4 Women-4 days of Wonder; Oct 15-19

[MJ5MOUSE]

Chapter 1; How much luggage could 4 women pack
If 4 women could pack luggage
4 a 4 day cruise?

Cast -Sister Sue, Castaway Club member that introduced us to DCL and the DIS
-Me
-DD17 (Mouse)Read my DD's trip report http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1260757
-DD17’s Best Friend (DDBFF)

Most TR’s start with “How I got to Florida…” But since I live here my TR will begin with why I still had to spend the day before traveling.
DDBFF used to live two doors down from us. She and DD grew up together and since their birthdays are 1 week apart they make a point of celebrating it together. This cruise is just 2 ½ weeks before DD’s birthday so DDBFF is invited to come along. Several years ago DDBFF’s family moved to Tampa so off I go to retrieve DDBFF. On the way back I pick up Sister Sue from Pop Century. She flew in a few days before to visit the parks. Our honeymooning friends from the DIS meets thread are staying at Pop Century too so we stop by GS and leave them a phone message of congratulations and tell them we will see them tomorrow on board the Wonder.
We had spent many hours in anticipation chatting with fellow cruisers on the DIS Meets thread and had really developed friendships so we were looking forward to meeting everyone in person almost as much as we were looking forward to the cruise its self.
We get everyone settled in at my house and DH takes us out for dinner to Texas Roadhouse. We can’t believe that the day has finally arrived it seems surreal.
Sunday morning DH stuffs the 10 pieces of luggage that the 4 of us women have packed for our 4 day cruise into the back of my car. Now where do we sit and how do I see out? Oh well, I don’t care we are going on a CRUISE!
Oh-oh, I forgot to get $1.00 bills to have handy for tips. We stop for gas and get 20 ones, now were ready. We arrive at the port about 10:30 and are greeted by a CM who wants to tell us all about the changes and upgrades made during dry dock. Problem is we seem to know WAY more about the changes than she does. Guess she doesn’t spend every waking moment glued to the DIS. :rotfl2: Besides we are ready to get on our ship NOW! so enough talking already!! Finally I am allowed to drop off my 10 pieces of luggage and 3 passengers in front of the terminal. Very quick and easy a porter grabs our luggage and whisks it away and guess what, we forget to tip him, ARRRGGGGHHH.
As I pull away from the curb I see a beautiful little princess spinning little pirouettes as her parents unload their car and I think to myself AWWWW she is so cute and she gets to cruise with Mickey. Then it occurs to me….. I know that little princess...!!!

Next Up : Guess Who We Found? (Post # 8)

[Sue88]

I'm riveted! I can't wait to see what happens next!

princess: princess: princess: princess:

[dallastxcpa]

Great start to your trip report. I can't wait to hear more. :thumbsup2

[TinkNanny]

Oh my,..........Who could it be :)

[curlybop]

I see absolutely nothing wrong with 10 pieces of luggage. :confused3

:rotfl: Keep on going!!

[tjeagle]

Enjoyed your first installment...keep it coming!! :thumbsup2

[Frankiesmom]

great so far! We will be doing our 1st 4 nite in Jan. have done 2 3 nites-give us all the gory details! LOL can't wait fo the rest. Angel

[MJ5MOUSE]

Thanks for reading and commenting. Hope your enjoying it. Here is Chapter 2: Guess who we found?

I parked my car and raced back to the terminal. Just inside my travel companions are chatting with little miss princess’s mum. That’s right, my DD had recognized our sweet little Elouise at precisely the same time I had. Elouise is the DD4 of our UK friend Lindy Loo from the DIS. Let me tell you this darling young girl stole every heart :love: she came in contact with on this cruise starting with my DD. Elouise adored her too and spent most of the morning playing “tickle Alie” which was a great way to keep them both occupied while waiting to board.
I was surprised and a little disappointed when we entered the terminal that they were already handing out boarding pass number 4, especially since there were so few people waiting in the terminal. But I knew from reading the DIS that it would not take much longer for number 4 to be called after the coveted # 2 so I decided to just enjoy the fact that I had a boarding number that would soon allow me to pass through those mickey ears.
Since Sister Sue is a CC member we entered the CC members check in line and began that process. It seems the CM who was checking us in was new and v-e-r-y s-l-o-w but we finally got checked in and we each received a CC members lanyard and two pins which made us feel very special. When ever we wore them CM’s would say “Welcome back” to us. :goodvibes
After check in we went to take the girls picture near the entrance and got there just in time to catch Captain Mickey coming out to take photos. The girls were first in line. Next we joined Elouise and Her Dad (Wayne) in the waiting area, you should have seen that girl putting away cinnamon rolls. While we waited we met many of the DISers we had been talking to on our cruise meets thread. We had pre-planned to all wear lime green so we would be easy to spot. We said hello and promised to meet at 3 by the Mickey pool.
Shortly after noon #4 was called and we passed through the giant yellow ears on our way to our dream vacation.

(I didn't take any pictures in the terminal. I'll have a few to add from now on.)

Next Up: Chocolate, Chocolate, and more Chocolate, what more could 4 women want? (post #13)

[jrose529]

Great report so far! I can't wait for more.

[Lindy Loo]

MJ, hello....................... lovin your trip report!!! :thumbsup2

You are too kind about Elouise, it was you guys who so made our cruise. you were the BEST!

I'm so grateful for the DIS, for the tips, and for the chance of meeting you and having such wonderful table mates. :dance3:

I will do a trip report soon, but I love the details, you remember ( the Cinnamon rolls at the terminal etc!!)..........................guess you keeping a journal paid off?

