One Is Not Enough! Back-2-Back on the Magic-12/1 & 12/8 (Updated 1/4: Transition Day)

[CraftyMouse]

Okay...we're now 17 days out from our trip (18 until we sail) and I can't stand it anymore. I have to start my trip report. I didn't want to start it too early, but it now feels like the right time so...here goes!

Cast of Characters:
Me – Me, 43, stay-at-home mom, planner, Disney-freak, “The Excited! One”
DH – DH, 42, engineer, all-around-great-guy, Disney-convert, “The Calm One”
DD15 – DD, 15, smart, funny, dancer, “The Over-Reactive One”
DS12 – DS, 12, smart, funny, Lego-obsessed, “The Calm One v.2.0”
DFather – DDad, 74 (DCL Cruise Veteran)
DFather-In-Law – DFIL, 74 (DCL Cruise Newbie!)
DFH – Friends (Husband)
DFW – Friends (Wife)
DFD15 – Friends (Their DD15)


The Pre-Trip Report...Episode 1

Okay…so I admit it…I am about to take one of my DREAM trips. You know, those vacations that you dream about but don’t think you’re ever going to take. My list includes Africa, China, Machu Picchu, a 2-month tour of Europe, and (drumroll please…) back-to-back cruises on the Disney Magic.

DH and I had talked about how completely indulgent it would be to do back-to-back Magic cruises way back in 2003 when we did our first 7-day. These conversations were peppered with phrases like “I wish…” and “If only we could.” and, ultimately, “We could never afford it.” Silly us. What were we thinking? What about “If you can dream it then you can do it?” Didn’t we tell our kids that anything was possible? We were being hypocrites! It turns out that our dream wasn’t out of our reach after all, but that story is yet to come.

Our first DCL cruise was a 3-day on the Magic in February, 1999. DH HATED it! He absolutely HATED it. I, however was in love from the start. I was able to convince him to try the 4-day on the Wonder the following year and, while it was better, he still wasn’t sold. Well, remember the saying “the third try’s the charm”? It held true for our DCL experiences. We booked a 7-day Western for Nov. 2002 and DH promised he’d try to like it. We were to leave the day before Thanksgiving and sail the following Saturday. There was just one problem. A little thing called the Norwalk Virus came along and scuttled all of my plans. In DCL’s history they have only cancelled one sailing because of the Norwalk Virus…guess which one it was? Yup…ours. …sigh… DCL was very good to us, however, and we rebooked for the following October. This time we made it onboard and DH finally fell in love with DCL too. I think the other cruises had just been to short for him because this was where he first mentioned doing the back-to-back thing. We took a 7-day Eastern (an Antigua sailing) in Oct. 2004 and the talk of back-to-backs continued.

In February, 2006 we went to WDW with friends of ours. These friends had also accompanied us in Oct. ’04 and that trip had been their first visit to WDW…ever! On that trip we stayed at OKW on our DVC points and they absolutely fell in love with both it and WDW. They liked it so much, in fact, that they bought into DVC and that led us to our Feb. ’06 trip.

When we returned from WDW that cold, snowy ’06 February our collective thoughts all turned to “Let’s start planning the next one!” (I'm sure many of you recognize this sickness!) Our friends had sailed on the Magic once before and were itching to sail again, as were we. We decided to look into late ’07 as a possible time to go.

During my research I found that the prices for Dec. ’07 were quite reasonable. We all decided on the Dec. 1, 2007 Western sailing and each booked our cabins. A month or so later, on a whim, I decided to price out the week before as well. Now, I say on a whim. Anyone who knows me knows that as soon as I started this process it was not going to stop. I was going to book the second week, no question about it. I, however, was fooling myself into believing that I was just looking. (Foolish me!) That’s the same way we ended up with our last new car.

To Be Continued…

[thebarley7]

There is a 12/8 specific thread going. Look for it. Welcome :)

[CraftyMouse]

There is a 12/8 specific thread going. Look for it. Welcome :)

Yes, I posted a couple of times. We probably won't be doing much of the group stuff on the 12/8 as it is our week to just be a family (or fathers and friends are only sailing on the 12/1). I'm sure we'll see you around the ship though!

[CraftyMouse]

See! I knew it was the right day to start this. My cruise documents just came via UPS!!! Wheeeeeeeeee!

[A fat english gent]

How spooky,we just did a back-to-back a few weeks ago on the Magic and our previous cruise before this one?...You guessed it a 7-day Eastern (an Antigua sailing) in Oct. 2004,great minds think alike CraftyMouse....:lmao: :rotfl2: :lmao:

[CraftyMouse]

How spooky,we just did a back-to-back a few weeks ago on the Magic and our previous cruise before this one?...You guessed it a 7-day Eastern (an Antigua sailing) in Oct. 2004,great minds think alike CraftyMouse....:lmao: :rotfl2: :lmao:

How funny! I bet we were on the same sailing. It was in early-mid October and it was the last Antigua sailing. Don "Ducky" Williams was onboard. Were you there too?

[A fat english gent]

Yes and i have some signed artwork to prove it:lmao: ,I had drinks with Don "Ducky" Williams on our second Cruise which was the halloween sailing and he was good enough to sign some more of his work for my children,a wonderful humble man IMHO and a pleasure to be around....He's buying the beer on the August REPO...:lmao: :rotfl2: :lmao:

[CraftyMouse]

Yes and i have some signed artwork to prove it:lmao: ,I had drinks with Don "Ducky" Williams on our second Cruise which was the halloween sailing and he was good enough to sign some more of his work for my children,a wonderful humble man IMHO and a pleasure to be around....He's buying the beer on the August REPO...:lmao: :rotfl2: :lmao:

We had our lithograph signed by him and were lucky enough to win the drawing of Ursula at his presentation. DD is a huge Villains fan so she was particularly thrilled.

I use his story of perserverance and going after your dreams with my kids all of the time. I hope to sail with him again sometime.

[nanatink]

We will be on the 12/8 sailing. We may see you there. :thumbsup2

[CraftyMouse]

Pre-Trip Report: Episode 2

Okay…back to our tale…

So, when we last left off I was in the process of booking…ummm…er…I mean checking rates…that’s right, checking rates for a second cruise. The prices for the 11/24 Eastern sailing were similar to the 12/1 and…well…I did it! I booked it! Now I know that this is anti-climactic for those of you who read the end of the last installment, but I shocked myself. I actually did it? No! I couldn’t have. But I had. And DH didn’t know yet! I held my breath as I dialed his number at work. “Honey…I have something to tell you.” Well, having lived with me for 16 years he knows that those words are always going to lead to something…well…big. Being the great guy he is, however, he was not only accepting of the idea, he was all for it! Whew!

My plan was to not tell the kids but, again, anyone who knows me would have laughed at the thought. Michele…keep a secret? Hahahahahahaha. That just doesn’t happen. Now, I can keep a “confidence” type of secret. You know, secrets for friends…things they don’t want me to share. No problem. But “surprise” secrets? I don’t think so. Uh-uh. Not happening. I’m the person who buys Christmas presents early but can never hang on to them. I always give them right away because I know it will make the recipient happy. The same was true here. I think I did achieve a record of waiting 2 whole days before I told the kids, so that was something, right? Anyway, there were blank stares at first, as if they couldn’t believe it was actually true. I must forgive them for that as they have spent their whole lives living with me and I am notorious for (good-natured) teasing. They clearly thought this was one of those mom-is-pulling-our-leg situations. When reality finally sunk in the blank stares were quickly followed but much shrieking and screaming. They were excited!

Okay, for those of you keeping score at home we’re booked for the 11/24/07 Eastern and the 12/1/07 Western. The only problem is it is only April of 2006. What are we going to do for a year and a half? How are we going to pass the time? Well, after the initial rush wore off we found other things to keep us busy. I think most people refer to it as “Life”. There was the regular schedule to keep, the schoolwork to get done, etc. Time passed…and passed…and passed.

Coming up…our group gets bigger, scheduling conflicts, a mis-informed DCL CM, a tenacious mom and our plans change.

To Be Continued…

[fairfax]

How awesome to be doing back to back cruises! I can't wait to hear all about it! I'm enjoying the TR so far.

[tidoublegger]

Whoohoo! Hopefully we'll see you on the 8th!! :cool1: Keep the report coming! :thumbsup2

[CraftyMouse]

Pre-Trip Report: Episode 3

And Onward We Go…

In the fall of 2006 we convinced my parents and father-in-law to book the 12/1 Western and come with us. Again, for those keeping score it is now just us on the 11/24 Eastern and us, our friends, my parents and DH’s father on the 12/1 Western. The only kink in this plan was my grandmother who lives with my parents. At that time she was 92 and, while in very good health, she couldn’t be left home alone for a week. My parents decided to book, with the understanding that they might not be able to sail. It would depend on how my grandmother was doing and whether or not we could find someone to stay with her.

Okay…bored yet??? So, let’s skip the winter. We live in New England, it was snowy, cold and dark and we dreamed of the next year when we’d escape a bit of that to sail off to the Caribbean (twice!) on that beautiful ship. Okay…more time passes…can you feel it?

Then...it happened. A kink in the plan!

In late summer of ’07 DD15 decided to switch dance studios. Now, anybody who knows DD knows that dancing is her life. Changing studios was a big decision but one that has worked out wonderfully for her. The only problem was that there was a potential conflict with the dates of our first sailing and a dance event! What to do, what to do? I gave DCL a call and spoke with a CM about changing our 11/24 sailing to the 12/8 Eastern instead. Nope. No can do. He told me there was absolutely no availability in any cabin category. Huh? The DCL website is showing the cruise having tons of availability. What gives? I asked him to check again. Nope. Nothing. I asked him to check the date to make sure he had the right one. Big sigh on the other end of the phone. “Yes, ma’am I have the right date. There is nothing available.” Well…I knew he was wrong. Instead of arguing, however, I said thank you, hung up and immediately dialed DCL again.

This time I was connected to Jessica. What a difference! She was absolutely fantastic and the kind of CM DCL should be proud to have! She not only was able to switch us to the 12/8 sailing (keeping score?...we’re now going 12/1 Western, 12/8 Eastern) she was also able to get us the same cabin for both weeks, although we did have to move further down the hall from our friends. She went so far out of her way for us that she even called us back later that night to tell us that she had done some research into our reservations. It turns out that for both reservations I had made one payment on a card other than my Disney Visa. She asked if she could refund those payments to the card used and re-charge them on my Disney Visa. That way I’d get the $50 OBC for each week. Wow! What Guest Service! Like I said, she was fantastic. I made sure to write to DCL to let them know how great Jessica was. A DCL rep called me when they got the letter and promised to share it with both Jessica and her management team.

Okay…so I think we’re up to speed. We’re now sailing with our friends/family the first week (12/1) and alone the second week (12/8). We got everybody’s airfare straightened out and booked, rental cars reserved, etc. Oh…I almost forgot. Just before the final cruise payment was due my mother decided to pull out of the trip. My grandmother is still with us (thankfully) and my mother didn’t feel comfortable leaving her. While I was sad that my mom had to miss the trip, I understood. She said that she would come on the next trip if the rest of us would still go on this one and we all agreed. (Later I secretly booked a 12GTY for a January 4 day for mom and I so she will get to cruise after all...just not on this one.) I called DCL and straightened it all out. My father and father-in-law would now be sharing a cabin, which is great as they get along very well. It will also give them company and saved them each quite a bit over booking separate cabins.

Up next...Palo, Ports and Packing, Oh My!

[DisneyDadFaNaTic]

Back to Back?!? I'm incredibly jealous! That would be awesome!

Tell DD that she can just dance on the ship!! Wouldn't that solve it?:rolleyes1

Keep up the great work!

[CraftyMouse]

Tell DD that she can just dance on the ship!! Wouldn't that solve it?:rolleyes1


Nope. That wouldn't have helped.

Her dance company was thinking about performing in Germany during Thanksgiving week (World Championships) so either we changed the date of the trip or she would have to miss it. Changing actually had its other benefits - not the least of which is doing the family-only week with more sea days after the busier family/port-heavy week - and didn't cost us any more money so we decided to change. The company actually decided to go next year instead but this decision wasn't made until after our final payment due date so we just took the initiative and made the change.

[CraftyMouse]

Pre-Trip Report: Episode 4

Sometime during the cold winter months of 2006/2007 we started to put together some ideas of what we'd like to do in each port. We had been to each port except St. Maarten once before so we came up with a mix of old and new activities.

Last time we were in Key West we had taken the trolley tour and really enjoyed it. The only problem was that we weren't able to get on and off at any of the stops. We were a large group (11) and the trolleys were very busy that day. Getting off would have been no problem but finding another trolley to accommodate all of us would have been very tricky so we just stayed onboard and learned about Key West. We still enjoyed it but this time we knew we wanted to explore a bit more. So, we decided that we would take a cab to the Southernmost Point and then walk back to the ship, stopping at The Hemingway House, The Blonde Giraffe and Kino's Sandals on the way.

On our 10/03 Western we had loved visiting Stingray City in Grand Cayman and knew it was a must for this trip as well. Last time we booked a private charter through Captain Marvin's. There had been 11 of us and it with so many people the charter price had been very reasonable. This time there were 9 of us sailing so we decided to go for the private charter again. I contacted Captain Marvin's and Ruth helped me set everything up. We booked a 1/2 day charter that includes 2 snorkel stops plus Castaway Cay...total price $500 or $55 per person. Again, a good deal and we get the boat all to ourselves!

For Cozumel I secretly (okay...does anybody still reading know where this is going?) reserved the Royal Dolphin Swim through Dolphin Discoveries. It has become very clear to me just how little time we have left with DD15 before she goes off to college. We have all always wanted to swim with dolphins and so I decided we'd do it now, before it was too late. Of course...get ready to be shocked...I couldn't keep the secret. This time it was because I just knew how excited the kids would be and how they would enjoy looking forward to this activity. I did hold out quite a while and only told them a few months ago. After our dolphin swim we plan to hang around Chankanaab to swim and have lunch.

For our day in St. Maarten we booked a private tour through No Rush Tours. There are a few places we plan to see and then will take suggestions from the driver. We just want to get a feel for the island and visit both the French and Dutch sides. The price for this tour recently went WAY up and I"m glad we got ours reserved before the increase.

On our previous visit to St. Thomas we went parasailing, which was terrific. This time the boys really want to rent jet skis but DD and I weren't too interested in that. We decided that the boys will go off and rent the jet ski while DD and I will go up the Paradise Point tramway and then head into town to window shop.

So, those are our plans. Castaway Cay days will be spent relaxing, relaxing and...ummm...oh yeah...relaxing. DH will probably rent a sailboat and the kids will ride the banana boat but mostly we'll just relax...oh...and eat!

Okay...so that was just the ports. Next up - It's 90 Days Out!

[CraftyMouse]

Pre-Trip Report: Episode 5

Okay...the date is getting closer. I can hardly stand it! We are officially in single digits!

On with our tale...

Because we are doing back-to-back cruises that meant I had to do the 90-day dance twice. I was able to get everything we wanted for the first week, with a slight modification to our plans for Palo Tea. Originally we were all going to go to Tea but I was only able to get a reservation for 4. There were no tables for 2 available. So, that meant that not all of the adults would be able to go. On our last trip to WDW with our friends the moms and daughters had gone to the Grand Floridian to have tea. The dads were slightly put out that they didn't get a special afternoon so they decided to have their own "tea". Their "tea" consisted of hitting the Rose & Crown Pub in EPCOT and then sampling some of the "tea" from other countries. Their "tea" seemed to make them a bit tipsy, which was odd since ours didn't have that effect on us at all. ;)

Anyway...since we couldn't all go to Tea we decided that the wives would go to Palo while the husbands/dads went to Diversions for "tea". During this time I had met another DISer (:wave2: Gerweniel) and her two sons had begun emailing with my kids. She hadn't been able to get a Tea reservation so we invited her to come along with us. Yay...a "moms' afternoon" with Tea and a "guys afternoon" with "tea". All was good and everyone was happy.

I got all of the reservations I had wanted for both weeks, except for Tea the second week for DH and I. Not bad. I'll try to get that one once onboard but if nothing is open it's no big deal.

We weren't doing any excursions through DCL but I did book the Banana Boat for the kids. I also booked a pedicure for myself at the spa. I'd never been to the spa and thought this was a good way to start. Unfortunately over the next couple of months I read many negative reviews of the pedicure and I ended up cancelling it. Actually, my spa booking has changed a number of times. I changed to a manicure. Then I changed to a CC cabana massage. Then I changed to a regular massage. Finally I ended up with Alone Time during the second week.

So, that's my long-winded tale of my 90-day booking experience. Boring, I know...but the report will get better, I promise!

Next up...A Call From DCL at 16 days out!

[CraftyMouse]

Pre-Trip Report: Episode VI

After spending so much time here on the DISBoards I have come to learn that there are two very unique fairies that are often mentioned. One is the elusive Tag Fairy who I have been lucky enough to receive a gift from. The other is the unpredictable Upgrade Fairy who has never managed to find her way to me.

When we orignally booked the back-to-back we booked cabin 2114 for both sailings. When we had to change our date cabin 2114 was not available for the second week, so we moved to cabin 2002. I believe that this simple action sent a signal to the Upgrade Fairy. She was just not going to let us sail in the same cabin, despite my best plans to do so.

So on Thursday, 11/15, at roughly 2:30pm the phone rang. The caller ID said "Disney Cruise Line". Hmmmmm...what could this be? They already responded to my letter about the great service Jessica had given us. As the phone rang again my mind was racing through the possible reasons for the call. The phone rang a third time and I suddenly realized that to find out the answer all I had to do was answer the phone! So answer the phone I did. It was a lovely CM from DCL telling me that we had been upgraded to a Category 6 for our second sailing. I got the new cabin number, thanked her and hung up.

Now normally I'd be jumping up and down with this news. Don't get me wrong, I was happy...thrilled, even. But my mind kept going back and forth between "We got UPGRADED!!!" and "Now we have to move!", between "We get a free verandah!" and "But we love our Category 9". It was like a tennis match. Finally "We got UPGRADED!!!" and "We get a free verandah!" won the point. WE GOT UPGRADED!!!! WE GET A FREE VERANDAH!!! WOO and HOO! For the first time the Upgrade Fairy had bestowed riches upon us.

I did give DCL a call to see if the same Cat. 6 was available for the 12/1 sailing but it wasn't. In fact, that whole cruise is sold out. So, move we will. Others here on the DIS have done it and reported that it is not a difficult process so it's all good. We are now really looking forward to the ability to see exactly what we prefer. The first week we are sailing Forward on a lower Deck in a Category 9 on the Port side of the ship. The second week we are sailing Aft on a higher deck in a Category 6 on the Starboard side of the ship. We've sailed in various locaitons before, but never one week after the other so it will be fun to compare the two experiences.

And now it is Sunday, 11/25 and we have 5 more sleeps until we leave! The weather forecast for Friday morning is calling for light snow showers with a high temp that day of 38 degrees. Sounds like a perfect day to head to Florida and the Caribbean, doesn't it?

Up next...a final goodbye and off we go!

[DisneyBride'03]

Congrats on your upgrade!! You must be sooo excited!!!
Have a safe triP!

[LivingtheWDWdream]

Can't wait to hear all about this vacation! I'm so jealous!

[fairfax]

Congratulations on being upgraded!! How exciting!! :cool1:

[CraftyMouse]

Pre-Trip Report: Episode VII...The Final Chapter

Yup, we're finally here. It's the day before we leave. My countdown clock says we're at T Minus 21 Hours, 1 Minute, 20 Seconds and Counting!

I did pretty well getting everything taken care of. Today I just have to clean the fridge, do a bit of laundry and pack up the car. Then it's off to the airport bright and early tomorrow morning. Well, actually it won't be bright until well after we arrive at the airport, but it will be early! Our flight is at 6:30 so we'll be heading out around 4:00am! Won't be pretty, but we'll be on our way.

We fly into Tampa (it saved us almost $200 over flying into MCO). Our plan is to have lunch at the Earl of Sandwich tomorrow and possibly stop by the Wilderness Lodge to see the decorations. Then we'll pick up the two Grandpas at MCO and head to the port. We're staying at the Comfort Inn & Suites in Cocoa Beach and then it's off to the port the next morning.

I promise, promise, promise to write a full trip report when I get home, complete with lots of pictures.

Okay, sing along if you know the tune (and how can you not know the tune!)...

Now it's time to say goodbye
To the whole DIS family.
M...I...C...
See You on 12/16!
K...E...Y...
Why? Because we're going cruisin' with the Mouse!
M...O...U...S...E...

[CRUIZEN MAMMA]

Have a fantastic trip, Can't wait to hear all about the Eastern half- we had our first cruise on the Wonder Nov18 and plan to do the Eastern in Summer 2009 or maybe their special iteneraries.

[lunsusie]

Here's wishing you fair winds and calm seas. Have a wonderful vacation!:sail:

[sandybobandy]

Hope you are having a FANTASTIC trip! Can't wait to read all about it! :)

[LivingtheWDWdream]

I hope you have a magical time! Can't wait to hear all about it !

[purplepeg]

Hope you are having an awesome time. Can't wait to read all about it:surfweb:

[podsnel]

Lucky, lucky you!!:cheer2: I hope you are all having an AMAZING cruise with calm seas and gorgeous weather. Can't WAIT to read about it! :coffee: We'll all be patient, having the time of our lives at home...:laundy:

[CraftyMouse]

Trip Report: Preface

We're back! We got home around 11:30pm last night! I have now emptied all of the suitcases, made it about half way through the laundry and have downloaded all of my photos.

The trip report will be coming over the next few days but, for now, here are some highlight "teasers"...

Smooth seas on the Western but rockin' and rollin' on the Eastern.
A dolphin swim that was just amazing!
Ducky Williams was onboard for our second week!
The best serving team of all time!
Ocean Quest & The Stack kidnapped our children for two weeks.
Alone Time at the Spa...aaahhhh!
DD15 bonds with our Server, Luis.
Cruise Staffer Natalie and I stalk each other for two weeks.
I came back 6.5 pounds heavier...but it was soooooo worth it!

Hmmm...there was something else...now what was it? Oh yes...I remember...and it's realllllly good...but I'm going to make you wait! Don't worry though, I won't make you wait too long!

See You Real Soon!

[LivingtheWDWdream]

can't wait to hear all about it!!!!

Hurry back wanna know what your not telling us yet LOL

[DisneyZell]

I am so jealous of your back to back. Can't wait to hear all about it. And, you made it back just in time for the big storm! We are still trying to dig our way out of the snow. I'm not sure what part of New England you live in, but here in Southern New Hampshire, we got a ton of snow!

[CraftyMouse]

I am so jealous of your back to back. Can't wait to hear all about it. And, you made it back just in time for the big storm! We are still trying to dig our way out of the snow. I'm not sure what part of New England you live in, but here in Southern New Hampshire, we got a ton of snow!

We are in CT and got a lot of snow too. I have to say though, that I love it! It's like instant Christmas. You just don't get that holiday feeling in the Caribbean!

[CraftyMouse]

The Trip of a Lifetime: Chapter 1 (Pre-Cruise Day)

The day was finally here! I woke up at 3:00am to start getting ready. By 4:00 we were out the door. Travel to Providence was painless and we were at the airport by 4:45. We had 8 bags and the airport was already busy so we used curbside check-in…well worth the $16 + tip that it cost me. We grabbed a quick breakfast at Dunkin' Donuts and waited for our flight to be called.

http://i243.photobucket.com/albums/ff312/Michelemouse19/100_1354.jpg

Our flight took off on time and we made our connection in Charlotte. We landed in Tampa at 11:30. What a BEAUTIFUL airport! We flew into Tampa because it was $45 per ticket cheaper and I’d gladly do it again. DH and the kids waited for the luggage while I went to get the car. Not 15 minutes later I was picking them up curbside! Simple and easy, just the way I like it.

We had some time before picking up the grandfathers at MCO so we made a detour to WDW. First we stopped at the Wilderness Lodge to see the holiday decorations which were gorgeous, as always. While there I began my vacation eating with my absolutely favorite dessert at WDW…the vanilla cupcake with white frosting and sprinkles. Yes, I know, you’re saying “But Crafty…it’s just a cupcake.”, but I tell you that it’s not. It is dessert perfection! Mmmmmm. I did save my lovely cupcake for after lunch though.

http://i243.photobucket.com/albums/ff312/Michelemouse19/100_1355.jpg
Not the best photo of us. We were really tired...plus it is a bit fuzzy.

From the WL we headed to Downtown Disney. DS12’s one souvenir request was a Donald Duck watch and we were all more than ready for some lunch. We figured we could take care of both things at DtD. We had sandwiches at The Earl of Sandwich, which is one of our favorite food spots at WDW. After lunch we stopped off at the World of Disney to get DS’s watch. He found one that he liked and, after a bit of browsing, we made our purchase and were off.

We still had some time before heading to the airport so we stopped off at Publix to pick up some bottles of wine to enjoy onboard the Magic. That done we were off to MCO. With 6 people we had decided to rent two minivans. One we had picked up in Tampa and the other we were to pick up in Orlando. Well…Thrifty doesn’t make that easy if you are not taking the airport shuttle. We drove to the Thrifty location and there was no way to drive into the facility. There was an entrance for long-term parking, an entrance for returning cars and a gated entrance for the Thrifty shuttle. That was it. So, I dropped DH and DS off near the shuttle van entrance and they walked from there.

DD15 and I were then off to the port. Originally we had planned to stop off at WalMart for toiletries and other essentials before checking-in at our hotel, but we were both tired and decided to head to the hotel right away. We figured we could stop at WalMart after dinner instead. We easily found the Comfort Inn and Suites in Cocoa Beach and check-in was painless. DD and I headed to the room to wait for the guys. The rooms were nothing fancy but very clean and comfortable. While we were waiting for the guys I put the beautiful green luggage tags onto our suitcases. Yippee!

The guys arrived about 45 minutes later and we decided to head across the street to IHOP for dinner. One thing I love is having breakfast for dinner and that’s what I did. With a belly full of pancakes, hash browns and sausage I left IHOP a very happy girl. DD and I headed to WalMart and picked up our toiletries for the trip. Then it was back to the hotel. I was sure it must be about 10:00 but when I looked at the clock it said 7:04. What? How could that be? We climbed into bed and watched some TV but I think we were all fast asleep by 8:30!

Up Next: Adventures Away!

Oh, and for those who just can't take the suspense I'll give you a little hint about my secret...it has to do with a certain game that is played onboard and a whole lot of money you can win by playing it!

[LivingtheWDWdream]

What a great Pre Cruise day but wow such a long day!!!!


Oohhh i think i have an idea on what happens but hurry back so I can know for sure !!

[donmil723]

Loving your trip report!

It's getting me even more excited for our next DCL cruise - 2/28/09!!! Hey, it'll be here before we know it, right?????

[Gerweniel]

Hi there :wave2: and welcome home! I didn't know you had a pre-trippie. Count me in for the rest of the ride!
PS - the tea was terrific! Thanks.

[fairfax]

Welcome back! I'm looking forward to hearing more about your fabulous cruise.

[nzdisneymom]

Oooohhhhh. I hope it won't take you two weeks to post your whole trip report - I'm loving living vicariously through you. What an amazing experience! :surfweb:

[CraftyMouse]

More trip report is coming! I have all of my photos downloaded but have to scan in the ones we purchased. Once I do that I"ll put the next installment up!

[jns]

Thanks for sharing :hug:
great report :thumbsup2

looking forward to reading more

[frdeb1999]

Great so far!! I am sooo jealous!! Hope you had a fabulous time!! :)

[sandybobandy]

Yipeee! I can't wait! :)

[CraftyMouse]

Chapter 2 - Embarkation Day

Having gone to bed at 8:30 I was up bright and early this morning. DH and the two grandpas headed back to IHOP for breakfast while I headed back to WalMart for a couple of forgotten items. I also stopped at Dunkin’ Donuts for bagels & tea for the kids.

We had packed a suitcase specifically for this overnight stay so most of our luggage was still packed in the car. We just had to gather our overnight bag together and head out. We were out of the room and on the road by 9:15. We dropped off my minivan at Thrifty and left the Grandpas there to wait for DH’s return. DH, the kids and I then headed to the port with all of the luggage. Once there we were directed to the lot across the street and were the 5th car in line.

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Well, 10:00 came and went and we were still in the lot. It turns out that the ship took a bit longer than usual to be cleared and we had to wait for that. It was about 10:15 when we were allowed to drive into the terminal complex. The kids and I headed into the terminal while DH dropped off the luggage and then headed back to Thrifty.

