Loyd Have Mercy - Escape from Mos Eisley (to the Death Star) - Stick a fork in me, I think I am done.

[Magical_Suitcase]

I do not know who this guy is, one of the Star Wars props but he looked cool so I asked Rob to snap a photo as we walked by on our way up to take a nap.




After our nap we dolled up for the “Captains’ Reception”, yea free drinks!



These receptions are held only on the longer cruises of seven nights or more. They tend to be held on “formal” night so everyone is a bit dressed up. We were really excited to attend this reception and even changed our Palo dinner reservation to a different night so we would have plenty of time to enjoy the festivities. We have attended these in the past and the drinks were pretty good. Not so much this time. Meeting and chatting with the various captains though was awesome. It was interesting to hear about the different areas they were in charge of, like housekeeping, entertainment, etc. Once we finished conversing with the captains, we dumped our drinks and headed to the Skyline to complete another page in our passport.



Tonight’s drink of choice was a Paris 75, Grey Goose Citron Vodka, Peach schnapps, Blue Curacao, Pineapple juice, Sugared rim and a souvenir glow cube. I liked the cube but not the drink.




I let Rob enjoy this one by himself after taking a couple of sips. It was a very pretty drink.



Dinner tonight was in the Royal Court. We had a table for two that was hidden over in a corner, which was actually pretty nice except our servers tended to forget about us.... More on that later.









The carriage bread bowl. I wish you could buy these...



French Country Bread with an Olive Spread.



Continue next post...

 

[Magical_Suitcase]

We started our dinner with bread and apps. Fried Brie for me. Yum!



And a shrimp/asparagus app for Rob.



Tonight I requested a regular dinner salad off the children's menu. I did not actually see the menu but knew that a salad was one of the choices. Typical house salad ingredients.



Rob ordered the Red Wine Bosc Pear Salad which contained arugula, red onions, crispy lardons dressed with a sherry wine dressing and served with a red wine poached bosc pear.



At this point we neglected taking photos until dessert time. Tonight's dessert menu is one of my favorites, I ended up ordering two desserts.



The dessert menu is shaped like an invitation envelope and card. The outside of the menu.



And the inside of the menu.



My favorite main dining room dessert is the Grand Marnier Soufflé followed by Cream Brûlée.

The Grand Marnier Soufflé is one dessert I will not share so we each ordered one of these.



And a Cream Brûlée to share.



By this point it was past our bedtime so we headed back to the room to recharge for tomorrow and found this guy gracing our bed.



Tomorrow is our first port stop, Cozumel and for me, my first "Disney" sponsored excursion!

 

[CarolynK]

You aren't a Star Wars fan, huh? That's Han Solo frozen in Carbonite!
Gran Marnier souffle - yum.

 

[Magical_Suitcase]

You aren't a Star Wars fan, huh? That's Han Solo frozen in Carbonite!
Gran Marnier souffle - yum.

I have seen a Star Wars movie.... the first one. I was bored, sad eh, I tend to be bored with most movies, especially action movies - although I did like the last few Harry Potters and all of the Pirate of the Caribbean movies. My husband says I have ADD, but I do not, I just get bored when I have to sit too long. I also do not watch TV very often since that involves having to sit in one place for a period of time. I am going to have the same situation if we ever take a Marvel cruise, I am not going to know who anyone is - but I always have fun watching the characters and asking who is what or what is who.

Han Solo, did he unfreeze at some point?

 

[CarolynK]

I have seen a Star Wars movie.... the first one. I was bored, sad eh, I tend to be bored with most movies, especially action movies - although I did like the last few Harry Potters and all of the Pirate of the Caribbean movies. My husband says I have ADHD, but I do not, I just get bored when I have to sit too long. I also do not watch TV very often since that involves having to sit in one place for a period of time. I am going to have the same situation if we ever take a Marvel cruise, I am not going to know who anyone is - but I always have fun watching the characters and asking who is what or what is who.

Han Solo, did he unfreeze at some point?

Ha! Yes, he did unfreeze. My kids, and husband, are fans, though they don't really like the more recent episodes.

 

[Magical_Suitcase]

Ha! Yes, he did unfreeze. My kids, and husband, are fans, though they don't really like the more recent episodes.

Well good. I would hate to think he stayed a popsicle.

Sorry for being away for so long. I volunteered to be on a search committee at work and the time involved was a lot more than I had anticipated. I also started working on a few other projects and before I knew, summer passed.... We added two new family members to our household. A friend has been trying to give us her last two chickens for a couple of years now but we kept refusing. We finally relented. After all, who cannot appreciate free eggs. Except by the time we paid for the materials needed for the chicken yard (already had an outbuilding that would work well), our free chickens ended up costing us over $300. Those had better be some tasty eggs that we are getting from our "free" chickens.

Meet Lucy and Ethel. Lucy has the red comb on her head and is an extrovert. Ethel is shy and has yet to venture out into the chicken yard.

