Caribbean Cruise & Hollywood, Fl Jan/Feb 2017 Part 3
1/31/17 10:25am
Aft Deck (inside), Carnival Conquest, Caribbean Ocean
Aft Deck (inside), Carnival Conquest, Caribbean Ocean
I woke up around 9am feeling like I’d been hit by a truck. The extra Allegra makes me feel like I’m in a jar of molasses or that I’m a bear that’s been tranq… uil… ized…
I spent about a half an hour getting dressed before I went in search of more allergy meds that are not Allegra. They did not have anything in the Fun Shop, but they directed me to go to the Medical Center where they have various meds.
I waited about five minutes while the male, Russian nurse explained the pain scale to someone who appeared to be Filipino. The Filipino man kept saying his pain was a 10 out of 10, despite not appearing to be in any pain at all. The nurse, in a Russian accent: “You are in the worst pain of your life? You don’t appear to be someone who is in the worst pain in their life. Do you understand ‘worst pain of your life?’”
They had Claritin and Benadryl. Since, I didn’t need to be tranquilized again, I bought the Claritin. They sold me five as they sell them five at a time. I may go back for more depending on how well it works.
I went to the Lido Deck Buffet and had breakfast. Eggs, kielbasa, and two glasses of orange juice. Orange juice often helps with my allergies, but this is not real orange juice. I also found Granny Smith Apples and put a few in my bag (apple time is back!) The combination of not-real-orange-juice and Claritin seems to be helping as my sinuses are slowly beginning to behave.
I tried to sit in the sun on the top deck, but it is windy and too cold. *I should clarify that when I talk about the temperature being “cold,” it’s actually quite warm relative to Central New York at this time. Cold here in the Caribbean is still in the 70s.
There is a “Thriller” dance class in the lobby at 11:15am. It seems to be a good opportunity to meet people, so I’m going to give that a shot. I do not feel anxious currently, which may have something to do with the tranquilizing effect of all the extra allergy medications.
I grabbed a salad from the Lido Buffet and then the sun started to set, so I ran out to the deck, took some pictures, basked in the awesomeness of the sun setting over an open sea. Whilst taking pictures, a couple from Boston noticed me and wondered what I was doing. I showed them J Fred MocLegoman and explained why I was taking pictures of Lego. The male (I forgot their names) said that he had dressed up as Benny (the 80s spaceman from the Lego Movie) for an astronaut event in Boston one year. The couple recognized me from Harry Potter Trivia. They said that the one girl (maybe around 10 or 12) who had said that she got them all right had cheated. She had asked them for one of the answers. The couple had done better than I had.
I told them that I’d probably see them at more trivia events.
I grabbed some pictures of the ship at night. I often forget that I have these Lego props, so I used the Lego camera in pictures, finally.
Then, I went back to my room, which is still freezing, by the way – more so, actually. I showered and spent a good ten minutes letting the warm water wash over my face. I got some tanishness from all the time in the sun.
After the shower, I dressed quickly (jeans and long sleeve shirt) and went to the lobby for 80s trivia, which wasn’t much of a contest of who knows more. Rather, it was a bunch of people shouting out answers and singing along. It occurred to me that my sinuses feel the best they have so far. So that’s promising.
Now, I’m sitting in the back of the lobby writing while Disbanned plays a bunch of random stuff.
It’s ten o’clock and I’m a little worried about Grand Cayman. Tenders start at 7am and it takes 45 minutes, they say, to get ashore. I don’t need to be on the first tender to get to my snorkeling excursion, but I do need to get ashore early, so I can go to Hard Rock. I signed up for an 11:00am, 2.5 hour excursion, but it was changed to 11:45am, which is problematic because it puts the 2.5 hours right in the middle of my time there. My plan is to be at Hard Rock at 10:30am when they open to get that out of the way. Then I won’t have to worry about it after the excursion. I think it can be done. I just have to get up a little early – for me – and get motivated. So, I should prolly go to bed early… like now?
I spent about a half an hour getting dressed before I went in search of more allergy meds that are not Allegra. They did not have anything in the Fun Shop, but they directed me to go to the Medical Center where they have various meds.
I waited about five minutes while the male, Russian nurse explained the pain scale to someone who appeared to be Filipino. The Filipino man kept saying his pain was a 10 out of 10, despite not appearing to be in any pain at all. The nurse, in a Russian accent: “You are in the worst pain of your life? You don’t appear to be someone who is in the worst pain in their life. Do you understand ‘worst pain of your life?’”
They had Claritin and Benadryl. Since, I didn’t need to be tranquilized again, I bought the Claritin. They sold me five as they sell them five at a time. I may go back for more depending on how well it works.
I went to the Lido Deck Buffet and had breakfast. Eggs, kielbasa, and two glasses of orange juice. Orange juice often helps with my allergies, but this is not real orange juice. I also found Granny Smith Apples and put a few in my bag (apple time is back!) The combination of not-real-orange-juice and Claritin seems to be helping as my sinuses are slowly beginning to behave.
I tried to sit in the sun on the top deck, but it is windy and too cold. *I should clarify that when I talk about the temperature being “cold,” it’s actually quite warm relative to Central New York at this time. Cold here in the Caribbean is still in the 70s.
