7/22 - 7/29 Escape Family Vacatioin

[Mandy412]

Please carry on Mandy! You are so funny and I peeked at your facebook pictures and love all the pics of you with your sister and mom! So sweet! How lucky you are to travel together!

 

Thank you! I have a couple girlfriends that I can travel with but I prefer my mom and sister. My mom and I have the same gambling habits. I'm a snot and try to do a trip once a quarter (lately 2 cruises/year and 2 Vegas weekends) and with Megan's teaching schedule, she only makes it to summer vacay. My mum keeps saying she's pushing in all the trips she can because in a few years she'll have dementia and won't remember the trips. I will still drag her a$$ around on trips though.

[Mandy412]

Before I start with Day 4, please forgive me for spelling Vacation wrong in the title. I hate typos and can't believe I did that. I promise, I'm not dumb and do not pronouce vacation as vacayteeoin.

 

Day 4 - Harvest Caye, Belize

 

We woke up to a sunny, beautiful day. I goofed on the timing of everything. We made reservations for spa appointments on Sunday and I decided to do them on Tuesday morning. I should have made them for the afternoon so we could be more leisurely checking out Harvest Caye. We had pastries and fruit in the room and my mum had a massage at 9:30. We went with her to indulge in the thermal suite until our 11am appointments.

 

I can't remember if I talked about this and I'm too lazy to re-read but my sister wasn't going to have a massage because she spent money on the thermal suite. Then she won the raffle for $100 and decided to indulge. Again, my mom spent on the thermal suite and wasn't planning to get a massage but her birthday was in July and we surprised her with a gift certificate to the spa from me, my dad, and Megan. I,being the gluttonous whore for pampering that I am, knew I'd be getting something.

 

I love the thermal suite, it's the best $200 to spend. I got the seaweed massage and I must explain because it was pretty cool. Starlight was my therapist and she remembered me from the Getaway and remarked that I lost weight which I have (thanks fibroids). She was in the lone room that has this table that turns into a waterbed. For the Seaweed massage, you receive a dry brushing and then she covers you in this seaweed goop. Then you are cocooned in foil and towels so you can sweat out the toxins. She lowered me into this water bed that was hot as all get out. I was sweating like a whore in church. They charge an extra $20 for the water bed. They only have one of those, the treatment would be fine without it but I like to try things and report back so I did it for you! While I was sweating, she gave me a face and scalp massage that felt like heaven. That last about 15 minutes and then you shower off the seaweed. After the shower, you get cocooned back into foil and sweat it out in the water bed and Starlight gave me a foot massage (I sang Lucky Star in my head during the treatment because of her name Starlight). Back to the shower to wash off the toxic funk of booze and sunscreen. Finished up with a 50 minute body massage. It was 100 minutes of heaven.

 

I walked on cloud 9 back to the room to get ready to go to the pool at Harvest Caye. During my time of luxuriating, the weather took a turn and it was cloudy with a side of sh*t thunderstorm clouds. Megan hadn't been to Harvest Caye so we had to go. I swear the pier where the ship is docked is in Cuba and you walk to Belize. With my gimpy foot, I took a golf cart. We walked around and took pics. I had been super excited to see how much development happened in the 7 months since i was last there. I was disappointed. I think they added a Coldwell Banker to the marketplace and that's it. Not sure what I was looking for since they have all the souvenir shops and such but there's still plenty of room for it to grow.

 

We were hungry and though I would normally skip eating here out of the general principle that it's free on the ship, my body was used to 5 meals a day and the beast needed satisfied. We went to Landshark and sat upstairs. There was a nice wind that kept things cool and we got to see the beach and the pool. The food wasn't bad but completely overpriced. The beach at Harvest Caye is crappy. The sand isn't nice and there's alot of shells and other debris in it. It's not like the soft powdery sand of Grand Cayman. I love the pool at Harvest Caye but we didn't use it this time. We left the restaurant and then walked around the animal exhibits. I love the butterflies and I got good pics of the birds. Once we finished walking around, it was getting pretty ominous so we headed back to the ship via golf cart. *leaves out the part when I had to cuss someone out for thinking I was cutting the line*

 

