The “What Exit Are You From?” Trip Report – Magic 11/4/06 (NEW POST 12/10)

[jsfein]

Heyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy baby
Ooooooh
Aaaaaah
I wanna know-oooooooh
If you’ll be my girl.

Heyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy baby
Ooooooh
Aaaaaah
I wanna know-oooooooh
If you’ll be my girl.

I’ve been off the Magic now for 4 days and I’ve been singing, humming, and dreaming of this tune around the clock. When I returned home Saturday night, the first thing I did was find the song on the Internet (DJ Otzi for those interested), and ordered an import single copy of the song off of Amazon for $7.58 with shipping.

Shhh, don’t tell my wife that it wasn’t a 99¢ iTunes purchase. Wait a minute, she has no right to complain about a seven dollar song purchase when, back in the day before iTunes, she would routinely shell out $15 for a CD to get such classic singles as MC Hammer’s “Can’t Touch This” and Deep Blue Something’s “Breakfast at Tiffany’s.” Steve Jobs … you’re my hero, but I digress.

As this was my first cruise, this is my first cruise trip report. As you can see from the links in my signature to my WDW trip reports, it is my custom and habit to include a “Jersey” reference in my trip titles. “What Exit Are Your From?” is the first question a Jersey person asks another Jersey person when they first meet. Any other first question is socially unacceptable in the Garden State.

For those not in the know and for those who cruised the 11/4/06 Magic and didn’t leave your stateroom for a week, this was the Jersey Week sailing. 100% of the passengers and crewmembers were either from New Jersey or secretly wished they were from New Jersey. Really. Rachel Quinn, our Cruise Director a/k/a Julie from the Love Boat, included this fact among her other fascinating facts just prior to Disney Dreams, including the staggering amount of chicken and ice cream consumed on board. The one fact that she didn’t disclose, but I know for sure must be true, is that the amount of money spent by the passengers on this cruise easily exceeded the Gross National Product of most of the world’s developed nations. The amount my family alone spent must have exceeded the GNP of our ports of call.

We booked the trip 16 months prior to our sailing. At that time, we had made two visits to WDW in consecutive years (we’ve since made two more visits) and my wife was ready for something different. DCL was a no brainer. I don’t really recall how the next part happened, but we extended invitations to my mother-in-law, and my mom and step-dad to join us on the cruise. They all said yes and before we knew it we had 3 cabins booked. Our cruising group included:

Me (Jason): Disney planner extraordinaire. Still trying to work out my OCDisney tendencies.

DW (Karen): In one breath says “can’t we do something other than a Disney vacation,” and in the next breath says “let’s stay at Animal Kingdom Lodge on our next trip.” A Disney-aholic in denial.

DS 8 (Alex), DS 6 (Noah), DD 4 (Eva): WDW veterans and pin trading enthusiasts.

DMIL (Bobbie): Traveled with us to WDW four years ago and swore off ever doing it again.

DM (Cheryl – my Mom): Also traveled with us to WDW four years ago and also swore off ever doing it again.

DStepdad (Spanky – Cheryl’s husband). The antithesis of all things Disney. Greatest interests in life (aside from his grandchildren) is watching sporting events and betting on sporting events. Biggest concern was how was he going to survive the week without an on-board casino and no cell service to reach his bookie on our sea days. Also handicapped with limited mobility.

As this was a seven day cruise with much to retell, I don’t want to prolong the introduction. Leading up to the cruise, we were fairly certain that Spanky would change his mind and that we would be a group of 6 instead of 8. My Mom was convinced that the cruise would be too physically demanding on Spanky with his disability and from what I’m told nagged him pretty regularly that the cruise was not a good idea. As we approached our deadline to obtain a full refund, I gently reminded Spanky that the time to change his mind was upon us. To his credit, Spanky said he would be on the cruise no matter what and, true to his word, he was.

I should also mention that I will try to get as much content into this report and passed the censors as I can. The censors I refer to are not the DIS moderators, but are Karen and my Mom who know this report is coming, will be secretly reading the report without telling me, and have already warned me as to certain things they want me to leave out of the report. If the "censors" try to edit too much of this report, keep a look out for the "Director's Cut" under a pseudonym that will have some type of Jersey twist to it, like “Mickey Ears Soprano” or “Fuggedaboutit Mouse.”

[iwannabeminnie]

LOL.....keep going. I'm on the edge of my seat already!

[LITTLEKID58]

Yes please keep going....LOL :happytv: :happytv:

[Babs417]

Great start Im from exit 4 :thumbsup2 :sunny: ;) :goodvibes :) dont you just love being back :lmao:

[lindaso]

100% of the passengers and crewmembers were either from New Jersey or secretly wished they were from New Jersey.

Oh come now...don't you remember what Gary said? They call it Rutgers cause no one will go to New Jersey University!!

Great start to your trip report. I better stop reading and start writing. I just finished folding my 12th load of laundry. By the way, I also can't get the song out of my head (but I didn't go buy it now, did I??).

[tyedye]

Looking forward to reading another great trip report, thanks for writing. popcorn::

[jsfein]

Great start Im from exit 4 :thumbsup2 :sunny: ;) :goodvibes :)

I'm between 7A and 100 (GSP). Exit 4 is practically a suburb of Philadelphia. You can't say you're from NJ and be an Eagles fan. :teeth:

[jsfein]

Oh come now...don't you remember what Gary said? They call it Rutgers cause no one will go to New Jersey University!!

Manorville, Long Island?!? I grew up on Long Island and I know Manorville. They have the same camel today as I saw 30 years ago at the LI Game Farm. In fact, nothing at the LI Game Farm has changed in 30 years. And summer in the Hamptons simply doesn't compare to LBI down the shore. Billy Joel vs. The Boss. Ha!! Enough said.

Btw, I did catch your first entry of your trip report. I look forward to reading the rest.

[DisneyZell]

Not from Jersey, but keep it going! looks good!

[Ski-and-Sea]

Hey, with so many NJers onboard they should have shown the Rutgers-Louisville game on the Jumbotron (it was on ESPN).

How cool would that have been!!!!!!!

Hope you guys watched the game - even the Empire State Building was lit up in red that night.

Go Rutgers!!!!!

[allears]

And we consider this to be the best part of Jersey to be from! But love it all! We were just on board in Sept. but were pining away last week as we had a couple from church on the Jersey sailing and wished we were back there with them. Can't get enough Magic! We're really looking forward to your report!

[Bethipooh4]

Transplanted Exit 37 GSP Jersey girl here......

Love the report so far. Maybe I should cruise during Jersey week just to get reconnected with home. (and maybe someone would bring me some foods from home)

[mruhaak]

Never been anywhere near Jersey... but anxious for more...

[disneylover5]

Hey, with so many NJers onboard they should have shown the Rutgers-Louisville game on the Jumbotron (it was on ESPN).

How cool would that have been!!!!!!!

Hope you guys watched the game - even the Empire State Building was lit up in red that night.

Go Rutgers!!!!!

We are the few on board not from NJ. My husband and about 12 others from our group went to Diversions to watch the Rutgers game. Standing Room Only...can you believe it? We said the same thing about the Jumbotron.

My husband offered to pay one of his friends $20 to stand up and shout "Go Louisville" :lmao: :rotfl2: :rotfl:

He didn't do it......

[JERSEYGIRLINSI]

Exit 15E, :cool1: Jersey City, IMHO the best city in the world! I am in NY now...not by choice...it's where we have to live for compliance with my husbands career. Staten Island is no Jersey, but it works! Awesome start, with so much potential for anything to jump off! Can't wait! :thumbsup2

[cheysdad]

Jason

This should be a great trip report. I saw your stepdad everywhere on the ship. He had NO problem getting around.

Be nice to Long Island or I won't go to the ice cream store!!

Michael

[Lisa D]

You hooked me on your opening lines! Great memories of our May Magic Cruise!

Not from Jersey but close in Lehigh Valley area of PA. We have a friend in New Egypt (think its Exit 7B). Wish some of our new friends we made on the Magic were as close to us as NJ.

As, DH is a big Sopranos fan.

[Ski-and-Sea]

We are the few on board not from NJ. My husband and about 12 others from our group went to Diversions to watch the Rutgers game. Standing Room Only...can you believe it? We said the same thing about the Jumbotron.

My husband offered to pay one of his friends $20 to stand up and shout "Go Louisville" :lmao: :rotfl2: :rotfl:

He didn't do it......

$20 would not have put a dent in the funeral expenses. ;)

[Tracey1974]

:blush: Sorry- I saw the title and HAD to chip in. :blush:

Exit 10 off the Turnpike!

[Babs417]

JSfein thats right your ex.7 your not from NJ your from another state :thumbsup2 :sunny: ;) :goodvibes :) :rotfl:

[DawnA401]

Exit 3 here. So sorry we missed Jersey week!

[jsfein]

Jason

This should be a great trip report. I saw your stepdad everywhere on the ship. He had NO problem getting around.

Be nice to Long Island or I won't go to the ice cream store!!

Michael

Michael, it was a pleasure meeting you, Cathe and Cheyenne. You have a wonderful family. You mention that you saw my stepdad all over the ship. It seemed like you and I bumped into each other at least a couple of times a day as well.

Of course I'll be nice to LI ... I did grow up there. I just won't be nice to **Manorville**.

[lindaso]

Of course I'll be nice to LI ... I did grow up there. I just won't be nice to **Manorville**.

Hey no fair!! I can't help it if you have repressed childhood memories of the Game Farm. You have to admit that Gerry the Giraffe is cool :cool1:. Besides living in Manorville has its Jersey qualities. We like to tell Nassau Countiers that we live off Exit 70 of the LIE. They think it's a foreign country out here ;) .

And the hamptons thing?...nahh, we're not into the hamptons scene. "Those people" invade our King Kullen on Friday with their kick dogs in their shopping carts and roll their eyes as we park our minivan next to their Mercedes.

But don't even think about dissing Billy! That's just wrong.

[jsfein]

I like to refer to the two weeks leading up to a vacation as “The Race.” The Race includes everything from (i) rushing to attend to things at home (stopping the mail and newspaper, getting a dog sitter, cleaning the house, doing the laundry, notifying all the coaches and religious schools that you’ll be away, explaining to the teachers that your kid will be missing school in order to cruise with the Mouse, etc.); (ii) taking care of things at work (dumping as much as you can on junior people and pray that you don’t get sued for malpractice); and (iii) getting ready for the cruise that you’ve had 16 months to get ready for, but you’ve left everything for the last minute. I’ve never not finished The Race. Its usually a question of where you finish … at a leisurely pace days before you depart or like Carl Lewis hours before you leave for the airport. This trip found us at Mach Speed 5.

The two weeks leading up to the cruise were total insanity in the jsfein household. One week before we cruised, we hosted our Second Annual Halloween party in our home for 90 people. The preparation for the Halloween party left no time at all for us to prepare for the cruise, let alone even think about the cruise.

Of course, I insisted that we all dress as pirates for our party so that we could be appropriately dressed for Pirate’s Night (okay, so I was doing a little bit of cruise planning). My family pirates theme did not go over well with my boys who wanted Star Wars costumes, nor with my daughter who, of course, wanted to be a Disney princess (pretty much any one would do). A war of epic proportions unfolded at the costume store and was renewed on the day of the party when it was time to get into our garb. I thought that we looked pretty darn good and that we would be a tough act to match once on board. Stay tuned for some swash buckling pirates photos when the time comes in the report. (Including photos is usually not my trip report thing, but I will try do so in this report. **Applause from the crowd is welcome**)

Karen and I both had insane work weeks during the four days before we departed for FLA. I left the office on Thursday having no choice but to dump a major project on a junior colleague. I was out of time and had no choice, and it came to haunt me later in the cruise. This is called foreshadowing. My high school English teachers actually taught me something … go figure.

After leaving work on Thursday, the boys and I rushed to get haircuts and grabbed a nourishing meal at Taco Bell. Karen was out buying all of the last minute items (which were for us was pretty much everything as we hadn’t found time to do so earlier in the 16 months before the cruise). We got the kids in bed at 9:30 pm and had to start packing. Two hours later we had three large suitcases, a duffel bag, a backpack, and a carry-on bag packed to the gills.

At 11:30 pm I announced that we needed to work on our door signs. Karen looked at me like I was off my rocker. I explained that all the DIS-ers do door signs and that I would be ostracized by the DIS community if our cabin doors were not appropriately decorated. As can be attested by my most recent WDW trip report, I am artistically challenged. See here (http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1225313&page=4&pp=15) (scroll down to post 49). As you will shortly see (another photo alert), our door signs may not have been the most artistic, original or technologically advanced, but they served their purpose and I actually received a few (ok, 2) compliments from other passengers.

Four hours of sleep later, we were packing the car, kids and Bobbie into the minivan. We had so much luggage, that I had to first load the boys and Bobbie in the third row, and then load Eva and suitcases into the second row. Just as I put the car in reverse to back out of the driveway, Alex announced he needed to go to the bathroom. Just as I was about to tell him he would need to hold it for two hours until we got to the airport, Karen had him climb over all of the second row bags and “water” a bush.

With bladders empty, we were off to JFK. Not the closest airport to my central NJ home, but my best fare and a convenient airport for my Mom and Spanky who we were flying with us. We left our home at 6:30 am for a 9:45 am flight. Seemed like plenty of time, but The Race was on. Just as I entered the airport property at 8:20 am, Spanky called my cell to advise that they just arrived at the gate, that the security lines were long, and he mentioned something about a shuttle. We still had an hour and twenty-five minutes until our flight was to depart and I thought I was doing okay with time.

I dropped off the family and luggage with a Jet Blue sky cap and headed to Avistar, an off-site airport parking facility. Even with my GPS, I got lost on my way to Avistar. I finally found the Avistar lot and checked in my car. Just as I walked out to get on a shuttle bus, one was leaving. I glanced at my watch … 50 minutes until departure. What seemed like an eternity later (about 15 minutes), I was on a shuttle bus back to the airport. Karen and the kids had by now arrived at the gate and she called to check where I was. She also mentioned the long security line and something about a shuttle. I had entered panic mode and didn’t really pay attention to what she was saying. I kept glancing at my watch and the Avistar driver. While it is out of character for me to ask someone to go out of their way to do me a favor, I pleaded with the driver to make Jet Blue his first stop as I was running late. He may have been going to Jet Blue first even if I didn’t ask, but thinking that he had done me a favor I tipped him $5 even though I was carrying no bags.

35 minutes to departure and The Race was kicking my behind. By this time, missing the flight was becoming a real possibility. I was ready to call Karen and tell her to fly down without me and that I would catch the next flight. I was already figuring out that I would need to get a hold of a second rental car when I arrived hours later in Orlando.

When I got on the security line, I mentioned my flight situation to a security employee who wasn’t the least bit concerned. I was hoping for Fastpass treatment, but was directed to the end of the security line. When the woman in the security line in front of me set off the alarm because she hadn’t removed all of her jewelry I was ready to explode. She then couldn’t get the clasp of her bracelet undone and her husband, who had already passed through security, had to return to help her. If security procedures hadn’t prohibited the carrying of sharp objects, I would have cut the bracelet off her wrist myself.

I made it through security with 15 minutes until departure. I couldn’t find the gate. I looked all over and was finally directed by an airport employee to take the shuttle. Oh, the shuttle that Spanky and Karen had told me about. A woman next to me was running with her 4 year old daughter and was struggling with two large carry-ons. It didn’t take us long to realize that we were trying to make the same flight. I grabbed one of her carry-ons and the three of us started running to the shuttle. The shuttle turned out to be a bus that took us all of about 50 feet from one terminal to another terminal. Gotta love JFK. I was one of the last people on the plane, but all that mattered was that I had finished The Race.

[DisneyZell]

Of course, I insisted that we all dress as pirates for our party so that we could be appropriately dressed for Pirate’s Night (okay, so I was doing a little bit of cruise planning). My family pirates theme did not go over well with my boys who wanted Star Wars costumes, nor with my daughter who, of course, wanted to be a Disney princess (pretty much any one would do). A war of epic proportions unfolded at the costume store and was renewed on the day of the party when it was time to get into our garb. I thought that we looked pretty darn good and that we would be a tough act to match once on board. Stay tuned for some swash buckling pirates photos when the time comes in the report. (Including photos is usually not my trip report thing, but I will try do so in this report. **Applause from the crowd is welcome**)

Another great installment...why, oh why do we all have the same issues? I loved the costume thing and can imagine the epic battles...were there lightsabers involved?

