Friday March 16
Friday, March 16, 2007
Weather in Clifton Park –Snow Hi 28°F Lo 19°F
Weather at sea – Sunny chance of showers Hi 87°F Lo 75°F
We slept in and awoke to a somewhat sunny day. We had plans for the day that included-the AO talent show for Tess, Final Jackpot Bingo, the art auction and the highly anticipated galley tour. First things first, breakfast. We ate at Windjammer and it was moderately crowded. We found that as the week went on, we were not able to eat as much. So we pretty much stuck to cereal and fruit. Once finished, Tess was again headed to AO to get ready for the talent show. She came prepared and was going to do some Tae Kwon Do and board breaking. We headed to the Photo gallery to again search for our Costa Maya picture and decide which pictures we would purchase. We asked the woman at the register about the Costa Maya picture. She brought out the proof sheet and there was our picture. Well almost. Jamie was cut off and there was some type of problem with the picture. The gentleman who took the picture, one Kreisler Drego, was also there. We asked to speak to a manager and the woman said she was his supervisor. We told her what had happened in Costa Maya and the incident in Cozumel, as he was the photographer in question both times. She assured us that they would be able to reprint the Costa Maya picture and it would be fine. We had the lifestyle portraits taken of Tess and the coloring was poor, so we asked for them to be reprinted. We had to pay for it and were told we would be refunded the money if we did not like them. We were not very pleased with the photography services on this ship. We went back to the cabin to start packing. Soon it was time to watch the talent show. There were only a few “acts” since there were not that many kids on board, or at least ones who wanted to do the talent show. Everyone gets “first prize” and a medal for participating. We then made our way to the Centrum for the cooking demonstration. Chef Andy and one of his pastry chefs had two volunteers and they made delightful rum cakes. Chef Andy did a running commentary. Rubel from the galley staff was on the landing doing the food carving. He made a squirrel out of pineapple and carved a person in a watermelon. We had Chef Andy sign our new cookbook and had some pictures with him as well. We then checked out the last day sales at the shops onboard. We bought the ship model, a shirt for Tess and a pen for our Travel Agent, Donna. Then we headed up to WJ for lunch and there was also a poolside barbecue. The line was long for it, so we opted to eat inside. Glad we did as it started to rain. Luckily it only rained for about 20 minutes. Next up was the art auction. We did not plan to buy any art, but you do get a free print for attending. Plus there was a raffle to win some art as well. Unfortunately, we could not stay long as it was time for our galley tour. On the way, we bought our cards for final Bingo. We had bought the Bingo dog earlier in the week, but you could not use him or any coupons for the last bingo game. We were really excited about the tour of the galley, as we are interested in cooking and how things work on the ship. Chef Andy and Executive Sous Chef Jason did the tour. We went with Chef Jason and about a dozen other people. I have to say this was one of the most interesting things we have ever done on a cruise. He told us all about how much food they use in a week (10,000 pounds of flour, 650 pounds of lobster) and how each “department” in the galley functions. There are about 80 crew members in the galley and each has a specific job to do. We saw the galleys on both decks 4 and 5. The tour lasted about 30 minutes and if you ever get the opportunity to do it, I highly recommend it. We left the dining room and went back to the Anchors Aweigh lounge for the end of the art auction. They were getting toward the end and the raffles. One woman won 3 or 4 of the raffles!!! We thought that was unfair, even though she probably spent 5-6K in art. Next up was Bingo. Jamie decided to head back to the cabin to rest so Tess and I went to the theatre for Bingo. We only got close once and one person won the final jackpot, over $3100. Rumor has it she was spotted buying jewelry soon after. It was time to get ready for dinner and prepare my thank you notes and tips. We felt that our service this week had been fine and professional, but the staff was not terribly personable. We went to our last dinner and said farewell to our wait staff and tablemates. Tess went to AO for the last time and we went to pack. We got our bags outside of the room and went to the photo gallery to check on the pictures. The lifestyle one came out fine and they were kind enough to let us use the coupon to get another for free. Unfortunately, the Costa Maya picture did not come out right. It only shows Tess and me, but you can see Jamie’s arm around us and part of his hat. They gave us that photo for free due to the problem. It was quite a disappointment, but was not the end of the world. Then one more trip to the casino and the roulette table with our new friends. While we were there, Luci and Dominick from our Meet & Mingle group came by. They told us LaGuardia was closed. Why??? A snowstorm! There was at least a foot of snow on the ground. How lovely. We were not too worried as we were not flying out until Sunday. We played for a while and managed to leave the last of our money in the casino. But at least we had fun. We picked up Tess for the last time and went back to the cabin. We promised her we would order room service, so we got some milk and cookies and Jamie wanted some wings. We stayed up to watch Pirates of the Caribbean Dead Mans Chest. At last we went to sleep, sad to know that in a few hours we would be leaving the Legend. Tonight, the ship had quite a bit of motion, rocking and rolling pretty well. This had happened to us quite a bit during the week and we weren’t sure if it was our location (aft) or the seas (slight, according to Capt Carl). But even now, we are still feeling the “ship move”.
Jamie’s Take –
The last sea day, it always causes much sadness. Well let’s check in on the Spring Breakers one last time. A week of drinking, tanning and well the other thing, you know with the new bedding, but not on the over exposed balcony, has taken a toll- they looked well, beaten down. No more bikinis and six-pack abs. Now worn sweat shirts and sunglasses inside. No more looking for tonight’s hookup, now they are looking for a way to pay off their sea pass account without calling Mom and Dad. I just have this to say, being the old, fat bald guy with money still left isn’t so bad. Ok now on to the Bingo. Yes she played three times and did not win and yes we bought the dog. Yes, we could have skipped the dog. The Adventure Ocean, well it was not so much as far as the adventure went. First the staff seemed to be suffering from the malaise that the rest of the staff on the ship was suffering. They were not very personable. I am putting you in charge of one of the two things I brought on the ship that I would kill you dead for; I would hope for more than a passing interest in talking to me. As a result, the ship with 250 AO aged children never has more than 20-30 children in that area, and they took over the teen night club for the older of these children so the tweens were out of luck. The Malaise- now we have been on several other cruises and if this was your first, you would have never noticed this, however we did. The staff was professional, hard working, and they did their jobs well, so you say what more could you possibly want, jerk. Well I will tell you they were boring. They were not personable; it was like if passengers were not there they would still do their job, like the ship of the damned. Well it was not that bad and no it is not a cruise requirement that they splay their personality out like so many buckets of Budweiser beer, but it does make for a better cruise. If I feel that connection when you tell me about your family, your home town or about your experience in the port that we are about to visit, I feel like an insider, a member of the family. It adds to the feel and texture of the cruise, and frankly if you’re family, I tip better. So when the “insider” tour of the galley came I had high expectations, I was not disappointed. Chef Jason, even only understanding every other word, due to the noise, he was funny and informative all at the same time. Well worth what we paid for the cookbook. The tour was interesting and we enjoyed it.