Back on board and there in time to do trivia!!!! I am a trivia whore and Jeopardy try outs are coming up in PIttsburgh and I'm going to try. With my luck, the categories will all be Opera or Art and I'll be screwed. I won the Motown music trivia, came close to winning the one hit wonder trivia and then we played a game called this or that. You had to be on stage in the atrium and they gave you clues and you had to decide if the clue corresponding to a pic under "this" or a pic under "that'. Fun premise. During the first game, I came down to the end and got beaten by an older gentleman. Then I kept making it to the end. Then the kids happened. These wild kids decided to play and even though they had no idea what the clues were or anything about it, they decided to follow me. I got annoyed during one game when this kid that looked like Silas from the Da Vinci Code made it to the end with me by following me. I picked the wrong time to shake him and I lost. People in the crowd were yelling that it wasn't fair but it was okay, I already had all the swag they were giving out. haha It was a fun game and it was nice so many people got up and participated.

 

After the trivia fun, we went to the casino to play and had dinner in the Manhattan room. We sat in a back corner again so we could hear our conversation. The food was good and once we finished, I believe this was the night that Deal or No Deal was being played. During this round of deal or no deal, the Norwegian Edge prevailed and the internet froze and the game went to the toilet. They refunded all of the money for those of us that bought cards and the guy that was playing was down to $5, $125, and $200 and they gave him $200. I've never gotten internet during my cruises because I enjoy disconnecting. Are all ships as ****ty with internet as NCL? Oh, I did get the phone app so that my sister and I could find each other when necessary. It worked well last year and this year it was poop. Guest Services didn't hesitate to refund my money when I explained it never worked when we tried to use it. I doubt I'll ever get it again because we generally stay together and if we aren't in the casino, we're in the atrium or room.

 

Groove Addiction played and they had the crowd into it. There were a group of friends that were feeling no pain from drinks and they were on the stage dancing for the whole set. It was fun to watch as they had a little girl they didn't know up dancing with them along with other strangers. Good music brings people together. We gambled more and then headed to bed to unwind and watch tv. We caught the Newlywed/Not so Newlywed game and it was hysterical.

[KatEnz]

Great review. Entertaining. Following.

[nhtravels]

Please keep going! I'm finding this very helpful, as I've never cruised NCL before! I've made huge mental notes just from your posts!!

[cruzqueen518]

Bueller?

 

Bueller?

 

Is anyone reading? Not sure if I pissed anyone off about After MIdnight. Let me know if you are interested in the rest otherwise, I can stop.

 

But I'll restart another one in December so you can't ditch meeeeeeeee!

 

 

I am loving your review....I am excited to see the show, we are cruising the end of September and already booked it online. I sure hope you continue your review :)

[Mandy412]

I am loving your review....I am excited to see the show, we are cruising the end of September and already booked it online. I sure hope you continue your review :)

 

You are stuck with me! I can't help but relive it. You will have a great time. People that don't have fun on the Escape or this itinerary are unfun people. You have to work hard to not have fun on this ship.

[cruzqueen518]

You are stuck with me! I can't help but relive it. You will have a great time. People that don't have fun on the Escape or this itinerary are unfun people. You have to work hard to not have fun on this ship.

 

Thats what I'm hearing and not that I'm wishing away my summer but can't wait for the end of September. Can't wait to hear more about your adventures...

[johnrich]

Bueller?

 

 

 

Bueller?

 

 

 

Is anyone reading? Not sure if I pissed anyone off about After MIdnight. Let me know if you are interested in the rest otherwise, I can stop.

 

 

 

But I'll restart another one in December so you can't ditch meeeeeeeee!

 

 

 

Following. Sorry, just started reading this this evening. We are also from Pittsburgh and are on the Escape next month so enjoying your review! Thanks so much for taking the time to write this.

 

Quick question for you since you’ve been on Getaway as well. Do you happen to know if the bartender Lilly from the Getaway (she was at OSheehans during the day and Headliners at night) is now on the Escape? We loved her and last time we were on the GA she thought she may be transferred to the Escape.

 

 

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[MaryBethV]

Your review is SO fun to read!!! Loved the photos on Facebook also. :) Thank you for the tip on Special Needs at Sea. All my research and I've never knew about that. My husband has chronic back issues which are sometimes severe - we may rent a scooter just in case!

