((apparently this is all I use this LJ for ...))

Hey guys! Erin and I are moving in a couple weeks so we're trying to let go of some things we don't really need anymore. C: If you want anything, lemme know!

If you are outside my area:
- payment by Paypal ((including a few dollars extra for shipping))
- Paypal address: thegreatorca@yahoo.ca

All of these items are in excellent condition unless otherwise noted. C:

GAMES

POKEMON Diamond ((DS)) - $20
- includes book/hard plastic case
- book has slight water damage

POKEMON Sapphire ((GBA)) - $15
- does NOT include book/hard plastic case - cartridge only

Spore ((PC)) - $20
- includes book/hard plastic case

Wii Sports ((Wii)) - $15
- includes book/cardboard case

Sonic and the Secret Rings ((Wii)) - $20
- includes book/hard plastic case

Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles ((GCN)) - $15
- includes book/hard plastic case
- case has slight water damage

Super Smash Bros Melee ((GCN)) - $15
- includes book/hard plastic case


THE SIMS 2 - PC

The Sims 2 - $15
- includes book/hard plastic case/4 discs

The Sims 2 Deluxe - $15
- includes The Sims 2 Nightlife/The Sims 2 original
- includes book/hard plastic case/2 discs

The Sims 2 University - $12
- includes book/hard plastic case/2 discs

The Sims 2 Pets - $12
- includes book/hard plastic case/2 discs

The Sims 2 Seasons - $12
- includes book/hard plastic case/2 discs

The Sims 2 Open for Business - $12
- includes book/hard plastic case/1 disc

The Sims 2 Bon Voyage - $10
- includes book/hard plastic case/2 discs
- disc 1 is slightly scratched but doesn't affect gameplay

The Sims 2 Apartment Life - $10
- includes book/hard plastic case/1 disc
- disc is slightly scratched but doesn't affect gameplay

OR all Sims 2 games for $70. ((including Sims 2, Sims 2 Deluxe or both))


CSI: LAS VEGAS

CSI: Las Vegas Complete Seasons 1-7 - $20 each
- box sets - 6-7 discs depending on the season
- $110 for the full set


$10 DVDs

Gorillaz: Demon Days Live DVD
Maroon 5: Friday the 13th Live
Chobits: Volume 2
.hack//SIGN: Volume 1
DNAngel: Volume 1
Gravitation: Volume 1
Fullmetal Alchemist the Movie: Conqueror of Shamballa

HOLY CRAAAAAPPPPP.

Wake up at 6:30am ... shovel down breakfast and get dressed.
Leave the ship at 7:30am and wait in line at customs.
Get on a bus to the airport at 8:00am.
Get our tickets and finally get some food at our correct gateway by 9:30am.
Wait around until 1:00pm to board the plane. ONE O'FREAKING CLOCK.
Leave Miami International at 1:45pm!
Get into Toronto Pearson International at 3:30-4:00pm.
Wait around until 7:30pm to board the plane. GAWD.
Leave Toronto at 8:00pm!
Get into Montreal airport at 9:00pm.
Wait around until 9:30pm to board the plane.
Wait around some MORE while they figure out what the hell's WRONG with the plane.
Leave Montreal at 10:45pm! >___>
Get into Moncton airport at 12:00am. Almost on the dot.

Get our shit together and hop the shuttle back to the airport hotel ... where we eat some food and fall dead asleep.

We get to sleep til our heart's content the next morning! :D And we left late morning to go dine on some delicious Swiss Chalet before leaving Moncton for the sticks - er, Miramichi.

Haha, it was rain the WHOLE way back ... hell, it was rain from Montreal on. We got drenched with hurricane remains AFTER we left the caribbean. XD Which I suppose is incredible luck ... three or four hurricanes/tropical storms swirling around that week and we didn't run into ANY of them. :D

So now we're home! Hurraaaaay! We came home to healthy pets thanks to Ger and Stroud, who took care of 'em for us. <3 What amazing guys.

Back to real life!

Our last day! D: Sad tiiimes.

I don't want to go home! But at the same time ... I'm kinda ready. I guess if I could take the cruise ship with me back home, then it'd be perfect. Yeah. Let's do that.

So today was a day at sea, sailing back to Miami. There was lots of talks from Karl ((our cruise director)) and his assistants on how to debark and what to do and how things were gonna go down. We kinda uh ... slept through it, but that's okay cos it was recorded and played on one of Carnival's TV channels all day long anyway.

