Experiencing The Magic, October 20, 2007

[MinnMick01]

INTRODUCTIONS

Sailing on this voyage were the following people:
Myself (DW) – Age 30 – Carrie (Experienced cruiser but not with DCL) ::MinnieMo
DH – Age 37 – Scott (Experienced cruise but not with DCL) ::MickeyMo
DD – Age 12 – Kelsey (First time cruiser) :tink:
DS – Age 11 – Kyle (First time cruiser) :sulley:
DD – Age 4/5 – Mackenzie (First time cruiser) :stitch:
DWM – for privacy she will be referred to as Grandma
DWF – for privacy he will be referred to as Grandpa

* just a side note, there will be no pictures of grandma and grandpa posted either. (You will understand more as you read on)

I like many other people have spent months, no years researching and planning this trip. To the point that I knew that no matter what happened in that time myself, Scott and Mackenzie would be going no matter what. (I will explain Kelsey and Kyle in a minute) So of course I did not take the insurance out on the three of us. I made sure to take insurance out for Kelsey and Kyle because they are Scott’s children from another marriage and we never knew if their mother would change her mind in the three years and decided not to let them go.

We did not want to spend the extra money to get a stateroom large enough for all 5 of us, so Grandma and Grandpa said they would go along with us and take one of the kids in their room. :banana: (prayers answered, a way to save some money and a built in baby sitter for the nights when Scott and I wanted to go to the bars.)

Grandma is very particular about where her room is on the ship. So I left that decision up to them. Her only requirement was that we have joining rooms and preferably an outside room. My only wish at that point was to get a verandah. (DH and I have never had one and we thought this would be our time to try one)

*Just a note, it was nice to have, but we did not spend enough time on it to make it worth the extra money. Also every time you open the door it played havoc with the air-conditioning in the room.

More to come

[MinnMick01]

BOOKING THE CRUISE

Since my parents and my DH and I have cruise before, all of our cruises had been booked through AAA. That was what we did this time. Most of the trips to AAA would be made by Grandma since DH and I work full time.

*Just a note, we will not be using AAA for any more cruises. We had a very hard time with them this time. It really made the 3 years planning this trip make us want to cancel several times. :headache:

We booked cat 6. According to Grandma it was above the kids clubs, bars and restaurants. Then she did not want to be near the stairs, elevators or laundry. So she booked room 6044 and we got joining room 6046. Our room was the perfect location. We never heard anyone above us. We occasionally heard people on the one side of us, but that is to be expected after spending 7 days in a room that size. I am sure they heard us at times also.

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Part of Mackenzie’s homework was to working on her counting so her and I took the stairs everywhere. We were 88 steps :scared1: from deck 9 (which are the pools and buffet).

We booked late dinning and really did not care what rotation we got. We booked Disney air, hotel and transportation.

I was all for booking things separately but Grandma and Grandpa are a little on the old fashioned side of things and would not even think about booking things separately.

The reason we booked the Oct. 20, 2007 sailing was not because of the ship, or the itinerary. It was because I wanted to be on the ship on Mackenzie’s birthday and that was Oct. 21, 2007. As long as that happened I really did not care what else happened.

[MinnMick01]

JUST A LITTLE BACKGROUND

This might be helpful information for all of you to know. I am obsessive compulsive when it comes to certain things, and DISNEY is one of those things. I am also a completely worrier, waiting for the other shoes to drop (so to speak). So the entire 3 years I was extremely worried about if the kids mom was going to allow them to go or not.

In April of 2007, my mother became extremely ill, she spent more then half the month on life support not expected to make it, or if she did make it there was going to be a lot of damage and set backs.

Now here is the good news. After extensive work from the doctors and hospitals she came off life support and receive and pacemaker the last week of April.

While she was hospitalized Scott and I did go down to AAA to see what the options were for us if mom and dad were not going with us. The options were not that great but we figured we would make anything work because darn it we were going no matter what.

Grandma was supposed to go home from the hospital and make a full recovery from the pacemaker and be somewhat normal again. She did / does have memory loss from the whole thing. But that can be worked with. May and June went by and she was not improving. She saw more doctors. She was determined to find out what was wrong because she was going on the cruise no matter what. In August they found out she had an extremely large growth on her thyroid. In September they did a procedure that the doctors called the last ditch effort. She had to be isolated for 5 days, with no human or animal contact. The doctors said that she would not notice any improvement for about 3 weeks. Before the procedure she could not walk from one room of the house to the other with out being worn out. 2 weeks before the trip she started going shopping (short trips). Her stamina was coming back. :hug:

Now it was just a waiting game to see how she would do on the trip.

I am naturally very protective of Mackenzie because she is my only child, however my mother’s illness made me extremely protective of her also. So you might notice some of that during this report, but at least you know why.

Also because of her illness is why her pictures will not be shown. She lost an extreme amount of weight and she is not comfortable with it.

[MinnMick01]

A BIG THANK YOU

I would like to take this time to say that the DIS Board is the best thing that has happened for my family in a long time. In May of 2007 I stumbled across a “meet” thread for our sailing date.

That is when I found the best bunch of people. They are the Konked Kruiser. You all know who you are. You excepted us in like part of your family. You all helped me get through my mothers illness along with every day challenges.

Thank you so much to all of you for the support, love and friendship that you have all shown. It means more to us then we can ever say.
:grouphug:

[MinnMick01]

THE VACATION STARTS.

For us, our first day of vacation was Thursday Oct. 18, 2007
It was agreed to make it easier on my parents that we would drive to their house this evening. They live about 30 minutes from us and they only live about 10 minutes from the airport.

We picked up the kids from school, went home to do some last minute packing.

This is just the luggage for the 5 of us.
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And off we go to Grandma’s house.

We all went out to dinner at a buffet. After dinner we all weighed our luggage. We cheated, we weighed ours at our house and got it all to the point of passing. But it was close. 49.8, 49.0, 37, 35, and then 5 carrion’s.

Grandma and Grandpa did good. They did not have to rearrange anything.

After the packing was done Grandma and Grandpa babysat while Scott and I went out for one last evening of just him and I time. Thank goodness. I was not sure how we were going to do this trip with everyone, but that little break really helped me.

Oh I forgot to mention. Scott works nights and sleeps days. He worked Wednesday night and came home and did not sleep on Thursday because we were getting ready to go. So he got up at 2:00pm on Wednesday.

Sleeping arraignments were fun. Kyle took the guest bed. Mackenzie took the floor in her room, and Kelsey took the bed in Mackenzie’s room. Later we found out that Kelsey joined Mackenzie on the floor. Grandma and Grandpa had their bed, and Scott and I took the floor in the living room.

Scott and I laid down about 12:00 midnight. The kids all went to bed around 9:00 pm And Grandma went to bed around 10:00 pm. Grandpa did not go to bed until 3:00 am.
I could not sleep at all. So from midnight until 2:00 am I tossed and turned. Scott finally fell asleep around 1:00 am. (36 hours of no sleep). At 2:00am I got up and went in to talk with Grandpa. Shortly after Grandma came in and talked with us, and then in came Kelsey. I finally sent Grandma back to bed around 3:00am . Kelsey and I went back to bed at 4:00am. I lay down next to Scott and heard the first plane of the morning go over the house. I bolted up and yelled I heard a plane I heard a plane. Poor Scott. Got to sleep for 3 hours. From 4:00 am until 5:15 am, when all of our alarms went off him and I just stayed up talking.

Travel day to come.

[.:)Tinker_Belle(:.]

good start carrie :thumbsup2

[MinnMick01]

Friday, October 19, 2007
TRAVEL DAY

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SCOTT :bday:

Yes we spent my husbands birthday traveling.

Alarms went off at 5:15am, the shuttle was due to pick us up between 6:15 and 6:30am.

I left Scott inside with Grandma and Grandpa to get the kids ready while I took all the luggage out to the driveway. We needed to have it outside at the end of the driveway so we could rearrange the cars to park all 3 cars in the driveway.

If any of you know me or will see picture of me you would see the most of the luggage weight at least half of what my weight was before the cruise.

I got all the luggage out and the cars parked. At 6:05 am the shuttle showed up.

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Not all of us were functioning. Grandma is not a morning person, and Grandpa does not like to travel. The kids were all talking none stop :chat: and Scott just wanted coffee. Here I am taking pictures and videoing drive into the airport.

We got to the airport and did curb side check in to save Grandma from having to carry any of the luggage. We have never done this before. They charge $2 a bag and then want a tip on top of that. :scared1: For what may I ask? The shuttle guy unload the luggage onto the curb, we took it all to the curbside check in booth. This guy that wanted our money just checked us in, and put stickers on our luggage. And for that he got the $14 from us, just because I did not want my mother lifting anything but then when the guy pointed out that tips were not including my father handed him a $10 on top of it. The guy only got 7 of our bags and we did all the work. :confused3

Now that we are checked in it is time for breakfast. Off to find the Burger King. Scott is still on the search for some coffee. He really does not eat breakfast. So the rest of us get breakfast while he drinks his coffee. :drinking1

We are going to miss lunch because we are traveling so I packed snacks for the kids.
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Then I figured I better eat as much as I could at breakfast. So I had to sandwiches, I ate the most so of course I was the last one done. Wolfed them down and off to security we go.

Grandma cannot go through security so they pull her off to be patted down while the rest of us have to strip down our jackets and shoes and go through security.

We get to the gate in plenty of time. We have a straight through flight to Florida. Thank goodness.

PART 2 OF TRAVEL DAY TO COME

[MinnMick01]

good start carrie :thumbsup2

Thank you

[minnieandmickey]

Great start Carrie, looking forward to seeing more.