And the airport...gotta love that...isn't it interesting that they say men don't really listen...hmmm I don't know where they get that!!! :rotfl2:

[Bethipooh4]

**Applause from the crowd is welcome**)

:cheer2: :cheer2: :cheer2: :dance3:

[pklein09]

I'm subscribing...and I need to start writing my own.....

--Michelle

[jsfein]

You most certainly do, Michelle. Our group may not have pulled off the DIS meet, but we'll make up for it with trip reports.

[ldeninge]

JSFEIN - love your start! can't wait to read the rest!
I want to hear about the pirate party... pirate:

[Johnna_Story]

Transplanted jerseygirl here - exit 165 off the Parkway. Great trip report - can't wait for the rest. Don't know if I could have convinced DH to travel during Jersey week (he's a Red Sox fan), but maybe next year...

**Applause from the crowd is welcome**

:Pinkbounc :banana: :cheer2:

[FormrCastMbr]

Originally from 16E off the turnpike...SEEEE caucus!!!

I have to read your report later but just had to chime in what exit I'm at!!!

[jsfein]

Please tell me that my sons are not alone in this world in being completely unable to handle the 8 minutes they were without their Nintendo DS gaming systems when the use of electronic devices was prohibited during take-off. This was the first, but certainly not the last time their DS whining nearly pushed me over the edge on this vacation.

Not more than 20 minutes into the flight I began to hear:

“I’m thirsty. Will they be bringing water soon?”

“Will they be serving snacks?”

“I may need to go to the bathroom soon. Will you go with me?”

“Why did the television go out? When is it going to come back on? How do I change channels? Why don’t I have any sound? What station are you watching?”

“How long before we’re going to land?”

I’m sure all of you with kids have also heard these questions a million times. However, not one of these questions were uttered by my 8, 6 or 4 year old. Instead, each one of those questions came from Spanky, my 64 year old fourth child on this trip. I love the man, but boy can he be a pain in the you know what (and he knows it).

I had scored the row of 3 seats with my boys and avoided the “Seats of Death” around my daughter, Eva. When you sit next to Eva on a plane, you must be prepared to apologize profusely to the person sitting in front of her whose chair she will kick repeatedly (we usually give this person our snacks as a peace offering and sometimes money too), the inevitable rendition of the entire cast recording of High School Musical performed out-of-tune at the top of her lungs when she listens to the iPod, and her constant shifting, moving, and climbing in her seat and on to you.

After arriving at MCO, I wheeled Spanky to baggage where we found a porter whose day we were about to make and I left the gang behind to retrieve the luggage while I rented some wheels. The Budget rental line was immense. One of these days I’ve got to get myself enrolled in one of these car rental company programs where I just walk to the lot, pick a car, and drive off. It looks so easy on the commercials. 40 minutes later I completed the rental and met the gang by the Budget cars. I think our porter made out with a $30 tip – a pretty good grab if I may say so.

How do you transport 8 people with 12 suitcases/bags from MCO to Cape Canaveral?? A 12 passenger van, of course. I retrieved the van, pulled it to the curb and opened the back doors. Uhhhh, where is all this luggage going to fit? There was room for just 3 pieces of luggage in the rear of the van. I started squeezing bags under seats, piled other bags on top of seats and kids, and somehow managed to make the luggage and all of us fit. One more person or suitcase and I would have had to have tied them/it to the roof.

Driving the 12 passenger van, I felt like I should have put on a chauffeur’s hat and displayed a sign, “Driver Accepts Gratuities.”

It was nearly 2 pm, we hadn’t eaten lunch, and everyone was hungry. Newbies like us didn’t know that there was literally nowhere to stop between MCO and Cape Canaveral to grab a bite to eat. Before we found somewhere to eat, we first came upon our hotel, Marriott Residence Inn. My family of 5 plus Bobbie had a 2 bedroom suite, and my Mom and Spanky had a 1 bedroom handicap accessible suite. The 2 bedroom suite was huge and offered us plenty of room. I highly recommend the Residence Inn.

We ended up eating lunch at Wendy’s where, on November 3rd, they were already playing Christmas music. What’s up with that? The Halloween decorations were still up at our home.

After lunch, I dropped Spanky and my Mom back at the Residence Inn and the rest of us took off to run some errands and see a little of Cape Canaveral. The weather pretty much sucked … over cast, very windy, and drizzling. The weather for our sail away did not look promising.

My first stop was at The Perfect Gift to visit Shirley. I had ordered gift baskets for each of the kids and the grandparents. Shirley had generously offered to lend me a discount card for Ron Jon. The Residence Inn gave me a discount card at check-in so the need to stop by The Perfect Gift wasn’t necessary, but I really wanted to meet Shirley. Karen told Bobbie and the kids that I wanted to say hello to one of my “scary” Internet friends (she made it sound like a “To Catch a Predator” episode). Shirley is as advertised. The sweetest, nicest person you’ll ever want to meet. She gave Karen and I big hugs, showed us the already made baskets, introduced us to Norm (“Hi Norm”), and gave us more Key West brochures than we could hold. I’m so glad that we stopped by.

Next stop – a case and one-half of water at Publix for our rolling cooler. Turned out not to be enough water for the 8 of us. Sorry, but no beer, wine, Jack Daniels, margarita mix, or other alcoholic beverages made it into our rolling cooler. While I enjoy a trip report of drunken adventure aboard a vessel at sea as much as the next DIS-er, this trip report will, sadly, not include any intoxicated episodes. Those stories will have to await a future trip report when we cruise without the kids … oh what a glorious day that will be.

Next stop, Ron Jon, where we picked up t-shirts and souvenirs. I picked up a really cool t-shirt depicting classic muscle cars. I had the most interesting conversation with a crewmember, Winston from South Africa in the adult gift ship on the Magic about my t-shirt and his family’s very impressive car collection. If you are a car enthusiast, you must seek out Winston. You will be blown away by his knowledge and collection.

Despite the pretty favorable reviews on DIS, our meal at Grills was lackluster. It was a fun, casual atmosphere, but the food, at least for us, didn’t come close to an average fish house on the Jersey Shore (yes, I’m a snob). I did, however, get the following photo at Grills which is one of my favorites from the trip.

http://i101.photobucket.com/albums/m43/jsfein/DCL%202006/-6.jpg

Upon returning to the Residence Inn, my mother-in-law Bobbie called her boyfriend of 6 months. I was in and out of the room over the course of the next hour and she was still talking to the BF each time I returned. I couldn’t help myself and started singing, “Bobbie and Donald sitting in a tree ….” I didn’t get to finish my song as I had to dodge the pillows Karen starting throwing my way.

In the meantime, my Mom and Spanky were getting a great start to their vacation with the kids. Eva had decided that she was bunking with my Mom for the night.

http://i101.photobucket.com/albums/m43/jsfein/DCL%202006/-15.jpg

Spanky and the boys were engaged in a cut-throat game of Uno.

http://i101.photobucket.com/albums/m43/jsfein/DCL%202006/-14.jpg

With the complimentary microwave popcorn and Kool-Aid, the kids and grandparents had their own party underway.

A few DIS-ers had planned a pre-cruise meet at the Residence Inn pool. The weather, however, was not too cooperative and the pool was virtually empty save for a few swimmers. I told Karen that I was going to look for "my friends." I'm never the one with any friends, its always Karen who has the friends, so I reveled in the fact that I "knew" people we'd be cruising with. I walked by the pool and once through the lobby, but didn’t find any DIS-ers (or at least didn’t find anyone who was a flaming DIS-er with a lime green Mickey paint chip affixed to their person). Although the pre-meet was a bust for me (as I read love2travel’s report, however, I see that the gang all found each other without me), I figured that I would meet up with some DIS-ers at the planned meet before the sail away the next day.

Exhausted, we were all in bed by 9:30 pm. We were a mere 12 or so hours away from arriving at the Disney Cruise Terminal … sweet.

[Suzy Mouse]

Looks as if your ENglish teachers taught you a lot more than foreshadowing! You are an incredible writer!!

BTW...did Karen ever tell you I approached her asking about you at Castaway Cay?

[lindaso]

While I enjoy a trip report of drunken adventure aboard a vessel at sea as much as the next DIS-er, this trip report will, sadly, not include any intoxicated episodes. Those stories will have to await a future trip report when we cruise without the kids … oh what a glorious day that will be.

I second that sentiment :drinking1 party: :drinking1

[ESN]

Just don't want to miss any of this..Thanks!

[jsfein]

Looks as if your ENglish teachers taught you a lot more than foreshadowing! You are an incredible writer!!

BTW...did Karen ever tell you I approached her asking about you at Castaway Cay?

Thanks for the kind words. I've started to read your report and I'm intrigued by the "Family of the Week" title. I'm looking forward to the rest.

Karen mentioned to me that you "found" each other at the High School Musical Dance Party and that later in the cruise you somehow connected me as jsfein ... but I'm not sure how you made the connection. I'm sorry we didn't get a chance to meet while we were on board.

[mmouse37]

Your family was next to our ours one day for lunch by the Mickey pool....I remember Spanky from the photos you posted...we spoke with him about NJ for a bit....

We are actually from NY (Rockland County) but only live 1/2 mile from the Bergen border and my hubby is Port Authority Police on the GWB so I think I qualify as an honoary New Jersian for all intents and purposes!!!

Love the report!!! We also spent the night at the Residence Inn and loved it!!! Thought the rooms (also the 2 bedroom suites) were great....we had 20 people and many rooms and cabins so I did not have much time to meet any Disers!!!

[Suzy Mouse]

Thanks for the kind words. I've started to read your report and I'm intrigued by the "Family of the Week" title. I'm looking forward to the rest.

Karen mentioned to me that you "found" each other at the High School Musical Dance Party and that later in the cruise you somehow connected me as jsfein ... but I'm not sure how you made the connection. I'm sorry we didn't get a chance to meet while we were on board.

I was hanging out with love2travel and Cheysdad at the beach when I saw Karen in the water. I was telling them about "the small world" story with her and Sara and they told me that it was your wife. I quickly went over to her to confirm this news because you were one of the people I wanted to find on the trip. I asked her if she went on the Dis. Well, I'm sure you could picture the look on her face. :rolleyes2 (the same look my dh would give!)

[LITTLEKID58]

Waiting for the rest of the report.... :cool1: :cool1:

[jsfein]

Think I was a little excited to “get this party started?” By 8:30 am on Saturday, we had showered, ate breakfast, repacked and fueled the van. I was going stir crazy waiting to take the 5 minute drive to the cruise terminal. I paced our suite (where Bobbie was back on her cell with her BF … ugh), Spanky’s suite (where Spanky was watching cartoons with the kids), and the Residence Inn lobby and pool area (still no sign of any DIS-ers; not that I would have known what any of them looked like). I hadn’t done that much pacing for the birth of all three kids combined.

At 9:30 am I declared, “we’re leaving.” We arrived at the terminal 5 minutes later. Seeing the Magic for the first time had us all pretty psyched, even Spanky. We all chuckled at “Goofy’s aft.”

Every time I uttered “aft” during the week the kids proclaimed, “Daddy said a curse word. Daddy said a curse word.” Yes, they have my warped sense of humor. (A little foreshadowing to give you an idea as to my sense of humor … I think I was the only person on the cruise who actually enjoyed Rhys Thomas’ cabaret/juggling act).

I made an effort to learn some sea terminology on this trip, but my knowledge only went so far as forward, midship and aft. I still have no idea what port and starboard mean, but I heard those terms used a few times. My dear wife, on the other hand, deliberately irked me all week in refusing to use the correct sea terms. For her, forward was front, midship was middle, and aft was back. Verandas (not that we had one) were porches and patios. I simply can’t take her anywhere.

As I attempted to drop the gang at the cruise terminal, I was rebuked by the security guy that I was 25 minutes early, so we parked in the lot across the street and returned at 10 am sharp. After depositing everyone and all the luggage at the terminal, I drove to Budget to return the van.

Relinquishing control of my folder of critical cruise documents so that the gang could do our check-in was extremely difficult, almost bordering on painful. I had a substantial emotional attachment to the folder and I just wasn’t ready to let go. I believe the experience of letting go of “folder” was analogous to when my wife had to reluctantly hand over our newborn children to the delivery room nurse so that they could be weighed.

Whereas when we visit WDW our new family member “backpack” is with us at all times (in the stroller, my companion on the rides, etc.), on the cruise my companion was “folder.” Here’s a photo of me and folder relaxing by the Mickey Pool:

http://i101.photobucket.com/albums/m43/jsfein/DCL%202006/-9.jpg

After dropping off the van at Budget, I became the scary Internet stalker. Let me explain.

In the check-in line at Budget, I struck up a conversation with a man who was also returning a car and taking the shuttle back to the Disney Cruise Terminal. I learned that he was from Washington State. I vaguely recalled that there was a DIS-er who posted on our cruise thread from Washington. What were the chances that more than one family was cruising from Washington? I asked if he or his wife were on DIS. He had no idea what I was talking about and took a couple of steps away from me.

But then I struck gold. After the man from Washington and I boarded the shuttle, two other dads boarded. They too were returning to the Magic. A few minutes into the conversation, I learned that the dads were from Long Island, spent the night at the Residence Inn and one of them had three kids. I "knew" a mom DIS-er from our cruise thread who fit that exact profile.

“Your wife wouldn’t happen to be Linda, would it?” As I made this inquiry, the guy from Washington again moved further away from me.

Clearly unsure whether he should confirm his wife’s identity and probably not wanting to be rude, he stammered out a “Yeah.” This turned out to be lindaso’s husband. Linda, if you’re reading along, ask Chuck whether he thought, at least for a moment, that you had an Internet stalker. I hadn’t met an actual DIS-er, but I had met the next best thing – a DIS-er spouse. It was like finding a Hidden Mickey.

Us Dads got along pretty well on the Budget shuttle and when we arrived at the cruise terminal joked that we should leave the families in the Disney Cruise Terminal and all head over to the Carnival ship for a real week of rest and relaxation. (Except Chuck, he said no such thing. He couldn’t stop talking about how much he missed his wife and kids for the 15 minutes they were apart.)

And then I took my first steps into the Disney Cruise Terminal.

[lindaso]

“Your wife wouldn’t happen to be Linda, would it?” As I made this inquiry, the guy from Washington again moved further away from me.

Clearly unsure whether he should confirm his wife’s identity and probably not wanting to be rude, he stammered out a “Yeah.” This turned out to be lindaso’s husband. Linda, if you’re reading along, ask Chuck whether he thought, at least for a moment, that you had an Internet stalker. I hadn’t met an actual DIS-er, but I had met the next best thing – a DIS-er spouse. It was like finding a Hidden Mickey.

OMG, I can picture the exact look on his face! His answer is YES to the internet stalker.

Us Dads got along pretty well on the Budget shuttle and when we arrived at the cruise terminal joked that we should all head over to the Carnival ship for a real week of rest and relaxation. (Except Chuck, he said no such thing. He couldn’t stop talking about how much he missed his wife and kids for the 15 minutes they were apart.)

Of course I don't believe you but I know that he never would have suggested getting on the Carnival ship...he didn't want to get on any ship!

Another wonderful installment. Can't wait to hear the rest.

[jsfein]

As I rose the escalators and the second floor of the cruise terminal came into view, the scene looked like complete pandemonium. There were long snaking lines to my left where passengers were presumably checking in, people were camped out all along the right side of the terminal on seats and on the ground, and kids were zipping around everywhere.

Within moments I spotted Spanky cruising around on the electric cart vehicle (the scooter) I had rented for him for the cruise. It was a relief to see that the scooter had arrived as promised (thank you Brevard Medical Equipment). Without it, Spanky would not have survived the week.