Cant wait to read the next chapter! :)

[curlybop]

Chocolate? Chocolate you say? I'm all ears. :rotfl:

[Sue88]

More report please! :love:

[MJ5MOUSE]

Chocolate, Chocolate, and more Chocolate:

Of coarse after reading the DIS for all of these many months I had long anticipated the moment you are announced as you board. It did not work out nearly so well as I had hoped. For those of you who do not know this, the CM who announces your arrival asks your family name as you board then makes the welcome announcement. Since the 4 of us all had different last names we did not know how to answer so he asked our individual first names, but we had to go over these several times before he got them right and by that time the thrill had passed. So if you are looking forward to being announced but have a difficult name situation here is my suggestion; Decide how you would like to be announced in advance and be prepared to relay it. If the name(s) are difficult have them written down and ready to pass to the announcer. I have since heard of people who are traveling with people with different last names coming up with other creative ways of being announced. Perhaps, give yourselves a travel group name.
We were directed to Parrot Cay for lunch. We were told that if we wanted to sit outside we could try Beach Blanket Buffet but Sue thought PC was a nicer way to start out. I had seen fewer pictures of PC and it had been newly renovated during dry-dock and I have to say I loved the look of it. The colors are so bright and inviting but still elegant. It was also much larger than I had anticipated. The food was excellent in my opinion. I had salmon with a tomato salsa, yellow rice and fresh steamed vegetables. I love colorful food. But as I hinted at previously, true to my natural womanly instincts my favorite color food in brown as in deep rich decadent chocolate. I was ready to hit the dessert buffet. As I stood eyeing the luscious array http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i19/mj5mouse/Disney%20Cruise/IMG_0152.jpg
a woman standing beside me say’s “Oh, I am trying to stay away from the chocolate.” to which I respond, “ Not me-I am focusing on the chocolate”. I then selected a large slice of double fudge chocolate cake. I sat down and began to savor said gooey richness when the server comes up to me and says, “You need ice cream on that” Whoa, what was I thinking, he was so totally right! I quickly returned to the ice cream station where a CM asks if I would like chocolate or strawberry with that? Hmmmmm, betcha can guess my answer. http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i19/mj5mouse/Disney%20Cruise/IMG_0153.jpg
Full and happy we decided to take a look around the ship. We visited the Oceaneers club and imagined Elouise playing there. We passed above the atrium and clapped for the arriving passengers. We ran into Dopey who loved my DD’s lime green scarf that matched his shirt. http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i19/mj5mouse/Disney%20Cruise/IMG_0155.jpg
And we checked out those comfy chairs on deck 4. It was nearly 1 so we decided to see if our room was ready. We took the aft stairs to deck 7 then followed the corridor forward to 7014. When we reached mid ship we found that the ropes were still up suggesting that the rooms were not yet open but since we were already on the wrong side we proceeded on. Our room was by the forward elevators just where the corridor jogs so it was very easy to locate. Our luggage had not yet arrived but the room was prepared. We entered and my DD found a welcome note from our cabin host, Kim. DD left him a message in return thanking him and put each of our names on it. We were thirsty and DD decided she was ready for her first ice cream treat so we proceeded to deck 9. Free soda and ice cream any time YES! This was definitely a Disney plus. We found Elouise and her parents at the Goofy pool. The Mickey pool was not open yet on this day, which probably disappointed parents of young children. Then we headed up to Aloft so the girls could check it out. The CM there was Jen and she was very nice and filled the girls in on all the details of when to meet to sign up for “Gotcha” an elimination game the teens play. She also told us there were a surprising number of older teens (16 and 17 year olds) cruising with us this week. The girls liked the rooms décor and said they would be back that evening.

Next up: DISers meet at the Mickey Pool.(Post 17)

[Sue88]

Great reporting! :thumbsup2

[CastleCreations]

Hi I love your trip report. Can't wait to read more!!
Lis

[saratogagirl]

great report and piccies Jane, I feel like I may have been there with you LOL ....
Can't wait to read more, you keeping that journal has certainly paid off ...

[MJ5MOUSE]

DISers meet at the Mickey pool:

We returned to our cabin to see if our luggage had arrived. It just had and Kim introduced himself and asked us if we had everything. I had brought gift bags for the DIS meet and was hoping to get them in time. I unpacked the bags and gave Sue, Janet, and Alie theirs. They all enjoyed getting something special. I gave the girls markers and small photo albums, I told them they could have characters sign the pages then they could slip the photos they take in behind the signatures. (Yup, got that idea from the DIS) I also got them highlighters for marking the navigators, sticky notes to leave messages in the room, and a cute little necklace of a fairy with a vial of pixie dust.
When we arrived at the Mickey pool it had finally opened and they were just getting the new toddler area up and running. I took a couple of photos to post here for those anxious to see it. http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i19/mj5mouse/Disney%20Cruise/IMG_0175.jpg
Elouise was zipping down the Mickey slide, which is pretty cool as she is only 4.
I am sort of a take charge type so when we had agreed to meet with our fellow DISers I kind of took it upon myself to be the point of contact. I had kept a full list of everyone on our cruise meets thread that wanted to meet and had kept the info up to date on our thread. So I designated myself our DIS-ORGANIZER. I found this title hilarious, my DD not so much. Oh well no accounting for sense of humor. Around 3:10 my DD spotted Ian and Jules (Saratogagirl) the only ones of our tablemates we had not yet met. (11 of us had linked our dinner ressies from our meet thread) As everyone gathered, Belinda (tinknanny) Linda, Wayne, and Elouise (Lindy Loo) Jen and Mike with their DDs Nicole and Kylie (Mdavison) and newlyweds Jake and Kelly (Sparkelly) we all hugged :grouphug: and shared our travel stories and were just so very glad to finally be there together on the Wonder, by the Mickey pool, sharing our adventure. Making friends on the DIS before we actually sailed not only kept us excited and sane as we waited for our sail date all those long months, it also made the experience on board all the more special. It was like traveling with old friends. Thanks to each of you for making this trip so special. I gave each of my new “old” friends a bottle of Orange Blossom Honey that is produced and bottled by a neighbor of mine in Malabar Florida. (Those bees probably pollinate the citrus trees in my very own yard) and a lime green drink koozy that I had decorated with the DCL Mickey ears. I also had a special gift bag for Elouise similar to the ones I gave my girls.
At 3:30 they closed the pool to encourage everyone to return to their cabins for the Safety drill. http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i19/mj5mouse/Disney%20Cruise/IMG_0177.jpg
We reluctantly went our separate ways looking forward to meeting up again at Sail-a-way, the shows, and dinner at Tritons.

Up next: Why is my skirt 2 decks above where I am?(Post 24)

[Sue88]

love the pictures.
Can't wait to hear about you skirt! :rotfl:

[Stinasmom]

Oh, I'm signing on to this one!
My DH acts like he's dragged along when it comes to Disney...I can see me taking a friend or my mom and my DD and a friend of hers on DCL when she's older!
Thank you for sharing so far, looking forward to the rest! :dance3:
Marcy

[tch121]

Thanks for the pics of the toddler pool - I've been dying to see what they've done. My 2 year old will be thrilled for our 11/12 cruise! princess:

[Stinasmom]

The new "toddler" play area near the Mickey pool was really a great idea...
The area before was just this:
http://i43.photobucket.com/albums/e369/stinasmom/DCP_1017.jpg
Lounge chairs that were often shaded and you couldn't see your kids in the pool from there. Way to go DCL! :thumbsup2 Now they need to make the same change on the Magic!