 

[Magical_Suitcase]

Today was Cozumel day and the first time I have participated in a Disney sponsored excursion. First though, we had to head up to the Cove for coffee and "first" breakfast and then to Cabanas for "second" breakfast.





Then back to the room to exchange out our door art. Today's door magnet theme was one of my favorites.



Cozumel! This is the second time I have been here and I hope to come back again for more exploration.



Today's Disney sponsored excursion was CZ73, Cozumel Highlights, Ruins and Discover Mexico Cultural Park, $76 per adult. I personally think this excursion had too much packed into it. I felt we were rushing from one place to the next and I am the type of person who likes to linger and explore.

First thing we had to do was to meet with our group and follow this lady to our bus.



Tickets had been left in our room on day one and we needed to bring them with us.



Once on the bus we were given these additional tickets for our first excursion and were taken to the an ancient Mayan site of worship.





When we departed the bus we were led to a line to have our photos taken. I did not like this part. I felt this was cheesy but of course, the purpose was to sell you the photo later at an inflated price.



Our entrance fee was included in our excursion. I think in the future I would prefer to just go without the guided tour.

 

[Magical_Suitcase]

We had a nice guide but again, I think I would have enjoyed exploring more by myself.



He shared information with us about what we were seeing but there were plenty of signs about describing everything and I am better at roaming around by myself rather than with a crowd. I would love to visit here again but not on a guided tour.











These guys were all over the place.






Gift shop which by this time the rushing had started so I did not even venture into it.



And there was a drugstore on site. Kind of weird...

 

[Magical_Suitcase]

After our morning visiting the Mayan ruins,



we boarded the bus again and were offered either a water or a pop. I choose the pop because it was “Mexican” pop made with real sugar.



We then headed out to Discover Mexico Cultural portion of the tour which housed a museum filled with Mexican art.






I guess by this time we must have been running late because we flew through the museum before moving outside to see a variety of small Mexican monuments, buildings and such. Again, this is something I would have enjoyed much more if we were not being rushed along.

 

[Magical_Suitcase]

This excursion included lunch which was enjoyable but still rushed.





Lunch was good but the food could have been hotter. Rob bought a Sol beer to go with his lunch. I do not remember the price but it was very, very reasonable. I am thinking maybe $2.00-$3.00 US dollars.



Back on the bus to head to Mayan Cacao.




This is one that I do not feel the need to repeat. It also was rushed but I really did not find much there to explore.


We were quickly walked through a small museum that had a few cacao items.





Out into a small courtyard to view a simulated Mayan hut. Again, I felt like we were being rushed through the area.

 

[Magical_Suitcase]

After our fly through tour of the house we were give a sample of chocolate on a corn taco. It was "ok".



And a sample of raw ground chocolate. It tasted like you would imagine raw ground chocolate to taste.



Afterwards we were taken into a small theatre for a quick demonstration of how to make chocolate. Not very impressive. The "teacher" kept making jokes that were not very funny.



And were given a sample of cocoa when we left. It tasted like Hersey's cocoa melted in hot water. Not good.



Then the tour was over. Maybe a different day it would have been a better tour but this time it just felt rushed.



Once we were dropped back at port we headed out to find a Starbucks so we could check in at home.



Chi latte. YUM!



The receipt was supposed to have a code on it that you used to access the wifi. We could not get it to work so Rob ended up going inside to get another code.



Then back to the boat for showers and down time. It had been a very hot, sticky day.



Tonight was pirates night and bandanas had been left on the bed for our use.

 

[franandaj]

We added two new family members to our household. A friend has been trying to give us her last two chickens for a couple of years now but we kept refusing. We finally relented.

We can't have chickens at our house, it is specifically forbidden as according to the CC&R's in our HOA agreement. I guess it was something from the 50s when chickens were common that made our community special that we wouldn't have "common farm animals" in our neighborhood.

And there was a drugstore on site. Kind of weird...

Not actually. When we go to Mexico we make it a point to purchase Aralen or Quinine which has been made unavailable buy the US Drug Administration. Fran has had prescriptions filled in Canada, but since we started cruising to Mexico we stock up when we are there. Plus there are a lot of drugs that are cheaper there and aren't necessarily of a lesser quality. Not the major important drugs, but the anciliary drugs that we take occasionally it's nice to fill them there for less money.

I guess by this time we must have been running late because we flew through the museum before moving outside to see a variety of small Mexican monuments, buildings and such. Again, this is something I would have enjoyed much more if we were not being rushed along.

I'm wondering if this is the same place where we did a tequila tasting. They also "blew through" the museum part and whisked us into the tequila portion where they explained the tequila in great detail.

Then the tour was over. Maybe a different day it would have been a better tour but this time it just felt rushed.

I doubt It. Most people have such short attention spans that they probably try to pack a bunch in to please them and not worry about those of us who actually care and wish to linger.

 

[CarolynK]

Very cute door magnet!
That excursion didn't look too appealing. The Starbucks drink, on the other hand, does!

 

[Magical_Suitcase]

common farm animals

Love that terminology "common farm animals". I guess it would be ok then to have a llama?