Once in the terminal the kids headed to the sofas while I headed to the check-in line. Despite being the 5th car in line there was a considerable number of people in the terminal. I think they had let the guests that had been dropped off at the terminal in a bit ahead of us but it was all good. I received two #3 boarding cards and was thrilled! I checked in everyone except DF-i-L as I didn’t have his ID. The CM said he should just come to her when he arrived to show his ID and pick up his KTTW card.

I didn’t take any pictures in the terminal as I knew we’d have the place to ourselves the next Saturday. Instead we relaxed on the sofas and waited for the guys to arrive. I met a fellow DISer and we chatted for a while. Soon not only the guys but our friends arrived as well. They got a #10 boarding card but, after speaking to a CM, we were all able to board together with the #3 cards. We were planning to get our OL pager for DS but the line in the terminal was insanely long so we decided to wait until after we boarded.

At about 11:45 boarding began. We were through the Mickey ears about 15 minutes later and we stopped for our boarding photos on the way to the gangway.

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Left to Right - DH, Me, DS, DF-i-L, DD, DF(Wife), DF(Daughter), DF(Husband), My Dad

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Then it was onto the beautiful ship that was going to be our home for the next two weeks.

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What a great feeling! I noticed the beautiful tree and garland in the atrium but also noticed that there were no twinkly lights. I’d learn why later that evening. I headed to Rockin’ Bar D to straighten out our Palo reservations while the others headed to Topsiders. I was quickly able to get both our brunch and dinner reservations switched to one table and then I went to join the others. On my way I passed the beautiful gingerbread house that was by the stairs between Lumiere’s and the Promenade Lounge. Gosh, did it smell good!

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The Topsiders buffet was great, as usual. I particularly enjoyed the carved roast beef and the shrimp. I also indulged in the desserts and loved the fruit tarts they had. We were approached several times about purchasing a water package but politely declined each time. (I wish DCL would come up with a better system for this. I have come to expect it but I can’t help but think it is a turn-off for first time cruisers to be bombarded with solicitations for the water package.) We had brought a case of water onboard with us and I much preferred the $6 I paid for it to the $40 the water package ends up costing. Nobody asked us about the wine package and we were only asked if we wanted a Bahama Mama once.

After lunch the kids went off to explore the ship while the adults relaxed and chatted. After a while I decided to wander the ship and did that until 1:30 when the rooms were ready. Once 1:30 arrived I headed down to Deck 2 and found our cabin…#2002. It was all the way forward on the Port side. There was only one cabin further down the hallway from us so it was about as forward as you could get. DS was already in the room but the others had not yet arrived.

Our luggage started arriving a bit later, as did DH and DD. We also met our stateroom hostess, Flori, who was, by far, the best stateroom host/hostess we have ever had.

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I began the unpacking ritual which quickly became frustrating as I had two other “chiefs” trying to tell me where their things should go (DH has learned who the “chief” is so he didn’t get in my way). I finally asked them all to leave the room so I could finish the job in peace. All of our bags arrived by 3:00 and I was mostly finished by safety drill time. I also took a moment to call Guest Services to sign up for the Gingerbread House activity but was told the activity was not yet in their system and to check back the next morning.

At 4:00 we headed to our lifeboat station…The Walt Disney Theater! Yippee! No standing in the sun. Heck, no standing at all. I forgot the camera though! I always like to get a picture of us in our PFDs. Our lifeboat station was only one of the reasons that we came to love cabin #2002 but it was the first.

The drill was painless and quick. After it was over we dropped the PFDs off in the room and headed to Deck 10 for Adventures Away. We met up with the grandpas but never did find our friends. Turns out they skipped the party and were in their stateroom the whole time! Ah well, we had a good time and I must say that I love the new Adventures Away song! I especially love the video of the CMs that they play. Not the interviews but the other part that goes with the song itself. I won’t go into more details as I don’t want to spoil it for anyone, but I loved it.

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That's Natalie, my Cruise Staff stalker, in the front...although we hadn't met yet.

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We had the 6:00 rotation (LAPLAPL) so we hung around the party for a while, strolled around Deck 10 and then headed back to the room. We got ready for dinner and headed to Lumiere’s. We had Table #41, a table for 10, and when we arrived we found someone we didn’t know sitting there. It was Anna Marie, an older woman who was sailing alone. Oh the poor thing…stuck with 9 people who know each other! How intimidating. Well…she became like family to us over the week and we really enjoyed her company. I think she enjoyed ours as well…at least she seemed as if she did.

Our Assistant Server, Graham (from England), arrived and the girls were VERY happy. What a cutie! This was his 5th sailing as he had only come onboard about a month before. He previously worked at the Rose & Crown in EPCOT for a year. He took our drink orders and brought bread to the table. We then met our Server, Luis (from India). He seemed a bit stand-offish and I was nervous about how the week was going to progress. Turns out I couldn’t have been more wrong, but those events are yet to present themselves. As the Wicked Witch said, “All in good time my pretties!”.

Dinner was great. I had the escargot and the beef and it was all delicious. I believe that DH had the prosciutto and the beef. DS had the escargot and the lamb, which he loved and DD had the prosciutto and the duck, which she liked. For DD meals are just something you have to get through to get to dessert so, for her, the best was yet to come. After perusing the dessert menu she leaned over to me and told me she would be ordering 4 desserts! Three of them were desserts I was interested in tasting as well so we ordered the 4 together and shared them. I felt much better about it that way! We had the White Chocolate Dome (my favorite from our last cruise), the Apple Tart, the Crème Brule (my all-time favorite dessert) and the Grand Marnier Souffle. Luis insisted on preparing the soufflé for her and it was great to watch. I think he had the pitcher of chocolate sauce about 3 feet above the table by the time he was done.

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As we were finishing our dinner in Lumiere's they did the tree-lighting in the Atrium. Our table was right by the windows next to the Christmas tree so we had a nice view of the falling snow and twinkly lights. Truly magical!

After dinner we headed off to the Walt Disney Theater for the Welcome Aboard Show. The kids stopped to get their photo with Donald in the Atrium on the way.
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It was in the Walt Disney Theater that we first started to feel the motion of the ship. It is always a bit stronger on the first night so it was something I expected. Randy Cabral and Rich Purpura were the featured entertainers and they were great. The show, itself, had changed since the last time we were onboard and it was cute.

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After the show the girls headed to The Stack and DS headed to Ocean Quest. My kids were given a curfew of whatever time their club closed at night but also told that if they were unable to get up and be pleasant for our earlier mornings that curfew would be made earlier. I headed back to the room to finish the unpacking and relax. I checked the "Report from the Bridge" channel and saw that the seas were at 1-3 feet. Not high at all, but you could definitely feel the motion in our cabin. I enjoyed it as it let me know we were really sailing! There were some great movies playing on the stateroom movie channels (Transformers, Harry Potter V, etc.) so DH and I watched some TV and then went to sleep. I never even heard the kids come in, although DH said he did and they were both home on time.

Up Next...Palo Brunch and Key West Day!

[CraftyMouse]

Ooops...double post! Next installment coming soon!

[kaseyC]

I'm really enjoying your trip report. I wasn't planning to post but I had to let you know as I was reading your latest installment a minute ago and scrolling through the pics, my DD (11) was reading over my shoulder and saw the picture of your kids boarding and she started yelling "I know him! I know him! He was in Ocean Quest all the time and he loves the Wii!!" LOL You have to imagine it being said by an 11yr old drama queen to get the full effect. :rotfl: We could not drag her out of Ocean Quest either.

I look forward to reading the rest of your report. :)

[sandybobandy]

Aww I feel like I was there with you! Am looking forward to more!

[CraftyMouse]

I'm really enjoying your trip report. I wasn't planning to post but I had to let you know as I was reading your latest installment a minute ago and scrolling through the pics, my DD (11) was reading over my shoulder and saw the picture of your kids boarding and she started yelling "I know him! I know him! He was in Ocean Quest all the time and he loves the Wii!!" LOL You have to imagine it being said by an 11yr old drama queen to get the full effect. :rotfl: We could not drag her out of Ocean Quest either.

I look forward to reading the rest of your report. :)

Toooo funny! I'll have to let him know! Yes, he loved OQ and yes, he LOVES the Wii! He and a couple friends spent most of their cruise in OQ playing lots of different games.

BTW, I added a couple more photos and a few details to that last installment...for anyone who is interested!

Edited to Add: If you look at the photo of the kids on the gangway you'll see that DS has his Nintendo DS in his hand. Yup...this kids loves video games! ;)

[DMMarla07860]

loving to trip report so far. I'm gonna try to get my dad to do a back-to-back cruise. Prob won't happen, but I can prob talk him into doing a cruise on the magic, then going to a hotel and going on the wonder that would be just as fun for me

[LivingtheWDWdream]

A great installment felt like i was really there! I am like your DD desserts are dinner LOL

more please

[CraftyMouse]

A great installment felt like i was really there! I am like your DD desserts are dinner LOL

more please

It's coming soon, I promise!

Yes, DD loves desserts. Wait until you read about our second week. Let's just say that she and Luis (our server) had an understanding! The totally unfair part is that she came home 1 1/2 pounds LESS than when she left! What's with THAT?

[CraftyMouse]

Chapter 3 - Key West Day

Key West Day. I had not been looking forward to this day as I truly hated Key West the last time we were there (sorry Shirley!). It had been hot, sticky, crowded and unpleasant. I figured we’d spend an hour or two seeing some sights and then head back to the ship. Well, I can truly say that Key West showed me its charms this day, but there were other things to attend to first.

I actually woke up at 6:30. Wide awake…no possibility of getting back to sleep. So, I decided to go for a walk on Deck 4. Everyone else was still fast asleep so I snuck out and headed upstairs. After heading off in the wrong direction I discovered that the jogging track runs counter-clockwise and reversed myself. I did four laps and saw a beautiful sunrise in the process. There were only about 6-8 other walkers/runners out on deck with me. I then headed back to the cabin where I found everyone else still sleeping. I showered and got ready and by the time I was finished DS was awake. It could have had something to do with the fact that I had to plug my blow dryer in by the vanity, but this was the only day it woke him up. DD sleeps through anything and I don’t think she even moved, despite the noise. DS was hungry so he and I headed up to Topsiders.

The adults were scheduled for Palo Brunch today so I just had some fruit and a small cinnamon roll. DS had a more substantial breakfast so when I was done I spent the time updating my trip report notes while he finished. I just love sitting out on the back deck of Topsiders to eat breakfast. It’s one of my favorite moments/places on the ship. When he was done he headed off to Ocean Quest with the instruction to be back in the room by 12:15 so we could go ashore.

After pre-brunch I stopped by the Guest Services desk to sign up for the Gingerbread House making. The CM asked if she had spoken to me on the phone the day before and I said that she had. She said that they had put the event into the computer about an hour after she spoke to me and it was already sold out. Now, I know it is only Gingerbread House making but I was disappointed. It seemed to me that if they had told people to check back the next day they should have held booking until the next day…but it wasn’t the end of the world. The CM said she would see what she could do and would call us back later. Okay…we’ll just go with the “what will be will be” mentality and move on. My kids are older and I knew they would understand if we couldn’t do the activity.

I headed back to the room to get ready for brunch. Before I left for Palo I made sure to wake Katharine up and remind her to eat lunch before noon so she’d be ready to head into Key West when our brunch was over. She grunted at me, which I took as an agreement to do as directed. On my way out the door I ran into Flori and explained/apologized that Katharine was still sleeping. She was more than understanding, telling me that it was her vacation too and she would make up the room whenever we were ready for her. This was a conversation that was to be repeated on several occasions over the next week.

DH had gone to explore the ship and we agreed to meet at Palo for our 10:00 reservation. I was the first to arrive at Palo but was soon joined by the others. We were seated in one of the booths along the window and met our server, Tony from Spain. He gave us a tour of the buffet tables and explained each of the entrees for that day. I was sad to see that the pasta I had had last time was no longer offered but there was a new one to try. We ordered a mushroom pizza and a blue cheese and grape pizza (sounds gross but it was amazing!) for the table to share and then we headed to the buffet.

I had some items from the seafood, bread & cheese and antipasto stations but they were really only a pre-cursor to what I was really there for. Yet again, my favorite food on the ship was the stollen bread with cream and berries. It is just fantastic! I debated having a second piece but figured I’d be able to do that the following week. (That was not to be, but you’ll read about that later.) I did order the pasta for my entrée and it was as good as the one I had had last time I sailed. It was spiral pasta in a creamy sauce and was delicious. It was fairly heavy though so I only ate about half of it. The rest of the table was split between the breakfast frittata and lunch entrees. Tony also brought us a veal dish and the chicken marsala to try. Everything was yummy and we finished up with some selections from the dessert table. I was glad to see that they have made the desserts smaller so you can try more of them without wasting them. I had a tiramisu, a crème caramel and a small raspberry petit four along with a cup of tea. Soooo good.

After brunch we waddled out of Palo, completely full and ready to walk of some of lunch in Key West. We gathered the kids from the stateroom and headed to the gangway. We were the only ship in port that day and the weather was gorgeous. Both were a refreshing change from our last visit and our day started off on a good note.

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I'll have to photoshop myself into this one, right in front of my dad, as I was the photographer.

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We took a taxi van to the Southernmost Point, planning to walk back to the ship from there, stopping along the way at the sights that interested us. The Southernmost Point is a pretty basic place but I had really wanted to get our photo there last time and hadn’t. This time, as you can see, I was successful and so we moved on to explore the rest of Key West.

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We wandered down one of the main streets, stopping along the way at any shops that interested us. Our next major stop was at the Hemingway House. We bought our tickets and decided to wait for the next guided tour. Dave, our tour guide, led us through the house, telling us stories and facts about Hemingway’s years on the island. We also saw several of the famous 6-toed cats all over the property.

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The only sour note was at the end of the tour. In the middle of me asking Dave if I could take a picture of him with the kids he stormed off, apparently upset that nobody had tipped him. Too bad he couldn’t take the time for the photo as it would have led to the tip he so clearly wanted. Instead the $5 in my pocket, that was to have been his, stayed there. Aside from Dave's petulance we really enjoyed this tour and would highly recommend it.

Anyway, on we went. We were all hot and tired by now so we headed to Margaritaville for drinks and snacks. We shared some conch fritters and calamari and enjoyed some frosty beverages. While we were waiting for the food DH headed across the street to Banana Republic to get a white dress shirt as the shirt he had brought was just not up to par. He actually went to Fastbuck Freddie’s first but their least expensive shirt was $125!!! Doesn’t Fastbuck Freddie’s sound like a discount store to you? It did to me but it appears I was wrong. DH was successful at Banana Republic and it only cost him $25 as the shirt was on clearance!

After our rejuvenating stop at Margaritaville we split into two groups. The moms and kids went in one direction while the dads and grandpas went in another. They were in search of a liquor store while we were in search of Kinos sandals and key lime pie on a stick. We shopped as we walked and soon made it back to the cruise dock area. It was here that I got a call on my cell phone. It turns out that my friend had her DHs KTTW card and he couldn’t get back on the ship. DS had had enough shopping and volunteered to head back to the ship and take the KTTW card with him. Had I not been able to see the ship from where I stood I would have said no but we were very close so I let him go. A few minutes later DH called to let me know that DS had made it back safely and we girls continued shopping.

We successfully found Kinos sandals, only to find out that they were closed! Nooooo! It was so disappointing. There was only one thing to do. We drowned our sorrows in key lime pie on a stick, covered in chocolate. So very yummy! Then DD and I headed back to the ship (browsing in shops along the way) while the other mom-daughter team did some more serious shopping.

DD and I did have a funny moment in one of the shops. As we walked from one shop to another one of the sales guys asked if he could help us. We said no and passed by a second sales guy who looked at DD and said “No, she’s definitely looking for me!” The look on DD’s face was priceless. The guy was in his 20’s, at least, and she was both shocked and repulsed at the same time. Her comment to me was “But mom, he was so OLD!” :lmao: Never mind that our server, Luis, also developed a little platonic crush on her and he was also in his late-20’s at least...but you'll hear more about that later. I’m just glad she’s still opposed to the idea of older guys being interested in her!

Once back on the ship we relaxed in the room and got ready for dinner. DH hopped up to Deck 10 to take some photos of the beautiful sunset. Key West had been a wonderful port and we all said we’d love to go back someday. DD and her friend even talked about taking a road trip there when they were older.

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Dinner tonight was in Animator’s Palate and it was show night. We had a table along the wall which made viewing the changes in the restaurant hard for half of us. It all worked out fine and we all enjoyed our meal. Luis and Graham did a great job taking care of us and were definitely warming up a bit.

AP has my least favorite menu but I enjoyed what I had. The garlic mushrooms were fantastic, the confetti tomato salad was just okay and the filet was very good. Graham, as he had done the night before, came to ask me if I’d like pepper on my meal. I declined again and so began a running joke that would continue for the next two weeks. Dessert was strawberry shortcake and I was sad to see that they had changed the cake from our last trip. It is now on a shortcake-type muffin instead of pound cake. It was still very good, just not as good as I remembered.

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The Shutters photographers were taking photos in AP tonight. DS has been having difficulty with his photo smiles lately. The picture ends up looking like we are forcing him to smile for the camera and it's just not a great look. His AP photo came out this way so we didn't buy it, but the one of the girls was very nice.

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After dinner it was time for Rich Purpura’s show in the Walt Disney Theater. He was hilarious but I have to admit that my son was the highlight of the show for me. At one point RP asks the audience for different languages in which to count to three. Of course he got the usual choices…French, Spanish, Italian, etc. He even got Korean and Japanese. None of them worked for the trick, however, so he was still looking for options. DS, my quiet, shy, don’t-call-on-me, I-won’t-volunteer-for-anything kid raises his hand. RP calls on him and asks what language DS would like to try. DS says “Roman”. RP asks him how to count to three in Roman and DS says “I”, “I,I”, “I,I,I”. Well, RP’s reaction was terrific, the audience was howling and most of us who knew DS were in tears! It was priceless.

After the show the kids were off to their clubs and I wandered through the shops before meeting some of the others at Rockin’ Bar D for Randy Cabral’s cabaret show at 10:15. Randy has (or had) an act with one of my favorite WDW performers, Matt the Juggler. Matt used to do the pre-show for the Hunchback Show at the Studios and Randy’s act is very similar to Matt’s. His adult show was lots of fun and not raunchy at all…well except maybe for the last bit with the paddle ball paddle in his pants…but that was pretty funny.

After the show we headed to Diversions to join some of the guys who were watching the Patriots game. Late-night snacks were brought out and we enjoyed those while watching the game. We were sailing again and the motion of the ship was making me sleepy so I headed back to the room earlier than the rest and hit the hay. When I got to the room I noticed we had a phone message. It was the CM from Guest Services, telling me that they had gotten both us and our friends into the gingerbread making on Thursday! Yippee! A great ending to a fabulous day.

Just after 2:00 (although I didn’t know what time it was then) I was awakened by knocking at the door. I, as any good wife would do, poked DH and made him answer the door. It was just DD whose key didn’t work. All home safe and sound we went back to sleep.

Seas today, both before KW and after, were calm and smooth. The Bridge Report on TV said the waves were at 1.5-3 feet.

[tidoublegger]

Great trip report! Your photos are terrific too! I can't wait to read more! :thumbsup2

[CraftyMouse]

Great trip report! Your photos are terrific too! I can't wait to read more! :thumbsup2

Thanks! I have to say that I absolutely love my camera. It really did a great job on this trip!

[kaseyC]

OMG!! Craftymouse, your son's response at the RP show was hysterical. We laughed so hard. :lmao: My 4 yr old DD tries to quote him but she gets all of her I's messed up. LOL

[LivingtheWDWdream]

Yay an update!!!!!

Key West sounded nice but I agree the Stolen Bread is SOOOO goood!

Glad they got you in for the Gingerbread making and hope your DD's Key got fixed!

Love your photos as well I can't wait to use my new camera on my cruise in May!! Hopefully they will come out half as nice as yours at least!


More please

[JustLorri]

[SIZE="3"]
After dinner it was time for Rich Purpura’s show in the Walt Disney Theater. He was hilarious but I have to admit that my son was the highlight of the show for me. At one point RP asks the audience for different languages in which to count to three. Of course he got the usual choices…French, Spanish, Italian, etc. He even got Korean and Japanese. None of them worked for the trick, however, so he was still looking for options. DS, my quiet, shy, don’t-call-on-me, I-won’t-volunteer-for-anything kid raises his hand. RP calls on him and asks what language DS would like to try. DS says “Roman”. RP asks him how to count to three in Roman and DS says “I”, “II”, “III”. Well, RP’s reaction was terrific, the audience was howling and most of us who knew DS were in tears! It was priceless.



Hey! We were there, too! That was hysterical alright! My dc were still talking about it at bedtime.

[NancyIL]

I rarely read cruise trip reports, but had to read yours - and I LOVE IT! I am so looking forward to my first cruise in January, especially after seeing your photos and reading your report so far!

Your signature says you're on the Wonder in 1 month and 5 days...which would be Jan. 23rd - and that's a Wednesday. Are you cruising on the 20th or 27th with your mom? I'll be on the Jan. 20th 4-day with my mom. :)

[CraftyMouse]

I rarely read cruise trip reports, but had to read yours - and I LOVE IT! I am so looking forward to my first cruise in January, especially after seeing your photos and reading your report so far!

Your signature says you're on the Wonder in 1 month and 5 days...which would be Jan. 23rd - and that's a Wednesday. Are you cruising on the 20th or 27th with your mom? I'll be on the Jan. 20th 4-day with my mom. :)

Drat...we're sailing on the 27th but I"m sailing with my mom too. She was unable to join us on our Western as someone had to stay home with my grandmother. As a consolation she and I will be taking our first mother-daughter trip. My countdown is synced to the 23rd as we'll be spending a few days at WDW before our cruise. It's too bad...I"m sure we will be seated with others as there are just two of us. We could have arranged to have a mother-daughter table!

Happy Sailing!

[CraftyMouse]

Chapter 4 - Our First Sea Day

Okay, on to Monday…

Ahhhh…our first sea day! I love sea days!

Once again I woke up at 6:30. Wide awake…no chance of getting back to sleep. So it was back to Deck 4 for another walk. I did four laps again today and then headed back to the room to shower and change. DH was stirring so after we both got ready we headed to Topsiders for breakfast. Have I said how much I love Topsiders? I do, I love it!

We chose a table outside but under the canopy as I don’t like to sit in the sun. Our dads came along just as we started to eat so they joined us. It was a really nice breakfast and it was great to spend some quiet time with our fathers.

When we got back to the room there was a message telling us that there would be an extra session of Gingerbread House making and that we were on the list. This was great news as we’d be able to keep our house longer by doing it earlier in the week! We were told we didn’t need tickets, we should just show up at Studio Sea at 2:00. Yippee!!!

Okay, on with the day. Now, I know that many people like to go on a cruise to sit in the sun and relax. That’s just not me. I really like the classes/presentations that are offered and that is how I spent my time today. After breakfast I went to the Art of Entertaining: Dazzling Desserts activity. I had been trying to meet up with one of my DIS friends, Gerweniel, since Saturday but we kept missing each other. I had let her know that I’d be going to this activity so I chose a table for two, on the chance she would decide to join me.

Stitch keeps me company at the table.
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I was one of the first to arrive and got talking with the chef, Edgar. After chatting for a few minutes he asked me if I’d like to help him with the presentation. Now if you know me you know that I am not one to put myself in the direct path of attention. Get up in front of everyone? I don’t think so! But somehow I found myself accepting his offer. I had a brief, internal conversation with myself that went something like this…

Me: What were you thinking?
Myself: I thought it would be fun.
Me: But we have to stand up in front of everybody!
Myself: Oh just relax and go with it!

Before I developed a full-blown case of Multiple Personality Syndrome I decided to listen to Myself and just go with it. And I’m so glad I did! I had a blast! The best part? We were making my favorite dessert from Lumiere’s…White Chocolate Raspberry Domes! Yippee!

Edgar started the presentation and introduced me as…Michele, a pastry chef from CT! WHAT??? I am NOT a pastry chef…although I love to bake. Ah well…listen to Myself and just go with it, right? So go with it I did. I got to make the whipped cream, whisk the sabayon and fill the pastry bag. I had such a good time helping Edgar that I decided that from now on I would listen to Myself more often. She’s a fun girl!

The other major event that happened during Dazzling Desserts was that I met Natalie. Natalie and I would continue to stalk each other over the next two weeks and this is where it all began. She was the Cruise Staff CM in charge of moderating this event and she is a true credit to the Walt Disney Company. More on Natalie later.

After DD I headed to Rockin’ Bar D for the Castaway Clubhouse. DH was supposed to meet me there but I didn’t see him yet. I chose a table on the upper level, along the rail (what was to become our regular table at RBD) and waited. Well, the event began and still DH had not shown up so I was on my own. I really enjoyed the video clips they showed and got to meet some great cruisers and staff. About half-way through, DH finally found me and we enjoyed the rest of the event. When it was over we snagged a couple of Mickey rice krispie treats for DD (the dessert lover) and dropped them off in the room. From there we headed to Topsiders for the Asian buffet. It was very good and I especially enjoyed the Sweet and Sour Chicken.

After lunch DH and DF-I-L were headed to the Making of the Magic presentation and I headed to the DVC presentation. We had missed the DVC Member Get Together the day before because of our Palo reservation so I thought I’d stop by and see what this one was like. It was definitely geared toward prospective members but I was eligible for the $300 OBC door prize so I stayed. Well, I didn’t win the credit. I never win anything. Well…almost never. (Wait for it, people, wait for it!)

I still had not met up with my friend, DISBoard Codename Gerweniel, but she was going to be joining us for tea at 3:00. It was now 1:30 so I strolled up to Shutters to look for my photos. I asked the CM there if I could purchase a package and use it for both weeks. He didn’t know the answer but promised to find out the answer and call my stateroom when he knew. Sounded good to me so I left my information and off I went.

I then headed to Studio Sea for our Gingerbread House making. What a lot of fun we had! Each family got the pieces of a Gingerbread House, along with a pastry bag of icing, candies for decorating and a gold-covered board to build it on. We also got a cardboard house that we could stick the pieces of gingerbread to. I thought this was cheating, but I was over-ruled. We went with the cardboard house base and continued to the decorating stage. It was such a nice family activity. As my kids get older I realize how little time I have left with them home. This one hour of time was really special to me and gave us that much needed dose of “togetherness”. I never begrudge my kids for heading off to their clubs, it was just nice to have this time with them.

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Okay…houses made my friend and I headed off to Palo just before 3:00 and, there she was…Gerweniel herself! We finally got to meet in person! My other friend soon came along and we were seated at the same table we had had for brunch. This time we had Sylvester as a server and he was great. I don’t remember what kind of tea I had but I do remember that I didn’t care for it. They didn’t have my beloved Earl Gray so I tried something new…but it was a mistake! Everything else was delicious though. We had scones with cream & jam, tea sandwiches, macaroons, strawberry tarts, brownies, éclairs and trifle. Everything was small so we could sample it all. It was so nice to sit, chat and have girl time. Who knew where the guys were? Who knew where the kids were? Who cares! We were having girl time and it was fantastic.

After tea we parted ways with Gerweniel and headed back to our staterooms. Tonight was formal night so there was primping to do! DD met me back in the room at 4:30 so I could curl her hair. We usually do it with hot rollers but I hadn’t wanted to lug them along with us. Instead we were using a curling iron so it was going to take a bit longer. I must say that I prefer the rollers but the iron did a fine job.

Now, I am not a dress-up girl and I just wasn’t feeling in a dressy mood, but I bit the bullet and got ready. I certainly wasn’t looking my best, as is evident from our group photo, but that’s okay. It was a fun evening anyway.

Pay no attention to the woman in the black dress. I have no idea who she is. Certainly I do not look this horrible! But I love the look on DF-I-L's face!
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A nice shot of the grandpas with the kids.
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The three Calebs, although only DH goes by that name.
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We were in Parrot Cay tonight and it didn’t detract at all from the theme of the evening. Graham had our drinks waiting and Luis took our orders. He also spent some time giving the kids some brain-teasers and they had fun trying to figure them out. They got the first one but gave up and had him show them the answer to the second one.