I found Karen and the kids hanging out on the ground with coloring books and playing cards, and the grandmas were resting in chairs. Everything appeared to be under control and I promptly retook possession of folder.

Me to Karen, “Are we all checked in?”

Karen to me, “Yes.”

Me to Karen, “Any problems.”

Karen to me, “No.”

Me to Karen, “Did you already take photos of the kids in the cruise terminal?”

Karen to me, “No.”

Me to Karen, “Then why are you sitting around playing cards?”

Karen to me, THE LOOK followed by A FLIPPING OF THE BIRD.

Before that escalated any further, the kids were complaining they were hungry so I walked on over to the snack bar. As I approached the snack bar, I observed two lines. One huge line with lots of moms and kids, and one very short line. Whew, the short line was for the snack bar. Wonder what the long line was for?

I ordered my waters and snacks and handed the cashier a $20. (For those keeping score, both gentleman working the snack bar were from NJ.) “We don’t take cash, sir. Do you have your Key To The World card?” No cash? My what?

Like most DIS-ers, I am an obsessive planner. However, I am only obsessive about the details that interest me. If I’m not interested in a particular subject, I skip it. Key To The World cards was a subject I must have skipped when I did my cruise research.

“Have you checked in sir? Do you have your card?”

I left the snack bar line to find Karen. First, I gave her THE LOOK and asked if she happened to receive a card with my name on it when she checked us in. A few moments later, with card in hand, I had made my first charge to my KTTW account. Yippee!!

Me to Karen, “When you checked in, did you find out what that long line is for next to the snack bar?”

Karen to me, “No.”

Me to Karen, “When were you planning on doing so?”

Karen to me, THE LOOK followed by TWO BIRDS. Our cruise was off to a MAGICal start.

We walked on over and chatted up a nice woman in a yellow shirt. For other first timers out there like us, yellow shirt crewmembers = youth activity team counselors. I explained that we had preregistered the kids on-line. She instructed that we still needed to check the kids in so that they could receive their bracelets. Another detail I didn’t know about and must have overlooked.

While we were waiting on this line, dads were handing moms and kids KTTW holders that they were purchasing at the snack bar. I thought to myself that I needed to get a hold of one of those. Even though every pair of shorts and bathing suits I had brought with me had pockets, I would look so uncool if I didn’t have a KTTW holder.

What I didn’t know at the time, but came to find out later in the cruise, is that there is a caste system to KTTW holders. Your type of KTTW holder indicates how important you are.

At the bottom of the caste system are first time cruisers (like me) who actually purchase (as opposed to receive for free) a KTTW holder at the cruise terminal snack bar. This KTTW holder is a basic, non-descript lanyard with the DCL logo stitched in. I saw lots of people wearing these KTTW holders on the first couple days of the cruise, but as they realized that these KTTW holders pegged you at the bottom of the caste, they were displayed less and less frequently as the week progressed.

The middle of the caste system are DVC owners who have a special DVC KTTW holder.

At the top of the caste system are Castaway Cay members. These elitists have KTTW lanyards whose straps are twice as thick as the lanyard I bought at the snack shop. Castaway Cay members proudly displayed their lanyards for the entire week and are probably still wearing their lanyards today, a week after the cruise ended.

The kids club locator bracelet was a problem. Eva did not want to wear it. It itched, it hurt, it was too big, it was ugly. She was miserable. I really couldn’t blame her. I wouldn’t want that clunky thing around my wrist 24/7 for the next week. I’m surprised that something less burdensome is not available.

We still needed photos and Mickey had arrived. I tried to get the kids psyched for a Mickey photo, but had no takers. So I got in line by myself. Just as it became my turn, Karen corralled the kids and we got our photo. It turned out to be a pretty good one, despite their sour attitudes at the moment.

http://i101.photobucket.com/albums/m43/jsfein/DCL%202006/Scan3.jpg

At 11:45 am boarding began. I was extremely agitated to get on board as quickly as I could to get the Palo reservations that I was shut out from at 2 am on my 75th day before we cruised (thanks a lot Castaway Cay members). Spanky and my mom were let on with the concierge guests due to his disability. I instructed them to meet us at Topsiders.

The layout of the ship was another detail I had skipped during my cruise planning. Maps and diagrams are not my thing. I'm more of a see and feel kind of person. Though I told Spanky and my mom to meet us at Topsiders, I couldn’t tell them where it was because I didn’t know.

We were in Boarding Group 3. Here’s our embarkation photo.

http://i101.photobucket.com/albums/m43/jsfein/DCL%202006/Scan5.jpg

Don’t we look happy?

Another small detail I missed is the way your name is announced when you board the ship. I didn’t realize that I would first whisper my name to a crewmember who would then repeat it over the microphone. I may has well just taken the microphone and done it myself. But we were applauded and treated like royalty and it was nice.

And then they appeared. Crewmembers with pins. It didn’t take long at all. This provided the perfect opportunity for an escape. I left Karen, Bobbie and the pin trading kids and shot over to Rockin’ Bar D to take care of my Palo reservations and to change my dining rotation to APL … no problem at all.

I found the gang sitting outside of Topsiders enjoying lunch. Boy, the food looked good, but I couldn’t eat yet. The boys wanted burgers and tacos and Spanky wanted a hot dog. Off to Pluto’s. I finally made it to the Topsiders line and who do I bump into but Chuck and Linda. I noticed that Chuck made sure that Linda was as far from me as possible. For the first few days of the cruise, they were the family that I saw everywhere. Perhaps it was Linda stalking me and not the other way around?

After lunch I dropped Spanky off at the kids club … er, I mean Diversions. This was his home for the first two days of the cruise. Saturday for the Breeder’s Cup and College Football and Sunday for the NFL. If you were in Diversions on Saturday or Sunday, then you definitely met Spanky.

I returned to find the kids in the Mickey pool ears. The boys were kind of big to be in the ears, but Karen wouldn’t let them out of the ears because she had observed a kid whip off his bathing suit and pee in the main pool. Nice.

We then visited our staterooms. My family and Bobbie had connecting rooms on Deck 6, and Spanky and my mom had a handicap accessible room on Deck 6. The kids went nuts when they saw their baskets from The Perfect Gift. Can you blame them?

http://i101.photobucket.com/albums/m43/jsfein/DCL%202006/-7.jpg

The card, of course, was signed by Mickey. My 6 year old, Noah, commented that he’ll definitely thank Mickey for the basket when he sees him.

The cabin struck us as very small on this first visit, but as the week progressed we realized that we had plenty of room in the cabin. Spanky’s handicap accessible cabin was huge.

We explored the Oceaneer Club and Lab and all three kids seemed very interested – a good sign.

Returned to unpack, take a brief rest, and do the boat drill. The kids were so miserable in their life preservers that I did not get a chance to take the obligatory photo. Maybe I can Photoshop my kids faces into someone else’s life preserver photo.

Will finish up Day 1 a little later ... have to work a little

[DisneyZell]

Karen to me, THE LOOK followed by A FLIPPING OF THE BIRD.

See, I KNEW others had gotten the LOOK.

I returned to find the kids in the Mickey pool ears. The boys were kind of big to be in the ears, but Karen wouldn’t let them out of the ears because she had observed a kid whip off his bathing suit and pee in the main pool. Nice.

OH MY! I can picture that...scary what goes on in those pools. Did you note the nice cloudiness it takes on after a afternoon of kids??? :lmao:

Will finish up Day 1 a little later ... have to work a little


your kidding, right? work is NO excuse!

just kidding. nice job so far. Keep it going! pirate:

[lindaso]

I returned to find the kids in the Mickey pool ears. The boys were kind of big to be in the ears, but Karen wouldn’t let them out of the ears because she had observed a kid whip off his bathing suit and pee in the main pool. Nice.

Oh great...I don't think I saw that particular kid and my kids were definitely in that pool. Come to think of it, I kept telling Kevin to keep the water out of his mouth ewwww :eek:. I did see the kid who ripped off his street clothes and tried to go in the pool naked. Took his mother forever to notice. I was talking to Nancy (nlmcbride) at the time and we just stared at him for the longest time, conversation stopped.

Didn't see him pee though so it must have been a different kid.

[jsfein]

Having some technical difficulties with posting photos. Will try to enlarge the ones that have already been posted.

[Suzy Mouse]

Awesome job!! :thumbsup2 Keep em comin!

[PrincessFAN2006]

We are from exit 7a!! Excellent report so far. We did not make the dismeet at goofy pool either. Can't wait to hear rest of your story

Kim

[Suzy Mouse]

Hey Kim....we're at 8a! Sorry to miss you at the meet.

We are from exit 7a!! Excellent report so far. We did not make the dismeet at goofy pool either. Can't wait to hear rest of your story

Kim

[jsfein]

I omitted from my last installment the following episode which became our family catch phrase for the cruise. After lunch, Spanky, my Mom and I were sitting at a table by the Mickey pool when Donald Duck and his handler happened by. As I’ve explained, Spanky is the antithesis of all things Disney. As kids were racing towards Donald for hugs and autographs and parents were chasing behind with their cameras, Spanky yelled out, “Shoot The Duck.”

I don’t know what Spanky meant by “Shoot the Duck” and it made absolutely no sense. However, those words had an immediate impact on Donald and his handler. Donald did a double take and the handler said to Donald, “Let’s move away from that man.”

I was mortified. We hadn’t been on the boat for two hours and Spanky had offended a character. I had anticipated that over the course of seven days Spanky would offend plenty of people (that’s just his nature), but Donald Duck?

Had Spanky’s words somehow breached the contract we were required to sign in order to board the Magic? Had he violated some Disney code of ethics? Could we be kicked off the ship for “Shoot The Duck”?

Spanky was so pleased with the reaction his remark caused Donald and his handler that “Shoot The __________” became his and eventually the rest of the family’s catch phrase for the cruise. Just fill in the blank and we probably uttered the phrase at some point during the cruise.

“Shoot The Mouse.”

“Shoot The Cruise Director.” (Spanky didn’t like Rachel Quinn too much)

“Shoot the Dwarf.”

You get the idea.

I mentioned earlier that we designed our cabin doors at the eleventh hour. This is how one of them turned out.

http://i101.photobucket.com/albums/m43/jsfein/DCL%202006/-5.jpg

I was surprised by the relatively small number of doors that were decorated around the ship. I presumed that every decorated door belonged to a DIS-er.

At the sail away party, Noah and Eva were tired and miserable. This photo pretty much captured their mood.

http://i101.photobucket.com/albums/m43/jsfein/DCL%202006/-8.jpg

Their enthusiasm for the Pirate’s Party was pretty much the same, but I’m getting ahead of myself. Our oldest, Alex, on the other hand, was a different story. Alex is generally quiet, reserved and shy. Not on this cruise, however. He was way into every dance party starting off with the sail away. He got his groove on and danced up a storm. At least I was getting my money’s worth with one of my kids.

I suddenly remembered a DIS tip I had read to make a hair braiding appointment during the sail away. Lo and behold, there was the hair brading station with a short line.

While in the hair braiding line I unexpectedly met another DIS-er, Michael (cheysdad). Michael and I were in line without our wives and sweating bullets as we unknowingly needed to let the hair braider know what type of braiding we wanted for our daughters. Neither Michael nor I were qualified to make such a decision. Thankfully for both of us, our wives happened by just before it was our turn in line. After this chance encounter, I saw Michael and his family all over the ship.

Speaking of which, I was amazed by the number of the same people and faces that I repeatedly saw throughout the cruise. It seemed like there was a small group of people that must have been following the same “touring strategy” as us. Did anyone else keep bumping into the couple who wore their Phillies baseball caps everywhere around the ship? They were like my shadow.

Our first dinner was at Animator’s Palette. Our server was Stipe from Croatia and our assistant server was Putu from Bali. From the moment we met Putu, we knew that we were going to have a fun week with him. We weren’t as certain about Stipe. At first he seemed more “serious” than Putu, but that didn’t last long. They were both great.

By the second day of the cruise, we felt like Stipe and Putu were part of our extended family. I was amazed how much a “part” of the cruise they had become for us. (Our room steward, Kenneth from Trinidad, was also excellent but he didn’t become a “part” of the cruise in the same way our servers did.) We talked about them during the day and looked forward to seeing them in the evening. We learned quite a bit about their lives on the Magic, their experiences working for DCL, and their lives at home. Our servers truly complemented our cruise experience and I was extremely thankful for this.

Here’s a shot of Spanky, Stipe and Putu.

http://i101.photobucket.com/albums/m43/jsfein/DCL%202006/-10.jpg

I didn’t record what everyone ate for dinner each night so you are all saved from the minutia of those gastronomical details. My overall impression of the three rotation restaurants was that on most nights there was a standout course, but that we didn’t have any one meal where each course (appetizer, entrée, and dessert) all stood out. Palo, of course, proved to be an exception to this rule.

The ship was rocking pretty good during dinner. Of course, the boys needed a bathroom break in the middle of dinner (this was a nightly occurrence). In the bathroom I had to explain to them what the barf bags were for. It was like we were on Mission Space.

Following dinner, we attended Mickey Trivia. Alex and I were selected as the fourth and final team – the Green Goofy’s. Boy, did we ever scream, yell, dance and act crazy to get selected. I didn’t know it at the time, but reading DIS reports following the cruise, two of the other three teams were also DIS-ers. We finished in second place, but I think we would have won if we didn’t get hit with trivia questions from Alice in Wonderland, Snow White and Bambi. We were the only team without a female member and suffered for it.

For whatever the reason, it seemed like DCL decided to unveil new talent on us Jersey cruisers. Maybe its because people from NJ are such good judges of character? The very first performer we were presented at the All Aboard Show, magician Jay Mattioli, was premiering on DCL. The guy needs to refine his act. Dude, do you think you can pull off a trick without a bird or lighting a match?

Comedian Gary DeLena rocked the house with his Jersey based set with many references to Point Pleasant, New Jersey and the surrounding area. This happens to be in the vicinity of where I live, so we were hooting and hollering with each local reference.

The long day coupled with the pretty good rocking of the ship led to us sending the kids to bed following the All Aboard Show. My mother-in-law, Bobbie, who was rooming with the boys, decided this was a good time to freak out that Noah, who was to sleep on the top bunk, was certainly going to fall to his demise. Can you say its time for a Z-O-L-O-F-T break.

There was still so much ship to explore, so Karen and I snuck out as everyone went to bed. Rockin’ Bar D was dead. Walked around Deck 10 a bit. We dropped off our pillow cases at Guest Services (made a mistake with the pillow cases to be discussed in a later installment).

By 11 pm we were somehow still awake and, amazingly, hungry. Room Service!! An All Hands On Deck Cheese Platter (based on the rave reviews I’ve seen for the cheese platter, I’ve got to imagine that DCL has cut back on the cheese platter or we received a crappy rendition), fruit bowl and cookies later we were satiated and ready for bed. Turned out to be the first and last time we ordered Room Service.

I don’t know whether it was the rocking of the ship, the excitement of finally being on board, or the cheese, but I barely slept.

[grumpydude]

Exit 2-1/2 here.

Great Report. Seems like lots of the same things happpened to us during our cruise this past August. I would have loved to have gone NJ week but DW is a teacher and is supposed to be at the Convention in AC during that week. Schools won't let teachers take any time off before the convention...you pretty much have to be dead to get time off. And even that is not a sure thing :)

Your Spanky is the reason I would never, ever take an extended family vacation. Everyone outside of my immediate family (wife and son) drive me nuts. And sometimes the wife and son drive me nuts. I could not imagine being on vacation with my in-laws and / or my mom. You should win a prize for that.

GD

[DisneyZell]

Great installment, as usual! you do have a way of making us feel like we are there...Shoot the Duck!

I love it! keep it coming. :thumbsup2

[cheysdad]

Jason

Your last installment has me cracking up.

When I met you on the hair braiding line I had no idea I had to actually pick out the braid style. What makes it worse is that Cathe had just finished telling me what Cheyenne wanted....I immediately forget. Thank God we were rescued!

The couple with the Phillies cap were everywhere and you are right the cheese platter it wasn't anything to talk about.