[pooksma]

Absolutely keep going! I am laughing every time I read!

[Mandy412]

Your review is SO fun to read!!! Loved the photos on Facebook also. :) Thank you for the tip on Special Needs at Sea. All my research and I've never knew about that. My husband has chronic back issues which are sometimes severe - we may rent a scooter just in case!

 

Glad I can be of help. I'm going to write more this PM and I'll talk more about wheelchair accessible rooms. We didn't have one this time and it was a pain with the scooter.

[Mandy412]

Day 5 - Costa Maya, Mexico

 

We had decided before we went on the cruise that Belize and Costa Maya would be chill days. Excursions every day can get costly and once you hit 30, you gotta space out your fun or you will collapse. Okay maybe not but some of us had a crazy decade of the 20s and are paying the price now. The plan for today was to go into the marketplace and walk around and window shop. I love looking at all of that junk.

 

I'm glad we decided to walk around because last time, we didn't realize there was a pool in the marketplace. It was a gorgeous day. If you want to get off the ship and lay out without paying a grip, you can do so in the marketplace and there is a beachy area with sand, chairs, and a pool with a swim up bar. It looked very refreshing. We stopped and spent $20 for a fish pedicure. We did it before and this time, I don't think the fish were as hungry which is surprising since the vendors said they only had 2 ships a week in port. It's still a cool experience and worth the $20 but I don't think they feasted like they had in the past. Also, if you decide to get this done, do not put lotion on your legs that day. They scrub your legs with a brush and probably Dawn and it's okay at first but if your skin is moisturized, they will do it 20 times and eventually it feels like Freddy Kruger is running his blades up your legs.

 

Somehow I got pulled into one of the jewelry store, no not Diamonds International, oh wait I did stop in. I like pink and there was a gorgeous pink fire opal and .925 sterling silver necklace in one of the shops. They wanted $280 and I said no thanks, I'm going to look more. Got to another store, it's the same and they want $395 for the necklace. Sir, bye! They both wanted to haggle but there's so many of those places there that I decided to look at a bunch and and haggle with the lowest price one. Go into another joint and he wanted $500 for the necklace. I didn't say anything and walked off and he yelled wait. He asked me about the other prices and said I have a whole set I can give to you for $500. I said let me see it but no one has time for $500. He also pointed out this silver was .950 sterling silver so I guess it's a tad better in the junk jewelry world. To make a long story short, I liked it and it said competition is stiff and it's the low season so he'd work with me. I walked out with the whole set for less than $250. I bought a few ornaments and we decided to go back to the ship for lunch (there's a restaurant in the marketplace that's expensive and m-e-h quality).

 

Side story: I went into Diamonds International in a few ports just to look because I'm single and Mr. Wonderful has won the game of hide and never be found. But I have some nice diamond jewelry but I want a ring. So I went to my local non-chain jeweler and have my eye on a piece but I've been reading and thought it would be fun to see what else is out there to know if the one I love is a fair price. it is. Diamonds International is huge but apparently emerald cut diamonds have fallen out of vogue so they only had a few. They wanted $20K for these yellow, dingy looking diamonds. I wouldn't buy abroad but it was good to get a sense of what's there.

 

Back to the ship: Megan had already left because she hates window shopping and wanted to go to the to pool. My mom and I were hungry and that damn phone app wasn't working so we couldn't find her. Oh well, she should have stayed with us because we were gonna have some delicious chain quality food at O'****hans. The wings are good and breakfast is fine but the rest is blah to me. Haggling is hard work and didn't I lose my damn mind in there and order Irish Corned Beef and Cabbage Stew and a open faced turkey sandwich. Who orders that when you think the food quality was sketchy? But I'm a sucker for corned beef and cabbage. It wasn't bad; I was pleasantly surprised, it wasn't as good as mine on St. Patrick's Day (I'm not Irish) but it was good. The sandwich was filling and tasted fine after some salt and pepper.