"Am I Right, Am I Right?" Nope. But she eventually got it.
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The girls with Graham...
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Tonight I had the chicken wings, the fruit salad and the ribs. Graham, again, tried to pepper my meal but I refused him! Back! Back, you pepper-mill wielding assistant server! You shall not sully my meal with that evil stuff! Everything was good, but the barbecue sauce on the ribs was to-die-for! It was soooo good. Luis asked us about our day and when we told him about our girl-time at Palo he wanted to know who our server had been. It turns out that he and Sylvester used to be roommates, were both from India and had both been working on the Magic for 8 years.

The girls decided to head out before dessert as they wanted to get changed before heading to The Stack. DD usually likes to see the main shows but knew she could see The Golden Mickeys the following week. She did make sure to place her dessert order with me before heading off. Luis brought me her lemon meringue pie, along with a cover and a fork so she could enjoy it later in the room. I also had the lemon meringue pie and it was very good.

After dinner I ran back to the room to get out of my formal clothes before the show. Ahhhhh…that’s better! Completely comfortable once again, I headed off to the show. The Walt Disney Theater Lifeboat Station was reason #1 why we loved our room. Stateroom hostess, Flori, was reason #2. Reason #3 was it’s proximity to the Walt Disney Theater and Rockin’ Bar D. It was just a quick two flights up to the show. DS was already there so we found him and took our seats. This is my favorite show onboard (followed closely by Disney Dreams) so I was excited for it to begin. I think I love it so much because Walt Disney is featured. It gets me teary every time! Once again, it didn’t disappoint.

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(Note…I forgot to mention my encounter with Natalie. She was outside the Walt Disney Theater before the show and we chatted for a while before the performance. It was here that she insisted I was stalking her (I had seen her a couple of other times that day around the ship). I let her know that I felt she was stalking me but we agreed to disagree on that one.)

After the show DS headed off to Ocean Quest, the dads headed back to their stateroom, the girls were in the Stack and the rest of us headed to Rockin’ Bar D for the Rich Purpura cabaret show, taking “our” table along the rail on the upper level. I don’t know what it is about RP, but he just cracks me up! I was laughing so hard it hurt!

After the show we stopped to see what snacks they were putting out but we were all still too full to eat anything else. Instead we all headed back to our staterooms for the night. DS was “home” when we got there but DD was still out. She had replaced her key that morning and we knew she’d be able to get into the room so we watched some TV and went to sleep. I was slightly afraid that we’d be awakened by the sound of her discovering and inhaling her lemon meringue pie but that didn’t happen. She must have been really tired!

Seas today were calm, calm, calm. They never got higher than 4 feet!

[NancyIL]

Drat...we're sailing on the 27th but I"m sailing with my mom too. She was unable to join us on our Western as someone had to stay home with my grandmother. As a consolation she and I will be taking our first mother-daughter trip. My countdown is synced to the 23rd as we'll be spending a few days at WDW before our cruise. It's too bad...I"m sure we will be seated with others as there are just two of us. We could have arranged to have a mother-daughter table!

Happy Sailing!

Ah - that explains the countdown clock! I just realized - I'm leaving one month from today, because I'm flying in 2 days before the cruise and staying at my mom's in Cocoa. :) I'll be at WDW for 4 nights after the cruise - so our paths still may cross!

My first mother-daughter trip with my mom was a cruise on Holland America in Feb. 2004 - and that wasn't such a great cruise. I'm hoping for a much better cruise on the Wonder!

[LivingtheWDWdream]

What a wonderful day at sea! and great job going up and helping the chef!

More please

[Gerweniel]

Greetings Lady! Your report and pics are incredible. I love reliving the trip from another perspective. Can't wait for the next installment.

Jill

[podsnel]

I am loving all the photos and reading about all the activities you're doing! I know how you feel about spending time with the kids, making the gingerbread houses. I would be the same way with my boys! :goodvibes

Can't wait to read more....

[wdhinn89]

Fantastic report so far. Keep it coming:thumbsup2 Question? I thought the Palo Brunch was only available on at sea days. I see you went on Key West day. Did they change it or is my info wrong? Thanks;)

[CraftyMouse]

Fantastic report so far. Keep it coming:thumbsup2 Question? I thought the Palo Brunch was only available on at sea days. I see you went on Key West day. Did they change it or is my info wrong? Thanks;)

On the Western there are only 2 sea days. Since you don't get to Key West until noon-ish they also use that as a brunch day. We like to go on to brunch on Key West day as we can then walk all of that food off, or at least attempt to, in town.

[wdhinn89]

On the Western there are only 2 sea days. Since you don't get to Key West until noon-ish they also use that as a brunch day. We like to go on to brunch on Key West day as we can then walk all of that food off, or at least attempt to, in town.

Thanks! I didn't know that and since we are doing the Western in April 2008 that is perfect. :woohoo:

[CraftyMouse]

Thanks for all the sweet comments!

I added some pictures of The Golden Mickeys to my last installment. There should be one more installment tonight. Then I need some sleep!

[CraftyMouse]

Chapter 5 – Grand Cayman

This was our early day and the first test of our kids’ ability to function on little sleep. We had a private charter booked through Captain Marvin’s and wanted to catch the first tender out to make sure we made it in time. (Okay…we could have slept in a bit more as we ended up being waaaaay early!) We had ordered room service breakfast the night before and it came just as DH and I were heading to Topsiders. We woke the kids, made sure they were out of bed and went on our way.

We met our friends outside of Topsiders. They had just finished breakfast and were heading back to their stateroom to get ready. The dads then showed up to eat so we spent another morning eating with them. Graham was serving at Topsiders this morning and I knew that Katharine would be sorry she had missed him! Ah well…you snooze, you lose, right? She ended up eating her leftover lemon meringue pie for breakfast. Heck, it's vacation, right?

We headed back to the room, grabbed some bottles of water and the sandwiches/chips/cookies we had ordered from room service the night before (all packed neatly in ZipLoc bags), got ice for our cooler from Flori, rounded up the children and were outside the Buena Vista Theater at 7:15! Wow…I’m exhausted already. But it all paid off as we secured spots on the coveted first charter. My friend, Gerweniel, and her two boys were at the other end of our row, having gotten there a bit before us. I knew that she had also wanted to make the first tender so I was happy to see them there.

At about this time I realized that I had left the disposable, waterproof cameras in the room! Noooooo! DH ran back to get them and made it back to the BVT just as we were being led out. Bullet dodged! We were led to the aft stairway and down to Deck 1. It was here that my DDad realized he had left his photo ID in his room. Noooooo #2! Luckily his room was Aft so he hopped in an elevator in a dash to get it. He made it back just before they had to let the tender go. Bullet #2 dodged! Onto the tender we went and off to Grand Cayman we go. (An apology to anyone who had to wait for us on the tender.)

Once on the island it was a 3-block walk to the Captain Marvin’s office. No kidding…we were there by 8:15am. We weren’t scheduled to leave until 9:45 so we had a lot of time to play with. I had been so worried about not making it in time and here we were, an hour and a half early. Some of us went off to wander through the shops while the rest of us waited at the office. At about 9:15 they found a van for us and offered to take us early. We rounded everyone up and set off on a 15-minute ride to the dock. Once there we were ushered to our boat, the Caymanite. It was very nice, with more than enough room for 9 people. We met our captain, Kirk (yup, Captain Kirk) and our first-mate, Polo and headed off on our adventure.

Captain Kirk
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I call this one Two and a Half Men...
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Our first stop was at the Barrier Reef. We didn’t get too close to the reef as the waves were a bit strong. Instead we anchored a bit further away and got our snorkel gear. The snorkeling was very good and we saw lots of fish, coral and plant life.

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A short time later another boat arrived. This one was, clearly, not a private charter. Seeing it made us really appreciate our roomy boat!

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We never would have been able to do this charter if we didn’t have friends along to share the cost, so we were doubly appreciative. If any of you are headed to Grand Cayman and want a truly great ½ day adventure book a private charter through Captain Marvin’s. It will cost you about $500 plus tip, but if you can share that cost with others it helps!

Anyway, finished at the reef we set off for our second stop, Stingray City. On the way we enjoyed our packed lunch, courtesy of the Magic. Now we had been to Stingray City once before, three years ago. At that time DD had been 12 and definitely took a while to warm up to the stingrays. This time I was anticipating a much smoother encounter. Well, I was wrong. She finally got to a place where she felt comfortable…but it took a while. Other than that we had a fantastic time. Our crew was great, taking lots of pictures of us and setting up terrific poses. They even made sure to bring some stingrays over to my dad who was having some breathing trouble and didn’t want to get in the water. Instead he sat on the back of the boat and they brought the rays to him. It was wonderful.

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DS prepares for his first kiss...
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I would have paid any amount of money for this photo of DF-I-L...
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It was finally time to leave Stingray City but Captain Kirk had a surprise in store for us. Last time we did this we did two regular snorkeling stops and Stingray City. So this time I was expecting another, standard snorkeling stop. Boy was I wrong. Instead Captain Kirk took us to a Starfish lagoon. Well, it wasn’t really a lagoon but I can’t think of another word to describe it. What I can say is that it was amazing! The starfish were about 18” across and beautiful. Polo dove down and brought some up for us to hold. It was really fantastic to get to hold them.

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Sadly, it was then time to head back to the island. On the way Captain Kirk made us a conch ceviche that was just amazing. It was such a nice way to end our day!

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We had a nice cruise back to shore, tipped, took photographs with and said goodbye to our crew and boarded a van back to town. This time we were on a “local” van rather than an “express” so we made several stops at hotels along the way. It was interesting to see the different hotel options on the island. Back in town most of us headed right back to the ship. DD and I, however, had one stop to make. She wanted to bring rum cakes to each of her dance teachers so we stopped at the Tortuga Rum store to get them. After trying all of the samples (samples of rum cake = good thing) we settled on 2, multi-flavor, 6-packs plus an orange-flavored cake for us. Purchases made it was off to the tender dock. There was one waiting so we took our seats and were off a few minutes later.

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We were back on the ship by 2:00 and headed back to the stateroom to shower and change. Well, the long day, the sunshine and sea air, the warm shower…the all combined to create the need for a nap. I fell asleep, still half-wet from the shower, and stayed that way for about an hour and a half. What a great nap it was! I finally woke up and got ready for the evening. DH again snuck up to Deck 10 to take pictures...this time of us leaving Grand Cayman.

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On our way to dinner I got the kids to sit in a porthole for a picture.
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Of course then their goofy sides came out so I had to take another one.
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Tonight was Master Chef’s menu night in the dining room. We were in Lumiere’s tonight and Anna Marie was waiting for us. We tried to rearrange ourselves a bit each night so she had at least one new person to talk to. Tonight it was my DF-I-L and the kids & I joked about the Magic turning into a “Love Boat”. You see, Anna Marie lost her husband a few years ago and my DM-I-L died in 2005. Of course no romance blossomed, but they did have a good time talking to each other.

DD and DS being goofy again...
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I had the tropical fruit cup, bruschetta and sirloin with truffle jus. Everything was delicious! Truly we had not yet had a bad meal in any of the dining rooms. We decided to skip dessert (to DD’s horror!) so we could make it to the 7:45 Family Cabaret show by John Charles. Now to fully understand why I was insistent on making it to this show you need to hear a backstory. I did the WDW College Program in the Spring of ’90. At that time Fulton’s Crabhouse was the Empress Lily and their was a lounge onboard with a fabulous entertainer…John Charles. DH and I would go there often and really enjoyed his shows. So much so that I still remember him 17 years later. When I heard that he was performing on the Magic these days I so hoped he’d be on our sailing and he was! I am glad to report that he is as funny and talented as ever and that I have created a second generation of the John Charles fan club. He picked on DD and her friend (for being troublemaking teenagers, even though they were very well behaved) and DS made the comment that he would be going to every performance that John Charles did on the ship from that moment on. Mission accomplished!

A bit fuzzy, but it's the only one I have.
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After the John Charles show the girls headed to the Stack while the rest of us headed to Twice Charmed. I was a bit sad that DD wasn’t coming to the shows as she loves them, but I knew that she’d be able to see them the next week when our family would be sailing alone. I was very excited to see Twice Charmed as it was new since our last sailing. I have to say, however, that I was underwhelmed and I don’t know why. After thinking about it for a bit I decided that maybe I was just too distracted by the three adults sitting behind me who talked through the whole performance (rude, rude, rude!) and decided I would have to see it again next week. Sadly, I didn't have my camera with me so I have no pictures of TC.

Tonight was Michael Harrison’s adult cabaret show in Rockin’ Bar D but I was just too tired to go. The day was fantastic, but it had wiped me out. I have no memory of what everyone else did, but I headed back to the stateroom and called it a night!

Calm, calm, calm seas again tonight and I'm happy to report that curfews stayed intact as the kids were wonderfully behaved, even on very little sleep.

Oh, and Natalie completely continued to stalk me today. I stopped into Ocean Quest on my way back onboard (to see if DS was there) and there she was! She pretended to go into a crew-only door, but I know that she was in full stalker-mode! <wink>

Coming Up Next: Hola Mexico, A Royal Dolphin Swim and Pirate Night!

[LivingtheWDWdream]

what a fabulous adventure in grand cayman those pictures with the Rays and starfish are absolutely fabulous! If i weren't afraid of fish (yes fish) I'd love to try that but glad there are photos for me to see at least!

[NancyIL]

What GREAT underwater photos! I'm so glad your husband went back to the cabin to get the disposable camera! Note to self...learn to snorkel. :)

All of your photos are wonderful, and really enhance your excellent trip report. I'm looking forward to more!

[fairfax]

Your underwater photos are spectacular! I'm really enjoying your TR!

[jns]

Thanks again :hug:

[ReggieB]

Great report! Thanks for sharing.

[Disney 'Ohana]

Love your trip report!

[ktjl92]

Totally enjoying your report - and your pics! Especially love that your daughter spells her name the same way I do - not many of us spell it that way!!

Looking forward to more...

[podsnel]

What a FABULOUS day in the Caymans!! I love that you saw the seastars, too...I think we'll have to look up Capt Kirk in November!!!:thumbsup2

[CraftyMouse]

Chapter 6 - Cozumel

Today was a day I had been looking forward to for a long time. We were going swimming with dolphins!

I again woke up early and did 4 laps around Deck 4. After showering and dressing, DH and I headed to Topsiders for a leisurely breakfast. There was no rush this morning as we wouldn’t be docking until about 9:30. On our way back to the cabin we ran into our friends who had had breakfast at Lumiere’s. Lumiere’s has a new, more elaborate breakfast menu and they said they had enjoyed it. We made a mental note to try it the next day and headed back to our room.

The kids were awake and functioning. They got ready and had some room-service breakfast. Once the all-ashore was given we called the grandpas and our friends and headed to Deck 1 Aft to meet them. We went ashore and DD realized she had forgotten her wallet. Shopping in Mexico was high on her list of must-do’s so she ran back onboard to get it. I waited for her in the gangway so she would be allowed off. (You can sign a waiver for kids under 18 to exit the ship without you but I only felt comfortable doing that at Castaway Cay.)

Wallet in hand, DD returned a few minutes later and we were on our way. The dock area is a bit more built-up than I remembered it and it was very nice. We made our way to the street and found two cabs to take us to Chankanaab. Total cost for the two cabs was $22 ($12 for the one carrying 5 people and $10 for the one carrying 4 people.) which I thought was more than reasonable. It was about a 10-minute drive to the park and our driver pointed out lots of local sites and several large lizards.

Once at Chankanaab we checked in for our dolphin swim. The grandpas were not doing the activity so they purchased admission to the park (our swim included it) and we were on our way. We made a brief stop for DS to get his picture taken with some parrots and then moved further into the park. We were given bracelets for admission to the park and those of us doing the swim were given a second bracelet for that. We were instructed to wait by the pool and listen for our group to be called at 11:00. It was now a little after 10:00 so the kids (young and old) spend some time in the pool. We also watched the people in the 10:00 group do their dolphin swim and it was lots of fun seeing what we’d be doing.

Chankanaab is a really lovely place and I highly recommend it for your day in Cozumel. The dolphin area is right near the entrance but they also have a pool, beach, snorkel trail, replica Mayan ruins and places to eat & shop. It is a National Park and very well maintained. We barely scratched the surface in our time there and agreed that we’d love to come back sometime to do the rest.

The kids at the entrance to the park...
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DS enjoying the pool...
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DS and DD in front of the dolphin swim area...
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Right at 11:00 they called our group. There were 28 of us, altogether, and we were led to a room with wooden benches (DDad and DF-I-L stayed with our bags at the table but had a great view of our swim). Here we watched a video telling us all about dolphins and what we’d be doing that day. It really took our excitement to the next level.

When the video was over we were split into 4 groups of 7. This was terrific as we were a group of 7 all on our own. We were the first group to go and were given PFDs before being led to Platform 1. This is where we first met our dolphins, Chaac (sounds like Jack) and Itamna. They were GORGEOUS! We got to pet them as they swam by us several times and I was already more than thrilled with our day.

Meeting Chaac and Itamna...
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We took turns doing the various tricks with the dolphins. There was the kiss, the hug, the dorsal tow and the foot push. I have to admit that I was sure that I was going to mess up somehow. I was sure my knees wouldn’t stay locked for the foot push or that I’d miss the dorsal fins as the dolphins swam past me. I am happy to report that I did just fine. I did all of the tricks and had a blast. The feeling of the dolphins’ noses against your feet as they push you through the water is one I’ll never forget. As everyone else did their tricks I noticed the looks on their faces. You just can’t help but be joyous when you're with these amazing creatures.

Giving and receiving kisses...
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The Hug...
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The Dorsal Tow...
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The Foot Push...
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All too soon, however, our time was up. We spent a few minutes playing with the dolphins before they had to leave. We sang Jingle Bells with them, had a fairly vicious splash-fight and got to see them do some leaps, which are amazing when they happen right next to you.

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After we returned our PFDs we were taken to another room where we got to watch the DVD of our experience. Well, there was absolutely no way I was going to be leaving there without that DVD. It was fantastic. An added bonus was that there was nobody else in our video. That made it extra special. Our photos weren’t done yet so we went to shower and change before going back to the shop to see them. Chankanaab offers an open-air shower area that is accessible to everyone, along with changing rooms, lockers and nice, clean bathrooms.

We headed back into the shop and looked at the photos. They were great, but very expensive. There were five shots of each person but I narrowed ours down to two of each of us. I bought those, along with the DVD and managed to stay within my budget for Cozumel. On a sad note, once we returned home we found out that our DVD was blank. I am still trying to get this resolved with Dolphin Discoveries and am sure that it was an honest mistake. Luckily our friends also bought the DVD and theirs is fine so we can just copy that if we have to. Had they not had a copy I would have been devastated! These are memories that I want to be able to relive again and again.

Purchase made, it was off to lunch. We were all starving so we went straight to the outdoor restaurant at Chankanaab. There was a trio of musicians strolling around and we had them play some songs for us as we waited for our food.

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We had tacos, nachos, enchiladas, beans, rice and more. It was all delicious and disappeared very quickly. The prices were very reasonable and I was still within budget!

So, our dolphin swim had been great, we were showered and clean and our bellies were full. So far it had been a most excellent day. We now decided to head back to the ship and caught a taxi van that fit all of us from the entrance of the park. The cost was $25 which was a bit more than the morning’s ride had cost, but it was still more than reasonable…less than $3 per person. The taxi dropped us off at the backside of the mall at the pier which made DD very happy. Finally she was going to get to shop! The moms and daughters stayed a the mall while the guys headed back to the ship with the beach stuff and wet towels. Somehow I think we got the better end of the deal.

DD’s money was burning a hole in her pocket and she really wanted to buy a dress. We wandered into a shop that had lots of different Mexican dresses and both girls tried on several. DD settled on a hot pink halter dress with a long, handkerchief style bottom and crocheted midriff that looked beautiful on her (okay, I’m biased). She was given a price of $38 but successfully bartered her way down to $30. Her friend chose a red sundress and also got the price down to $30 from $38. Perhaps they could have gotten them for a bit less but they were happy with both their dresses and the price so all was good. They also both liked a purse that they saw but the asking price was $35 and they thought that was too steep…even with bartering.

From there we browsed through some of the other shops. There was a kiosk selling any 3 necklaces for $10 and this quickly caught the girls’ attention. DD has become an accessory queen and never passes up the opportunity for some inexpensive additions to her collection. They both chose 3 necklaces and then we continued on. We headed upstairs as you have to go up and over a bridge to get to the ships. Here, at another kiosk, they found the same purses they saw downstairs but here they were selling for $25. Both girls successfully negotiated that price down to $20 and were ecstatic. On the upper level there was also a shop selling 3 T-shirts for $12 so I purchased them for DH, DS and the grandpas. They were very nice quality and quite a steal for the price.

As in Key West, DD and I were shopped out before our friends. We left them looking at Mexican vanilla and headed back to the ship. I snapped a couple pictures of DD along the way and then we were “home”.

You can see DD's snazzy new purse hanging from her right elbow...
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Even though we had showered at Chankanaab we were hot and sticky and ready for another one. I thought about heading up to the fitness center for mine but decided to wait for DD to finish. She promised to be quick. Riiiiight. To her credit she was quicker than usual but quick?...I don’t think so. It wasn’t a problem as we had nowhere to be so I relaxed with DS and watched another 20 minutes of Transformers.

It was Pirate Night and we had come prepared. One of my favorite hobbies is sewing and I had made us all pirate costumes…including the grandpas. They were good sports and wore their pirate shirts, although I think they did it only because they love me. They didn’t really have much of that pirate-spirit, if you know what I mean. I realized that the elastic in my blouse was too long so the neck opening was a bit too big. I made a mental note to see if I could get a sewing kit from Guest Services and fix it for the following week. DD’s shirt had also lost the elastic in one cuff so we rolled them up and I added it to my mental to-do list. Anyway, once dressed we headed to the Atrium for pictures. In the months before sailing I had decided that the one thing I really wanted to do was get a set of Lifestyle Portraits done of us in our pirate costumes. Well, the timing just didn’t work out and it didn’t happen. Instead we got some nice pictures with Captain Mickey and I decided that that would have to be our Christmas card picture instead. Those plans would change the following week, but we’ll get to that.

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After photos we headed off to Animator’s Palate. Luis and Graham were in full pirate costume and looked great. Some of us really got into the pirate spirit, including the husband of our friends who had put the DVC pirate character tattoos all over his face and was only speaking in “Pirate”. It was great fun and the food was fantastic. I had the crabcake and beef and both were excellent. I heard no complaints from anyone else at the table so I assume they all enjoyed their dinners as well. DD’s friend decided to head off before dessert as she wanted to get right to the Stack. DS also left to head to Ocean Quest and that left DD at the table with all of the adults. (There was no way she was missing dessert again tonight!) Well, the pirate festivities began and she remained fully planted in her chair. No dancing around the restaurant for her. Uh uh…no way! Well, that was until Luis saw her and insisted she get up and follow him, saying “But you have the best costume here, you have to come”. As you can see from the picture, she had a great time and was really glad she stayed. Tonight was also memorable as Katharine ordered every dessert on the menu. This will play a bigger part in the story when we get to the Eastern but this is where it began.

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After dessert Katharine headed of to change and go to the Stack while the rest of us decided to go to the movie, Enchanted, in the Walt Disney Theater. We quickly popped down to the room to change before heading up to find seats. The theater was only about 1/3 full and I think many guests decided to skip the movie so they wouldn’t be late to the pirate deck party. DH was also feeling the effects of a long day so he decided to skip the movie and take a quick nap instead. So, DS, DDad and I watched Enchanted…and loved it! The Working Song made this movie a must-buy for me and I thought the cast did a great job with their human and animated characters.

After the movie DS headed to Ocean Quest while I headed up to Deck 9 to see what was left of the deck party. DH was supposed to be up there but it was crowded and I never did find him. It turns out we were standing very near each other but never connected. I thought the party was cute and loved it when Mickey zipped in. The fireworks were very nice and I watched them as I strolled along Deck 10 on my way back to the Forward stairs.

Back it the room I sat and re-examined the events of the day. It had been an amazing one and I could now check “Swim with Dolphins” off of my life’s to-do list. DH and I went to sleep and the kids came in by their curfew times.

Seas tonight were, again, smooth as could be.

[CraftyMouse]

What a FABULOUS day in the Caymans!! I love that you saw the seastars, too...I think we'll have to look up Capt Kirk in November!!!:thumbsup2

We booked the 1/2 day charter through Captain Marvin's. I'm sure you could request Captain Kirk. He really was terrific and made the day extra special!

[LivingtheWDWdream]

what a great day in cozumel those photos with the dolphins are amazing sooo cool!

Your costumes were great I wish i could sew so we could dress up on our cruise!

all the desserts for your dd i like her style lol!

more please

[CraftyMouse]

Chapter 7 – Our Second Sea Day

Today I had great plans to sleep in and relax. But then I woke up at 6:30. Wide awake…no chance of getting back to sleep. What was going on? This was just not like me at all. Ah well…up to Deck 4 I went. I figured that any laps equaled less pounds on me so I did my usual 4. Then it was back to the room to shower and dress.

As planned this morning we went to Lumiere’s to try out their new menu. Luis had told us that breakfast at Lumiere’s was now meant to be a leisurely experience rather than a quick-in, quick-out deal. This sounded perfect for a sea day so off we went. The menu was themed to Beauty and the Beast with items like Mrs. Pott’s breakfast (waffles with dulce de leche accompanied by slices of watermelon), Lumiere’s candle (a waffle, a pancake and a slice of French toast), the Beast’s Big Breakfast (don’t remember the details) and the Beast’s Tower (a tower of round French toast slices and grilled pineapple with strawberry sauce, accompanied by fruit salad) and more. I chose the Beast’s Tower and DH chose Mrs. Pott’s breakfast.

While we waited we chatted with our assistant server, Jessica from Germany. We talked with her for 15-20 minutes and really enjoyed our conversation. When our breakfast came out I was presented with the Beast’s Big Breakfast instead of the Beast’s Tower. They really should have re-thought naming two entrée’s after the Beast! Our server apologized and dashed off to the kitchen for my correct order. He was back quickly and presented me with my favorite breakfast of the cruise. It was delicious and the sweet strawberries complimented the tangy pineapple perfectly. DH enjoyed his as well but I think he was secretly eyeing mine!

After breakfast we headed back to the room to see what the kids were up to. DS was off to Ocean Quest and DD was sound asleep. …sigh… Ah well, as Flori kept telling us, it was her vacation too. DH and I decided to go to the Performer Q & A in Sessions. Four of the entertainment cast members spoke about what it’s like to work on the ship. We talked about how the seas can impact performances, what DCL looks for in performers and more. It was an informative chat and I now had some info for DD who would love to be a member of the cast someday.

Next it was on to the Walt Disney Theater for the Stageworks activity. Each department (sound, props, lighting, etc.) spoke about their jobs and then we got to explore the stage. There were several costumes to examine, CMs to chat with and we were shown how the stage lifts work. DH and I got talking with Mike (I think his name was Mike) who is the head technician in the WDT. He has worked on many Broadway and West End productions and his work with Cameron Mackintosh on the theatrical version of Mary Poppins brought him to the Disney company. He was so interesting to talk to and I could have stayed there for hours. Not wanting to monopolize his time, however, we moved on and left the theater.

Since DH had not seen Enchanted last night he planned to see it today in the Buena Vista Theater. It was starting at 12:30 so we wanted to get to Topsiders for lunch right at noon, when they opened. We called the grandpas and they said they’d meet us there. DF-I-L went to get some pizza from Pinocchio’s while the rest of us went through the line. We sat inside today as it was quite sunny on the aft deck. Today’s buffet theme was “Seafood” but my favorite item was the pasta. It reminded me of the pasta I had had at Palo on our previous trip. It was orichietta pasta in a creamy cheese sauce…sort of a high-end mac & cheese and soooo good.

Graham was at Topsiders today so we made sure to stop and chat with him for a few minutes. Then we found a table and quickly ate. DF-I-L decided to join us for the movie. He and DH got some ice cream while I selected something from the dessert station. We took our sweets down to the BVT and found it very busy. We were able to find three seats and enjoyed our dessert while we waited for the movie to begin.

I really wanted to see the matinee of Disney Dreams so I snuck out of the movie early and made my way to the Walt Disney Theater with a quick detour to our room. DS had said he wanted to see the matinee too so I went to see if he was in the cabin. He was and we headed up to Deck 4. My friend also met us there so it was the three of us for the matinee. The theater was only about ¼ full so we had our choice of seats. Soon the show began and we were transported to Anne Marie’s bedroom. I was excited to see the recent additions to the show and felt that they really added to the experience. The Circle of Life portion still gives me chills. It was also exciting to see the performers we had chatted with this morning and find out what roles they play.