[MJ5MOUSE]

Thanks for posting the befpore picture. Since this was my first cruise I did not know what it was like before but I can see now that this was a big improvement. The other side of the pool was much more crowded as you said you can not see the kids in the pool from this side. But now it is a perfect shady spot for the little ones and the tables beyond it will get more use from observing toddler parents. Good Job DCL :thumbsup2

[Lindy Loo]

loving the report!!
Promise to start mine this week! Honest :)


The improvements to the pool area, is very very good, compaired to what it was like ( though of course we never saw it like that)
Has the Magic got the "new" bit by the pool ? Hope so Elouise loved playing witht the little kids in there.

Sure we can find a picture or two of her Zipping down the slide :lmao:

[MJ5MOUSE]

Why is my skirt on a different deck than I am?

After returning our life vests to our room, we decided to attend the sail-a-way on deck 10. I called my DH just as we were casting off to say goodbye and tell him of our excitement thus far. He and I are booked on a Mariner cruise for this coming April so I took several shots of her as we passed. Boy is she HUGE.
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I purchased a sail-a-way drink (Strawberry Pina-Colada) I think it was 6.95 and it was very good. Then I joined my sister and the girls at the very front of the ship and watched as we past Jetty Park and left the port behind.
http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i19/mj5mouse/Disney%20Cruise/IMG_0184.jpg
We decided it was time to get ready for tonight’s show. This was the one thing that I was disappointed in by being the first cruise after dry dock. Since we had 4 women in our cabin I knew that showering and dressing would take a lot of time. I had read on the DIS about the nice showers outside of the spa area. I had thought this would be a great solution. I had packed a small duffle bag with my toiletries and a comfortable change of clothes thinking I could use the public shower, primp and blow-dry my hair there and then go back to the cabin to change freeing up space and shower time for the others in my cabin. Well the spa area and gym renovations were not completed in time for this cruise so this option was not available to me. Only a portion of the spa was open and they setup a single weight bench station on deck 10 in place of the gym. A slight disappointment but I did not hear anyone complain too much. I think that most spa options were available and face it the gym is not the major draw to the Disney cruise. I suppose I can use it as a good excuse though. I absolutely would not have gained 4 pounds on this cruise if the gym had been open. I would have worked off every bite of that double chocolate fudge cake (and ice cream). :lmao:
Dinner tonight was at Triton’s. I had carefully selected my attire for each evening and even though it was not dress up night I was planning to wear one of my dressier outfits. It is a navy blue pantsuit with long sheer panels that drape from my waist to the floor making it look like a long formal skirt. The solid blue top has a swirly pattern that reminded me of the ocean. Perfect for Triton’s I thought. As I descend the staircase toward the Walt Disney Theater the long panels of my skirt cascade down the steps behind me. My sis comments that my skirt is still on deck 7 as we approach deck 5 and my DD laughs so hard she nearly falls down the stairs.
http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i19/mj5mouse/Disney%20Cruise/IMG_0186.jpg
As I said before, no accounting for her sense of humor. Actually the two of them, Dsis and DD, love to make me the butt of their jokes. I am still kidded about the time I nearly choked on my soup when Sis was telling a story about a wrestler named Hugh Morris and DD remarked, “That’s funny” (That one still cracks me up). So for the rest of the cruise anytime someone in our party made a mistake their excuse would be, “At least my clothes are on the same deck as I am”.
http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i19/mj5mouse/Disney%20Cruise/IMG_0187.jpg
(me and my skirt on deck 4)
The show was ventriloquist Michael Harrison. It was a little corny but cute. The little kids in the audience roared with laughter.

Next up: DISers dine together at Triton’s (post #27)

[Sue88]

I am still laughing! :rotfl:

I'm sorry that we laugh at you. It is because we love you! :teeth:

[GavinsMom]

I'm loving your trip report!

I can't wait to read more! I hope to meet some great DISers on my Cruise just like you.

[MJ5MOUSE]

Thanks GavinsMom like my DD's shirt said at sail-a-way. The DIS Rocks :thumbsup2

Here is the next installment it is really long. :blush:

DISers Dine together at Triton’s

On the way to dinner we spotted Captain Jack Sparrow and had a couple of photos taken.
http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i19/mj5mouse/Disney%20Cruise/IMG_0188.jpg
I also took one by the statue of Arial at the restaurant entrance. It is a lovely statue.
http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i19/mj5mouse/Disney%20Cruise/IMG_0192.jpg
Jeff, our head server showed us to table 2 where we met our head server Vijay and our assistant server Renato. My Dsis was feeling a little motion sickness by this time and decided that she would not be able to enjoy the meal so she asked me to give Elouise and our tablemates the gifts she had brought (Disney stickers for Ellie and Wizard of OZ magnets for everyone-she is from Kansas) I ordered a bottle of Shiraz (one of my favorites) that Renato offered to keep on hand for me so that I could enjoy a glass or two each evening. I decided to try the chilled Vichyssoise. I normally would not order a cold soup but felt that this was a good time to try new things. I thought that it was delightful. My DD and DDBFF decided to try escargot, which they both loved. For my main coarse I had the Sautéed Scallops and Mushrooms and since I knew that I would not be dinning at Palo on any evening I wanted to try the Grand Mariner Soufflé. As my new UK friends would say, it was brilliant.

I also want to mention that the menus for each restaurant were just as cute as could be. Triton’s has a picture of Ariel from the beautiful mosaic that is the focal point of the restaurant. I had read on the DIS that you are not supposed to keep the menus but that you might get away with accidentally loosing one by dropping it under the table. Linda decided to test this theory. When Vijay came by to take our dessert order she asked him what would happen if she misplaced her menu among some of the other things she was carrying that evening he implied that he might forget to collect it from her. I quickly misplaced mine too. This is the only evening that we were so careless but I would have loved to have an AP menu also.

My DD only weeks away from her 18th birthday was not thrilled with being given a children’s menu and crayons each evening. But DDBFF enjoyed the wait staff nicknaming her Princess Snow White and giggled at having her steak cut up for her. My DD is somewhat of a picky eater but she is willing to try new things. Her biggest difficulty dinning out is deciding what to order. Often I need to help her decide, and on the Wonder many of the vegetarian selections looked like something I thought she would enjoy. (She is not vegetarian but does not eat a lot of meat) On this evening I recommended that she try the Rigatoni Pasta and she said that it was a good choice.