 

After a quick change into bathing suits, a beached whale stuff full of cabbage and her mom went searching for sister at the pool. It was like God smiled on us and we walked right past her and she was in the pool. The pool has accurately been described as a postage stamp in comparison to the ship and then 68 floors of chairs for lounging. I guess enough people went on excursions because she got chairs right by the pool and we spent the rest of the afternoon in the pool using the UBP. It's the first time I had used the pool because it's typically so crowded but we sat in the shallow area and when it got too hot, I'd take a dip in the pool. The only downside is that the music was really craptastic. There wasn't a DJ so I asked a worker and he didn't do anything so my sister found an officer and explained the music was killing our ability to drink properly and then lose money in the casino. He was immediately on the phone making moves and the music got better.

 

Dinner was at Cagney's at 8 so we gambled and then ate and gambled more. Cagneys was good but my ribeye was much better than the filets my mom and sis got. Everyone was top notch and delicious. We also hit the atrium and listened to Groove Addiction. I believe this was also the night of the glow party. I had been drinking sparkling wine all night and kir royales. And then the Patron shots it. My sister missed the glow party last year and wanted to go so we bid adieu to my mom and went up to the party. I have zero recollection of the party. We took pics, I guess I danced, and then I found a chair to sit in and I immediately fell asleep. Like mouth open catching flies sleep. My sister was a good sport about it and we went back to the room. Apparently Mommie Dearest had a good ole time in the casino and then got an ice cream cone in the buffet that she was eating. At that point I started talking crazy so Megan baby proofed the room because last year some of you might remember, I did tequila shots and went sleep walking in the middle of the night. Thank God I had on decent jammies but I walked out of the room barefoot and was getting on an elevator when I woke up and didn't know what happened. Megan didn't want that to happen again so she put suitcases, furniture, and small countries in front of the balcony door and door out. I'm pretty sure that was the one night I never moved. I might have been clinically dead.

 

That's it for Day 5....Day 6 is our last port day. Will write more tomorrow!

[MacCruising2018]

Freakin love your review - thanks for posting!!

[tarps14]

Best. review. ever.

[cruzqueen518]

Loving your review. I do have a question...I looked at your FB pics and really like your coverup in the Cozumel photo, do you remember where you got it? I am having a terrible time ringing a decent and cute coverup.

[Mandy412]

Loving your review. I do have a question...I looked at your FB pics and really like your coverup in the Cozumel photo, do you remember where you got it? I am having a terrible time ringing a decent and cute coverup.

 

Lane Giant but it was last summer. I do love it though. Now is the time I usually go hunting for now stuff when it's marked down.

[Mandy412]

Following. Sorry, just started reading this this evening. We are also from Pittsburgh and are on the Escape next month so enjoying your review! Thanks so much for taking the time to write this.

 

Quick question for you since you’ve been on Getaway as well. Do you happen to know if the bartender Lilly from the Getaway (she was at OSheehans during the day and Headliners at night) is now on the Escape? We loved her and last time we were on the GA she thought she may be transferred to the Escape.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

 

I can't say I remember a Lilly but she might be there on the Escape. There were at least 3 people from the Getaway in December that recognized me this time.

[cruzqueen518]

Lane Giant but it was last summer. I do love it though. Now is the time I usually go hunting for now stuff when it's marked down.

Thanks....

[Mandy412]

Random thoughts that don't belong anywhere before I start Day 6:

 

They should kill one of the parties at Spice H20 (not the 80s) and do a Michael Jackson vs. Prince party. Or just Prince all night. Or maybe just when I'm cruising.

 

I think Wings is better than the Beatles. Fight me! Also Queen doesn't get enough love. i'd say they should have a early 90s rap party but I know that will cause a race riot.

 

We were in room 14248 if I didn't mention it. We weren't able to get a handicapped accessible room for 3 people so the room sucked. I mean 3 people can make it if everyone unpacks but if you travel with Megan, she's stubborn and insisted her luggage sit in the space between the closet and her sofa bed. And I had to park the scooter outside and looking back, I should have parked it in the area near the elevators so it wouldn't have been confiscated but hindsight is 20/20. Don't ask if we were Port side or whatever the other name is because I'm just learning my left from right.