After the show the three of us wandered through the shops and I saw that they had the gold-by-the-inch out. While I know that it isn’t top quality jewelry I do think some of the selections are very pretty. I bought a couple of them on our last cruise and they held up beautifully so I wanted to get another one on this trip. For $20 I got a very pretty bracelet that will remind me of this vacation every time I wear it.

DS’s only souvenir request (aside from his DD watch) was three pins in Mickey’s Mates. He truly never asks for anything so I gladly told him to go ahead and purchase them. He has become the pin collector of our family and I knew he was excited to add to his stash.

At some point my friend asked if I wanted to play Bingo and I agreed. Again, I never win at anything but it would be fun. DS didn’t want to play (we couldn’t keep him from Bingo on our last cruise!) and headed off to Ocean Quest while we went to get our Bingo cards. The jackpot was over $3,000 and we were excited!

Well…my luck, or lack thereof, held out. I didn’t win a thing. Not only did I not win a thing, I didn’t even get to the point where you had to stand up if you only needed one more number. …sigh… I’ve played Bingo on every cruise and never won a thing? Why do I keep buying Bingo cards? At this point I didn’t know the answer and was sure that I was never going to win. ;)

So, Bingo not won I dejectedly (not really) headed back to my stateroom to get ready for dinner. Tonight the adults were going to Palo. Originally the kids had planned to get room service for dinner tonight but the girls had changed their minds. I think it just may have had something to do with Graham and Luis but I could be wrong. I was really glad that they went, however, as Anna Marie was there and would have eaten alone. One of their friends from the Stack was also on our rotation so he joined them for dinner too. I told them that I was going to ask for a full report from Luis the following day and they should be on their best behavior. It was semi-formal night so they got all dressed up and headed off. Our Palo dinner was also at 6:00 so we walked with them as far as Parrot Cay, took their picture and then headed upstairs.

They have their snazzy new purses with them!
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The grandpas outside Palo...
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After our brunch I had requested Tony as our server for dinner and we were happy to find out we had gotten him. We were, once again, seated at the very same booth and it was starting to feel like home.

Tony came to the table and made several suggestions before taking our order. I don’t remember what everyone else had but I do remember that I had the portabello mushroom appetizer and the lamb entrée. We also ordered mushroom and prosciutto pizzas for the table to share. In addition Tony brought us order of calamari and grilled shrimp salad for the table, and also delivered our pizzas. Gosh…I was full already and I hadn’t even taken a bite!

Well, my appetizer, the mushroom, was fantastic and pretty as a picture, so I took one...
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I remember that DH had the tuna carpaccio and he liked it but found it far too salty. The calamari was delicious, as were the pizzas, but I was trying to pace myself so I’d have room for what was to come.

Tony prepares DH's tuna appetizer...
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My lamb arrived and it was perfect. DH had the beef and I managed to steal a piece from him, It had been my second-choice entrée and it, too, was delicious. In addition to our entrees Tony brought half-orders of Mushroom Risotto, Risotto di Mare (seafood risotto) and Lobster & Mascarpone Ravioli (delicious!). Man…were we all stuffed!

Then it happened! Tony arrived again with 6 chocolate soufflés in hand. I had mine with just the vanilla sauce as I am not a big chocolate-lover. Tony also brought tiramisu, panna cotta and another chocolate dessert for the table to share. I had had the panna cotta on our last visit to Palo and remembered if fondly. It is served with a lovely fresh berry sauce and anyone who knows me knows that I’ll eat just about anything if it includes berries. The soufflé was good, but it just isn’t my thing so I asked Tony if I could have a panna cotta of my own. He happily brought me one and I was in heaven. So soufflés were eaten, other desserts were sampled, tea & coffee were drunk and I savored my panna cotta. It was a great end to a wonderful meal.

We truly waddled out of Palo…even more than we had after Brunch. I had plans to meet DS for the evening performance of Disney Dreams (we’re show junkies, what can I say?) and when I got to the theater he was inside waiting for me. Some of the other adults joined us as well, but the girls had gone to the Stack.

The show was great, as it had been that afternoon, and I was glad to get to see it again.
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My two favorite moments in the show...
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I forgot to mention this earlier in my report but we had two signers at each of the WDT 8:30 performances. They were fantastic to watch and I often found my eyes on them instead of the show.

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When it was over DS headed back to Ocean Quest. He had been having a great week with Gerweniel’s son and the two boys had plans to meet up there again tonight. The grandpas headed off to their stateroom and the rest of the adults went to John Charles’ adult cabaret show at Rockin’ Bar D. Once again he didn’t disappoint. The man is just so very talented. If you ever get a chance to see him perform don’t miss it.

After that it was time to call it a night. DH and I headed back to the cabin and went to bed. It had been another fantastic day with calm, smooth seas although I think they reached their peak for the week today...4-8 feet!

Not many photos today. I promise more for Castaway Cay day!

[LivingtheWDWdream]

My mouth was drooling reading about Palo and your fabulous meal there! I loved Palo my last cruise and being a chocolate lover the soufflee was sooooo my speed but will have to try the one you asked for as well!

I never realized all the behnd the scenes things that went on so sad I missed them but will make up for it on my cruise in May!

[Gerweniel]

Your report is making me smile and the photos are top notch! Our experiences on Cozumel were so entirely different - I wish I'd taken the boys on the Chankanaab trip. Oh well - something to look forward to next time!

Can't wait for more.

Jill

ps - the boys say hi to everyone!

[NancyIL]

I am enjoying your report and photos SO much! Palo sounds divine...so I sure hope I can get something reserved when we get on the ship!

[CraftyMouse]

Chapter 8 – Castaway Cay

I was starting to think there was something wrong with me. Yet again I woke up early and went walking. Voluntarily. Happily even. Something is not right! Back in the room I showered and dressed. DH was already ready so we were off to Deck 3. We had told the grandpas how good the breakfast at Lumiere’s was and had made plans to meet them there at 8:00 when it opened. The wife of our friend family also joined us there. Her DH and DD were still sleeping, as were our kids.

We were seated at a table next to one of the portholes and I hoped we’d get to see our approach to Castaway Cay near the end of our meal. This morning I tried what DH had had the day before…Mrs. Potts’ Morning. It was very, very good…but not as good as the Beast’s Tower from the morning before. I don’t remember what everyone else had but I do remember they enjoyed it. DF-I-L wanted a more basic breakfast than what was on the menu and was able to order eggs and bacon with no problem. I really like this new menu at Lumiere's. It is a nice alternative to Topsiders, especially on mornings where you want to take a slower pace.

During breakfast Luis came over to the table. I hadn’t realized he was working at Lumiere's that morning or we would have requested to sit in his section. Anyway, he asked if DD had passed on his message to us and I explained to him that I hadn’t seen her after dinner and that she was currently unconscious. He laughed and explained that we needed to see our head server to let him know what dining rotation we wanted the following week. I promised that we would do that at dinner that night but that we definitely wanted to continue with both him and Graham. He seemed pleased and then asked us what we'd be doing the next day as he had the afternoon off and we could go explore Port Canaveral together. Had we been more sure of what the day would bring we would have taken him up on his offer. Since we didn't know how long everything would take and we didn't want him to waste his precious day off waiting for us we passed. In retrospect I wish we'd done it. I think it would have been a lot of fun to spend the afternoon with him "off the clock".

Near the end of breakfast my wish was fulfilled. We could see Castaway Cay out of the porthole near our table. We also saw an amazing rainbow to go along with it. The neat thing was that the ship turned 180 degrees so everyone at the table got a great view of the island without having to leave their seat! How nice of them to do that just for us! ;)

After breakfast we headed back to our staterooms to get ready for the island. Looking out our porthole I noticed that we were nearly finished docking and that…it was pouring! Oh no! That’s not good. I got the kids up anyway and they quickly dressed. (Quickly being a relative term in DD’s case.) I knew that DD wanted to spend her day on the Teen Beach but I also wanted to get a few photos of them together on the island, including one of them with Captain Jack Sparrow.

DH went ahead, as usual, to secure a spot on the beach and the kids and I were to follow a few minutes later. Well, as we left our stateroom an announcement came over the speakers. Minnie and Donald would not be available for photos on the island but would be in the Atrium instead. We headed there and quickly got the kids’ photos taken. By the time we were done the lines had tripled and I was glad we had gotten there early. The pictures just weren’t the same in the Atrium though, and I hoped to get them taken on the island the following week.

From there we called the grandpas to let the know that we were ready and would meet them in the Deck 1 Aft gangway. Our friends were headed to Serenity Bay while their DD was heading to the Teen Beach with ours. Once down in the gangway we saw that it was still pouring. DD decided to wait until later to disembark so I signed the waiver that let her do this without needing a parent present. She headed back to the stateroom to write out some postcards. DDad also decided to head back to the room to wait out the rain but DF-I-L, DS and I decided to press on. After all, DH was out there waiting for us!

Just at that moment a CM appeared with a large box of Mickey ponchos. What a savior! Sheathed in plastic, artfully decorated with my favorite mouse, we had our cards scanned and walked onto Castaway Cay. Most people seemed to have opted to wait the rain out on the ship and we were able to quickly grab some towels and be on our way. As we neared the back of the ship we saw a photographer huddled under an umbrella. I had her take DS’s photo, as I figured it would make a great shot for my scrapbook. How often do you see a 12yo bundled up in a poncho with the Magic in the background? Just as she was ready to take the picture another CM (one who was waiting for excursion participants) jumped into the shot. I made the comment that I would have to get that one as it was really cute.

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I then chatted with the photographer for a minute, commending her on her photo-taking-in-the-rain skills. I realized that I had an extra poncho and asked her if she’d like it. She quickly accepted and I was happy that I had done my good deed for the day. We’d run into her many more times on the trip and she always mentioned that poncho!

Photo taken, we were on our way. We skipped the tram and walked to the family beach. We have always camped out in the same area and we were quickly able to find DH. He was alone in a sea of beach chairs and hammocks. It was still raining so we put our stuff under the umbrella but didn’t linger there for too long. After all, we were going to get wet as soon as we went in the water, right?

DS and I headed off to rent a couple of tubes and then spent the next 30 minutes or so floating in the beautiful and uncrowded water. It was amazing to experience the family beach with so few people on it. After our swim we headed back to the chairs while DS headed to the water jungle gym (which they closed due to low tide a short time later, much to his disappointment). It was still drizzling so I sat under the umbrella for a while to get dry. Here I had one of my favorite experiences of the trip. Sitting under that umbrella, the rain tap-tapping on it, nobody at all near us was one of the most peaceful moments I’ve ever had. It was fantastic!

Not long after the rain began to clear away and the sun began to peek out from behind the clouds. This, of course, brought the rest of the guests from the ship and they soon started filing onto the beach. DH and DS headed off for their Banana Boat ride and DF-I-L decided to go too.

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They had an extra person with them when they returned. They had found my DDad so our group was now complete.

DS and I headed off to have lunch while the others decided to wait a bit. Cookie’s is DS’s favorite meal of the week and he couldn’t wait to get there. On our way we spent a few minutes watching the crab races. There was a crab named Caleb and we had 3 Calebs in our traveling party so we just had to watch! Caleb-the-crab was doing very well so we moved on to the barbecue. I had a hamburger, two ribs, some fruit salad and one of the very yummy chocolate chip cookies. DS had the same except he substituted a hot dog for the hamburger. He then went back to the fruit stand for some watermelon. Everything was absolutely delicious. For some reason the food on Castaway Cay always tastes better. It must have something to do with the sea air and sunshine. We knew that Graham was working at Cookie’s today but we didn’t run into him.

When we returned to our spot the guys went to lunch. I spent an hour or so swinging in the hammock doing absolutely nothing. It was heaven! In the early afternoon the grandpas headed back to the ship but we stayed a bit longer. DS and DH went off to find the game pavilion as DH had developed an affinity for the game of ping pong and he wanted to challenge his dad to a few games. I spent some more time in my hammock. Life was good.

Who is that peeking out from behind the pole?...
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At some point I started thinking about how almost everyone else there was thinking about going home the next day and we still had another whole week. I knew that the following Friday I’d be feeling the same way that they did but, in the meantime, I was so grateful for being able to take this wonderful trip.

Stitch enjoys the island...
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When the boys returned DS decided to challenge me to a game of ping pong so off we went to the game pavilion. DH said he would gather our stuff and head back to the ship and meet us there later. On our way to the game pavilion we saw DD and her group of friends. I couldn’t resist a loud “Hi, Honey!”, complete with vigorous wave. I firmly believe that it is every parents’ right and duty to (gently) embarrass their teen from time to time and I take that responsibility very seriously! DD and her friends seemed to be heading back to the ship. She gave me a wave (it’s pretty hard to embarrass her, actually) and they went on their way.

I held my own in ping pong, although I think DS did beat me in the end. I had never been down to this part of the island before so it was neat to see. When we were done we walked back to the ship, taking in the sights and sounds along the way. DJ Mike was still spinning the tunes and “We’re All In This Together” from High School Musical came on just as we were walking by…much to DS’s displeasure. Well, as I said, I take my job very seriously so I had to sing along as we walked. DS did his best to pretend we weren’t together but he came back to me once we were out of earshot of the music.

We made a stop at She Sells Sea Shells to browse through the offerings. I was thrilled to find T-shirts (in both men’s and women’s styles) with the “Finding Nemo” seagulls on them. Under the seagulls the word Mine was written seven or eight times. My kids absolutely love that part of the movie so the shirts were a must-have for us. DS also purchased a beach towel for me for Christmas but gave it to me right away (he’s a chip off the old block, for sure!). I was thrilled with it and told him I’d use it onboard. I love having a beach towel to wrap myself in after I shower so I planned to use it everyday for the rest of the trip.

We then walked back to the ship with the full knowledge that we’d be back again in a week. It definitely made leaving the island so much easier!

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Some of the Castaway Cay holiday decorations...
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CMs were at the pier handing out Christmas Cookies which was a lovely touch. I took a few pictures of DS in front of the holiday displays as it had been too wet and rainy to do that in the morning.

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Note that stuck on smile...sigh...
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We then headed back onto the ship. Actually I sent DS ahead and told him that when he got back to the room he should look out the window with DD and DH (if they were there) so I could take a picture from the dock. Well, I waited and waited but they never showed up. Turns out that they were standing there waving at me but I could see them because of the reflection on the window. Oh well, I took a picture of the window anyway.

Ours is the window with both ropes running across it...
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I made my way back on ship and everybody was already in the room. We relaxed until it was time to get ready for dinner, watching (for about the millionth time that week) about 20 minutes of "Transformers". I noticed that Flori was in the hallway so I gave her her tip envelope and a Christmas tin of Hershey’s kisses that I had brought for each of the CMs in the tipped positions. I also took a tin to the room steward at the next station, Fernando. He had been so friendly and sweet during the week that it really made our cruise better. I wanted to thank him somehow and I was happy I’d brought along a couple extra tins.

Our meal tonight was back in Lumiere’s where we had started nearly a week ago. It was bittersweet for us as even though we were staying another week this was the last night with our friends and family. I found Gaspare and spoke to him about our rotation for the following week. The servers stay on a continuous rotation so Luis and Graham would be going from the LAPLAPL circuit to APLAPLA. To stay with them we’d have to go with the APLAPLA rotation as well. We weren't thrilled with the 5:30 dinner time but we agreed to this, as we really did want to stay with them. Gaspare pointed out Table #39, a 4-top that would be our dining home for the following week.

Sadly, we all ended up running out of dinner early tonight and we didn't get to see the final "show". DD was participating in the talent show at 7:15 and we didn’t want miss it. Luis was nice enough to bring our desserts out early, each with a cover and a fork, so we could take them with us to the performance. Several of DD’s Stack friends were there, which was very sweet and Anna Marie even came when she was finished with her dessert. DD did a great job and got a bag of goodies for participating. It included some stickers, a “Santa Clause” car air freshener and a beautiful “Enchanted” silver apple keychain. I though it was an odd selection for the little kids who participated but DD was happy as she will be starting to drive next year. (…sob…)

After the show the girls went to change and head to the Stack. The rest of us went to the Farewell show in the WDT. John Charles was one of the featured performers and he was, as usual, fantastic. We also saw Michael Harrison do his turn-a-kid-in-the-audience-into-a-puppet routine. No matter how many times I see it, it’s still funny!

After the show everyone headed back to their rooms to pack up. Even though we were staying we would be switching staterooms so we had to pack up too. We’d received a letter on our fish the day before, telling us the exact procedure for Saturday morning so we were all set. I’d also packed up most of our things before dinner so there wasn’t much to do. I also made a run to Shutters to pick up the photos from that morning. Jenny, the photographer, was manning the counter and when she saw the photo of DS and the CM she mentioned that she had had it printed up because she remembered that I had said I wanted to buy it. She said that usually they don't print the ones that CMs jump into. She also thanked me again for the poncho and said how much it had helped.

I had planned to go to the “Til We Meet Again” event in the Atrium but I never made it there. Instead we relaxed in the room and called it a night.

The seas tonight were very calm. It had been a perfectly calm cruise. Would our luck hold out the following week? I was hopeful...but I was sooooo wrong!

[LivingtheWDWdream]

Despite the rain it sounds like you had a fabulous day at Castaway Cay! I love the holiday decorations and I am already loving the idea to back to back cruises! Someday I will get to!

More please

[CraftyMouse]

Chapter 9 – Disembarkation and Re-embarkation Day

Today we actually got to sleep later than I though we would. Because we had the latest rotation of the early seating our breakfast wasn’t until 7:00. Once up, we packed up the rest of our things and headed off to Lumiere’s.

Everyone else was there and we had our final breakfast of this part of the vacation together. It was such a bittersweet day. We were getting to spend another week onboard but we were saying goodbye to our friends & family and the trip was half over already! Ah well…focus on the positive, right? We had a nice breakfast and gave Luis, Graham and Gaspare their tips and candy. When I gave Gaspare his I said “See you later.”. He gave me a funny look but I didn’t know why. Luis let me know that it was Gaspare’s last sailing before his break so I made sure to go over and wish him safe travels.

After breakfast we took one more photo of all of us, plus one of the kids with Anna Marie.

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Then they were all off to disembark while we headed back to our stateroom. We called Guest Services and they sent someone to pick up the luggage. We took our laundry up to Deck 6 and got it started, putting sticky notes on each washer to let the CMs know that we were doing a back-to-back. While in the laundry room we saw a cart go by with our luggage on it. Turns out they weren’t holding it at Guest Services, as expected, but putting it right into our new stateroom. I wondered if this meant that we would be able to get into our new room before 1:30 but we had to wait to find out.

After getting the laundry started we headed to the Atrium to see how disembarkation was going. As we passed the window at Lumiere’s we saw Luis and waved to him. He indicated that we should meet him at the door so we did. It turns out that our friend had left his DVC baseball cap at the table when he left and Luis had saved it for us. We thanked him and told him we’d see him later.

It was now about 9:00 so we found some seats in the Atrium to wait for disembarkation to finish. We would have to get off for them to clear the ship and head to the terminal to check in again. There weren’t many seats so the kids headed to the Promenade Lounge to wait while DH went for a walk. While I was waiting in the Atrium a little girl started talking to me. She was absolutely adorable and so much fun to chat with. I also chatted with her mom and it turned out they were also doing a back-to-back. We ended up leaving the ship slightly before them but would end up meeting them again in the terminal and then throughout the next week.

We headed off the ship around 9:45 and were escorted through Customs and back up into the terminal. I took lots of pictures this time as the place was virtually empty!

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DD and Tessa spent some time playing and made plans to meet up and play paper dolls during the week.

There were a total of four parties doing a back-to-back this week. There was Tessa, her mom and sister; a mom, dad and daughter, a single gentleman and us. We were all brought to the check-in desk where we handed in our paperwork and were issued new KTTW cards. Then we were brought back onboard as a group and left to our own devices. <insert evil laugh here> It was a completely painless process and we were back on the ship by 10:20 or so.

Back onboard we go...
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Our first stop was the laundry room where we moved everything, including our sticky notes, to the dryers. Then it was off to see if our stateroom was ready…and it was! What a nice surprise! I thought that we’d have to wait until 1:30 but our stateroom hostess had done our room first. Our bottle of sparkling cider and plate of petit fours was already there as well, along with our Castaway Club tote bag and excursion tickets.

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I emptied a couple of suitcases but we then went off to explore the ship. After all, it was all ours for the moment! I took lots of pictures of the kids all over the ship and it was so nice to not have to worry about stopping traffic or someone accidentally walking in front of the camera. After putting them through this “torture” for 30 minutes or so I released them and they were off. I continued to walk around the ship and DH relaxed in the room.

Note that the lights on the tree are off again...
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I did make sure to walk out on Deck 4 to see the guests who were arriving in the terminal. They all looked so excited to be there and I knew that they couldn’t wait to come aboard.

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I also chatted with several CMs that weren’t busy turning the ship over. It was a very nice couple of hours.

At noon we all met up at Topsiders for the buffet. We sat at a table by the window and enjoyed our second Embarkation lunch. Then we went down to retrieve the laundry and unpack. It was nice to be able to do this early and I was really able to enjoy the afternoon hours of Embarkation Day because of it.

We headed to the safety drill at 4:00 and this week we weren’t so lucky. No more cushy seats in the air-conditioned Walt Disney Theater. Nope, it was back to the sunny Starboard side of Deck 6 for us! Soon it was all over and we were on our way.

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We then headed up to Deck 9 and got a table for the Sailaway Party. We enjoyed some of the Bon Voyage drinks and were able to see the festivities from our seats. At one point we saw Tessa and her family but by the time DD went to find them they had been swallowed by the crowd.

Once 5:00 came along we left the party and headed back to our stateroom. We had a (free) verandah so we might as well enjoy it, right? The kids had their sparkling cider and treats to celebrate the event. We waved to the CMs at the terminal and the people along the shore and completely enjoyed our second Embarkation. Then we quickly got dressed for dinner and headed to Animator’s Palate. Luis had told us that we could show up late for dinner if the 5:30 time was a problem but we didn’t want to do that. We always hate to see people arriving late as we know what a bind it can put the servers in. Aside from St. Maarten day when we had a full-day excursion booked, we planned to make our 5:30 time each evening. It turns out that wasn’t at all difficult.

Luis and Graham welcomed us back to their station and skipped the regular first-night stuff. No need for introductions, we were already old friends! Luis asked about our day and said he had looked for us in the terminal area but hadn’t seen us. Graham brought our drinks right away as he already knew what we wanted. It was nice.

Dinner was great, as it had been last week. Again, this is not my favorite menu but what I had was yummy. I went with the garlic mushrooms again but skipped the tomato salad. My entrée was the filet and it was as good as it had been the week before. I didn’t order anything for dessert but Luis brought me out a plate of grapes with a scoop of ice cream anyway. DD actually skipped dessert tonight (Luis asked if she was feeling okay :lmao: ) so she could get right to the Stack. She said that getting there early on the first night was key to getting to know everyone. Without a friend along this weekend she wanted to make sure she got to know people early.

After dinner the rest of us headed back to the room to change before the show. We found that we really enjoyed the 5:30 dinner time as it gave us plenty of time to relax before the show. Tonight John Charles was performing, along with a magician named Justin Kredible. He has apparently appeared on the Rachel Ray show, although I had never heard of him. Well, he was hysterical and John Charles was as good as always.

When the show was over DS headed off to Ocean Quest to meet the new crop of 10-14s and DH and I headed back to the stateroom. We enjoyed some time sitting on the verandah and then called it a night.

Seas were at 4-8 feet tonight but oh, were there waves to come!

[LivingtheWDWdream]

After reading about your day I am sooooo going to try for a back to back cruise just for the quiet and emptiness of the ship! What a great day!

More please

[firemans wife]

I am really enjoying your report!!! How great to be able to do a back to back cruise! I have a question regarding the dolphin excursion. Who did you book through? Is it Dolphin Encounters? What excursion did you do? I know there is a few to choose from. We want to do this in Novemebr when we cruise. Any information would be great! Thanks.

[CraftyMouse]

Chapter 10 – Another Sea Day

Forgotten Story: On the night the adults had gone to Palo the previous Thursday the girls had gone to the dining room on their own. At some point during that meal DD discovered an aptitude for tying cherry stems into knots with her tongue. :sad2: Well, ever since that night Graham had been bringing her Shirley Temples (something she ONLY drinks when we cruise) LOADED with cherries! This would continue for the rest of the trip.

Okay, onward…Last week was the week for doing lots of excursions and this week was for taking it easy. I embraced this completely by not getting up to walk this morning. I actually woke up around 7:30 and skipped the Deck 4 visit.

DH and I headed up to Topsiders and got our usual table outside. It was a beautiful morning but you could really feel the boat moving. Once I was back in the room I checked the Bridge Report channel and saw that the seas were at 8-13 feet. Wow! This was higher than they had ever gotten the week before! I attributed the change to being out in the open Atlantic this week and enjoyed the feel of being at sea.

DS and I decided to go to the DVC Member meet while DH went off to the Art of Entertaining presentation on appetizers. At the DVC meet we watched a presentation on the new AK Villas and learned about incentives for adding on while onboard. Then they did the usual drawing. If your name is pulled from the bag you have to answer a DVC-related question to get a prize. Okay…you don’t really have to know the answer. Help was allowed. Well, DS and I waited, and waited, and waited but our name was never pulled. (I tell you…I never win anything! :rolleyes1 ) Finally they were down to just a few families that hadn’t won and they just started calling on them one-by-one. We were lucky enough to receive a great DVC beach towel that says “Membership is Magical”. Since I collect Beach Towels this was the perfect prize for us! We were warned to wash the bright blue towel before using it if we didn’t want to end up looking like a member of Blue Man Group! That advice was gladly accepted and heeded.

After the member meet DS was ready for lunch and decided that he wanted to get something from Pluto’s. I had wanted to try one of the panini’s from Goofy’s so I headed there while DS got his chicken fingers. We met at the drink station, got our beverages and headed back to the room to eat. It was really nice to just sit quietly with him and chat about the trip so far. He told me that he didn’t really want to go to formal night that night and I told him we’d talk about it later. He went off to Ocean Quest for a while. I spent a little time on the verandah before heading out for the afternoon.

Being the show junkie that I am I headed to the matinee of The Golden Mickeys yet again. DH and I were planning to go and see “Meet the Robinsons” after dinner that night so I decided to do TGM in the afternoon instead. As I said before, it is my favorite show onboard and I wanted to make sure I got to see it one more time.

I love this shot, even though Tarzan is a blur!
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After the show my eye was bothering me. Sometimes my contacts get a bit scratchy and if I don’t notice it right away it causes some problems. It happens rarely, but it was happening today. I took my contacts out but the problem didn’t clear up. My right eye was still irritated and a bit watery. Remembering that DS didn’t want to go to formal night I suggested to DH that he go on a date night with DD. He thought this was a great idea (as did DD, although she did want us all to get dressed up), so the two of them got ready and headed to dinner.

Quite fuzzy, but you get the picture...
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Before they left I asked DH to see if Luis could send DS’s and my dinner to the room. DS and I love the ribs from Parrot Cay (PC has my favorite menu) and I was sorry to be missing them. DH called the room to let me know that Luis was happy to send our meals to us so DS settled in for a date night of our own. Had we not been able to get our PC meals we would have gone to Topsiders for dinner. We still have never done that so we’ll have to get there on our next cruise.

This was the night that Luis and DD’s relationship reached a new level (although I wouldn’t hear the story until the next night at dinner). When it was time for dessert Luis refused to let DD have a menu. What?!? Hasn’t he been paying attention for the last 8 days? Doesn’t he realize that DD lives for dessert? What was he thinking??? Well, what he was thinking was that if DD liked dessert that much she should have all of them. Yup. He brought her every dessert on the menu. To say that DD was happy would be the understatement of the century. She was beyond ecstatic and ate each and every one of her treats.

After dinner, DD and DH returned to the room where DD got changed. She then headed off to the Stack while DS went to Ocean Quest. DH and I walked down a flight to the Buena Vista Theater and found seats for Meet the Robinsons. DH had not seen this when it came out in theaters so he was glad to have the chance onboard. I stayed through the first half of the movie and then headed back to the room. I wanted to write out a few postcards and update my trip report notes. I was still pretty wiped out form the day so when I was done I went to bed. Before I did I checked the Bridge Report channel and saw that the seas were now at 13-20 feet! WOW! Little did I know they would get even higher the next day.