One of the really nice things about linking our dinner reservations with fellow DISers was that on this first evening our dinner conversation was lively and friendly. We did not have to spend the whole evening with “Where did you say you are from?” and “What was your husbands name again?” We not only knew where everyone was from and what their names were we knew where they had spent the previous night, or week. Whether or not they had cruised before and what they were most looking forward to on this cruise. We bumped into one another at various times throughout the cruise but we each did our own thing with our families during the day. Dinnertime was for getting together. In fact no one from our table went to Palo any of the four evenings, we didn’t want to miss our time together. Some of the DISer’s we were not linked with had our same rotation and would stop by our table each evening to say Hi. :wave: Belinda, Jen, and Mike, we enjoyed seeing you and are so glad you made the effort. Too bad we could not have had a table for 18.

On this first night we celebrated Jake and Kelly’s marriage, and my DD and her BFF’s 18th birthdays. Cake was brought out, and songs were sung. Jeff the head server joined us for the festivities.
http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i19/mj5mouse/Disney%20Cruise/IMG_0196.jpg
http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i19/mj5mouse/Disney%20Cruise/IMG_0199.jpg
On the negative side I have to say that the service was not as spectacular as I had expected from reading the DIS. Other than ensuring that my glass was always full from my $56.00 bottle of wine, the wait staff never picked up on our regular choices, coffee after dinner for me, soft drink choices for the others, and continued to give my DD crayons and a children’s menu every evening when it was apparent that she did not want them. They did not encourage us to order more. Never brought out anything not ordered (and missed a few that were). Each evening our table and the one beside us that had the same servers were the very last to leave. Vijay tried to be friendly and would spend some time telling us about the evening entertainment available and tomorrow’s port of call, I would have preferred a more focused table service, I can read my Navigator for the rest.

I was not ready for the evening to end so I went to Wavebands. They were playing Match-Your-Mate on stage. The younger couple won the game on this evening and when the proverbial question, “Where is the most unusual place you have experienced the “magic”?” was asked they both answered “not yet” Awwww. I ordered a peach margarita, which was excellent, and only $5.95 and I saw Jake and Kelly enter on the far side of the room and snuggle up in a corner booth as the ‘70s dance party began. I could have stayed and partied awhile but was feeling a little lonely sitting by myself so after a few men from the audience that had been selected to play The Village People sang YMCA. (too funny) I returned to my cabin. My Dsis was feeling better so we talked a bit about the evening. The girls returned a bit later from Aloft, and filled us in on the rules for “Gotcha”. Then we all went to sleep, our first night of wonder concluded.
Here is our first towel animal
http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i19/mj5mouse/Disney%20Cruise/IMG_0185.jpg

Next up: How do we get to Paradise?(post#33)

[mruhaak]

Enjoying your report! Thanks for the photos! They add a lot!

[Sue88]

Could you go on more cruises so that you could keep writing reports and posting pics!!?? It's very entertaining! :wizard:

[MJ5MOUSE]

Could you go on more cruises so that you could keep writing reports and posting pics!!?? It's very entertaining! :wizard:

Happy to oblige ::yes::

Somehow you remind me of my DD :rotfl:

[Lindy Loo]

Jane your trippie is amazing, im reading to Elouise like a book !!!

Ive started mine, but will inform all readers of mine to check out yours, as its soooo much more detailed !!

Hey, I love the way you kindly explained the way we "borrowed" the menu !! :rotfl2:

[TinkNanny]

I'm sorry you had a not so magical experience with your servers. I really liked mine. Most nights we would order dessert and he would bring us what he thought we should have ordered. He refused to let us leave without tasting the triple chocolate cake ( I thought he would shove it in if I didn't :teeth: - I'm glad he did, it was yummy.

[MJ5MOUSE]

How do we get to Paradise? :confused3

I awoke early the next morning and went out on deck to catch this beautiful sunrise.
http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i19/mj5mouse/Disney%20Cruise/IMG_0201.jpg
Then walked around the nearly empty ship and snapped a few more photos.
http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i19/mj5mouse/Disney%20Cruise/IMG_0204.jpg
I walked all the way around deck 4, just as I was finishing my walk I ran into a CM who was getting together a group to jog deck 4. He asked if I would like to join them but I declined. (Darn there goes my excuse for gaining those 4 extra pounds)

I returned to the cabin to encourage everyone to get up and start our exciting day. Sleepy teenage girls who stay out until 2am are not that quick the next morning and I was impatient. Also Dsis who had not eaten the night before was hungry so Dsis went to breakfast and I took a few photos of us pulling into Nassau while the girls got ready. Finally we joined Dsis at BBB where she had gotten us a seat right on the aft rail. We had a beautiful view of the ship pulling in (backwards) in Nassau.
http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i19/mj5mouse/Disney%20Cruise/IMG_0210.jpg
I had been looking forward to the lovely Mickey Waffles I had heard so much about on the Dis and I was not disappointed. Breakfast was hot delicious and plentiful.

Finding your way off of the ship was not so easy. My tip. Do not assume that you know a better way than the CM’s. Not all decks are open to passengers from stem to stern. So when CM’s tell you that you must take deck two forward to get to deck one, listen.

Once off the ship, finding our way to Paradise Island also proved challenging. We had read on the Dis that it is easy and inexpensive to take a cab. But how to get one? Shortly after we disembarked a man asked us if we needed a cab to PI we said yes and he said, “Okay, wait over here” and he kept asking others. Oh-oh I had read a TR about someone getting rooked by being told to wait and then being led away to a hot bus packed with people and no ride until the bus is full. We said no thanks and went on. We pass through a port building and on the other side there is a row of about 30 cabs waiting. We approach one of the front cabs and ask the driver to take us to PI. He says, “Well I don’t know, that is a long way and gas is very expensive” We say never mind. We begin to worry that we will not find a cab so easily. Then a tall thin man approaches us and says, “You need a cab?” We cautiously say “Yes, to Paradise Island, Atlantis” He says $4.00 each and leads us to his cab midway through the sea of 30. Yeah! I give him $20.00 for the 4 of us. Atlantis was beautiful. We spent most of the day there touring the grounds and the aquarium called “The Digs” Between the four of us we took about a million photos. I will only post a few of my favorites here.
http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i19/mj5mouse/Disney%20Cruise/IMG_0214.jpg
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By about 2 pm we were getting hungry and wanted to get back into town to do some shopping and I wanted to have some authentic Bahamian Conch salad so we took a cab back to Senior Frogs assuming that it would be in a nice touristy area. It was, and in easy view of the ship too. We bought a few souvenirs (T-shirts for me, Sue and Alie each got a necklace made from Bahamian coins.) I asked about conch salad but the vendors in the area did not know of anyplace nearby that sold it. The girls wanted to swim a bit before the evening show so we decided to go back to the ship and pick up some free lunch on board.

