Well...well...well....now why the heck does everyone roll their eyes when you say Carnival? What a surprise this ship is... our room is the biggest yet , overall ..... bathroom is small but not as small ...AND we have the magnifying mirror back in bathroom ... ya know it is the small things that make the difference. Closet space best of all three and so is the safe (gotta safeguard all this jewelry we have been amassing ....lol). We have a big window and are on the waterline again but we are impressed with our new ‘digs’ and give it a two thumbs up!
We have a theatre under the stars by the pool , it is called a ‘Dive In Theatre’ (no warm blankets and popcorn delivered to our lounge chairs ...like on Princess ) but it is such a treat and we watch ‘the Miracle ’ about the whales trapped in the ice in Alaska. There is just something magical about watching a movie under the stars while cruising on the ocean in warm balmy weather.
This ship is no slouch with around 4000 passenger's and crew...ok I’m not sure, but it is a ‘big one’ . (I did a quick check and it is 4000 to 5000 when full capacity.) We take advantage of the free steam rooms in the spa as well as private pool and Jacuzzi , yep ...two ‘two thumb up’ ..oh...and...and...we have our own robes in our room , this is usually an upgrade on other ships !
This morning after breakfast (brunch) we take in an arts and crafts class (I feel like we are back in kindergarten) ‘knotted bracelets’ which are now right up there with hateful origami birds. I tell the baby that is our instructor...and anyone else that is listening (when did they start hiring such young people?) that I am really gifted with a knife and can carve almost anything out of fruit and vegetables.... and they look at my pathetic bracelet and their eyes glaze over and they murmur among themselves...geeze ! Instructor gives me a bag with a pair cheap flip flops and a bag of colourful balloons that you tie around the plastic loops ....oh hell...’beam me up scotty’ , crafts are not my forte’ , and I am outta there! My sister is artsy craftsy (cheap xmas present...lol)
This is definitely the ‘ Fun ship” we get the ‘Fun times’ delivered every night containing ‘All in a days play’ inside with happenings on board. We have been on board since Sunday and it is Wednesday already.....omg....where has the time gone?
The party life has us up past midnight (not by much though) every night so far. We cut out the alcohol (too expensive ....well , not really cause we are not drinkers ) but it tends to make us just want to turn in early , that is , unless we decide to get into it , which we haven’t yet....well maybe once....but I think Ziggy was giving us triples...lol. We take in the shows and the Comedy
Club ( Chris Wiles) he has us snorting laughter right off the bat.... omg ....laughter is soooo good for the soul and it never stops with him! We even got into some salsa dancing on the top deck by the pool last night....we are liking this ship very much.
oh I forgot...we had a little excitement out side our cabin before supper. Seems like the roof sprung a leak and it is pouring water! Remember we are on floor number one and ground zero (yes it is o on the elevator) is below us. Well there are like twenty maintenance men and an officer out there directing traffic and looking at the leak “are we sinking?’’ Sharon asks ....? just a little freshwater pipe leak, is the answer ...next time we look out there are more officers stationed (we are like five doors down) outside our cabin. Sharon and I look up our lifeboat drill station(station D aft) and what lifeboat we are on (eight),btw ..(we do the lifeboat drill on every ship we board and it is a half hour of excrutiating sweaty boredom that can’t be over fast enough and obviously we didn’t pay attention ) then we dress and go for dinner. We have our priorities straight , insert smiley face here. Oh....and we solved the dessert dilemma....(hmmmm...can’t remember if I already wrote about this...) anyway we have decided that dessert should be its own food group and ya gotta cover all the food groups to be happy (I was going to write healthy but happy is way more appropriate here)....besides unhappiness breeds unhealthiness....there I just made up another word and a great quote, don’t you think?
Our day on Cozumel was spent at a different beach with new friends Debbie (works for American Airlines and owns a beautiful home on Key Largo) and Pam , her sister from New Jersey (owns an RV park and has the winter off). One hubby is too busy and the other is not a fan of cruising. Pam was in the craft class and although she sailed through the bracelet ...undid it too and made it longer..she quit on her second flip flop because she run out of the colored balloons she wanted . (I was still on my first strands of bracelet ) .Debbie says Florida is the place to be for winters, not California and the Keys are the best place....hmmmmmm. We spend a lazy day sunning and snorkeling....god ...does it get any better than this? It is wicked hot and we spend most of the day in the water.