Michael

[jsfein]

Now that I have all the trip background out of the way, this trip report is going to pick up steam. Hang on tight as I have squeezed a full day into one installment. Well, it was Key West day. How much could really happen on Key West day?!?

http://i101.photobucket.com/albums/m43/jsfein/DCL%202006/.jpg

Has anyone had the nerve to defy the warning to close the toilet lid before flushing? If so, please let me know what happened. I didn’t have the guts to chance a geyser in our bathroom.

Our first morning on the ship and it takes a Herculean effort to get the girls out the door to their 8 am character breakfast. The boys and I take the “been there done that at WDW” attitude and skip it. Karen had purchased a new princess costume for Eva a day or so before our trip and, of course, forgot to dress her in it for the character breakfast. The costume didn’t see the light of day all week. Another expense absorbed into the ever expanding cruise balance sheet.

The boys and I met up with Spanky and my Mom for breakfast at Topsiders. The boys were in hash brown heaven – they tried to out eat each other but both teetered out at 3 hash browns apiece. Mmmmmm, fried potato goodness.

When Spanky saw the boys’ hash browns and my made-to-order omelet and realized that he had missed these items, he had a near break down, despite his overflowing plate of eggs, bacon, sausage, bagel, cream cheese, lox, fruit, etc. Spanky has major food envy. Normally I need to escape Eva’s whining. This morning, I needed to escape Spanky’s whining and I made off with the boys to the Goofy pool as he reloaded for Topsiders Round 2.

While the boys swam, the girls returned from the character breakfast with a “thumbs down” review. I can’t vouch for their report as I wasn’t there, but they said that the character interaction was brief and the service extremely slow. No regrets that I missed that one.

Eva then had her hair braiding appointment. The hair braiders must have been trained at Guantanamo Bay as the braiding process was absolute torture to Eva. In the end, her hair looked really cool, but was it worth the tears that were shed? It is so much easier being a guy.

As the ship approached Key West, the boys, my Mom and I staked out a spot on Deck 10 to watch. This impromptu 10 minutes was one of my favorite memories of the trip. The moment was nothing more than just sitting there with my Mom (who I don’t spend enough time with) and listening to the boys who were completely intrigued by the clear water, passing land, docking process, etc. I don’t have a photo or any video of this time, but it is firmly etched in my memory and I hope it remains so for a long time to come.

Karen and I had a “disagreement” concerning the kids and Key West. Karen wanted all of us to explore Key West. My feeling was that the kids would have more fun on the ship than going to a second rate aquarium or butterfly conservatory or taking a trolly to the Southern Most Point (no disrespect intended to those who enjoy these places). Of course, I prevailed but not without a struggle.

In a blink of the eye, Karen and the moms had left to do Key West, leaving me with the four kids (yes, that includes Spanky). Time to get the kids in the clubs for the first time. Alex into the Lab, Noah and Eva into the Club, and Spanky to Diversions.

By 1:30 pm, I was all alone. Weird. I hadn’t planned for this and didn’t know what to do with myself. I almost pulled one of the kids out of the clubs to keep me company. I ended up in Diversions with Spanky to watch the Giants and have a couple of beers.

While I enjoyed hanging with Spanky, I was still a cruising newbie. If I had the opportunity for a do over, I would have chosen to spend my alone time more wisely. One option would have been the Cove Café which I somehow failed to visit all week. I’m not a coffee person so I didn’t miss out on a java fix, but I still missed out on the Cove Café experience. Another option would have been grabbing a book and a quiet lounge chair. The best option (but I didn’t know how good an option it really was this early into the cruise) would have been a spa treatment (stay tuned for the spa treatment installments – yes, that is plural - there was more than one).

The pansy that I am, after an hour or so I needed some kid time and took Eva and Noah out of the Club to do Mr. Toad’s Wild Race. I had another completely unexpected run in with a DIS-er at this event. A boy was playing with a small light up stick, sort of like a mini light saber. My boys had been playing with identical light up sticks earlier that day which were now sitting in my pocket. I grabbed the sticks out of my pocket and showed them to the boy and his mom. Turns out that the sticks were the remnants of glow in the dark lollipops that my boys and the other child received in Shirley’s baskets from The Perfect Gift. With The Perfect Gift in common we quickly realized that we were both DIS-ers. Thereafter, I saw Michelle (pklein09) and her family all over the ship.

I should mention that my “Old Guy Toad” raced against Michelle’s daughter. While Michelle thought I bagged the race (which would have been the honorable thing for an adult to do when racing against a kid), that is not what happened – I tried to win but I just sucked at toad racing. Noah raced into the finals and lost. He did not take losing well and had a near emotional break down. As I read Michelle’s trip report, I see that her son had his own emotional break down following his loss. Parents be forewarned of “the agony of defeat” at Mr. Toad’s Wild Race.

We spent the rest of the afternoon doing the little things around the ship with the kids … shuffleboard, ping pong, foosball, etc.

That night we had our first dinner at Parrot Cay. The general consensus from our group was that this was the weakest “food” night of the cruise. Our second dinner at Parrot Cay was considerably better.

Following dinner, we dropped the kids off at the clubs. Who would have thunk that Nestle Jr. Chef night would be so popular? The line to enter the Lab was as long as the lines for Soarin’ at Epcot. The cookies, by the way, turned out terrible. The grown ups went to Who Wants To Be A Mouseketeer. My Mickey Trivia experience had spoiled me … its much more fun being a contestant than a mere member of the audience.

The night’s entertainment was Gary Delena’s hour long family show … very entertaining. I was bummed that we didn’t make it to his adult show the next evening.

Following Gary Delena's show we said goodnight to the grandparents … us kids were partying tonight.

The kids then participated in their favorite activity … pin trading in the shops. We got to know all of the shop crewmembers during the week. Prior to the cruise, I purchased a grab bag of 100 junky pins off of eBay (oyyy, that cruise balance sheet), so the kids had plenty of stock to trade.

We then headed over to the Family Dance Party: High School Musical in the Promenade Lounge. We are a High School Musical family. For a while, it played on a continuous loop on our DVD player, in the car, on the iPod, etc. The party was fun, especially for Alex. A contest was held to pick a Troy and a Gabriella (sort of like Danny and Sandy if you haven’t seen the movie, but not nearly as cool as Danny and Sandy). Alex danced his heart out trying for the Troy role, but to his disappointment was passed over.

Once again, Eva and Noah fizzled out before Alex, so I returned to the cabin with them. When Karen and Alex returned later that night, Karen informed me that she had run into someone she knew at the party … her sorority Big Sister’s sister-in-law. Try saying that three times quickly. Even tougher, read that again and try to figure out the relationship.

Karen learned later in the cruise that this turned out to be a DIS-er, Suzymouse. Karen has an amazing streak of running into someone she knows on our vacations. Sue, thanks for keeping the streak intact. Please don’t be offended if Karen thought any less of you after she learned you are a DIS-er. She just doesn’t get it.

Coming up next, the spa experience that seems to get the most laughs on the Cruise Line Forum.

[cheysdad]

Hi Jason

Here are some pics of our approach to Key West.

Happy Thanksgiving

http://i121.photobucket.com/albums/o211/michaelfiore/disney%20cruise%2006_1/100_2393.jpg

http://i121.photobucket.com/albums/o211/michaelfiore/disney%20cruise%2006_1/100_2398.jpg

http://i121.photobucket.com/albums/o211/michaelfiore/disney%20cruise%2006_1/100_2400.jpg

[jsfein]

Michael,

Thanks for posting the Key West photos. What a contrast to the dreary weather we're having in NJ for Turkey Day.

Jason

[grumpydude]

Has anyone had the nerve to defy the warning to close the toilet lid before flushing? If so, please let me know what happened. I didn’t have the guts to chance a geyser in our bathroom.

Yes, I loved the SuperSuck-O-Matic. If you leave the lid up...you can get a spritz and a blow dry all at the same time. :rotfl2:

[mruhaak]

Exit 2-1/2 here.

Your Spanky is the reason I would never, ever take an extended family vacation. Everyone outside of my immediate family (wife and son) drive me nuts. And sometimes the wife and son drive me nuts. I could not imagine being on vacation with my in-laws and / or my mom. You should win a prize for that.

GD

You're absolutely right. I love my mother and my grandmother-in-law, but we took them on a cruise last January. What a nightmare. First of all they didn't get along with each other... which was a problem since they were rooming together. So I felt like instead of just having one toddler I had three with all the bickering. :crazy:

[jsfein]

You're absolutely right. I love my mother and my grandmother-in-law, but we took them on a cruise last January. What a nightmare. First of all they didn't get along with each other... which was a problem since they were rooming together. So I felt like instead of just having one toddler I had three with all the bickering. :crazy:

Did we sacrifice a little by having 3 grandparents in tow? Of course. Would we have had a different cruise experience if the grandparents had not been along? Probably a little different. Would I have done it differently? No, probably not. Perhaps my circumstances are unique, but Spanky's disability makes it extremely difficult for my mother, especially going on vacation. They simply could not have done this trip without our help. The kids loved having their grandparents around for a week and the grandparents, especially Spanky, cherished every moment with the kids. I wouldn't have changed a thing. Indeed, we rebooked to do it all again with the grandparents. Call me a glutton for family punishment.

[Ski-and-Sea]

Why didn't Spanky like the cruise director? And I think someone posted she's not on the Magic this week.

[jsfein]

Monday was our first “Day at Sea.” What better to do than wake up early to do laundry. My wife could not have wished for a better husband. By the way, at 6 am you have your choice of washers and dryers.

Deck 10 at 6:15 am was the place to be, even though it was a little hazy and cloudy. I saw a few people taking photos of the sunrise and figured that’s what you do on a cruise so I ran back to the cabin to grab my camera. This was the result.

http://i101.photobucket.com/albums/m43/jsfein/DCL%202006/-13.jpg

Pretty cool, huh?

This is where the trip report gets a little dicey for two reasons. Reason 1: the censor I mentioned in my first installment (a/k/a Karen) has set certain restrictions as to what I can report. Reason 2: my Mom (Cheryl), who I think is reading this report (Hi Mom!!), will be learning about certain aspects of my cruise a little different than the version she was told while we were cruising. Here goes.

The night before we mentioned to the moms that we would need their help with the kids Monday morning. We told them that we had a spa “treatment” which was to be followed by brunch at Palo with all of the adults. We needed the moms to feed the kids breakfast, watch them for a bit and check them into the kids clubs before the Palo brunch because our “treatment” was scheduled to end just as our brunch was to begin.

While our moms are not “puritanical,” it was a lot simpler to tell them that we had a spa “treatment” as opposed to the ER (the censor won’t even allow me to insert the name). My mom may know what the ER is as she occasionally lurks on the DIS and she read the Passporter. My mother-in-law, on the other hand, wouldn’t have had a clue and we would have played 20 questions had we offered up the name of the specific “treatment” we had scheduled. That was a game of 20 questions I did not want to play.

**HYPOTHETICAL GAME OF 20 QUESTIONS WITH MIL**

Q. Why do they call it Exotic?

Q. What do you do there?

Q. Why don’t you just put the kids in the clubs and use the cabin for an hour?

**JasonShuddersWithRevulsionAsHeTypesThisAndCan’tG oOnWith17MoreQuestions**

We spent a considerable amount of time explaining to the grandmas what we needed them to do.

Step 1: Feed the kids breakfast.

Step 2: Watch them while they swim.

Step 3: Return to the cabins, dry off, dress.

Step 4: Walk down one deck to Deck 5. Check Noah and Eva in the Club; Alex in the Lab.

Step 5: Go to Palo, Deck 10, Aft.

And yes, I thought about writing out these steps for them.

So I’ve never been to a spa before and was somewhat apprehensive. I had read a few posts about the ER in advance and one common thread in the posts, aside from all of the :blush: :blush: :blush: smilies, was to bring extra towels. If nothing else, I’m good at following directions and grabbed a half dozen towels from the adult pool before we entered the spa.

We show up in the spa dressed in our Palo brunch clothes and me with an armful of towels. We must have looked so out of place that the woman who checked us in didn’t even have us fill out the spa questionnaire. (I only knew of the questionnaire from our subsequent visit to the spa.) She gave us locker keys and told us to change into our bathing suits and robes. Maybe she thought I had bathing suits hidden under all of those towels? Were bathing suits required to enter the ER? I hadn’t read anything about bathing suits on DIS and was ready to run back to the room for our bathing suits.

Unsure what to do, I decided to go with boxers under the robe. After changing, I didn’t know where to go or what to do next. Was I supposed to go back to the lobby in my thigh length robe? Had I been instructed where to go after I changed? I couldn’t remember. The bathing suit thing had thrown me off my game.

I grabbed my towels and just as I was opening the locker room door to find out where I needed to be appeared the spa lady with Karen. Apparently I was supposed to wait for a knock at the locker room door.

As we took “the walk,” the spa lady (attendant? therapist? I can’t recall her title) asked me why I was carrying the towels. Uhhhh, cold surfaces? Hard edges? To cover up any evidence left behind by previous guests?

Completely embarrassed, I told her that I had heard to bring extra towels. She responded that I wouldn’t need them and took them from me. My security blanket was gone. Her tip was in jeopardy.

Once we entered the chamber, we were so distracted by the strangeness of the place that neither one of us caught all the instructions we were being given. Something about an hour and getting a 10 minute warning knock. I was thinking to myself an hour?? I had spent the past three days sharing a hotel room and connecting cabins with 3 kids and a mother-in-law. Why would I need 60 minutes when 2 minutes would suffice? Yes, my wife could not have wished for a better husband.

We followed some of the instructions we were given and used the brown stuff that looked like leftover oatmeal and cream of wheat from the Topsiders breakfast buffet mixed with sandpaper. It actually turned my skin smooth and silky. This was followed by the green mud stuff that had us looking like the Hulk meets the Jolly Green Giant … a very attractive look for us.

The censor has restricted the disclosure of any additional ER information.

Some time later we thought we heard the **knock**, so we returned to the locker rooms and dressed. When we returned to the reception area our spa lady told us that we finished before she had knocked. I think she took a shot at me with that remark and I adjusted her tip accordingly.

My assessment of the ER is that it is analogous to a glorified rent a room by the hour motel. Just my style.

Following the ER, we decided to swing by our rooms to see if the grandmas had dropped the kids off at the clubs yet. As we walked to the rooms, we tried to get our stories straight as to what we were going to tell our moms about our spa “treatment.” As it turned out, we hadn’t prepared enough.

The 20 Questions began the moment we walked into the room.

Q. “Did you have the treatment together?”

A. “Errr, yeah.”

Q. “Did one person treat you or did you have two persons?”

A. We hadn’t prepared an answer to this question. One Mississippi, Two Mississippi… Karen was silent so I stammered, “Two persons?”

Q. “What did they do to you?”

A. We had prepared for this one, so I chimed in, “My skin was defoliated.” Karen snickered at me in a hushed tone, “Exfoliated, you idiot.”

My Mom told me that my skin looked soft. Is it possible for skin to look soft?

Bobbie told me that I looked relaxed. I was relaxed until the 20 questions about what I had just done with her daughter.

Our spa “treatment” sounded so good that the grandmas discussed having the treatment together. Ewwwwwwwww.

I’ve got to finish this later. This trip report has gone in a totally non-Disney direction. I need to refocus.

[disneyfanatic3166]

LOL :rotfl: :lmao: :rotfl2:

[DisneyZell]

Your trip to the ER had me laughing so hard! I could see us having to answer the 20 questions game from my parents as well and I am not very good at coming up with fake answers on the fly. Great job :rotfl2:

[mruhaak]

Did we sacrifice a little by having 3 grandparents in tow? Of course. Would we have had a different cruise experience if the grandparents had not been along? Probably a little different. Would I have done it differently? No, probably not. Perhaps my circumstances are unique, but Spanky's disability makes it extremely difficult for my mother, especially going on vacation. They simply could not have done this trip without our help. The kids loved having their grandparents around for a week and the grandparents, especially Spanky, cherished every moment with the kids. I wouldn't have changed a thing. Indeed, we rebooked to do it all again with the grandparents. Call me a glutton for family punishment.

And more power to you! Glad it worked out!