[MinnMick01]

PART 2 OF TRAVEL DAY TO COME

The kids taking a homework break, waiting for the plane to come in.
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The flight went well. We all played musical seats during the flight. We got one whole row but then we got one seat in another row. So we just kept rotating seats. I am sure the ones the sat in that row were not to happy but it was a window seat and everybody except Grandpa and Scott wanted the window seats.

The flight got in on time. All we had to do was find the hotel. DISNEY put us up at the Hyatt in the airport. At first I thought this was going to be really bad. That we would hear airport traffic all the time. But it turned out really well.

It was a bit of a walk from the gate to luggage pick up and then to the hotel. If we would have been thinking we could have sent Grandma to the hotel to check in and we could have gone to get the luggage. She did a lot of unnecessary walking to go all the way to baggage and back to the hotel. Check in was no problem at all. Grandma and Grandpa got an inside room and we got an outside room. So of course while checking in I say “Oh yeah we have a room with a view I can get pictures.” The lady at the desk must have thought I was an idiot. The room with the view was the inside room. It looked out over the atrium so you could people watch. Our view was of the traffic control tower and a parking garage.

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The room was nice. Except the beds were double size, so for 2 adults to sleep in one, it was tight.

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Off to dinner we got. Poor Grandma. The food court was half way back the way we came from baggage. Really not much to choose from if you missed lunch and you are starving.

After dinner Grandma, Grandpa, and Mackenzie went back to their room, Kyle and Scott went back to our room, and Kelsey and I went shopping. I love this airport. It has a DISNEY store in it. I could not believe that. So of course we are shopping before we ever even get out of the airport.

It is now 10:00 pm and we decided we have an early morning that we better try to get some sleep. Everyone in our room was out by 11:00pm. At midnight we get a call from back home. There was an issue with our dog sitter and the neighbors were complaining. So of course now Scott and I are worried about the dog and wide-awake. We did not get back to sleep until 2:00am then we got back up at 6:00am.

[MinnMick01]

October 20, 2007
IT’S THE BIG DAY

We of course, just like everyone else, want to be first to the terminal. But we are at the mercy of the DCL shuttle. So at 6:30 am Scott went to find out where to get in line for the shuttle at. He came back and told me that they start getting in line at 8:30 am, then the lady says that sometime DCL cast members can get here as early as 8:00 am. So he helped me put our luggage outside the door. (This was a nice touch. All we had to do was put our luggage outside the door, they bell guys would come get it and have it put on a bus for us. We would not see it again until it got to our room on the ship). Scott left to get in line at 7:15am. I went on got Kyle and Grandma and Grandpa. We went down to get breakfast. After breakfast Grandpa and Grandpa went back to their room to finish packing and the kids and I took pictures.
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Then we went back and got in line with Scott at about 8:15am. There were not many people in line. I would say 5 different families. Grandma and Grandpa met us down there.

*Just a note. A complaint that Grandpa had. His room card for some reason kept deprogramming itself. In the time we were there he had to go to the desk and have it reprogrammed 5 times. Only problem is the floor we were on you need to use your card to access that floor on the elevator so there were times where he got stuck on the elevator going for rides because the doors shut and it would not except his floor. :lmao:

This is where we met up with Steve and his family. It was so great being able to know someone before ever even getting on the ship.

It was about 8:45am when the cast member showed up and checked us in. Scott was first in line and got us on the first bus. We left the hotel at 9:30am.
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I really liked the bus. The seats had plenty of room and the movie they showed kept the kids entertained. It was raining on the trip to the port. But we are from AZ. So we like any rain we can get. We round the corner and there is the ship.

Check in was a little stressful for me. I really wanted to get a picture of the family on the outside of the terminal, but Grandma and Grandpa were following the crowds and were gone before I knew it. Grandma got stuck at security. They were not prepared on how to deal with people that could not go through.

My poor husband was so excited. We were standing in line to check in and he is sitting there saying ‘look honey there is so and so, and over there that is so and so.” I yelled at him to stop it and just let me get us check in. We got boarding pass number 6. Now I must be honest. That upset me. I really wanted to be number one or two.

After check in Grandma and Grandpa went to sit down with Kelsey and Kyle while Mackenzie and Scott went to stand in line for Mickey Mouse and I went to stand in line for the pager and bracelets for the kid clubs. As soon as Scott and Mackenzie were done with Mickey they joined me in line along with Kelsey and Kyle.

We really did not have more then 10 minutes from the time we got out of line to when they started calling numbers. I never got to look at the model or even look around the terminal. :sad2: I was amazed at how fast it all went. Before you knew it number 6 was being called.

[Karen Mouse]

Excellent start Carrie - WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY better than Planktons trippie:rolleyes1



Cant wait for the next installment



Roll on KK2:banana:

[Kay1]

MinnMick01, about what time did you get to PC? Just wondering how long a drive it is from the Hyatt.

:)

[MinnMick01]

Great start Carrie, looking forward to seeing more.

Thank you , I am hoping to at least do one part a day so keep checking back.

[MinnMick01]

Excellent start Carrie - WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY better than Planktons trippie:rolleyes1



Cant wait for the next installment



Roll on KK2:banana:

Thank you Karen, but I think Planktons trippie is much better. You have since of humor that I just don't have. Hey put your link to the report on her so others can check it out.

[MinnMick01]

MinnMick01, about what time did you get to PC? Just wondering how long a drive it is from the Hyatt.

:)

Thank you for reading Kay1. It is approximatly a 45 minute to an hour drive and that is by bus. We got inside the terminal past sercurity (which took us longer because they did not know how to handle Grandma) at 10:30. That is after we claimed all of our luggage off the bus. We were checked in to the ship by 11:00. What took the longest was the check in line for the kids clubs. We had signed up 2 of the kids online. We honestly thought that would be faster. We still had one kids that was in Grandma and Grandpas room that we needed to sign up. I will tell you honestly it took the same amount of time for each child. So doing it online did not save us anytime. I would say I was in that line for about 45 minutes to an hour. So it was about 12:00 when they started letting people on the ship.

[GOS]

Carrie - loved reading your trippee. next installment please. It was great bumping into you guys on deck 6.

[MinnMick01]

Carrie - loved reading your trippee. next installment please. It was great bumping into you guys on deck 6.

I will post one this evening. We loved all of your door signs.

[DisneyDadFaNaTic]

For some reason, when you were talking about boarding the ship, the tune "Yakety Sax" (Benny Hill theme) started running through my head.:lmao: It sounded pretty hectic!

Love the report! Keep up the great work!:thumbsup2

[Dyerneeds]

all right!!
carrie and the candyman are doing a trip report!!
great start!! sure do miss you guys.:grouphug:
kkers rule

[millerpjm]

Great start Carrie!

Keep it up...I want to relive the trip again!

Konked Kruisers ROCK!

[Kay1]

Thank you for reading Kay1. It is approximatly a 45 minute to an hour drive and that is by bus. We got inside the terminal past sercurity (which took us longer because they did not know how to handle Grandma) at 10:30. That is after we claimed all of our luggage off the bus. We were checked in to the ship by 11:00. What took the longest was the check in line for the kids clubs. We had signed up 2 of the kids online. We honestly thought that would be faster. We still had one kids that was in Grandma and Grandpas room that we needed to sign up. I will tell you honestly it took the same amount of time for each child. So doing it online did not save us anytime. I would say I was in that line for about 45 minutes to an hour. So it was about 12:00 when they started letting people on the ship.
Thanks for taking the time to answer. I can see why were disappointed in not getting a lower boarding number - 10:30 seems pretty early.

[MinnMick01]

For some reason, when you were talking about boarding the ship, the tune "Yakety Sax" (Benny Hill theme) started running through my head.:lmao: It sounded pretty hectic!

Love the report! Keep up the great work!:thumbsup2

I am not aware of the song. But for me it was pretty hetic. But that was because I am a control nut that has to make sure everything is perfect. I was trying to keep our 4 year old in arm reach with all the people and then of course I am watching my mother to make sure she was doing ok.

[MinnMick01]

Thanks for taking the time to answer. I can see why were disappointed in not getting a lower boarding number - 10:30 seems pretty early.

Yes I was really surprised that we got a 6 being htere that early. But I have a theory. I think they do the early numbers for repeat cruisers. But that is just my theory.

[MinnMick01]

PART TWO OF IT’S THE BIG DAY

I personally thought that the crowd going through the ears would be a little more organized. We had to form a human chain and squeeze through all the people that were just standing around waiting for their number to be called. So I was not able to get a picture of us going through the ears.:sad2:
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Once we went through the ears it was another line. Boy I thought at this point I was tired of lines just from the check in process and airports and stuff. Just wait there are lines the whole trip.
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We got our first picture taken. It is not that great but because it was the 7 of us (and might be one of the last of the seven of us) I got it. Now it is time to walk the gangway.
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Of course I run ahead and videotape the family coming across. Now comes the introduction. I have been thinking of what I wanted them to say all along. So when she asked I said “Mackenzie, Kelsey, Kyle and family.” The lady said “And what is your last name” I said ours and grandpa said his. Well the introduction was something like “Welcome aboard Mackenzie our last name grandpas last name and family.” I was disappointed that they did not get it right but oh well it was done and over with what could I do.

A cast member immediately greeted us and gave us directions to Topsiders for lunch. Well of course I am hungry again and they stated that the staterooms would not be ready until 2:00pm. Hmmm, well that is a fine how do you do. We have 7 carry on bags that we would like to put away. (Just a heads up, the other cruise lines that we have been on allow you to go put your bags in your room when you get on the ship.) So off we go to Topsiders, all 7 of us. Topsider was not very busy at this point. Thank goodness. For the kids they have trays that have divided sections. So the kids’ food goes directly on the tray, no plate.

