KC's Western POST trip report 4/19-4/26

[King Charming]

Subtitle: How much does a cruise cost AFTER you buy your tickets???

I finally lost the rocking feeling I experienced all day Saturday. It was an amusing going away present from DCL that constantly reminded me of the most excellent time I just experienced.

For those who are follow-up readers of my PRE TR, you'll remember that money was a big issue with me. In order to realistically budget for this trip, you really have to know the numbers. What I would like this to become (in addition to bragging about what a great trip it was) is a reference guide for how much stuff costs, both on and off ship. Advice for tipping, when to have cash in your pocket, and info like telling your server/cashier your stateroom number as you hand them your KTTW card so they won't have to ask (it's a security thing in case someone gets their hands on your card and tries to charge with it :scared1: )

I took plenty of notes so I would remember to share my observations/opinions, so again you should expect a large volume of long windedness :rolleyes: .

When you read things here that you have heard before, it is because these things really do make life easier on board. A great example is the over the door shoe holder/organizer. Upon moving in to much smaller quarters than we are usually all used to, the small amount of available counter space quickly disappears. Rather than digging through 3 or 4 layers of junk and cussing the whole time, your daily stuff is right there. By putting the most common/useful/needed items here your life WILL be better:woohoo: .

As accurate as I'll try and be, policy, menus, and prices do change, so please expect to find out minor variations for yourself. For our cruise it was a brand new menu on Monday night, a change to the smoking policy, and updated liquid carry-on rules that took effect in the past 30 days.

Hypermommy will be posting photos of everything from the food to Hell itself once she sorts through all of them. We took about a thousand pics, but Kodak gets zip! Gotta love digital :banana: . I'm sure she will throw her two cents worth in also, thereby tripling your reading value:rotfl2: .

I'd like to space this out over the next few weeks to give everybody a chance to get in on this. Please feel free to add, clarify, or otherwise correct me. We can start with the travel to Orlando or/then the port, then cover each day of the cruise, the travel home, and final reflections.

So let me unpack, sort through my notes (I'm sure they are here somewhere) and I'll start on it. If I'm a little slow (again), go ahead and start without me; I'll be along as soon as the tram comes by...

[purplepeg]

I'm so excited:cool1: I can't wait to start reading:surfweb: say hi to hypermommy for me. I missed her kicking my butt about not getting my updates posted.(she hasn't missed anything):banana:

[Hypermommy]

You certainly don't mean that you haven't posted anything while I'm gone do you? I'll be checking out your TR next but, of course, I had to get to KCs first. :) I'll be adding here where I think relevant (whether it is or not will be up to the reader to decide) but I'll also be doing my own TR. Mine will be concentrating mostly on my feelings and what we did. I leave the money to KC to figure out since he's so good at it. I'm just really good at spending it... just ask him... he'll tell you that it's true.

Now if I could just quit swaying. :rotfl2: this is too funny

[hayanyujah847]

I'm excited to hear how your trip went~!!!

Welcome home to both of you~!! :goodvibes

[RLccweems]

Welcome home.....I can't wait to hear all about your trip!

[imheather]

I can't wait because I love to plan as far as money AND we will be leaving Saturday on the Western. Go Hurry and unpack!;)


Heather

[King Charming]