We had lunch by the family pool. I had chicken fingers and French fries. The girls decided not to swim after all (They were afraid of being killed by fellow “Gotcha” players so they had to stay in “safe zones” like the elevators and Aloft.) I wanted to try the adult pool but the water was freezing so I lounged in the hot tub instead. It was nice to relax a bit after all of the walking we had done that morning.

Up Next: Hercules and Animators Palate (Post#39)

[Sue88]

Very nice photos! You are doing such a nice job! Very enjoyable lunch time reading! :cloud9:

[Keggy]

Thank you for your trip so far! Sounds like you all had a "Wonder"ful time!

Kelly

[GavinsMom]

Can I ask where the girls bought their necklaces made from Bahamian coins?

At the Straw Market?

Sounds like something I'd really like.
Thanks~
Amy

[MickeyMacks]

In the photo with the girl sitting in the round aquarium window, what is she actually sitting on, part of the clear window? It looks like she's levitating! Nice pic of her, very pretty girl.

[MJ5MOUSE]

GavinsMom, Sorry I don't remember the name of the Jewler. Maybe my sister will remember. But it wasn't the straw market. It was In the window of one of the jewlry shops one the main street just opposite the pier. You could probably just make on from a coin by having a small hole drilled in it just as easily.

MickeyMacks, This spot was so cool we took about twenty photos in there. There is a large round window but the glass in the back is not flat but concave, like half of a bubble. You could sit way back in it. We tried all different ways to capture the shot and that one came out pretty cool.

Here is one of the girls laying back in the window
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[MJ5MOUSE]

Hercules and Animators Palate

I had really been looking forward to seeing Hercules. Dsis had told me how funny it was when she saw it on the Magic and it really sounded great. I have seen a lot of controversy over this on the Dis. Some love it some hate it. I unfortunately, was not in the first group. I did not hate it. The Muse’s were spectacular. But the punch line deliveries were weak. I am not sure if it was the show or if it was just because I was exhausted but I could barely keep my eyes open. I am sure that I actually dozed off once or twice. I did think that the young Hercules was adorable. :love: He had such a sweet enthusiastic “Disney” quality about him. I tried taking a few photos but they were not coming out very good so I gave up and just watched the shows from then on.

After the show we ran into Chip and Dale. Chip had a little crush on Alie and kept giving her kisses.
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And we saw our tablemates Linda and Elouise with Mickey.
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I had also really looked forward to Animator Palate. In order to match this evening’s themed Black and White restaurant, I was wearing a black skirt and a black tank top with a sheer white blouse. The black and white room looked really cool. The white plastic chairs where not the most comfortable, they felt a little sticky and hot.

As usual it was wonderful to see everyone at this evening’s dinner table. Elouise received more gifts, including adorable Welsh dragon slippers from Jules. Jules also brought dragon pins for Sue and I and a traditional Welsh spoon for Jake and Kelly. Linda gave all of the women pink canvas bags from England. (Alie and I love ours) And Elouise gave me a great big dark chocolate Bournville candy bar (I shared it with Alie, it was sweeter that American dark chocolate). Kelly gave us all some pirate tattoo’s that we could wear the following evening (I saved mine and my husband and I wore them to our annual Halloween party). Again, thank-you to each of you for making our time together so special. Unknown to my table mates, I also brought 2 bottles of red wine that I gave to Jeff, our head server and asked that he have them made into Sangria for our pirate night meal. He told me that there would be a corkage fee which I expected but had hoped that perhaps they would wave, oh well.

Our Table
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Jules and Ian with our servers Vijay and Renato
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Again too much anticipation may have spoiled some of the surprise. All of us knew that the room was supposed to change before our very eyes but it was less dramatic than we anticipated. For me I thought that the change would start out gradual like from the tips of the paintbrush columns and spread out uniformly until the whole room was bright with color. Instead I hardly noticed but it seemed more like something would change a color for a bit then go back to B&W. It may have been partly that our table was way over in the corner near the door, and it might have been that we were distracted by good food and good company, but it was not as impressive as I had hoped.

I have to say that Disney knows their beef. I ordered the Filet Minion and it was perfection. It came with a seafood stuffed pastry and vegetables, also good. I did not care for the Wild garlic Mushrooms appetizer. It was cold. The Peanut butter pie was superb and its presentation delightful.
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After dinner and the long day preceding it I was too tired to join the others at Wavebands so Sue and I went back to our cabin. We enjoyed a nice sisterly chat and drifted off to sleep. Alie and Janet went to Aloft as usual.

Our towel animal this evening was an elephant. He was wearing Janet’s sunglasses which delighted her. I thought he was the cutest one.
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Up Next: Carefree in the Caribbean, Castaway Cay(Post #45)

[lillygator]

how was the sangria? Is there a charge for that above the corkage fee? Do they just bring you out a pitcher to your table?

[Sue88]

Jules and Ian - The napkin hats looked great! :sunny:

Enjoyed the trip report update Jane! :banana:

[MickeyD]

Great trip report! I'm afraid I have spent most the time swatting my ds (17) from looking over my shoulder...he thinks your daughter's bf(?) the one in the black sleeveless dress is gorgeous! :) Ok, he thinks your daughter is cute too...I have been corrected! :rolleyes:

So, overall, did the girls enjoy the teen activities?

Lisa

[TinkNanny]

Hey MJ

Your room steward did a much better job on the towel animals than mine did.

I love all of your pictures!

[MJ5MOUSE]

MickeyD, Tell your DS Thanks, That is my DD in the black sleeveless. BFF is in white. And yes they are both adorable sweet girls.

The girls enjoyed Aloft but only really went in the evenings after dinner. Most of the time they hung out with us. I don't think they went to the teen beach at all. I think they both had a great time.

lillygator, Don't want to give away to much info out of turn so for the long answer keep reading. For the short answer- Okay, no, and yes.