I need to talk about the food here and I will be taking pictures tonight (forgot my camera /phone last night). Something interesting is happening on this ship in the dining rooms. They are trying out a new idea that I can see will save them lots of time in the serving dept. and maybe all departments , except waste.
Soooooo....... instead of picking and choosing our appetizers they now serve all of them to everyone and you just pick your entrée . The server goes around and places one of three apps onto this plate that has an appetizer on it already .....in front of you. He/she then does the second round and then third ....they all fit ....most everyone eats all of them (stuffed mushroom in a tomatoes basil sauce in it’s own little round platette (ok ...so I made that up the term for what it is served in.... but you get the drift?), a small spinach type tart.... ,no platette’ , a ceviche ’on a platette and a smoked salmon type appetizer which was already plated on this big plate....whew......I only mention this because some of my catering peers might be lurking/reading this....and they are thinking ...a spinach type tart...? like really....? The whole meal is called American feast.
Well it is sorta like the bracelet..... I am not a food writer. I can describe how it made me feel ...like the dessert thingy was truly orgasmic....mmmmm...don’t talk......and I could sell it to you ......like if you even take one bite of this creamy amazing dessert you will want to throw your body at the chef ...and I could charge you for it ” The price of this meal includes a dessert sooooo amazing that you will be writing me a check for twice as much because the dessert was just that good !”
omg the dessert tonight is a mango flan (it is the inspiration for the above criteria) that is so light and creamy and flavorful on a bed of translucent tapioca (looks like fish eggs , Sharon says and she is not having any of that) with a little green jell like stuff around the edges ....omg , my high end Catersource chefs are rolling their eyes right now....ok ...so this lacks any sort of panache’ but omg.... I want to marry the chef that made this little piece of heaven. (ok I will try and get the recipe from them tonight ...and the proper name of it)....and post it on ‘Caterbuzz’.
The food has been outstanding on all these ships!!! and I would like to say here that they get very little money for doing all these amazing meals that are so incredible! I’m thinking it is less that 12.00 a day (yes I am serious !) maybe 15.00 and that is for all three meals and snacks and such. Well figure it out...most of us pay on average 100.00 a day for a cruise. These chefs are the true heroes of these cruise's and get very little recognition. I have no patience for anyone that whines about the food, I also have a pet peeve about filling your plate with food that you do not intend eating. Take what you want ...but for goodness sakes eat what you take! We eat in the dining room 90% of the cruises (we have very little will power at buffets so it is just easier on us this way).
Ok enough about the food ...oh no.....one more thing , and it is a Biggie ! They are starting to serve ‘family style’ in these dining rooms ! They are calling it American Table.Yes...they are experimenting with it (we of course know all about it in the catering world) the exciting thing here is they are doing it with the sides only. The other exciting thing (and this is where my camera comes into play tonight) is the dishes they do it with. They have served us a really good mac and cheese side , a broccoli carrots and pearl onions side and there were a couple more that we didn’t order. They came in a round flat bowl (think casserole dish , maybe six inches ) on a nine inch plate for easier passing...now this is the aha moment...! They are STACKABLE !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I am playing with them and start thinking ...bloody hell .... we can use this idea in our catering business ...it will save tons of room on the table... AND....AND.... keep the food HOT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Now I go to Catersource every year and forgive me if I missed this little gem and you guys are already doing it ....but this is genius ! and I might add it looks very elegant too! Ok ....now I am done on the food.
We are in Costa Maya today and it is pouring buckets of rain , we tried to go out later this morning but people were flooding back into the ship in droves and we decided go stay onboard. I got to bring this journal up to date . This is our first rain out on this fantastic holiday ...how lucky are we? The weather better be good tomorrow we have a tour booked for a private island snorkeling on the second best barrier reef in the world and I am so excited for that one!
to be continued....
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