*Just a note. There are not a lot of sections on the kids’ tray. Mackenzie kept giving me her silverware and napkin to hold to give her more room.

I was not thinking very well when we were in line. We should have gone and found a table, and put all our luggage down first. But we had to do it the hard way. I had my carry on, I took Mackenzie’s (which was a pull behind backpack) and I took my mothers purse. So now I have all that and of course I have my tray and Mackenzie’s tray. Here was the downfall. Mackenzie was not tall enough to reach the food so I had to bend under the sneeze guard to get her items for her. Of course I was not going to let her carry her own tray with her drink on it. So I balance both trays (yes I used to be a server) and away we go to find a table big enough to seat all 7 of us with the luggage. About three steps away from the buffet line, an Angel showed up.:angel: It was a cast member who took both trays from me and took us to the closet large table.

*Just a note. :headache: DCL really pushes their bottle water package. And I do mean really. I kind of reminds me of the shop people in Cozumel trying to get you to buy things. There was a person in the atrium when we got on board that asked if we would like to buy a package. Then on the way to Topsiders we were asked 2 more times (Each bar we walked by asked). Then while we were eating we were asked 3 more times. OK DCL THIS IS A LITTLE EXTREM AND PUSHY. This was just up until us eating. We had not even been on the ship for an hour yet. Not to mention we were asked another 5 times during the sail away party and then 2 more times at dinner.

So we are done with lunch. Now what we had about 45 minutes to kill before our rooms were ready. Which meant what ever we do we have to take our luggage with us. I decided that I wanted to go check out the kids clubs.

*Just a note – the day of boarding the kid clubs are not taking children to be left by the parents, but it is an open house so that the families can go in to check out the facilities. I highly suggest that you go check it out.

Mackenzie was in the Oceaneer Club, Kelsey and Kyle were in the Oceaneer Lab and the Ocean Quest. I will not go into much detail about the clubs, so you can have some surprises. If you have questions about them feel free to ask me.
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By the time we checked out the kids clubs it was time to go check out our room. Would you believe that we had not luggage. We unpacked our carry on luggage and then we had a DIS meet up by the Mickey Pool. I highly recommend going to a DIS meet if you are a part of a board. It was a lot of fun to meet everyone that we have been talking to. Oh I should mention that it was just Scott, myself and Mackenzie that went to this. Grandma and Grandpa stayed in their room waiting for their luggage and Kelsey and Kyle took off to explore the ship with Rachael. I had to leave the meet early because Mackenzie was having a complete melt down. She wanted to go in the pool and I would not let her because there was so much stuff that we still had to do. So I took her back to the room to rest a little before the life boat drill. We had 1 suitcase out of our 4.

Off to lifeboat drill, Kelsey and Kyle actually joined us for this one. Grandma and Grandpa got their before us, and checked us in. So all we had to do was stand in line. The cast members kept moving us closer and closer together to the point where my life jacket was touching the persons next to me. Lucky enough we knew them. But talk about uncomfortable, and hot. It did not last very long at all. Then it was back to the room. Again Kelsey and Kyle left. But on the good note all our luggage had finally arrived. It was about 4:30pm. No time to put it away now. Off to the sail away party. If you have little children I would highly recommend going to this. All the kids get to be on stage at the Goofy pool dance. They even show pictures of them dancing on the Aerial Vision. All the kids got on stage after the characters left.

Party is over and we are off to find a spot to watch us sail away. Again it is just the three of us. We find a nice spot, and what made it even nicer is we got to sail away with friends. Rob, Cass, and Kira came over by us. Thank you guys for making the sail away special.

Back to the room. We have 8:15pm dinner and no one will have anything to wear if I don’t go back and unpack everything. So from about 5:30 pm to about 7:15 pm I was unpacking. After that we got dressed for dinner and the three of us took advantage of the professional pictures and had some taken before dinner. Of course we also had to stand in Line to get autographs for Minnie Mouse.

Dinner for us was a Parrot Cay. DCL changed our table location so we had to wait for the kids and Grandma and Grandpa before we went to the desk to find out where our new table was. I was a little disappointed. We saw where our first table would have been and it was in the middle of the restaurants. But our new one was all the way in the back. Which meant Grandma had more walking to do. And it was right next to a service station so it was loud from dishes being clanged together.

*Just a note. All 3 restaurants seem to be really loud on the volume level of all the people talking. It was really hard for anyone at our table to have a conversation and be heard by someone else are our table. Even our service team had a hard time hearing us.

I will not discuss dinners much because our service team was not that great at all. I have had better on other cruise lines, and the food was not that great either. Again we have had better on other lines.

Tonight was Kyle’s night to sleep in with Grandma and Grandpa. So after dinner we told the kids they had to be back in the room by 10:00 pm. We got to put all 3 kids to bed and then Grandma and Grandpa kept and ear on the girls in our room so Scott and I could go to Rockin’ Bar D. I love this bar. We had a blast there every night. Tonight it was Magic Quest and Match your Mate. We joined the KK group for this and our team won medals for the Magic Quest. I will warn you though. You better be fast on your feet if you want to win.

Scott and I left the bar around midnight and went back to the room to get some sleep. We called for a Mickey Wake up call, as part of Mackenzie birthday for the next day and went to bed.

End of day 1

[MinnMick01]

KEY WEST
HAPPY 5TH BIRTHDAY MACKENZIE

Would you believe that Mickey Mouse did not make his wake up call. We really wanted Mickey to wake Mackenzie up. So right after she woke up Scott ran to the guest service desk and asked them to send a wake up call to the room. He explained the situation, so they gave him enough time to get back to the room. Then Mickey called, and called again and called again. Ok Mickey we are all up now thanks.

Before breakfast Mackenzie opened her gifts. Yes we managed to bring gifts on board with us. Nothing much but it was all DISNEY related. We dressed her up with a birthday crown and a sash and away the 7 of us went to breakfast.
http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x104/minnmick01/7136eee7.jpg
We did breakfast at Topsiders. One of my favorite breakfast foods is Cream of Wheat, and they had it every morning and it was perfect every time. They also had the cutest little Mickey face waffles.
http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x104/minnmick01/d703d478.jpg
I really enjoyed breakfast each morning. We sat outside. It was a great start to every day.

So today was Key West. Boy were the kids in for a culture shock. They experience the human body in ways I did not even think they would during this trip.

We did not book any shore excursion but we did plan on doing things on our own. People please do not think you can walk this stop. If you are smart you will rent a golf cart or something. You will understand why after you see everything we did.

Grandma and Grandpa got off the ship with us. There are some shops at the port so Grandma was going to look at those. We got to the end of the block and she was tired so Grandma and Grandpa went back to their room. And the 5 of us continued on foot. We were heading to the winery. Along the way we stopped at some shops. Ran into more KK people. Hey Thanks Rose for trying on those dresses. I was a little nervous to try something on in that fitting room, but knowing that you were willing to do it helped. So we kept on walking to the winery. Which by the way gives all the free samples you want. We bought a bottle of wine for Scott’s boss (story to come later), and then we walked to the lighthouse.

Ok so this is probably the time I should tell you that I am afraid of heights, and I am claustrophobic. So we get to the lighthouse. I did ok going up. It took me awhile up there to get adjusted but I got some good pictures of the ship. The things I do for pictures.
http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x104/minnmick01/119ad55a.jpg
Coming down is when I wigged out. So I made everyone come down behind me. I got down and had to sit for a little while. Scott really liked the lighthouse museum, it bored me and the kids. Take your bathroom breaks there because we were going to keep on walking. Our mission Southern Most Point. What a waste. Like people have stated it is just a picture op. You wait in line to have someone take a picture of you and hope it turns out.
http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x104/minnmick01/345d80a5.jpg
So on we go to the Blonde Giraffe for some chocolate dipped key lime pie on a stick. We got 3 for the 5 of us to split. Kelsey did not like it so that left 3 for 4 people. Kyle could not eat all of his. So that left Scott eating one and the rest of Kyle’s and Mackenzie and I sharing ours. They are good but the melt quick so make sure you have lots of napkins. Off we go walking again. This time the mission was back to the ship. Along the way we passed a house that the owner was outside watering and he had water running down the driveway. So what does Mackenzie do? She jumps in the water. We stood there with her playing in the water for about 10 minutes. The guy was really nice to talk to and he was really interested in why she like playing in the water. Well as we pass the shops at the port we pass Grandma and Grandpa. She wanted to try to make it a little further this time.

Now Scott and I took turns carrying Mackenzie during our walk. As soon as we hit the shops Kelsey left us and went back on the ship to hang out with Rachael. Kyle stayed with us, but as soon as we got back on the ship he took off also. Scott, Mackenzie and I went to Topsiders for a late lunch. It was so neat because now on one side of the line they had all the kid items and then the other side was the adult items. It meant I had to go through line two different times but it really made Mackenzie feel special.

It was now off the pool for Mackenzie. Scott went to do his own thing while I took her. I let her do the slide while I got some chicken tenders and fries and ate while she swam. Yes I know I just had lunch, but I wanted more food. Ok so Scott meets up with us, and I have him sit there while I go get grapes. Yes more food. We brought Mackenzie back to the room for some quite time and room service. I ordered her and I some cookies and then I got her a fruit bowl. She did not want rest time so she went to the club for a little while.

We took her out in time to see Pocahontas,
http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x104/minnmick01/b9df52fd.jpg
Belle,
http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x104/minnmick01/dfd04a67.jpg
Minnie,
http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x104/minnmick01/4ddca62c.jpg
http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x104/minnmick01/5e4e56e3.jpg
Alice,
http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x104/minnmick01/44dcdcac.jpg
Cinderella,
http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x104/minnmick01/d9685742.jpg
Snow White
http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x104/minnmick01/3961af01.jpg
and Goofy.
http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x104/minnmick01/69ea36b1.jpg
It was a busy afternoon of standing in line.