[MJ5MOUSE]

Carefree in the Caribbean, Castaway Cay

I read many, many trip reports before I set sail on this Caribbean adventure, and every one of them expressed the enchantment and wonder of Disney’s private island. This time there would be no disappointment. If anything it was even better than I imagined.
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I awoke just as we were docking. From our porthole window I saw the CM’s tying us to the pier. Today I was not in a tremendous hurry. I had one plan and one plan only for today. Relax and enjoy. Soon they would be calling permission to go ashore and all aboard time was not until 7 that evening. I knew that I would have plenty of time to relax on Serenity Bay in between.

As usual the girls were not ready to get up so Sue and I went up to BBB for breakfast. We talked about that it would have been nice to try Triton’s for breakfast once but today was to beautiful of a day and we had Palo Brunch scheduled for our at sea day so it would not be. This is one of the many reasons that a four-day cruise is just too short.

We took up our location on the aft rail and enjoyed our Mickey waffles and sticky buns. I looked over the rail and saw Linda, Wayne and Elouise waiting outside the post office. They got an early start.
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After breakfast the girls were still in bed so I called GS to find out what I needed to do to give them sign in and out privileges while on CC. They told me to come get the forms from them then they had to be signed in front of security as we disembarked. We told the girls that we would be at Serenity Bay and we left them to their room service. (BTW teenage girls LOVE room service. They made sure to order everyday, usually Mickey bars.)

We stopped by the post office because we wanted to mail a few postcards but they did not sell postcards there so we decided to stop back on our way out and noted that they close at 5. Then we took two trams to Serenity Bay. (They conveniently make you get out and walk through the shopping area). We laughed at the fact that they continually tell you that the tram to Serenity Bay is for adults only and then they tell you to keep children seated to the inside. There were only a few other people traveling with us, and even fewer walking. (It is a long walk).

It was still early and Serenity Bay was not crowded. (In fact it never got crowded) But even so there where no hammocks left (not that I was counting on getting one) and we had to walk quite a long way down the beach to find a couple of free loungers under an umbrella. Boy did we feel sorry for the CM’s that were serving drinks they made that long trek time after time wearing long shorts, a button front shirts, and street shoes. They must be in excellent shape. It was really nice to have the umbrella to sit under and get a little break from the sun and the day was perfect. It was sunny and warm.

I was totally blown away by the beauty of Serenity Bay. The water was so crystal clear that you would swear that it was fresh water until you lick the spray from you lips. The ocean seemed to spread out in front of you and go on forever. (Sue wanted to pretend that we were stranded). The sand beneath was soft and rippled from the gentle waves. Little (and not so little) silver and yellow fish swam about. They did not seem to be afraid of people but they were very difficult to see unless you were wearing goggles because they blended with the sand and water so well.
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The girls caught up to us after about an hour and as we suspected they had no trouble joining us at Serenity Bay even though they were actually two weeks short of the required age. Sue and the girls went swimming and they found a very nice starfish and a sand dollar. Of coarse they took only pictures and left the lovely creatures where they belong for the next guest to enjoy. I had given the girls disposable water cameras in their gift bags on day one. Later I went for a swim and found the same treasures plus a few more. The water was cool but quite comfortable. I found myself wanting to swim there forever.

About 1 o’clock we made or way to back to the Castaway Air Bar for lunch. We decided that the main Buffet at Cookie’s was 1. Too far away from our lovely beach and, 2. Probably too crowded. We had looked around for Jules and Ian, and for Jake and Kelly, as we knew that they were all likely to spend the day at SB also. We finally located Jules and Ian at lunch. They had found themselves a nice spot on the beach right in front of the bar. Jake and Kelly managed to stay hidden, probably planned it that way being as though they were on their honeymoon and all. For lunch I chose the grilled Mahi sandwich and I thought it was excellent. We all made sure to have a chocolate chip cookie, also good. I wanted to try the soft serve but they were having trouble with the machine. It was freezing up. They managed to get it to work a little just before we returned to our beach loungers so I took a yummy strawberry cone to go.

The girls decided they’d had enough lounging. They were ready to shop. Sue and I remained steadfast in our enjoyment. We each took another long swim. At about 3:30 we reluctantly agreed that we should start to head back. Just then I saw a large shadow pass by in the water very near the shore. Some people wading near by screamed and ran for the shore. It was a sea ray swimming by. Alie told me later that someone had told her that Disney used to have a ray petting area but the hurricanes had allowed the rays to escape and now they just swim around the island looking for handouts.

We took the tram back to She Sells Sea Shells, I bought a shirt and we each bought some post cards to send. On our way back we took about 100 pictures of the POC ship, The Flying Dutchman. Then we stopped at the post office to mail our cards. After a perfect day on a perfect beach we returned to our ship.
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I know that there were many other things to do on CC and many parts of the island that we never even saw, but I do not regret any of it. This was the most relaxing, best day on the beach I have ever had and I would not have changed any of it.
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Up Next: The ship is taken over by Pirates! Arrrrrggggg.(Post #47)

[Sue88]

I am so glad that you enjoyed CC so much! The last time that I went swimming I also wanted to stay out there forever. :wizard:

[MJ5MOUSE]

The ship is taken over by Pirates! Arrrrrggggg.

Dsis decided not to attend the Golden Mickey’s with us this evening. She had seen the shows before and had been quite bored at Hercules. She wanted to spend some extra time becoming Pirate-y. Alie had brought 4 evening dresses and wanted to wear all of them so she decided to change into her pirate garb after the Golden Mickeys.
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Janet and I donned our pirate wear and off the 3 of us went. We found some great seats up front and saw Belinda (TinkNanny) and her family a few rows behind us. Elouise stood out as usual, seated near the center. She was dressed as the most adorable Captain Hook I have ever seen. Before the show begins an announcer interviews arriving guests from the red carpet outside the theater. There was some technical difficulty with the sound and they had to start over, then there is a popping noise from overhead and golden Mickey head confetti falls from above. I suspect that this is more technical difficulty and that the confetti was meant to fall later in the show but I grab a handful for my scrapbook anyway. They restart the interviews and…. Look, who is that beautiful Miss Hook being interviewed. It is our Elouise and the entire audience is mesmerized. They O-o-o-o-o and Ah-ah-ah over every word she uttered. A-D-O-R-A-B-L-E.
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I LOVED the Golden Mickeys. It was my favorite show. It begins almost exactly like Hercules; the same ditzy girl is playing the same ditzy character of a Behind-the-scene CM who is forced to take part in the show when an actor does not show up. As the show unfolds, all of the Disney classics, and new Disney favorites come to life. I recalled my Favorite Disney childhood moments and reminisced through the years of my children’s youth. I also am now desperate to see those few Disney productions I somehow missed. After the show we run into Cruise Director Christiaan and I tell him how much I loved the show and am enjoying the cruise. I think that Christian is cute and entertaining.
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We pick up Sue, who has really done an awesome job on her pirate costume. Alie changes into hers and we are off to find photo ops in the atrium.
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We have a picture taken with Pirate Minnie; she gave me a big kiss. Then we see Linda and Elouise inching toward the head of the line with Mickey, we also see Jake and Kelly in their Pirate gear so we round everyone up together for a tablemate’s photo with Mickey. Wish Jules and Ian had been there (I need to Photoshop them and Wayne in) but it is my favorite photo taken on board and one of only two that I purchased at Shutters.
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BTW we did ignore the postings at Shutters that said not to stack photos. Whenever we went by we would stack our photos behind the most recent ones and we waited until the last evening to make our purchases. We did find the prices to be rather ridiculous. They print all of those photos, refuse to change the sizes, and then charge so much they end up throwing most of them away. It seems that they could save a lot of money by offering them for view digitally, only printing what people want, and could therefore offer them at a more reasonable price. JMHO