There were TWO shows in Venetian Palace today! The one that had to be postponed from earlier in the week PLUS the one they were gonna put on today anyway! The first one was a matinee and featured the dancers and singers on Liberty. It was absolutely incredible, called Wonderful World and featured music and dances from all over the world. Of course, it had to end with a tribute to America ... but what could you really expect from an American cruise line? Eh. The REST of it was absolutely beyond incredible. Gorgeous costumes, lighting ... gawd I was so impressed.

The show later on was Carnival Legends, and was basically ... the best of the best karaoke from the GUESTS onboard. There'd been tryouts all week and the winners got to perform on stage for the rest of us. I was sooo nervous for some of 'em, but they all did really well. Er ... most of them. Some really shouldn't have gone up, but whateverrrr, it was fun. I couldn't have done it, at least. XD So I was impressed.

We had dinner with Gil, Damian, Alnita and Chelsey that night. I was so glad everyone was there, being the last night and all. Dinner was good but I totally didn't get any pictures. When it was over we all hugged and exchanged emails and all that ... I'm REALLY gonna miss them. For real, we got so lucky with our table. They were a blast. I hope it's not the last time we see any of them.

We wanted to take a picture of all the towel animals our steward made for us! There was a puppy, an elephant, a scorpion, a monkey and a rabbit. We had them all nicely set up in our porthole window and they were SO cute ... except the monkey, we found him hanging from the lights so we left him there. Unfortunately they took them all away before we could take a pic! >: So sad! He left us a heart though. :D With gum in it for the plane ride back! Hurraaaaay.

We did get a picture of the bunny. It was the tiniest ... only a quarter of the size of the others. I think it was a hand towel.



Oh noes, our cruise is over! SAD! T___T We had such an amazing time. We're so gonna do this again ... where to next time?

Mexicoooooo~! This is our last stop on the cruise! Holy craaaaap.

I'm so glad we had a day to let our sunburns heal before heading out today, cos it's gonna be a hot one out in the sun for a gooood several hours. We made port at Cozumel, which is an island about 12 miles off the coast of Playa del Carmen. We got there SO early in the morning ... like, 7am. WHAAAAT are we doing up so early on our VACATION??? TELL ME THIS.

Oh well ... we somehow dragged our asses outta our nice, lovely, warm comfy fantastic amazing bed ... piled the sunscreen on and got going. We wore long pants, t-shirts and hats today. I was gonna suggest doing it anyway but now that we have the burns it's even more important that we did. It might be a little hotter over the day ... but by god we'll be safer from the sun. You see all those people who live in deserts and hot places wearing long-sleeve clothing? Yeah, they do it for a reason. Wearing bikinis and short-shorts might be nice for a while but if yer gonna spend any amount of time in the heat of the south, yer gonna want cover.

It's not that bad anyway. I pretty much knew what we were in for, since this wasn't my first time to Mexico! :D Or my first time to the Mayan ruins of Tulum, which was our epic destination for the day.

So anyway. Got off the ship and right onto another one ... a ferryboat that took us from Cozumel to the mainland.



Once we got to Playa del Carmen, there were guides and the like waiting to uh ... guide us in the right direction. We found ours and our group of about 20 others walked for five blocks or so to get to where the buses were parked. I tell you, Mexico may have grown and developed since I was there last, but it's still the same. Still smells all warm and thick and somehow feels so completely different than Jamaica or Grand Cayman. Dunno what it is ... but it's nice.

So we hopped on the bus and met our guide, Raoul. He's a Mayan which was really cool, cos he was so absolutely enthralled in everything he was telling us all day. He was a real character and made the trip that much more fun.

After about an hour or two we made it to the ruins! Yaaaay! The parking lot and stores are located a half-mile away from the actual ruins in order to preserve them, so we all hopped on ANOTHER little trolley that took us the rest of the way. From there it was walking time! Raoul spoke to us for a while, telling us all this wicked cool history about the Mayans, everything they were about from food to religion to why their society fell to others. It was really great; I'm so pleased Erin got to do this, cos she's been studying ancient cultures and religions for yeeaaars. Finally getting to experience this was just amazing for her. It made me really happy. :D

After that, Raoul let us go explore on our own for a bit before leaving. ADVENTURE TIEMZ.





These dancers were out in the shops area by the parking lot. This was SO DAMN HIGH UP. I dunno how high exactly ... but ... it was high. These guys were SMALL from where we were on the ground. On the right is us with Raoul! :D We couldn't leave without getting a pic with him.



After all that, we headed back to the bus where Raoul had cold, wet towels for us. There was also water, pop and snacks! :D Yaaaay! So, tired and sweaty, we all hopped back on the bus and were told the good news that we were gonna be the FIRST group back to the piers! No waiting!

