Part VIII Friday: Rain, Rain, Don’t go away.

We woke up at our usual time, around seven thirty. Our Catamaran swim and snorkel, or snorkel and swim, was not until ten thirty, so we chatted for awhile, about an almost incident from the night before. You have heard the saying that it is a small world. Well the world is small, even on the world’s largest cruise ship.

Before Dinner, while walking through the Royal Promenade, Diane spotted a woman in a very short and very tight black spandex dress. It barley covered her. From the very top of the leg down it was black chiffon. This dress would not look good on a model and this poor woman was not one of those. Diane said to me “What was she thinking?” Diane added that if she were to make a list of the ten worst dressed people on the cruise, this person would be at the top. Less than five minutes later we saw another woman with the same type figure wearing the exact same dress. Diane was shocked. To see it once was bad enough, but the same bad dress on two women was inconceivable.

Needless to say, inappropriate dress became a very interesting dinner conversation thread that evening, just as it is here on the boards.

Now we jump ahead to eleven thirty and the late night comedy show in La Scala. Diane and I went in a little late, after the lights had started to dim. We sat down, along with some other people, and I leaned to my right to make some not so quiet witty remark about the woman in the bad dress when out of the corner of my blind left eye I caught a glimpse of a large leg completely exposed except for black chiffon. The woman (one of them) was sitting beside me. I almost swallowed my tongue. I came so close to embarrassing myself and her. The woman must have seen a not so normal look on my face because she asked me if I was okay. I said I just needed some water and motioned for a waiter. At that moment the show began, thank God. I then whispered to Diane that she would not believe who was sitting beside me. I told her and she started laughing. Good thing we were at a comedy show.

We finished reminiscing; some time later got up, put on our swim stuff and headed out the door to the Windjammer. This was a day that we had looked forward to for a while; it had been fifteen years since we last visited Cozumel. We grabbed our normal fare and sat down to watch the ship come into port. Behind us was the Carnival ship Elation with her distinctive whale fluke stack. Off in the distance was the Grand Princess. That ship has a profile that reminded me of something familiar, but I could not place it. Then it hit me…it looks like a giant shopping cart.

We tied up at the pier alongside the Rhapsody of the Seas. This should be a fun day.

After breakfast we stopped at our cabin to grab all our gear, hats, camera, towels, etc. Then down to deck 1, disembark and head to the green catamaran docked just behind Rhapsody of the Seas. We walked between the two beautiful huge ships went on board the catamaran and grabbed a couple of seats aft. We were joined by a rather animated and very cute couple from Tampa. Dondi and Joe, had gotten married just the Saturday before. The catamaran sailed around the ships on its way to where ever it was going. It was quite a sight to see four cruise ships docked together.

The sails went up (for show there was no wind) and we were given the safety lecture and soon we were anchored about fifty feet off shore. Diane and I hit the water pretty quick, I jumped off the side, and she took the steps.

The water was great, temperature just right, the sun behind a cloud so it was a little dark but not bad. Diane and I floated around very relaxed, holding hands with our free hands resting on our backs. We listened to the parrot fish chewing up the coral, a kind of crackling noise, and watched the tangs swim around. The sea fans waved to us as we kicked slowly by. Diane and I said about two words for the whole hour. We communicated by pointing and nudging each other. It was probably the best snorkeling time we have had yet. The hour went by quickly and we were the last two out of the water.

The boat set sail and next stopped at a little private beach with kayaks, volley ball and floaters. There was also a snack bar that served very good hamburgers, at least they smelled good, I only cash for tips. Next to the snack bar was a lean to selling Mexican Silver jewelry and such. Diane and I kayaked around for awhile; she collected shells while I played a round of volleyball. Soon it was time to leave.

I sat down, pulled off my hat to put my camera on, sat the hat down on the bench and then everyone had to move forward in order to get the rear of the boat off the sand in order to back out to deeper water. Before I could get back to my seat the boat took off and away went my hat. The hat said Time Life photographer on it and was my favorite. It was an exact replacement for one that blew off my head while deep sea fishing in Diego Garcia. Oh well. I hope I can find another one like it but I doubt I will be successful.

We partied on the way back. The captain said that there is a rule on his boat, no one is allowed to go without a drink. He was serving weak Margaritas and local beer. The music started, the dancing began and soon we were all doing the electric slide on a moving deck after drinking booze. It was something new for me and fun too. Diane and I do a mean slide. The conga line started after that with the grab and pour stop, Margarita mix for the adults and Sprite for the few kids that were on board. The captain would grab someone start squirting the proper mix down the person’s throat with everyone else yelling Go! Go! Go! I bailed out of the line before he could get to me.