We had all been looking forward to Pirate night. Dinner would be in AP again but this time with the pirate menu. I did enjoy that we all had Sangria to share but I was a bit disappointed in it overall. First they did charge me 2X the corkage fee because it was two separate bottles in order to have enough for everyone. Second, I had gotten the idea from a DIS TR and the poster had said that the Sangria was very good with lots of cherries and fruit. Ours had NO cherries, just bits of apple and orange zest. I did not taste any sprite in it either. I think they only added some juice so it was not very sweet or bubbly. Also when Renato served it he confused my tablemates when he did not explain that someone at the table provided it. He started trying to explain about the corkage fee and ended up making people think that it was $13.00 per glass-Yikes!
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Elouise had chocolate coins to share with everyone this evening. And I had brought her some special Pirate Booty, a plastic treasure chest with replica coins, a compass, and map that I had picked up during a recent trip to Key West, and a little POC Lego’s toy.
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I had read so many rave reviews of the cold Mango soup on the DIS but I had not seen it yet, so when I saw Honeydew/Mango soup on the menu I tried it. Yuck! Alie and I both hated it. Vijay offered her a second choice so she got the Vegetable Gumbo and shared it with me. It was very good. For dinner I had the Beef tenderloin, extraordinary as usual. I wanted to try the Banana Flambé for dessert but thought it would take too long since it was Pirate night so I had chocolate cake instead. Everyone except the four of us skipped dessert in favor of the Pirate Party. We were still the very last table to leave again. We had even asked our servers to try to get us out early this time. The head server, Jeff even came out to help speed things up by clearing some of the dinner plates. I told him that I often hear on the DIS that head servers don’t do anything. He was available to us every evening. He was the better part of our serving team IMHO.
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(our servers with Elouise and a friend)

Next we went to the Pirate party. I did not really mind being a little late as deck parties were not a major draw for me. We found a spot near the back that was not too crowded and I watched the girls enjoy the music. I could not really tell what was happening on stage but I did watch some of the character’s dancing on little side platforms.
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After the fireworks we checked out the buffet. It was very pretty but there was not really anything there that I was sorry to turn down. I preferred my nice sit down dinner in the dinning room. I did look for some carrot cake but found none.
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Bet you can’t guess what happened next. That is right. Sue and I went to bed and the girls… went to Aloft.

Up next: Day 4 and all that we could see, see, see, was the great blue sea, sea, sea.(Post#52)

[Jennifer48]

thanks for sharing your trip report! :thumbsup2 All your pictures came out awesome and I do agree with your idea about Shutters. Maybe we should start a petition?! :goodvibes

[Sue88]

:flower1: Excellent Reporting! :flower1:

[CastleCreations]

Hello...this has to be the best trippie that I've read. I can't wait to read more. Write slowly.... so we can savor the last part. LOL. We had Brent as our Cruise Director and he was the cat's meow.... :love: But you look rather smitten with Christian so I guess you didn't miss out. :banana:
Keep it coming....
Lisa

[MJ5MOUSE]

Hello...this has to be the best trippie that I've read. I can't wait to read more. Write slowly.... so we can savor the last part. LOL. We had Brent as our Cruise Director and he was the cat's meow.... :love: But you look rather smitten with Christian so I guess you didn't miss out. :banana:
Keep it coming....
Lisa

Thanks Lisa and yes Christiaan is a cutie. :rolleyes1

[MJ5MOUSE]

All that we could see, see, see, was the great blue sea, sea, sea.

The days were flying by so fast. It seems I never did really have time to explore the ship or check out many of the different things going on. I would have loved to see POC in the theater. The only club I went to was Wavebands on the first night. And here it was already our final day. I can’t imagine how quickly this trip must go by for those on the 3-day cruise.

We slept in and took our time getting ready this morning as we had 10:30 reservations for the Palo Brunch. I was really quite certain that taking our two 17 year olds just weeks before their birthdays would not be an issue. After all isn’t Disney all about making vacations magical and making dreams come true? I am not trying to say that I don’t think the rules should apply to me but from what I had read on the DIS I had heard so many stories of Disney ignoring ages in favor of what is appropriate. I assumed that the adult’s only restaurant is to ensure that there is an atmosphere of tranquility and fine dinning available to the adults on board. I do not believe that anyone dinning in Palo that morning would have been disturbed by or questioned the behavior of these two young ladies. But as you must have guessed by now, when we arrived the headwaiter noted the ages of our traveling companions on his computer and said that they absolutely would not be allowed to eat with us at Palo. Alie and I had at least discussed this possibility so even though I know she was quite disappointed she smiled and said enjoy your meal mom, Janet and I will order room service.

We were shown to a table for two with a spectacular view of the ocean and a monstrous blue deck-cleaning machine.
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We were among the first to be seated in Palo and others would arrive only a few at a time so that the restaurant never seemed full or crowded. Our tablemates Jules and Ian were seated not to far away and Jake and Kelly also dinned nearby that morning. I hope you all enjoyed your meals.

