Pirates of the Tennessean - Dave and INC's Dream Cruise!

[mgsmom 9]

OH, and I am PRO wearing PJs at the campsite.

[BradyBzLyn...Mo 2,023]

INC and the two younger kids did not care to try it. I have had escargot before and enjoyed it, so I tried one and it was quite good. Emma and Gwen each tried one and thought it was ok. Izzy polished off the rest of them. She loved it! This kid surprised me on this trip. Between the crab legs, the snails, and a bunch of melon, she ate things I wouldn't have guessed she would try. Way to go Izzy!

Oh I do love me some yummy snails. And Izzy sounds like a girl after my own heart... or stomach.

Anna got a bowl of ice cream with sprinkles. Every time I said I wanted to get a picture of her food, she would lift her dish up in the cutest way. Ya think she's lived with me for a while?

I don't care where that girl was born, she is most definitely your daughter in *every* sense of the word! :D

What a beautiful family photo!! :heartsmiley:

...What, did I not mention that they have steak fries at practically EVERY MEAL in Cabanas?? :jumpforjoy

... warm apple crisp with Coconut Pineapple ice cream.

Steak fries at every meal and Coconut Pineapple ice cream?!?!

That would be 4 of my most favorite food items. Evah.

[DaveInTN 3,247]

When we last left off, we had averted disaster by finding our camera, and I celebrated by filling my belly again.

During the afternoon of our Nassau day, a Princess meet and greet was scheduled in the atrium at 3pm. We were hoping that with many people ashore, it wouldn't be as crowded as the morning one. And that turned out to be the case. But we did go a bit early to get in line.

While we were standing in line in the atrium to wait on the Princesses to arrive, we were startled by a screaming sound coming from near the elevators. As we all turned to see what the commotion was, a figure went running by us very quickly. I barely got the camera trained on it as it flew past.

In the pic above you can barely make out the ghost like image of a character running by. No, it's not the Mothman. It was none other than the flamboyant, z-snapping man child himself....Peter Pan.

He spent a few minutes chatting up Izzy.

I have to say, he was an odd character. But he was REALLY into playing the role of Peter Pan, that's for sure. I give him credit there.

Also while waiting for the Princesses to grace us with their presense, we had a visit from Peter's friend Tink.

INC stayed in the Princess line while I took Stella over to see Tink.

Here's the Shutters pictures of that encounter.

I swear, Tink was more masculine than Peter Pan.

In any case, the Princesses entered the atrium and all attention turned to them. They sure do make a grand entrance.

I was kinda hoping the apple muncher would trip on the stairs, but she made it safely to the bottom.

Each of the Princesses had a "handler" in the atrium to control the flow of the crowd and the access to them. Take a look at the one that is facing Belle. INC spotted him before the Princesses came downstairs and recognized him from The Golden Mickeys show the night before. He played Tarzan in the show, and was very good....spinning in circles while suspended from a rope way up in the air. I should add that he was in Tarzan attire...in other words shirtless. Apparently it made an impression on INC, because she was sure it was the same guy. So I asked him, and just as Lou had mentioned about CM's being out of character....he smiled and said he wasn't Tarzan, but that he is a good friend of his. We understood what he meant as Lou had explained it previously. Anyways, it was interesting that the performers in the evening shows play several additional roles on the ship, as do the evening servers in the restaurants. Most CM's onboard don't fill just one role.

Soon enough it was our turn to begin visiting with the Princesses. First up was Cindy.

Next was Aurora.

We visited with Tiana.

Next was Belle. Izzy has always loved her.

We came upon the fish chick.

I did warn the kids to not get too close to her...based upon the crazed parade Ariel from my trip report last Thanksgiving. Who remembers this??

That chick freaks me out a bit now. I keep my distance.

And speaking of keeping my distance...there is one more Princess to discuss. You know who...the Bird Whisperer. I was bound by a restraining order for the past few years to stay away from her. But remember that earlier in the day I placed a ship to shore phone call to my attorney to inquire about whether that order had expired yet. And he called me back. What did he say?

That's coming up in the next update....

[kampfirekim 260]

I'm so glad y'all approve of jammies in a CG. It seems I spend as much time in jammies as I do in "real clothes" when camping with Grammy.

Now PLEASE tell me it's okay to check the mail in jammies...I have a mailbox...I'm not going to the post office.

I hope so! If not I am totally inappropriate! ;D

So it seems that the consensus is....jammies are ok in campgrounds and on kids eating ice cream. But not ok at Walmart or the grocery store. Is that right?

That looks good to me.

Love the character photos! With the exception of the creepy Ariel photo. FREAKY!

Peter Pan and Tink! Fabulous! Z snap!

