Pirate's LIVE and Back On The Mardi Gras Sept 16-23, 2023...Laissez Le Bon Temps Rouler!

[pirate4me2]

Yesterday’s shenanigans (Costa Maya):

 

The ship was cleared earlier than planned, at 7:30 am. Chris and I got up and readied ourselves, and headed ashore at 8. We reached the meeting point outside the port for our excursion, Maya Chan, at 9:00 ship time (8 their time), so we had to wait a little bit for the representative to arrive. Once she did, my heart sunk…they said we had no reservation with them, it had been canceled! I know when I booked they had the wrong date on the invoice ( they had it for Thursday, not Tuesday) but I emailed and they said they’d fix it, then when I swapped my November cruise to another date I had to cancel that booking with them, so maybe they got confused and canceled the wrong one? Who knows. Luckily they said they had room, and we could come on, so my despair was short lived. 
After a bumpy 20-ish minute can ride, we reached Maya Chan. It was the same excellent service I remember from last time, and they have been doing a lot of work to the beach and water area. I didn’t take many pics because I was in the water most of our time there, but here are a few. 

[pirate4me2]

We were welcomed with a rum punch, chips, guacamole and salsa. Yum! We

ditched our stuff at our area (little shaded day bed, 2 recline chairs and a table), and got in the ocean with floaty chairs until noon. The water situation was just like last November, it’s not pretty water, but it’ll do. There is some seaweed in it, but i had fears with the giant seaweed problem this year it would be terrible…it wasn’t. 
At noon they said lunch was being served, and I needed some carbs to soak up the Oreo mudslides I had drank in the ocean. Lunch was PHENOMENAL y’all. All you can eat taco bar with homemade flour or corn tortillas, steak, chicken, fish, pork, beans, rice, fresh made pico, fresh made guac, cheese, onions, and 3 hot sauces. I tried the chicken and the pork, both were delicious, I can’t decide a winner. The medium hot sauce was good, but the HOT sauce…oh yeah, that was my jam! 
After lunch we returned back to the water, and stayed there until 1:30. When we got out of the water I got to see my friend Sheba, the calico kitty who hangs out by the pool area. I didn’t get a pic of her, but when we went to the bar area to wait for our 2:00 taxi ride back to the ship I saw the “bar manager”, Stella, who wasn’t impressed with the noise of the blender disturbing her slumber. 
There were also 3 dogs I saw, but this one is my favorite. He’s an old boy who reminds me of our old family Rottie who passed away earlier this year, he just laid around like a speed bump and barked to greet the new arrivals. 

[pirate4me2]

We got back onboard the ship at about 2:30, and promptly took a nap after showering. That sun took it out of us! We sailed away from Costa Maya about 5:45, and we headed to Alchemy. Yeah I know, we are so predictable! Carolina made me a mojito-ish drink, and we headed to Cucina for dinner. The MDR menu was ok, but not thrilling either of us. Pics of it below. 

[pirate4me2]

Cucina menu

[pirate4me2]

I got the arancini and the caprese as starters, I couldn’t decide. The arancini won, hands down. The caprese was good and fresh, but was missing something. For the main I got the chicken parm with a side of spinach, and that spinach yall…it was garlicky and DELICIOUS! The chicken parm was tender and good, but nothing special. Chris and I both agreed it was missing something, kinda like my caprese was. For dessert I got the tiramisu, and all I can say is YUMM!! 

[pirate4me2]

We had great plans for after dinner, wanted to go to the Love & Marriage Show, the Tim Young comedy set, and the Pirate deck party. However, we walked into the 7:45 L&M show and it was PACKED. We went to check out the comedy situation for Tim Young, and people were already lining up. Standing in line is really not my thing on vacation, and there were 2 empty seats at Alchemy next to friends we had made yesterday, so guess how our evening ended? Yep…drinks and laughter, and shutting down Alchemy. Tim Young has shows today, so I figured we could try again. Drazen wants us to bring him expresso tonight, he has drinks in mind for both me and Chris that need that. He also pulled out the bar book last night to get ideas for me that include absinthe, my weakness. YAY!!! 
At midnight we hit up the late night snacks at Pig & Anchor to get something. I tried the meatball sub (meh) and chicken tenders (good). We grabbed a bottle of water to go from the bar, and crashed around 1. At least I could sleep in today, I had no plans to get off the ship!

