and head to dinner, but I really wasn’t hungry. I ordered two fruit cocktails and I told my tablemates it was nice meeting them and that I more than likely wouldn’t be joining them tomorrow night. Oh, I did forget that Ken Bryne came over to our table dressed like a leprechaun. I took a photo with my camera, but it didn’t come out right.

 

Side note: There was another FB group that I’m in that was honoring Ken this morning, but I didn’t attend because it interfered with the time I needed to be at Fat Tuesday’s; turns out I should have gone to that; they had so much fun and the cake that was presented to Ken was beautiful, not to mention that I still ended up taking a cab alone to Nachi.

 

After dinner I went to Hasbro, but I didn’t make it on stage. I had to stand for a while because it was packed, but eventually people started leaving. After the game show I think I went to the comedy club. I know I went this night, I just don’t know if it was the 10:15 or 11:15 show. It was packed in there; I was lucky to find a seat. Rob Little was the comedian and he had me in stitches; he’s stupid! He doesn’t have the good sense God blessed him with.

 

I’m pretty sure I went to bed after the show; I was tired. Here’s my towel animal for the night: