Comparing X And Rccl From The Dwecks Of The Grandeur

tuggers · September 17, 2006

Grandeur of the Seas Boarding Day September 15, 2006

Friday started out a very misty morning, not even enough to get you wet. The new Baltimore Port is much more convenient than the old one. This one is much nearer to the downtown area.

We arrived at about 10:30 AM. First stop was a small table near the entrance for me to get luggage tags as I booked too late to have docs sent. Only took am minute. Next was a stop to show our passports. Then we drove right to the door of the terminal, dropped off our luggage and walked maybe 20 feet to the building. No one in line so we wisked through.

I took a little bit longer as I wanted to look up a CC friend, signman. He works at the port and actually checked me in. So nice to get the chance to put a face to a online name. I also got to meet Anneee who posts on CC under that name. We chatted until I had to be pulled away to board with Earl and Ryan.

It was about 10 minutes from terminal front door to gangway. RCCL keeps the fire doors closed to the cabin areas till 1 PM so we had some time to kill before we could drop off the carry ons. The Library proved to be the perfect place. Big comfy leather chairs and even a place to plug in my phone. The only thing missing was BOOKS!!! They have no librarian apparently as all book cabinets are unlocked and the books are checked out via a sign out page. Selection is VERY sparse. I can only imagine it’s because no one REALLY has to actually sign out a book. You can walk in, take what you want and walk out. I think quite a few go home with passengers who haven’t finished reading them. My first lesson leaned was to take everything I want to read with me. Usually I take a couple of books and supplement with the library. Won’t work on Grandeur.

Lunch in the buffet was, I’m sure, the stock sailaway day fare but since it’s my first RCCL it was all new to me. Carved roast beef, a chicken breast that was vaguely Asian,

Only one hot green veggie, mashed potatoes, rice with seafood, salads, desserts, two soups, etc. There is also a place within the buffet doing carved sandwiches. Nice, except I got up to do another beverage and, left my personal items so they would know I was coming back, got back in time to save the personal items but not the rest of my lunch. I am SO in love with Princess’ idea of cards on the tables in the buffet which you can put on your table to say if you are finished or have just gone back for something else. You would think other lines would see the value.

Dinner was (my choices) Vidalia Onion Pie, Caesar Salad, Prime Rib and Apple Pie alo mode. Everything was very taste and well prepared. The service was great and the two other couples at the table were quite nice. The only thing I could fault even a little was the after dinner cappucino. It was VERY strong with very little foamed milk. More strong (unappetizingly so), than tasty.

We also went to the show to see the Welcome Aboard Show and the comedian, Al Romas. I thought he was pretty funny but Earl didn’t really like him. I did think the costuming on the cast when they did a short song and dance was not very good. Will have to see if they improve with subsequent shows. It was a pleasant diversion and, after all, it isn’t Broadway.

Day Two September 16, 2006

I slept in till 9:30 today! Strange for me, but it felt really good. The mattresses are a foam, not like X’s foam rocks, and definitely not than expensive foam that is all the rage now, but very comfortable. I didn’t even have to ask for a mattress pad to make it softer.

The room seems to be deeper than a comparable cabin on X (I am in a D1 Balcony) but narrower. I feel the need to turn a quarter turn when I pass the end of the bed because the wall is so close. There is a 3 seat sofa and a built in desk area with six lower drawers, two sets of narrow mirrors on either side of the large mirror that open and have triangular shelves behind, an open shelf and a small cabinet above the television. The closet has one upper and lower bar half the width of the closet and another bar for longer items. There are three drawers in the closet and a group of floor to ceiling shelves behind a door angled at the end of the closet. There is also a full length mirror. A very livable cabin. The inside cabins I have caught a glimpse of seem a little smaller than on X. And the handicapped cabins are quite large, almost a double cabin,

Lunch was at the sandwich carving bar in the buffet. Roast beef sandwiches, Mozzarella and Tomato Sandwiches and a Tuna Wrap. The dessert was a Crème Brulee type thing made in the shape of a pie without a crust and the carmalized sugar on top. It was pretty tasteless so I threw that away and got a couple of Oatmeal Raisin Cookies. They had those yesterday and they were good. I wonder if they have different ones later in the cruise.

Ryan and I went to the Meet and Mingle. It was pretty low key with the Activities Manager doing a small raffle for about 5 or 6 prizes. Neither of us won. They also give you a little wallet on a string deal that you can use later to put your Sea Pass card in. Kind of nice. Met a couple of the people that I know from the CC boards which is always nice. Kewlguy and his wife will be doing the Sept. 07 TA on Connie that I’m doing so now we will have a little extra fun when we ‘talk’ online.

It’s 3:45 and I am going to take a short nap. Tonight is formal night and we have the Captain’s Welcome Party tonight so I must get my beauty rest! LOL!

Captain’s Party was sort of boring. The people on here are not exactly live wires. We had our glass of champagne and a diet coke and just sat there till dinner time. The canapés never made it to our area and the Captain never said anything that I heard. Not much of a welcome. But, hey, free anything on a ship is worth the walk over!

Dinner had a few bumps but they were taken care of. I had Escargot, Lobster Bisque, (skipped the Caesar Salad because I had it last night), the Filet and Sugar Free Coconut Cake.. The Escargot was just a step above cold, the Lobster Bisque was fishy and at first I was told the Filet was only available medium and medium well. The Head Waiter brought more Escargot, hot, and it was very good. The Bisque just was not to my taste. The Filet came medium rare as ordered after I told our waiter I could not eat it medium. so after those few minor problems, dinner was good, We also were joined by two more couples so now we have 11 at our table.

After dinner, Earl and I went to Kareoke, which had some surprisingly good singers and some no so surprising bad ones., Of course, the bad ones were much funnier. Then we did the Adult Comedy at midnight. It was a pretty good show. But boy was I tired and ready for bed after it was over.

Day 3 September 17, 2006

I guess I really was tired last night because room service woke me up at 9:30! I sure am

sleeping like a log on here. The room service breakfast is okay but you have to put yourself in a literal frame of mind to order. It you ask for tea, you get one tea bag. If you ask for butter you get 1 (oh, and all butter, in any restaurant, is served in the little wrapped slices. I hate sitting at the dinner table on formal night, unwrapping butter like I’m in a diner. Another odd thing to me is that the butter is all salted. I’m so used to the sweeter taste of unsalted on a ship that it was kind of a shock,

Off to sign up for internet this morning so I can send this off. Internet is available for 50 cents per minute or packages:

$25 for 60 minutes

$35 for 90 minutes

$50 for 150 minutes

My Diamond coupon book has a $10 off coupon for the internet, so I will get 150 minutes for $40. Not bad as ship internet charges go,

judyfssw · September 17, 2006

Tuggers, great beginning. I'm waiting for your next installment.

SheilaNC · September 17, 2006

Gail,

Thanks for the day by day. When we were on Grandeur, we liked the ship and the indoor pool area but had difficulty with the food - just average at best - but good waiter service. Looking forward to hearing more about your experience.

tuggers · September 19, 2006

Posted the first without much proofing so I'm reposting with a few corrections:

Grandeur of the Seas Boarding Day September 15, 2006

Friday started out a very misty morning. A little moisture, but not enough to get you wet. The new Baltimore Port is much more convenient than the old one. It was also much nearer to downtown Baltimore and the Harbor which makes it nice for pre and post cruise visits.

We arrived at the terminal about 10:30 AM. First stop was a small table near the entrance for me to get luggage tags as I booked too late to have docs sent. Only took a minute. Next was a stop to show our passports. Then we drove right to the door of the terminal, dropped off our luggage and walked maybe 20 feet to the building. No one in line so we whisked through.

I took a little bit longer as I wanted to look up a CC friend, signman. He works at the port and actually checked me in. So nice to get the chance to put a face to a online name. I also got to meet Anneee who posts on CC under that name. We chatted until I had to be pulled away to board with Earl and Ryan.

No one there to take boarding pictures. I know, I know, they’re a little hokey. In my defense, I use them to keep track of my cruises because they have ship and date. It’s always a disappointment to me not to get one.

It was about 10 minutes from arriving at the terminal front door to the gangway. Darn, no champagne or even a glass of orange juice. At least the security guy was cheerful and welcomed us on board.