That's the tough part for me as my Mom doesn't get to travel much with my Dad and I like to give her opportunities. But she's SO difficult to travel with.
Has a little comment for everything and reads into everything that is said (and usually not what was meant.)

But... anywhoooo.... continue on! I'm enjoying the report...

[jsfein]

Why didn't Spanky like the cruise director? And I think someone posted she's not on the Magic this week.

I'm not sure whether this is the right expression, but he found her too saccharine. Too much enthusiasm, too much energy, just "too much" everything. She was pretty darn peppy.

Your trip to the ER had me laughing so hard! I could see us having to answer the 20 questions game from my parents as well and I am not very good at coming up with fake answers on the fly. Great job :rotfl2:

In this instance, a wall of lies seemed like the better option than spilling the ER details.

[lindaso]

BWAAAAAAA HAAAAAAAA HAAAAAAA!!! Thank you Jason. I needed a laugh like that today. Classic installment.

[DisneyZell]

WOW JFStein....DW already commented above...but I was crying there for a bit I was laughing so hard. Good thing you diverted...never know what type of prying eyes are looking. Hope that Mom doesn't figure it out... :lmao:

[mruhaak]

I'm not sure whether this is the right expression, but he found her too saccharine. Too much enthusiasm, too much energy, just "too much" everything. She was pretty darn peppy.


I can relate to that. Sometimes that can be kinda irritating...

[metinfla]

Don't you think jsfein should respect his wife's privacy? REALLY.

[tjeagle]

LOVE your report!!

Oh yeah, transplant here....exit 69 (I think....##changed since I lived there) off the GSP!!

[JerseyBelle]

Great report. We are exit 5 (turnpike) but we were on a different Jersey Sailing (11/9/06 - 11/12/06 Wonder). When I worked near exit 11 and lived where I currently live, people at work always asked me on Monday how it was at the shore last weekend. If you live in South Jersey and meet someone from North Jersey, they think you live at the shore. NOT EVEN CLOSE.

[jsfein]

Great report. We are exit 5 (turnpike) but we were on a different Jersey Sailing (11/9/06 - 11/12/06 Wonder). When I worked near exit 11 and lived where I currently live, people at work always asked me on Monday how it was at the shore last weekend. If you live in South Jersey and meet someone from North Jersey, they think you live at the shore. NOT EVEN CLOSE.

I didn't even think about the Wonder. You must have also had a crazy number of Jersey passengers. Did you watch the Rutgers game? Go RU!!

LOVE your report!!

Oh yeah, transplant here....exit 69 (I think....##changed since I lived there) off the GSP!!

Thanks. I think Exit 69 is still there ... Ocean (in Ocean Cty).

Don't you think jsfein should respect his wife's privacy? REALLY.

Hi Dear. Am I out of timeout yet so that I can finish this report?

[disnygirl55]

Oh my.... I was laughing so hard reading this. My DS4 kept asking me what I was giggling at and when I told him about the funny guy talking about what he did on the cruise, he asked if he would get to see you when we go in April. LOL! He must think you're the on-board entertainment. :rotfl2:

I'm really enjoying this - appreciate the tip about being able to change dining rotations. Funny they don't mention that in the Passporter. I've been stewing about when to fit Palo into the schedule. Hopefully I can get APPT on our 4-night Wonder and get both Palo and Pirate Night in. Thanks!

Disnygirl55

First Ever Cruise - 4-Night Wonder April 29, 2007 (Land & Sea)

[Suzy Mouse]

I thought I knew everything about the Magic! Now I have to do some research on this "ER"....sounds like it would have been a good addition to dh 40th birthday celebration!!!

My daughter was reading the post over my shoulder. When I saw ER I thought it was the emergency room! SHe didn't understand why I shoved her away!!! Good thing I read faster than her! :blush:

[JDBlair]

I'm loving your TR! Your ER story is hilarious! :rotfl2: But don't you think the Mom and MIL already know you two are up to something, you have 3 children together!! :confused3

I love it when the guy writes the TR. It gives me hope that DH will actually love our cruise next year!!

[PaDisneyCouple]

JSFein, love your trip report. When I have more time I will do more than skim it. Loved your review of the ER. This may be a stupid question, but was the cruise really almost entirely Jersey people? How? I'm really a Jersey girl. Born and raised at Exit 63 (Manahawkin/Long Beach Island). Still adapting to my new home in central PA...people say New Jersey and its residents are strange...you should see the natives here. Anyway, keep the reports coming, I'm enjoying the antics.

Christine

[jsfein]

Oh my.... I was laughing so hard reading this. My DS4 kept asking me what I was giggling at and when I told him about the funny guy talking about what he did on the cruise, he asked if he would get to see you when we go in April. LOL! He must think you're the on-board entertainment. :rotfl2:

I'd be more than happy to tag along and entertain your DS4. However, I suspect you and your family will have a great cruise without me.

I thought I knew everything about the Magic! Now I have to do some research on this "ER"....sounds like it would have been a good addition to dh 40th birthday celebration!!!

My daughter was reading the post over my shoulder. When I saw ER I thought it was the emergency room! SHe didn't understand why I shoved her away!!! Good thing I read faster than her! :blush:

The ER is a fun, economical way to experience the spa. By the way, without giving away too much of the rest of this report, there will be an ER story that is more akin to the emergency room than the rasul. Stay tuned.

JSFein, love your trip report. When I have more time I will do more than skim it. Loved your review of the ER. This may be a stupid question, but was the cruise really almost entirely Jersey people? How? I'm really a Jersey girl. Born and raised at Exit 63 (Manahawkin/Long Beach Island). Still adapting to my new home in central PA...people say New Jersey and its residents are strange...you should see the natives here. Anyway, keep the reports coming, I'm enjoying the antics.

Christine

Thanks!! Yes, there was a huge number of Jersey people on board. I don't know what percentage of the cruisers were actually from NJ, but our meet thread for our sailing was probably about 50% from NJ if that was any indication.

[DisVillainFan]

My only question would be, how long did it take you to get the oatmeal and green slime out of all the nooks and crannys?? :confused3 :lmao:

[jsfein]

My only question would be, how long did it take you to get the oatmeal and green slime out of all the nooks and crannys?? :confused3 :lmao:

I'm sorry we didn't get a chance to meet while on board. It sounds like your family had a great cruise. I blame Michael for not introducing us.

As for your question, that is a rather personal inquiry. Speaking of which, I didn't get to see you and your wife in Match Your Mate. I hope the two of you correctly answsered the "where is the strangest place you've ever discovered the magic?" question. :rolleyes1

[jsfein]

Now that I’ve played my “ace” a/k/a my best story of our cruise, the rest of this trip report will probably crash and burn. You may want to bail out now while you still can.

We followed our visit to the spa with brunch at Palo … a pretty indulgent morning. Spanky took a pass for brunch not wanting to “dress up.” His loss. This was our first visit to Palo and we were dutifully impressed. Our server was Noeme from Hungary and she couldn’t have been nicer. The food at Palo has been written about by others more eloquently than I can do so, so I won’t try to repeat what others have already said. Everything we sampled (and boy did we sample a lot) was clearly made from high quality ingredients and well prepared. There was not, however, any item at brunch that had me still salivating days later. There were, however, a couple of such dishes at dinner but you’ll just have to wait until I get there.

Of course, we all remarked that we didn’t want to return to the regular dining rotation after having experienced Palo, but we’d miss our servers, Stipe and Putu, too much. Noeme also shared some good stories about celebrities that have dined at Palo. I highly recommend that you ask your Palo server about their celebrity experiences.

We checked on the kids after brunch and they all didn’t want to leave the clubs. Woohoo!! The adults separated, and Karen and I “slowed down” for the first time since boarding the ship. We started off on lounge chairs on Deck 4 and then proceeded to the secret deck on Deck 7 Aft. I realized that this must be what its like to cruise without kids and I liked it … a lot.

Rejuvenated and our brunch now digested we took the two younger kids out of the club (Alex still didn’t want to leave). We intended to hang out at the Family Dance Party in the Lobby Atrium, but Noah wasn’t too interested so he and I left, leaving Karen and Eva at the party.

Noah & I enjoyed some one on one time. We visited the arcade … his all-time favorite activity on land and sea, and he was overjoyed. Followed up the arcade with ice cream and caught some of High School Musical on the jumbotron up on Deck 9.

At 4 pm the girls went to Tea With Wendy. Tea With Wendy received failing marks. We now know for next time around to skip both the character breakfast and Tea With Wendy (the galley tour too, but I haven’t gotten that far yet).

While the girls were doing tea, I had the grueling task of dressing myself and the boys for formal night. Our formal night clothing had been the subject of much discussion prior to the cruise. Some of the moms on the DIS meets thread for our sailing were finding great deals on tuxedos for their husbands and sons. I thought it would be pretty cool if the boys and I were in tuxedos and mentioned the idea to Karen. Her response was THE LOOK followed by some remark about how I should take a break from DIS.

I’m not too proud to say that Karen was right. The boys were dressed in long sleeve button down shirts with ties and slacks. I was dressed the same, but with a sports jacket. We were dressed just fine. Sure there were some families more dressy than us, and other families more dressed down. The boys and I would have been miserable in tuxedos. Even without tuxedos, the complaints of itchy shirts and tight collars were constant. The boys’ ties stayed on just long enough to get our family formal photo taken.

We hadn’t seen Spanky since early in the morning. We didn’t expect him to join us for formal photos as it would have been difficult for him with the scooter and the lines. I also didn’t expect him to dress too formal and he didn’t, but he did have on a button down shirt and slacks … a pretty dressed up look for him and we appreciated the effort he made.

This was our first and only dinner at Lumiere’s. For the first time, Spanky and I doubled up on our entrées and had the lamb shank and something else that I can’t recall. The lamb shank was probably the best entrée I had at all of the rotation restaurants. By doubling up our entrees at this dinner, our server thereafter doubled up our entrees on each subsequent night whether we asked for it or not. Cruising definitely has its perks.

Karen uncovered a formal night photo opportunity completely by accident. During dinner, Karen took Eva to use the bathroom. While they were gone, both boys decided they had to go too. As I was walking them down the hall towards the Promenade Lounge who do I see but Karen and Eva having their photos taken by a photographer who had no other customers. Following our bathroom visit, the boys and I stopped for a few shots ourselves. These impromptu Girls and Guys photos came out pretty nice.

I forgot to mention that at our previous dinner Noah didn’t want dessert so he got a plate of “Nothing.”

http://i101.photobucket.com/albums/m43/jsfein/DCL%202006/-12.jpg

He and the other kids were so ecstatic about the plate of “Nothing” that Noah ordered it every night for dessert. Alex sacrificed dessert one night to get his own plate of “Nothing.” Eva, the youngest and shrewdest of the bunch, started ordering the dessert of her choice plus “Nothing” every night. No one will ever accuse my daughter of lacking ingenuity. I’ve tried to recreate “Nothing” with Hershey’s chocolate syrup since we’ve returned home but its novelty value seems to have waned.

Following dinner we ran (literally) to our cabins to change out of our formal wear. The evening’s production was The Golden Mickey’s which we all agreed was our favorite production of the cruise. A girl who was featured during the preshow with Rona Rivers (? – not sure of her name) stole the show during her red carpet interview. I think the girl was part of a large church group which included DIS-er disneylover5 from Centerville, VA. Thanks to Shirley at The Perfect Gift, my kids were all well behaved during all of the evening shows as they had plenty of candy to occupy them in their gift baskets.

For the second night in a row, we said goodnight to the grandparents and partied with the kids at the Family Golden Mickey’s After Party. The kids danced up a storm. In addition to some High School Musical songs, they played some music from Grease for us old-timers and I was handed the microphone (along with some other dads) to do our Danny imitation during Summer Nights. The kids later confirmed that I sounded terrible. I’ve still got it.

This was our third day on the ship and at least our fourth or more dance party. I no longer had the tolerance for another playing of the Cha Cha slide. One more Cha Cha slide and I wasn’t sure what I would do. I was certain that whatever my actions, including throwing a member of the cruise staff overboard, I would be found innocent by reason of being rendered insane by “turn to the left, turn to the right, everybody clap your hands.”

Once again, I returned to the cabin with Eva and Noah before the party ended. Alex didn’t want to leave until the last song was played. He made it very clear that he planned to attend every remaining dance party. Whose kid was this and where did he come from? He was like Tony Manero reincarnated.

Up next, swimming with the stingrays or, as we say in Jersey, swimming with the fishes.

[mmouse37]

Yes, we were one of the other teams during Mickey Mania (the red minnies)....we were in the lead until those darn out of focus character pics that you had to name.

And, that couple with the red phillies caps were all over....very interesting couple.....

[disneylover5]

Following dinner we ran (literally) to our cabins to change out of our formal wear. The evening’s production was The Golden Mickey’s which we all agreed was our favorite production of the cruise. A girl who was featured during the preshow with Rona Rivers (? – not sure of her name) stole the show during her red carpet interview. I think the girl was part of a large church group which included DIS-er disneylover5 from Centerville, VA.

I have so enjoyed reading your trip report. It makes me feel like I am still on the cruise.

Gretchen was thrilled at your assesment of her interview. I have to tell you, it was the 4th time she has done it. She just loves that part of the cruise and always finds a way to get on the screen being interviewed. It really bums her that she can't do the interview and watch herself at the same time!! She was really glad that someone who did not know her, liked her!! :rotfl2:

Thanks again for taking the time to write this whole report, I really have enjoyed it!! :wave: :wave: :wave:

[Suzy Mouse]

The girl that stole the show during the Golden Mickeys was Disneylover(5?)'s daughter. She was the one that would report the weather before we left on our trip. I believe her daughter's name was Gretchen. Just a little shout out on my behalf...the first girl on the screen that the audience sang happy birthday to was my daughter. She was trying to become one of the dwarfs in the show but instead got on the big screen.

OK...back to the story (which I'm having so much fun reading! :banana: )

[Suzy Mouse]

Hi Lisa!! Didn't realize you responded!! :goodvibes

[jsfein]

I have so enjoyed reading your trip report. It makes me feel like I am still on the cruise.

Gretchen was thrilled at your assesment of her interview. I have to tell you, it was the 4th time she has done it. She just loves that part of the cruise and always finds a way to get on the screen being interviewed. It really bums her that she can't do the interview and watch herself at the same time!! She was really glad that someone who did not know her, liked her!! :rotfl2:

Thanks again for taking the time to write this whole report, I really have enjoyed it!! :wave: :wave: :wave:

Her 4th time?? No wonder she was so comfortable on the big screen. DCL should consider putting her on retainer.

[disneylover5]

Her 4th time?? No wonder she was so comfortable on the big screen. DCL should consider putting her on retainer.

We live in DC. Gretchen is surrounded by older kids, middle school, high school, college (cousin who lives with us on and off) and med school student(another cousin who lives with us on and off). She hears the word INTERN as much as a normal kid hears DO YOUR HOMEWORK. Daniel, Heather and Drew (the older kids) are always talking about interning in Congress or at this law firm or at the White House or at that hospital....

Well, Gretchen told me she went up to Rachel (the cruise director) and told her she was staying on the ship to be her intern!! She told her 5th grade is too easy and she would go back home when 6th grade starts....She thinks cruise director will be a good job for her!

[DisneyZell]

Nice installment. I, for one, am glad that the Rasul incident is over. no need to go into detail on that. We have enough of that in several other TR's *ahem*.

anyway, keep it coming!!! :rotfl2:

[PrincessFAN2006]

Your cruise report is GREAT!!! :rotfl2:

[pklein09]

Hi Dear. Am I out of timeout yet so that I can finish this report?


Are you out yet???

popcorn::

patiently waiting....


:hourglass

--Michelle et al

[jsfein]

Are you out yet???

popcorn::

patiently waiting....


:hourglass

--Michelle et al

I hate to use the work excuse, but I simply haven't had any time for the trip report. I'll try to post a new installment by the weekend. I just received in the mail a CD of our stingray photos from the excursion operator so I'll hopefully have a couple of photos to post too.

[pklein09]

Well, I suppose you can use the "work" excuse! I've done all my posting during my work, but I'm a full-time mom, so all my time is work time!!!