Okay, so between the seas and me not feeling well I have virtually no photos from today. So, to tide you over until the next installment here are a few miscellaneous shots that I took...

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[CraftyMouse]

Chapter 11 – Yet Another Sea Day

This was another day I had looked forward to for a long time. It was my day to visit the spa for some Alone Time. This treatment is done in one of the new spa villas and I was excited to see what they were like. I’ve never done any of the spa treatments onboard and was looking forward to my first one.

My appointment was for 8:00 so I headed to the spa at 7:45. Before I left I checked the Bridge Report channel and saw that we had actually made it to the next level…20-30 foot seas! I could really feel the motion of the ship down on Deck 6, but when I got to the spa the motion was unbelievable! People were staggering everywhere and some looked a bit green. I was certainly not feeling my best, but I was fine.

I checked in, made sure to write “No Sales Pitch, Please” on my form and met my spa CM, Meghan from Florida. She had only been on the ship for a month but was really enjoying her job. She brought me to the forward most spa villa on the Starboard side (not sure if they have any on the Port side) and it was beautiful. It was decorated in earth tones with lots of marble and stone. She brought me to the balcony where there was a wonderfully luxurious lounge bed, a chair and a hot tub. She scrubbed my feet with some sea salt, had me choose a tea from the menu, asked me what spa treatment I wanted and then left me alone for 20 minutes of hot tub time. I quickly donned my bathing suit (chicken, I know, but I wasn’t going to do this in the buff!) and slid into the hot tub. It was a bit hot but I quickly adjusted and took full advantage of the relaxing, warm water. I was feeling a bit nauseated but I had some water and it subsided.

Meghan came back 20 minutes later and brought me back inside. I had chosen the Ginger Lime Salt Glow with Half Body Massage and she had the salt scrub all ready for me. Well, I can honestly say that this was easily the best spa treatment I’ve ever had. The smell of the ginger/lime mixture was so nice and the feel of the salt scrub was heavenly. Meghan applied the mixture to my legs, arms, back and stomach and then had me rinse off in the outdoor, verandah shower. Then it was on to the half-body massage. At my request she concentrated on my upper & lower back and my neck. She also asked if I would like her to use some fragrant oil on my hair/scalp and I agreed. It was the amazing Frangiapani oil that has been talked about here on the DIS many times and it was wonderful. I told her I’d like to purchase a bottle and she said she’d have it ready to take with me. I had been planning to have the $26 treatment done in the salon but never got there so having it done during my massage was a nice bonus! The massage was the best I’ve ever had and I highly recommend Meghan if you plan to indulge in one on the Magic.

After the massage it was back to the verandah to relax on the lounge bed and enjoy my snack. She brought me a pot of tea and a plate of fresh fruit. I was, again, feeling a bit nauseated and getting the fruit in my stomach helped (for now anyway). Meghan left me alone for another 20-25 minutes and I enjoyed watching the very busy sea while I relaxed. All too soon my time was up and Meghan returned. She had the bottle of oil waiting for me in a large plastic bag. I signed the slip, adding a tip for Meghan, and then she showed me out. Well, once I got into the tiny hallway the motion of the ship hit me hard. HARD! I managed to make it out of the spa and to the chairs in the Deck 9 Forward elevator area. I sat down, took the bottle of oil from the plastic bag and promptly threw up (into the bag, of course!). Gosh, I felt soooo much better. I do feel sorry for the elderly couple who witnessed all of this, but they were respectful enough to ignore me.

I made my way back to 6610 where DH met me at the door. I asked him if he would mind skipping our scheduled Palo Brunch today and he said he wouldn’t. While he wasn’t sick he also wasn’t in the mood for a huge meal so he gave Palo a call to cancel. They told him that it was no problem and that many other guests had also cancelled that morning. So no more stollen and berries for me on this trip…which tells you exactly how bad I was feeling!

I took a shower and then headed to bed. I wasn’t feeling sick, so much as tired. I was also coming down with a cold and that didn’t help. I slept for about 30 minutes and woke up feeling a good deal better. I suddenly realized that the Castaway Clubhouse was starting in a few minutes so I sent DH and DS ahead while I got ready. I met them in Rockin' Bar D a few minutes after 11:00 at which time DS deserted us and headed to Ocean Quest. When Captain Tom spoke to the group he talked a bit about the seas. He was clearly unaffected by the waves which must be a nice side effect of so many years spent on the ocean. He promised us that the rocking would stop the next morning at 7am. Most of us chuckled as we realized that that was the time we were due to dock in St. Maarten. Funny guy, that Captain Tom. DH spent several minutes chatting with Brent, the Cruise Director. He had remembered us from last week and stopped to see how we were enjoying the seas. He's a really amiable guy and loves to chat with the guests so make sure you seek him out when you sail. And, for those of you keeping track, no, we didn't win a clock. Unlucky, unlucky, unlucky I tell you! :rolleyes1

After the CC reception I knew that I should probably eat something, even though the thought of it wasn’t exactly appealing, so we headed to Topsiders. We checked to see if DS wanted to join us but he chose to get something from Pluto's instead. Today was the American Buffet day at Topsiders. They didn't have much that appealed to me so I just had two small slices of the sandwich of the day (ham, if I remember correctly) and some nice, bubbly Diet Coke…and I felt like a new woman! It is amazing what getting some food in your stomach will do. I even managed to eat a chocolate chip cookie so I knew that I must be feeling better.

Ducky Williams was scheduled to speak at 1:00 in the Buena Vista Theater so we headed there next. We got there a bit early and I ended up chatting with a fellow-DISer named Jennifer. I had seen her up at Topsiders and she had looked about as good as I had felt so I asked her how she was doing. Her lunch had also helped her feel better which was good to hear. We ended up running into each other a few more times during the week, including onstage at the Walt Disney Theater…but I’ll get to that during the Thursday segment.

Ducky gave a great talk, as always. I was lucky enough to see his presentation on our ’04 Eastern that included a stop in Antigua. On that cruise DH had won his sketch of Ursula but we would leave this cruise without one of his beautiful drawings. If you ever get the chance to hear him speak or to chat with him don’t miss it. He has an amazing story and is a great asset to the Walt Disney Company.

Some of Ducky's work...
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I had been planning to go to the matinee performance of Twice Charmed today but at the end of the Ducky Williams presentation one of the CMs announced that it had been cancelled due to the high seas. I wasn’t surprised. Many were having trouble just walking today. It would have been nearly impossible, let alone potentially dangerous, for the cast to try to dance on stage in these seas.

Instead of going to the show I headed back to the stateroom. I was just so tired today! I took another nap and slept for a couple of hours. I woke around 4:30 and debated whether or not to go to dinner. I decided that I would go and I’m so glad I did. I was actually surprised that the dining room was as full as it was with the sea conditions. We did see two different Housekeeping CMs come into Lumiere's, presumably to clean up after someone who was sick, but we didn’t actually see what happened.

Dinner was very good. I always enjoy the Lumiere’s menu and tonight was no exception. I had the escargot and the beef, which was cooked perfectly. For the second night Luis refused to bring DD a dessert menu. This is when I was told about what had happened the night before so I understood why DD was smiling. Luis again brought her every dessert on the menu and she again ate every one. Meanwhile Graham was still loading her drink with cherries every evening so life was VERY good for DD.

My goofy kids...DD petting DS (don't ask!)...
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DD and DS being their goofy selves...
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At sometime either before or right after dinner we learned that the evening shows were being cancelled too. Well, not cancelled but postponed. They decided to run the movie (Enchanted) tonight and do Twice Charmed the following night, which was also Pirate Night. So, since we had already seen Enchanted we had our evening free.

DH decided to go see John Charles' cabaret show but I was wiped out! I headed back to the stateroom with the kids. They changed and headed to their clubs while I relaxed in bed and watched some TV. I think I was asleep by 8:30. I know that I never heard DH knock at the door. It seems his room key didn't work but I was sound asleep so he had to go to Guest Services to get a new one! Sorry DH!

The seas were rough all day today. Even though I wasn't feeling my best I actually enjoyed the motion. It just made me so very sleepy!

Lots of fun in St. Maarten, and lots of pictures, for the next installment.

[sandybobandy]

You are doing such a great job with your trip report! I'm having my husband follow along and he loves your pictures. And your kids are super cute! :)

I'm looking forward to more!!

[CraftyMouse]

Chapter 12 – St. Maarten Day, Part 1

Everyone had to get up early today as we were headed off the ship in St. Maarten. We had a tour booked with No Rush Tours and were really looking forward to it.

DH and I headed up to Topsiders for our usual breakfast while the kids got ready. We were delighted to find Luis working there this morning and chatted with him for a few minutes. This is where we first noticed that he always asked about Katharine but not so much about Patrick. Hmmmmm… So, after chatting with him for a minute he asked where DD was. We explained that she was still sleeping and that she’d have to come get her own breakfast later. He shook his head and off he went. He returned with a large bowl of strawberries and a fork…and then disappeared again. Back he came with a bowl, Rice Krispies, milk and a spoon saying that he remembered she had had them on Disembarkation morning the previous Saturday. Wow! Good Memory! I didn’t even remember what she had had. We thanked him and told him we were sure she’d be very happy. Then, when we were done with our breakfast we took DD’s food, grabbed some croissants and fruit for (forgotten) DS and headed back to the room.

The kids were barely moving so we prodded them with the forks (jk) and got them going. They ate their breakfast and then it was time to start making our way off the ship. DH and DS went to get some pool towels while DD went to thank Luis for her breakfast. We then met up in the Deck 1 Aft gangway and went ashore.

We easily found the spot where we were supposed to meet our guide, Bertrand, and he was waiting for us. He was talking to another family and we could hear some of what was being said. Apparently there were some issues with the man who had been running things and this family would be having another driver. Bertrand now seemed in charge of things. When we introduced ourselves he passed us on to another driver and we were off. Our driver was fairly quiet and wasn’t exactly the tour guide that we had hoped for but he gave us a nice tour of the island. He seemed surprised that we did not want to go to the beach and instead took us to the places we wanted to see.

Our first stop was at a rest area alongside the water that had beautiful views of both the coastline and neighboring islands.

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Next we moved on to the Mount Vernon Plantation. We purchased admission and went on a self-guided walking tour of the grounds, complete with personal audio devices to provide us with information at each stop. We learned about the crops that had been grown on the island including coffee, sugar cane and various fruits. We also learned about rum production and the plantation system that had once thrived on the island. It was a really interesting tour and we were very glad we had chosen to stop. The kids even got to try coffee...

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(Side note...All four of us are tea drinkers. DH and I do not like coffee and it looks like the kids agree with us. DD did say that if you add enough milk and sugar to anything it will taste good but I doubt she'll be ordering a cup anytime soon.)

One of the plantation's residents...
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The rum house...
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Next we continued on our way around the island, driving through Grand Case on our way to Fort Louis. What a beautiful location! It overlooks both the water and the town of Marigot. We spent about 20 minutes at the fort, exploring the ruins and taking pictures.

The view of Marigot...
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At the fort...
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Next it was on to Marigot itself. Our driver dropped us off and said he’d be back in an hour and a half to pick us up. We first wandered over to the nearby mall but it was quite upscale and not what we were looking for today. We then made our way to the other side of where we’d been dropped off and found a lovely open-air market. There was booth after booth of clothing, handcrafts and jewelry. We had a good time poking around and found a few treasures that we just had to have.

We had wanted to find a French patisserie but didn’t have much luck. (It turns out that had we turned right instead of left we would have struck gold but, alas, we did not.) Instead we walked back to a chocolate shop that we had seen on our way into town. We chose a few pieces from the case and then had the salesclerk ring us up. She told us, in her lovely French accent, that the total was…$60! Um…what??? Sixty dollars for four pieces of chocolate? That’s $15 a piece and they were just regular-size chocolates. I don’t think so! DH was just about to tell her that we wouldn’t be taking the chocolates after all when she realized her mistake and started laughing. She explained that it was actually $6, not $60 and apologized. We were all still laughing when we left the shop a few minutes later. I have to say that the chocolate was among the best I’ve ever had, but it still wasn’t worth $60.

Shopped out, we made our way back to the pick-up location. We were early so we waited on a bench nearby. Precisely at pick-up time our driver returned and we were on our way.

Our next (and final) stop was at Sunset Beach to see the large planes land. Our driver had timed things perfectly and we arrived there about 15 minutes before the big jets were due to come in. He gave us some safety tips about where to stand (not in the direct path of the planes) and we went on our way. DD and I found a table to sit at while DH and DS went over to the beach. The waves were very strong and DS had a great time playing in them. DH was just there to make sure the waves did not sweep DS away…oh, and to take pictures.

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There was a steady stream of small-plane traffic but we were there to see the big guys. Just after 2:30 we got to see one of the large jetliners land. It was an Air France flight from Paris and came in so low to the ground! It was really an amazing experience to get to see them so close.

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We left the beach around 3:00 and headed back to the ship. On the way we had a great view of the harbor and the ships that were in port.

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We were back at the dock by 3:30 and said goodbye to our driver.

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DH and DS headed straight back to the ship while DD and I browsed through a few shops along the way.

(Side Note: There has been a lot of internet chatter about what is happening with No Rush Tours. We had a good experience but I wouldn't pay the current rates for the tour we had. We felt it was well worth the $40 per person but now that the rates have nearly doubled we would look elsewhere for an excursion in St. Maarten. Your mileage may vary.)

[CraftyMouse]

Chapter 13 - St. Maarten Day, Part 2

Back onboard we all relaxed in the room and took turns taking showers. Tonight was Pirate Night again and I had completely forgotten to fix both DD’s and my shirts. DH ran down to Guest Services for a sewing kit and I took care of both shirts before it was time to head to the dining room. This was the night I thought we might end up late for dinner but we had had plenty of time to get ready. Luis had been so nice to say we could come late but I really didn’t want to put him or Graham out at all. All week we saw guests coming to the dining room late and noticed that Brent made announcements about being on time each afternoon.

Not only did we have plenty of time before dinner, we also made it to the Atrium just before the Lifestyle Portrait sessions were to start. There was nobody in line so I planted myself front and center. The sign said that they would start at 5:15 and that would be perfect for our 5:30 dinner. While I was waiting a line started forming for Chip and Dale. I debated getting into that one so the kids could get that photo before the Lifestyle Portraits but then I saw my favorite photographer Jenny. She was doing the LPs that night and was going to open early! Yippee! She quickly took 10-12 shots of both our family and just the kids and we were done! I crossed my fingers and hoped that they would come out well. Since Jenny had started her session early we still had time to get photos with both Chip & Dale and another with Pirate Mickey. All-in-all it had been a really great photo night!

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Our Christmas Card shot...
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Next it was off to Animator’s Palate. (Interesting note…we had Parrot Cay for Formal Night and Animator’s Palate for Pirate Night on both cruises!) Luis and Graham were in their pirate finery again. We saw a lot more people dressed up this week and it really added to the festivity.

Turtle boy...
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No photos, please...
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Luis had amazed us with his ability to remember what we had had from each menu the previous week and he remembered again tonight. He always asked if we wanted the X, Y, Z that we had had or if we wanted to try something new. I was having the exact same thing I had the week before so ordering was a breeze! DS and DD were in one of their goofy moods and DD pretended to scold DS for something (what it was I don’t remember). DS gave his best guilty look just before I took this photo…

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DD had the shellfish entrée tonight and was more than happy to let Luis un-shell the shellfish for her. She was getting far too used to having him around! I was starting to worry that she was going to expect the same service from me when we returned home and told Luis that he really should ignore her for a while. He refused so I just had to keep my fingers crossed.

After our meal DD was, again, refused a dessert menu which made her very happy. Actually, Graham gave her a dessert menu and Luis quickly took it away from her, saying "She doesn't need that!"

I had the Hidden Banana Treasure again while DH had the ice cream sundae and DS had nothing. (He simply cannot be my son!) DD was presented with every dessert on the menu, yet again, and this time I remembered to take a picture. She ate almost all of each dessert each night and I was sure she was going to go home 10 pounds heavier but hey, it’s vacation, right?

"Why yes, Luis, you can un-shell my shellfish."
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"And yes, you may bring me five desserts."
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We also managed to get what I call a "Charlie's Angels" shot of our serving team with the kids...
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DS ran off to change while we ate dessert but this week he made it back in time for the pirate festivities in the dining room. Luis made sure to get both kids up and I took one of my favorite pictures of the vacation as they made their way around the dining room. This was supposed to be a shot of DS and DD but everyone was moving and it didn't quite end up as intended...but I just love it! Doesn’t Luis look like a GIANT! DD looks so tiny next to him but it was just the perspective from which the photo was taken. In any case, it just makes me smile.

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We said goodnight to Luis and Graham and headed back to the room to change. Tonight was the rescheduled performance of Twice Charmed and I was cautiously looking forward to seeing it again. If you remember I had been stuck in front of three talkers the week before and hadn’t enjoyed the show. I can say that my opinion most definitely changed this week.

DH decided to skip the show and spent some time reading on the verandah instead. DD headed to the Stack, as usual, so that left DS and I for the show. This time we had nice, quiet show-goers behind us and it made all of the difference. I was able to completely immerse myself in the performance and I loved it! I loved it so much that I made sure to stop at Mickey’s Mates later in the week to buy the soundtrack!

After the show I had planned to go to the Pirate Party on Deck 9. I had wanted to go take some photos this week but had a slight headache. DH offered to go take the photos for me which I greatly appreciated. DS headed off to Ocean Quest while I called it a night. I could hear the fireworks from bed but didn’t get up to see them. DH came back a little while later without the photos I had wanted. He had a few shots but not one of Mickey zipping in. Well, he did get one...but not from the angle I had hoped for. ;) Ah well…we’ll just have to come back, right?

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Seas tonight were nice and smooth which was such a welcome change from the day before.

[CraftyMouse]

You are doing such a great job with your trip report! I'm having my husband follow along and he loves your pictures. And your kids are super cute! :)

I'm looking forward to more!!

Thanks! I am having so much fun writing it! It's like reliving the trip.

More is on the way, but probably not until later tonight or tomorrow.

[Gerweniel]

Hey Michele, I neglected to mention what an awesome job you did on the Pirates costumes! The are SUPER.
Its great to log on and see you've posted another chapter. I'm hooked.
Jill


PS - I noticed the new addition to your signature - That will be a wonderful cruise.

[LivingtheWDWdream]

What a great day in St. Maarten I had such great time reading and your photos that you took for your cards came out great!

More please

[DMMarla07860]

great report so far, I might pm you sometime, because we just booked a back-to-back cruise for Feb 28th, 2009 and March 7th, 2009

[CraftyMouse]

great report so far, I might pm you sometime, because we just booked a back-to-back cruise for Feb 28th, 2009 and March 7th, 2009

Definitely feel free to PM me. I'll be happy to try to answer any questions you may have. You will LOVE going back-to-back!

[CraftyMouse]

Addendum to Chapter 10 - Where the Luis/Katharine Dessert Obsession Really Began

I have just learned that Luis' penchant for bring DD desserts began even before I had thought! She was just telling me about being at Parrot Cay for lunch with some of her friends on Sunday, the first sea day of the Eastern. Luis was working there for lunch that day and saw her in line. He came over and chatted with her a bit and then went back to work. She didn't end up seated in his section but did see him again at the dessert station. He came over and gave her a Tiramisu saying "Tiramisu is very good, you will like it!". She told him that she did like it and he then told her to leave the dessert buffet because he was going to take care of her. She went back to the table, not knowing what was going to happen. A minute or two later he brought her a large plate full of all of the desserts offered in PC that day! For those who don't know, there are a LOT of desserts offered at the buffets each day and she said it was a very full plate!

This addition to the story makes it even more unbelievable that DD came home having LOST a pound and a half! :sad2: I think I found them for her...and then some!

[CraftyMouse]

Chapter 14 – St. Thomas

Well, it was the day that every Eastern cruiser dreads…Immigration Day. Our deck was scheduled to be there at 7:15 so we headed down around 7:00. We literally got the kids right out of bed and headed out the door. Yup, they went in their pajamas. As we walked into the Walt Disney Theater we saw Graham. He was manning the table with the pastries/coffee/juice but we just said hello in passing as the kids were in no shape to function yet. Actually, later in the day Katharine was shocked to hear that we had even seen Graham. She had absolutely no memory of it at all.

Immigration was painless. We were back in the room by our report-time of 7:15. The kids went back to bed and DH and I headed off to breakfast at Lumiere’s. I was looking forward to the new menu but was surprised to see the old one. It turns out the only do the new menu on days where guests can spend time having breakfast. On port days they revert to the old menu so guests can get in and out quickly. …sigh… I ordered pancakes and pouted (just a bit). The pancakes were good, but my needs went unsatisfied and I made a mental note to go back to Lumiere’s the following morning.

After breakfast we headed up to Topsiders to grab some breakfast for the kids and then went back to the room to wake the dead…er…I mean get the kids up. DS was much easier to rouse than DD…but that’s nothing new.

This was the day we were splitting up by gender. DH and DS were heading off to rent a jet ski while DD and I were going to ride the Paradise Point Tramway and then do some shopping. One of the Stack counselors had also told DD of a place to get good sushi so that was tentatively on the girls’ list as well.

DS got ready and then the boys were off. DD was forced to get out of bed but she was surprisingly okay about it. While she was getting ready the phone rang. No, it wasn’t Luis hoping to bring her more dessert! It was DH wondering if DS had come back to the stateroom. Um…no. Apparently DH had sent DS up to Deck 9 to get towels while DH was in line for Guest Services (hmmm…I don’t remember why he was at GS though). DS had not returned to Deck 3 even though it had been more than long enough to go get the towels. I told DH that I would wait in the room to see if DS came back and that DH should call me there if/when he found DS.

A half an hour later DD was finally ready to go. I hadn’t heard from DH and thought he must have forgotten to call me back. (He does that sometimes…and by sometimes I mean often!) DD and I gathered our things and headed to the Deck 1 Forward gangway. Once there DD realized that she had forgotten her wallet (again!) and ran back to the room to get it. Just before she stepped off of the elevator who walks down the stairs but DH and DS! They hadn’t left the ship yet. (It turns out DS was in a restroom on Deck 9 (which is why DH couldn’t find him) and they then played “I’m Here but You’re Not” until they finally met up. DD arrived right after them and we all walked off the ship together. The boys grabbed a cab for Morningstar Beach and DD and I headed off to the tramway that was visible in the distance.

On our way to the PPT we kept our eyes open for a sushi place (DD had been told it was right on the pier) but didn’t see it. It was a very short walk to the tramway but when we arrived there was already quite a line. It took us about 20 minutes to get to the front and then it was another 10 minutes or so until we made it to the top. The view, even on the way up, was beautiful!

View from the tramcar...
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DD at the top...
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The view from the top...
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Some photos of the tramcars...
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DD had lots of postcards that she wanted to send but only about ½ of them were written. She had them with her so we sat at a table for a while so she could finish them. I had US postcard stamps so I wanted her to get them done today so we could mail them from a US Post Office. While I was waiting for her to finish I looked around the shops that were there and took some pictures of the beautiful view. When I got back to her she still had 5 or 6 to go but decided to finish them at lunch so we could move on.

One more photo...
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We spent a little while looking at the view and wandering around but there really isn’t that much to do at the top of Paradise Point. If you’re going for the view (which we were) you’ll be all set. If you want something more exciting I’d skip the PPT. We waited in line to get a car down (each of the 3 cars takes 8 people so only 24 people travel at a time). DD then asked a local if she knew where the sushi place was and she did! She pointed us toward the pier and we headed off. It was very easy to find (once we knew where to look!) and soon we were inside. It was a really cute place…very modern with a sushi bar that included a little “river” with little boats, some of which carried varieties of sushi. I assume you could just take one of these dishes but we opted to order from the menu.

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We ordered a California Roll, a Philadelphia Roll and a Rainbow Roll and DD also ordered some Miso soup. While we were waiting DD kept working on her postcards.

The sushi was not as good as we get at home, but far, far better than what is served on the ship so we were both happy. While we were eating, one of the performers from the Magic (Fairy Godmother, Anne Marie’s mom) came in to have lunch as well. It was so strange to see her in this non-ship setting. Shortly there after two more of the cast (Aladdin and Tarzan) came in for lunch too. I guess this was a popular spot with the crew too!

After lunch it was time for shopping. I really wanted to look for a Pirate Joke Book for Graham as he had a grand total of 3 pirate jokes, all with the punchline “Arrrrrgh!” We thought he was in need of some new material but, alas, we never found what we wanted.

(Side Note: I did find a pirate joke book online once we got home. I ordered it and will send it to Graham once it arrives. Okay…so it’s a Sponge Bob pirate joke book but it’s got to have at least a few jokes he can use, right?)

DD and I didn’t do a lot of shopping today. We found that the deals/items in the Havensight area weren’t as good as what we had seen in the Western ports or in St. Maarten so we passed on most of it. She did get a pretty pair of earrings for herself and gifts for some friends at home.

We headed back to the Magic at 2:30 or so and I sent DD aboard without me. She was to go to the stateroom and come out onto the verandah with DH and DS if they were there.

I took this while I was waiting...
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I tried to figure out which cabin was ours and a few minutes later the three of them appeared, just where I thought they would be. I took a few pictures of them and then headed back onboard myself.

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Back in the room we swapped “What I Did Today” stories with the boys. It turns out that they were unable to rent a jet ski (and it would have been a guided tour anyway) as the waves were too rough. Instead they had spent the day on the beach which they both enjoyed.

DD headed to the Stack while DH and DS went to play ping pong on Deck 9. I relaxed in the room and packed up a few things we wouldn’t need for the rest of the trip. I always like to get a head start on packing so it doesn’t all have to be done on the last night.

Just before 4:30 there were the usual “Will the following guests please contact Guest Services” messages. This time they were still broadcasting the message at departure time. Uh oh…that’s not good. I wondered to myself if someone had missed the ship. I got my answer a few minutes later as I was watching our departure from the verandah. The gangway was removed and we pushed about 15 feet away from the dock…and stopped. Then, we reversed direction and I noticed the forklift carrying the gangway was moving back into position. Yup…we were going back for passengers! Once the gangway was in place two people came aboard. I really hoped that they realized how lucky they were! (No photos...I was videotaping!)

We started off again and began passing by the Mariner of the Seas. I think it was the Mariner…or was it the Voyager of the Seas? I don’t remember. It really isn’t important. What is important is the horn war we had with whatever ship it was. It started with the Magic blowing it’s beautiful seven-note “When You Wish Upon a Star” horn. This was followed by WAAAAAAAAAAH! WAAAAAAAAAAH! How un-charming! What a BORING horn! The Magic blew her horn again and everyone on the other ship cheered. The other ship blew its horn and…nobody on the Magic cheered. It was kind of sad. Elite, the Magic’s band, was playing up on deck 9 and the passengers of the other ship were dancing to “Twist and Shout” right along with us. It was my absolutely favorite moment of a cruise that was filled with magical moments! It was fantastic! (Still videotaping.)

All too soon the dual-ship festivities were over and we were on our way out to sea. We passed by beaches and smaller islands and then we were out in the open water. The seas looked smooth and I had my fingers crossed for a slightly-less active trip North.

Tonight DH and I were headed to Palo for dinner while the kids were going to the dining room alone. We all left the stateroom at 5:30 but DH and I headed to Shutters before our 6:00 Palo reservation. This was when I first saw our Lifestyle Portraits and I fell in love with them. I added on a 5 8x10 package and chose 5 of the shots. We also placed an order for Christmas cards using one of them which added another $40 charge to our KTTW account. I don’t usually buy many souvenirs for myself and consider the photos to be my frivolous cruise expense. I cherish every one of them and love looking back at those from cruises past. I also scan them and get 4x6 copies to use in my scrapbook so, to me, the expense is well worth it.

Once we finished up at Shutters DH and I snuck into Parrot Cay to take a picture of the kids. Well, we were spotted but we still got the photo.

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I made sure to tell Luis that he needn’t bring Katharine any dessert tonight but he again refused me. …sigh… Doesn’t he understand that I’m going to pay for this when we get home?