I'm still not ready to start, but thought about the 4 most important items. The first set is the stuff you need to invest in and bring along. The first is a watch for everybody. After you leave your stateroom, finding a clock is a real challenge. Bring your own and save the effort. Bring a camera and/or a video camera. With so many great backgrounds both on and off the ship, it is worth buying a new one (digital please). Light weight ones that can hang from a lanyard or pocket sized are best. The over the door shoe holder/organizer saved my sanity and worked as well as promised; bring two or three. Finally, bring your own stash, be it wine, beer, soda, or drugs - the legal kinds of course. The wine packages I saw listed prices of $179 and up. I'm sure the mark-up was at least 100%. Although I didn't finish all the beers I brought and therefore didn't try to buy any, I'm sure you can again save half by bringing as much as you can carry. It is a Coke ship and I drink alot of Pepsi. If you gotta have a Dr. Pepper (or another Pepsi) every day, bring your own. All liquids must now be brought aboard in your carry-on luggage, which will limit your options. Whatever your appetites, bring it along! The room in your luggage be needed at the end for new stuff bought, so this works well. Nobody goes snooping around in your bags either coming or going, and tipping the porters 2 bucks a bag helps keep everything moving quite nicely. If there is an X-ray machine it was well hidden, and I saw no sign of a K-9 presence anywhere at the port. In fact I was only stopped once by a security guard for being in an area I shouldn't have been, and he left me alone when I said I was just killing time before the ship left.
Now here are the 4 things you bring a small amount of and replace with stuff bought on board or in the ports. Liquor tops the list. The bottles you buy on the ship stay with THEM until the end of the cruise, but the savings make it worth it. Until then, go into the ports and bring a bottle or two back. The prices of rum and tequila were cheaper than here at home and seemed inline with what I would have expected. Next is cigarettes. Cartons of the most popular 8 or 10 brands were available on the ship for 16 bucks! The only 100's were B&H. If you smoke an off brand and are unwill to change, move this item to the first list as prices by the pack ranged from 5 bucks in KW to $3.75US in Hell. Cigars are available everywhere. Dominican and Cuban stoogies can be bought at all the ports. Although not as cheap as I expected, if you hunt around you can find acceptable prices. I paid a low of $12US to a high of $28US for Cubans in GC. There were others available at both higher and lower prices. Final item is shirts. The DCL polo and T-shirts and port of call T-shirts that you WILL be buying might as well get worn right away; why waste valuably suitcase room bringing another shirt? Anyone care to add to the list?

[Kim1964]

Final item is shirts. The DCL polo and T-shirts and port of call T-shirts that you WILL be buying might as well get worn right away; why waste valuably suitcase room bringing another shirt? Anyone care to add to the list?

:rotfl2: This is great advice! We're taking our first ever cruise next year (the western Caribbean) and it's taken me more than 20 years of marriage to convince DH to do it....I'll be stocking up on all the cruiseline gear for sure!

I can't wait to read your report!

[King Charming]

So I bought this neat little pad & pen set to write notes about everything I experienced. I thought this would be a good way of remembering things worth writting about. You get to be the judge as to whether I wasted 3 bucks on it. Having suffered from CRS for many years, it was the only way I was going to recall the little things that will help others to prepare for a cruise, or to help Castaway Club members re-live the experience. The very first entry was "Don't lose the pad!". I was able to keep up with my stuff, the kids not so well (more about that latter). The original plan was to leave around 10am, right after I returned from dropping off the two dogs at the kennel. The dogs got dropped off early enough, along with a weeks worth of treats for all the dogs there. Unfortunately, Hypermommy had to work till noon. This was the only time in the next 8 days that something came up causing us to alter our plans. I used the time to buy DS 12 and myself another pair of sneakers. I wanted a second nice pair in case mine got wet, and eating machine # 2 is just hard on clothes and always seems to need a pair. After spending 55 bucks we had matching pairs of black cons. The mini-van received 60 dollars worth of gas and the tire pressure was checked. Since I had already entered vacation mode, we stopped at one of our favorite oriental restaurants after DW got off work. I decided that since we will be eating good food all week for free, this would be my last chance to waste money this way. Thirty Washingtons later I began to wonder why I thought the spreadsheet I used to track expenses was so important if I was going to blow money this easily. We had a very good lunch anyway, eaten slowly as if already on island time, then hit the highway around 2pm. A new game, not played in over a year, sprang into being. The "Is that packed?" game was played by all for the first hour or so as we each listed things most dear to us.
I had forgotten about the tolls on the turnpike and highway over to Cocoa Beach. There are still no toll roads within 100 miles of Tallahassee, but Florida makes up for that in the southern half of the state. It was only 3 or 4 dollars (each way), but a rude reminder that there would be expenses I never thought of. From my door to the hotel was approx. 310 miles, covered in 270 minutes. Not a single traffic cop, highway patrolman, or slow-down the entire trip. I should hope everybody's trip down was so uneventful.