RCCL keeps the fire doors to the cabin areas locked till 1 PM so we had some time to kill before we could drop off the carry ons. The Library proved to be the perfect place. Big comfy leather chairs and even a place to plug in my phone. The only thing missing was BOOKS!!! They have no librarian, apparently as all book cabinets are unlocked and the books are checked out via a sign out page. Selection is VERY sparse. I can only imagine it’s because no one REALLY has to actually sign out a book. You can walk in, take what you want and walk out. I think quite a few go home with passengers who haven’t finished reading them. My first lesson leaned was to take everything I want to read with me. Usually I take a couple of books and supplement with the library. Won’t work on Grandeur.

Lunch in the buffet was, I’m sure, the stock sailaway day fare but since it’s my first RCCL it was all new to me. Carved roast beef and a chicken breast that was vaguely Asian. Only one hot green veggie, mashed potatoes, rice with seafood, salads, desserts, two soups, etc. There is also a place within the buffet doing carved sandwiches. Nice, except I got up to do another beverage and left my personal items so they would know I was coming back. Got back in time to save the personal items but not the rest of my lunch. I am SO in love with Princess’ idea of cards on the tables in the buffet that you can put on your table to say if you are finished or have just gone back for something else. You would think other lines would see the value.

Dinner was (my choices) Vidalia Onion Pie, Caesar Salad, Prime Rib and Apple Pie ala mode. Everything was very tasty and well prepared. The service was great and the two other couples at the table were quite nice. The only thing I could fault even a little was the after dinner cappuccino. It was VERY strong with very little foamed milk. More strong (unappetizingly so), than tasty.

We went to the show to see the Welcome Aboard Show and the comedian, Al Romas. I thought he was pretty funny but Earl didn’t really like him. I did think the costuming on the cast when they did a short song and dance was not very good. Will have to see if they improve with subsequent shows. It was a pleasant diversion and, after all, it isn’t Broadway.

Day Two September 16, 2006

I slept in till 9:30 today! Strange for me, but it felt really good. The mattresses are a foam, not like X’s foam rocks, and definitely not the expensive memory foam that is all the rage now, but very comfortable. I didn’t even have to ask for a mattress pad to make it softer.

The room seems to be deeper than a comparable cabin on X (I am in a D1 Balcony) but narrower. I feel the need to turn a quarter turn when I pass the end of the bed because the wall is so close. There is a 3 seat sofa and a built in desk area with six lower drawers, two sets of narrow mirrors on either side of the large mirror that open and have triangular shelves behind, an open shelf and a small cabinet above the television. The closet has one upper and lower bar half the width of the closet and another bar for longer items. There are three drawers in the closet and a group of floor to ceiling shelves behind a door angled at the end of the closet. There is also a full length mirror. A very livable cabin. The inside cabins I have caught a glimpse of seem a little smaller than on X. And the handicapped cabins are quite large, almost a double cabin,

Lunch was at the sandwich carving bar in the buffet. Roast beef sandwiches, Mozzarella and Tomato Sandwiches and a Tuna Wrap. The dessert was a Crème Brulee type thing made in the shape of a pie without a crust and the caramelized sugar on top. It was pretty tasteless so I threw that away and got a couple of Oatmeal Raisin Cookies. They had those yesterday and they were good. I wonder if they have different cookies later in the cruise.

Ryan and I went to the Meet and Mingle. It was pretty low key with the Activities Manager doing a small raffle for about 5 or 6 prizes. Neither of us won. They also give you a little wallet on a string deal that you can use later to put your Sea Pass card in. Free stuff is always good. Met a couple of the people that I know from the CC boards which is always nice. Kewlguy and his wife will be doing the Sept. 07 TA on Connie that I’m doing so now we will have a little extra fun when we ‘talk’ online.

It’s 3:45 and I am going to take a short nap. Tonight is formal night and we have the Captain’s Welcome Party tonight so I must get my beauty rest! LOL!

Captain’s Party was sort of boring. The people on here are not exactly live wires. We had our glass of champagne and a diet coke and just sat there till dinner. The canapés never made it to our area and the Captain never said anything that I heard. Not much of a welcome. But, hey, free anything on a ship is worth the walk over!

Dinner had a few bumps but they were taken care of. I had Escargot, Lobster Bisque, (skipped the Caesar Salad because I had it last night), the Filet and Sugar Free Coconut Cake.. The Escargot was just a step above cold, the Lobster Bisque was fishy and at first I was told the Filet was only available medium and medium well. The Head Waiter brought more Escargot, hot, and it was very good. The Bisque just was not to my taste. The Filet came medium rare as ordered after I told our waiter I could not eat it medium. After those few minor problems, dinner was great, We also were joined by two more couples so now we have 11 at our table.

After dinner, Earl and I went to Karaoke, which had some surprisingly good singers and some no so surprising bad ones., Of course, the bad ones were much funnier. Then we did the Adult Comedy at midnight. It was a pretty good show. But boy was I tired and ready for bed after it was over.

Day 3 September 17, 2006

I guess I really was tired last night because room service woke me up at 9:30! I sure am

sleeping like a log on here. The room service breakfast is okay but you have to put yourself in a literal frame of mind to order. It you ask for tea, you get one tea bag. If you ask for butter you get 1 (oh, and all butter, in any restaurant, is served in the little wrapped slices). I hate sitting at the dinner table on formal night, unwrapping butter like I’m in a diner. Another odd thing to me is that the butter is all salted. I’m so used to the sweeter taste of unsalted on a ship that it was kind of a shock,

Off to sign up for internet this morning so I can send this off. Internet is available for 50 cents per minute or packages:

$25 for 60 minutes

$35 for 90 minutes

$50 for 150 minutes

My Diamond coupon book has a $10 off coupon for the internet, so I will get 150 minutes for $40. Not bad as ship internet charges go,

Ryan and I did the slot tournament and that turned out to be a donation to the casino for us. They only did 3 minute rounds and cut off the entries at 72 as they had to finish an hour before we got to Miami. It was all very rushed and not a whole lot of fun.

Took three trips to the Guest Relations desk to get the Internet coupon worked out. First, you can’t use it for money off a package. You can only use it for a free 20 minutes, then you can buy the package. They were a little slow on figuring how to get online using my own laptop. There is no computer person on board for the Internet Café. It is all self service.

I have noticed a lack of certain types of staff on this ship. There is no Librarian, no Internet person and the pool staff seems rather limited.. This shows a lack of attention to detail that is noticeable to people who have sailed X and other comparable lines. It’s nothing major, just little things. Like they have no flower vase on the room service tray. Also, no salt and pepper shakers on room service trays. They use the paper containers like you get at Micky D’s. The condiments are all fast food types (mayonnaise, catsup and mustard in little foil packs). I thought they had no toiletries on the ship except soap, but on the third day, bottles of lotion, shampoo and shower gel showed up. There are also no bags to carry things to the pool. There is a plastic bag, like a grocery bag only a little heavier and with handles, but I think that is really for laundry. I’m so used to getting a free bag of some sort that I have to buy one in Key West.

On the other hand, I have to say, the Diamond coupon books are pretty nice. Among other things you get the $10 Internet coupon mentioned earlier, a free frozen bar at the Ben and Jerry’s, a free coffee at the coffee bar, a free picture, any size, at the photo shop, a buy one bottle of wine at dinner, get the second bottle (bought at the same time) at 20%

off, a free cocktail in a souvenir glass. There are several more. It’s quite a nice perk.

If you are Elite on X, you are Diamond on RCCL. To be Diamond Plus you must have 25 total cruises on RCCL. That is because X doesn’t have the higher tier. I was assured that as soon as that happens, I would be Plus on RCCL. But right now you will only be Diamond if your cruises are on X, no matter how many you have.

Dinner was (again, my choices only here) Maryland Crabcake (okay but all the Baltimore people on board didn’t seem impressed), a ‘special’ salad (it was the only one available) which wasn’t very special to me, Clam Chowder (good), Pork Chop with a cranberry sauce (good but nothing great) and Caramel Coffee Cheesecake. The strange thing was, that was the way the order was taken, all the food, the dessert and my wine. All at one time. I have NEVER, on any cruise ship, ordered my dessert with my entrée. It was more than a little strange. Reminded me of diners in the Northeast where you order the blue plate special with apple pie all in one breath. I will be interested to see if this continues.