There is a “Thriller” dance class in the lobby at 11:15am. It seems to be a good opportunity to meet people, so I’m going to give that a shot. I do not feel anxious currently, which may have something to do with the tranquilizing effect of all the extra allergy medications.
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Afterwards, I went back to my room and changed into swimming trunks before heading up to the Lido Deck where I had a couple tacos at Blue Iguana. For some reason, there is never anyone in line at Blue Iguana and so getting food is really fast. It’s so fast, in fact, that it’s immediate.
1/31/17 9:45pm
1/31/17 5:05pm
Atrium Lounge, Carnival Conquest, Caribbean Ocean
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| (Photo Bombed!) |
When I arrived for the Thriller class, the lobby was already crowded. There was no room to assimilate into the group that didn’t involve moving chairs or crowding in too close to people or standing on the outside of the chairs. So, I took some pictures of Lego J. Fred dancing and watched from afar, trying to remember the moves in case there is ever a chance to dance it later on.
I stayed in the lobby for Harry Potter trivia and sucked. I got like three right and one was questionable as to how “right” it really was.
Immediate Tacos – the most amazing thing in the world.
“Hello. I’d like a taco.”
“Okay. Just one second (one Mississippi). Here is your taco.”
Bam.
I tried to find a spot to catch some sun, but there were none. Lido Deck was full. All loungers were taken and there was hardly any standing room. I ordered a pina colada and went in the hot tub. There were a few other folks in there and we talked a little bit about cruises and the Caribbean and sun burn.
After a bit I was hot enough that sitting on the upper decks didn’t seem as freezing as usual (it's the wind that typically makes it tough to sit up there).
I laid in the sun for about an hour before I started to get cold. Then, I went in search for a less windy spot. I found an open lounger near a wind screen. I laid there for another hour or so.
Then, I went back to my stateroom, put on jeans and a long sleeve shirt (I’m learning), and went to the lobby for Rock Trivia. Fairy Tale Trivia was finishing up when I arrived and the host was having trouble with his iPad trivia app. Rock Trivia was delayed and then rushed.
 |
| (Trivia "Fun") |
Trivia on the ship is pretty pointless aside from killing time. They don’t organize teams and so there is no interaction with other people, which means I don’t meet anyone. Which, ultimately, is alright, but it could be a little bit more interactive.
I got 15/20 right. One of them stumped a lot of people, but I nailed it. I ordered another pina colada and sat in the back as all of the close seats were taken. Now Disbanned is going to play “Decades” of songs. The horn section is not here for this performance. I am planning on getting dinner soon anyway.
One thing that is annoying as hell is all the photo ops everywhere on the ship. Literrally every two steps, there is another cheesy backdrop with a photographer and bright lights. I feel like I’m walking through the mall at Christmas time and every other step there’s a kiosk with someone trying to sell you something. “No thanks. No thanks. No. No. NO. OMG! STAHHHHHP!”
I’m disappointed that the band isn’t getting much action in that no one is dancing. I, of course, prefer adequate live bands to DJs, but I don’t think the general population feels the same way.
Right. Well, off to dinner.
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1/31/17 9:45pm
Carnival Conquest, Lobby, Caribbean Ocean
I grabbed a salad from the Lido Buffet and then the sun started to set, so I ran out to the deck, took some pictures, basked in the awesomeness of the sun setting over an open sea. Whilst taking pictures, a couple from Boston noticed me and wondered what I was doing. I showed them J Fred MocLegoman and explained why I was taking pictures of Lego. The male (I forgot their names) said that he had dressed up as Benny (the 80s spaceman from the Lego Movie) for an astronaut event in Boston one year. The couple recognized me from Harry Potter Trivia. They said that the one girl (maybe around 10 or 12) who had said that she got them all right had cheated. She had asked them for one of the answers. The couple had done better than I had. 
I told them that I’d probably see them at more trivia events.
I grabbed some pictures of the ship at night. I often forget that I have these Lego props, so I used the Lego camera in pictures, finally.
I went back to the Lido Buffet and had lamb (Red Meat Count: 2). It was gross and fatty.
Then, I went back to my room, which is still freezing, by the way – more so, actually. I showered and spent a good ten minutes letting the warm water wash over my face. I got some tanishness from all the time in the sun.
After the shower, I dressed quickly (jeans and long sleeve shirt) and went to the lobby for 80s trivia, which wasn’t much of a contest of who knows more. Rather, it was a bunch of people shouting out answers and singing along. It occurred to me that my sinuses feel the best they have so far. So that’s promising.Now, I’m sitting in the back of the lobby writing while Disbanned plays a bunch of random stuff.
It’s ten o’clock and I’m a little worried about Grand Cayman. Tenders start at 7am and it takes 45 minutes, they say, to get ashore. I don’t need to be on the first tender to get to my snorkeling excursion, but I do need to get ashore early, so I can go to Hard Rock. I signed up for an 11:00am, 2.5 hour excursion, but it was changed to 11:45am, which is problematic because it puts the 2.5 hours right in the middle of my time there. My plan is to be at Hard Rock at 10:30am when they open to get that out of the way. Then I won’t have to worry about it after the excursion. I think it can be done. I just have to get up a little early – for me – and get motivated. So, I should prolly go to bed early… like now?