[DaveInTN 3,247]

The food looks fabulous! So, Enchanted Garden and Cabanas are both open for breakfast and lunch? Why do you think folks will choose one over the other?

I'm impressed with Izzy's adventurous eating! Maybe I will be able to do that, too. We used to go to this Chinese/Thai/Japanese/Korean buffet a lot and I used to play "Fear Factor" with some of the more crazy looking stuff! I'm a dork, I know.

So glad you found your camera! And I agree that your pics are money well spent! You just never know when you'll get such great pics of EVERYONE at the same time again! Plus, it is a special time you will want to remember with the family! Wonder why they make all the prints before they know if anyone will even buy them?

Looking forward to more!

I think the reason some folks will choose other restaurants over Cabanas is to get served...for each breakfast and lunch, in addition to Cabanas and the casual counter places near the pool, there was typically one other buffet to choose from, and one sit down restaurant where you were seated and ordered from a menu. As I mentioned before, the buffet option wasn't that appealing to me to try again. We did go to breakfast one day at Royal Palace to sit down and get served, and that was a nice change of pace. It was just me, INC and Anna, and the eggs benedict were very good! We weren't that hungry, so that choice made sense for us that day. But if you want to experience a lot of items then Cabanas is the best bet.

The other thing to point out is that, over a 4 day (or longer) period, you might want a little variety. That's another reason to try something other than Cabanas now and then.

Oh I do love me some yummy snails. And Izzy sounds like a girl after my own heart... or stomach.

I don't care where that girl was born, she is most definitely your daughter in *every* sense of the word! :D

What a beautiful family photo!! :heartsmiley:

Steak fries at every meal and Coconut Pineapple ice cream?!?!

That would be 4 of my most favorite food items. Evah.

Thanks Mo! Anna certainly is our daughter through and through.

And yes...steak fries are one of my favorite things. And having them in abundance on the ship just reminded me of how much better the GAG used to be.

[DaveInTN 3,247]

I hope so! If not I am totally inappropriate! ;D

That looks good to me.

Love the character photos! With the exception of the creepy Ariel photo. FREAKY!

Peter Pan and Tink! Fabulous! Z snap!

Yep....Z snap! Peter Pan, Tink, Bob....the z snapping trio!

[SCTigerCock 171]

Meow!

Since like most men, you and TCD are comparing and all.

Does this mean you will provide 6 pack AB pics like TCD? Good thing you found the camera!!!!!

[DaveInTN 3,247]

Since like most men, you and TCD are comparing and all.

Does this mean you will provide 6 pack AB pics like TCD? Good thing you found the camera!!!!!

Sorry, but you'll be disappointed. Maybe you need to talk to INC about being the photographer on our next trip. I don't take pictures of men's abs, their speedos, their butts, or anything else remotely titillating. And yes, I just like to say titillating.

[Otter Spotter aka Debbie 58]

Dave - I haven't read all 15 pages of this report but I am certain you had a mahvelous time!!

Fear of cruises must be a WNY thing. Like you, I too was scared to death to go on a cruise. Like you, small boats, canoes, rafts, jet skis, okay! Big boat out on the open sea? Not so much. Then I was kinda sorta forced, begged, shamed, into going on a 7 day cruise for the wedding of a good friend's daughter. I was convinced there would not be enough booze on that ship to keep me calm, and to not be "that person" wearing a life-jacket 24/7. I went on Royal Carribbean's "Something" of the Sea. I LOVED it. When I'm so old I need to be put in a nursing home, I'm opting for a continual cruise. It's cheaper & better than nursing home care!!

I just love seeing pictures of your family. It's such a happy sight!! :heart:

[fladogfan aka Gretchen 259]

Thanks for sharing your fun trip...lovin' it!

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

And yes...steak fries are one of my favorite things. And having them in abundance on the ship just reminded me of how much better the GAG used to be.

Amen.

I don't recall seeing Peter or Tink on our cruise, so that was cool that your girls got to meet them.

LOL at how Tink was more masculine than Peter.

Your comment about how the CM's fill multiple roles is interesting. We noticed that too. I would venture to guess that all of the "face characters" are also actors from the shows.

It is interesting to me that we cruised in July, and you cruised in September, but I have not recognized a single CM in any of your photos. The princesses all look like they are different ladies.

From what we heard on our cruise, DCL CM's work on contracts that run for several months straight, and then they take a few weeks off and start a new contract. When they are working, they work 7 days a week with very little down time. But, every CM we encountered was very pleasant and in good spirits despite the long work schedule.

Wonder why they make all the prints before they know if anyone will even buy them?