Earl and I went to the after dinner show, John Joseph and Johnny B. It was a music and comedy show and was quite funny. We enjoyed it very much and plan to see him tomorrow at the second show.

tuggers · September 19, 2006

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Day 4 September 18, 2006

Today is Key West. Woke before 8 to find we were already docked and it was, again, a drizzly day.

Earl, Ryan and I breakfasted in the buffet. Earl said the waffles and whipped cream were good. Ryan just has yogurt in the morning and I had pineapple and a toasted bagel with cream cheese and strawberry jam. Very busy and noisy place. I would not recommend it for a leisurely vacation breakfast.

We decided to take off into town between showers. Unfortunately, we didn’t even make it past the stores at the Westin when the bottom fell out. We sat by the hotel for a good while before we ventured further. Went to Kino’s, then a shop where I usually find white gold charms (found a 0 miles marker) and had just turned on to Duval Street when all the power went out. We were told the power was out at far away as Marathon. After an hour or so, most of the jewelry stores closed and some of the tee shirt stores locked up, too. Earl took Ryan back to the ship and then came back off and met me. We did some shopping and then he headed back to check on Ryan. I went to Hog’s Breath Saloon for a Margarita and some very tasty Garlic Shrimp Dip. The power had come back on while Earl and I were walking towards Duvall Street. I guess it was out an hour and a half or two hours. Put a damper (no pun intended) on the visit. We sailed a little after 3 in a small down pour.

I went down to the buffet for lunch. The dining room wasn’t serving lunch today. Things were so hectic down there that I got the makings for a turkey sandwich and brought it to my cabin. I bought a 12 pack of soda in KW so I can have my diet coke for considerably less than $1.73 per can. BTW, the soda package on here is $4 per day for children and $6 per day for adults plus 15%. It’s a little higher than X. For some reason I didn’t think I would drink $7 per day worth on soda on this trip so opted to pick up a 12 pack at the CVS Drugs.

Dinner tonight was good. A Fried Shrimp Appetizer was surprisingly tasty, followed by Cream of Vidalia Onion Soup, skipped the Caesar Salad and chose Chicken Picatta for the entrée. Dessert was Low Fat Peach Cobbler (which was served cold) and Butter Almond Ice Cream. Tonight, thankfully, we ordered normally and not all at once. I had a bottle of wine from my ta. I drank two glasses and said I would have more tomorrow. My waiter made a point of telling me she would ‘hide’ the bottle for me. Apparently they don’t really have a system in place for wine bottles that are not finished at one meal.

Karaoke tonight is the finalists only from the first night. There were some good singers (and some not so good ones thrown in for fun) so it should be nice. I was told the CD, who is from Atlanta, would do an alternate personality thing as ‘Dale’ a red neck judge for the contest which is billed as Karaoke Superstars! Turned out to be pretty funny.

One other difference I have noticed on this ship is that the orchestra mostly wears RCCL polo shirts, even on stage for shows in the main theater. The band plying before the Karaoke show looks like a rag tag bunch, all wearing various colors of short sleeved and long sleeved (rolled of course), untucked shirts. To me, it over shadows their music to be so sloppy. They are called Rip Tide. At least the band by the pool wears matching Hawaiian shirts. I guess this follows the rather loosely casual attitude they promote on this ship. I am used to a little more formality in my cruising.

The dress for dinner also follows this trend. I really think you could come on this ship (a woman) with two or three pairs of capris and a variety of tops along with two formal (semi formal really) and do just fine on a 9 nighter. The dress is casual every night except one which is ‘smart casual’ and the two formals. On the formal night I saw very, very few tuxedos. On smart casual, very few sport coats. Makes for an easy cruise, but, to me, not what I’m used to.

So far things have been nice. Definitely different (more kids for sure!). I would take RCI again if the itinerary and price were right and I wanted a very casual experience. If I wanted a more formal cruise with a higher level of service, I would go for X or HAL.

Andy · September 19, 2006

Hi Gail !