[pirate4me2]

Today (Wednesday)

 

Chris has a scuba dive excursion at Anthony Key, and had to meet them at 9 on the pier. He rolled out of bed at 8:30 and wasn’t really human. Poor guy, that’s what you get staying out late! Me, I rolled back

over and snored some more until 9:30, then went in search of breakfast. I settled on Shaq’s, and  the chicken was fresh and delicious. 
I am now camped out in the shade in a clamshell on Serenity. Score! I stole it from a CHOG. Can you believe the nerve of all these chair AND table hogs today?! 

[zencruisers]

it looks like you have relaxing day ahead of you. 🙂

[pirate4me2]

Just now, zencruisers said:

it looks like you have relaxing day ahead of you. 🙂

Absolutely!!! Got my book, clamshell, drinks…I’m not moving!

[pirate4me2]

I didn’t want to go too far for lunch, so Guy’s it is. I’m not usually a fan

of the burgers, but this one was GOOD. Hot and cheese was super melty. And maybe I’m in the minority, but the new fries rock…they’re crispy and I like the seasoning. 

[Frank12]

I agree with you on the new Guys fries.  I wasn't a fan of the original ones.

[rizkeeper]

We sail in 65ish days on the MG, we're platinum, but have never been on one of these super ships.  I'm fearing the long lines and inability to see the shows we want to see.  How early do you recommend showing up prior to a show to have a good chance at getting a seat? 

[pirate4me2]

2 hours ago, rizkeeper said:

We sail in 65ish days on the MG, we're platinum, but have never been on one of these super ships.  I'm fearing the long lines and inability to see the shows we want to see.  How early do you recommend showing up prior to a show to have a good chance at getting a seat? 

Have no fears!! That was my biggest worry prior to sailing MG last November. I despise crowds, ever since my TBI I get anxious in crowded situations. The first day can and will be hectic as everyone figures out “their” spot, but by day 2, the crowds have dispersed and are not at all like what you think they will be. 
As for showing up for shows…20 minutes will probably be ok for comedy (on this sailing at least) and theater, but the Center Stage (aka atrium) ones are a bit crazy to get seats for…so I just haven’t tried. They are more like an hr and people start camping out to reserve seats.

[pirate4me2]

Tonight’s dinner menu. Unfortunately I had chicken parm last night at Cucina, so the MDR tonight is a no go. Any guesses where we are heading? 

[ninjacat123]

53 minutes ago, pirate4me2 said:

Have no fears!! That was my biggest worry prior to sailing MG last November. I despise crowds, ever since my TBI I get anxious in crowded situations. The first day can and will be hectic as everyone figures out “their” spot, but by day 2, the crowds have dispersed and are not at all like what you think they will be. 
As for showing up for shows…20 minutes will probably be ok for comedy (on this sailing at least) and theater, but the Center Stage (aka atrium) ones are a bit crazy to get seats for…so I just haven’t tried. They are more like an hr and people start camping out to reserve seats.

You had a traumatic Brain injury?  

[LincolnLog]

1 hour ago, pirate4me2 said:

Tonight’s dinner menu. Unfortunately I had chicken parm last night at Cucina, so the MDR tonight is a no go. Any guesses where we are heading? 

 

My guess was going to be Alchemy, but then I realized you meant for dinner…but I’m still gonna guess Alchemy anyway! 😆

[pirate4me2]

Well, apparently MG is suffering from a propulsion issue. We are stopped in the water for engineers to work on it. I’ll update later when we hear how it’s going! 

[Knights on the Beach]

38 minutes ago, pirate4me2 said:

Well, apparently MG is suffering from a propulsion issue. We are stopped in the water for engineers to work on it. I’ll update later when we hear how it’s going! 

 

I just read about this somewhere else - I hope they get it figured out!

 

[pirate4me2]

We are sailing again! Good job engineering team!!