 

Two people with a scooter in a wheelchair accessible room is the bomb. So much room. You can park the scooter in the room and still have plenty of space to move around. On my first cruise with my BFF, we booked late and got an Oceanview because it was expensive over thanksgiving. Well, we ended up with an Oceanview accessible room and it was embarrassing how much room we had. So if you are handicapped, book well in advance because those rooms book quickly and if you can't get one, I'd ask to be booked near the elevators if you can't walk. The oceanview room on the Getaway was room 9700 and it was at the front of the ship and it was a country mile from the elevators to the room. Also there was no sleeping in because we would hear the anchor every morning at 7ish when we docked.

 

For my fellow Team Chunk ladies:

 

I used to care what people thought about my body and then I grew up and said f them, it's their problem. My family can be a bit hot headed Italian and we are super conscious when people stare and then we call them out. We didn't notice anyone looking with the exeception of one girl at the spa. But I think she was socially awkward. Or intimidated by lack of f's to give or maybe because I'm built like a super size coke bottle with curves. Back to the point, don't not go to the pool, spa, sun decks because you feel self-conscious. No one is paying attention and if they do, so what, you'll never see them again. And if they stare, call them out and make them feel tiny, it's a great feeling. There are so many places to get beautiful suits and cover-ups for us larger ladies (hit me up if you want to know where) that it would be a crime to stay away because of small-minded people. *end of rant*

[Mandy412]

Day 6 Cozumel, Mexico

 

Yes, it's touristy but the water is gorgeous and I like it. We went to Playa Mia for our beach break. I booked directly with Playa Mia instead of with NCL to save money. I paid $43/person for access to their facilities and transportation back and forth. NCL charges like $70-something. Some tips, if you book on your own, print a copy of your confirmation because they ask for it. They have a stand at the end of the pier next to the drugstore for those that pre-booked and those that choose to book the day of. Once we were registered, a lady went and they had a system of hailing cabs to take up there. It's a 15 minute ride to the place. When we got there, they said they have taxis that start leaving at noon and leave on the hour. I've found they will get you a cab whenever regardless of time. The man that met us and told us about getting back to port walked us to another check in window where they took the confirmation page and gave us our wrist bands. We've been there and didn't need a tour.

 

Playa Mia has sourvenir shops, chocolate shop, and a pharmacy. The pharmacy was a little cheaper than at port but it was cash only. They have kayaks (that was a sh*t show when me and BFF tried it couple of years ago), jet skis, and I believe you can go snorkeling as well. In addition, they have pools for those no into the sea water. We used both as my mom has back problems and she's not super stable to withstand the current when it's strong. See my Escape review from last year when she and I were flung like rag dolls at Atlantis and had to have life guards help us up. The current was not that strong. The pool was nice even though it was warm like pee water. Even ma dukes got tired of it and wanted the cool sea water. I got another fish pedicure and one of the ladies recognized me from before, I guess I make an entrance. These fish were much hungrier. I think you get 20 minutes for $25 but me and the girl taking care of me were talking and she gave me extra time because we had good conversation. She told me when I come back, I better have worked on my Spanish skills because I understand alot but I'm self conscious of speaking because I'm slow. She finished it off with some lotion (yeah foot rub) and my feet are still soft.

 

We didn't drink this time though beer is super cheap. We ordered big bottles of water and they were $4 and got some quesadillas that were $6. The quesadillas were good. We also put down an $8 deposit for an umbrella because Mum is pasty white and no one has time for her to get sun poisoning. When you leave, they give you back $4 and it's the best $4 you can spend. It was a fun day there and easy to get a taxi back and we got back around 2:30 from 10 am. We walked through some of the shops and I stocked up on pharmacy stuff and one of the stores gave me a cute beach bag with my purchase.

 

Back on board, we showered (my hair was bordering on Buckwheat style), changed, and hit up some trivia games. We also had drinks on the waterfront. We left around 5 and once the casino opened, we did some pre-dinner gaming.

 

Random: I don't think this trip had many late stragglers on port days. On my first cruise, two of the 40 people in our party were on Mexican time and almost got left. Captain Badass gave them the business when they got on board. It was funny when we kept hearing their names being paged. Since we departed late, the Captain decided it was a regatta and put the cruise on high speed to make up the time. The Getaway was really shaky that night beacause of those dorks. *end of old story*

 

This was our last night in the main dining room and we got our same table in the Manhattan room. I can't remember what we ate but it must have been good because I remember bad meals. Our poor server Andrew had a tray of drinks that took a tumble and some got on the people he was serving. He and the rest of the staff were swift taking care of it and the manager get them a slip for dry cleaning of the clothes. I thought it was handled well and told the manager that and asked if Andrew would get into trouble. I didn't think he would because it happens but my sister was super concerned for him. The manager was great and said no, those things happen all the time.

