We will be heading out on the Triumph again at the end of this month. I am curious to compare the two cruises... before and after the red bags and bathrobes debacle. ?

So here goes...To Be Continued… Part II

To catch you up on our “Wheels falling off the train cruise”. We had just returned from our summer trip aboard the Carnival Valor. I was at work one day when Mark calls and says “What do you think about taking another cruise?” Now, that is similar to asking “What do you think about having 2 feet?” Well, I kinda like that idea. Or, “What do you think about living in our home instead of being homeless under a bridge?” Well, I kinda like that idea too. So when he calls me at work to ask “What do you think about taking another cruise?” I got a little frustrated. “Babe, listen. I’m a little busy up here. You know the answer to that. What exactly are you getting at?”

This is when he tells me some friends of ours were thinking of taking their first cruise… in December. It was just a little 4 day trip to Cozumel on the Carnival Triumph, but it was over a weekend and all 4 of us could go for what we normally pay for just 1. (Hmmm…. My wheels started turning. We could all take off from work. 4 days was doable. The price was good. Trenton would only miss 2 days of school. We have never cruised in December…) And then he says “It will almost be Christmas time so instead of exchanging gifts for you and me, we could just get ourselves a cruise”. YES PLEASE. SOLD. DONE. BOOK IT. NOW… Seriously, hang up the phone and call Carnival and give them our credit card number.

We’re going to Cozumel in December! Texas will be getting cold.… we will be getting our tan on…. Ecstatic was an understatement!

I had to work the day we left to go down to Galveston and had been up since 5am. Mark got the job of finishing all the packing and loading the van. SO, after the long drive down to Galveston, followed by the sleepless night with Trenton being sick, we were a little exhausted. Since the boat was having propulsion issues Carnival gave us the choice to cancel the cruise and get a full refund. We were so looking forward to this cruise and when the doctor said he was not contagious we decided to just go ahead and go. All the emails said we could get onboard at 6pm, so we called the porter at 4:30 to come load our luggage and take us to the pier. AFTER the luggage is packed the porter says… “Oh, we aren’t taking anyone to the port right now. The shuttle won’t actually come until around 6pm to take you.” WHAT?! I want to go right now! This is when the first real emergence of Mark’s horns came out. I saw his eyes squint at me and the glare come out…. Here we go. ?

They went ahead and took our luggage and we attempted to file back in our rooms. Since it was after the initial check out time our keys no longer worked and we were locked out! Aaaah, perfect. Mark looks at me and says “I am going for a walk.” Mom looks at me and says “I am going to find something to eat.” … and then there were 2. SO, Trenton and I called the front desk and had new keys delivered.

We didn’t actually get on the shuttle until almost 7pm! We had been waiting in the lobby with 50 or so other guests for over an hour. The whole day was gone! By the time we arrived to the port the line to get into the terminal was outside the building and all the way down the sidewalk. It appeared all 2000 passengers were in line. This was our first time to purchase the Faster to the Fun. Thankfully we were able to walk around the perimeter, skip the 2 hours of waiting and get up to the counter. There was 1 family in front of us. However, they had about 7 children (no joke)… NO ONE had passports… and 1 adult had checked her birth certificate IN HER LUGGAGE. So we waited…. Forever.

Now, my optimistic personality says… we just skipped 2 hours of waiting in that long line. I can wait here for 30 minutes while they figure out this hot mess in front of us. Half the kids were running around in circles bumping into everyone, the other half were crying and screaming. The adults were oblivious to the fact they even HAD children. It really was not a pleasant situation. It seems Mark had lost his optimistic personality about 2 hours ago. So after standing there for 15 minutes or so he asked another rep if someone else could check us in and in Mark’s defense the guy rudely said NO. That didn’t go over well. PLEASE just let us get on the boat! It was not until AFTER we were finally checked in and received our cards that we got the paper telling us we were no longer going to Cozumel, but Progresso instead. Oh yeah…. Mark HATES Progresso. We have already been twice and only once on purpose. At this point I decided we should all play a game… “The we don’t know Daddy game.” No one objected. ?