Thank you for the wonderful updates. Enjoy your Cruise !

ecslady · September 19, 2006

Thanks for posting Gail. :) Really enjoying reading your comparisons...but, I can't wait for your cruise to end because that means we'll be on the Zenith that much sooner. :D Enjoy and stay healthy! :)

bilgeboyPa · September 19, 2006

Hi Gail,

Great review so far. Hope the weather gets better. I sorta had the same impressions you have when I was on Explorer of the Seas. The ship was beautiful,but the service, food and those little extra things X do were definitly missing.

Question.....When I was on EOS, Kev and I asked for shrimp cocktail everynight like on X, but we were told no and we had to make arraingements in advance.. Did u run into that on this ship?

Jeff

Texed · September 19, 2006

Gail,

Thanks for the reports.:)

donnaw · September 19, 2006

May not compare on some levels but it sounds like your having fun so keep at it! Glad to come out and see a report from one of our favorite cruisers!

atb · September 21, 2006

we are booking the GOS next July for a family reunion. 9night sailing out of Baltimore - close to home.

Was wandering about the formal night - etc, and thanks for that information. Anything else we should know to prepare?

I'm guessing that July will be HOT!! :eek: And right now, that is not my favorite thing - but will manage because it will be a family gathering.

Andy · September 21, 2006

Hi Gail !

Thanks for the great reports !

tuggers · September 21, 2006

Hi Guys!

Yes, July will be hot with LOTS of kids. We even have quite a few now.

And formal night is not very formal. Few tuxes and not a whole lot of glitz on the ladies!

Here's Day 5:

Day 5 September 19, 2006

Wine Alert! Two couples at our dining table had two bottle each of wine in their checked luggage. A notice was left in their stateroom on sailing day that they would have to come claim their luggage (I didn’t ask if this was from security or GR). When the husbands went to see about it they were told that the four bottles of wine were contraband and would be held until they disembark in Baltimore. The explanation given was that the ship had no way to monitor drinking if they allowed unauthorized alcohol to be brought on board. That it was a safety issue. When the gentlemen told them that the wine would be consumed in the dining room, they were told that RCI had no way to monitor that so the policy was that ALL alcohol would be confiscated.

I also talked to another friend from past cruises (she went shopping with us today) and she told me that she had a bottle of Champagne confiscated from her carry-on in Baltimore. That’s all she had, one lousy bottle for a celebration on board. Guess they are serious about this new rule. They told her it took effect four weeks ago and that they were taking all alcoholic beverages being brought on board.

I guess neither carry-on nor checked baggage is going to be exempt from this new ‘rule’. One thing about it that bothers me is that it will preclude bringing wine back on board

when on European cruises. I know on the Rome TA last year we found great wine to bring back. Most of us brought our wine to the dining room, paid the corkage, and enjoyed it with our friends. Guess that’s a thing of the past. Not a rule that is to my liking. If they want to take hard liquor I can see it, but not the wine. I also read the ‘rules’ posted by the gangway that I’ll paraphrase, ‘bringing alcohol on board in containers other than original, i.e. water bottles, soda bottles, etc are grounds for being asked to leave the ship’. Not exactly worded right but I think that was the main point.

One thing that I don’t like about the dining room on Grandeur is that they close it for lunch anytime the ship is in port. That means you are stuck with the loud, noisy, crowded buffet or the hot dog/hamburger/pizza place in the Solarium. The hot dogs are good (they have one of those roller deals to cook them), the hamburgers are precooked and kept in a warming device as is the pizza. The pizza seems like they use a frozen crust and the toppings are not very flavorful. The hot dog and hamburger buns are always hard (stale). On the up side, the fries are good. They have two large containers of cold water and cold ice tea but if you want ice you have to go to one of the bars. A bit inconvenient.

There doesn’t seem to be much coordination between the food staff and the bar/activities staff. Last night, we went to the Superstar Karaoke and that meant we missed the Chocolate Lovers Buffet. The buffet started during the show and ended before the show was over. This has happened a couple of other times. On most ships they schedule so that the most popular shows are not carried on during the specialty buffets. While we enjoyed the show, we would have liked to at least see the chocolate buffet. Ok, who am I kidding, we would have liked to load up a plate of gooey, creamy chocolate things!

