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Dallas, Texas, United States

Wednesday, March 07, 2007

CruiserMel Wins A Platinum Award


Hey guys! It's great to be back on dry land, but I have to say for the millionth time - cruising the high seas is greater than great.


Our adventures began with CruiserMel being awarded Platinum status by Carnival Cruises. I wasn't sure what that meant, but maybe a little speedier service from the bartenders, which would've been fine with me. But no - it meant that I'd spent untold dollars on their ships 10-plus times and thus would garner personalized stationary, petit fours delivered to the cabin, and priority spa appointments, among other things. It even included a free shot at insulting the captain. Yeah, you read that right.


It began with the first rear-end kissing from a staff member who greeted me as if we were old pals and said "Welcome back, CruiserMel. If I can do anything to make your stay nicer, please feel free to call me 24 hours a day." Um....okay. Then the invitation came. "You are cordially invited to a special cocktail party honoring our Platinum members." Okie dokie - free watery drinks and pseudo-warm mini-quiches. What the hell - it's free. I left L at the blackjack table (since it just wasn't workin' for CruiserMel at all) and found I was special. There were all of 8 Platinum passengers amongst 15 uniformed officers and staff-members. And there was real caviar and Moet champagne! The real deal. Was this really Carnival? I quickly found myself surrounded by three officers (cruise director, assistant cruise director, and the chief purser) and they were placing their lips firmly upon my buttocks and well on their way to causing hickies. You'd have thought I was the princess of cruising. [And they would be correct.] Before I knew it we were playing movie quote trivia and giggling from the free Moet.


Pay attention, here's where the insulting comes in.


A nice looking Italian man approached and took my hand in his. He said he was glad to "finally" meet me [what?] and apologized that he needed to excuse himself as he had to have dinner with the employees of the month. Before I could see how many stripes were on his shoulder, I poo-poo'd him away with a flippant "well, isn't that nice of you" and turned my back on him. I saw the faces of the now-snorting and laughing staff members and realized the error of my ways. Yeah, I'd poo-poo'd the captain. And I was their new hero. I was at Queen status now. Luckily I never saw the captain after that. I know what you're thinking, but hey - he should've SAID he was the captain!


L and I had specifically chosen this ship so as to surprise our Romanian friend for his birthday. His triple-take when he first saw us was priceless. So was his face when he opened his prezzie of approximately 10 pounds of chocolate candy. [This particular Romanian will do anything for chocolate and frankly, it's kind of gross how he attacks it.] But the look on his face was more touching than a little kid on Christmas morning. He took us to his favorite Mexican restaurant in Cozumel for great food and several Mexican beers with lime wedges. We window shopped for jewelry. We had a lovely day in port. Soon it was back to the ship for more pampering and fun.


Though CruiserMel left a few pesos (read: alot) on the table in the casino, the trip was a fun one. 5 days, 4 nights of fun and frolic. And hot guys. Very hot foreign guys. One can never have enough of those.


I've been home 48 hours and now have something that seems quite alot like the Tourista. I'm sure it's just a virus, but part of me thinks it's either those limes in my Mexican beers or the captain put a time-released whammy on me. Not fun. Payback can apparently be hell. Believe.


On another note: I killed my camera on my trip to the mid-west in January and didn't get any pictures of CruiserMel's foreign men. Alas, in between my trips to the bathroom today, I mustered up the strength to buy a new one online. And it is sswwwweeeeeet. I can't wait to shower y'all with my photography prowess.


On yet another note, and this one is weird: in checking out the google searches that lead folks to this blog, I've come across one that had me stumped until I watched my recorded American Idol from last Thursday. The search words were "Kelli Pickler Implants." Once I watched the playback, I got it. Good grief - have you seen those things?


Time to go - and by "go" I mean GO.


So get on outta here. Seriously. Arriba!!!!


18 comments:

Anonymous said...

you shouldn't touch little kids. not even on christmas.

Tug said...

WELCOME BACK! Too funny with the captain...LOL.

And seriously, you must have misunderstood me. I didn't ask for pics of foreign men, I asked for FOREIGN MEN. Maybe next time?