We finally made it on the boat, our cabin was ready. Mark dumped his bag and thankfully took off to go calm himself down. About this time the room steward knocks on the door and is delivering our luggage. I am thinking “Now this is service!” Only the room steward says “Ma’am, you might want to check your bag. Something inside spilled and it’s all wet.” Huh? What do you mean? I didn’t pack anything that could spill. Then he pushes Mark’s suitcase in the door and it is practically dripping with something…. And it reeks! Seriously… what is that? It couldn’t have spilled on anyone else’s suitcase? Are they just trying to pick on the pissed off guy? Cheese and crackers… this is gonna suck! So, I open the bag and yep all his clothes are wet. I called my mom and said “Come smell this bag.” She initially says No!, but consented and seconds later all 3 of us were in the floor of our cabin sniffing the suitcase. Mom comes up with the logical answer… Red wine. Bad Red Wine. By some luck… this foul smelling business is only on Mark’s dark clothes. All the light ones were good.

Trenton says “Mom, what are you going to do?”

Me: “Um, hello… not tell him!”

Mom: “Really… you don’t think he is not going to notice smelling like foul red wine for the next 3 days?”

Me: “Fine. How many quarters do you have?”

Well… I’ve got the answer for you. Not enough!

Now, I COULD have gone down to guest services, but the lobby was a disaster because we were still embarking so I chose to stand in the hallway and beg for quarters…. Don’t judge. I was exhausted and desperate. By this time you could smell the suitcase in the hallway and people were more than willing to donate for a worthy cause. 8pm laundry started!

This is certainly NOT the way to start a quick winter get a way. Propulsion issues, vomiting child, long lines, Progresso, Mexico, clothes drenched in someone else’s red wine and laundry. We all want to do laundry the first day of vacation.

By now it is time to head to the muster drill. Mark was still MIA. Mom had gone for a drink and when we arrived Trenton and I had different muster stations. This did not go over well with me. He isn’t standing over there by himself and if this boat goes down … the way this trip is starting off that is a good possibility… you can bet your biscuits he won’t be getting in a different lifeboat than me! So, we got escorted inside to the handicap waiting and took a seat in the chairs. Perfect.

My phone goes off with a text message from Mark “Where are you?” Silly me. I thought Mark was at our muster station and looking for us. Nope. He would be hiding in the bathroom drinking a beer. “Seriously?! Something is wrong with you!” He says, Nope. Something’s about to go down and I don’t want to miss it. You will thank me later. Hmpf

~ Disclaimer: I fully respect and understand the importance of muster drills. No need to send me emails explaining them. I attended… you can send them to my husband ?

Well, he was right. Something did go down. Apparently he found someone having a worse day than him! This couple had paid $3000 to get married that afternoon… only the boat wasn’t here for that to happen. When they did let them on board with all their guests, they had 20 minutes for the wedding and reception. The ice sculpture was melted, the food was cold, they were supposed to have a suite and somehow were downgraded to only a balcony, the bride was in tears… and then the security guard got head butted ... By the tiny little 100 pound bride. She lost her ever loving mind! LOL … and Mark had the front row view peeking out from the bathroom!

Somehow, she did not get into trouble for this little incident and Carnival agreed to refund her money she had paid for the wedding, but what was done was done. Upon reflection, she says she doesn’t even remember it! She said she has never done anything like that before and all she remembers was she just kept getting madder and madder… and then her head hurt!

That my friend’s was Day 1 of our “Wheels fell of the train” very first (and possibly the last) 4 day cruise. Don’t worry. One day doesn’t make or break the Hunt family. We were all dancing and gambling away by the end of the night and determined to have a good time. Until we got back to the cabin and Mark says… Ugh, what is that smell…. And where are all my clothes! ? Shhhh