I have been asked by a lady onboard to report that there are problems with the toilets not flushing. She told me that their toilet had not worked properly all trip and that the ship’s staff was still ‘working on it’. Her husband has had to go out of the cabin several times to find a toilet. I can tell you that my toilet in cabin 7642 has had days when pushing the button got no response but then ten minutes or so later I will hear it flush. While it is only a small problem in my cabin it may be more of a problem in other cabins.

On a more positive note. I find the Palladium Showroom to be very comfortable. There are no stairs as the whole floor slants towards the stage. This is a good thing because one night on a ship with stairs going down towards the stage (I think it was Century), I watched three or four separate people fall on the stairs. The Palladium chairs are comfy and have wide arms with drink holders. The sound system is not the best but all in all it is a pleasant place to spend an evening.

Today, we got off at International Pier in Cozumel (we were supposed to tender but at the last minute we were allowed to dock) and took a cab to the two story open air mall across from the Downtown Pier ($6 for up to four passengers in a small car, the vans cost more). The place was pretty much deserted. Got some good bargains. T-shirts, of course, new hand carved canes for Ryan and I and a beautiful wooden Aztec Calendar (don’t read that part Marcia, the Aztec Calendar is for you!). After we got back to the pier, Earl and Ryan went back on the ship and Gwen and I shopped around some more. I enjoyed my time with Gwen and am trying to talk her into the September ’07 Connie TA! We were off the ship maybe two and a half hours.

I have to tell you, this illness is making it a very hard trip on me. I was totally tuckered out from today’s relatively short shore trip on top of yesterday’s Key West visit. I woke up this am with a sore throat and earache. I am told these symptoms, along with a headache is a marker for me that I’ve done too much. I came back on board and slept several hours this afternoon. I got up for dinner but decided against any after dinner activities. I am lounging in bed, watching L & O and writing today’s report. I will hit the sack early and take a VERY short jaunt ashore in Costa Maya. Then I’m done for the trip. I don’t need to get off in Port Canaveral and that is our last stop before Baltimore. I’m hoping to rest up on the last three days. May even skip formal night. This trip experience is giving me thoughts about how well I will do on the 27 night Z. I will have to take it very easy to survive the trip! Really is a bad thing when cruising wears you out!!!!!

Lunch today was room service and I think I have finally hit on a good combo. I ordered a Tuna Pita (pita bread is always soggy) and a Caesar Salad. The salad was very nice and came with lots of cheese. I removed the tuna salad from the soggy pita and put it on my salad. I also got a cup of last night’s Cream of Vidalia Soup. Made quite a nice lunch. And the service was excellent. Came in about 15 minutes.

Dinner tonight was not the best. I ordered the Vegetable Spring Roll (so, so), She Crab and Shrimp Soup (that was good) and the Vegetable Ben Ghorri (I hope I spelled that right). I had ordered the Cedar Key Salad but when they delivered one to the man sitting next to me, I saw it was iceberg lettuce and a few pineapple pieces. It was supposed to have hearts of palm but I did not see any. It did not look appetizing. I told Elsie to just skip my salad. My Ben Ghorri had many more pea pods that noodles and was only okay. No spice to it at all. I had this several times on HAL and it was much better. The dessert I ordered was Chocolate Rain Forrest Cake that seemed to be a thin cake layer covered by a white chocolate mango pudding/mousse and cut in squares. Average. Earl and Ryan had the Blue Mountain Coffee Crème Brule. It was not a hit either. The entrée selections were limited tonight. In addition to the Ben Ghorri there was Red Snapper, Veal Parmigana (my friends know Veal is a no-no for me!), Jerk Chicken and Seafood Pasta. No Beef or Pork entrees. Hope tomorrow night is better.

We will be in Costa Maya tomorrow at 7 am. Will probably get off the ship around 10 and take a stroll around the shopping area. You used to be able to get a nice, beachside massage in CM for about $35. If I can find one of those, I’m signing up. If not, I may have to have a hot stone massage on board one of the sea days.

tuggers · September 21, 2006

Tell Kev nothing has been tasty enough that I wanted more than one!:D

Day 6 September 20, 2006

Woke up to a beautiful sunny day in Costa Maya. Took a shower and as I was putting on my nice fluffy robe, I realized that I needed to say that not everyone gets a robe in their room. I don’t know what level you have to be to get one, but I have heard numerous people on board complaining about it because they are so used to having one in the room, they didn’t pack one. I am Diamond and I got one. Don’t know if Platinum does.