[Kimmielee]

I hate to use the work excuse, but I simply haven't had any time for the trip report. I'll try to post a new installment by the weekend. I just received in the mail a CD of our stingray photos from the excursion operator so I'll hopefully have a couple of photos to post too.

I'm hooked.... I can't wait to read about swimming with the fishes! Your ER installment had me in stitches! :rotfl2: Keep up the great report! :thumbsup2

[jsfein]

I had spent a lot of time researching the perfect excursion for my family in Grand Cayman. Actually, a more accurate description would be that I spent an inordinate amount of time researching excursions. To give the amount of research time I expended its just due, lets just say that the time spent easily eclipsed the amount of time I spent researching minivans, refinancing our mortgage, and reading new parenting books when the kids were born – combined.

In order to spare you a reading induced coma of the many, many different excursions and options I considered, in my infinite wisdom I settled upon a non-DCL Stingray City excursion. Specifically, I chose Captain Bryan’s Stingray City excursion with one snorkeling stop. The reasons for choosing this specific excursion were many, but the primary considerations included (i) Eva could join us on the excursion (she would have been excluded from the DCL Stingray City excursions which had an age 5 minimum); (ii) the excursion included only one snorkeling stop instead of two or three (the kids had never snorkeled and I anticipated that we’d just stay on the boat during the snorkel stop); and (iii) the excursion departed and returned earlier than any other excursion so Spanky’s time left behind on the ship would be minimized.

Of course, things did not work out quite as they were planned.

I woke early Tuesday morning and enjoyed the view from Deck 10 as we approached Georgetown Harbor. At 7:15 am I started to wake the troops for our 8:45 am Stingray excursion. I should have started earlier. We inhaled our breakfasts and managed to get on one of the first tenders to shore.

At the last moment we lost my MIL, Bobbie, who claimed to be too tired to do the excursion. Bobbie didn’t come out and say it, but I think the Steve Irwin tragedy kept her away. She probably didn’t want to express her concerns in front of the kids. As it turned out, her silence was completely irrelevant. There was nothing that Bobbie could have said that would have induced any more fear in the kids than the mere sight of the stingrays, but I’m getting ahead of myself.

Bobbie’s bailing on us created a dilemma for my Mom … to go or not to go. When I booked the excursion months earlier, my Mom was not exactly enthused by the idea as she doesn’t swim. She probably figured that she would at least have Bobbie to keep her company. Now Bobbie was gone and she had an easy out. To my surprise, Mom decided that she was still coming. A decision that she came to regret.

Our excursion experience got off to a difficult start. It was extremely humid (foreshadow … the skies were about to open up), Eva was “dying” of thirst, and Noah could not stop complaining about the length of the walk from the tender to Captain Bryan’s. The walk was a bit longer than I expected. Captain Bryan’s email instructions had us reporting directly behind an English bakery a few blocks from the tender.

What we found behind the bakery was a dirt pad, a guy sanding down the hull of a broken down boat, a few chickens and a shack with a tin roof. I patted myself on the back for locating such a reputable looking excursion operator. I think my Mom started to wonder whether she could still grab a taxi back to the ship.

Wait. It gets better.

I advised a woman with a clipboard that we’re here for the 8:45 am excursion and she responded that due to an electrical problem the 8:45 am excursion would not be sailing. Instead, we were offered the 10 am sailing which included two snorkel stops instead of the one stop we had booked.

At this point, my internal alarm bells started ringing like mad. Why did I chance a non-DCL excursion? Do I forsake all the research hours I had invested and proceed with a sailing that no longer met my criteria? Is Captain Bryan and the free roaming chickens legitimate and to be trusted?

With much hesitation we agreed to the later tour for the same price as the cheaper tour we had booked. I am cheap at heart so this appeased me a little.

We had an hour to kill, so we walked around town. While doing so, we ran into Bobbie who was supposedly too tired to get off the ship. Hmmmmm.

We also discovered the greatest, most awesome souvenir … foreign currency. You’d be amazed how much more interested the kids were by a Cayman quarter than an overpriced snow globe or magnet. I figure that for the upcoming holidays I’ll save myself a bundle by exchanging a couple of dollars for pesos in place of the Wii.

When it was finally time to return to the shack for our excursion it had started to rain. Not an all out where’s the ark type of rain (that came later), but a steady rain nonetheless. We huddled under the shack with 7 or 8 other suckers, I mean passengers, and awaited our transportation to Captain Bryan’s catamaran. I wasn’t sure what the rain policy was and, sure enough, the confirming email from Captain Bryan made no mention of a refund in the event of bad weather. I therefore assumed that the policy was, “We already have your money whether you like it or not.”

Then the skies really opened up and I could tell from looking into the eyes of Karen and my Mom that all I needed to do was suggest that we bail and they would have approved. But then the bus showed up and we climbed aboard.

When we arrived at the catamaran, the group of 12 or 13 people all huddled in a tiny cabin to avoid the rain, but it was so hot and uncomfortable that we preferred the cold, pelting rain outdoors.

If nothing else, I was pleased that our excursion group was of such a small size. This was another reason that led me to Captain Bryan’s in the first place.

But that small consolation quickly dissipated when we were joined by a second bus carrying another 20 people from a Carnival ship. There went my small group. I have no proof, but I suspect that Captain Bryan cancelled the earlier excursion based upon a claimed electrical problem in order to send out just one excursion group. Call me a cynic.

When the catamaran finally departed in the pouring rain, all I could think to myself was, “Just sit right back and you’ll hear a tale, a tale of a fateful ship….”

As I mentioned, I researched Grand Cayman excursions ad nauseam, but I had not researched what was actually involved in visiting Stingray City. As we headed out for open water, I kept searching and searching for land assuming that Stingray City would be a shallow area near a coastline. Boy was I surprised when it turned out to be a sandbar in the middle of nowhere.

The responsible parents that we are, we hadn’t even thought about safety jackets for the kids until we arrived at Stingray City when we were handed flimsy, inflatable vests … not too reassuring.

The good … it had finally stopped raining. The bad … we could see from the safety of the catamaran that the stingrays were everywhere and they were HUGE. We had fed stingrays a year earlier in a tank at Seaworld, but those stingrays were chihuahua sized compared to the sea monsters swimming around our boat.

Before entering the water we were instructed on feeding the stingrays. In a nutshell, we were told to grab the squid in a fist with thumbs tucked in as the stingrays can easily mistake a thumb for a piece of squid. We were next told that since we were duly warned we should not complain if we returned to the catamaran with a missing thumb. Oh, the kids just couldn’t wait to jump in.

After all of the other passengers entered the water, it was our turn. I somehow kept from falling backwards as I descended and had to pry free Eva’s arms that were interlocked around the ladder. I have to imagine that swimming with the stingrays at Castaway Cay is much different than what we experienced. Dozens of stingrays were swimming over our legs. Other stingrays rose to the surface and body slammed us.

Alex was apprehensive at first, but it didn’t take him long to enjoy himself. It took Noah a lot longer, but towards the end of the swim his nerves calmed a bit. He wouldn’t float around by himself, but insisted on being held at all times. Eva was perfectly fine in the water so long as a stingray wasn’t near, but the moment one approached (which was frequently) she shrieked so loud she could be heard over the motors of the many boats in the area.

My Mom was the only person not to leave the ship (including the crew). We would have to make this day up to her somehow.

The experience was like no other I’ve ever had. After feeding the rays (thumbs intact), it was our turn to hold and kiss a stingray. Apparently, local lore has it that kissing a stingray will bring you seven years of good luck.

Alex went first. The excursion photographer had a little fun at Alex’s expense and told him that he picked out a cute girl stingray just for him. Alex, a/k/a “Mr. Sensitive”, would usually be terribly embarrassed by such talk, but took the joking in stride and had his first kiss.

http://i101.photobucket.com/albums/m43/jsfein/DCL%202006/PB070084.jpg

How much fun am I going to have with this photo when he starts dating!!

Karen and I also shared some saliva with the stingray, but Eva and Noah were a definite no. We ended up with a couple of good photos before it was all done.

http://i101.photobucket.com/albums/m43/jsfein/DCL%202006/PB070100.jpg
Notice how calm Noah is on the far left.

http://i101.photobucket.com/albums/m43/jsfein/DCL%202006/11-15-2006-10.jpg

We also ended up with our fair share of photos of legs and feet as we used the underwater cameras.

The first snorkel stop was at an area called The Aquarium. Karen somehow got Alex fitted in snorkel equipment and the two of them snorkeled for the first time ever and loved it. Noah wouldn’t snorkel but I talked him into swimming with me. He was very comfortable in the water and had a blast. So much so that at the next snorkel stop at Coral Reef he snorkeled himself for the first time. This stop was amazing and we were surrounded by sea life. I was so proud of the boys. We now have a new vacation activity to pursue.

In the meantime, Eva was on the boat with my Mom. She was racing back and forth from one side of the boat to the other. My Mom was convinced that she was going to fall overboard. My Mom wasn’t too steady on her feet on the rocking ship and clearly had enough. It was finally time to return to shore and she couldn’t have been happier. The return trip was magnificent. The sun was out, there was a nice breeze, the sails were put up on the catamaran, and the ocean was a shimmering green.

What had started out as a very uncertain day turned out in the end to be one of the highlights of our cruise, except for my Mom who will stick to land only excursions in the future.

There was a very funny postscript to our ER experience during the stingray excursion. Karen got to talking with a woman on the catamaran who was the girlfriend of the captain. It turned out that this woman worked in the spa on the Magic. Karen mentioned that she had visited the spa the previous day and the woman was interested in which spa treatment she had. Karen couldn’t bring herself to tell the woman that she had gone to the ER. Instead, she made up some story about having a treatment with oils and scrubs, but she couldn’t bs this woman who was familiar with all of the treatments. Karen would start to make something up and the woman would try to name the treatment. I was in stitches as I listened in. Karen somehow eventually steered the conversation in a different direction. Not only could she not tell our moms about the ER, she couldn't even mention the word to a professional from the spa.

[discruiselovers97]

Wow...another great post! :thumbsup2 Oh yeah-If you thought that your snorkeling experience was hard listen to ours...(this was in Cozumel) First we thought we would just get off the ship and find something...well this guy from somewhere gave us this great price and showed us some pic. and it looked great! Well he gets a taxi for us and sends us off somewhere and we get dumped at this old rickity rackity boat dock. :confused3 Then this boat drives(is that the right term...idk)up and we hop on with this other family. Well i just must say that my daughter is a little afraid(ok more like terrified :scared1: )of sealife after one time being at the beach and almost got attacked by a HUGE fish with big teeth. We get in the water and she just sorta sticks by me. Well she just really getting used to it when it starts pouring(seriously it looked like Jaws)the waves got huge and my kids were hard to see when my son (who is younger than her) goes omg cool sharks! Well she hears this and you know what happens next...yes she starts screaming,"GET ME OUT, I WANT OUT! YOU SAID THIS WOULDN'T HAPPEN! AHHHH!"(yeah i sorta told her this wouldn't happen!)She went back to the boat. She got to go to Del Sol so that made it up. But you just had to feel bad for her!

[jsfein]

Wow...another great post! :thumbsup2 Oh yeah-If you thought that your snorkeling experience was hard listen to ours...(this was in Cozumel) First we thought we would just get off the ship and find something...well this guy from somewhere gave us this great price and showed us some pic. and it looked great! Well he gets a taxi for us and sends us off somewhere and we get dumped at this old rickity rackity boat dock. :confused3 Then this boat drives(is that the right term...idk)up and we hop on with this other family. Well i just must say that my daughter is a little afraid(ok more like terrified :scared1: )of sealife after one time being at the beach and almost got attacked by a HUGE fish with big teeth. We get in the water and she just sorta sticks by me. Well she just really getting used to it when it starts pouring(seriously it looked like Jaws)the waves got huge and my kids were hard to see when my son (who is younger than her) goes omg cool sharks! Well she hears this and you know what happens next...yes she starts screaming,"GET ME OUT, I WANT OUT! YOU SAID THIS WOULDN'T HAPPEN! AHHHH!"(yeah i sorta told her this wouldn't happen!)She went back to the boat. She got to go to Del Sol so that made it up. But you just had to feel bad for her!

There's definitely something to be said about doing your excursions through the cruise line. I will probably think twice about booking on my own next time around.

[jsfein]

We had followed the advice on DIS and used a shoe organizer to hold miscellaneous stuff in our room. Sitting in the first top pocket of the shoe rack organizer was my Blackberry, untouched for the past 3 days. Every time I passed it, it used its evil powers to try to influence me to turn it on, but until now I had resisted going over to the Dark Side. I may have mentioned upthread that I had dumped a major project on a junior associate just before departing for the cruise. I was completely conflicted as to whether to turn it on or not.

I chose poorly, turned it on and the rest of my day was completely ruined. The stinkin’ Blackberry is my biggest regret of the cruise. So much for my 7 years of good luck for kissing a stingray. My luck hadn’t lasted more than a couple of hours.

Suffice it to say that the project had blown up and my immediate attention was needed. I knew that I would be occupied for some time with work so I grabbed the laundry and headed to the laundry room down the hall. I spent the entire washer and dryer cycle on the Blackberry. Not too conducive to enjoying a vacation, but neither is doing laundry.

I did, however, get some ship gossip from the “laundry moms” (I was the only “laundry dad”). For example, Alex was in the Lab for a Pinata Party. The laundry moms informed me that the kids in the Lab were building piñatas to celebrate Donald Duck’s birthday and that Donald made an appearance. I never would have learned this info from Alex.

“How was the lab?”

“Fine.”

“What did you do?”

“I don’t know.”

I kind of liked hanging out with the laundry moms and started recognizing my new friends around the ship. If kissing a stingray hadn’t made Karen jealous, handling underwear and exchanging stain removal advice with the laundry moms surely would.

I was late to dinner because of the Blackberry and generally in a less than *magical* mood. The whole work thing had me so stressed out that my eye was twitching and I didn’t realize it. Someone needs to coin a new phrase for “You need a vacation” for when you’re on vacation. Maybe something like “You need a vacation squared” or more to the point “Shoot the Blackberry” (courtesy of Spanky). I kept repeating to myself that all would be good again when I would lose reception on the Blackberry in just two more days, just two more days, just two more days….

There was something going on between Karen and Eva at dinner, but I wasn't tuned into the conflict. At some point, Karen warned Eva not to spill any chocolate ice cream on her new white dress. I wrapped a napkin around Eva to protect her, but of course she still managed to spill chocolate on her dress. Karen couldn't stay angry at her long, however, as she promptly proceeded to drip her mint chocolate chip ice cream sundae on her own shirt. I told Eva that she had a free shot to dump all over Karen, but she didn't take it. Instead, I did.

We followed dinner with Officer Pin Trading in the Lobby Atrium. We arrived a few minutes early and the kids got first crack at the Officers’ pins. The kids found pin after pin that they wanted and were in a pin trading frenzy. Before long, however, the event turned into a bit of a zoo. The ship’s Captain was present and I forced Alex to shake his hand for a photo. I can’t explain the phenomenon of wanting the Captain’s autograph, photo, hand shake, etc. Its weird.

The evening’s production was Twice Charmed which, maybe because of my mood, was enjoyable but my least favorite of the stage shows. I could have sworn that there were two performers playing Cinderella (the skuzzy Cindy and the Princess Cindy), yet only the Princess Cindy took a curtain call bow. Had I been fooled? If not, I felt bad for skuzzy Cindy or perhaps I was just feeling underappreciated myself at the time.

After Twice Charmed, Eva returned to the cabin with Grandma and the boys went to the clubs. Karen and I had a night “out.” We caught Rhys Thomas’ cabaret juggling/comedy act. The guy’s sense of humor was a bit off (as is mine) so I enjoyed his act. I was clearly in the minority as quite a few people left the act early. This may have been his debut and final performance wrapped into one.

The Celebration of the 80s party followed. This may have been the most fun of the entire week. I am from the 80s generation and love all things VH1 related to the 80s. The performers did a knock out job of replicating the 80s pop stars. The Michael Jackson segment was priceless. This is a must do for anyone between the ages of 35 and 45.