I'm wondering if this is the same place where we did a tequila tasting. They also "blew through" the museum part and whisked us into the tequila portion where they explained the tequila in great detail.

Quite possibly. I guess some would find the museum boring but I like museums.

That excursion didn't look too appealing. The Starbucks drink, on the other hand, does!

The Starbucks drink definitely hit the spot.

Next report, Mardi Gras!

 

[KennesawNemo]

Thanks for the review. We booked the same tour in Cozumel. Hmmmm, now I am having 2nd thoughts.

 

[Magical_Suitcase]

Thanks for the review. We booked the same tour in Cozumel. Hmmmm, now I am having 2nd thoughts.

I think we would have enjoyed everything on the tour, IF, we had visited each place on our own. Then we could have wondered where we wanted and spent as much time as we wished at each place.

 

[Magical_Suitcase]

Today was Mardi Gras!!! and a visit to George Town, Grand Cayman. First order of business, putting up the door art and enjoying breakfast in one of the main dining rooms.




Breakfast menu. They do not vary much from day to day.



The dining room was not very crowded today. I think a lot of folks were trying to get off the ship as early as possible due to excursions. We did not have one booked so we took our time to enjoy the morning. Plus, this port is one that you have to take a tender and the earlier ones tend to be crowded.

As you can see, we are dressed for Mardi Gras.



Disney does so much right, you would think they could provide a decent cup of coffee. NOPE. But I keep trying.




While you are looking over the menu, a server will bring around a choice of pastries. This one was good but I prefer just a plain croissant. The Cove has some of the best croissants onboard the ships.



We shared a fruit plate. It was good.



I ordered french toast. Toast was dry, bacon was good, hash brown was good also.



After our leisurely breakfast we went back to the room to prepped for leaving the ship. This was not our stateroom host but he was so nice, every time we passed him he would stop and chat. Our personal stateroom host also was very nice and I will post a photo of her in a bit.



After grabbing our money and such, we headed down to pick up our tender tickets. By this time, the lines were short so we were outside and boarding the boat in no time a-tall.



The ride over to the island was smooth and easy.

 

[Magical_Suitcase]

Rob was able to snag a few shots of the Fantasy while we were making our way across the water.



I felt very safe walking around this port. We really did not do much except walk about, go in a few stores and eat lunch.



Even though there are walk/don't walk signs, these guys were out at the more busy cross-walks.



Local post office. I should have sent myself a post card.



We passed a vegan cafe. Our daughter is vegan so I snapped this photo for her.



This was one of those "accidental" photo shots. It actually came out better than when I try to take a selfie.



We like museums and stopped in here. We decided not to pay to go up to the museum since we were starting to get hungry again and wanted to find someplace to eat.



We needed to check in at home before lunch and stopped in a small shop that offered free wifi. We bought a water to "pay" for the free wifi. Also, snapped photos of some of their wares.



These prices were in US dollars.



I don't think these chickens can read.

 

[Magical_Suitcase]

After checking out several places we decided to stop here.



At first there were no tables available but as we were standing about trying to decide whether to wait or go elsewhere, three ladies who were in a group, on a cruise, geocaching, offered up their table as they were almost finished. Sweet ladies, we enjoyed hearing about their geocaching adventures.

We checked out the menu and placed our order. It took some time for our food to be prepared but it was tasty.




Obviously, Rob and I are not vegan... We shared a BBQ pulled pork and Jerk Chicken sandwich. I liked the pork best. Lots of food.



Rob bought a beer. It was, I think, about $4. I am not a beer drinker but I took a taste. It tasted like "beer". I have probably said this same thing before when beer was involved.



After our lunch we walked around the back streets a bit more and then headed back to the ship. It was time for a snack. (Yep, we eat, and then, eat some more.)




Tonight's dining was Enchanted Garden.



Lovely shoe napkin.



Menu:



I ordered turkey. But I did not get turkey....



My travel partner. He is so nice.

 

[Magical_Suitcase]

Tonight was formal night. This is about as formal as we get... Still wearing our Mardi Gras beads.



Our bread tonight was multigrain and country currant pools with chickpea-garlic puree.



For my appetizer I chose the poach green and white asparagus spears, yum.



We shared the charcuterie platter, neither of us enjoyed the items on the platter...



Rob chose for his app, garlic and parsley sautéed shrimp. He enjoy it. We skipped ordering the soup/salad option since we had three apps between us.



Then our entrees came out. I had ordered turkey. I got..... fish, luke-warm, dry fish. Rob suggested sending it back but I do not like making a fuss. I should have sent it back. This was not the only time that our order was not correct. In fact, most nights something was not what we had ordered...



After a rather unsatisfying meal, we checked out the dessert menu and decided to just head to Skyline to work on our passport.



We chose the Aquincum. Rob enjoyed the drink.




I enjoyed the light up cube.



And then, being old that we are, well at least one of us, we headed up to call it a night.



Next up, Jamaica!