Our server, I don’t recall his name, brought us each a Mimosa, which I believe was a first for Dsis. I have had one on occasion and always enjoy it. Then he showed us around the buffet pointing out the selections that he thought to be most enjoyable.
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I know that this meal had already started off poorly due to my disappointment in not getting to share it with my DD (I had even brought each of the girls a special pin that I had bought them to remember the moment, I gave them to them later) and as always I was not in the least disappointed by the food, but once again the level of service did not impress me. Our server neglected us through most of our meal. We had to wait and wait between courses to make another selection. At one point he thought we were finished and we had not even been offered our main course yet. My sister’s and my meal were not brought out at the same time so one of us would have to wait while the other ate, and the pizza that we had ordered because we had heard such good things about Palo pizza took so long that we decided to take it to go. But personally my biggest complaint was his incessant rambling on about himself, his girlfriend, his years of experience, and his overall views of cruising and cruise lines. I felt like he was trying to sell me on the Disney experience. Truly I would not have left any additional tip at all except that when I had dessert the Tiramisu was so fabulous, and I knew that Janet who loves coffee flavored desserts would die over it, so I asked if we could take some back to the girls and he fixed them a very nice tray with several selections.
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When we got back to our cabin Alie was tired and a little cranky and trying to rest. Janet ate the pizza and Tiramisu and loved both. Now it was time to seek entertainment. We all went down to the atrium to see if we could find any characters. We just caught the Queen of Hearts getting ready to leave. We got a quick photo with Alie who was named for Alice in Wonderland.
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Next we went to see an ice carving demonstration. It was neat that they were showing it on the screen otherwise we would not have seen much from our seats on the deck. We had some coffee and soda and enjoyed the show. I think it took him about 20 minutes to complete.
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Then Alie and Janet went off to explore a bit and Sue and I went to the Galley tour. The tour was interesting and the special oatmeal cookies were nice. Sue liked the knife lockers. There were some very big sharp knives in them. It would have been cool to see those areas all busy preparing meals but then again one of the people touring with us was hacking and coughing the whole time. It was bad enough he was in there when food prep was not going on.

It was time to start packing and get ready for our last evening on board.

Up Next: And now its time to say good bye…(Post #55)

[Sue88]

Another lovely installment! You are a gifted trip report writer! :love:

[saratogagirl]

Hi Jane, looking forward to the next installment - where are you ??

[MJ5MOUSE]

Hi Jules :wave: I am Here.

Hope everyone out there in DIS land had a good Thanksgiving.

Here is the conclusion to my trip report.

And now its time to say good-bye…

The last show was Disney Dreams and Sue decided to join us again on this evening. I loved this show. The characters in it were awesome and so very believable. Especially Peter Pan who looked a very lot like the young Hercules ;) I had found so adorable a few nights before. After the show we had dinner at Parrot Cay, the final restaurant in our rotation. We were hightailing it back to the port at this time and we could feel a little more movement of the ship again. My DD was feeling a little queasy so I went to GS and got her some Dramamine. It seemed to work well as she was back to herself in no time. It was so very sad to be dinning for the last time together with our dear DIS friends and a few tears were shed. :sad1: I am not remembering a lot about the dinner on this night but I know that I enjoyed it. I did order two desserts; finally, I wanted to try the Lemon Meringue Pie and the Espresso Cake, then SURPRISE!! I also received a birthday cake. THREE Desserts Oh My! It was 1 week before my birthday but I really was not expecting this. I was truly surprised and I did really enjoy the surprise too. I do not usually get too big of a deal made over my birthday. Especially this year as we had a cold front hit Florida the following week and on my actual birthday I was feeling miserable with a cold. In fact I think all of us DISers ended up with post cruise let down colds. I think it must have been a typical case of PCDS (Post Cruise Depression Syndrome), which I believe is one of the most common syndromes known to medical science affecting nearly 99% of all cruisers. When we finished dessert, everyone promised to meet for breakfast back in PC the next morning, and then we rushed off to attend the Till We Met Again Character meet in the Atrium. It was a really good opportunity to get photos and signatures of your favorite characters.
Here is mine:
http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i19/mj5mouse/Disney%20Cruise/IMG_0404.jpg
I told Peter how great I thought he was in all of the characters he played. He said that he didn’t play any but maybe his friend did and he gave me a wink. ;)
Then the girls got their photo. Peter said they had to do a special pose because the girls had their very own pixie dust necklaces. He was very impressed.
http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i19/mj5mouse/Disney%20Cruise/IMG_0405.jpg
A few more photos and then we had to say good-bye.
http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i19/mj5mouse/Disney%20Cruise/IMG_0402.jpg
http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i19/mj5mouse/Disney%20Cruise/IMG_0403.jpg
http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i19/mj5mouse/Disney%20Cruise/IMG_0406.jpg
http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i19/mj5mouse/Disney%20Cruise/IMG_0407.jpg
Our last towel animal was (I think) a Pirate Dog.
http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i19/mj5mouse/Disney%20Cruise/IMG_0408.jpg
http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i19/mj5mouse/Disney%20Cruise/IMG_0409.jpg
When we awoke the next morning we were at home in Port Canaveral. Our dream vacation was about to conclude. While my travel companions got themselves up and ready I went out and spent a few last relaxing moments in the lounge chairs on deck 4.
Here is the very last photo I took on board the Wonder that morning.
http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i19/mj5mouse/Disney%20Cruise/IMG_0410.jpg
Then we went to breakfast. More tears were shed as we all hugged good-bye and promised to keep in touch. Then we disembarked, found a porter and gathered our luggage, and made our way back to our car. Yeah! We remembered to tip our porter and it was definitely money well spent. Those porters know how to get you out of there fast! I returned DDBFF to her dorm in Lakeland then Sue, DD and I spent a few hours in Downtown Disney until it was time to drop Sue off at the airport. While we were walking around DTD was the only time I felt at all sea sick. Beware sometimes it is only felt after the cruise. (Probably early signs of PCDS)

So ends my dream vacation. I hope that I get to cruise again soon. I hope you have enjoyed reading my adventure.

Love to you all; Linda, Wayne, Ellouise, Jules, Ian, Jake, Kelly, Belinda, Lindsey, Mike, Jennifer, Nicole, and Kylie. And especially Sue, Alie, and Janet! :grouphug: :love:

[Sue88]

Thanks for finishing! It was a wonderful report and it helped the post vacation letdown! It was really nice seeing everything thru your eyes.

I am so glad we went on this trip together. :love: :thanks:

[mruhaak]

Thanks! I enjoyed reading your report!

[Jennifer48]

I know I suffered a bad case of PCDS. :sad1:

Thanks for sharing your trip report. :thumbsup2 :goodvibes

[Ski-and-Sea]

Bravo.....loved reading this.

[Sue88]

this was a good report!:goodvibes

[mormadsmom]

:thumbsup2 I love it! Great TR!

[Sue88]

:cutie::lovestruc:wizard:

[sue_88]

Nice memories.