I was ready to hang out at the party until NTWine took the stage. This band seems to take their share of criticism on DIS and, in my estimation, the criticism is justified. They reminded me of a high school band performing in Battle of the Bands. They clearly should not be the preeminent musical act on the Disney Cruise Line.

We returned to the cabin after midnight and I couldn’t sleep. I left to find a quiet place to jot down a few notes for this trip report. I started off in the little vestibule by the Deck 8 forward elevators. Directly above me on Deck 9 were a group of teens. They were loud, obnoxious and bored at 1:00 am. At first, I started thinking to myself how can their parents allow them to roam around without supervision and have them behaving well, like teens behave. And then I started thinking back to my own teen vacations visiting my grandparents in Florida and hanging out with other teens all hours of the night, and how loud, obnoxious and bored we were.

I started feeling old so left to find a new spot in a comfy chair on Deck 5 overlooking the lobby. I was amazed at how much work was being performed around the ship at 2:00 am. In fact, I was amazed at how much work was performed around the ship at all hours of the day. The constant maintenance of the ship really showed.

The latter half of the day had been thrown totally out of whack by my Blackberry. I finally went to bed with hopes that everything would be better in Cozumel.

[PrincessFAN2006]

Your first mistake was BRINGING the blackberry on vacation!! I left mine at home... :cool1: Your TR is great!

Kim

[jsfein]

Your first mistake was BRINGING the blackberry on vacation!! I left mine at home... :cool1: Your TR is great!

Kim

You are so right Kim. As I said, my biggest regret of the trip.

[pklein09]

DH hasn't worked up to a blackberry yet, but a cell can still do damage. Fortunately, he didn't bring his. I brought mine and I thought I had brought my charger (I had one red bar left). I knew I pulled it the day we left Jersey, but I couldn't find it during our stay in OKW. I found it when I unpacked all our suitcases, but it was the wrong charger!!! I couldn't turn the phone on all week because I needed that last bar for calling the people at Avistar so we could ransom the van upon our return to Newark. Sure enough, there were 2 messages on MY phone for DH from someone at work for something.

[mruhaak]

I'm really kind of surprised you had reception with your blackberry.

Does this mean there is cell phone service at Grand Cayman. I remember when we were there having to hunt down a phone and pay to call home to check on our son.

[jsfein]

I'm really kind of surprised you had reception with your blackberry.

Does this mean there is cell phone service at Grand Cayman. I remember when we were there having to hunt down a phone and pay to call home to check on our son.

I had reception on the blackberry when we were in port at Grand Cayman and Cozumel. No reception on sea days or at Castaway Cay. I didn't try my cell phone, so I don't know about that.

[christinou]

Great trip report, your ER report is just about the funniest thing that I have ever heard.....

[jsfein]

Great trip report, your ER report is just about the funniest thing that I have ever heard.....

Thanks Christine. I thought it was pretty funny too, but my dear wife wasn't too pleased with my retelling of the story.

[jsfein]

Similar to my excursion planning for Grand Cayman, I had likewise spent a considerable amount of time researching what to do in Cozumel. Ultimately I decided to visit Paradise Beach. I was hoping that with the ship docking directly in Cozumel that Spanky might be able to join us for the day (the tender would have been too difficult for him). Over on cruisecritic.com, I had exchanged correspondence with Paradise Tom, the manager at Paradise Beach in Cozumel. (I wish I had a cool screen name like Paradise Tom.) Paradise Tom assured me that it would be no problem for Spanky to join us as Paradise Beach was handicap accessible. Although Spanky decided not to join us, Paradise Tom was so responsive to my requests for information that we decided to still visit Paradise Beach. We were not disappointed.

We piled into a taxi van, and 15 minutes and $26 later we had arrived. We immediately knew we had made a good choice. The resort was very well maintained and attractive. The staff couldn’t have been any friendlier … comparable to the level of service we had grown accustomed to on the Magic. The boys and I were swimming out to the water trampoline and water iceberg moments after our arrival.

The parasail/jet ski equipment operator had caught my eye and I inquired about parasailing. I had never gone parasailing and this was as good an opportunity as any. To my surprise, Karen expressed interest in also parasailing but she wanted to do a tandem. Due to light wind conditions we were advised in broken English that only singles would be flying. Karen backed out and I forked over $55 for my single ride hoping for enough wind to keep me airborne.

I was immediately ushered to a waiting boat so as not to allow me an opportunity to reconsider and ask for my money back. 8 other passengers were already on board. I don’t know how long the others were waiting, but we immediately departed once I arrived. A volunteer was needed to be the first flier. As I had just walked on the boat, I deferred to the others for a volunteer. A bunch of wusses. No one spoke up so I volunteered to go first.

I was strapped into a harness and a safety vest and before I knew it I was airborne. I was initially put off by the distance we were from the coastline, but before long it settled into a very relaxing and enjoyable ride with an amazing view of the Cozumel coast.

That was until I noticed duct tape wrapped around the metal cylinder that attached my harness to the parachute. Although duct tape strangely appears on the DIS list of recommended items to bring on the cruise (in case you decide to take Goofy hostage I suppose), I suspect that not many DIS-ers have thought to use duct tape to assemble parasailing equipment.

As much as I tried to enjoy the rest of the ride, my attention was focused on the duct tape and the fact that I had still not drawn up a will. I was also kicking myself (again) for not using DCL to arrange for this activity. I bet on Castaway Cay the parasailing equipment wasn’t reinforced with duct tape.

When I finally returned everyone was hungry and thirsty. The adults ordered various frozen alcoholic beverages (yum) and incredible chips with salsa and guacamole (even yummier). There was also a great kids’ menu to order stuff for the little guys. Noah declared that the quesadillas in Mexico were much better than the quesadillas in New Jersey.

After lunch we returned to the ship. Karen and Bobbie immediately departed to do some shopping in Cozumel and my Mom had a massage scheduled. I dropped Alex in the Lab and took Noah and Eva to see Cars … our first and only time in the Buena Vista Theater. There was so much to do all week that it was difficult to find time to catch the movies.

Karen and Bobbie were back in the cabins when we returned from the movie. It was still a little early, but we decided to start dressing into our Pirates costumes. I was in full costume an hour before our 5:30 main dinner seating and still needed to check Alex out of the Lab.

As I walked to the Lab at 4:30 pm as the only pirate on the ship, I received more than a few bewildered stares from my fellow passengers. HELLO?!? Its Pirates Night people. Apparently they hadn’t received the memo. Alex was mortified when I arrived in the Lab as a pirate. Being a parent can be so much fun.

Eva was now dressed in her pirate costume and the boys complained about having to put on their costumes. I wasn’t in the mood for their complaints so I left with Eva. She looked absolutely adorable. Instead of the quizzical stares I had received when I was roaming the ship as a solo pirate, our fellow passengers now “Ooohed” and “Aaaahed” at Eva.

Eva and I got in line for a pirate photo and the rest of my pirate family arrived just as it was our turn. This is what we looked like.

http://i101.photobucket.com/albums/m43/jsfein/DCL%202006/Scan9.jpg

http://i101.photobucket.com/albums/m43/jsfein/DCL%202006/-1.jpg

http://i101.photobucket.com/albums/m43/jsfein/DCL%202006/-2.jpg

http://i101.photobucket.com/albums/m43/jsfein/DCL%202006/-3.jpg

As we walked to Parrot Cay, Karen was a bit peeved at me that I had us all dress in full costume when, in fact, there were but a few other passengers dressed in any pirate gear at all. I was surprised myself, but I wasn’t going to let others’ lack of pirate spirit get me down. Over in Parrot Cay many of the waiters complimented us on being the best costumed family. I had to agree.

Not only was tonight Pirates Night, but it was also the first showing of Santa Clause 3. Rachel Quinn’s buildup for the screening of the movie all week was way over the top. You would have thought that Tim Allen and Martin Short were going to perform the movie live with all the excitement the cruise director tried to generate. Despite the buzz in the air, my late night the evening before had me asleep within 5 minutes of the start of the movie. When I awoke 30 minutes later, Eva was tired and cranky. No problem. Since I had already missed the entire movie I took her back to the cabin. We remained in our costumes and promised one another that we would wake to attend the Pirates party.

Next thing I remember was a pounding at the door as I had unknowingly taken everyone’s KTTW cards with me. Observing our pirates’ pact, I woke Eva for the party. She was not happy at all.

Need I say that the Pirates party was a disaster? Eva was miserable and clearly needed to go back to bed. So did I. Five minutes into the party Bobbie left to take Eva back to the room. Then Alex disappeared. There were lots of people in the area, but absolutely no sign of Alex. Time. To. Panic. It took a few minutes (when your kid goes missing minutes feel like an eternity) before we found him alone in the mosh pit in front of the stage. He said he wanted to dance. We couldn’t stay mad at a kid who just wanted to dance. Noah and I made it until the fireworks and then headed to bed. I never did see the buffet. True to form, Alex refused to leave the party until it was over so he stayed behind with Karen.

Despite our killer costumes, the stars just weren’t aligned for us all to be wild and crazy dancing pirates on this night. Nevertheless, it was a really great day overall (and I hardly touched my Blackberry all day).

[Ski-and-Sea]

I always wondered whether the word "wuss" was allowable on DIS.

Great pirate outfits. Ah, those other passengers that looked at you funny are just a bunch of......the word referenced above.

My kids also think the Mexican food we get in NJ isn't as good as what they had in Cozumel and Costa Maya.

Great TR.

[mruhaak]

Cozumel definitely has the best margaritas I've had. I can testify to that! :crazy:

[Babs417]

I got a great massage at Paradise Beach, it was worth getting. Great pics. :thumbsup2 :sunny: ;) :goodvibes :)

[jsfein]

I got a great massage at Paradise Beach, it was worth getting. Great pics. :thumbsup2 :sunny: ;) :goodvibes :)

I had toyed with getting a massage instead of the parasailing, but, as I will describe in my next installment, I had a massage the following day on the ship. I should have done both.

[love2travel]

No duct tape on the parasailing equipment at CC!!! :rotfl2:
I have parasailed on CC twice and it was a great experience!

[PrincessFAN2006]

All of your photo's are great!! I loved your pirate costumes!!

[Babs417]

My massage was $20 +tip at PB what did I have to lose. It was heaven :thumbsup2 :sunny: ;) :goodvibes :) :cloud9:

[jsfein]

I have no notes for the remaining days of the cruise and now that a month has passed my memory has faded, but here’s what I can recall from, Thursday, our last day at sea.

Karen and I had an early spa appointment for a couples massage. Following breakfast, we left Eva with Spanky and my Mom to hang by the Mickey pool and Bobbie took the boys to the Ocean Quest open house. I think this may be the first time I’ve mentioned Ocean Quest in this trip report, but this was certainly not the kids’ first visit there. We were regulars in Ocean Quest during open house hours.

For those accustomed to spa treatments, the following information will be of absolutely no use to you. This is more for the Dads (and Moms, but mostly Dads) who may be reading along and have never had a massage. Before my ER experience a few days earlier, I had never even been to a spa. Here I was for the second time in a four day span going for my first ever massage. I had certain insecurities that I think any run-of-the-mill guy whose never had a massage might have, including:

1. Is the massage therapist going to be male or female? This was a major concern of mine. I’m sure male massage therapists are excellent at what they do, but I didn’t want one. Just my personal preference.

2. What if Karen’s massage therapist was male? Her OB/GYN is a man, but I'm not there during her doctor's visit.

3. What if it was Karen, me and two guys? Like my report of the ER experience, this is starting to sound very non-Disney like.

4. What was expected concerning clothing? Was I expected to wear my birthday suit or something more modest?

5. What would I do if the answer to Questions 1 and 2 were male and the answer to Question 4 was birthday suit? Wish my wife a fun time and get out of there as fast as I could.

I did a little pre-planning for the massage. Right before we cruised I purchased new boxers from Banana Republic which I had saved all cruise for the massage. It was sort of like the old adage to make sure you have on clean underwear in case you’re in an accident. My new boxers gave me an added confidence boost.

When we arrived at the spa the spa lady who assisted us with the ER was the first person we saw behind the counter. That cheap shot she took at me a few days earlier (“You finished before I knocked”) was still ringing in my ears and I was hoping to avoid her. As we approached, a blur suddenly appeared out of nowhere and asked, “Can I help you?” A short Filipino woman named Wella, who we could barely see over the counter, checked us in and gave us a questionnaire to fill out. I was saved from the other spa lady.

The spa questionnaire was lengthy and requested more medical information from me than my own internist has ever requested. I dutifully filled out the questionnaire, which concluded with the question, “Please rate your stress level on a scale of 1-10, with 10 being the most stressful.” The whole work/Blackberry thing was still fresh in my mind and I rated myself an 8. Little did I know that an 8 set off alarm bells for the massage therapist.

After we completed the questionnaires, Wella escorted us not to the lockers but directly to the massage room. I was a little disappointed that I didn’t get a chance to wear the thigh length robe again. Another Filipino woman was waiting for us at the massage room, Kathy. Wella announced that she would do Karen’s massage and Kathy would do mine.

Keep in mind that I never had a massage before and had nothing but stereotypes in my head. I sort of expected an Inga from Sweden type of masseuse – tall, blond, and big powerful hands. Instead, we had two petite Filipino women who probably couldn’t reach across one side of the massage table to the other. But they were women, so Questions 1 and 2 were answered favorably.

Wella and Kathy reviewed our questionnaires with us. Kathy was put off by my Level 8 stress level and told me that I had too much stress in my life. I offered her my kids, but she politely declined to take them. Kathy then asked me if I have any problem areas that I wanted her to work on. I told her to bring my Level 8 down to a Level 4 and all would be good. As this was our first massage, the therapists recommended a ½ body, ½ facial treatment. We followed their recommendation despite a vision of myself with mud on my face and cucumbers covering my eyes.

Wella then set me completely at ease when she told us to undress to our own level of comfort while the therapists left the room. Question 4 had also been answered favorably and I proudly displayed my new boxers. Thank goodness Question 5 didn’t come into play.

We laid down on adjoining massage tables with our faces poking out of the cut-outs at the top of the table. The whole scene was so foreign to us that we couldn’t stop giggling. However, once the therapists reentered the room and the massages began the giggles gave way to “oooohs” and “aaaahs” as the stress was quickly washed away.

Shortly into my body massage, Kathy asked me if the pressure was okay or did I want her to increase or decrease the amount of pressure she was exerting. The massage felt great and the pressure was just fine, but the question had been posed to a guy in a room with three women. “Sure, you can use more pressure.” How else could I have responded?

It was then that I think (I’m not sure as my face was in the cut-out) that Kathy took out a sledgehammer and started beating the crap out of me, but in a good way. The pressure increased significantly to the point that I was teetering on the line between pain and pleasure. Kathy said something about stress and deep muscle tension, and my earlier “oooohs” and “aaaahs” turned more into grunts and pleas.

The hour passed in no time. I was truly amazed at how relaxed I became. The massage was like crack … I wanted more. I cursed myself for waiting until the end of the cruise to have the massage. I asked Kathy about her availability the following day at Castaway Cay, but she thought she was already booked. Even though Kathy had not complimented me on my new boxers, I had found my new favorite crewmember.

Next I will post my experience with the other “ER” on the ship, also known as the ship’s infirmary.

[janets]

I haven't had an opportunity to post to your trip report thread but wanted to say that I've enjoyed every minute of it. While I was raised in NYC, I'm now a Jersey girl (Exit 27 off Rt. 80; formerly 8A/123) and so enjoy reading about Jersey week cruises.

We're cruising next year, but DS (almost 9) has chosen RCCL Liberty of the Seas because of the rock wall, ice skating rink and H2O Zone. We're WDW AP holders, having had the joy of 4 trips to the world in 2006, with 2 planned for 2007, so we're taking a break. We've done DCL before with older ds only, but he was only about 3.5 and doesn't have the best memories (didn't really love the club) so I think he's hesitant about going back. I've tried to convince him that I can hook him up w/ a bunch of kids who will be cruising from NJ on line so he can chat and make friends, but he seems pleased w/ his RCCL decision. We have time to change our minds so who knows?