From what I have seen, this is standard procedure on all cruise lines. It's a sales tactic. It's hard to walk away from a beautiful photo of you family or one of your kids knowing that it's going to get tossed in the trash if you don't buy it. That's why they do it. But it is extremely wasteful. On every cruise ship we have been on, there has been a designated area where the photographs are displayed. It is usually a good sized room, and we are talking about thousands of photos. They just print them all and put them on display, hoping that folks will by them. I'm sure thousands are left unsold after each cruise. Terribly wasteful. And, I doubt that they recycle.

TCD

[doodlebug....Cherie 461]

I go away for one day and fall behind three pages. I'm all caught up now. :whew: I'm glad the pj's in a CG question has been settled, I'll fit right in with everyone else. Also happy to see the camera was found. That kind of stuff happens to me all the time.

Just want to add, Stella and Izzy are the fairest princesses of them all!

[DaveInTN 3,247]

It Was A Gala Affair

When we last left off, we had been visiting with the Princesses in the ship's main atrium.

You might say this event turned into a gala affair for us. But not in the traditional sense of the word.

What does the word "gala" mean? Gala is a word that is not used much these days. I think it used to be much more popular.

From the Oxford dictionary:

Gala

noun

• a social occasion with special entertainments or performances: [as modifier]: a gala performance by the Royal Ballet
  

• 
  British a special sports meeting, especially a swimming competition: we met at a swimming gala
  

But these days there is a more common use of the word "gala". As in...the Gala Apple.

Per Wikipedia, Gala is a clonally propogated apple with a mild and sweet flavor. Gala apples ranked at number 2 in 2006 on the US Apple Association's list of most popular apples, after Red Delicious and before Golden Delicious, Granny SMith and Fuji (in order).

So Gala apples are quite popular. I guess they are the number 2 choice of Apple Munchers everywhere.

Yes, this all has to do with our dear Ms. White.

As I mentioned earlier, my attorney called me back about the restraining order the little Snow Ho had placed on me.

Ok, that's obviously not true.

There was never a restraining order. But, for those of you not familiar with my history with Snow White and the reasons for my dislike of her...I can tell you it goes back several years to visits we made in 2009 and 2010, and repeated attempts by my family to visit with her at character meet and greets that were thwarted by continuous efforts by her to avoid me. To put it in a nutshell...every time I get close to her, she closed her greeting line and left. This happened more times than I can recall, and led to an acrimonious relationship that has existed to this day.

Well, technically, it existed until last Monday.

Yes, that's right, Ms. White and I made up.

And I have photographic proof.

First, here are the girls visiting with her.

Isn't that sweet?? She took the time to pose with my girls, even with our history. Maybe she was open to a thawing in our relationship. I decided to find out.

We had a chance to chat. We agreed that the bickering had to stop. We decided to bury the hatchet. We agreed to some concessions. She would make herself more available to us when we visit, and I would eat more apples and change my avatar. I didn't realize it, but the avatar has really been bothering her. And so I have changed it.

We posed for some pictures. Now keep in mind....as Snow and I were getting cozy, it was difficult to keep INC focused and taking pictures as she was busy chatting up Tarzan. I did get her to snap this one before she lost focus again.

At this point I hugged Snow White.

And INC was chatting with Tarzan still. They apparently were discussing his upbringing in Ontario just across the lake from where we grew up in New York. I didn't realize there were jungles in Ontario, but whatever. She was distracted.

She missed the first couple shots.

Thankfully she did get one pic.

Isn't that heartwarming??

The funny thing is, when I finally got INC focused on taking the picture, I realized that you couldn't see my face in the pic. So while hugging her, I picked up Snow White and spun around 1/4 turn to get my face in the shot. I think I shocked her because she laughed and said "Oh! I love you!". Unfortunately INC missed that shot. I don't know whether it was a camera issue or a Tarzan issue.

But I'm happy we got one picture above. My new avatar.

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

What The Fort?

I never thought I would live to see the day.

I love the new Avatar.

But, I can't believe this reconciliation is going to stick.

TCD

[SCTigerCock 171]

So what you are saying is Snow chose you over walking the plank since she was stuck on a ship with you. And she isn't to bright, since the Ship was docked.

Interesting.

[fortpartyof4 108]

How sweet! I never knew why you made all of those negative comments about her. I thought maybe you just didn't like the story or it gave one of your girls nightmares or something.

I love the new picture. Although the old one used to make me chuckle - who was in that old one anyway?

[DaveInTN 3,247]

Dave - I haven't read all 15 pages of this report but I am certain you had a mahvelous time!!

Fear of cruises must be a WNY thing. Like you, I too was scared to death to go on a cruise. Like you, small boats, canoes, rafts, jet skis, okay! Big boat out on the open sea? Not so much. Then I was kinda sorta forced, begged, shamed, into going on a 7 day cruise for the wedding of a good friend's daughter. I was convinced there would not be enough booze on that ship to keep me calm, and to not be "that person" wearing a life-jacket 24/7. I went on Royal Carribbean's "Something" of the Sea. I LOVED it. When I'm so old I need to be put in a nursing home, I'm opting for a continual cruise. It's cheaper & better than nursing home care!!