He bought us all tickets back across the ferry to Cozumel and we said our goodbyes. He was an AMAZING guy, for sure.

So we made it back to the ship ... and did absolutely NOTHING. Hahaha, we were so tired. So we lounged around and then got some food - cos we were also starving - from the lido deck. Just some burgers, dogs and fries. For free. :D

Later that night we passed up dinner with the group for a reservation Erin made at Harry's Supper Club, the reservations-only dinner room. It was soooooo good and like four courses long. The chefs were in and out and made food in front of us and everything ... we each had steak as our main course. Holy shit it was so good. But everything was so fancy! :'D I didn't know what to DO with myself! Definitely fine dining. But I'm glad we got to do it!

So tired. Sleeeeeeep. <3

We didn't do a whole hell of a lot today, which was juuuust fine with us. Still recovering from the sunburns of yesterday ... so a big portion of today was spent slathering ourselves with that after-sun lotion we got from the spa. This might mean we won't peel any though, if we keep putting this loooovely stuff on.

We kinda lounged around the room for a while before venturing out for some foodies ... I've decided to wear my bikini bathing suit top in place f a bra, cos it doesn't touch any areas of the burn. Ho ho ho. :'D God I've got such a retarded wrist-watch tan ... I wear a big thick watch, eh? And so now there's this big strip of pasty white on my right arm where the sun couldn't get to it. XD

A couple days ago Erin booked us in at the spa for scalp, neck and shoulder massages. Oooooh my god I am TELLING you ... it was so goddamn amazing. T_T Those are among my most FAVOURITE EVER places to get massaged and the girl who did it was absolutely fantastic. It was cool, we were in the same room getting 'em at the same time, all the lights were real dim and we had suuuuch comfy blankets and beds to lie on while they worked. 8D We were a little worried it'd be ruined by our shoulders being burned ... but they were such pros and used such awesome stuff that it barely hurt at all. And they used hot oil in for the scalp bit of the massage and totally went through all our hair ... it felt SO good. I ended up laughing a couple times and couldn't help grinning for a good part of it ... just cos that's what I do when I'm getting a REALLY good massage. It's like .. involuntary! It hurts but it's SO. GOOD. Gawd if I could get massaged every day I would. Hell, ALL DAY. I really would. We didn't want to leeeaaaavvve. I was so sad when it was done. D:

ANYHOW. Dinner wasn't much longer after that ... so we went back to the room all lazy-like and heavy-headed, haha. Aaand tried to get ready. We each had to shower to get the oil outta our hair ((cos they told us to, of course)). It was another elegant night buuut it was more relaxed than the first one. Only Chelsey and Alnita were there tonight, no Gil or Damian! Sad times. Oh well.

There was a grand midnight gala super crazy buffet on tonight at uh ... midnight. They were showing off the ice sculpture they'd done earlier in the week. It was this big huge dragon ... really cool. We didn't have anything at the buffet though cos the line was like, halfway down the ship on either side. It was NUTS.



OMIGOSH. The show at the Venetian Palace tonight was a BROADWAY spectacle. It was SO entertaining. The dancers and singers did pieces from all sorts of Broadway musicals ... from Hair to Lion King to Rent to Fame to Music Man to West Side Story and a TON more. It was so fuckin' good.

So we wandered for a while out on the decks. It's so cool to be outside at night because there is literally NOTHING when you look at from the ship. You can't even see the horizon, it's so dark. And the lights from the ship block out the stars when you're on deck. So It's like you're traveling in this BLACK ABYSS. O__O Some nights we couldn't even see the moon!



We met up with Gil and Damian in our wanderings near the aft of the ship ((almost right where I am in that pic on the left)) and chatted with them for a good half hour or ... longer. I dunno! They're such awesome guys ... I'm gonna miss them so badly! D:


Erin's Dinner Review:

Starter: Cherry Soup - This wasn't as good as it's strawberry counter part. It didn't taste much like cherries at all. More like melted raspberry ice cream. It was both sweet and bitter, I didn't like it to much and ended up not eatting all of it. Oh well, out of all the awesome food there has to be something not great! *

Main: Half-Chicken - Uhh... is it really bad that I don't really remember how this was? I only remember that I had another similar chicken thing the night after and they are blurred together in my memory. I do remember the veggies that came with it though were so freakin good, I ate every last bit of them. ***



Dessert: Chocolate Melting Cake - Always delicious. As always. Ho ho ho.  *****
 

Gracie's Dinner Review:

Starter: Corn Chowder - Ooooh, this was really good. It had corn and bacon and little bits of potato and ... other stuff that I don't remember. It wasn't nearly as good as something homecooked but it was tasty all the same. ***



Main: Grouper Filet - Uuuuuuh I was so disappointed in this meal. It sounded SO good on the menu! Of course. But it was just ... not very good at all. The cauliflower was tasty. :'D And so were the peas! But the fish ... not so much. It was like it backfired in your mouth. D: Shoulda got the half chicken. *



Dessert: Chocolate Melting Cake - Hahaha, I was going to get this anyway but after a disappointing main course I just HAD to get it. This dessert makes the meal. XD I love it so.  Totally gonna have to make it when we get home ... *****

There's TWO entries I just put up ... so be sure to read about Jamaica as well as this one!