Off to dinner. It was Lumiere’s tonight. Because it was Mackenzie’s birthday they did bring her a cake and sing to here.

Tonight was Mackenzie’s night to sleep with Grandma and Grandpa so she went back with them, and we made the curfew for Kelsey and Kyle midnight. Scott and I went to Rockin Bar D. Which was an 80’s party. We meet up with some other Kkers again. It was a fun night of dancing, drinking and talking. We left the bar around 1:00 am, and then a few of us went up to deck 9 and walked around. Eventually Scott and I branched off, found a comfy lounge in the adult area and cuddled up :hug: and just watched the black nothingness and the stars go by. It was so peaceful. At 2:00 am we went back to our room. I went to bed and Scott went to guest service to request a wake up call.

[disgrits]

Yes I was really surprised that we got a 6 being htere that early. But I have a theory. I think they do the early numbers for repeat cruisers. But that is just my theory.

Sorry Carrie, we were repeat cruisers and we got a #7! And there were people behind us in the repeat cruisers line with a #8. Luckily it went pretty fast.

[oybolshoi]

Cute pictures, Carrie. But I think that first one is with Pocahontas; Mulan is Japanese. :goodvibes





We took her out in time to see Mulan,
http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x104/minnmick01/b9df52fd.jpg
Belle,
http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x104/minnmick01/dfd04a67.jpg
Minnie,
http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x104/minnmick01/4ddca62c.jpg
http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x104/minnmick01/5e4e56e3.jpg
Alice,
http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x104/minnmick01/44dcdcac.jpg
Cinderella,
http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x104/minnmick01/d9685742.jpg
Snow White
http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x104/minnmick01/3961af01.jpg
and Goofy.
http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x104/minnmick01/69ea36b1.jpg

[MinnMick01]

Monday, October 22, 2007
DAY 3
AT SEA

What no wake up call again. I am getting mighty mad at Mickey right about now. :headache: We informed the kids last night that they were to eat breakfast with Grandma and Grandpa because we had a spa treatment at 8:00 am. We booked the Exotic Rasul (the Kkers have named this the naughty mud room) and loved every minute of it. :banana: It was hard getting up this early after a late night and trying to get motivated to go to the spa. Plus being in the humidity was not that great on an empty stomach. So of course as soon as our treatment was done we were off to Topsiders for breakfast. We found Kelsey up there with Rachael. So informed us the Grandma and Grandpa took Mackenzie to see a movie. So Scott and I enjoyed a breakfast just the two of us. You guessed it Cream of Wheat for me. Along with other food of course. We went from breakfast to our KK group photo session. That felt like the longest 10 minutes of the whole trip. We had some many people squeezing together to get in the photo and each of us had a camera that we waned it taken with that none of were sure which camera to look at and which ones were going off when. But it was a great experience.
http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x104/minnmick01/5cb51c78.jpg
Right after the picture was our private wine tasting. It was for all the KK people who had signed up in advance and the designated drivers who wanted to watch us all make fools of our selves. Scott and I are not much on wine. I drink more of it then he does but it was worth the $12 per person just to go be with the group.

From there it was back to the room to find Mackenzie. Found Grandma who said she took her to the kid club. We took her out in time for lunch. You guessed it back to Topsiders. Then we went back to the pool and found Kyle. Scott and I got some ice cream while the kids swam. I took Mackenzie back early so I could get her ready for formal night without anyone else in the room.

As soon as she was ready to go I sent her back to the club. We took her out in time for the 7 of us to go get pictures taken. Again a rare occasion so I bought those also. Then it was off to see Daisy Duck.

Dinner tonight was in Animator’s Palate. Mackenzie was not feeling the best with her asthma so Grandma and Grandpa said they would take her back to their room again for that night so Scott and I could go back to the bar. This however was an early night for me. I was back in the room by 11:00 pm. When I got back I already saw that Kelsey, Kyle and Rachael were all back in our room. In PJ’S just hanging out. So it was lights out for us.

Scott continued to stay out that night. He said he closed down Rockin Bar D, with Trent, Misty, and a few other people. Then he went walking around the ship.

It was not until I was getting ready for bed that I realized why Mickey never called this morning. Our phone was off the hook. Scott must have hit the phone in his sleep last night and no one noticed it. :confused3

[MinnMick01]

Sorry Carrie, we were repeat cruisers and we got a #7! And there were people behind us in the repeat cruisers line with a #8. Luckily it went pretty fast.

So much for that theory. So I wonder what is there reasons behind who gets what number?

[MinnMick01]

Cute pictures, Carrie. But I think that first one is with Pocahontas; Mulan is Japanese. :goodvibes

Thank you. I caught it right after I hit the submit button so I went back and edited it.

[disgrits]

So much for that theory. So I wonder what is there reasons behind who gets what number?

Just lots of people I think.

[cntkg1]

We went from breakfast to our KK group photo session. That felt like the longest 10 minutes of the whole trip. We had some many people squeezing together to get in the photo and each of us had a camera that we waned it taken with that none of were sure which camera to look at and which ones were going off when. But it was a great experience.

Just jumping onboard (as opposed to overboard) here Carrie. I loved those 10 minutes! I wish they would've been longer. Snuggling up with 40 of my friends in one place was amazing. :love:

(Carrie, could you plz put a link to this thread in your siggie line so we can find it faster?)

BTW, isn't Mulan Chinese Brenda? :goodvibes

[MinnMick01]

Just jumping onboard (as opposed to overboard) here Carrie. I loved those 10 minutes! I wish they would've been longer. Snuggling up with 40 of my friends in one place was amazing. :love:

(Carrie, could you plz put a link to this thread in your siggie line so we can find it faster?)

BTW, isn't Mulan Chinese Brenda? :goodvibes

Thanks for the suggestion, I will go do it right now.

[oybolshoi]

BTW, isn't Mulan Chinese Brenda? :goodvibes

:rotfl2: :rotfl2: :rotfl2:

I do believe you're right. I plead ignorance since I never actually saw that movie. ;)

[MinnMick01]

:rotfl2: :rotfl2: :rotfl2:

I do believe you're right. I plead ignorance since I never actually saw that movie. ;)

Don't worry Brenda I have never seen the movie either. This whole thing happend because I was copying off the navigator. They had put Mulan and it was Pochantas (sp). So we can all thank the navigator for this mix up. :rotfl:

[Karen Mouse]

Thank you Karen, but I think Planktons trippie is much better. You have since of humor that I just don't have. Hey put your link to the report on her so others can check it out.


I have no idea how to do it:confused3 - but thanks for the plug anyway:thumbsup2 :goodvibes


Also, the number ticket thing at the terminal - I think they give out 2's to the first people in line, then 3's etc etc. 1's are kept back for concierge I believe. Not sure but I think thats hoe it works.

[disgrits]

Just jumping onboard (as opposed to overboard) here Carrie. I loved those 10 minutes! I wish they would've been longer. Snuggling up with 40 of my friends in one place was amazing. :love:



I agree Nancy. I love chaos like that. :crazy: :crowded: :crazy: I was near Baby Kira and I figured if she was happy (being our mascot/good luck charm), we were all happy. She was great as I recall. I giggled the entire time.:goodvibes

[TIGGER/POOH4]

Thanks for sharing the pics and info on your cruise. We are taking the Western cruise in May. We can not wait. It is really nice to see the pics and report, so we can see what fun we are in for.

[minnieandmickey]

Doin and awesome job Miss Carrie, looking forward to the rest.:thumbsup2

[MinnMick01]

Tuesday, October 23, 2007
DAY 3
GRAND CAYMAN

http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x104/minnmick01/97887dc0.jpg

Today we have chosen to split up. When we were planning the trip Scott thought that the older kids would like to snorkel but since Mackenzie can not snorkel I still wanted her to see the fish so we decided that he would take them snorkeling while Mackenzie and I did something else. Well long story short. Kelsey and Kyle did not want to snorkel, but I already booked something for Mackenzie and I.

Grandma wanted to take Kelsey today so they could do some shopping. So Kelsey ate breakfast with them and spent most of the morning with them. When Grandma got tired they went back on the ship and Kelsey took off to be with friends.