I just love seeing pictures of your family. It's such a happy sight!! :heart:

Retirement on the high seas....now that's an idea!

Thanks for sharing your fun trip...lovin' it!

Glad you are reading along!

Amen.

I don't recall seeing Peter or Tink on our cruise, so that was cool that your girls got to meet them.

LOL at how Tink was more masculine than Peter.

Your comment about how the CM's fill multiple roles is interesting. We noticed that too. I would venture to guess that all of the "face characters" are also actors from the shows.

It is interesting to me that we cruised in July, and you cruised in September, but I have not recognized a single CM in any of your photos. The princesses all look like they are different ladies.

From what we heard on our cruise, DCL CM's work on contracts that run for several months straight, and then they take a few weeks off and start a new contract. When they are working, they work 7 days a week with very little down time. But, every CM we encountered was very pleasant and in good spirits despite the long work schedule.

Our server told us that he works on a five month schedule, and then goes home to the Czech Republic for 2 months. He has been with DCL for 5 or 6 years.

I go away for one day and fall behind three pages. I'm all caught up now. :whew: I'm glad the pj's in a CG question has been settled, I'll fit right in with everyone else. Also happy to see the camera was found. That kind of stuff happens to me all the time.

Just want to add, Stella and Izzy are the fairest princesses of them all!

Thanks Doodle....glad you are caught up! I can't slow down too much, because in another 12 days I will have to start my Defeated Creek trip report!

[DaveInTN 3,247]

What The Fort?

I never thought I would live to see the day.

I love the new Avatar.

But, I can't believe this reconciliation is going to stick.

TCD

You have little faith in me. Or little faith in Snow. But I think this will last.

At least until December.

So what you are saying is Snow chose you over walking the plank since she was stuck on a ship with you. And she isn't to bright, since the Ship was docked.

Interesting.

She is the fairest of them all, not the brightest.

How sweet! I never knew why you made all of those negative comments about her. I thought maybe you just didn't like the story or it gave one of your girls nightmares or something.

I love the new picture. Although the old one used to make me chuckle - who was in that old one anyway?

That old avatar pic is from a demonstration over a labor dispute at Disneyland a few years back.

The issues with Snow White were all documented in my trip reports back at Voldy....which unfortunately are not available anymore. At least not with pictures, as I deleted those when I was banned. I do have the narratives saved to a Word doc though, so maybe if I ever have time I will recreate them here someday.

[Nicki aka Rebelstand 272]

I think the disagreements with Snow are too deep seated to just vanish. I think December will see another change in the situation...

[liv luvs disney 2]

:rofl2: :rofl2: :rofl2:

Even though I'm not here as much as I'd like to be, your longstanding "situation" with Ms. White is one I could never forget. Glad to see you two have called a truce...at least for now.

[stefa70 205]

Dave, it's sweet of you to let bygones be bygones.

But, I still wouldn't trust the little twit.

[lklasing 16]

I can't believe you reconciled! I never thought I'd live to see the day. I hope you, INC, Snow and Tarzan live a long and happy life together!

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

Dave, it's sweet of you to let bygones be bygones.

But, I still wouldn't trust the little twit.

Yeah, Dave.

Don't you remember how she manipulated those 7 guys with her passive aggressive tricks?

Watch yourself!

I can't believe you reconciled! I never thought I'd live to see the day. I hope you, INC, Snow and Tarzan live a long and happy life together!

LOL!

Good one, Leslie.

TCD

[DaveInTN 3,247]

I think the disagreements with Snow are too deep seated to just vanish. I think December will see another change in the situation...

Time will tell, I guess.

:rofl2: :rofl2: :rofl2:

Even though I'm not here as much as I'd like to be, your longstanding "situation" with Ms. White is one I could never forget. Glad to see you two have called a truce...at least for now.

I think this is a whole new beginning for us. I sense great times ahead.

Dave, it's sweet of you to let bygones be bygones.

But, I still wouldn't trust the little twit.

I guess it's like Reagan said....Trust, but verify.

I can't believe you reconciled! I never thought I'd live to see the day. I hope you, INC, Snow and Tarzan live a long and happy life together!

LOL! That is a very strange group, isn't it? :rofl3:

[Grumpy and Grandma 740]

. When I'm so old I need to be put in a nursing home, I'm opting for a continual cruise. It's cheaper & better than nursing home care!!

You can even save funeral costs, just have them toss you over the side.. :rofl2: