Sea Days 2 & 3

Our last days on board

Belize Video

   

Dan and I's favorite excursion!

Roatan Video

Amanda's Favorite Port!

Cozumel Video

Highlights of Cozumel

Video #2

Here is sailaway, the rest of embarkation day and our first day at sea.  Thanks for watching!

Intro Video

Here is the first video in my series for this vacation!  This is Day 1 and the Dream highlights.  Enjoy!!

July 3, 2010--Debarkation Day

I woke up at 5:20 to orange lights outside.  I got up just in time to see us sail by Rusty's.  Our cruise was ending!

I got everyone moving and we went down to breakfast.  Then, back up to the cabin to gather our carry-off bags.  We headed to the Encore to wait for Zone 30.  They were on 6, 7 and 8 when we headed down at 7:20.

We quickly realized we weren't getting off earlier than our scheduled 9:10-9:20 time frame.  They were calling 2-3 zones at a time every twenty minutes.  As we reached 9:10, they were at zone 28.  Katie came on after the bing bong and said Zone 29.  What!!  That is not nice!  Then, at 9:25 we got our bing bong.  Quickly breezed through customs and down the escalator where our bags were right there on the conveyor.  A very efficient porter grabbed them from us and put them on his cart.  Took us right to where our Budget shuttle would be.  We waited maybe 10 minutes and there he was.  Just enough time to snap one last photo. 

Loaded on with a couple other families and we went to see what kind of car we would have.  I had reserved a Ford Taurus.  The agent asked if we minded a larger car.  Not at all we said.  Larger meant more trunk space!  We got a Grand Marquis and the smallest suitcase had to go in the back seat.  The kids slept the whole way to Orlando, so no problem.

We arrived at the airport around 11:15. At 11:45, we had our boarding passes and bags checked.  Painless process.  I had done the Early Bird check-in through Southwest.  So we had A passes!  We were off to Chick Fil A.  This is what I miss the most about Florida after Heather!  So happy we weren't flying out on a Sunday!

We finished our lunch and headed to the gate around 12:30 after a brief stop to have a Disney store employee lend me some scissors so I could cut off the kids' muster bands.  Orlando needs to fix the security process.  Two lanes were closed and we were herded into three lanes.  Midway has straight lines the entire time.  And, it was lunch time on a Saturday! Glad we started an hour and a half early!  It took us 30 minutes.

Then, Dan got stopped.  Turns out snow globes are unacceptable for security.  Great!  I had packed Matthew's glass and ceramic Cozumel one which barely contained 3 oz of water in our duffel bag so it wouldn't get jostled.  Matthew realized what was happening.  So, he ran back over to Dan and the guard.  "Do I get to keep my snow globe, Mister?"  We got to keep it but Dan had to go all the way back to the Southwest counter to check the duffel bag.  He was given a pass to bypass security on the way back.  He was at the gate with us 10 minutes later.  I was already preparing Matthew that his snow globe may not survive.

We boarded the plane with passes A26-A29.  We got to sit in rows together.  Amanda and I were right in front of Dan and Matthew.  A pilot from Southwest sat next to me.  So interesting.  His wife was on the aisle in the row in front of us.  She found 2 unused Southwest coloring books in her seat pocket.  The kids were thrilled!  And, they gave them their peanuts too.

As we approached Chicago, he told me exactly when to take my shot of the skyline.  Amazing!!  The plane turned just like he said.  And he forewarned Amanda that the landing would be faster and bumpier than Orlando.  Hate landing at Midway!  As we landed, we heard from the seat behind us, "Let's do that again!"  We will next summer, Matthew!

We got all five bags and the snow globe had survived!!  Yay!  A happy ending to the saga of the snow globe!  We called Grandma and Grandpa and they picked us up right outside baggage claim.  They had been waiting in the free cell phone area.

We had a wonderful cruise!  The kids can't wait for the next one.  We'll have a teenager and a twelve year old.  Yikes!!

July 2, 2010--Day at Sea #3

Our last day :(

I woke up to catch the sunrise.  We were headed northeast so it was in front of us.  The rest got up around 7:45.  We headed to the dining room for breakfast.

