theatrebabe

On 4/3/2023 at 12:02 PM, FireFishII said:

Love your daughter's hair braiding.  And those snorkeling masks are the best!

On 4/2/2023 at 11:10 PM, Luly said:

Learned last night that I have zero issues uploading images if I go to the centrum. I tested the wifi speed in the room and it was 8mbps download and .86 upload. Screen shot included when I’m in the centrum. 

We had a beach bungalow on Columbus Beach in Labadee today. I didn’t check the price on Black Friday so don’t know what could’ve been but a few weeks before the cruise I got it for $350, then a few days later it went down to $328 so I cancelled and rebooked. Next day it was $447 and never went down. 

I had read it’s best to get bungalows 3, 4, or 5 so I headed off the ship as soon as the gangway opened at 8 and everyone else went to the windjammer. I’m not a breakfast person so this was fine by me and I got an hour alone at the beach in bungalow 4. 

The bungalows are so close to each other I don’t think it really matters which you choose. It was nice to have cold water bottles, towels, and floating mats already in the bungalow and to have a shady place to veg. The bungalows are very close to the lunch buffet. There are a ton of chairs for this private part of the beach and only those with wrist bands can use them. I haven’t decided yet if it was worth the cost. With just one small ship in port there are so many chairs available. I did like this area for the young kids because the ocean was so calm. A bungalow would definitely would be nice if there was more than one ship in port or if you’re on a larger ship. Our all aboard time was changed from 5 to 3:30 so we didn’t have as long to use it as I’d planned.

After everyone arrived D16 and I went on the hunt for hair braiding. We made the mistake of going through the market. I had read about it but it is so bad. I hated walking through there being hounded rudely by everyone, many even just yelling “HELLOOOOO?!?!l” as I continued to pay them no attention. We found the hair braiding and I’m sure I overpaid despite the signage but I know D16 will leave it in her hair for at least the rest of the trip if not longer and it’ll make her life easier. She has incredibly thick frizzy hair. S7 and D4 snorkeled for about 5 hours straight. There weren’t many fish but since they’ve never snorkeled they were thrilled and came to tell me every time they found a fish. “Mom we saw a big fish!” As they held out their hands about 3 inches. We loved the virgin Labadoozie drink. This was our second time in Labadee and some side by side pictures between Christmas 2019 on Anthem and now are included below. 

Once we got back on the ship the kids showered and decompressed in the room and hubby and I went to the fitness center. 

Dinner tonight was taste of Mexico. Hubby and D16 got the tortilla soup and said it’s good. I got the shrimp cocktail. Very tiny but the cocktail sauce was delicious. Hubby and I got butter chicken (not Mexican, but I’m so happy they put their amazing Indian dishes on the menu) and shared the pork enchilada. We really enjoyed the chicken. The enchilada was good but incredibly spicy with the sauce. D16 got the carne asada and said it needed more seasoning. S12 got chicken tenders and S7 and D4 stuck with the spaghetti with cheese again. I’m not sure they’ll eat anything else for dinner the entire cruise. I would never allow that at home but we’re not at home so enjoy your carbs kiddos! For dessert everyone ordered the warm chocolate cookie which is a new favorite. It was fresh and gooey. I also got the sugar free coconut cake and it was superb. I love royals sugar free desserts. Hubby also got the tres leches and said it was “pretty good.”

S12 has made friends with the employees in the Park Cafe. When they see him walk up they get him his pepperoni pizza and chocolate bar and off he goes quickly so as to not disturb any more Karens offended at his presence. 

As of last night at 11:11pm he’s had 9 pieces of pizza, 5 chocolate bars, and 4 ice cream cones. He’s keep tracking in his notes app. I haven’t received tonight’s update; he’s in the teen club  while I stay up writing this trying to stay awake waiting for him. I’m sure he’ll show up with some pizza some time before midnight. 

Tonight’s show was “Oh What a Night” by Jersey. I had read this was a show not to be missed and they were indeed fantastic. S7 said if he falls asleep to wake him up to go to the later show also. They said they’ve finished their contract on Vision and are getting off the ship tomorrow in San Juan. They are heading to Australia to tour.  

Then we went to the Guess My Lips game show in the Centrum. Once again family friendly. It took a while to get to the point but ended up being quite entertaining.  

D16 and I sat and enjoyed some live music until the Hush! Silent Party. S12 joined us when he heard about it and while they didn’t go on the dance floor they really enjoyed it from a distance (pictures below). If you’re not familiar, everyone gets some headphones and can choose to be on the blue or green channel to listen to music. They turn off all other music in the area and it’s fun to watch everyone sing and dance in silence, especially when they all break into song and dance like with YMCA or the Macarena. 

Side notes: we’ve been using the free chat feature to keep in contact with the kids. I read varying reports of some getting notifications and some not. In our experience whoever is signed into the single device Voom we paid for does get notifications. Nobody else gets notifications.  

Speaking of the Voom. I had a hard time uploading pictures on Day 1. I learned last night if I go to the centrum I have no problem. I went from 8mbps download in the room to 90mbps in the centrum and .86 upload in the room to 6.6 in the centrum.

Tomorrow we’ll be in San Juan. We’re planning to do a walking tour on our own from some maps and other links I’ve saved. 

I think my hubby and I are standing up on deck 5 in your Hush YMCA picture (in front of the bright Guest Services screen)! We just happened to stop by right at that time to check it out. So fun to watch!