Grand Caymaaaaan! Today we went to a turtle farm! We also went to a town called Hell AAAND we swam with stingrays!

Instead of docking, the ship berthed a little ways out in the water and there were a bunch of little ferries sailing back and forth from the pier to the ship. SO ANYWAY. Blah blah blah, our little group of about 20 or so got on the bus and drove off after a bit of a drive around Grand Cayman. What a small island! Only 22 miles long and 8 miles wide. Haha, and once again the Cayman Islands are British colonies so they all drive on the opposite side of the road ... and like in Jamaica, they're NUTS. Well ... maybe a little less than in Jamaica, but it was still like, haaaha. We did see ONE intersection with traffic lights ... just one though. Fancy place, all in good condition and covered in fancy condos owned by rich people. We saw a place owned by Bill Gates. <_<

So we drove through the little town of Hell but only got to stop at the one 'tourist trap', a building called the Devil's Hangout. It's built in front of this stretch of dead land where a lava field bubbled up through the earth. It's pretty cool ... aside from the souvenir merchandise in the shop itself. Soooo cheesy ... stuff like t-shirts and postcards with catchphrases like "I've been to Hell and back" and crap like that. Erin DID find this wicked little 5x6 map of the Caribbean area, done up like an old pirate map. It didn't look touristy or lame, so we got it. :D



After thaaat we were carted off to the turtle farm! YAAAAY TURTLES! There were mostly green sea turtles but there were a few other kinds, like loggerheads and stuff. It was SO great ... I only wish we'd gotten more time. We got to hold little year-old turtles! EEEE they were adorable ... if you stroked them under their chin they went totally placid and just lay there ... and if you held them toward the water in their pools they got all excited and tried to swim outta yer hands. It was pretty great ... but here's the thing. The main meat on Grand Cayman is ... turtle. So it's not only a turtle breeding farm to help the population, they also have a whole other area where they raise them for food. Just like a cattle farm I guess - and apparently it's healthier. They had a RESTAURANT in the back of the farm where you could try turtle burgers and soup ... but after holding the babies we couldn't even think of it! D:




Guys. We went to the town of TORTUGA. Yeah, the one and only 'Pirates of the Caribbean' Tortuga. It was fucking cool. Fucking ... cool. They had SHELVES of rum and rum cakes ... but we didn't buy any cos the shop was paaaacked with lame "I GOTTA BUY EVERYTHING HOSHIT" tourists. Whatev's, Erin got an awesome picture.



Finally we were off to Stingray City. We drove for a while out to this port where we all got on a small speedboat and continued out to a sandbar about a half hour from land. It's a BIIIIG sandbar and there's like ... buttloads of stingrays there. HUGE ones too ... we're talkin' longer than me - and I'm almost 6' tall. Some of them were probably just about as wide. With so many people coming to see them they're pretty much domesticated and livin' the easy life with squid and fish just handed out to them by guides, captains and tourists. They were all sweeping up against us and we got to hold them and kiss theeeem ... it was fantastic. We LOVED it.



Back at home ... we got sunburned. D: OH PAIN. Man, we suck so hardcore ... baaad burns from being on top of the speedboat for a few hours. Not enough sunscreen! We won't make that mistake again - and usually I'm so good too. WHATEVER. Stupid skin.

We had an appointment at the ship's spa only a few hours after we got back and we were SO worried we wouldn't enjoy it cos of the burns. Buuuut it ended up that we got some wicked awesome products from it! Includiiiing a bottle of after-sun milk lotion called Pour le Corps ((obviously French for 'for the body')). We also got skin cleanser and muscle relaxer ... which is made specifically for stress from work and things. FIVE MILLION HURRAYS~

No food pics or reviews tonight cos the camera batteries were dead and I was too lazy to change 'em beforehand ... and I can't remember what we had. French onion soup and something else ...