Mackenzie and I had to be up before anybody in our family. So we snuck out of the room and went to Topsiders. Mackenzie is not much of a breakfast person and much rather had continued sleeping and skipped breakfast today. But I could not skip my cream of wheat. So she had some fruit. After breakfast we were off to the theater in order to get our ticket to take the tender. I must say DCL had this very organized. I have been on other lines, and when you tender you just go down to the tender ship and everyone gets backed up and crowded down there until you manage to get on a boat. It is completely disorganize. DCL was just the opposite. Just because I like to be early to everything we got to the theater at 6:45am. They did not hand out tickets until 7:00am and the first tender was 7:30 am. The first tender was for cast members to go on land to set everything up. So we got tender number two at 7:40 am. We ran into some more Kkers in the theater and they took the same tender over with us. We get on the tender and notice that it is very cloudy and raining in parts. But we are safe no rain for us. As we sit on the tender waiting for it to fill up the clouds move in fast and it starts pouring. Mackenzie wanted to sit in the front row. So we are getting soaked and the waves are getting rough from the storm so now water is coming over the edge. The tender is hit the side of the ship which is making more water come in. The storm only last 10 minutes but they did not let anyone board the tender during the storm. So now it stops raining and people are getting on. Tender is still not full. We wait about 10 more minutes and get hit by the storm again. The tender did not want to sail in the storm so we just continued to sit there. We made it on land about 8:15 am. Why did we get up so early? For this
http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x104/minnmick01/d50b8cfc.jpg
Even though it took us forever to get to land we were still early. I did not realize how close Atlantis was to the dock. We booked a submarine ride through the company not DCL. So we had to make sure we were checked in my 9:30 am for 10:00 am. ride. So Mackenzie and I walked around town. Not to many shops are open at that time. But we decided we were hungry again so we stopped at this rum cake shop. Mackenzie got a Popsicle and I sampled every kind of rum cake they had. YUMMY. At this point we gave up and when to check in at Atlantis. It was only 9:00 am. So we looked around their shop and then went to their outside waiting area and watched the crabs on the shore.
http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x104/minnmick01/29ad9dd5.jpg
http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x104/minnmick01/94af9cb6.jpg
While we were out there Scott and Kyle happened to come by. They stayed with us until we had to board. Kyle and Mackenzie were collecting snails. Scott said they had been on land for a while but all they had done was watch crabs on the shore. It was time for Mackenzie and I to board. Ok mom hold it together, I don’t need to have another panic attack when it is just Mackenzie and I and a whole bunch of strangers. I did pretty well. The walking down the ladder backwards was a little rough for me because it was in a small space but once that was over I did ok. Now I did get a little upset and told a person off while inside the sub. The middle of the sub is 2 rows of seats. They are all connected. I don’t mean to offend anyone here, but the person on my left was a lady who was a little large and hung over her seat into mine. I was ok with that since I don’t need the whole seat. But then the person on Mackenzie’s right was a man who was a little large also and hung over on her side. So her and I were sharing one seat. The company would not let her sit on my lap. Well our seats were not in front of a window. Hint to people doing this. You are supposed to share your window. The way it works out is 2 people per window. The lady that I should have shared my window with was rude right off the bat. Mackenzie went to look out that window and the lady yelled at her to stay out of her window that she needed her window to take pictures. A few times Mackenzie tried to look out it and the lady pushed her away. I felt bad for Mackenzie and the guy that had the other window because she kept using his window and he was trying to take pictures also. He said it was ok for her to use his window. I could tell he was a Grandpa and was ok with her. But this other lady really made me mad. About half way through Mackenzie accidentally stepped on the ladies foot. Mackenzie said sorry right away but this lady started telling her how rude she was and that the world is not ran by snooty little brats like her. I went off on the lady. I told her she was the one being rude, and that she needs to learn how to share and be nice to children that do not understand why the company tells them to use a certain window and then a senile old pain in the *** won’t let her. I proceeded to tell her she could sit back and pout all she wanted to because my child will use her window for the rest of the trip. Needless to say that lady was not very happy with me or Mackenzie.
http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x104/minnmick01/f75a38d9.jpg
http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x104/minnmick01/6cc17403.jpg
So the ride is over. We met Scott and Kyle had Hard Rock for lunch. We ate at Hard Rock for our honeymoon so we wanted to do it again. Just like we remembered but they no longer had my veggie sandwich so Scott and I split fajitas. After lunch the 4 of us walked around for a little while and did some shopping.
http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x104/minnmick01/bdcf4735.jpg
We stopped at Margaretville for drink and ran into more Kkers.
http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x104/minnmick01/c6f7090d.jpg
http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x104/minnmick01/636c5c61.jpg
I just love running into all these people that I know. From there we went to get back on the tender. Kyle got stopped because of the snails get was carrying. He was told that he could not bring them back onto the ship. We walked right onto a tender and were back on the ship in a matter of 10 minutes.
http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x104/minnmick01/26451e87.jpg
So what is next, you guessed it. I was hungry again. Off to Pluto’s for chicken stripes, fries and then to Goofy’s for some grapes. Kyle and Mackenzie went to the pool. Mackenzie had a 3:00 pm appointment to get her hair braided. She was having a really hard time because her eyes were burning from the chlorine in the pool. It attributed to her asthma so she fussed for a little bit but then feel asleep while they were braiding her hair.
http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x104/minnmick01/44056bd3.jpg
I was carrying Mackenzie back to the room, as we walked by the adult pool area, the horn blew on the ship and woke her up. When we got to the room she wanted nothing to do with resting so I convinced her to sit and watch tv while I order room service so she can have a fruit bowl and I could have a sandwich. Scott went wondering around the ship and Kyle came back and watched tv for a little while. So we got ready for dinner. Kyle took off again and the 3 of us went to see JoJo and Goliath,
http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x104/minnmick01/e1d2029c.jpg
Mickey,
http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x104/minnmick01/bbfcd7e0.jpg
http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x104/minnmick01/a1fcc266.jpg
Stitch
http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x104/minnmick01/7cbbaf07.jpg
and Lilo.
http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x104/minnmick01/8c159f4e.jpg

Dinner tonight was back at Parrot Cay. Mackenzie must have been starving. She took her first piece of bread, then took another, and another, drank half her drink and fell asleep. Right there at the table.
http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x104/minnmick01/f10edb0c.jpg
Poor kid was worn out. Our server was great with this. He got 2 chairs and pushed them together to form a little bed for her, then he went and got a table cloth from a drawer and covered her with it as a blanket.
http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x104/minnmick01/fb5e8503.jpg
When her food came he kept the lid on it in case she woke up. She didn’t so he offered us to take it back to our room, but it was fish sticks so we decided to pass on that.

After dinner Kelsey and Kyle took off and we went back to the room to put Mackenzie to bed. Grandma and Grandpa said they would keep on ear on hear in case she woke up so we could go to the spring break bash at Rockin Bar D. Again we closed down the bar.

[oybolshoi]

There's a million dollar picture! :lmao: I'd post my Yankee Doodle ditty but this is probably not the place to be doing that. :rotfl2:



http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x104/minnmick01/bdcf4735.jpg

[disgrits]

http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x104/minnmick01/bdcf4735.jpg


:lmao: :lmao: :lmao:

[Kay1]

What a fantastic trip report. Your pictures are great, too. Makes me want to pick up the phone and reserve the next available cruise!

[cntkg1]

http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x104/minnmick01/bdcf4735.jpg

At least you know the chicken in Grand Cayman is fresh!
:lmao: :rotfl2: :lmao: :rotfl2: :lmao:
Excellent photography Carrie!!:thumbsup2

[j2bmickey]

Tuesday, October 23, 2007

I did not realize how close Atlantis was to the dock. We booked a submarine ride through the company not DCL. .

How did Mackenzie do in the submarine over all, besides the rude people? We had thought about this for the "triplets" but weren't sure how they would do or if they would like it.

[plutospup]

Great TR! It sounds like you folks had a very busy day in Grand Cayman. No wonder Mackenzie fell asleep (I think I would have, too!). Regarding the incident on the Atlantis sub - well done! It sounds like that old bag needed deflated.

[MinnMick01]

At least you know the chicken in Grand Cayman is fresh!
:lmao: :rotfl2: :lmao: :rotfl2: :lmao:
Excellent photography Carrie!!:thumbsup2

I can not take credit for that picture. Scott took it. Mackenzie and I were in a store shopping when he came up and showed me. I will pass the compliment on.

[MinnMick01]

How did Mackenzie do in the submarine over all, besides the rude people? We had thought about this for the "triplets" but weren't sure how they would do or if they would like it.

Overall she did ok. I think she got pretty board with it about half way through. For half of the trip we could see the wall. So the people on the other side saw nothing as we looked at it. Then they turned us around and we saw nothing while they saw the wall. That is when she got board. But what do you expect when there is nothing to look at. I was even getting board with it. It is nothing like suba or snorkeling. I much rather be right there in the water with the fish. But since our honeymoon when I got stung by a jelly fish you will not find me back in that water.

[MinnMick01]

Great TR! It sounds like you folks had a very busy day in Grand Cayman. No wonder Mackenzie fell asleep (I think I would have, too!). Regarding the incident on the Atlantis sub - well done! It sounds like that old bag needed deflated.

Thank you. I am not the type of person to tell some one off like that and I felt really bad about it after the fact. I try to be the bigger person but she was just down right rude to my kid and I did not like that. Every day was busy like this. Now I know why it took me two weeks to recover when we got home.

[Tart Annihilator]

Great Trippie Carrie.

I'm lovin the pics. :thumbsup2

Robin :)

[frdeb1999]

Great TR!! Love all the pics...although the chicken one is priceless! :)

[GOS]

Great trip report so far Carrie. I agree with you about the water sales pitch on the ship. I wish DCL would stop it.

[MinnMick01]

October 24, 2007
Day 5
COZUMEL

I will tell you right now. I have been to Cozumel 2 other times and I have never been impressed with this stop. Scott has been one other time and liked the fact that we did the horseback ruins the time he went but as be put it before we went. “Been there done that” So we did not plan anything for this stop. I really did not even want to get off the ship. However, I felt that the kids needed the experience. So we agreed that we would get off and just walk around.

The seven of us went to breakfast at Topsiders. You guessed it cream of wheat for me. Oh I kept forgetting to tell you all. Scott had made to order omelets every morning also. Grandma and Grandpa decided that they were not going to go off this time so they stay on the ship and did their own thing. When we got back for the day I did find out that they attempted to get off but the wind was way to strong for my mom so the turned around and got back on the ship.

Kelsey went off with Rachael and her Parents. I must say thank you to Cheryl and Al. The adopted a daughter the entire week. We really appreciate you allowing Kelsey to become a part of your family for the week. Kelsey’s opinion of Cozumel was “yuck, I really don’t like this place do we have to get back off the ship if we come back?”