[nzdisneymom]

I had forgotten about the tolls on the turnpike and highway over to Cocoa Beach. There are still no toll roads within 100 miles of Tallahassee, but Florida makes up for that in the southern half of the state. It was only 3 or 4 dollars (each way), but a rude reminder that there would be expenses I never thought of. From my door to the hotel was approx. 310 miles, covered in 270 minutes. Not a single traffic cop, highway patrolman, or slow-down the entire trip. I should hope everybody's trip down was so uneventful.

That's why we often go via Jax even if the GPS wants us to go the turnpike... comes out about the same. Can't wait to read more.

[purplepeg]

Good start so far. Can't wait to read more.

[TotallyAngelic]

A brilliant start - I have been so looking forward to this!:goodvibes

[VacationKicks]

Can't wait to read all about your cruise!:surfweb:

[Hypermommy]

Hey there, hi there, ho there all....

I thought about doing my own trip report. I was going to write it all out and make it nice and coherent like King Charming's. But then I realized you guys probably know me better than that and know that I'm just a stream of consciousness girl. So I figured I'd tag on to his TR. Hope nobody minds. Most especially KC :rotfl2:

So where are we? Oh yes, the day before debarkation. As KC mentioned in his pre-trippie we planned to head down on Friday becauase two flat tires on the way to the port on the morning of would be just a rotten thing to have happen. Earlier in the week my boss asked why we were heading down on Friday and I answered with the truth. When will I learn? :lmao: So he asked if I could work Friday. I told him I could work until about lunchtime. I was very much hopeful that KC and the boys could go fishing on the pier because I knew they'd all enjoy that. Can't blame bossman either... it's not like he wanted to ask me to work but we had an installation that we had to do the following week and I had to get the code right before I left. He did come into my office, shut the door and handed me an envelope thanking me for "plussing" it (yes, I've taught him the term) and for all my hard work. Let's just say the contents of the envelope were more than generous. And yes, I even told KC about the cash. :banana:

So we stopped at the local restaurant to begin our trip. See what a wonderful lunch we had?

http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj18/hypermommy_2007/Mickey%20Scout%20Cruising/100_4036.jpg

Then it was off to the Resort at the Port. This place is very pretty. Here's some pics I took of it.

DS12 and DS14 enjoying the pool
http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj18/hypermommy_2007/Cruise%20Pictures/Day%200%20-%20Travel%20Day/100_4040.jpg

The pool itself (actually taken Sat AM and they hadn't turned on the waterfall yet)
http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj18/hypermommy_2007/Cruise%20Pictures/Day%200%20-%20Travel%20Day/100_4049.jpg

The garden and pond outside our hotel room door
http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj18/hypermommy_2007/Cruise%20Pictures/Day%200%20-%20Travel%20Day/100_4052.jpg

I was very happy with this hotel and would highly recommend it to anyone. The rooms were clean and spacious. The pool was nice and big and there was a tiki bar right next to the pool. All in all, it was a wonderful start to our first day. My only disappointment was that I had told everyone at the office that as soon as I got to the hotel I was going to go to the bar and get some drink with an umbrella in it (yes, it was that kind of week). They didn't have umbrellas :-( but they did have great bahama mamas! :banana:

[amy2girls]

Great trip report so far you guys! I'm glade you are doing a combo... makes for a funny read! Where did you stay on Friday?
Welcome home!:goodvibes

[CRSNDSNY]

Great TR! Can't wait for more! Love the details.

[Hypermommy]

Great trip report so far you guys! I'm glade you are doing a combo... makes for a funny read! Where did you stay on Friday?
Welcome home!:goodvibes

Ooops... see how stream of consciousness I am. It's officially the Radisson (sp?) but it's the Radisson Resort at the Port so I just got used to calling it that. I guess it would help to have the actual name, huh? :rotfl2:

[King Charming]

Several factors figured into where we stayed. At $110 w/tax pre-paid online, it was way more than I have ever spent on a room. I did plenty of checking around and found many fine hotels that charge less. I went with this one because of the free shuttle to the port, closeness to the port, cool swimming pool, and free parking for the week that we were gone. I'm sure that walking across the street from the official cruise parking lot to the terminal saves time, but I wasn't willing to pay for the expediency.