We then walked around the ship to make more photos.  The kids took some with Chloe and dolphin.  We found the arcade this time.  I snapped a couple quick shots in the casino for the kids.  Can't do that in Vegas!

We came back and Rai was cleaning the room next door.  We quickly had him and his assistant pose with the kids. 

Matthew and Dan left Amanda and I to find the formal shots from last night.  I ended up buying 4 from the stairway and a black and white closeup of the kids.  Dan was able to get a shot of dolphin on the atrium piano.

Avatar was playing when we got back.  I ended up seeing the end several times today.  Same thing happened with Pirates at World's End in 2008!  We looked over by Amanda's bed and Rai had surprised us with a swan!

We headed up to Lido for lunch.  Got my last cheeseburger and fries.  The kids had pizza again.  Today was the chocolate buffet.  Very disappointing!  My slice of chocolate carrie was very dry.  Heather and the boys found us.  They were finishing up and Eric saw Yogi.  He brought him over to say hi to everyone.  Amanda came by shortly after on another scavenger hunt.  Her team won!

We played cards again for about an hour and a half.  Such a good way to spend some time with adults.  We had a spectator this time.  An 8-year-old boy whose grandma had won a ship on a stick playing music trivia.  Called that one!  And his dad won one earlier in the chicken games.

We picked the kids up at camp at 3:30 and I started packing.  Got two suitcases done in 30 minutes.  Not too shabby!  Much easier not having to go to room to room to find things.  And, I loved my lists.  Big peace of mind knowing I don't have to worry about the 50 pound weight limit.  I may stick a couple of t-shirts in each one.  We are wearing ours home.  Had to snap a few cloud photos.  I love the clouds over the water.

We went to our last dinner.  Tonight, I had shrimp cocktail (loved that the sauce was separated) and my prime rib.  I always wait and have it the last night since it's my favorite!  Calvin ordered the crab cake tonight for his appetizer.  Amanda tried the salmon, she loves when Grandma O'B makes it.  I was able to talk Matthew into the ribs and he liked them. 

We were sad to leave our waiters.  Especially Matthew since he'll have to clear the table again!  We took a photo with the kids.  Heather ordered her Warm Chocolate Melting Cake Jennifer style, with two ice creams.

Went back to the cabin to finish packing and change into our plane clothes.  We saw a beautiful sunset over Miami.    The kids went to their last camp session and I finished up the last two suitcases.  Had them in the hall by 9:00.  Then, we went up to Lido for our last round of cards and ice cream.

Heather and I started making plans for our next cruise.  Which won't be until 2015 when I don't have a different trip planned.  Plenty of time to save for possibly 2 cabins.

July 1, 2010--Costa Maya, aka Day at Sea #2

We had rougher seas again.  I hadn't really noticed.  At 7:00, Todd the cruise director came on our in-room speaker to inform us we would be missing Costa Maya due to 15-20 foot sea swells and a 60 mph headwind.  We didn't have an excursion planned but Dan was going to get a t-shirt.  I found out later from online reviews that the waves were crashing over the pier.  Glad the captain didn't risk it!

The boys wanted to sleep some more so Amanda and I went to breakfast.  We sat with two families from Florida.  And, two guys who I think were a couple.

We went back to the cabin as the boys were leaving.  Then, Rai came to clean the room so we went upstairs and had a little ice cream while we waited.  It's so hard to resist even at 9:30 in the morning!  We saw the waves in the pool splashing up as we entered the buffet.  We were instructed to stay off the open upper decks or go at our own risk.  No problem for us to stay away!

Matthew and Dan returned from breakfast where they had been given chicken sausage by mistake.  Matthew said it looked sick.  Evidently it was white in color.  Dan took the kids up to the Lido to watch G-Force on the big screen and I took a nap.  The ship was really rocking.  I took some video of the waves from the balcony door.  No way I was going out there!

The kids and I ordered room service today.  We had a forty-five minute wait.  Guess everyone else didn't feel like going up to the buffet either.  They each got a peanut butter and jelly and I ordered the roast beef and brie.  I asked for no mayo (they put mayo on everything) so they put mustard on it.  Hey, no mayo!  The kids were pleasantly surprised to have cookies on their plates.  I also ordered the chocolate cake I kept reading about.  Very good!