So it was just Scott, myself, Kyle and Mackenzie for the day. As we were walking off the ship you feel so small because the dock they used, we parked on one side and a Carnival ship parked on the other.
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Once we rounded the ship we noticed that it was very windy and the tide was very high. So we decided there would be no beach time since Mackenzie was not a strong swimmer. We stopped to take pictures by the ship and ran into more Kkers. Scott #2, Lori, Alex and Julia.
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The Scott’s got to talking and Scott #2 told us that they were going to take a taxi to some place to look at ruins and then to a beach for the afternoon. They invited us to go along with them and share a taxi. We quickly agreed to go.
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Come to find out that both Scott’s love ruins and history. Lori and I could care less. So we were letting the kids run around and do their own thing.
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After the ruins Lori agreed that the weather had gotten worse and that it was not beach weather so we all took the taxi back to the shopping area.
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We all started shopping when Mackenzie started having melt down. She was hungry and I did not want to risk eating anything there. So I kept putting her off until the melt down got really bad. At which point we left Scott #2, Lori and family and started walking back to the ship. Scott was still shopping so I told him that Mackenzie and I would head back to the ship and meet them back in the room. Her and I were walking back and she admitted that all the people standing around outside the shops scared her, so we crossed the street and walked by the wall the separated us and the ocean. The tide was so high that the waves were hitting it and splashing on us. While walking across the dock the window was pushing her and I backwards so it took us a really long time getting across the dock. We got back on the ship and she was so stressed out that she did not want to be around people so we went back to our room and order room service for lunch. She got another fruit bowl, split a sandwich with me and a bag of chips, then we each got cookies. We sat on the verandah just the two of us and at lunch. She was sitting there watching the people on the Carnival and when ever she saw one on the deck or on their verandah she would yell “Hi person, I am on the Disney cruise, with Mickey and Minnie and Stitchy. Wish you could be here to.”

Scott and Kyle came back, Kyle admitted that he did not like Cozumel either. So as a family we have decided that if we are going back that we will stay on the ship.

Tonight was pirate night so we decided that the 5 of us were going to go take the pirate line dancing lessons. Kyle ditched us along the way. I must say Scott was such a good sport. He was out there for every song dancing with his girls. Granted Kelsey was really embarrassed to be there, let alone with her father. While there we ran into more Kker’s, Rose and Bob. By the time the dancing was done you could tell that us adults are not nearly as fit at we used to be.
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The storm that was sitting over us all day was getting worse and as we sailed out the Captain picked up speed to get us far enough out of it to be able to do the fireworks during the pirate party. So dinner was really rough. You could see that Kelsey was being affected by it but she stuck it out. Kyle on the other hand walked out of dinner and went back to the room. Because we had second seating we knew that we were going to ship dessert in order to get to the party. I must tell you right now our head server the one we really never saw did not like that much. After Kyle left Kelsey asked if she could go meet Rachael so she left. Then Scott and I decided to leave while my parents stayed to have dessert. As we were walking out the head server walked up to me and put his hand on my shoulder and says “We are getting ready to do a show here, it would be appreciated it you sit back down and give us the respect of watching our show.” I told him. “We are heading to the pirate party up on deck” He said “You can wait and watch our show first.” I looked at him and then back at my parents. I told them what he said and my father laughed and I walked out to catch up with Scott. I thought that was rude of the head server. If they know that there is a pirate show on deck why drag dinner out so long that you will miss their show. Sorry sir but we had looked forward to that party for month before going.

So Scott, Mackenzie and I made it up to the deck before the party started. I was a fun party but I tended to notice a lot of kids under 5 falling asleep on shoulders, backs, the ground, where ever they could. All the parents wanted to be out there at the party and the kids were just dropping. I got to give the kids credit that kept on dancing to every song. I could not do it any longer. The firework show was well worth it. It was so neat to see fireworks out in the middle of the ocean with no city lights.

After the party, Kelsey went out with Rachael. Scott, myself and Mackenzie went back to our room to check on Kyle. Grandma and Grandpa missed the fireworks. It was Kyle’s night in with Grandma and Grandpa so in he went. Mackenzie went fast to sleep and Grandma and Grandpa kept an ear on her. Scott and I went to the bars. But it was a slow night so we just came back to the room around midnight.

Would you believe this is the one and only day that we did not stand in line for Characters? I just realized that.

[Timon]

:goodvibes Great trippie Carrie!!

Sounds like you had a few kinks but that you still had lots of fun! I also loved the KFC photo! I avoid KFC here so I can't even imagine eating there in GC!! :eek:

Looking forward to the rest! :cool1:

[MinnMick01]

October 25, 2007
DAY 6
DAY AT SEA

I love sea days. :banana: I wish I could find a 7-day cruise that never stopped. This morning was our character breakfast. It was in Parrot Cay. I think this is the best place for the character breakfast. I will say again I am not impressed with this. I am used to the character breakfasts where they have all the characters that go from table to table and visit with the children and do pictures and autographs. So to see this was defiantly a disappointment not only for me, but think about the serving staff that has to do their job around all the running kids and all the parents like me that get up and take pictures. Not only that but there were a few handicap children that could not get up and dance with the rest of the kids and characters. I actually saw one little girl crying because she could not join in. It broke my heart because the characters never stopped by her table either. Her mother made the comment of, “now we know that we do not have to do this breakfast again and I am sorry I put you through it.”:sad2:
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So today we took it easy. We went and played Bingo. You defiantly are not on a Holland America ship playing bingo. The cost of the tickets was $25 for one ticket or $60 for 6 tickets. Which the prizes where higher which was nice. A fellow Kker won the big jackpot at the end of the week along with another person. But also for those die-hard bingo players it does get load and out of control. Kids are allowed to play as long as an adult is present so the kids start yelling, “shake it up” over and over.

We got Mulan,
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Minnie Mouse,
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and Max’s pictures and autographs.
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Scott went to the beer tasting with some other Kker’s.
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We went to the graduation ceremony for the kids programs.
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We found the teen hang out and got to go through there.
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It is really a nice place for teens just to get away from the little kids and adults and just hang out. Kind of like Cove Café for us adults. :love: We also found Ocean Quest and went in there to look around. I am amazed that Kyle has not been in here more. It is all computer stuff, game systems. Really neat for the kids who are into that, which Kyle is. We watched the ice carving for a little while but Mackenzie got board with it and I took her back to the kids club.

Mackenzie went to the kids club to Do Si Do with Snow White. She loved it. We let the kids club take her to lunch. We had no idea that they would actually take the kids to get meals until today. So that was nice that she got to eat with her friends and Scott and I went back up to Pluto's and got food for lunch.

Dinner was semi formal, so again we took advantage of getting some professional pictures taken before dinner. Dinner went ok. After dinner we all split up again. It was Kelsey’s turn to sleep with Grandma and Grandpa so she went back with them. Kyle went to hang out with friends. Mackenzie went to the kids club and Scott and I went back to Rockn Bar D. To listen to one hit wonders and close the bar down again.

[MinnMick01]

October 26, 2007
DAY 7
CAST AWAY

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I must say that even though there is not a lot of shopping at this stop that it was the best stop out of all of them.

This morning was just like any other morning. Off to Topsiders for breakfast. Yummy Cream of Wheat. Do you think DCL would ship me Cream of Wheat every morning for breakfast? I just can not do it justice. The 7 of us had breakfast together. Grandma and Grandpa decided that they would go on land on their own after everyone else gets off. So the 5 of us are heading off the ship. We wanted to go check out the kid clubs on land because Scott and I had an excursion and did not want to leave the kids alone. Before we even got off the ship Rachael found us and suggested that Kelsey could stay with them while we did our excursion. So we said that was fine that we would meet back up with Kelsey for lunch. Away they went. Kyle got off the ship with us. But shortly after getting off we stopped for pictures and ran into Rachael’s family and Kelsey. So he asked if he could stay with them also. They said yes, and we again said that we would meet them for lunch. So Scott, myself and Mackenzie decided to walk to the kids area instead of taking the tram. We stopped for pictures along the way.
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After checking Mackenzie in, Scott and I went to find a place to put our stuff down. Shortly after finding a place her came Grandma and Grandpa. So we sat with them for a little bit. Then told them we were going to head off to our excursion early to see if it was canceled due to the wind. We decided that we were going to go parasailing. As we were leaving my mother asked where Kyle was because she wanted to go Kayaking with him. I explained that he was with Rachael’s family and Kelsey. I could tell the my mother was disappointed because she had talked about doing this for months before she got ill. But since she got ill I thought that she was not going to do it again. So Scott and I walked back to check in for parasailing. We checked in and I took a few pictures of the Kkers that left before us. Then I started feeling bad about my mother and Kyle so I ran back to where my parents where and asked her if I could find Kyle would she want to still do it. She said yes. I had no idea how large that island is. I ran around it for 30 minutes looking for Kyle, Kelsey or Rachael. I never did find them. I ran back by my parents and told them I could not find him and ran all the way back to the excursion place.

Parasailing was fantastic. :cool1: :banana: I have never been on a speed boat before or parasailing since I am afraid of heights. The driver told us to hide all cameras because they will get wet. Then he explains to hang on to the handlebars as a seat belt. Well myself and one other person did not understand him and we were looking for seat belts when he kicked it into high gear. We got bounced around pretty good, and got very wet getting to the place we were to parasail at. Scott and I went tandem. It was fantastic. It was so peaceful up there. And not to mention I do not have an issue with heights now that I am home.

After parasailing Scott and I took the shuttle back to where it drops off. We went to were we left our stuff and my parents at and they were gone but our stuff was there. It started raining and the people next to us said that my parents left a while ago. So we assumed they went back to the boat. Scott and I went to look for the kids. We looked for about a half hour. The line for lunch was long and there was only 30 minutes left. So I told Scott that we needed to get Mackenzie and get lunch. On the way to lunch we find Kyle. He joins us at lunch because Scott decided to take him and some of his friends snorkeling after lunch. We saw Kelsey and she was eating lunch. She said she would come back to us when she was done.