They gave us a great room location; first floor, 20 paces to the nearest road (for super easy load/unloading), and 30 paces to the swimming pool. It was just as well that the bar was on the other side of the pool as I still had plans and didn't want to start drinking yet.

After unloading what we would need for the night into the room, and setting the kids up at the pool & DW at the Tiki bar, I set out to do some exploring. I'm one of those strange ones that has to know the lay of the land so to speak before he can relax because you never know when an escape route will be needed. If you are not from the area and get caught where you should not be, remember this line: "I'm lost, could you please tell me how to get to...". It works every time and allows the other person the opportunity to "help" you. They politely send you on your way and don't think twice about your real motives. Anyway, off I go in the van to check out the strip after a careful walk around the hotel/convention center grounds. After going from one end to the other I decided that the sub shop around the corner would be the best idea for dinner. DS 14 tagged along after polling the others as to what they would like. It turned out to be the perfect amount of food as everyone wolfed down their foot longs and declared themselves stuffed. Twenty five bucks well spent on dinner (less than I budgeted :woohoo: )

[Hypermommy]

Oh, yeah... less than you budgeted for dinner. But you made up for that later in the evening, didn't you darling? No problem.... I know where you're coming home and you know I'm the best thing that ever happened to you :rotfl2:

Yes, he deposited me at the Tiki Bar. At first I was concerned about the kids swimming without supervision (and I didn't know how long I would count as supervising). But then he reminded me that the pool was a bit more than 4 feet deep and if they got in any trouble they could just stand up. That realized, I went to the bar and relaxed. After the week I'd had at work believe you me I was ready for some vacation time. I spent most of the evening relaxing, enjoying a drink or two, and listening to the great guitar player they had out by the pool. I'd check on the kids every now and again and sure enough they were fine. Roughhousing after I'd told them not to, mind you :confused3 , but just fine. I struck up a conversation with the gentleman next to me becuase I could tell he had either a British or Australian accent. He was mock-insulted and asked me just which part of Canada I was from. Fair enough. I asked him to please have pity on this poor dumb American and he told me he was from England. I asked him if I could buy a pound note off of him if he had any. I just love foreign currency and like to add to my collection now and again. He told me they didn't do pound notes anymore and all he had in his wallet was a ten pounder (which would have cost me $20... :scared1: more than I want to pay for the hobby). But he went to his room and brought back six different coins. They were so cool looking! I think my favorite is the one where each portion of the UK has their own back to the coin. Like Scotland would be represented by a particular backing and Ireland by another... kind of like quarters in the US.

Anyway.... as you can see I had a wonderfully relaxing evening and was well ready to begin my vacation. KC came back with the food and we all ate and were very happy. The kids and I stayed in the room while he decided to go out again. Very interesting union we have here, KC and me.... I'm such an early bird and he can be quite the night owl. But you'll hear more about that later I'm sure.

[purplepeg]

Ooops... see how stream of consciousness I am. It's officially the Radisson (sp?) but it's the Radisson Resort at the Port so I just got used to calling it that. I guess it would help to have the actual name, huh? :rotfl2:

That made me laugh. It's funny how you forget the little details you swore you wouldn't but your brain is so saturated with everything it's a little overwhelming;)

I'm impressed, pictures already posted. Are you guys fighting over computer time to get this posted?
I'm glad you had your priorities straight bevvie then are children drowning:rotfl2: :rotfl2: Actually I'm slightly jealous, I still physically have to be in the water with mine. Keep up the good work. This is going to be so fun with both of you writing:surfweb: popcorn::

[Hypermommy]

That made me laugh. It's funny how you forget the little details you swore you wouldn't but your brain is so saturated with everything it's a little overwhelming;)

I'm impressed, pictures already posted. Are you guys fighting over computer time to get this posted?
I'm glad you had your priorities straight bevvie then are children drowning:rotfl2: :rotfl2: Actually I'm slightly jealous, I still physically have to be in the water with mine. Keep up the good work. This is going to be so fun with both of you writing:surfweb: popcorn::

Oh, please! I've got some serious CRS going on at my age. KC had his little black book in his back pocket and I had my Tink mini-notebook. Of course, I didn't start writing in it until Saturday, so right now we're just going on what I can remember.