But I DID get a pic of the absolutely INCREDIBLE surprise Erin got for me! She'd ordered champagne and chocolate-dipped strawberries for us and not long after we returned from dinner there was a knock at our cabin door. It was room service! Omigod I was so surprised ... it was SOOOO great! I loves you, Erin! <3

This happened on Monday. We're just slow with updates. :'D Apologies.

Daaaay - Oh! Jamaicaaaa! We had an early morning today ... had to be off the ship by uh, 9am or something? Iunno. We got breakfast in the room - Cheerios, croissants, raspberry yogurt and juice. Then we had to make our way down to deck 0, the gangways. When we cleared the ship ((they have to check the cards each passenger is given at the beginning of the crusie ... it's pretty much your ID)), we were in port! Weeee! The second picture here was taken at the end of the day, but WHATEVERS.



We found our way to the bus that was set to go to Dolphin Cove and we had a totally cool driver for the ... five minutes we were on the road. HOLY CRAP Jamaican drivers. o__o Their whole road system is freaking BONKERS. It was a British colony as you might know, so people drive on the opposite side of the road, for starters ((or if yer reading this in the UK ... they drive normally)). No streetlights whatsoever, so almost no one stops ... and they drive so fast down these narrow roads, honking the whole time ... haha, god it was nuts.

So, Dolphin Cove! What a gorgeous place. It's all built in and around the actual cove, so a good portion of it winds through the trees and down through the hill to the beach. It sprawls quite a way; there's an open-air restaurant on the sand at one end and several areas separated by piers and rocks for dolphins and sharks. I think they might've been nurse sharks, but I can't be sure ... either way they were bottom-feeders and quite harmless, really. Well ... harmless for a shark, I s'pose. ANYWAYS! Erin and I signed up for this thing where we could actually swim with the dolphins! So we went out with five other people and a couple trainers to the middle of the piers and they had a male dolphin named Richie come over and play with us. Oh my god it was so incredible ... we got to kiss him, snuggle him, be pulled through the water by him ... haha, even dance with him. It was touristy but so much fun. We couldn't take our cameras out there cos the dolphins try to take 'em from you ... so no personal pics. They had a photographer taking pics with a proper camera though, so we bought a couple pics after, of each of us kissing Richie. He was SUCH a cool dolphin ... had a personality all his own. <3 We loved him.



After that we went and explored a while ... found some iguanas, a snake, some birds and CRAZY HUGE SPIDERS that were scattered through the trees. Not kidding guys, those things were at least as big as the palm of my hand. At LEAST.




Then we ate! We HAD to try some of that famous Jamaican jerk chicken ... so we did. Oh GAWD it was good.



When we were through with Dolphin Cove we made our way to Dunn's River Falls ... a fucking GIGANTIC 950ft waterfall that's more ... horizontal than straight vertical. We ... CLIMBED it. Yeah. Climbed. Had to hold hands with the rest of the people and our guide for most of the way and we had to stop for rests in the pools the water made - oh, and we had to wear watershoes so we could get some grip on the slimy wet rocks with WATER ROARING OVER THEM. We even got to slide down this one bit of rocks ... but then had to climb back up. Hahaha. Erin thought sliding down waterfalls was a movie thing and you couldn't really ... but we did! It was SO tiring and I was glad it was over by the time it was done ... but wow, what a freakin' trip. Wish we had a waterproof camera cos they stopped for pics at certain pools along the way ... but we didn't. Sorry guys! We took pics afterward though ... and it only shows a tiny TEENY-WEENY miniscule section of the falls. Like ... imagine this times a billion.



Man ... what a day. After that we were SO exhausted ... we had to go back to the ship. It was almost the end of the day anyway. So we snagged some lunch on the lido deck and lounged around til dinner. We wanted to go to the show that night but they had to postpone it cos of technical difficulties. D: I hope they still do it! It's all dancers and showgirl costumes and pyrotechnics and lights ... god I wanna see it!

Erin's Dinner Review:

Starter: Fried Mozzarella with Greens - Pretty much triangle shaped mozza sticks - which was a-okay with me! XD They came with a marinara sauce that was a bit spicy, but good. ***



Main: Lamb in Feta Crust - The lamb was wonderful, after most of the crust was peeled away - it was very dry and tasteless but once the meat was freed of it - oh it was sme of the best lamb I've had. ****



Dessert: Strawberry Cheesecake - It was good, a classic baked rather than from the freezer cheesecke with strawberry sauce on the side so you could have as much or as little as you want. I wish I could have eatten more of it. ***

Gracie's Dinner Review:

Starter: Fried Mozzarella with Greens - So it was really just triangular mozza sticks. Considering that's what I was HOPING it'd be ... I was happy! Ooooh and they were so good too, stuffed FULL with lovely melty mozza that just poured out when you broke the crust.