Dan returned from Lido while we were eating.  He had to look for 10 minutes for a chair and ended up pulling one off a pile.  The winds have died down but we are still rocking pretty well.  The captain said to be careful with balcony doors so I may go out later.

I took Amanda to camp and met up with Heather and Calvin for cards.  Dan wasn't feeling well.  Matthew didn't want to go to camp and wanted to take a nap.  I got Amanda from camp at 3:45 and we started getting ready for formal night #2.

We were all ready by 5 and headed down to deck 4 this time.  We stopped at the stairway spot and our "pirate" was taking the photos.  He was awesome!  He was so good with Matthew.  I knew I was going to end up buying most of our photos from here.  Thank goodness, we got an extra $40 today by missing the port.  We were reimbursed the port fees.  That will buy almost two photos.  We stopped at 3 other places since they were free and we had time.  I found our port photos and purchased those.

We then headed down to dinner.  We had to wait a couple of minutes for the doors to open.  We were really feeling the effects of our temple climb.  Our right thighs were killing us on the stairs.  Especially going down!  Looks like less stairs now.

Tonight's highlights were chateaubriand (had to order it cause it's fun to say!) and veal parmigiana.  Heather couldn't decide between them so Yogi surprised her with both!  Matthew ordered the grilled shrimp but wasn't too thrilled about the marinara sauce.  Amanda ordered the charred half chicken.  It was very good! 

Yogi surprised each kid with a Baked Alaska decorated to look like the Dream.  Very cool!! 

The adults chose Amaretto cake.  Very rich and lots of almonds.  I think I found something that was too chocolaty for me!

The boys took the kids to camp and Heather and I went fashion ring shopping since they were 50% off.  These were in our price range!  I found 2 I really liked.  Heather got a green one.  We then met up at the Burgundy Lounge to see Lewis Nixon.  Big disappointment!  We should have seen the first show with Allyn Ball but 7:30 didn't work with dinner.  Calvin never showed up so we figured he must have taken the boys to the country show.

Heather wanted to find him and I wanted to change.  So, we met up on Lido for some more card playing.

Now, that's a rabbit!!

June 30, 2010--Belize City, Belize

We got up at 6 am today.  Dan was in the shower and said we were definitely listing to starboard.  I went out on the balcony to check things out.  We were turning to go around a small island.  The view was amazing.  The sunrise was just starting and I could see our wake around the island.

We had breakfast on Lido today since I wanted to be in the Encore by 8:30 to catch our tender.  As we were eating, we saw the tenders arriving to take passengers to shore.

We arrived to a long line to get in.  We received our yellow #4 stickers for our Altun Ha and Belize City tour.  We found seats and waited for our color to be called.  A couple other groups left and we saw Heather a few rows ahead of us.  We would be together for this excursion.  Yay!!

Our color was called about 8:55 and we were off.  We loaded onto our tender, M.V. Alena.  I got a seat on the edge so I could shoot some video as we started our journey to Belize.  We had to anchor offshore because the water is too shallow for cruise ships.  But, my plan to have an unobstructed view meant that I was getting sprayed with sea water once we started moving fast.  I squished over closer to Dan who was behind a plastic sheet that was the window.  Only my left shoulder got a little wet.  Heather was right across from us.

After our 20 minute ride, we got off and started to head to our bus. We got a quick restroom break which was good because Amanda was a little queasy from the choppy ride and we had an hour bus ride ahead of us.  She was fine!

Our tour guides were Merlene and Maud and our driver was Richard.  They were amazing!!  Merlene pointed out several buildings along the way.  We saw the more upscale side of the city.  Their 5 star hotel, airport, and hospital were here.

We then got on the northern highway.  There are only 3 highways in Belize.

After a while, we got on a shortcut on the old northern highway.  I felt like I was with my dad who prefers the older roads!  This was a very narrow road that was actually 2 way.  We squeezed by another bus on the way back.