[pirate4me2]

Ok, so where did I leave off earlier? Oh yes, dinner plans! 
We hung at Alchemy as we decided what we wanted to do for dinner. We had brought Drazen fresh expresso from Bar Della Rosa as he requested….he had a special drink In mind for us but needed that. His drink was PHENOMENAL yall. Oh my goodness! We finally decided at 7 to do the steakhouse at 8, so I made the reservation. We hung at Alchemy and had 1 more pre dinner drink, a “something spicy” from Angel. He’s secretly my favorite down there…everything he has whipped together has been spot on. 
We walked down to the steakhouse right at 8, and the service tonight was top notch! I got the baby spinach salad, which as always was good, and then the crab & mushroom risotto. It was ok, not my favorite I don’t think. For my main I got the shrimp….holy moly, those are the biggest shrimp I have seen in my life! They were delicious too. On the side I got mushrooms (mmmmm!) and Mac and cheese (meh). Dessert, which was unneeded because I was full, was the cheesecake…it was ok. 

[pirate4me2]

It’s now 10:15, and honestly even tho I didn’t do much today…I’m ready to call it a day. Maybe if I get a good night’s sleep I can rebound and have a late night tomorrow. Goodnight all!

[rizkeeper]

"We had brought Drazen fresh expresso from Bar Della Rosa as he requested"

 

1) Adding this to my to-order list.

2) How much extra is the Fahrenheit 555?  Looks well worth any up charge, also adding this to the list!!

3) I'm also adding "nap time" to my daily list, 😉 love the nap updates in your updates.  

[pirate4me2]

17 hours ago, ninjacat123 said:

You had a traumatic Brain injury?  

Yes, I had a really bad horseback riding accident several years ago. I’ve always been a firm believer in helmets, and that accident just really, really brought it home how important they are! 
 

16 hours ago, LincolnLog said:

My guess was going to be Alchemy, but then I realized you meant for dinner…but I’m still gonna guess Alchemy anyway! 😆

HAHAHA!!!! 
 

15 hours ago, Knights on the Beach said:

 

I just read about this somewhere else - I hope they get it figured out!

 

They got it figured out quickly. Way to go to the engineers onboard!

 

2 hours ago, rizkeeper said:

"We had brought Drazen fresh expresso from Bar Della Rosa as he requested"

 

1) Adding this to my to-order list.

2) How much extra is the Fahrenheit 555?  Looks well worth any up charge, also adding this to the list!!

3) I'm also adding "nap time" to my daily list, 😉 love the nap updates in your updates.  

Steakhouse is $48/pp I believe. Holy moly, it was a delicious meal! 
Nap time is very, very necessary!! 

[pirate4me2]

Hello from somewhere at sea! 
 

We awoke this morning at about 9:20 and got ready for sea day brunch. I checked us in at 9:35, and it said under a 10 minute wait. Great, just enough time to head to Java Blue and get go-go juice!

 

The white chocolate caramel frappe was absolutely wonderful. I sipped on it and we settled in at Fortune Teller bar to wait for our table to be ready. Under 10 minutes

me toosh…at 10:01 we were finally notified. Oh well, I’m on vacation and don’t have to cook/do dishes/clean, so I’m not gonna complain. 
 

We headed to the MDR and were sat at a table for 2, and the server today was wonderful. I ordered the Voyage burger since I felt like 10:15 was an ok time to eat one, and this would also serve as my lunch today. When it came out, it was messy, delicious, and everything I had hoped and dreamed it would be. PERFECTO!! 

[pirate4me2]

After brunch, Chris and I decided to make use of the thermal pass. We changed and headed down, and I was suprised how NOT busy and crowded it was! We spent 2 hours alternating between the Tpool and the heated tile loungers. I may or may not have even fallen asleep on the lounger! It was restful and relaxing, exactly as it should be! I didn’t get any pics of the area as there were other passengers in there at all times, and I didn’t want to be a creep-o. 
 

We are now back at the room…Chris needed his nap, and I’m having much needed balcony time. I have this freaking amazing balcony and haven’t utilized it enough, so the next 2 days I’ve got to! As @Jamman54 said, it’s one of the few balconies that looks directly down at the water instead of being blocked by a lower deck. It’s also got an overhang giving me shade right now, so it’s the perfect afternoon hangout!