DH and I headed to Palo and were seated right away. Our server was…drumroll please…Tony! He was probably sick of us by now! He was wonderful, as always, and we decided to just let him choose for us. He did ask us to choose our entrée but then brought out several appetizers for us to try. He also chose soups for us and then brought out our entrees. DH had the lamb (based on my wonderful review the week before) and I had the veal. The veal was just so-so to me but I supplemented it with the seafood ravioli and the risotto that Tony had also brought us. By the time I was done with the entrees I was stuffed. Tony remembered that I, unlike every other DCL passenger in the history of DCL, didn’t care for the chocolate soufflé. He asked if I’d like the panna cotta again and I quickly said yes. DH chose a pineapple dessert, despite Tony’s attempts to dissuade him. My panna cotta was heavenly, as usual, but DH wished he had taken Tony’s advice. Well, that’s not exactly true. He was glad that he tried it but agreed with Tony’s opinion. Luckily Tony had also brought us raspberry and chocolate gelati so DH enjoyed those (after I took a small taste of each). Once again we waddled out of Palo.

While we really enjoy Palo, DH and I both agreed that from now on we’ll only go for Brunch and Tea. Dinner is good, but we always miss our dining room experience too much. Of course when I told the kids this they let me know that they really enjoy their kids-only night in the dining room so perhaps DH and I will try Topsiders next time. I really like that my kids enjoy having dinner together and don’t want to squelch that.

When we got back to the room DD was there but DS had already left for Ocean Quest. DD reported that she had, again, had every dessert on the menu. I must say, I was not at all surprised. I now fully understood that Luis was going to do his best to make sure that DD had anything she wanted. I wasn’t even going to try to fight it.

Tonight was Lynn Trefzger’s show in the Walt Disney Theater but I chose to go see “Dan in Real Life” instead. DH skipped both and spent time reading in the room instead. I was a bit nervous about all of the very young children brought to this movie but I kept my fingers crossed that they would either behave or be taken out by their parents. The couple who sat right in front of me had their young son (about 4yo) with them and I wasn’t too sure how he would do. Luckily he fell asleep not long after the movie began so all was good. The movie was very funny and I was happy with my choice to come and see it.

After the movie I wandered around the ship a bit and then headed back to the room for the night. I am happy to report that the seas were much calmer tonight. The Bridge Report channel listed them as 8-13 feet, which surprised me. After the 20-30 foot seas of a few days before the 8-13 footers felt like nothing!

Up Next: Our Last Sea Day …sob…

[CraftyMouse]

Addendum to St. Maarten Day – Elsie Our Room Hostess

I completely forgot to mention Elsie, our room hostess for the second week. She wasn’t as chatty as Flori had been but she was very sweet. For the first few days she came and went, doing a fabulous job with the room, but we saw little of her.

On St. Maarten Day DS had bought an alligator as his souvenir. It’s one of those wooden carvings that is done in sections so the creature can sort of “slither”. He has a snake that he got on our cruise to Antigua and thought this would make a nice addition to his collection. Since it inexplicably had wheels on it (:confused3 ) he decided to call it the “Gatormobile”.

Well, apparently Elsie found the Gatormobile and it inspired her because this is what we found when we came back to the room after dinner…

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Yup, a towel alligator! You can see DS's Gatormobile to the right of the towel gator...and for some reason DD seems to be sitting on DS in the background! :confused3 While we were ooh-ing and aah-ing over the towel gator I heard a voice coming from the partially-open doorway. “Do you like it?” asked Elsie. We let her know how thrilled we were, especially DS, and she seemed very pleased.

So, while Elsie wasn’t very chatty she was still one of the best stateroom hostesses we’ve had, not only because of the towel gator but because of the way she took care of us all week.

Elsie with the kids…
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[CraftyMouse]

Chapter 15 – Our Last Sea Day …sob…

Okay...this is a long one and there aren't many pictures. Bear with me though. I think you'll find it worth the read.

So, this was it. Our last sea day. How could it have come so soon? Determined to make the most of it DH slept in just a bit and then headed to Lumiere’s for breakfast. I wanted to make sure I got to have one last Beast’s Tower.

Since we were scheduled to eat at Lumiere’s that night we thought we might see either Luis or Graham at breakfast and we were right. When we walked in we saw Luis in the far left corner. We asked to be seated in his section and, after some confusion, we were taken there. It turned out that he wasn’t actually serving guests, he was doing table set-up, but he insisted on taking care of us anyway. Of course the first thing he asked after we exchanged “Good Morning”s was “Where is Katharine?” We explained that since it was a sea day she wouldn’t be up before 11 or so but that she was planning to go to Lumiere’s for lunch. He let us know that he wouldn’t be there then as he was training to be a lifeboat captain. I thought that was pretty interesting. I didn’t realized that crew members could train to do that. He also let us know that the kids had been plotting the night before at dinner. They were making plans to stow away in Luis’ cabin instead of going home with us. We told him that if they succeeded in their plans he should feel free to put them to hard labor onboard. ;)

I ordered my Beast’s Tower and DH chose Lumiere’s Candle (a pancake, a waffle and French toast…a carb lover’s dream!). Gavin, our assistant server, came over with the pastry tray and I chose my usual…a cinnamon roll. Gavin gave me two. I liked Gavin already! He also brought us juice and tea. A short time later Luis brought me my wonderful Beast’s Tower and I savored it for the last time on this trip. It was soooo good. I highly recommend the new breakfast menu at Lumiere’s and, in particular, the Beast’s Tower!

Just before we finished eating Luis came by again with a large bowl of strawberries, Rice Krispies, milk, a bowl and silverware. Two guesses as to who that was for? Yup. I knew you’d get it. Katharine. We asked Gavin for a couple of croissants for DS and he brought us five. FIVE. What is DS going to do with five croissants? Gavin clearly believes that more is better as far as food is concerned. We thanked him, gathered up all of the kids’ food and headed back to the stateroom. The kids were not yet conscious but we managed to rouse them by reminding them that this was our last sea day. DD had plans to meet her young friend (the one also doing a back-to-back), Tessa, for some paper-doll playing so she woke up more easily than usual. She was thrilled with her breakfast and DS managed to eat his two croissants, saving three for later.

Ducky Williams was doing his presentation again today and I decided to go. I always love to hear his story and there was the possibility of winning one of his sketches. (Don’t hold your breath!) I brought my camera with me this time but just before the presentation was to begin I realized my battery was dying. This was one of those times when cabin location played a big part. I was on deck 5 Aft and our cabin was on deck 6 Aft. The woman next to me (hi Judy!) was lamenting not having brought her camera so I made a deal with her. If she would save my seat so I could get a new battery, I’d email the photos to her when I got home! She agreed, even though I’m sure each of us would have done the favor without the promise of a favor returned. I made it back in just a few minutes and got some good shots. DH arrived just before the presentation began but had to sit behind me as the seats on either side of me were taken. Ducky told the same story I had heard twice before, but it was peppered with tidbits of new information. Plus I got to watch him sketch again, which is always fun. I hope you weren’t holding your breath because no, I did not win a sketch. It was still a great hour spent and I was happy I had gone.

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Next it was on to lunch. Today was Seafood Buffet day (not Monday, as I had previously posted) so we headed to Topsiders for lunch. This was the day I had the yummy pasta, accompanied by veggies and some calamari. (BTW, Topsiders had the best veggies on the buffet. Nice big pieces of cauliflower, broccoli and carrots. Mmmmm…) I sampled a couple of the desserts but two weeks of cruising was definitely catching up to me. Perhaps my stomach was just preparing itself for post-cruise life but I just couldn’t eat very much.

After lunch I took my camera’s memory card to Shutters to make some prints. I wanted to print out all of the shots of the kids with Luis, Graham and Flori (I hadn’t taken the shot of the kids with Elsie yet) as well as the photos I had of DD and Tessa. Ordering the prints was a simple process and I thought that the prints were reasonably priced. I was given a pick-up time of 5:00 the next night so it was just about a 24-hour process. I also picked up our Christmas cards which came out very well. I dropped the cards off in the room and then went to browse through the shops. I saw a beautiful, framed set of 3 photos called “The Making of the Magic”. They showed the Magic being built, the Magic in two pieces and the finished ship. The price was just $65 and I stood there for several minutes deciding whether to buy it or not. I decided to wait to see if I still wanted it later and moved on.

I headed to the 2:00 matinee of Disney Dreams. I noticed that they were selling Bingo cards outside the theater and, on a whim, purchased one. I knew that we might miss the first game because of our Palo Tea but we’d still make it for the others. I figured it was worth the $35 gamble to take a chance at the big jackpot.

Disney Dreams was great, as usual, but I had to leave a bit early. Just before the final scene I snuck out of the theater and headed to Palo. DH wasn’t there yet but PJ took me to my table, saying he’d bring DH in when he got there. PJ had been so wonderful to get us in to the Tea and I made sure to thank him. (There had been no reservations at the 90 day mark but I had spoken to him the previous week to see if there might be any openings. He not only made the reservation for us, he gave us our pick of days, which we really appreciated.) While I was waiting for DH I met our server…Sylvester! We were definitely on a Palo roll. Tony for Brunch and Dinner and Sylvester for Tea. I can highly recommend both of them to any future DCL cruisers.

Sylvester and I chatted until DH arrived. He had not yet met Sylvester and they spent a few minutes talking about the trips DH had taken to India (Sylvester’s home). Sylvester then brought us some tea sandwiches and took our tea order. Soon two steaming pots of tea arrived. This week I chose English Breakfast and was much happier with my selection. After the sandwiches we had scones, jam and cream, followed by a pastry tray that had strawberry tarts, macaroons, brownies and éclairs. It was the same as the week before but tasted so much better with the yummy tea.

During Tea DH mentioned that he had had quite an adventure that afternoon. It seems that Elsie had come in to clean the room while he was reading on the balcony. He stayed out there while she cleaned, even while she cleaned the windows and sliding doors on the verandah side. When she was done she said goodbye and left. Out of habit she closed AND LOCKED the sliding door…while DH was still on the verandah. Of course DH did not realize this at first and it wasn’t until he went to get ready for Tea that he found he couldn’t get into the room! Luckily DD came back a few minutes later and let him in! I debated joking with Elsie about it but thought she might be embarrassed so I didn’t say anything. It’s a great story though!

As we ate, I mentioned to DH that I didn’t want to rush but I hoped we’d get out of tea in time to get to Bingo, explaining that I had bought a card. I also told him about the "Making of the Magic" photos that I had seen and said I'd like him to take a look at them. We had a nice, leisurely tea but were done just before 3:45, otherwise known as Bingo time. I ran off to the Walt Disney Theater while DH waited to sign the slip, promising to meet me at Bingo in a few minutes.

I got to the WDT just before the game started and took a seat in the back so DH could find me. The game started and DH arrived a few minutes later. I let him play the first game while I took the “checker” role…you know, the person who checks the card to make sure the player got everything right. Well…we didn’t win. Have mentioned that I never win anything? We then played the second game. This time I was the player while DH was the checker. Could my luck change? Nope. …sigh… Then it was time for game 3. DH and I switched roles again. Perhaps he would be lucky? Um…nope. …double sigh… We have played Bingo on every single DCL cruise and never won. Why do we keep playing?

Next it was time for the final game. DH handed me the card, the game started and he said he’d be right back. I was so busy listening to the numbers being called that I wasn’t really sure where he was going, but I kept my focus where it should be…on the game. Numbers were called, cards were punched and folded and more numbers were called. I had no checker to make sure that I was doing everything right but I felt confident that I had punched and folded each number called. A few minutes later DH returned with a receipt in his hand. My non-romantic, “I-can-never-think-of-a-good-gift” husband had gone to Treasure Ketch and bought the framed photos of the Making of the Magic for me! I was so excited that I wanted to jump up and hug him…but I didn’t. After all, there were thousands of dollars at stake! I did, however, make sure to tell him, over and over, how much I loved what he had done for me. An extra bonus was that the print was going to be shipped directly to our house at no extra cost so we didn't have to worry about getting it home!

So, the game continued. Numbers were called, cards were punched and folded, yada yada yada. All too soon a gentleman stood up. Uh oh! That means he just needs one more number! Nooooooo. Bingo Queen Bailey asked him what column his needed-number was in and he said it was a B. Oh no! The next number was a B! Everybody held their breath…but it wasn’t his number. ...breathe, breathe... Then two more numbers were called and now there were three or four people standing. …sigh… When I looked at my card I realized that one of my boards needed only two numbers. That’s pretty good, right? The next number was called and it was one of those two numbers! OH MY GOSH I HAVE TO STAND UP!!!! I ONLY NEED ONE NUMBER!!!

My heart was beating out of my chest. I didn’t want to get excited. I wasn’t going to win. I NEVER win, remember? My needed-number was also in the B column so I was sure that if it was called I’d be sharing the pot with Stander #1 and possibly several other people. Bailey got the next number and announced that it was a B! BEAT BEAT BEAT, THUD THUD THUD. I was probably as close to a heart attack as I’ve ever been. Of course Bailey dragged the whole thing out saying “Beeeeeeeeeeeeee….pause…pause…pause…eleven! B 11? Did she say B 11? BINGO!!!!! Yup…I had Bingo. I looked around to see who else had a Bingo. There was NO ONE! It was just ME! And guess who came over to verify my card? My Cruise Staff Stalker, Natalie! She took my card, took me by the hand and led me to the stage. All the way down the stairs I kept saying “I am so scared it’s not a real Bingo!”.

They needed a guest to act as verifier. There was a bit of confusion getting someone to do this. A woman came with us onstage but Jenn, from Monday’s Ducky Williams chat had also came up to act as verifier. Since the other woman was closer to us Natalie chose her to verify. They went through all of the numbers that had not yet been called and none of them were on my card. It was a good Bingo! I HAD WON!!! When Bailey told me the jackpot total I nearly fell over. It was just over $5,000! Natalie gave me a huge hug, as did Jenn but I was still in a semi-dream state. My hands were actually shaking. Perhaps if I had more experience with winning things my body would know how to handle this kind of thing but it was at a loss as to what to do. I came off the stage and saw DH waiting there for me so I gave him a huge hug!

Natalie hugged me one more time and handed me off to Jay, the officer who was responsible for paying out the jackpot. He took us to the Guest Services Desk where we waited for him to get everything ready for us. Well, let me tell you, winning Bingo makes you somewhat of an instant celebrity onboard. For the next 15 minutes (and several more times over the next day and a half) I had people congratulating me on the win. It was a surreal experience.

While we were waiting I reminded DH of the agreement we had made. Remember? The deal was that I could book another cruise “if I won Bingo”. Never did DH believe that that would actually happen, but he was more than happy to hold his end of the bargain. A few minutes later Jay called us over to the GS desk and counted out 50 $100 bills, plus a few smaller ones. Unbelievable! Simply unbelievable! We thanked him and then I led DH directly to the Deck 4 re-booking desk. The CM (Leslie, I think) was just finishing up with a couple and we were next. We told her our story while we were looking over dates. DCL had just announced new itineraries for ’09 so we had a bit to look through. We chose the 1/3/09 Eastern to St. Croix and took care of the details. DH went back to the stateroom to get our driver’s licenses as they needed them for the booking, and then it hit me…the kids didn’t know! How was I going to tell the kids? DH returned saying that DD was upset that I hadn’t come back to curl her hair for Semi-Formal Night as promised. I figured she’d get over it when she knew where I had been instead.

We finished up with Leslie and headed back to the room. As I came through the door I acted completely frustrated with DD. I said, in my best angry tone, “Okay, okay, I know that I was supposed to curl you hair. I just figured that you’d be okay with me winning $5,000 instead!”. You should have seen the look on both her and DS’s face. I wish I had been videotaping it. As I said in my initial post, I have been known to tease my kids a bit and, at first, they didn’t know if I was telling the truth. They started to believe me when I opened the envelope and showed them the money though and then there was much screaming in Stateroom 6610! (Apologies to those in 6608 and 6612!) It was a fantastic moment!

We were running a bit late to dinner so I decided not to change. I went to semi-formal night in my capris and red shirt but it was all good! Nobody seemed to care and I was comfy! When we got to Lumiere’s we told Luis and Graham that we had rebooked and they were excited. When I told them why they were so happy and Graham asked us if we’d be ordering champagne that night! We told him we’d stick with the soft drinks that he had waiting instead. Luis asked when we were coming back and I told him. He quickly figured out that he would be traveling back to the ship that week and wouldn’t be onboard until the following sailing. Oh no! That’s not what we wanted to hear! We decided to see what we could do, date-wise, when we got home. DD will be in college at that point and we will need to go by her schedule.

Dinner was very good. DH and I had been in Palo on semi-formal night last week so this menu was new to us. I had the fruit cocktail appetizer and the lobster. Both were very good and the lobster was much better than I remember it from our last sailing. I am a born-and-raised New Englander and not much can compare with Maine lobster, but I can honestly say that this came close. The texture was a bit tougher but the flavor was wonderful. DD also had the lobster and agreed that it was delicious.

DH and DD at dinner...
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For the 5th night in a row DD was refused a dessert menu. Luis brought her one of each, yet again. Actually...no...he didn't. He only brought her four tonight. As he delivered them he let DD know that since he didn't like the Lingonberry Cheese Pudding he was sure she wouldn't like it either so he didn't bring it. :rolleyes1 At this point I figured I’d have to have her blood sugar checked when we got home, ;) , but she was a very happy girl. DH and I both had the Cherries Jubilee and DH had…big surprise coming…nothing!

After dessert we said goodnight to Luis and Graham and headed back to the room. I had asked DD to please come to Disney Dreams with us tonight as she had missed most of the shows during our two weeks onboard. She has seen most of the shows before but I just wanted her to see DD once more. DS had seen it the previous week so he was given the okay to head to Ocean Quest. On our way to the WDT DD, DH and I browsed in the shops and made a few last-minute purchases. I bought DD a gold-by-the-inch bracelet and a pretty ring that she liked; DH got a note cube for his desk; I got the Twice Charmed CD and DD bought her favorite dance teacher (and fellow Disney-lover) a Golden Mickey’s statue. DH ran the bags back to the room since we still had 35 minutes until showtime.

DD and I sat in the red chairs at Preludes and waited for DH to return. We chatted about the cruise and reminisced about some of the wonderful moments we’d had. It was nice to just sit and catch up with her. Just after DH returned it was time to go into the show. DD enjoyed watching the kids get excited each time Tinkerbell flew across the curtain and soon the show began. DD said later that she was really glad we had insisted that she come to the show and I was glad to share it with her.

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After Disney Dreams DD headed off to Ocean Quest and DH & I headed back to the room. It had been an amazing, surreal, wonderful and exciting day and I was beat! I spent some time on the verandah and then watched a little bit of TV before going to sleep.

The seas today had been wonderfully smooth and it had been our best sea day ever!

[sandybobandy]

HOLY MOLY!!! Congrats on your huge bingo win!!!!

[CraftyMouse]

HOLY MOLY!!! Congrats on your huge bingo win!!!!

Can you believe it??? I certainly couldn't! I think that's probably it for the rest of my life. My luck was used up in one, great big shot!

[Babs417]

WOW $5000:thumbsup2

[Perdie]

I just spent the last 2 hours catching up on your trip and I loved reading every minute of it!! My husband and I are going on the feb 2nd eastern cruise for my 30th birthday and my husband's 32nd and the trip can't come soon enough!!
Sounds like you had a great time-thanks for all the details and great story telling-I felt like I was there!! : )

I hope to go on back to back one day too! The only DCl we have been on was this summer in the Med so I am looking forward to seeing what is different on the caribbean cruises!

Thanks for sharing!
popcorn::

[CraftyMouse]

I just spent the last 2 hours catching up on your trip and I loved reading every minute of it!! My husband and I are going on the feb 2nd eastern cruise for my 30th birthday and my husband's 32nd and the trip can't come soon enough!!
Sounds like you had a great time-thanks for all the details and great story telling-I felt like I was there!! : )

I hope to go on back to back one day too! The only DCl we have been on was this summer in the Med so I am looking forward to seeing what is different on the caribbean cruises!

Thanks for sharing!
popcorn::

Have a great time on the Eastern! I'm sure you will love it. We would have loved to do one of the Med cruises last summer but it just didn't work out. We're really looking forward to the Panama Canal crossing next August though. DCL is addicting, isn't it!

[LivingtheWDWdream]

I just caught up and what a great sea day!! Congrats on winning BINGO!!!!

So sad that this report is getting closer to the end :(

[CraftyMouse]

I just caught up and what a great sea day!! Congrats on winning BINGO!!!!

So sad that this report is getting closer to the end :(

Thanks!

And I feel the same way. I am procrastinating on writing the last part as then it will be over...again!

[GreenAcres]

CraftyMouse, GREAT trip report. I'm really enjoying it for a number of reasons. The first is that we're leaving for our 7-day Western on Saturday and reading about your trip is getting me even more excited (I wouldn't have thought that possible). Another reason is that I have a DD17 who's also a dancer and a DS12 (who knows just how to push her buttons).

My DD is a senior this year, so I'm right there with you in getting future vacations scheduled around college. Not too many people I know understand what it's like to parent a dedicated dancer (one of her favorite tee shirts says, "I can't.....I have dance"). We've had to schedule all our vacations around rehearsals, performances, competitions, football season, etc. DD dances 7-days a week for most of the school year. Maybe vacation scheduling around college will be easier?

You're doing a fantastic job of making me feel like I'm right there....and I'm totally jealous about the bingo win! I'd rebook too if I were you.

Lisa

[podsnel]

Now you can stop saying, "I never win"- because now you do!!! WOO-HOO for you! :woohoo: :woohoo: :woohoo: I would absolutely have been shaking and worried I had made a mistake on the walk up to the stage, too!! What a great day at sea.

I also wanted to tell you how wonderful it is that your kids enjoy each their dinner together- what a nice family you have!:)

[CraftyMouse]

Chapter 16 – Castaway Cay, Take 2

DH and I woke up this morning knowing it was the last real day of our vacation. It had all gone by so quickly. We got ready and headed to Topsiders for breakfast. At the door we found Graham who was on hand-wipe distribution duty. We chatted with him for a minute or two and found that he had the afternoon off and was also hoping to enjoy the island.

I had my usual Topsiders breakfast…fruit, scrambled eggs, one hash brown patty and a cinnamon roll. Actually I had to go hunting for a cinnamon roll. They weren’t in their usual place, warming in the tray on the smaller buffet that has the milk & cereal, so at first I thought they weren’t available. I found two by the doughnuts but restrained myself and only took one. After all, there was probably some other cinnamon-roll-loving passenger who was frantically searching for his/her own fix and I didn’t want to deprive him or her.

We sat inside today as it was fairly windy on the back deck. Luis wasn’t there today so, when we were done, we had to gather DD’s breakfast on our own. Reality was already setting in! :scared: We agreed to meet up at the front doors and DH went off to get DD's Rice Krispies and some strawberries for both kids while I grabbed a couple of croissants for DS. I got to the front door first so I spent a few more minutes chatting with Graham. I asked him how the hand-wipe distribution duties were going and he responded that his thumb and first finger had never been so clean in his life!

DH soon arrived and we headed back to the room. From the verandah we could see that we were almost docked.

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DH was going to be our advance scout, yet again, while I got the kids up and moving. DH headed off at 9:00 and the kids and I followed about 30 minutes later. I had made DD get up and get ready so she could disembark with DS and I. I wanted to get some photos of the two kids on the island this week. Last week, between the rain and DD’s anxiousness to get to the Teen Beach, I hadn’t gotten any pictures of her. It was like she wasn’t even with us! I vowed that this week would be different.

We disembarked, grabbed some towels and headed off for some photo ops.

The first one was with Donald by the tree...
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followed quickly by a photo of the kids with the ship.
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Next we walked the path to the Family Beach where we found Capt. Jack Sparrow...
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Minnie...
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and Pluto...
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I thought that this would be enough proof that DD had actually been on the island so I let her head off to the Teen Beach. DS and I quickly found DH as he was in the exact same spot as the week before. I plopped myself down in what I was beginning to think of as “My Hammock” and was very happy.

DS decided to go out to the water jungle gym before it was closed because of low tide. I headed to get my snorkel gear as I wanted to get to the snorkel trail early. We had booked two packages that included snorkel gear, floats and bike rentals so I just showed my ticket and got my gear. I snorkeled for about 30 minutes and saw everything except what I wanted to see most…the sunken Mickey. I decided I’d go back that afternoon to see if I could find him.

I returned to our area to find DS donning his snorkel gear. When he saw me coming he got emotional and said he thought we were going to snorkel together. Ooops! I hadn’t realized that he wanted to snorkel together. I figured I’d go early and then he and DH could go together. I explained all of this to him but he was sad and I felt terrible. DH finally convinced DS to go snorkeling with him and the two of them went off while My Hammock and I got reacquainted. There is nothing as good as sitting in a hammock on Castaway Cay. Nothing.

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When the boys returned DS joined me in the hammock until it was time for lunch. As I mentioned before, DS absolutely loves the buffet at Cookie’s and he was excited to go again today. DH wasn’t quite ready so we went to get ours without him. We knew that Luis was working part of the lunch shift (leaving early to do more lifeboat training) so we looked for him but didn’t see him. We got our trays from Cookie’s and brought them back to the beach. I love sitting on the beach to eat lunch. It’s so much more relaxing than eating at the picnic tables…at least to me. DH went up a few minutes later. When he returned he said he had seen Luis and that he bet I’d never guess what Luis asked him. Ummmm…let’s see…”Where’s Katharine?” Yup. He had wanted to know where DD was.

Lunch was wonderful and we savored it as we knew it was our last Cookie’s meal for a while. After we ate we returned our trays and DS went in search of some sliced watermelon. He met us back at our spot saying that he, too, had seen Luis and that Luis had asked him where DD was. Well, it was quite clear by now that Luis was fond of DD. I don’t want to give anybody the wrong impression though. His attention was never inappropriate or over the line. He just enjoyed spoiling her and treated her like a princess. They had a really fantastic bond and it was all good.

After lunch I asked DS if he’d like to go snorkeling again but he declined. Instead we got our tubes and headed for the water. We spent about a half an hour bobbing in the waves on our tubes and having a good time. We then returned to our spot and he and DH went off to rent bikes and explore the island a bit. I believe their plans also included a stop at the Grouper Game Pavilion for a few rounds of ping pong. While they went on their adventure My Hammock and I spent some quality time together.

http://i243.photobucket.com/albums/ff312/Michelemouse19/101_2071.jpg

On their bike ride they visited the observation tower...
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View of the Magic from the tower...http://i243.photobucket.com/albums/ff312/Michelemouse19/101_2061.jpg

I was just starting to debate heading back to the ship without the guys when they returned. We gathered our things and headed off, stopping at She Sells Sea Shells on the way. I bought a few postcards and then DH and I stopped at the post office so I could write them out and mail them while DS headed back to the ship. DH and I mailed the cards, stopped for a cookie and some eggnog and then we boarded the Magic for the last time.

As we were boarding we noticed a banana boat going out. It was just about 2:30 and that was DD’s time for her teen banana boat ride so we rushed back to the room to see if we could see her from the balcony. We saw a banana boat way out by the teen beach and thought that was probably them. Then a second banana boat sped by us and we realized that that was them! Ack! I still managed to get a couple of pictures, but they are not as good as they would have been if I’d really been paying attention.

http://i243.photobucket.com/albums/ff312/Michelemouse19/100_2077.jpg

http://i243.photobucket.com/albums/ff312/Michelemouse19/100_2076.jpg

We all showered and got ready for dinner. I packed up most of our things so that I wouldn’t have to do it later. At 4:00 I started to wonder where DD was. I wasn’t really concerned but the mom-thing kicked in. She finally arrived at the room at 4:30 and I was glad to see her. She had had a fantastic time on the teen beach and had enjoyed her second banana boat ride. She headed to the shower while I continued packing. At 5:00 we sailed away from Castaway Cay …sniff… but knowing we were booked for another cruise made it a bit easier.

Our last dinner was at Animator’s Palate. On the way I stopped at Shutters to pick up the photos I had ordered. They were of the kids with Luis, Graham and Flori plus two of DD and her little friend, Tessa. I sorted them out and put them in envelopes I had prepared. When I got to dinner I gave Luis and Graham each an envelope telling that it wasn’t their tips as we’d give them those the next day. We then sat down to our last dinner with our fantastic serving team. They were a bit frazzled tonight as one of their late seating families had been seated at a table across the dining room and they had to keep going over there to serve them. While I think it is great that DCL tries to accommodate guests at a more convenient time for them (when possible) and provide their same serving team, it definitely put a strain on them to have to serve tables on both sides of the restaurant. They handled it very professionally, but you could tell that they were working hard to make everyone happy.