Main: Beef Stroganoff with Rice - It didn't look like much when it was presented to me ... but I'll be damned if it wasn't a good dish. Really juicy beef cooked just right all the way through, covered in a thick sauce that pretty well guaranteed every bite would melt in your mouth. The rice wasn't much to speak of ... it was generic sticky rice, but whatever. I wasn't concerned with it. I couldn't finish my whole plate, it was so filling! It was pretty tasty, I'll say that. ***



Dessert: Chocolate Melting Cake - Yeah, I went and got the melting cake again. It's so damn good. BUT! I also got their hot chocolate as an after-dinner drink. I swear guys, it's some of the best hot chocolate I've ever had. Ever. They make it with bits of HEAVEN I think. Anyways, the melting cake? Best part of dinner FOREVER. Almost our whole table thinks so! Haha. *****

((okay guys, this was Sunday, but I haven't uploaded it til now. I'M SORRY!))

Hocrap first full day on the shiiiip! We were seabound today, sailing to Jamaica ((which we'll hit up tomorrow)) ... so we totally had all day to explore ((re: try not to get lost))! AAAAGHH THIS SHIP IS AMAZING. O__O There's ... 11 Decks, including Deck 0 ((which is pretty much the gangways and stuff ... gotta use them when we go ashore)). And and and ... like ... five bazillion places to eat, like FUCKING HUGE buffet lines and two really gorgeous main restaurants ((the Silver and the Golden Olympian)), and a supper club and lounges and bars and ... 24-hour ice cream, pizzeria, and room service ... oh and three specialty cafes for things like coffee and sushi! Erin says we're being attacked by food. :B I say AWESOME. AND A GIANT CASINO. One of the largest on the sea, apparently ((I'd believe them)).

There's a buttload of pools and jacuzzis scattered around the lido, both open-air and indoor ... a gigantic waterslide ... a fully operational spa/salon, a three-level main theatre ((the Venetian Palace)) with floor and stadium seating, an internet cafe ((we just use their wireless with my laptop)), karaoke and piano bars, activities and events all day - and night - long ((Erin says it's one continuous pep rally without all the ... crappy pep rally shit)). Oh yeah, and a wicked atrium at the centre of the ship that goes up like eight levels. With glass elevators and lights that change colour and a bar ... here's a view from the top, looking straight down. The elevators are at the top of the pic, btw. And the second pic's of the Palace's stage.



Their TV channels are pretty great, with stuff like Discovery and TNT and Cartoon Network ... but also stuff filmed and broadcast right from the ship, like a Morning and Afternoon Show, live Lido Deck cameras, and filmings of all the important talks ((shopping, excursion info, etc)) ... plus they have a SECRET CREW of camerapeople running amok around the ship. YOU NEVER KNOW WHERE THEY'LL BE. EVER. They're making a DVD of the whole cruise for people to buy afterward.

We totally played Bingo today ... which may SOUND lame, but they're giving out prizes of like, 100-750 bucks. Per game. Oh yeah ... and James hosts it. >u> Huhuhu. He's so cute.

We also went out on the lido for a little while to catch some sun ((this is the beginning of the END for my skin, I know it)).



Tonight was an elegant night! There are two of them that happen on days when we're at sea and it's basically a chance for people to dress up for dinner. There's a cocktail party that happens right before dinner where you could meet the captain, but we didn't go. ((We found out later from Damian and Gil - the two gay dudes we sit with - that it wasn't that much fun anyway, haha.)) So we got all dressed up and Erin straightened my haaaiiir for me, and we went to have dinner with our new crew of people! They're SO great. Damian, Gil, Chelsea and ... Chelsea's sister. Who has a freaking beautiful name but I'll be fucked if I can remember what it is. Something that starts with A. D: Sorry Chelsea's sister! I'll secretly grab it from you when we exchange emails.



After dinner there was a show called Singing With the Big Band. It was fucking AMAZING. It was all Frank Sinatra and Sammy Davis Jr with the Liberty orchestra ((the Liberty is our ship name, remember!)) and a guy who goes from ship to ship doing this show. He wrote it himself! He was incredible ... sang SO many songs ... like "Mr Bo Jangles" ((which made Erin cry)), "New York New York", "Lady is a Tramp", "Candy Man", "I Did it My Way", "Zoot Suit Riot" ... and a ton more. We woulda gotten pics for you guys but there weren't any cameras allowed. Copyrights and all that.

After THAAAAAT ((hoshit, I know)) ... we went and saw Percy Crews' adult show in the Victoria Lounge, right at the aft of the ship ((that's the back)). Oh my GAWD he was so fucking hilarious. Seriously, we laaauuughed. It was really good.