After lunch we went back to find a new place to sit that was closer to the water. We noticed that Grandma and Grandpa were back in our original seats so we went back there and put our stuff down. Scott and the boys went snorkeling. Grandma, Mackenzie and I went to the swimming area and let Mackenzie swim for a little while. Then we went back and sat down. Mackenzie built a sand castle with Grandma.

Kelsey found us. I told her I was getting ready to go back on the ship with Mackenzie, Grandma and Grandpa that she could either come with me or wait there for dad. She said she would wait for dad. So off the 4 of us went back to the ship. Mackenzie and I went back into our room and ordered room service for cookies, and fruit. I finished packing all the suitcases.

About 3:30 pm. Scott came into the room looked around and asked where Kelsey was. Needless to say he went back down to check in and found out that she was not back on the ship. :scared1: The ship was leaving at 4:30. So Scott went running back on land asking every Kker he passed if they had seen Kelsey, Rachael or her parents. Come to find out he found Kelsey shopping at the shops.

After the whole family was back on board we all went around just looking at the ship and talking more pictures. Nothing spectacular. We went to dinner. Again nothing spectacular. Except I was able to keep the menu from tonight. I asked every night if I could keep the menu and they said no they were not allowed. But this time they let me.
After dinner we went to the character signing party. We only needed Donald Duck.
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So we asked where he would be and were first in line.

After that Mackenzie went to say good bye at the club. We took her back to the room with the other kids and Grandma and Grandpa kept and ear on them while Scott and I went to the bar to say goodbye to everyone. That is always the hardest part is saying goodbye. :wave: We were back in the room and in bed by midnight.

[goofyfreak]

Carrie, it is great so far. I haven't finished it all but I am working on it. I love the pic of Julia and Mackenzie holding hands. I SOOOOOOOO want a copy of that.:hug:

[Karen Mouse]

loving your report Carrie and brilliant photos.

[MinnMick01]

Saturday, October 27, 2007
DISEMBARKATION :sad2: AND TRAVEL DAY

We have what we considered to be an early flight out today. Our flight left at 11:45am. So we knew that it was going to be a rushed morning. We had no idea what to expect when it came to disembarking. The other lines I have been on normally have certain colored luggage tags all meet in a certain place and you sit there until your color is called. I have never been off a ship before 11:00am before and it is always crowded trying to get off the ship. DCL was completely different. Breakfast your last day is back in the restaurant that you had dinner at your first night. You are assigned certain times to eat. However all the times would have made us late for our flight. So back to Topsiders we went. :banana: Yippee one more morning of Cream of Wheat. We ran into a few more Kkers during breakfast. This time we were smart. We went and put our luggage down first and then went and got food. If we would have been thinking we could have probably left our luggage in the room and gone back for it. But we did not know.

So after breakfast we went straight to the atrium, which is where you line up to get off the ship. There were already people in line. But not many, we ended up right about at the elevator closest to the service desk. We only waited in line about 10 minutes and then they opened the doors and away we went.

*Just a note. When you put your luggage tags on look at the color and the character. In the terminal they have large signs that state the color, but small signs the state the character. So if you do not know your color it will take you a while to find your luggage.

We found all our luggage and got in line to clear customs. Very quick and painless procedure. We walk outside of the terminal to find the DCL bus to take us to the airport and what did we find. An airport check in desk. We got to check in for our flight right there at the curb and they took all our luggage except for our carry ons right there. We went over to the bus and check in. They put us on the second bus and away we went. Very depressing watching the ship get smaller and smaller as we drove away. They played another DCL advertisement movie on the way but honestly I was to depressed to watch it.

We got to the airport in plenty of time thank goodness. Because Scott caused even more issues for us. I will admit that when it comes to security check points I was in charge of getting Mackenzie’s shoes back on, her luggage, my luggage and making sure that my mother was taken care of and getting her shoes and purse, and carry on. They all thought I had 8 arms. So I am busy doing all this and Scott comes up to me with an airport person next to him and says can I have my airline ticket and I will meet you at the gate. The person had our backpack in their hands and was not letting go of it. As he was walking away with this person he said we packed the wine in the carry on and shouldn’t have. :scared1: WHOOPS! We all thought that the wine would be safer in the carry on then in the luggage. We forgot that you cannot have more then 2 oz. of liquid in your carry on.

So the 6 of us go onto the gate. We had about an hour and half before the plane would board. About 45 minutes into our wait Scott came running around the corner. Poor guy. The airport person took him to curb side check in to see if our luggage was still there to put the bottle in that. No luck. So then they told him that he would have to check the bottle by itself or throw it out. He was not about to throw it out. So he asked the people at curb check in if he could have the box that was sitting on the ground. The guy told him no. So Scott took off running through the airport to the Disney store. He explained his situation and the guy working there (named Mickey) said “oh not a problem sir, let me have the bottle and give me a few minutes.” Mickey disappeared into the back and a few minutes later came out with a box completely sealed and ready to go. He put fragile stickers on it and even Disney stickers on it. Told Scott to have a great day and away Scott went back to curb side check in. He checked the box and came to meet us.

Once he joined us him and I went to get something to eat. 10:00 in the morning and I get a giant piece of pizza. Not the best but what can you say for airport food. This is when he told me the story. So we walked back and then Kelsey and Kyle decided they wanted something to drink so he walked back with them to get drinks. Grandma and Grandpa at this point went to get something to drink and eat also.

We all boarded the plane. We only had about an hour and half flight and then we would have to change planes. Our plane leaving Florida was late leaving. We only had an hour to start with between planes. When we landed we only had 30 minutes to get to our next flight.:eek: I was so concerned with making sure the kids kept up with us for our run, that I noticed that we were only about 5 gates away, but I herded the five of us to the left and we ran. We ran about 10 gates before we realized that we were going in the wrong direction. I turned around to tell Grandma and Grandpa to turn around and they were not with us. Great I lost my parents in the airport. :crazy2: So I told Scott lets get to the gate and hold the plane and I will go look for them at that point. We get to the gate and notice it is not going to Arizona. We look around and found out that our flight was moved across the building to the other side. So we get over there and there are my parents standing there asking us what took so long. :mad: We walked right onto the plane.

We landed in Arizona early. Somehow we gained an hour in the air. It took a little longer then usual to get all our luggage but we got it and went outside to get a shuttle. We waiting about 20 minutes for a shuttle and off we went back to Grandmas house. After we got there we all went to IHOP for dinner and then we all went back to our own homes.

That was the end of our trip. I hope that you found my report helpful and if you have any questions feel free to ask me. I also have more picture of things so if there is something you want to see ask me and I can try to post it for you.

[MinnMick01]

Just another side not. Kelsey never went to the kids club. She was at the odd age of being 12 almost 13. She felt she was to old for the kids club and she was to young to get into the teens club. So once she found Racheal she had not reason to go into the club.

[MinnMick01]

Also. We did not pay much attention to the activities in the kid club for Mackenzie. We just dropped her off when ever we had time to. When we do it again we will pay attention to what they are doing and check her in for those activities. This time around she missed flubber, and baking cookies. Along with alot of other things that I think she would have liked to do.

[dlf246]

Great, great trip report!

A question and then I'll explain:
Did your room steward ever seem uncomfortable with your switching the kids between the rooms each night?

On our '06 cruise, we did similarly, and each night our steward seemed to get more annoyed. In response to our own trip report, a poster said that DCL has the stewards keeping track of which child is in which room for security reasons.

[GOS]

Thanks Carrie. Great trippee. Did the bottle make it?

[Dyerneeds]

great report carrie!:thumbsup2
for those of you not lucky enough to be on this cruise, carrie and scott(aka,candyman) are great!!! a lot of fun and the nicest people.:grouphug:

[minnieandmickey]

I really enjoyed reading all of this, you did an awesome job. Keeping our fingers crossed that we get to cruise with you , Scott, and family for kk2.
I agree with Mike you 2 are awesome people and parents.

[MinnMick01]

Great, great trip report!

A question and then I'll explain:
Did your room steward ever seem uncomfortable with your switching the kids between the rooms each night?

On our '06 cruise, we did similarly, and each night our steward seemed to get more annoyed. In response to our own trip report, a poster said that DCL has the stewards keeping track of which child is in which room for security reasons.

I don't think he was bothered by it at all. He actually had some fun with it and would switch the kids stuff animals from room to room, he would get things from our room for Grandma and Grandpas towel animal. Which was always different then ours. He knew it was happening and never said more then "Hey who won the coin toss to sleep with the old couple."

[MinnMick01]

Thanks Carrie. Great trippee. Did the bottle make it?

The bottle did make it home safe and sound. When we were waiting to board the plane in Florida we actually saw it go up the luggage belt into the plain. I thought for sure it would not make it in one piece, but it did.

[MinnMick01]

great report carrie!:thumbsup2
for those of you not lucky enough to be on this cruise, carrie and scott(aka,candyman) are great!!! a lot of fun and the nicest people.:grouphug:

Thank you so much. You are so sweet. Thanks for being such a good sport about the bra. :rotfl:

[MinnMick01]

I really enjoyed reading all of this, you did an awesome job. Keeping our fingers crossed that we get to cruise with you , Scott, and family for kk2.
I agree with Mike you 2 are awesome people and parents.

I am keeping my fingers crossed also. I would love to cruise will all of you again. Thank you so much:grouphug:

[mistyeyes]

great report carrie!:thumbsup2
for those of you not lucky enough to be on this cruise, carrie and scott(aka,candyman) are great!!! a lot of fun and the nicest people.:grouphug:

I'm new to the DIS boards, but I did have the pleasure of meeting Carrie and Scott on the cruise. The two of you are great. Thanks for welcoming me!