I remember almost all of what everyone had tonight. We all had the garlic mushrooms and then the kids and I had the beef while DH had the salmon. He almost ordered the beef but then decided to be different. I know that he also had soup but don’t remember what kind. Dinner was great, although I don’t care for the William Potatoes (shaped like a pear) that they serve with this entrée. Other than that all was yummy! DD had to be at Rockin’ Bar D by 7:00 for her talent show but Luis was aware of this so he brought her her personal dessert buffet a bit early. This was it…the last one…the last time that Luis would be showering her with desserts. She thanked him, enjoyed every one of them and then ran back to the stateroom to change.

DH, DS and I stayed for the parade of flags and cheered loudly for both Luis and Graham. When they returned to the table we thanked them for two weeks of wonderful dinners. DH had run back to the room to get our remaining, unopened bottle of wine and we gave it to them, hoping they could use it to unwind after a stressful evening. We then headed off to Rockin’ Bar D to see DD dance but took a quick detour to visit Deck 4 and gaze at the sea.

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When we got to RBD DD wasn’t there. Dave (the RBD host) called her name a couple of times so DH let him know that she was coming but was running late. She showed up a few minutes later and all was well. There were more acts tonight, including a man who had written songs for each of his sons. DD had a lot of fun and again received a goody bag for her efforts. This time it had a Sing-Along-Songs DVD in it. While DD is a bit beyond Sing-Along-Songs she decided that she could take it with her when she goes babysitting so she was happy.

After the Talent Show we headed to Deck 2 to deliver Flori’s picture. She wasn’t there so we left it propped on her cart and told Fernando about it. He thanked us again for the tin of Hershey’s Kisses we had given them, saying he had been enjoying them all week. Next we stopped in the Atrium so I could take a picture I had wanted to take since Day #1...

http://i243.photobucket.com/albums/ff312/Michelemouse19/100_2082-1.jpg

...and then we delivered Tessa’s pictures to her room, leaving them on her fish when our knock went unanswered. The kids then headed off to their clubs for the evening while DH headed to the theater to see Ratatoille one more time. I headed to the room to pack up the last of our things. I had planned to go to the Farewell Variety Show but instead found myself enjoying the quiet of our stateroom and verandah for an hour or so.

I managed to get everything packed and into the hallway by 9:30 and then went for a last walk around the ship. I walked all the way forward and took the elevator to Deck 9. As I emerged from the elevator a woman stopped me and asked me if I had won Bingo the day before. She was also from CT and we chatted for a few minutes. I then continued my walk. I strolled along Deck 9, grabbed a soda from the drink station and then headed back to the room.

I fell asleep on DS’s lower bunk and didn’t wake up when DH got back from the movie. I also didn’t wake up when DS returned from OQ so he ended up sleeping with DH tonight. DD came in sometime in the wee hours but I didn’t wake up then either. And so ended our last night of our wonderful vacation.

[LivingtheWDWdream]

What a great last day at Castaway Cay!

So sad that its all over :(

Thank you for sharing it!

[CraftyMouse]

Chapter 17 – Now It’s Time to Say Goodbye :sad1:

Breakfast this morning was at 6:30 at Animator’s Palate. We arrived to a bowl of Rice Krispies waiting at DD’s place. …sigh… How was she going to function without Luis? Both Luis and Graham thanked me for the photos that I had given them. I then gave them their tips and thanked them, again, for making our vacation wonderful.

DD was wearing her special Autograph Jeans today. They are a pair of jeans that she had the Disney characters autograph when we went to WDW in ’06. I then embroidered over the signatures to make them more permanent. She loves this pair of jeans and is very careful about which characters sign the small amount of remaining space. It became clear how special Luis and Graham had been to her when she pulled out a pen and asked them both to sign her jeans. I don’t think they had ever been asked to sign someone’s pants before, but they seemed flattered. I asked them what their favorite colors are so I could use them for the embroidery. (DD now has a bright yellow “Luis” and a red “Graham” (because Graham’s favorite football team…soccer to those of us in the US…wears red) stitched on her pants.)

http://i243.photobucket.com/albums/ff312/Michelemouse19/100_2088.jpg

Breakfast was a sad affair. We were so sad to be leaving, even though a small part of us was ready to go home. We each finally took a deep breath, pushed away from the table and prepared to leave. I took one last picture of the kids with Graham and then we went to find Luis.

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He was standing in the entryway and didn’t seem his usual, cheerful self. I had noticed that his large table (10 guests) hadn’t shown up for breakfast and I was hoping that they hadn’t left without tipping. I asked him where I should leave the kids, since they’d be moving in with him, but we all knew that it couldn’t be. I took one last picture of him with the kids, promised him we'd try to change our dates to come back when he'd be onboard and said goodbye.

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We headed to the Atrium and waited for the all clear to disembark. We were let off at 7:45am and we quickly grabbed a porter to help with our luggage. Fifteen minutes later we were through Customs and waiting on the curb for the Thrifty van. Our porter had suggested that we all take the shuttle to Thrifty and I had agreed, even though that hadn’t been the plan. I had been planning to go to Thrifty alone and then return for the family and luggage. Well, while all of the other car rental companies seemed to have several vans running, Thrifty only had one. When it arrived I realized that we weren’t going to get on this shuttle with all of our luggage so I reverted to Plan A and hopped on alone to go rent the car. Soon after I pulled back into the port, we loaded everything up and we said goodbye to the Magic…for now.

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We drove to WDW where we had lunch. We also stopped at the Character Premiere outlet where I was able to get a DVC member Watch (originally $125) for $47.99! Then it was on to the Tampa airport and our flight home.

I have to say, I will gladly fly into Tampa again. We arrived to find a nearly empty airport, no lines for either check-in or security and a beautiful terminal. I had originally booked flights through Tampa as they were considerably cheaper than flying into Orlando, but I’ve become a true TPA fan!

Our flight home was bumpy, bumpy, bumpy! There was turbulence from Florida to Charlotte and we hoped we’d have a better ride on the second leg. Our gate-location luck did not hold out this time and we had to go from the far end of Terminal B to the far end of Terminal C. We made it just as they were starting boarding for our second flight and, literally, walked off of one plane and right on to the other. The turbulence continued all the way to Rhode Island but we landed early in Providence. Let me tell you, it was like Instant Christmas. There was snow and twinkly lights and it was COLD but we would be able to keep warm with the memories of our two weeks on the beautiful Disney Magic.

So if you’ve read this far, thanks for coming along for the ride. I’ve enjoyed reliving our trip and hope that you’ve enjoyed hearing about it. I will write one more “This and That” chapter and then it’s on to planning for our next one.

Oh, about the next one…once we arrived home we determined that we could switch our cruise from the 1/3 Eastern to the 1/10 Western as it fit into DD’s college calendar. I made the switch and then visions of the Panama Canal shoved their way into my brain. On the DCL website I saw that there was availability for the Western PC cruise but not the Eastern. We have a scheduling conflict with the Western PC so we couldn’t do that but I decided to keep checking for the Eastern PC. A few days later a Cat. 11 opened up so we grabbed it, canceling the 1/10 cruise. I was able to get the 10% discount and stateroom credit and I’m thrilled to say that we’ll be sailing through the Panama Canal next August. We’ve written to Graham and Luis to let them know we’ll be back and hope we can have them as our serving team again.

[CraftyMouse]

Ooops...double post.

[LivingtheWDWdream]

A great finish and how cool that you'll be on the EB Repo! Unfortunately I'm on the WB Repo so at least I can bring it out and you can bring it back LOL!

Thank you for sharing your adventures with us!

[nanatink]

My husband and I saw you many times on the ship. We didn't know you were craftymouse. We were there when your wife was on stage with that wonderful bingo win she won. Congraulations to you and your family. We were only one away when she won. We didn't win this time but we will try again on the Panama West and 09 St. Croix. Wish me luck.

I enjoyed your trip report very much. Thanks for taking your time and helping us relive our cruise. The pictures were beautiful as well as your family. Hope to see you and your family on other future Disney cruises.

[gossipgirl]

Craftymouse this is the best trip report.

[fairfax]

I agree, this trip report was wonderful. I have completely enjoyed reading it. Wonderful pictures, too! Thank you for sharing this with us all.

[glindamood]

I have totally enjoyed your TR - the house is a mess, dishes are not done, no lunch yet but I am very satisfied indeed. What a grand time you had and thank you very much for sharing with all of us.

[JoiseyMom]

Can you believe it??? I certainly couldn't! I think that's probably it for the rest of my life. My luck was used up in one, great big shot!


Congrats!! But I disagree, Ithink your luck has turned and is now all good. So on that note...wanna play Bingo with me on the PC cruise?? Pretty Please???? :cool1:

[CraftyMouse]

Chapter 18 - Final Thoughts

I called this the Here, There and Everywhere trip. We were able to go on both 7-day itineraries, our staterooms were located in completely opposite locations, we spent one week with a large group and one week alone and we had one week of running around and one of complete relaxation. So I thought I'd end this trip report with a breakdown of each aspect of the cruise.

Staterooms
Week 1: 2002, Cat. 9 (window), Port Side, Deck 2 Forward
Week 2: 6610, Cat. 6 (verandah), Starboard Side, Deck 6 Aft

We honestly loved both of our cabins. The Deck 2 location was wonderful. The cabin was completely quiet and there was no hallway noise. Since we now tend to book a Category 9 we will ask for this location again. We'd actually ask for 2004 as it is a big longer than 2002 (which is already longer than most 9's) but we'd take anything in that area.

The Cat. 6 was also wonderful. DCL was nice enough to upgrade us to the verandah cabin and we appreciate it...but we still won't pay for one. We certainly enjoyed spending time on the verandah but the difference in price between a 6 and a 9 just isn't worth it to us. Of course if DCL wants to upgrade us in the future we'd gladly accept! ;)


Dinner Rotation
I didn't request a rotation before we left but was hoping that we'd get the 6:00 LAPLAPL rotation, which we did for the first week. Because we wanted to stay with Luis and Graham that meant switching to the earliest rotation (APLAPA at 5:30) for the second week. While I hadn't wanted this rotation, fearing it was too early, we loved it and actually preferred it to the 6:00. We felt that it allowed us more freedom in the evening and we never felt in a rush to get to dinner. It allowed us to get to the Family Cabaret Shows at 7:30 and then move on to the shows in the Walt Disney Theater. Both rotations put is in Parrot Cay for Formal Night and Animator's Palate for Pirate Night and that was just fine. We once had the rotation that put is in Lumiere's for FN and Parrot Cay for PN and we felt that there was no difference this time. While I won't request a rotation in the future I now know that I'll be happy with any of them.


Entertainment
We thought the entertainment onboard was top notch. We had seen The Golden Mickeys and Disney Dreams before but loved seeing them again, especially the new enhancements to DD. The comedians onboard were great and we enjoyed their family and adults-only shows at Rockin' Bar D, as well as their performances in the Walt Disney Theater. We got to see a few movies we hadn't seen and enjoyed DCL's live band, Elite. We also enjoyed the holiday additions (Tree Lighting, 'Twas the Night Before Christmas) in the Atrium.

One thing I haven't talked much about is the movies on the stateroom TVs. We assumed they would be the same from week one to week two but we were wrong. For week 2 they removed several movies and replaced them with holiday-themed titles (Unacompanied Minors, Christmas with the Kranks, How the Grinch Stole Christmas, etc.) It was nice to have new choices the second week and nice to have some movies to put us in a holiday mood. They weren't all holiday-themed...only about 1/2. We still had Transformers, Nancy Drew, Shrek the 3rd, No Reservations and others in addition to the holiday titles.


Kid's Clubs
This was DD's first time at The Stack and DS's first experience at Ocean Quest and both were big hits. In fact, one of the reasons DD wanted to cancel Alaska and sail on the Magic again was because of the counselors in The Stack. OQ is such a great addition for the 10-14's, although I am intrigued by recent posts that have it becoming a 13/14yo club with the Stack being reserved for 15-17yo cruisers. That would mean that my DS would be in OQ in August and DD would be in The Stack, which works out perfectly for us. we'll see what happens.


Western vs. Eastern
My opinion on this hasn't changed. I prefer the ports in the Western but love having three sea days on the Eastern. That said, we will probably book the Western for any future 7-day cruises unless DCL adds ports we want to visit to Eastern itinerary. We fell completely in love with Key West on this trip, enjoyed Grand Cayman (we still haven't seen too much of the island itself) and loved Cozumel. Besides, if we want to we can always stay on the ship in one of the ports and get our extra ship time that way.


Dining Room Serving Team
What can I say that I haven't already said? Luis and Graham added so much to our trip and we were so sorry to say goodbye to them. While Luis seemed a bit stiff and uber-professional on the first night he soon warmed up and was so warm and friendly to us. He was so attentive to DD and truly catered to all of us. Each night of the second week he remembered what each of us had had the week before. That amazed me. We will be asking to have him as our server whenever possible in the future. We're just sorry that we weren't able to spend our Port Canaveral day hanging out with him. Perhaps we'll be able to fix that on our August Panama Canal cruise.

Graham was also fantastic and did such a great job in a position he had held for only a month before we sailed. Each night he had our drinks waiting for us but had no problems getting us something else if we wanted it. He refilled our drinks and bread basket more than once each night and was always ready with a good pirate joke when we needed one...as long as the punchline was Arrrrrrrrrrh! :lmao: Hopefully he'll have some new jokes in his arsenal next week as we've sent the Sponge Bob Pirate Joke Book off to him and he should have it on Saturday.


Other CMs
In addition to Luis and Graham our stateroom hostesses were fantastic and every other CM we encountered onboard was wonderful. We didn't meet one CM who seemed tired, frustrated or who acted unprofessionally. There were some (Natalie from the Cruise Staff, Jenny from Shutters, Gavin and Jessica in the dining rooms, Flori, Elsie, Luis and Graham) who truly made our vacation an amazing one and I will be writing to DCL about each and every one of them.


The Ship
The Magic is in great shape. Both of our staterooms were in terrific shape (except for missing bolster pillows on the sofa in 6610) and our one maintenance issue (a cracked flush button on the super-sucker-toilet) was fixed within an hour. I saw very little wear & tear around the ship and crews were always out painting and maintaining parts of the ship. The only night we heard any creaking or banging in our stateroom was when the seas were at their highest. Otherwise the Magic was ship shape and beautiful.


Been There, Done That...Going Back
What can I say? We love sailing with DCL. We love it so much that we have canceled our June cruise to Alaska on NCL and will be doing the Panama Canal repo with DCL instead. We'll wait until DCL goes to Alaska. Until then we'll try to sail any new itineraries DCL comes up with or stick to the Western. I can't wait for August but it's such a double-edged sword. I want the trip to come soon but that means my time with my kids is even further gone. I'll just have to convince them to still vacation with us when they're grown, right?

So, that's it for this time. If anyone has any questions please ask away or feel free to PM me. I hope you have enjoyed reading this as much as I've enjoyed writing it.

So now it's time to say goodbye
To the readers of my trippie
M...I...C...See you real soon
K...E...Y...Why? Because August isn't that far away!
M...O...U...S...E!

[CraftyMouse]

My husband and I saw you many times on the ship. We didn't know you were craftymouse. We were there when your wife was on stage with that wonderful bingo win she won. Congraulations to you and your family. We were only one away when she won. We didn't win this time but we will try again on the Panama West and 09 St. Croix. Wish me luck.

I enjoyed your trip report very much. Thanks for taking your time and helping us relive our cruise. The pictures were beautiful as well as your family. Hope to see you and your family on other future Disney cruises.

Thanks for the kind words! (I'm the wife, by the way! :wave2: ) Even with the high seas it was such a great week, wasn't it?

We'd love to hear about your experiences on the Westbound so we can get excited for the Eastbound <hint, hint>.

Glad you enjoyed the report!

[CraftyMouse]

I have totally enjoyed your TR - the house is a mess, dishes are not done, no lunch yet but I am very satisfied indeed. What a grand time you had and thank you very much for sharing with all of us.

Gosh, I feel so totally guilty now! ;) I've gotten sucked into trip reports before too. The housework can wait, right?

Glad you liked it!

[NancyIL]

Fabulous trip report, Michele! Reading it has made me SO excited about my first Disney cruise next month in a way nothing else had!

For your sake, I hope Disney will sail to Alaska in the near future, as it's a wonderful destination. I went there last summer with my husband on Princess, and will return next summer with friends on HAL.

[CraftyMouse]

[B][SIZE="3"]Staterooms
Week 1: 2002, Cat. 9 (window), Port Side, Deck 2 Forward
Week 2: 6610, Cat. 6 (verandah), Starboard Side, Deck 6 Aft

We honestly loved both of our cabins. The Deck 2 location was wonderful. The cabin was completely quiet and there was no hallway noise. Since we now tend to book a Category 9 we will ask for this location again. We'd actually ask for 2004 as it is a big longer than 2002 (which is already longer than most 9's) but we'd take anything in that area.

The Cat. 6 was also wonderful. DCL was nice enough to upgrade us to the verandah cabin and we appreciate it...but we still won't pay for one. We certainly enjoyed spending time on the verandah but the difference in price between a 6 and a 9 just isn't worth it to us. Of course if DCL wants to upgrade us in the future we'd gladly accept! ;)

I just wanted to add that I had wanted to compare the motion in each cabin location but it was difficult as the seas were so different. I do think we felt more motion in the far Forward Cat. 9 than in the Aft 6, even though the 6 was on a higher deck. In the 9 we felt even the smallest waves, but we enjoyed that. It would have been interesting to see how the 9 was with the 20-30 foot seas!

[Perdie]

Have a great time on the Eastern! I'm sure you will love it. We would have loved to do one of the Med cruises last summer but it just didn't work out. We're really looking forward to the Panama Canal crossing next August though. DCL is addicting, isn't it!

VERY addicting!!!! As is all of disney!!!

:tinker:

[LITTLEKID58]

TFS.. Awesome..

[smeecanada]

Great trip report, CraftyMouse. Such a wonderful read - I think I've spent an hour finishing up reading the report. Look forward to meeting you and your family on the EB Repo.

[LivingtheWDWdream]

I can't believe its over. I finally finished the follow up and such and I just can't believe it is done! It was such a wonderul read!!!

[The LK 4]

Bravo! What a great trip report!!!

I thoroughly enjoyed reading your report. I know how hard it is to write one, and I appreciate all of the details you included. We sailed on the Western a few weeks before you, and we are sailing on the Eastern for Thanksgiving '09. It was great to read your thoughts on both sailings.

Thanks!!:)

[CraftyMouse]

Bravo! What a great trip report!!!

I thoroughly enjoyed reading your report. I know how hard it is to write one, and I appreciate all of the details you included. We sailed on the Western a few weeks before you, and we are sailing on the Eastern for Thanksgiving '09. It was great to read your thoughts on both sailings.

Thanks!!:)

I know some people prefer the short and sweet type of trip report, but I like the ones with lots of details so that's what I went for. I'm glad you enjoyed it. It was a lot of fun to write!

Have fun planning your Eastern!

[DizzneyDAnn]

subscribin'

[goofygal1975]

I LOVED the report!:thumbsup2 I have sat here off and on all day reading it!!!:surfweb: THe only break to fix lunch for the Bucs/Panthers game today....even the loss for the bucs wasn't too bad!! Soon as the game was over ....right back to reading!! :surfweb:

I also like the very detailed reports and lots of pictures!!! It really makes you feel like you are there!! Congrats on the BINGO win!! :cool1: I would have done the same thing as you...right down to make ressies for the next cruise...how could you pass that up!!!

Thanks for taking the time to report about your back to back cruises. What an amazing experience for you and your family!!

[Gerweniel]

Thanks for the wonderful report Michele! Have a terrific 2008!

Jill & the boys.

[SnowWhite2]

CraftyMouse,

I am loving your trip report. It has taken me several days to read it as I am interrupted quiet often with the kids IMing their friends. :rolleyes:

You must be my twin sister I've never known! Everytime I see your reply to a post, I think yea that is exactly what I would have written. We are about the same age, have kids about the same age (my are girls), married to engineers and I dream of being a stay at home mom - but I too am an engineer by degree working full time.

One more thing - We are cruising for Christmas 2008 and I realized this week that we have another full week after the cruise and before we all have to return to our regular lives in 2009. I just asked DH if we could do B2B Christmas and NYE cruises. He didn't say no and metioned that we need to do something with our DVC points we purchased on our Feb 07 cruise. I just might get B2B cruises out of this - because you have such a great trip report. Thanks!!!!

[CraftyMouse]

Hi Twin!

I'm so glad you liked the report...and that it just might have helped you get to go on B2Bs! It really is an amazing experience. If you have any questions don't hesitate to post or PM me!

Michele


CraftyMouse,

I am loving your trip report. It has taken me several days to read it as I am interrupted quiet often with the kids IMing their friends. :rolleyes:

You must be my twin sister I've never known! Everytime I see your reply to a post, I think yea that is exactly what I would have written. We are about the same age, have kids about the same age (my are girls), married to engineers and I dream of being a stay at home mom - but I too am an engineer by degree working full time.

One more thing - We are cruising for Christmas 2008 and I realized this week that we have another full week after the cruise and before we all have to return to our regular lives in 2009. I just asked DH if we could do B2B Christmas and NYE cruises. He didn't say no and metioned that we need to do something with our DVC points we purchased on our Feb 07 cruise. I just might get B2B cruises out of this - because you have such a great trip report. Thanks!!!!

[purplepeg]

OMG I loved this TR and I'm sad it's over although I, too wasn't getting a lot done. I was tearful alot of times reading about your fun. We are going on our first DCL Western on Jan 25,08:cool1: Now that Christmas is over I can spend all my time focusing on the cruise. I have a few questions so I think I'll Pm you. Thank for sharing and congrats on the bingo win!

[Hygiene99]

What a Great Report
Thanks For sharing!

WONDERFUL! ;)

[poffles]

What a wonderful report. It takes a lot of time and effort to sit down and put everything into words, then to add the pictures!! Loved reading the day by day and was nice to hear the appreciation and acknowledgement for the staff making it even more personal by referring to all by name. Not everyone is so good that way.

Thank you so much for sharing your trip with all of us here. Reading your report increases my anticipation for my trip in October (if that was possible :goodvibes )

[LindaBabe]

Fabulous report! I loved every minute of your cruise and appreciate all the time it took you to write it!

[Kelley Family]

Thank you so much for your wonderful report! It was ton of fun to read.

[MemereMouse]

Felt like I was right along with you. Great report!!!:cool1:

[CraftyMouse]

Felt like I was right along with you. Great report!!!:cool1:

Thanks Mom! ;) And you will be right along with me in just 3 short weeks!

[EmilyLovesTheMagic]

Crafty, I just have to say how much I enjoyed your TR. It seems like you had a wonderful time. I would love to do a B2B at some point. It seems like it would be fun, not only to virtually have the ship to yourself for a few precious hours, but to go through the last night of the cruise with all of the fun activities like Jackpot bingo (congratulations, by the way!) and Pub night and Castaway Cay without being sad that I'll have to leave the ship the next morning. This may sound awful, but I'd kind of like to rub it in everyone's face that they have to leave the ship and I don't. Mentally, of course. ;)

So, thanks for sharing your experiences and pictures with us! I'll be on the EB Repo as well!

[MAGICFOR2]

Subbing - I have to read this one!

[Disney owl]

thanks for sharing

[deleckidesign]

Michele:

Here I am at work...just finished reading your ENTIRE trip report. It's quite long but once I started reading, I just couldn't stop. After reading, I feel like I was right there with you. Looks like everyone had an amazing time! Can't wait until my cruise in May 08 :)

Michelle

[deleckidesign]

Oooh, almost forgot. Congrats on the BINGO win!

How much are the Bingo cards? Cheaper at the beginning of the week and more at the end? Just curious!

[CraftyMouse]

Michele:

Here I am at work...just finished reading your ENTIRE trip report. It's quite long but once I started reading, I just couldn't stop. After reading, I feel like I was right there with you. Looks like everyone had an amazing time! Can't wait until my cruise in May 08 :)

Michelle

Yup, it was long, but I'm glad you liked it! We all did have a great time and I'm sure you will have a fantastic cruise in May!

Oooh, almost forgot. Congrats on the BINGO win!

How much are the Bingo cards? Cheaper at the beginning of the week and more at the end? Just curious!

Thanks! It was quite shocking. Bingo cards are $35 per 4-game session. They are the same price for the jackpot session but they also offer an extra card (good for only the last game of that session which is the one for the big jackpot) for $15. So at the final Bingo session you can pay $35 for one card that is good for all 4 games or $50 for two cards, one good for all four games and one good for just the final game.

[CraftyMouse]

Crafty, I just have to say how much I enjoyed your TR. It seems like you had a wonderful time. I would love to do a B2B at some point. It seems like it would be fun, not only to virtually have the ship to yourself for a few precious hours, but to go through the last night of the cruise with all of the fun activities like Jackpot bingo (congratulations, by the way!) and Pub night and Castaway Cay without being sad that I'll have to leave the ship the next morning. This may sound awful, but I'd kind of like to rub it in everyone's face that they have to leave the ship and I don't. Mentally, of course. ;)

So, thanks for sharing your experiences and pictures with us! I'll be on the EB Repo as well!

Can't wait to meet you on the EB Emily!

It certainly was nice to sit on Castaway Cay that first Friday knowing that we still had a whole week left. I heard lots of others commenting on their travel plans the next day and it was a great feeling knowing that we'd still be onboard. I didn't rub it in anyone's face ;) but it did give me the warm-fuzzies inside!

[loralie]

I loved your trip report! I have never been on a Disney cruise but reading your report makes me want to go on one so bad. Right now it is not in the budget but as soon I can I am going to book one for me and my DH and my 2 boys.

Thanks for taking the time to write such a wonderful report and your pics are awesome.

Loralie

[pamouselover]

subbing, so I come back and read!:surfweb:

[CraftyMouse]

Transition Day Observations...

I had meant to put these tidbits into my trip report but completely forgot!

1. The staterooms are turned over very quickly. The hosts/hostesses begin working on them as soon as guests leave and continue until 1:30. Plastic garbage bags are hung along the hallway handrails every 3-4 feet for all of the trash. All stateroom doors are propped open during this time and remain that way until just before 1:30. This made it very easy for the crew members to get in and out of rooms to deliver gift items, dining tickets, cribs and other items. As we walked around the ship we could see into each stateroom, which was interesting.

2. The pianos were all tuned on Saturday, in between Disembarkation and Embarkation.

3. They play upbeat music in the staterooms (over the PA system) during transition time but, contrary to what I had read, they do not blast it. It was played at a comfortable level.

4. The drink station on Deck 9 is still open and functioning during transition time. All other ship services were suspended.

5. Just before 1:30 CMs walk up and down the stateroom hallways with bottles of air freshener, spraying it liberally as they go.

I thought these things were interesting and definitely something the regular DCL cruiser doesn't get to see!

[purplepeg]

It's so neat to be able to hear about these unknown things that happen. I always think it must be tough for the crew to get to know a family and then say goodbye only to start again just as enthusiastically the next week with a different family. They obviously do a great job:thumbsup2

[CraftyMouse]

You'll NEVER guess who just called our house! Go ahead...guess...

It was Luis! We sent him some Christmas cookies and a note to tell him we'd be back in August and he called to say he got them. He has promised Katharine many, many desserts when we return so all is right in her world. :thumbsup2

[pamouselover]

Hi, It took me two days but I read it all! What a great TP!
You pictures are so great. ? for you, will the CM's take pictures for you like they do at WDW? And the ones you had taken at the beach are they expensive? I am a picture nut, so I am guessing I should buget high for pictures on my cruise.

[CraftyMouse]

Hi, It took me two days but I read it all! What a great TP!
You pictures are so great. ? for you, will the CM's take pictures for you like they do at WDW? And the ones you had taken at the beach are they expensive? I am a picture nut, so I am guessing I should buget high for pictures on my cruise.

Yes, the CMs will take pictures for you. I saw that happening frequently.

The pictures at the beach...do you mean the ones at Castaway Cay? If so they are taken by the Shutters photographers so they cost the same amount as the photos on the ship.

For our 2-week cruise I purchased the largest photo package which was $300 for 15 8x10s and 12 6x8s. They have smaller packages as well, or you can purchase photos individually. I believe the 8x10s were $20 and the 6x8s (which is the size of the photos from Castaway Cay) were $10 or $12 each. If you think you'll want a lot of the photos (I always do) I'd budget for the biggest package. You can purchase it at the beginning of your cruise and, if you don't use it up, they will downgrade you to a lower package and refund the price difference. Or you can purchase the least expensive package and upgrade, if needed.