And then we came to bed. And there was this little guy waiting for us! Our steward makes the bed twice a day and gave us a little towel puppy! <3



Erin's Dinner Review:

Starter: Strawberry Bisque - Actually tasted like a fruit soup. Unlike when I make my blueberry soup with turns out more like an exotic yogurt T_T but it wsn't quite as nice. It was still very good, with just a few little strawberry pieces enough to give it a flash of flavour at the right time. ***



Main: Roast Duck with Broccoli Florentine - Okay, that broccoli florentine FTW!!! It was great. Light, flaky, cheesy and the broccoli still had a nice crispness to it. I was pleasantly impressed and I hope with fingers crossed they'll serve it again. The duck was ... okay. It tasted great, just not like duck. Put it this way, I forgot I was eating duck and thought I was eating a well-done lamb. That's okay cause I love lamb. A lot of people at the table didn't like it much and sent it back, it was the bacon carbonara that stole the show at this setting. Everyone agreed it was by far the best choice. So my statement for the duck? Well - the florentine was out of this world. **



Dessert: Carmelized Apples on Pastry - This was very nice, I think pastry is definately their strong point, it was nice and light and the apples were coated in a vanilla cream sauce. I don't normally like creamy anything - but it was very good. ***

Gracie's Dinner Review:

Starter: Greek Salad - I was really hoping for a great greek salad when I got this ... and I was NOT disappointed. Damn, it was great. I've had some that were better, but this was really lovely. Olives, peppers, onions, celery, feta ... and some of the best greek dressing I've had in a long while. Oh - and it came with two little pieces of chicken! Yay! ***



Main: Spaghetti Carbonara - Okay, I know what I like. And I fucking LOVE carbonara. As soon as I saw this on the menu, I was sold. It was loaded with chunks of real bacon and mushrooms. I'm not a fan of mushrooms ((I like the flavour they leave but I hate the texture)), but it was okay. The sauce was lovely and creamy ... god it was good. I was the only one really satisfied with my meal tonight and Gil, Damiand AND Chelsea's sister ((oh gawd I still can't remember her name ... Alita or something)) all ended up re-ordering and getting the carbonara. SO GOOD. ****



Dessert:  Brandy Cherries on ice cream - So ... the cherries were strange. Didn't taste like cherries at all. The ice cream was good ... haha, so I suppose that was nice. But the cherries ... I can't even describe it cos I dunno what I'd compare it to. Just ... didn't taste like cherries - or much of anything, really. Shoulda got the melting cake. *

Today's entry is written by Erin! :D Hurray!

So - it's been a big day. We actually got to the ship today! At least we didn't have to get up till 10am, when they collected our bags to take to the ship. All in all it was pretty easy to deal with save minor issus of thinking Grace had all her shirts sent to the ship and had nothing to wear ... then thinking we sent my purse to the ship ... but both were still right there and after feeling like idiots for awhile everything was smooth sailing. The bus from the Hilton to the ship was entertaining, the tour guide was a laugh. We also totally drove through Hurricane Gustav - and then sailed through it for a while. Exciting!



Checking into the boat took ages, but wasn't half as bad as having to wait in line at the DMV. Everything moved fast, just had a long line. We met a nice couple on honeymoon from Wyoming who were very sweet and stood with us in line almost the whole time.It had apparently been snowing there when they left. Hmmm ... oh - the computers went down for a bit at Carnival check in - but lucky us, we did all our stuff online and didn't have to wait any extra time. Cheers!



So we got on the boat, and got to our room - which is kickass by the way, TONS of space. Got everything unpacked. We wandered the ship for aaaaages. Had lunch on the lido deck which was pretty cool. Our stateroom steward is a sweetheart and has been super good to us. We went to an opening night show that had the ship's dancers and a comedy act. Sorry to say it but I was watching the choreography and couldn't help but think ... why aren't Jeff and Jerr doing this? It was very Music Man. I was entertained by that alone. The comedy act was SO FUCKING FUNNY. Percy Crews was his name. We liked him so much we're going to his Adults Show tomorrow night too.



The main cruise director is Karl with a K, who is from Nottingham, England, and has the coolest accent - he's awesome to listen to. His assistant cruise director is James, who in short looks and sounds like Quenta which we got such a huge laugh out of. It's adorable. That brings us to dinner!