 

You know how the rest of this plays out...back to the casino, have drinks, hit the bed exhausted from all the sun. In my old age, I can't remember what we did besides gamble but I'm sure we did something. We had said we weren't going to gamble as much this trip but when I see what I'm writing, it looks like that was a lie.

 

Up next the last sea day and facing reality

[092306]

Loving your review...you are hilarious!! Thanks for the Escape info and some laughs. Glad you had a great cruise!

 

 

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[riclop]

Thanks for the review.

[CarrieAP]

Engaging review!! Love your style and enthusiasm. Our first NCL ship was the Getaway in March and we too got hooked on their megaships! Taking a detour before our next go round though, trying out MSC. Thank you for taking the time to share your trip with us!

 

 

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[Mandy412]

Omg I just saw that Doug of TheDougOut was on the ship. The same time as me. 1. I'm pissed I didn't meet him. Dude is a legend 2. My repo feels meager in comparison to his Hollywood set up. 3 The way my liver is set up, it's better we didn't meet. I would be dead.

[Mandy412]

Day 7 - Final Day at Sea and then Back to Reality

 

I love this itinerary and I love it more because it ends on a sea day. Last year on the Eastern cruise, the last was in Nassau, having been there twice now, I can handily say it's the projects of the Caribbean. It sucked finishing everything up on a port day. Don't be offended by the projects comment, if you been to the PJs or Nassau, you know I'm right. So we woke up and had our 2nd to last breakfast at TasteSavor next to some people from NY that were stalking us. They had at least 3 meals next to us and it was like an SNL skit of what old NYC people sound like (think Billy Crystal). After lunch, Megan and I wanted to see if we could do the pool again so feeling stuffed full of food (but not the stewed prunes), we head out to the sun decks and the pool deck was crowded and the adult pool was people soup with a splash of salt water. Glory be, we went to 17 and found two chairs together and were able to snag a 3rd for whenever the gambling diva gave up.

 

The music was much better today and the atmosphere was fun and everyone was friendly. We were not close to water though and I was convinced that the sun was sitting right on my shoulders, just mine. What I wouldn't have given to dip into the people soup or be close to a shower or the Grotto. But I wasn't and for some reason, I wanted to keep up with Megan. I believe she stores up the sun's rays to make it through the brutal winters of Fredericksburg, VA (rolls eyes). I should be doing this because my vitamin D was 15 last month which is stupid low. Anyways, we had fun, The Gambler finally rolled in, we sunscreened that alabaster body to the hilt. Anddddddddddd she was more b*tch made about the heat than I was. She may have lasted 20 minutes and looked at me and said snow room? Yes ma'am! (I don't normally like cold and I hate winter but the way my air conditioning is set up, I like it cool and comfortable with low humidity so my curls stay right). Megan stayed behind and won because she saw my 3rd white guy boy friend Tyler in tights, a swim cap, and those arm things kids wear so they don't drown (Matthew McConaughey and Channing Tatum are 1 and 2). Besides his antics, it turned into a family reunion and people did the Cupid Shuffle and other line dances. Megan caught that footage, I'll see if I can get it and post it on the FB page. Sidenote: Why did my 90 year grandma pick up the cupid shuffle after 2 minutes of watching it at a party like it was the freaking Charleston? My white side won't let me be great and Megan got the rhythm gene. I am so deficient at line dances and it's problematic when my sorority does party strolls and I can't participate. I feel like Flounder from Animal House when it comes to dancing (dorky). So it seemed a good time was had by all.