[smeecanada]

For our 2-week cruise I purchased the largest photo package which was $300 for 15 8x10s and 12 6x8s. They have smaller packages as well, or you can purchase photos individually. I believe the 8x10s were $20 and the 6x8s (which is the size of the photos from Castaway Cay) were $10 or $12 each. If you think you'll want a lot of the photos (I always do) I'd budget for the biggest package. You can purchase it at the beginning of your cruise and, if you don't use it up, they will downgrade you to a lower package and refund the price difference. Or you can purchase the least expensive package and upgrade, if needed.

Thanks, Michele. We never really figured out how Shutters worked on our cruise, so never got any photos. I saw one photo - that looked like a stock photo - ie no passengers in it - of the ship at CC. Are there many of those available for purchase? I saw it and then I wanted to show it to DH but I couldn't find it when we went back.

Do you purchase a package and pick up your pictures as you go - I have know idea how many photos we'd like at this point?

[smeecanada]

Okay, I'm going to quit posting for awhile, this is the second double post I've had today. Geesh

[CraftyMouse]

Thanks, Michele. We never really figured out how Shutters worked on our cruise, so never got any photos. I saw one photo - that looked like a stock photo - ie no passengers in it - of the ship at CC. Are there many of those available for purchase? I saw it and then I wanted to show it to DH but I couldn't find it when we went back.

Do you purchase a package and pick up your pictures as you go - I have know idea how many photos we'd like at this point?

Shutters displays the photos taken by their photographers (Embarkation photos, photos with the characters or backdrops, etc.). Guests go through the racks and find their shots. If you want a photo you hang onto it. If you don't you put it in one of the discard boxes.

When you purchase a package they will give you a card. For example, my card looked something like this:

8x10 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15

6x8 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

As you choose and take your photos they will cross off the numbers on your card. Once all of the numbers are crossed off your package is complete, however you can still swap out photos if you find one you like more than one you have. If you do not fill your package they can downgrade you to one that works better for you, or you can fill out your package with the stock photos like the one you mentioned (you can also puchase the stock photos separately). The stock photos are in one section of Shutters and cost the same amount as the other photos.

Some people prefer to pile all of their photos together but I've always been afraid that I'd lose some. Instead I buy as I go and swap out as needed/wanted.

Hopefully this clears up the whole Shuttters "thing" but, if not, we can have a Shutters Tutorial on the Eastbound in August!

And don't stop posting! I've had a few double posts lately too.

[tksbaskets]

Transition Day Observations...

I had meant to put these tidbits into my trip report but completely forgot!

1. The staterooms are turned over very quickly. The hosts/hostesses begin working on them as soon as guests leave and continue until 1:30. Plastic garbage bags are hung along the hallway handrails every 3-4 feet for all of the trash. All stateroom doors are propped open during this time and remain that way until just before 1:30. This made it very easy for the crew members to get in and out of rooms to deliver gift items, dining tickets, cribs and other items. As we walked around the ship we could see into each stateroom, which was interesting.

2. The pianos were all tuned on Saturday, in between Disembarkation and Embarkation.

3. They play upbeat music in the staterooms (over the PA system) during transition time but, contrary to what I had read, they do not blast it. It was played at a comfortable level.

4. The drink station on Deck 9 is still open and functioning during transition time. All other ship services were suspended.

5. Just before 1:30 CMs walk up and down the stateroom hallways with bottles of air freshener, spraying it liberally as they go.

I thought these things were interesting and definitely something the regular DCL cruiser doesn't get to see!

I feel like I'm a part of 'inside edition' :goodvibes Thanks for sharing your experiences with us all!

[tksbaskets]

whoops. I was so happy with the report I posted twice.

[tksbaskets]

Okay, I'm going to quit posting for awhile, this is the second double post I've had today. Geesh

It's contagious. I did the same thing. :blush:

[CruisinEars]

Thanks for a wonderful tr Craftymouse! I thoroughly enjoyed reading it last night after my kids went to bed. Your pictures are awesome and it sounds like you had a fabulous time. Thanks for letting us live vicariously. :goodvibes

[Jackie Psarianos]

Back to Back on the Wonder:

We just completed two back to back cruises on the Disney Wonder and we had a great time with a couple kinks.
The cruises began on December 2-6 in cabin 6120 and continued from December 6-9 in the same cabin, therefore, we didn't have to pack in between.
At the end of the first cruise, we were one of the last families to get off and we were escorted to a desk which is right before the escalator down to retrieve luggage. The lady checked us in again, gave us our new Key to the World cards and then the security officer took us down to the luggage area so we could clear customs and then we came right back up and were allowed on the Wonder.
This is where we took some awesome pictures because we didn't have others around to worry about. We were even allowed back into our stateroom to relax but by the time we came out at noon the ship was starting to fill up, so we went to Beach Blanket to have a delicious lunch.

The kinks:

At the end of the first cruise we gave our server a 'good' rating because he was good, but we've had better. Well, he confronted us at dinner on the first night of the second cruise and he wanted to know what we said on the comment card and he was demanding, yes, he was demanding that we rate him higher on the second cruise because he wanted to work on the Disney Magic and these ratings were very important to him. We were shocked that we had been approached in this manner. This was our fourth cruise with Disney and that has never happened before.

On both back to back cruises, my son needed an adult sized vest because he weighs 90lbs. After many repeated attempts and even taking the life vest to guest services ourselves, the situation was never rectified properly. They brought up a second child vest and now my daughter didn't have the appropriate adult vest either. So now we had both kids fitted with the wrong vests....thank goodness we didn't have an emergency....but who can tell these days...no one or any thing is invincible.

Regardless, we booked our next land and sea package for August of 2009 and it's soooo far off.
Thanks for reading this long post, I had to share....:surfweb:

[Jackie Psarianos]

Back to Back on the Wonder:

We just completed two back to back cruises on the Disney Wonder and we had a great time with a couple kinks.
The cruises began on December 2-6 in cabin 6120 and continued from December 6-9 in the same cabin, therefore, we didn't have to pack in between.
At the end of the first cruise, we were one of the last families to get off and we were escorted to a desk which is right before the escalator down to retrieve luggage. The lady checked us in again, gave us our new Key to the World cards and then the security officer took us down to the luggage area so we could clear customs and then we came right back up and were allowed on the Wonder.
This is where we took some awesome pictures because we didn't have others around to worry about. We were even allowed back into our stateroom to relax but by the time we came out at noon the ship was starting to fill up, so we went to Beach Blanket to have a delicious lunch.

The kinks:

At the end of the first cruise we gave our server a 'good' rating because he was good, but we've had better. Well, he confronted us at dinner on the first night of the second cruise and he wanted to know what we said on the comment card and he was demanding, yes, he was demanding that we rate him higher on the second cruise because he wanted to work on the Disney Magic and these ratings were very important to him. We were shocked that we had been approached in this manner. This was our fourth cruise with Disney and that has never happened before.

On both back to back cruises, my son needed an adult sized vest because he weighs 90lbs. After many repeated attempts and even taking the life vest to guest services ourselves, the situation was never rectified properly. They brought up a second child vest and now my daughter didn't have the appropriate adult vest either. So now we had both kids fitted with the wrong vests....thank goodness we didn't have an emergency....but who can tell these days...no one or any thing is invincible.

Regardless, we booked our next land and sea package for August of 2009 and it's soooo far off.
Thanks for reading this long post, I had to share....:surfweb:

[pamouselover]

Thank you! :lovestruc

[smeecanada]

Shutters displays the photos taken by their photographers (Embarkation photos, photos with the characters or backdrops, etc.). Guests go through the racks and find their shots. If you want a photo you hang onto it. If you don't you put it in one of the discard boxes.


Thanks, Michele. It's a little bit more clear now. It still seems that it would be very easy for people to just walk out with the photos. I'm definitely going to get some photos this time around. Everything was just so new to us - being first time cruisers - that it was a bit overwhelming at times and Shutters was just one of the things that I decided didn't really matter.

A CM took our photo with Goofy in the terminal while the official photographer snapped one as well. With being digital you can see how well the photo turned out - so didn't see the need to purchase the official one. We never did find the photos they took on formal night.

[purplepeg]

I can't believe Luis phoned you guys.:rotfl: That must have been a great conversation. You guys obviously bonded over those two weeks:cool1: When you sent the cookies did you just send them to the port? It's nice to know he appreciated it. thanks for the info on prices for the pictures at shutters. I'll be like you and buying quite a few;) 3 wks today and we'll be in key west:banana:

[CraftyMouse]

I can't believe Luis phoned you guys.:rotfl: That must have been a great conversation. You guys obviously bonded over those two weeks:cool1: When you sent the cookies did you just send them to the port? It's nice to know he appreciated it. thanks for the info on prices for the pictures at shutters. I'll be like you and buying quite a few;) 3 wks today and we'll be in key west:banana:

We did bond with Luis, DD in particular. The director of her dance studio is also named Luis -spelled the same way - and when she looked at the caller ID she only focused on the Luis, not the last name, so she thought it was him. She answered the phone and this look came over her...sort of a mix of shock, surprise and happiness...and whispered to me "It's CRUISE Luis!" It was so nice of him to call to let us know he got the package. DD asked him if he would be able to put up with us for another two weeks and he said that he was sure he could find a way. ;) It was really good to hear his voice.

As for the package, when I got home I managed to find a pirate joke book for Graham and so the kids wanted to find something for Luis too. He had given them some brain teasers at dinner so we found a page-a-day brainteaser calendar and packaged that up with the cookies. We did the same with Graham and sent both packages to the address listed in the DIS DCL FAQ page (a sticky at the top of the main page). I haven't heard from Graham, but if Luis got his package Graham should have gotten his as well.

[CraftyMouse]

Back to Back on the Wonder:

We just completed two back to back cruises on the Disney Wonder and we had a great time with a couple kinks.
The cruises began on December 2-6 in cabin 6120 and continued from December 6-9 in the same cabin, therefore, we didn't have to pack in between.
At the end of the first cruise, we were one of the last families to get off and we were escorted to a desk which is right before the escalator down to retrieve luggage. The lady checked us in again, gave us our new Key to the World cards and then the security officer took us down to the luggage area so we could clear customs and then we came right back up and were allowed on the Wonder.
This is where we took some awesome pictures because we didn't have others around to worry about. We were even allowed back into our stateroom to relax but by the time we came out at noon the ship was starting to fill up, so we went to Beach Blanket to have a delicious lunch.

The kinks:

At the end of the first cruise we gave our server a 'good' rating because he was good, but we've had better. Well, he confronted us at dinner on the first night of the second cruise and he wanted to know what we said on the comment card and he was demanding, yes, he was demanding that we rate him higher on the second cruise because he wanted to work on the Disney Magic and these ratings were very important to him. We were shocked that we had been approached in this manner. This was our fourth cruise with Disney and that has never happened before.

On both back to back cruises, my son needed an adult sized vest because he weighs 90lbs. After many repeated attempts and even taking the life vest to guest services ourselves, the situation was never rectified properly. They brought up a second child vest and now my daughter didn't have the appropriate adult vest either. So now we had both kids fitted with the wrong vests....thank goodness we didn't have an emergency....but who can tell these days...no one or any thing is invincible.

Regardless, we booked our next land and sea package for August of 2009 and it's soooo far off.
Thanks for reading this long post, I had to share....:surfweb:

Thanks for posting this! It's interesting to read about a Wonder back-to-back. I'm sorry you had issues with your server and your DS's life vest but I'm glad it didn't keep you from going back!

Thanks again!

Michele

[MemereMouse]

Looking forward to sailing on the Wonder with you and hope you will write a trip report half as good as this one.

[CraftyMouse]

Totally enjoying your report - and your pics! Especially love that your daughter spells her name the same way I do - not many of us spell it that way!!

Looking forward to more...

I totally missed this post! Yes, the Katharine spelling is uinque. The ironic thing is that I have an unusually spelled first name (Michele, instead of Michelle) and I vowed I would never do that to my kids! Oh well. There are a lot of things I said I'd never do as a parent that I have done. I'll learn to live with it. She loves the way her name is spelled so it's all good. We actually named her after Katharine Hepburn. I wrote to her after DD was born and DD has a lovely letter from her, framed and hanging in her room.

[gardengirlco]

Pre-Trip Report: Episode 4

For Cozumel I secretly (okay...does anybody still reading know where this is going?) reserved the Royal Dolphin Swim through Dolphin Discoveries.

OK, I'm not even through your Western TR but I cheated and went to the Cozumel part because that's the port we'll hit when we do the special CC Double Dip cruise later this year. :woohoo: Anyway, I have a question about the Royal Dolphin Swim. That's only available booking directly through Dolphin Discoveries, right? I think my DS, who will be 10 when we go, and DH would love doing that and it looks like it's not much more than doing the Dolphin Discovery encounter through DCL, although I realize it wouldn't include transportation.

Also, is there a place nearby to watch the swim? I am not big on interacting with sea life and I'll have to stay with my 3 yo DS anyway but I definitely would want to watch if I could.

You mentioned the photos were very expensive as I'm sure was the DVD. Do you mind telling me what the prices are? You can never start working on your budget too early, right? ;)

I've enjoyed reading your TR so far and can't wait to get more time to read more. :)

[CraftyMouse]

OK, I'm not even through your Western TR but I cheated and went to the Cozumel part because that's the port we'll hit when we do the special CC Double Dip cruise later this year. :woohoo: Anyway, I have a question about the Royal Dolphin Swim. That's only available booking directly through Dolphin Discoveries, right? I think my DS, who will be 10 when we go, and DH would love doing that and it looks like it's not much more than doing the Dolphin Discovery encounter through DCL, although I realize it wouldn't include transportation.

Yes, you can only book this directly through Dolphin Discoveries. DCL only offers the Encounter. You won't pay the DCL mark-up, however, so they are very close in price. The taxi ride would only be $10 or so (plus tip) each way so it is very reasonable. There is quite a difference in the programs and we felt that, for the money we were paying, we wanted the most interactive swim available. After doing the program we know we made the right decision. It was amazing! Truly the event of a lifetime.

Also, is there a place nearby to watch the swim? I am not big on interacting with sea life and I'll have to stay with my 3 yo DS anyway but I definitely would want to watch if I could.

Yes, you'll definitely be able to watch. This picture shows the area where the Royal Swim takes place. The larger area in to the right is for the Royal Swim. The smaller pens on the left are for the Encounter programs.
http://i243.photobucket.com/albums/ff312/Michelemouse19/100_1623.jpg

You can definitely stand on this dock area to watch the swim. It is right by the pool and the gift shop. You can't miss it. The two grandpas watched from here and could see everything perfectly.

As observers you will have to pay park admission. It is $16 for adults and i do not know the cost for kids. The Dolphin programs include admission so your DH and DS will be all set. The park has so much to offer and you could easily stay there all day. The beach was beautiful and the lunch we had at the restaurant was fantastic. Here's a website on Chankanaab that you can check out...
http://www.caribbeanportreviews.com/CozumelChankanaab.htm


You mentioned the photos were very expensive as I'm sure was the DVD. Do you mind telling me what the prices are? You can never start working on your budget too early, right? ;)

The video was $50, which I thought was reasonable. The photos were $13 each but they dropped it to $10 each as long as you bought 2 per person. I think the discount was bigger if you bought all of the photos (5 per person) but I didn't want to spend that much and didn't need all of the pictures. I just picked the two best shots of each of us and went with that. My total was $130 for the photos and video together.

I've enjoyed reading your TR so far and can't wait to get more time to read more. :)

I'm so glad. I love reading them too but this was my first time writing one...at least for the DIS.


If you have any more questions just let me know!

[SweetSpot]

Chapter 3 - Key West Day

After dinner it was time for Rich Purpura’s show in the Walt Disney Theater. He was hilarious but I have to admit that my son was the highlight of the show for me. At one point RP asks the audience for different languages in which to count to three. Of course he got the usual choices…French, Spanish, Italian, etc. He even got Korean and Japanese. None of them worked for the trick, however, so he was still looking for options. DS, my quiet, shy, don’t-call-on-me, I-won’t-volunteer-for-anything kid raises his hand. RP calls on him and asks what language DS would like to try. DS says “Roman”. RP asks him how to count to three in Roman and DS says “I”, “I,I”, “I,I,I”. Well, RP’s reaction was terrific, the audience was howling and most of us who knew DS were in tears! It was priceless.


I love Rich Purpura! We had seen Rich's show many times and for years it didn't change a bit. My DH had the show almost memorized and knew it would be part of the show. Three years ago when Rich was doing the show in the Rockin' Bar D my DH dared my DD to raise her hand and do Roman numbers. Rich laughed like he had never heard it before (which I'm sure he did) but it made my DD's cruise. She prepared for the following year by learning to count in Morse Code but Rich wasn't on that cruise. She was hoping that this year he would be there and was thrilled to find out he was onboard that week. I saw Rich after a show the night before the Walt Theatre show and told him my DD was looking forward to his show and he asked my her name and what she looked like. He made a point to pick her at the show and she did her Morse code bit and he looked at her and said wait a minute are you Aubrey? Didn't you do Roman numbers last time. The look on her face was priceless! She truly believes he remembered her. I couldn't believe he remembered our conversation or her name. I never expected him to do anything, I was just telling him how much my DD loved his show. Rich is one of the many reasons we find DCL magical.

Your trip report is great! Thank you for taking the time to share your trip with us.

[CraftyMouse]

I love Rich Purpura! We had seen Rich's show many times and for years it didn't change a bit. My DH had the show almost memorized and knew it would be part of the show. Three years ago when Rich was doing the show in the Rockin' Bar D my DH dared my DD to raise her hand and do Roman numbers. Rich laughed like he had never heard it before (which I'm sure he did) but it made my DD's cruise. She prepared for the following year by learning to count in Morse Code but Rich wasn't on that cruise. She was hoping that this year he would be there and was thrilled to find out he was onboard that week. I saw Rich after a show the night before the Walt Theatre show and told him my DD was looking forward to his show and he asked my her name and what she looked like. He made a point to pick her at the show and she did her Morse code bit and he looked at her and said wait a minute are you Aubrey? Didn't you do Roman numbers last time. The look on her face was priceless! She truly believes he remembered her. I couldn't believe he remembered our conversation or her name. I never expected him to do anything, I was just telling him how much my DD loved his show. Rich is one of the many reasons we find DCL magical.

Your trip report is great! Thank you for taking the time to share your trip with us.

That's too funny! Isn't he the best? He told DH and I, after the show, that he's heard just about everything by now.

DD totally plans to do Binary if RP is on our August PC repo cruise. I wonder if he's heard that one before.

[SweetSpot]

That's too funny! Isn't he the best? He told DH and I, after the show, that he's heard just about everything by now.

DD totally plans to do Binary if RP is on our August PC repo cruise. I wonder if he's heard that one before.


That's so funny, my DD was going to try to do Binary this year but since we are also on the August Repo she's going to have to brainstorm for another idea. I hope she doesn't really because I know he won't remember her and I don't want her to be disappointed and lose the memory she got from him in November.

[CraftyMouse]

That's so funny, my DD was going to try to do Binary this year but since we are also on the August Repo she's going to have to brainstorm for another idea. I hope she doesn't really because I know he won't remember her and I don't want her to be disappointed and lose the memory she got from him in November.

Sounds like our families are very similar! Maybe we'll get to meet on the repo! How old are your kids?

[pamouselover]

Sounds like our families are very similar! Maybe we'll get to meet on the repo! How old are your kids?

Are you leaving in 9 days?:banana:

[CraftyMouse]

Are you leaving in 9 days?:banana:

Yup. My mom was not able to sail with us as she had to take care of my grandmother. We gave her a 4-day for Christmas so she and I will be sailing on 1/27. Then it's another 6 1/2 months until the four of us do the PC Eastbound!

[quiltymom]

Can I ask how much the Christmas cards were? This may be something that I would consider doing during our cruise...

Thanks!

[pamouselover]

Yup. My mom was not able to sail with us as she had to take care of my grandmother. We gave her a 4-day for Christmas so she and I will be sailing on 1/27. Then it's another 6 1/2 months until the four of us do the PC Eastbound!
Are you going to be doing a trip report, if so post the link!!!!!:goodvibes

[CraftyMouse]

Can I ask how much the Christmas cards were? This may be something that I would consider doing during our cruise...

Thanks!

We bought 40 and the cost was $40. If you bought more the price-per-card was a bit better. I think that they offered 75 cards for $60 and then a bigger package. They have several styles to choose from and can print them up for you as late as the last night (with pick-up on disembarkation morning).

[CraftyMouse]

Are you going to be doing a trip report, if so post the link!!!!!:goodvibes

I think I'll start it right now as I sit at MCO waiting for my flight! Link to come...

[NancyIL]

I think I'll start it right now as I sit at MCO waiting for my flight! Link to come...

Aha - you brought your laptop on the cruise! :) Welcome back!

[smeecanada]

Welcome back, CraftyMouse. Can't wait to read about your latest DCL adventure. :goodvibes

[MelissaAnn]

I have spent about 2 hrs reading your post. It was awesome. It is like you have your own reality show. We are planning are first DCL and cant wait.
Thank you so much and I look forward to reading your next.

[CraftyMouse]

I have spent about 2 hrs reading your post. It was awesome. It is like you have your own reality show. We are planning are first DCL and cant wait.
Thank you so much and I look forward to reading your next.

Oooh...I can just see it now!...The Craftymouse Show! Starring Craftymouse, Hubbymouse and the Mouselings! What a train wreck that would be!
:lmao: :lmao: :lmao:

Stay tuned for further adventures of the Craftymouse Clan!

Will Crafty be able to survive the wait for the Panama Canal cruise?
Will Hubby be able to put up with all of the planning?
Will the Mouselings abandon the clan for permanent homes in The Stack and Ocean Quest?
Will Daughtermouse be able to survive 75+ desserts from Luis?
Will Sonmouse be forgotten again?

Tune in to our next installment to find out!

[Morgan4]

When is your next installment?!?

I can't wait any longer!!

[CraftyMouse]

When is your next installment?!?

I can't wait any longer!!

I'm glad you're enjoying it!

Technically, this one is done. I have to get to writing the report from last week's 4-day and then we will be sailing again in August.

I'll try to do the first installment of the 4-day report today or tomorrow.

[dduck]

Craftymouse,I just love reading your trip reports! It is like sharing a cup of tea with an old friend looking through the photo albums! I can't wait to read how your Mom and Me cruise went! I am sure it was as great as all your others!! Don't keep us al in suspense please!:)
GeoAnne

[RLccweems]

Oooh...I can just see it now!...The Craftymouse Show! Starring Craftymouse, Hubbymouse and the Mouselings! What a train wreck that would be!
:lmao: :lmao: :lmao:

Stay tuned for further adventures of the Craftymouse Clan!

Will Crafty be able to survive the wait for the Panama Canal cruise?
Will Hubby be able to put up with all of the planning?
Will the Mouselings abandon the clan for permanent homes in The Stack and Ocean Quest?
Will Daughtermouse be able to survive 75+ desserts from Luis?
Will Sonmouse be forgotten again?

Tune in to our next installment to find out!



OMG!! I just read your TR and love every word of it! You sure had me sitting here wanting to hear more about your trip to the point I didn't get anything done this morning! I loved all the pictures! Your kids are so cute together....they remind me of my two kids. I can't wait to hear all about your next trip.....

[CraftyMouse]

OMG!! I just read your TR and love every word of it! You sure had me sitting here wanting to hear more about your trip to the point I didn't get anything done this morning! I loved all the pictures! Your kids are so cute together....they remind me of my two kids. I can't wait to hear all about your next trip.....

I'm so sorry to have kept you from your housework! ;) I'm glad you liked the report. I'm still trying to get one written for our 1/27 Wonder cruise. I'll definitely be posting one for our PC cruise in August though! I'll give you plenty of warning so you can get your house all set before I post it! :lmao:

[RLccweems]

I'm so sorry to have kept you from your housework! ;) I'm glad you liked the report. I'm still trying to get one written for our 1/27 Wonder cruise. I'll definitely be posting one for our PC cruise in August though! I'll give you plenty of warning so you can get your house all set before I post it! :lmao:

I much rather be sitting here reading your TR...it's so much more fun to do then the housework. So, please be sure to let me know when you post the next one...it'll keep me busy. :thumbsup2

[Keggy]

Thank you for sharing your trip report with us! And congrats on winning Bingo! I think it is safe to say that you are no longer unlucky since you got upgraded and you won the big Jackpot!!!

Have fun on the Repo!!!

[Kim in TN]

What a great trip report! I enjoyed the entire thing and the pictures were an added bonus. I felt like I was there. Thanks for taking the time to write it!

[CraftyMouse]

I much rather be sitting here reading your TR...it's so much more fun to do then the housework. So, please be sure to let me know when you post the next one...it'll keep me busy. :thumbsup2

I will! And I completely agree that reading TRs is more fun than housework...but then again, I think just about anything is more fun than housework! :thumbsup2

[CraftyMouse]

Thank you for sharing your trip report with us! And congrats on winning Bingo! I think it is safe to say that you are no longer unlucky since you got upgraded and you won the big Jackpot!!!

Have fun on the Repo!!!

Actually, I never really thought of myself as unlucky...it was just fun to play it up for the report...knowing what was coming. ;)

[CraftyMouse]

What a great trip report! I enjoyed the entire thing and the pictures were an added bonus. I felt like I was there. Thanks for taking the time to write it!

Thanks for the kind words. I'm glad you enjoyed it.

[laura001]

I am only on page 7 but have been enjoying this report a lot! Thanks so much for taking the time to write, it is awesome!

[suzcruz]

loved your TR! where is the one with your mom? hope it went well. also, how much was the gold by the inch? if not too pricey, it sounds like a great gift for my 10 year old daughter. thanks for your help!

[CraftyMouse]

loved your TR! where is the one with your mom? hope it went well. also, how much was the gold by the inch? if not too pricey, it sounds like a great gift for my 10 year old daughter. thanks for your help!

Actually, I never wrote the report for the cruise with my mom. We had a great time but, for some reason, I just never got to the report.

Gold-by-the-inch prices vary according to the chain you select. My 7" bracelet cost approximately $20. The chain I selected was in the middle of the price range.

[***tink386]

Thank you for sending me a link to your trip report! It was really amazing!! I got teary eyed a couple of times while I was reading it. I also have a son and daughter (16 & 13) so it was really cool to see all of your pictures. They grow up so quickly. You have sealed the deal for me to do back to back cruises in 2010!!! Now all that I have to do is convince my husband!:lmao: I think whatever we plan to do, I will try to keep it a secret from the kids, since it is soooo far away. Thanks for sharing!!:cool1:

[CraftyMouse]

Thank you for sending me a link to your trip report! It was really amazing!! I got teary eyed a couple of times while I was reading it. I also have a son and daughter (16 & 13) so it was really cool to see all of your pictures. They grow up so quickly. You have sealed the deal for me to do back to back cruises in 2010!!! Now all that I have to do is convince my husband!:lmao: I think whatever we plan to do, I will try to keep it a secret from the kids, since it is soooo far away. Thanks for sharing!!:cool1:

Yay! I'm so glad that you enjoyed the TR and that it convinced you to go for the B2B sailings. Believe me, you won't regret it!

Happy Sailing!

[J&K'sPrincessMommy]

Wow! What an amazing trip!
Did you prefer the East or West? Why?
we are trying to decide before tomorrow am... :goodvibes

Did you have any problems pulling your kids out of school for 2 weeks?

[CraftyMouse]

Wow! What an amazing trip!
Did you prefer the East or West? Why?
we are trying to decide before tomorrow am... :goodvibes

Did you have any problems pulling your kids out of school for 2 weeks?

We much prefer the Western. We love the Western ports and find those on the Eastern to be a bit boring. If we liked to do a lot of beach days the Eastern would have been better, but we don't. We love wandering around Key West, the snorkeling in Grand Cayman and just being in Cozumel.

We had no problems pulling our kids out of school for two weeks because they don't go to school. We homeschool. ;) We just started two weeks early last year and then took the two cruise weeks off. Now DD16 is in college so no more off-season trips for us. It's been hard getting used to that. I guess I took our travel flexibility for granted.

If my kids were younger (elementary school aged) I'd have no problems pulling them out for two weeks. I am a teacher by trade and there's nothing that an elementary school-aged child will miss in two weeks that cannot be made up before/after. (Middle/High school is a different story, IMO.) Travel is such a great learning experience!

[Melcatfish]

Thanks for a wonderful trip report - I am a big fan of detailed pictures included reports so it was right up my street!

Did you do one for your Eastbound Repo? If so can you post the link please?

Mel
x