I had to do the pictures first or my sister would have killed me. Nah... not fighting over computer time. I've actually been writing my installments at work so far. Squeezing in a few minute here and there, don'tcha know. Can you believe they actually expect me to work around this place? :scared1: Don't they know how important trip reports are?

You'll get there... I remember the days of having to be in the pool with mine. Now that they're old enough to stand up if they get in trouble, well, it's just a darwinian thing. Anyone that can't figure out to stand up if he gets in trouble in a pool needs to be out of the gene pool right away. Or as I'm always telling my kids... I had an heir and a spare for a reason and one of them can die. Oh, now I know you think I'm a horrible mom. I'm not. I'm just not a nice person :banana: :rotfl2: :cool1:

[LovableGluttons]

Ooohhh this is GREAT!

I'm at less than 6 months until my next cruise with the Gluttons and am trying NOT to go into cruise overload.......just yet.

[King Charming]

Even though I loved everything about the "resort" we stayed at, it was not in the middle of the action. The most crowded area is two or so miles south at Ron Jon's. Any hotel within 3 or 4 blocks of this place puts you within walking distance of dozens of restaurants (fast food included), shops and stores. There is a grocery store (Publix) in either direction. Some of the hotels in the area were Sheraton, Country Inn & Suites, & Motel 6. Some of the chow halls were Quiznos, McDonalds, Subway, Waffle House, IHOP, KFC, Taco Bell, DQ, and Long John Silver. Winn-Dixie food store, CVS & Walgreens drug stores were nearby.

Those were all the places I did not go. And even though the swimming pool was very inviting, there were no persons of interest around. :rolleyes1 Roughly translated, no cute women in bikinis. Instead, when I got back in the van after tucking everybody in, I went to Cheaters, about a mile down the road. Another thing Tallahassee has none of is "Gentlemen's Clubs", so off I went. Cover charge was 7 bucks, a shot of tequila $5.50. The place was slap full of women of all sizes wearing tiny bikinis (when at all). I stayed about an hour, leaving 21 dollars poorer, having consumed my 2 drink/drive limit. Looking is alot of fun, but I have never been stupid enough to lose sight of the best thing that has ever happened to me.

[purplepeg]

Oh, please! I've got some serious CRS going on at my age. KC had his little black book in his back pocket and I had my Tink mini-notebook. Of course, I didn't start writing in it until Saturday, so right now we're just going on what I can remember.

I had to do the pictures first or my sister would have killed me. Nah... not fighting over computer time. I've actually been writing my installments at work so far. Squeezing in a few minute here and there, don'tcha know. Can you believe they actually expect me to work around this place? :scared1: Don't they know how important trip reports are?

You'll get there... I remember the days of having to be in the pool with mine. Now that they're old enough to stand up if they get in trouble, well, it's just a darwinian thing. Anyone that can't figure out to stand up if he gets in trouble in a pool needs to be out of the gene pool right away. Or as I'm always telling my kids... I had an heir and a spare for a reason and one of them can die. Oh, now I know you think I'm a horrible mom. I'm not. I'm just not a nice person :banana: :rotfl2: :cool1:

It took me a long time to figure out what CRS meant but I'm pretty sure I've got it figured out now. I agree with you on the work getting in the way of tr's and I only work very part time at my other job. This full time mothering job is all consuming:rotfl2: Why oh why does laundry multiply:confused3
Oh your kids must love you with your comments.:rotfl2:

[Hypermommy]

Oh your kids must love you with your comments.:rotfl2:

To paraphrase blatently from First Wives Club ... I'm their mother... I've got to give them something to tell their therapist about :rotfl2:

Okay... I'm going to jump ahead of KC here since I think he's pretty much at the end of the evening (at least if he did something after visiting Cheaters he didn't tell me about it :lmao: ).