Can't wait to go again!

[Scouter]

Carrie, great trip report!:thumbsup2

Miss you guys:hug:


Curious....... what KK'r won the bingo jackpot? How big was it?

Oh, PM me if you want to keep it private.

[MinnMick01]

I'm new to the DIS boards, but I did have the pleasure of meeting Carrie and Scott on the cruise. The two of you are great. Thanks for welcoming me!

Can't wait to go again!

Hey Misty

It is great that you found the site. I know that Scott and I had a great time hanging out with you in Rockin Bar D. From what I heard you managed to get Scott out on the dance floor even when I was not there. Thank you.

[MinnMick01]

Carrie, great trip report!:thumbsup2

Miss you guys:hug:


Curious....... what KK'r won the bingo jackpot? How big was it?

Oh, PM me if you want to keep it private.

Thank you and I did send you a pm concerning the bingo. We miss you to.

[mistyeyes]

Hey Misty

It is great that you found the site. I know that Scott and I had a great time hanging out with you in Rockin Bar D. From what I heard you managed to get Scott out on the dance floor even when I was not there. Thank you.

Scott was fun.:banana: I think he was just being nice to me since I was in the bar ... by myslef. I kick myself for being shy and not coming to join you on the last night. I was supposed to be off my feet, so I thought if I could keep an eye on both doors I'd stay out of trouble. Now that I look back on it, I would have gotten up and danced anyway!:woohoo:

[Dyerneeds]

Robin here...

Great Trippie Carrie,

Rockin Bar D was the place to be, wasn't it?

We miss you guys. :hug: Tell the kids we said hi. :thumbsup2

[MinnMick01]

Scott was fun.:banana: I think he was just being nice to me since I was in the bar ... by myslef. I kick myself for being shy and not coming to join you on the last night. I was supposed to be off my feet, so I thought if I could keep an eye on both doors I'd stay out of trouble. Now that I look back on it, I would have gotten up and danced anyway!:woohoo:

No way. Scott is not that type of guy. He is naturally nice. He came back the first night he was with you and told me all about you. I was glad that there was someone that could keep him company since I was crashing early some nights. If you don't mind me asking why were supposed to be off your feet? I think I missed that one somewhere. Our group is looking at going again in Oct 2009, if we all happen to make it you are more then willing to join us on the dance floor.

[MinnMick01]

Robin here...

Great Trippie Carrie,

Rockin Bar D was the place to be, wasn't it?

We miss you guys. :hug: Tell the kids we said hi. :thumbsup2

Rockin Bar D was the best place to be. That is the most fun we have had in a bar ever. WE miss you guys also. I told them hi. They are both into their show so it went right over them. Mackenzie however keeps asking about Underdog.

[mistyeyes]

No way. Scott is not that type of guy. He is naturally nice. He came back the first night he was with you and told me all about you. I was glad that there was someone that could keep him company since I was crashing early some nights. If you don't mind me asking why were supposed to be off your feet? I think I missed that one somewhere. Our group is looking at going again in Oct 2009, if we all happen to make it you are more then willing to join us on the dance floor.

I had the privilege of having a friend who is a Dr. traveling with us. I was having trouble with swelling in my left leg. He told me 3 nights in a row ... no Rockin Bar D. He actually caught me down there one night. I told him I couldn't help myself. I love music and love to dance. I think he finally gave up on me, but that last night he said stay off the feet since we had such a long drive the next morning. Did I listen?:rolleyes1

Scott was a trooper for hanging in there. :cool1: I love that he tried to do the Cupid Shuffle. I think everyone had it by Friday night! I'm just glad he was there when "Scary Guy" :scared1: showed up ... again!

Marti and I had already planned on going in Oct. 09, but now we're talking Dec/Jan 08/09 ... and Oct 09. (We think we need to go sans parents!) Since this was my first cruise, I'm hooked!

It's funny. I joke about emailing DJ Mike to ask if it's ok with him for me to lie to my co-workers that we fell in love. In the pictures I showed them, they keep telling me how cute he is (which he is!), and what a cute couple we make.:love: IN MY DREAMS! I do miss his accent.

[MinnMick01]

I had the privilege of having a friend who is a Dr. traveling with us. I was having trouble with swelling in my left leg. He told me 3 nights in a row ... no Rockin Bar D. He actually caught me down there one night. I told him I couldn't help myself. I love music and love to dance. I think he finally gave up on me, but that last night he said stay off the feet since we had such a long drive the next morning. Did I listen?:rolleyes1

Scott was a trooper for hanging in there. :cool1: I love that he tried to do the Cupid Shuffle. I think everyone had it by Friday night! I'm just glad he was there when "Scary Guy" :scared1: showed up ... again!

Marti and I had already planned on going in Oct. 09, but now we're talking Dec/Jan 08/09 ... and Oct 09. (We think we need to go sans parents!) Since this was my first cruise, I'm hooked!

It's funny. I joke about emailing DJ Mike to ask if it's ok with him for me to lie to my co-workers that we fell in love. In the pictures I showed them, they keep telling me how cute he is (which he is!), and what a cute couple we make.:love: IN MY DREAMS! I do miss his accent.

Sorry to hear about your leg. To you get it checked out when you got home. Hope everything is ok with it now.

Scott was a great sport with all the new dances. You missed him on Pirate night learning all the pirate line dances before dinner. He is really trying to learn the new stuff so he can stay current with his oldest.

I am hooked also but we are not sure if we can make it for Oct. 08. The kids can not miss any more school. They are only allowed 10 days a semester. We missed 8 days and betwee braces and being sick Kelsey is at her 10 already.

Oh I agree that DJ Mike is cute. My daughter loved the fact that whenever he saw her he played her song for her. She would say "Mommy I like this guy, and he is cute to."

I would like to make sure the DJ Mike and Trent would be on the same cruise that we take again. They made it a lot of fun.

[mistyeyes]

I'm still seeing the Doc about the leg. Since we had a 19 hour drive home after the cruise, "Rainman" turned into a longer drive, but my leg did have fever. He is setting up appts for sonograms to make sure I don't have a blood clot. :sad1:

Btw, I call my mother "Rainman" since she can't sit in a car for long periods ... we were only about 7 hours into the drive to Florida when she started flipping all over the front seat ... feet in the window, pounding on her thigh, singing old commercials from her era ... Helped me stay awake though!

[gossipgirl]

I'm still seeing the Doc about the leg. Since we had a 19 hour drive home after the cruise, "Rainman" turned into a longer drive, but my leg did have fever. He is setting up appts for sonograms to make sure I don't have a blood clot. :sad1:

Btw, I call my mother "Rainman" since she can't sit in a car for long periods ... we were only about 7 hours into the drive to Florida when she started flipping all over the front seat ... feet in the window, pounding on her thigh, singing old commercials from her era ... Helped me stay awake though!
any twice charmed pics.

[MinnMick01]

any twice charmed pics.

No, we did not make it to the shows. There was so much standing in line for characters and stuff that we did not get to enjoy the shows. Maybe next time.

[RLccweems]

At least you know the chicken in Grand Cayman is fresh!
:lmao: :rotfl2: :lmao: :rotfl2: :lmao:
Excellent photography Carrie!!:thumbsup2

OMG!!!!!!! :rotfl2: :rotfl: :rotfl2:

[MomsOf2boys]

I just found your trippie. Great job Carrie! We are going to the World in September and maybe I will do a trippie then...

[MinnMick01]

I just found your trippie. Great job Carrie! We are going to the World in September and maybe I will do a trippie then...

I am so glad you found it. I have not checked this thread in a long time. We just got back from DL and in middle of a trip report on that one. If you have time check it out. If you do one from your trip let me know I would love to read it.

The old group is still going. They are all going on another cruise together so I pop in and say hi when I have time.

[ears4all!]

Great trip report! I love these reports that are sooooooo detailed......we are going on our first cruise this October on the Wonder.....sooooooo excited :dance3: . I hope I remember to post a cruise report (well duh I will...lol) Great report!

[MinnMick01]

Great trip report! I love these reports that are sooooooo detailed......we are going on our first cruise this October on the Wonder.....sooooooo excited :dance3: . I hope I remember to post a cruise report (well duh I will...lol) Great report!

I am glad you liked it. If you have any questions please ask away. If I do not have the answer I have plenty of contacts that might. Just a tip. Make time everynight before you go to bed to journal about your day. Maybe not the whole day but the highlights that you don't want to forget then when you get back home and have time you can write up a report without forgetting things. That is what I have done on both of my trip reports.

I also type them up in word and then insert my photos after I have it typed up. When the whole report is done I print out a copy to put in box of things that I am saving my our daughter for when she grows up. That way not only does she have her things that she remembers but she can look back on how I remembered it also.

If you write a report let me know I will gladly read it.

[ears4all!]

Thanks for that offer..........the reason I updated was b/c I was asking you where you're other trip report was.....while it was in your signature!

[ears4all!]

Forgot if it was in the thread......did you decorate your door? We don't know if it is worth our precious time. We got four days....four days in paradise. Use every minute, squeeze it out & get all that you can out of it, and don't give any of it back. So should we use those minutes to decorate the door?

[MomsOf2boys]

PART TWO OF IT’S THE BIG DAY
:
http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x104/minnmick01/b7c7d44c.jpg


Hey Carrie.... I was reading the posts over on the Bob page from their trip and popped over here to yours again just to reread it. Cruise envy is building... almost time to book another!

Anyway, I didn't notice before but on this picture... over on the left hand side of the ears is my oldest son and my youngest wearing the Mickey hat/ears waiting to board.... We did have #1's so I think they do save them all for concierge guests and wedding party people. Anyway, too funny so I clipped this picture as we didn't get one of the ears.