We arrived at the ruins and Matthew was getting excited about climbing.  We first went to Plaza A.  These were the older and smaller ruins.  We were fascinated to find they were discovered by a team from the Royal Ontario Museum, which we visited when we went to Toronto in 2007.  Merlene gave us information about these ruins.  They were built between 900 and 1100 AD.  They would add a layer every 50 years.  One had a mask inside and so they knew it was used to worship a god.

As we rounded a corner and into the shady, wooded pathway, we glimpsed the temple.  It is 60 feet tall!!  And, we would be climbing it!

We then entered Plaza B.  There was a sacred building where the priests would cleanse before entering the temple.  The temple was to the Sun God.

We were now ready to climb.  Thankfully, there were handrails or I wouldn't have gone up.

The last few steps were very steep and I could see how high we were.  There is no railing at the top to keep it preserved and natural.  The kids were good about staying in the middle.

Heather wanted the boys to go out on the darker section but hadn't heard Merlene say it's not safe.  Merlene snapped a family photo for us.  She's a pro!

Then, it was time for the descent.  Oh boy!!  My legs were shaking.  There was a handrail but I felt like I was taking a leap off the side.  Calvin took all 4 kids with him.  I was nervous because I couldn't see them after the first few steps.  And, I hadn't seen Calvin go down before my two.  Heather reassured me that they were fine.  I followed Dan down.  Had to snap a photo of how the stairs were.

We then went back to the bus through the shopping area.  This is the local people's livelihood so they were really pushing their wares.  We aren't in the market for carved animals, but Amanda found a really cool hand-carved magnet of the temple.  Heather bought a couple of animals and a bottle of cashew wine.  Then, it was back on the air-conditioned bus.  Yay!!  It was so hot and humid.  Merlene said it was 95.  Thankfully, there was a nice breeze.

We had our 1 hour bus ride back.  This time we went on the poorer side of the city.  There were armed soldiers every so often in little huts.  We saw the Anglican cathedral and court buildings.  This was the older section so there were some British colonial buildings.  It was dinner time as we passed and many businesses were closed.

We were dropped off at the pier.  We found a shop where Dan got his shot glass and Matthew found a snowglobe magnet.  Then, we got on a tender.  This one was bigger and faster.

I still wasn't able to get a full shot since my view was obstructed.  Luckily, my video turned out pretty good and I pulled one off of there.

We pulled up next to the ship and climbed up the stairs into the ship.  We dropped off our stuff and went up to Lido for a light snack since it was 3:30 and dinner was at 6:00.  We walk into the buffet and there was Heather!  They were getting Mongolian Wok food.  We got some fruit and dessert.  The kids had pizza.

Then, we decided to play a round of mini-golf while the ship was docked.   It went pretty quickly even with several families playing.  I won and got two holes in one!  Thus, the reason we played while docked!  The wind would have severely messed up my game.

It was only 4:20 so we got some ice cream.  For some reason, I was starting to get the impression that Amanda was getting tired of me taking candids.  Then, it was time to get ready for dinner.  I stopped to find photos.  Finally found the Cozumel one.  But, don't think we'll get it.  It was really windy and my hair is standing up.

This evening I had surf and turf, fried shrimp for my appetizer and filet mignon as my entree.  Dan ordered marinated chicken tenders in Thai spices.  Amanda had a Thanksgiving meal, turkey and pumpkin pie.  Calvin had another fish dish, red snapper this time. Calvin was delighted to see french-fried green beans.  We'd never heard of such a thing!  Alec and Dan opted for vegetable lasagna.  Matthew had the popular kid's choice of corn-fed chicken breast.

Yogi wanted them to have something besides pizza.  Loved Yogi!!

This evening's popular choice for dessert was Chocolate Raspberry Cake.  Tonight's song was "Hey, Baby" and Matthew and Eric danced.  Matthew tried to follow the steps.

Matthew wanted to go to camp for towel folding and Amanda wanted to swim under the stars.

We dropped them off and enjoyed sunset from our balcony.  This was the first sunset on this trip.  Hopefully, I'll see one the next two nights.

Tonight there was a Funship Freddy party from 10-11.  So we paid the $10 for the kids to go.  The parents enjoyed playing cards in the buffet area.  Close to the ice cream!

Picked the kids up and went to bed for Costa Maya, or so we thought.