Our dinning sitting is at 8.15pm every night and we were terrified we'd get horrible people to sit with. Before the trip we joked about getting sat with two effeminate, talky, funny gay guys ... and we did! Oh man, it was the greatest thing ever and they were just as thrilled to meet us. They are from New York and have been together a year and a half. They're entertaining and full of stories. We're also sitting with two sisters from ... somewhere in the southern-ish states. They're really great too.

That took us up to 11.30pm non-stop so we chilled in the piano bar for awhile singing along to Lorraine's playing. She's a fabulous musician and we had a great time til a group of very drunk, very strange people dressed up like the cast of Gillagan's Island raided the play. For a while they were hilarious, but then they just got loud and annoying. Overall it was amazingly fun.

**************

Erin's Dinner Review:

Starter: Chicken Tenders with Sundries - What made this dish of three breaded chicken tenders was the sauce and the candied spiced peanuts that came with them. It turned something normal into something new and tangy. ***



Main: Tilapia Filet - Yup I had the fish! It was superisingly wonderful. The fish was fresh and had a nice light flavor. The tomato and mushroom trimming gave it a unique warm taste and just to wrap up the pallet was a mac and cheese done with cream sauce and swiss cheese. It was great was to bring everything together. Personally? Best piece of fish I have ever had. ****

Dessert: Chocolate Melting Cake - Better known as Molton Chocolate cake. Served with Vanilla ice cream on the side, it was gooy, chocolatly and oh so good. Very sweet and maybe to gooy but it was classic and so yummy! ***


Gracie's Dinner Review:

Starter: Chicken Tenders with Sundries - This was fantastic ... I was worried that it would be all bread and no chicken, but that wasn't the case at all. The sauce was fanastic ... I'm still not sure what it was, but it was a sweet sort of plum or something. ***

Main: Linguini with Italian Sausage, Bell Peppers and Mushrooms - Mmmh, noodles. This grabbed me mostly because of the promised Italian sausage, but there wasn't much to be found in the actual serving. However, what WAS in the bowl was so good. The whole ensemble was served in a tomato basil sauce and was entirely delicious - and quite filling. ***

Dessert: Chocolate Melting Cake - Oh my GOD this was so effing good. It made the meal, it really did. Hot, melting chocolate and cold vanilla ice cream is one of the most brilliant combinations in the world. ****

Holy CRAP what a long day.

Alrighty, so we woke up at about 4:30am in Moncton. Why does that time of day even EXIST? Got all our stuff together and took the shuttle to the airport, where we went through the FUNTIME WOO of airport security. I'm gonna get a little bit ahead of myself when I say this, but I've probably unpacked and repacked my laptop like EIGHT times for all the security clearances.

Anyways, caught the flight from Moncton to Toronto on time and in a plane that was pretty decent. They were two-by-two seats so Erin and I didn't have to sit with some sweaty stranger or anything, haha. Got into Toronto after having to fly around for another 15 minutes or so because the runways were a bit backed up. Holy SHIT Pearson International Airport is fucking GIGANTIC! I think that's the first time I've been there ... but I'm probably wrong ((and mom or dad is gonna tell me so, I know it)) ... but it's the first time I REMEMBER it. There. Huuuuge! But the horizontal escalator moving floor ... things were so cool. We still walked while on them but it was like walking DOUBLE time. So much more security than in Moncton! Holy jeez. And there were folks from every walk of life - it was really refreshing to see so many races and peoples after living in the cultural wasteland that is Miramichi.



So we got on the plane at Pearson at 9:40am. Got all the way down the runway and ready to take off ... and the plane's computers had trouble. Hadda go all the way back to the gate and get 'em checked out ... only to find out they were unserviceable at the time. So we all had to get OFF the plane and wait in the airport til another plane was brought in for us. After everything, we ended up leaving Toronto at 12:40, about the time we were SUPPOSED to be landing in Miami. OH WELL. Whatever, we made it! There was a stupid dickhead sitting in front of me who was intent on SQUASHING me with his reclining seat ((why do airplanes have reclining chairs in economy class? Please explain this to me)). I ended up telling him I was 'severely claustrophobic' and 'just being on the plane was bad enough' ... hahaha. I win! >u<



Got into Miami and immediately got hit with the lovely wet heat that sorta clings to you the instant you step into it. It's weird ... I HATE heat and humidity, but every time I walk out into that heat, whether it's Miami or Mexico or somewhere else ... I love it. It feels really nice.

We're staying in the HILTON tonight! Holy CRAP! Carnival put us up in it because they had to fly us down a day early. Sweet deal! Just a standard room but still, it was so cool! Man ... glad Carnival paid for it because our meal alone was like, almost 50 bucks. D:



We get to sleep in! Don't gotta head to the ship til around noon. Sweeeeet.