Friday, February 23 2007
Friday, February 23 2007
Grand Princess
Gulf of Mexico
11:37
Lots to fill in here. Yesterday: never go the snorkeling tickets. So, at 12:30, I disembarked to go into town. Walked by the catamaran – D and family called out. I said "I must have signed up too late, never got the ticket!". Some people on the ship yelled back "We have an extra! come on! use it!". My mental momentum had me turning them down without really considering it. Walked through the security gate. Stopped. Turned around, went back. I had my swim trunks in the backpack, after all. So I accepted. Was mostly sunny, hot. Sat up on deck w/ D and family. The tour guide gave us an overview / rules / gear talk. We would be wearing inflatable vests. Adjustable. Nice view of town, the ships, then the scraggly trees along the coast.
The snorkeling was good, better than Costa Maya. The reef is mostly gone, from hurricane Wilma. Some fish. Very clear water. Could hear the parrot fish chomping on coral, 10-20 feet down. After that, complimentary drinks and we went to a beach for an hour. Nothing special – sandy, some smooth coral under the sand. D and the kids played volleyball w/ some of the people that gave me the ticket. D spiked the ball into a girl's face. Not too bad, shocked her a bit but then it was just funny.
Then another ride/sail (they put the sail up but used the motor, wondered how much the sail contributed), back to the pier. Parted with the B's, took a shower, changed. D called, said they'd be playing a game upstairs, invited me. OK. Went up to the table, then went to get some food – and realized I'd left my wallet and cardkey in the room. So, detour to the purser's desk. I just gave them my room number, and they made a new key right there. Must have had my picture on the computer. Went back up, got a slice of pizza. Played Fluxx with D, D, J, and K. Weird game. Generally fun, but very random. Played until 7:45.
Came back and changed, went to dinner. The B's were at Sabbatini's, so it was just me and the R's at the table. OK dinner: asparagus, French onion soup (bland), OK salad, pesto linguini (also bland). "Espresso Mocha Souffle" for dessert – couldn't taste any coffee at all, but it was good. K and her to kids showed up after their dinner. The wait staff sang Happy Birthday for A, and a few other people at other tables too. R stopped by too, talked to her for a bit about our days. Lots of people went to the beach party – a very crowded beach apparently. Story was that it was OK, just a day at the beach. Glad I went snorkeling.
After our table split up, went over to another table and chatted for a bit. While waiting to get into the dining room, DaveK came over and said they'd have Guitar Hero set up to project underneath the sky-way in the back of the ship. So, I went there after that. Not many people turned up, about 10. It was pretty sweet – the projector was hung over the railing, shining up onto the underside of the walkway, 20 or so feet up. We all sat on reclining deck chairs. I'm actually getting OK at this game, this being the third time I've ever played it. Bass parts work better for me. Got through YYZ on medium, but not hard. A few other songs on hard. A few teens / tweens were hanging around and watching, got the feeling they wanted to play. Wrapped up the GH around 12:45.
Came back to my room for a bit, then went up to the club, intent on getting drunk and dancing. It was "Ladies Night Out" for the group up there as of 11:00, I figured they'd had a good couple hours already so I wasn't really crashing. Got there at 1:00. Noticed the Bust a Move chick dancing, and what appeared to be her friend pointing me out as I came up the walkway. Hmm! Took a look at the dance floor, there were still a pretty good number of girls from our group there. Went back to the bar. At the bar, ML bumped me from my seat: "I've already got something going on here", as she picked up some drinks. "What are you drinking?" I said tequila, ordered a shot of 1800. She paid for it, and stepped away before I quite realized that.
At this point, Bust a Move chick sat next to me. "ooooh! that looks good!" she said, pointing at the tequila. Seemed a bit sauced. Introduced myself (her name is April) and said I thought her song was the best thing ever. Chatted for a bit, she was really cheerful but it was a bit awkward.
She left w/ a "you have to come root for me tomorrow night!". Left me feeling pretty up / bemused. Ordered another tequila and a gin and tonic. Drank the shot, went up to the back. The dance floor had emptied considerably. B was hanging out up there, said hi. He tweaked his leg playing volleyball at the party. The music wasn't really what I wanted to dance to. Drank the gin and tonic. April was dancing with some other girls over at the other end of the floor. Went down to the bar, got another shot and another gin and tonic. Was just starting to feel the alcohol. Sat and waited for a good song, or to feel drunk enough not to care. April left. Last call was just before 2. They played "Don't Stop Believing", which got all the young east-coasters near me on the the floor. Then the music stopped. At this point the alcohol really started to take effect. K asked if I was having fun, I said "The music stopped!". "I know, they suck!". Stayed for a few minutes, entertained by K, D and a few others still there being generally drunk. Left. Walking not so straight. Got to my room, felt very drunk, too much so to go to bed. Went up to the deck and crashed on a lounge chair. Maybe fell asleep – was awakened at 3:00 by a crew member – "Sorry sir, I need to wash this area" Had a hose in his hand. Glad he asked first. Came back downstairs and went to bed at 3:15.
Today: Sunlight woke me up at 7:30. Didn't feel hung over, yay! Up at 9. Shower, Grabbed a banana and OJ, coffee, went to the poker tournament mk. II. 25-ish people this time. Got knocked out early (2nd), by DE. Went all-in with AQ off suit, and two Jacks in the flop. D had two tens, and I got no help in the next two cards so that was it. Took some pictures and watched for a bit, then left. It was raining outside. Still overcast. Nice temperature though. Back to my room to diarize (it's now 12:41).
Gabe's party / ice cream social is from 3-5. Then the last dinner and evening of the cruise.