Once again we sailed around the ships, docked, and that was the end of our morning’s journey. A half a day still lay ahead of us. We decided to shower, change, grab lunch and shop at the duty free shops located in a mall just at the end of the dock. That is just what we did. On the way to the shops we passed a security officer pushing a young lady in a wheel chair back to one of the ships. She had her head tossed back and her eyes closed. She must have unconsciously left Senor Frogs.

The shops were nice. We bought a good hand made leather wallet for Christine, some good tees for Joel and Mark, and a hat to replace the one I lost. It was navy blue with a red strip around the bill and two on the crown and said CoZuMel on it. Not bad. If I wore cowboy boots, I would have bought a pair at a little shop. The boots were the most supple and best looking that I have ever seen and I have been to lots of shops in the southwest. They cost about 300 dollars a pair and worth it.

The mall was very hot. We shopped while I melted. We finally walked into a jewelry store that was air conditioned and I just stood in front of the wall mounted unit and let the sweat freeze on me. I cooled off enough to look around and saw some nice rings. I had bought a ring during our first trip to Cozumel, another one would not be bad. I tried it on one and it stuck. I told the clerk that I think it is stuck; he pulled out a bottle of Windex and sprayed my finger (I wonder if he saw My Big Fat Greek Wedding). I was then able to slide it off. It was a handsome silver ring with an oval turquoise stone. The stone had fine veins running through it. I knew it was the right size so I bought it. Diane picked up a few things and we left for the ship.

When we reached our cabin it was close to five and time to dress for dinner. I put on a pullover collarless black short sleeved knit shirt with a Liz Claiborne gray checked suit, black tasseled loafers. Diane put on her hand colored blue and yellow silk outfit (See Part IV) with gold sandals. I put two battery powered lights in my pocket. These lights have a lanyard that goes around the neck and the lights strobe green, yellow, red. My brother in law got them from some MTV premier. I thought they might be fun later.

We went to dinner, the Chef’s Dinner as a matter of fact. All were at the table tonight including the Tennessee newlyweds. It was lobster night. Everyone was in a great mood. All had a good time ashore. Wanich was his cheerful self, pulled out our chairs and then asked Diane and me what bottle of wine we desired, another Asti, I said. Hey, I like the stuff. We both, along with Mike, ordered the Escargots and the lobster. Betty said she doesn’t like rock lobster only Maine. I don’t believe in questioning a gift lobster’s ancestry. After eating the garlicky, buttery, sinful Escargots we all told Wanich to hit us again. That was just the appetizer for the appetizer. It was just as good the second time, give me some bread so I can get every last drop.

Then our main course arrived. The tails were small but tender and oh so tasty. I took one bite and announced that I would like to challenge all to the first and hopefully annual lobster tail eating contest. The guys all said you’re on, we accept the challenge. Let the contest begin. Diane had two. I had four. I would have kept going but we had to be at La Scala by seven thirty to see Rain. There was only one show and it was expected to be packed. I had to have dessert as well. So four tails would have to be it. Too bad.

After a pit stop we went to the theatre which was already filling up. Our friends from Tennessee were with us and we tried to find seats without obstructed views. Jeffrey said a few words and then introduced the group. I do not know what you have heard about Rain, and their tribute to the Beatles. Let me tell you this: They were absolutely great. They had the Beatles accents, both singing and speaking down to a man. I had to remind myself that they were not the Beatles. On the first song the crowd went wild. Everyone was on their feet, arms waving, shouting. The kids in the crowd must have thought their parents were insane. We were. The group would do sets and then leave stage and come back dressed as the Beatles in a later period like the Sergeant Pepper era. They performed about fifteen or twenty songs. It was a very fast hour. After the last song everyone screamed for them to return. They came back and did Hey Jude and Revolution, the place rocked and then it was over. Second seating dinner started late.

Do not miss this group.

I am not sure what we did for the next hour or so. Maybe we went to the photo shop and looked for pictures. Maybe we sat in the Pig and Whistle.

Maybe I checked our E-mail for the only time during the trip. I think we went all over the place, there was something going on about everywhere. I just don’t remember. Around eleven thirty or a little earlier we went to Studio B for the Rockin’ thru the Ages Dance Party. I hung a light around Diane’s neck and around mine, turned them on and we hit the floor. It was a fun hour. They had a jitterbug contest, where the wrong couple won. A young German couple (newlyweds) was great and we formed a circle around them to watch them dance, but the judges did not seem to notice. They must have been blind. Diane and I were noticed by the cameraman but I don’t know why. The dance officially ended around twelve fifteen, the band left but the music kept playing so many of us danced until we were chased out.

Diane and I then visited the Vault for longer than normal; our flashing lights were a hit. We stayed until about one and then called it a night after a trip to the Promenade Café for a chocolate something and a canolle. We returned to cabin 1234 and found a monkey swinging from the ceiling. Somehow that seemed the appropriate ending to a fun day.

Derrick