FEEL BETTER!!!

CruiserMel said...

Jeremy - You think I'm THAT much of a perv, do ya? Nah, not my style.

Tug - Sorry I didn't smuggle any foreign men back. But someone did try to smuggle a LIVE BIRD back into the States. It delayed our disembarkation by a few hours. Jerk. That poor little birdie. Wahhhhh.

Anonymous said...

hee hee!

Welcome back home :)

mist1 said...

The Captain told me how you brushed him off. I had to console him for hours.

Glaziersgirl said...

Glad you are home safe and sound and that you had a great time. Hey, I think I have been to that restaurant in Cozumel, off the beaten path, all the cruise ship employees go there cuz it is across from the laundrymat/internet cafe/post office....great food, cold coronas! Way fun.

Anonymous said...

One last dilemma you failed to disclose. How do you leave the room service order out on your door before 5:00 when you don't get back to your room until after 5:00???

Williebee said...

Welcome home! You got to go to Cozumel in March. I got to go to Chicago... you win again.

I always figure the after vacation illness comes from leaving the canned air and rejoining the shared air.

Or, Montezuma met capitalism and waits to get your money before enacting his revenge....

Random Musings said...

OH NO KIDDING... they were HUGE! But you know it does look like shes put on a bit of weight so it may just be a REALLY great push up bra??
Glad you had free caviar and monet on your cruise.. so jelous

D-HOR said...

I think you've inspired me to go on a bunch of cruises just so I can someday receive platinum status. Thank You.

So what do you recomend for a first time cruiser?

Sgt said...

And here I thought it was "Platinum Blonde" status for something insanely crazy.

Welcome back.. and umm.. I warned you!

Dezdmona said...

QueenMel...hmmm, that has a nice ring to it don't chu-think?

I was sooo looking forward to pix of those towel animals. Maybe they aren't so different than the Captain who had "better things to do"....*wink*

Guess you'll have to go on another cruise with your new camera.

Glad you had fun...that's what it's all about!

Just Sayin' said...

Welcome Back Cruise Master Melle Mel!!!

I'm glad to hear you had a good time with Doc, Gopher, Judy, Issac and the gang...

But you shouldn't insult Capt. Stubing... He's sooooo sensitive.

I'm just sayin'...

Frank Marcopolos said...

welcome back. oh, and hello! :)

xxxx said...

Welcome back, fancy schmancy platinum girl! Ooh, la la!

MrRyanO said...

Welcome Back!

I love cruising and seriously need to get myself on another voyage!

As for Kellie Pickler...Yeah! Thsoe are some adorable pups she has! ;)

bevy said...

Well, well, well, didn't you get the star treatment! You weren't kidding when you called yourself Cruiser Mel.

CruiserMel said...

Wow - thanks people for all the comments. You complete me. LOL

Golightly - thanks, I am a creature of habit and I actually like coming home as much as going on vacation.

Mist - Lucky you - he was hot.

Glaziersgirl - I think it was called (whatever the word for grandfather) Gerardo's. It was yummy, but I may pass on the limes in the beers next time, thankyou.

Anon - aka L - Oh my yes - that is a dilemma that we need to consider next time.

Willie - um, as I recall I was in Chicago in January. Checkmate.

Random - If that's true, then why aren't mine any bigger when I gain weight? If only...

Lindy - 1st time? Big question. Alot depends on your age and how much you like to party, relax, be active, etc. You really can't go wrong with Carnival or Royal Caribbean. Good starter cruises. Princess is my fave - but not recommended for under 35ish. It's a little classier and the food is better. Any of the major lines are great - it's up to YOU to make the trip what you want it to be. Any ship can be whatever you want it to be.

Sgt - only the highlights in my hair are platinum blonde.

Dez - another cruise? I think I can manage that.

Just sayin - OMG, I wanted to be Julie McCoy soooooo bad when I was growing up. Good times.

Frank - Hey and welcome to you. Come on back anytime. The wine is on the counter - help yourself.

Swishy - Hee hee.

Rockdog - I swear our paths have crossed before. Like ships that pass in the night.

Bev - I am what I am, as Popeye would say.