Grand Princess
Gulf of Mexico
11:37
Lots to fill in here. Yesterday: never go the snorkeling tickets. So, at 12:30, I disembarked to go into town. Walked by the catamaran – D and family called out. I said "I must have signed up too late, never got the ticket!". Some people on the ship yelled back "We have an extra! come on! use it!". My mental momentum had me turning them down without really considering it. Walked through the security gate. Stopped. Turned around, went back. I had my swim trunks in the backpack, after all. So I accepted. Was mostly sunny, hot. Sat up on deck w/ D and family. The tour guide gave us an overview / rules / gear talk. We would be wearing inflatable vests. Adjustable. Nice view of town, the ships, then the scraggly trees along the coast.
The snorkeling was good, better than Costa Maya. The reef is mostly gone, from hurricane Wilma. Some fish. Very clear water. Could hear the parrot fish chomping on coral, 10-20 feet down. After that, complimentary drinks and we went to a beach for an hour. Nothing special – sandy, some smooth coral under the sand. D and the kids played volleyball w/ some of the people that gave me the ticket. D spiked the ball into a girl's face. Not too bad, shocked her a bit but then it was just funny.
Then another ride/sail (they put the sail up but used the motor, wondered how much the sail contributed), back to the pier. Parted with the B's, took a shower, changed. D called, said they'd be playing a game upstairs, invited me. OK. Went up to the table, then went to get some food – and realized I'd left my wallet and cardkey in the room. So, detour to the purser's desk. I just gave them my room number, and they made a new key right there. Must have had my picture on the computer. Went back up, got a slice of pizza. Played Fluxx with D, D, J, and K. Weird game. Generally fun, but very random. Played until 7:45.
Came back and changed, went to dinner. The B's were at Sabbatini's, so it was just me and the R's at the table. OK dinner: asparagus, French onion soup (bland), OK salad, pesto linguini (also bland). "Espresso Mocha Souffle" for dessert – couldn't taste any coffee at all, but it was good. K and her to kids showed up after their dinner. The wait staff sang Happy Birthday for A, and a few other people at other tables too. R stopped by too, talked to her for a bit about our days. Lots of people went to the beach party – a very crowded beach apparently. Story was that it was OK, just a day at the beach. Glad I went snorkeling.
After our table split up, went over to another table and chatted for a bit. While waiting to get into the dining room, DaveK came over and said they'd have Guitar Hero set up to project underneath the sky-way in the back of the ship. So, I went there after that. Not many people turned up, about 10. It was pretty sweet – the projector was hung over the railing, shining up onto the underside of the walkway, 20 or so feet up. We all sat on reclining deck chairs. I'm actually getting OK at this game, this being the third time I've ever played it. Bass parts work better for me. Got through YYZ on medium, but not hard. A few other songs on hard. A few teens / tweens were hanging around and watching, got the feeling they wanted to play. Wrapped up the GH around 12:45.
Came back to my room for a bit, then went up to the club, intent on getting drunk and dancing. It was "Ladies Night Out" for the group up there as of 11:00, I figured they'd had a good couple hours already so I wasn't really crashing. Got there at 1:00. Noticed the Bust a Move chick dancing, and what appeared to be her friend pointing me out as I came up the walkway. Hmm! Took a look at the dance floor, there were still a pretty good number of girls from our group there. Went back to the bar. At the bar, ML bumped me from my seat: "I've already got something going on here", as she picked up some drinks. "What are you drinking?" I said tequila, ordered a shot of 1800. She paid for it, and stepped away before I quite realized that.
At this point, Bust a Move chick sat next to me. "ooooh! that looks good!" she said, pointing at the tequila. Seemed a bit sauced. Introduced myself (her name is April) and said I thought her song was the best thing ever. Chatted for a bit, she was really cheerful but it was a bit awkward.
She left w/ a "you have to come root for me tomorrow night!". Left me feeling pretty up / bemused. Ordered another tequila and a gin and tonic. Drank the shot, went up to the back. The dance floor had emptied considerably. B was hanging out up there, said hi. He tweaked his leg playing volleyball at the party. The music wasn't really what I wanted to dance to. Drank the gin and tonic. April was dancing with some other girls over at the other end of the floor. Went down to the bar, got another shot and another gin and tonic. Was just starting to feel the alcohol. Sat and waited for a good song, or to feel drunk enough not to care. April left. Last call was just before 2. They played "Don't Stop Believing", which got all the young east-coasters near me on the the floor. Then the music stopped. At this point the alcohol really started to take effect. K asked if I was having fun, I said "The music stopped!". "I know, they suck!". Stayed for a few minutes, entertained by K, D and a few others still there being generally drunk. Left. Walking not so straight. Got to my room, felt very drunk, too much so to go to bed. Went up to the deck and crashed on a lounge chair. Maybe fell asleep – was awakened at 3:00 by a crew member – "Sorry sir, I need to wash this area" Had a hose in his hand. Glad he asked first. Came back downstairs and went to bed at 3:15.
Today: Sunlight woke me up at 7:30. Didn't feel hung over, yay! Up at 9. Shower, Grabbed a banana and OJ, coffee, went to the poker tournament mk. II. 25-ish people this time. Got knocked out early (2nd), by DE. Went all-in with AQ off suit, and two Jacks in the flop. D had two tens, and I got no help in the next two cards so that was it. Took some pictures and watched for a bit, then left. It was raining outside. Still overcast. Nice temperature though. Back to my room to diarize (it's now 12:41).
Gabe's party / ice cream social is from 3-5. Then the last dinner and evening of the cruise.
posted by taylorsherman at 12:55 PM
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