 

Over at the thermal spa, I was taking my body heat from 7000 degrees to cool in the Snow Room. In real life, I was supposed to do a cryotherapy session this morning but work go in the way. We did our last round of sitting in all the rooms, meeting friends in the Salt Bath and Sauna, cautioning people in the steam room not to sit in the wrong place and get a steam burn (anyone else notice how the steam comes from the bottom of the seats directly onto your legs?). Couldn't get a heated chair but that was okay, the other chairs are nice and I like to spend time in the rooms. I did finally get in the Jacuzzi and it felt good. My core sucks so I can't go into the little area that has the power of Greystoke water (any He Man fans?)...it literally knocks me out. Megan came and joined us but no snow room for her. When it was time to leave, I really wanted to wrap my body around something and make them pry my body out of the spa.

 

After relaxation time, we got ourselves decent to go back to the casino and then hit the atrium for whatever shows were happening. I can't believe my mind is ghosting me on the details. I'm going to start carrying a notebook. Dinner was at my pick, Le Bistro. It hit the spot as usual although we had a 6:30 ressie and we went at 6:20 because we were hongry and they made us wait. There were plenty of open tables. I guess the servers were slammed. I know I looked totally dejected at the 10 minute wait and my belly turned into Oliver Twist and was crying "Please sir, may I have some bread". Somehow I made the wait. I was on another Kir Royale kick with the Andre champagne (I never did get a headache so it couldn't have been that bad though it wasn't Veuve). I had a seafood medley app with puff pastry and the lobster bisque sauce. For my entree, I had shrimp with chateau potatoes. The shrimp were great and flavorful but the potatoes were sad and unseasoned. They were boiled. Mum and Megan liked their entrees, starters and desserts. One of my other favorite things about Le Bistro is some French Press coffee. It was so yummy compared to the cowboy coffee, they serve in the main dining rooms.

 

Post dinner, we went back to the room to repack and put out our suitcases.The sads kicked in. We went back to the casino and listened to live music between the Skyline Bar and the Atrium. The latin soul music was very good. Went to bed early around midnight.

 

Disembarkation

 

*queue up the Soul II Soul* Back to life, back to reality....I heard that song on a loop that morning. I have a nice life and a good job that I like but dammit vacation is so much better than the real world. I don't want to leave turn down service and stewed prunes. Ali took care of the scooter and I headed to the Escape theater so that I could get a wheelchair (remember, I pitch forward on ramps with the boot) Mum's back was jacked from the bed and she wasn't walking great. She was walking like an alcoholic lunatic. We had a sit down breakfast and were at the Escape Theater around 9ish. The elevators weren't crazy so I'm thought many people must have done the walk off. Once we had the wheelchairs, they took us right off the boat and had the nerve to play fun music to get the next crew ready for their trip. They didn't need to rub our faces in it. We got to see Jacky Tang and get a pic with him before we left. No problems finding our luggage...we must have been early because there was a ton of luggage there that blew my myth that many people were already off. No line at customs because of the wheelchair. The customs agent was nice but he wasn't like Mr. Officer last year that my sister tried to hit on. We went right through and there it is. Vacation was over.

 

The only thing that kept me from crying (for real) is the fake free cruise the casino gave me in December. I'm hoping I sell enough that it won't be an issue to take off the time at work and I'm praying I don't have to have surgery because ain't nobody got time to burn PTO on non vacation issues. The way the free cruises were set up, I like to go in December over my birthday (yes, I'm a snot that goes away for my bday) plus it spaces out the PTO thing (I'm with a new company or this wouldn't be an issue). Actually a deal I was working pre-cruise closed the Monday we came back so my CEO said I can take more vacation if that's what happens. He doesn't know that I will take him up on that. I want to see the Southern Caribbean but the timing didn't work or it wasn't an option so I think that will be our next family cruise for 2018. For December, we're doing the same itinerary again which is lame but we like the spots and we can try new things or just enjoy the ship.

 

Mum and I took Southwest (i hate it but that's another story) into Fort Lauderdale and Megan took American into Miami so we left separately. Lyft didn't even give us time for a proper goodbye. I ordered a car and within 1 minute it was there so my mom hogged up all the time saying goodbye to my sister and being dramatic. She acts like she will never see her again meanwhile for my parents 51st anniversary, we're doing a crabfest in Baltimore next week.

 

Thanks for letting me relieve my vacation. Feel free to ask questions. I will likely keep posting as I remember tidbits that are helpful.