Jason, are you with a law firm in Central/South Jersey? I'm with one in Northern NJ (Wolff & Samson). I used to work at Wilentz Goldman in Woodbridge.

Looking forward to your future installments.

[jsfein]

I haven't had an opportunity to post to your trip report thread but wanted to say that I've enjoyed every minute of it. While I was raised in NYC, I'm now a Jersey girl (Exit 27 off Rt. 80; formerly 8A/123) and so enjoy reading about Jersey week cruises.

We're cruising next year, but DS (almost 9) has chosen RCCL Liberty of the Seas because of the rock wall, ice skating rink and H2O Zone. We're WDW AP holders, having had the joy of 4 trips to the world in 2006, with 2 planned for 2007, so we're taking a break. We've done DCL before with older ds only, but he was only about 3.5 and doesn't have the best memories (didn't really love the club) so I think he's hesitant about going back. I've tried to convince him that I can hook him up w/ a bunch of kids who will be cruising from NJ on line so he can chat and make friends, but he seems pleased w/ his RCCL decision. We have time to change our minds so who knows?

Jason, are you with a law firm in Central/South Jersey? I'm with one in Northern NJ (Wolff & Samson). I used to work at Wilentz Goldman in Woodbridge.

Looking forward to your future installments.

Hi Janet, thanks for the kind words. I am indeed with a law firm in Central/South Jersey (depending on where you draw the line). Do we know each other? Have you learned things from my TR that you'll be able to use against me? Should I put my firm's malpractice carrier on notice?

[4duncansfromcanada]

I just had to thank you for writing such an enyoyable Trip Reprt! It's 2:17 in the morning and I just had to keep reading and laughing!! It was great - like a funny novel you can't put down.

[Angie_Ohio]

GREAT REPORT!
You have me laughing so hard. I have wanted my husband to try a massage for a while and he always recalls the Seinfeld episode with George, the Helga-type woman and "moving". He is not a diser but I think he would enjoy reading this and knowing he is not alone and that someone else has ventured there and returned unscathed.

I got up early today to get a chance at the computer (3 young surfers) so I could finish your report.

Angie_OH

[JDBlair]

:rotfl: When I read the party about Kathy and the sledgehammer, I spit all over the computer screen with my burst of laughter. DH, who is not a DISer (his loss!), asked, "What?" So I shared. He had big smiles! :teeth: I keep trying to convince him to get a massage, I think he'd really love it. But I think he shares in some of your fears. Maybe I'll schedule one, any way, and just booze him up beforehand. And it's good to know he can wear boxers!! :rolleyes1

[jsfein]

GREAT REPORT!
You have me laughing so hard. I have wanted my husband to try a massage for a while and he always recalls the Seinfeld episode with George, the Helga-type woman and "moving". He is not a diser but I think he would enjoy reading this and knowing he is not alone and that someone else has ventured there and returned unscathed.

I got up early today to get a chance at the computer (3 young surfers) so I could finish your report.

Angie_OH
:rotfl: When I read the party about Kathy and the sledgehammer, I spit all over the computer screen with my burst of laughter. DH, who is not a DISer (his loss!), asked, "What?" So I shared. He had big smiles! :teeth: I keep trying to convince him to get a massage, I think he'd really love it. But I think he shares in some of your fears. Maybe I'll schedule one, any way, and just booze him up beforehand. And it's good to know he can wear boxers!! :rolleyes1

If I've helped one wife get her husband to get a massage from the recounting of my spa experience, then I'm glad I told my story. Guys, you don't know what you're missing.

[jsfein]

Following the spa, I returned to find Spanky and my Mom waving the white flag by the Mickey pool. Apparently watching Eva play around in the Mickey pool for an hour had wiped them out.

Now that a month has passed, my recollection of our late morning to early afternoon is a bit fuzzy. There should be a statute of limitations on DIS for the completion of trip reports to avoid memory fade. I’m pretty sure that Bobbie, Karen and the boys went to a magic workshop during these hours and that Spanky, Eva, my Mom and I hung around Deck 9. I do recall that it was a very relaxing time. Our two days at sea were very laid back and enjoyable.

I was in a dilemma regarding the kids and the clubs in the afternoon. The adults had an afternoon Galley tour planned, so I needed to put the kids in the clubs by 3:00 pm. We also had our Palo dinner planned that night so the kids would be back in the clubs by 6:00 pm. Scheduled in between these hours was the Celebrate the Journey rehearsal and show. I was torn as to whether to have the kids in the clubs from basically 3:00 pm to 8:00 pm. As I didn’t think that would be fair to them, we decided that they would skip Celebrate the Journey. Celebrate the Journey was on my “to do” list prior to the cruise so I was disappointed that we missed it. The kids wouldn’t have cared, but us parents would have enjoyed it. Maybe someone who sailed with us can cheer me up by telling me that Celebrate the Journey was terrible.

By mid-afternoon we checked the kids into the clubs and started the dreaded task of repacking as we awaited the start of the Galley tour. I wish I had taken a photo of the condition of our room by this, the fifth day of the cruise. The mess was unimaginable.

A few minutes before we were to leave for the Galley tour, Bobbie got a call from the Lab advising that Alex had bumped his head. I found it strange that the Lab called the stateroom looking for a parent rather than paging us.

Karen and I spent the next few minutes discussing who should check on him. If Karen checked on Alex, it was likely that he would want to leave the Lab with her. If I checked on Alex, the chances of him remaining in the Lab and all of the adults going on the Galley tour were greater. The call from the Lab suggested no urgency whatsoever and I leisurely made my way to the Lab.

It wasn’t hard to locate Alex when I arrived at the Lab as he was the kid laid out on a bean bag with 4 counselors attending to him. One of the counselors had an ice pack applied to the back of his head and when they removed it it was covered in blood. Apparently Alex was by the computers watching another child play a game when he leaned his chair back and fell over backwards, striking his head on a sharp edge. An accident that the Lab could not have prevented. He had a considerable gash in his scalp. Ouch.

I suspect that the severity of the injury is what caused the Lab to call us directly in the stateroom rather than chancing our response to a page. I was, however, a bit put off that we weren’t told the severity of the injury when the Lab called.

After I arrived, an extremely courteous manager in the Lab, Jane from the United States, suggested that we bring Alex down to the ship’s infirmary. I had a feeling before we cruised that I would be seeing the infirmary with Spanky at some point, but I never expected this. Unsure what a visit to the infirmary entailed, I was thankful that I had purchased trip insurance in case I was about to incur medical expenses. Always thinking about the bottom line, even in times of crisis.

Jane from the Lab was terrific. She stayed with us the entire time. Without me asking, she called Karen and informed her what was going on. Karen met us in the infirmary moments later. I thought the nurse in the infirmary could have been more tactful and discussed Alex’s condition with us out of his presence. With Alex right there she informed us that although the cut was starting to clot, a couple of stitches weren’t out of the question. Of course, Alex freaked when he heard that. He had a prior incident involving stitches when he was younger and practically bolted when the nurse mentioned stitches. We elected against the stitches and to take the wait and see approach. Again, I understand that the nurse was doing her job, but was it really necessary to discuss with us in an 8 year old’s presence the possibility of coma if a concussion had been suffered? I think not.

After hearing that he wasn’t getting stitches, Alex's spirits were much improved. We returned to the room, he rested a bit, and seemed fine. Karen and I had missed the Galley tour, but the grandmas who had attended said it was terrible so not much was lost.

Alex deserved a little pampering so we grabbed Noah, headed up to the arcade and purchased a new $30 card. This won’t mean a thing to those reading along, but Noah is addicted to an arcade game called Jurassic Park III. He can’t get enough of it when we visit the resort arcades at WDW and it was aboard the Magic. For the first time ever (the $30 card had something to do with it), Alex and Noah finished the game. The three of us were screaming with joy from this accomplishment and performed a rousing rendition of “We Are The Champions.” If you happened to be in Quartermasters around 4:30 pm on Thursday, that was us you heard singing.

Alex seemed to be doing fine and we had dinner at Palo planned that evening, so we dressed quickly and returned the kids to the clubs with the “we’ll be at Palo” instructions for the counselors so as not to be paged during dinner. As we arrived at Palo I realized that being paged wouldn’t be an issue as I had mistakenly left the pager in our stateroom. I should have just stayed at Palo as we knew it was unlikely that the clubs would call us, but we were still a bit uncertain concerning Alex so I ran back to the room for the pager.

Our Palo dinner was fantastic. The food was amazing and Noeme took great care of us. It was the Captain’s Gala a/k/a lobster night. Karen and Bobbie are lobster fanatics and ordered the filet mignon with two lobster tails. Noeme wisely talked them out of it as it would have been way too much food. We all ordered single (not double) lobster tails with our entrees and they were huge and delicious. I’m curious to know whether the rotation restaurants served the same lobster tails as Palo. While all the food at Palo was great, two items still have me salivating a month later. The rack of lamb was the best rack of lamb I had ever eaten. And the lasagne bolognese (a special that night) was incredible.

Just as the chocolate soufflés were being served the pager went off. I didn’t know until later that evening that a text message accompanies the page. We weren’t instructed on this when we received the pager in the terminal on Day One. Not knowing whether the page was related to Alex, I left to check on the kids. This was a disappointment as we were celebrating Karen’s and Bobbie’s birthdays at Palo. They didn’t know that I had arranged with Noeme to have decorated happy birthday plates delivered following the chocolate soufflés.

I went to check on Alex first, but it turned out to be Eva that had us paged because she wanted to see us. I thought that we weren’t supposed to be paged for such a “non-emergency” when the counselors knew we were at Palo, but I didn’t see the point in making an issue of it as I had mostly finished my meal. Of course when I arrived, Eva was busy with the club’s activity and had forgotten that she had me paged. Grrrrr!!!! I shouldn’t have returned for that darn pager.

We all very much enjoyed Disney Dreams and called it an early night following the show. Waiting for Alex upon our return to the cabins was a present from the Lab which included a stuffed Goofy sailor and a fishing hat signed by Mickey and the gang. Also included was a “Feel Better Soon” card that was made by a boy Alex had become friendly with in the Lab and signed by all the kids in the Lab. Alex was overjoyed as evidenced in this photo:

http://i101.photobucket.com/albums/m43/jsfein/DCL%202006/-4.jpg

Them Disney folk sure know how to make a kid feel special.

[JDBlair]

If I've helped one wife get her husband to get a massage from the recounting of my spa experience, then I'm glad I told my story. Guys, you don't know what you're missing.

A male friend of mine recently went to a spa here in town to have a massage. His wife got him one for some gift-giving occassion. He dreaded going. Then he returned to work with tales of how relaxed he felt all weekend after his massage and if he could afford it, he'd do it often!

[discruiselovers97]

Jane from the Lab was terrific.

Omg This was my daughters favorite Castmember (besides Pikey) EVER! My daughter had just turned 13 and HATED The Stack so her and her 5 other friends met Jane and Jane at like 11 o'clock would let her and her friends to go into the lab or show them something else that was "So Incredible Cool"(as my daughter said it). She is GREAT! :cool1:

[tyedye]

popcorn:: Have enjoyed reading your report. What was the weather like this week? And was the sea rough at all? We're booked for this week next year. :banana:

[lindaso]

Unsure what a visit to the infirmary entailed, I was thankful that I had purchased trip insurance in case I was about to incur medical expenses. Always thinking about the bottom line, even in times of crisis.

:lmao: Yup, that's me too. Our families are cut from the same mold! And now that I know you're a lawyer, your trip reports take on new meaning for me! Chuck and I met on the 1st day of law school.

[jsfein]

popcorn:: Have enjoyed reading your report. What was the weather like this week? And was the sea rough at all? We're booked for this week next year. :banana:

The weather, for the most part, was good. The weather was a little overcast at the start of the cruise and we got caught in a heavy rain for about an hour in Grand Cayman, but other than that very nice. We did have rough seas the first couple of nights, but thankfully no one in my party was affected. I wouldn't hesitate to sail again this week and, in fact, plan on doing so again (but not next year).

[love2travel]

popcorn:: Have enjoyed reading your report. What was the weather like this week? And was the sea rough at all? We're booked for this week next year. :banana:

We are booked for next year, it will be our third year in a row going that particular week. We have always had nice weather.

[janets]

Hi Janet, thanks for the kind words. I am indeed with a law firm in Central/South Jersey (depending on where you draw the line). Do we know each other? Have you learned things from my TR that you'll be able to use against me? Should I put my firm's malpractice carrier on notice?

Nope, I don't think we know each other personally, but I can usually tell a lawyer from their writing. Of course, I can always look you up in Martindale LOL!

Nothing has been said that requires malpractice insurance. Really enjoying your report. Just wondered if we had crossed paths in the past.

[DMMarla07860]

love the trip report, as I was on my way to Rockaway mall I heard a song I heard on the disney magic and got excited

[plutospup]

Your trip report is great! It sounds like your "cast of characters" had a wonderful time.

BTW...we're trying to determine when 2008 'Jersey Week' will be. Is it the first week in November? Thanks for your help.

[SweetSpot]

Your trip report is great! It sounds like your "cast of characters" had a wonderful time.

BTW...we're trying to determine when 2008 'Jersey Week' will be. Is it the first week in November? Thanks for your help.

The 2008 Convention dates are Nov 6 & 7 so the NJ week cruise would be November 1st (Western again). You can view all future convention dates here: http://www.njea.org/page.aspx?a=1965

[plutospup]

Thanks SweetSpot! I was hoping it would be the first week of Nov.! It looks like this Pennsylvania family will be joining Jersey in 2008!

[MassDisLovers]

I just sat and read all 9 pages of your trip report - great job and very entertaining! Although my own 4 children are much older than yours now, it brought back many memories of traveling with them when they were younger. We never had the pleasure of taking grandparents with us, your kids are very lucky ! Thanks for such a fun report to read!

[pklein09]

BTW...we're trying to determine when 2008 'Jersey Week' will be. Is it the first week in November? Thanks for your help.

Jersey week is usually the week of Election Day, so it may be earlier or later depending on the 1 Tuesday of the month.

[jsfein]

I sort of fizzled out on finishing this TR last month. I came checking on 2008 sailing dates and *poof* a couple of posts to my "old" TR. I need to finish this up before the remaining installment(s) fade from memory.

As for 2008, I'm presently trying to decide between Jersey Week 2008 which is the same Western sailing as the one I just did for Jersey Week 2006 vs. Thanksgiving 2008 which is a double dip. If it were just me deciding, I'd go with Thanksgiving, but we're going to have a large travel party next time around and I need to do some checking with others. Decisions, decisions.

[plutospup]

jsfein...I can only hope you'll be on the Jersey week cruise! This time no blackberry, and only one type of ER visit! Oh my, too funny!:lmao:

[SweetSpot]

It's a shame NJ week has been the Western so many times in a row. Our first 3 were Easterns but it seems it will continue to fall in the Western cycle for a couple more years. Regardless of the itinerary, we have always had amazing weather and the most wonderful people cruising with us. I love NJ week cruises!!

[plutospup]

SweetSpot...will you be on the 2008 Jersey week cruise?

[love2travel]

It's a shame NJ week has been the Western so many times in a row. Our first 3 were Easterns but it seems it will continue to fall in the Western cycle for a couple more years. Regardless of the itinerary, we have always had amazing weather and the most wonderful people cruising with us. I love NJ week cruises!!

I have to agree with SweetSpot, we have had amazing weather the past 2 years that we have been on the NJ week cruise. We absolutely love that week, so much we are going again this coming Nov. We have also made some wonderful friends on those cruises!!!

[cheysdad]

Hi Jason

We are booking Thanksgiving 2008, hope you guys are there.

Michael

[jsfein]

Hi Mike, nice to hear from you and Happy New Year. I remember you telling me that you were shooting for Thanksgiving 2008. It seems like at least a few DIS-ers from our sailing are also shooting for Thanksgiving week. That double dip sure would be nice. My party of 8 from the last cruise will probably be a party of 15 for the next one. If the consensus is to sail Thanksgiving, I'll surely let you know.