Decided to have my first breakfast in the dining room. Had a grapefruit half, a bran muffin and a half order of Eggs Benedict. Pretty standard stuff. The only thing that stood out was the huge coffee mug! They were great and other lines should take a clue from RCI on that one!

With my new found fatigue when I over do, I am more appreciative of a port where I only have to walk a short distance from the ship to a trolley that takes me right to the shopping area. Yes, CM is still pretty hokey with things like getting your picture taken with costumed ‘natives’ before you enter the shopping area, but it’s convenient. And most of the permanent shops, even though they are open across the entire front, are air-conditioned.

After having just shopped in Cozumel, we were shocked that prices in CM were about three times what we had just paid. For instance, we bought carved walking canes in Cozumel for $5 each. The stores we checked in CM started their pricing, for the exact same thing, at $28 and came down to $22. Another example of pricing was the painted glasses with pitcher that I’m sure you’ve all seen. They come with an iron stand that holds the 6 glasses and the pitcher. In Cozumel, they were $35, firm, in CM they were $50 and $55, firm. Most of the prices ran that high. The native type shops that are in two circles in front of the brick and mortar shopping center were the highest. We found one store in the permanent section that had the canes for $8 and other things for comparable Cozumel prices so we did what little shopping we did in CM at that store. The talk on the ship was, if we had known what good prices we were getting in C we would have done all our shopping there!

After shopping in CM, you must take a dip in the huge saltwater pool. Earl and Ryan came prepared, wearing their bathing suits. I had debated with myself on doing the same but had changed my mind and wore shorts. After a Mango Margarita and watching Earl, Ryan and our dinner tablemates having a great time, I had to go in, clothes and all. It was so pleasant to float around and have the waiters bring you a drink right to the pool. This doesn’t come cheap though, an order of chips and salsa (fair) and ‘some’ drinks, came to $35. But it is a vacation after all!

Again, as we were in port, the dining room was closed for lunch. Rather than fight the crowds at the buffet, I had room service again. Caesar salad with tuna and a cup of

Egg Drop Soup (horrid!) and a very nice nap. Being lazy sure has it’s advantages!

Had a little Roulette luck before dinner and then went to an early show featuring Greg Bonham. He is a singer, comedian, trumpet playing Aussie. Pretty nice voice and a great trumpet player, but he’s one of those singers who never finish a song. He stops in the middle and talks to the audience and makes jokes. I think I would have liked him better as just a singer and musician and forget the banter and comedy.

As I have said before, it amazes me that the orchestra is so casual, even when on stage, backing up a performer wearing a suit. This night was no exception, polo shirts again. What really got me was sitting in the audience and looking at the musicians, you could see trash behind them on the stage floor! So unappealing!

Dinner, for the second night was a snooze. Hope it improves soon. My choices: Onion Foccica Bread with a Cream Cheese Spread (bread was icebox cold, had little onion and not much flavor) Cream of Cauliflower Soup (excellent), Chilled Blueberry and Yogurt Soup (thin, watery and had not been strained so the blueberry skins were still in it in fairly large pieces), Vegetable Phad Thai (horrid! you would thought I would have learned from the night before, right?) in addition to the noodle dish I asked for the Thai Shrimp (4) which were pretty good. So that made dinner a cup of soup and 4 shrimp. My diet should be going pretty well, huh? Skipped dessert.

‘Dale’ the red neck alter ego of the CD was doing a special appearance in the Casino so I went there to try to win a few prizes and play a little more Roulette. No prizes for either Earl or I but I came out a little ahead on the gaming.

At 11 we went to the next round of Karaoke SUPERSTAR! They were supposed to whittle the field of five down to two but wound up with three finalists. Two have REALLY great voices and one is a 93year old lady who has a lot of charm. Besides, who could vote off Great Grandma? Not ‘Dale’!!!

tuggers · September 21, 2006