I forgot what time we set the wakeup call in the room for but I was up at 5:30 that morning. I was just too excited to sleep and if you ever notice the times that I post, I'm quite the morning person anyway. I putzed around the hotel looking for coffee. I didn't want to use what was in the room becuase I know DS14 expressed an interest in making coffee that morning. Despite how mean I am, I do try to think of them. But the guy at the front desk told me they wouldn't have any in the dining area until about 6:30 but if I wanted to I could walk over to the Racetrak gas station that was just about a block away and get some. Hmm.... walking around by myself in the pre-dawn hours in a town that I don't know. Nope... doesn't sound like a very good idea to me. Sorry DS... you lose. I went and made some coffee and checked emails and the ever moreso addictive disboards. I also got a shower and got dressed. I guess it was about 7:00 or so when I woke up the family.

Even KC was easy to get up this morning (and he's NOT a morning person). All I had to do was whisper "cruise" in anyone's ear and up they were. He went and got us some breakfast from MickeyD's and got himself some Pepsi at the Racetrak. I finished up what I was working on and met the family for breakfast by the pool.

DS12 (left) and DS14 at breakfast
http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj18/hypermommy_2007/Cruise%20Pictures/Day%200%20-%20Travel%20Day/100_4050.jpg

King Charming (note the "I'm not a morning person and why are you taking my picture" look)
http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj18/hypermommy_2007/Cruise%20Pictures/Day%200%20-%20Travel%20Day/100_4051.jpg

I met up with Hulagirl from our thread. I was going to look after her daughter while she returned the car, but once she saw the lay of the land and realized it would mean backtracking, she decided against it. At least that's what she told me. Maybe she just realized she didn't want to leave her baby in the hands of a crazy woman :scared1: but was too sweet to say so. :rotfl2: So it was just us nuts (me and KC and the boys) heading to the port at about 10AM. We were all so excited. It's a good thing KC was driving, becuase when I first saw the ship I went just mad with excitement!!!

My first view of our beautiful ship, the Magic
http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj18/hypermommy_2007/Cruise%20Pictures/Day%201%20-%20Embarkation%20Day/100_4053.jpg

We get closer
http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj18/hypermommy_2007/Cruise%20Pictures/Day%201%20-%20Embarkation%20Day/100_4056.jpg

King Charming dropped the boys and the luggage and I off at the port and went to return the car to the hotel. We lined up all the luggage so I could get the tags on easily. Then I sent one of the boys after a porter. I didn't realize until later but that meant that each child was pulling one rolling suitcase or cooler and I was pulling one and carrying my backpack. They didn't challenge me or anything at the security checkpoint so I guess the backpack didn't count as a bag if you're only supposed to bring one each. But like I said, I didn't even realize that until later.

One of the suitcases was full of booze... I believe it was 2 bottles of champagne, one bottle of wine (to share with Karen who was going to do my hair Monday night), one bottle of sangria (adult koolaide?), a bottle of Baileys (in case I want to start drinking in the morning) and maybe a few bottles of beer. Now every one of my friends that'd been cruising before had given me hints about how to sneak liquor aboard, but thanks to the wonderful folks here at the Dis I knew I wouldn't have to worry about it. In fact, the only thing the security guards asked me as they reviewed the miniature bar passing through their scanner was if I had a glass. :rotfl2:

At that point I settled the boys and the bags down in front of the cartoons and ran into a couple of Dissers. It was so cool meeting these folks that I'd been chatting with for months. But of course, I had to run over and get checked in. I got in line and got a boarding card with 4 on it. I started the checkin process but when they asked me which credit card I wanted to put on the account I didn't know the answer. KC always handles the being responsible with money kind of thing. I'm just into spending it. So I mentioned I'd have to wait for him to get there. Frank, the CM asked me if he was just parking the car. Now I don't know who said honesty was the best policy but sometimes I wonder. I told the truth that he was putting the car at the hotel and Frank told me he couldn't check us in yet becuase if something were to happen to prevent KC from getting there and they thought he was already checked in (i.e., onboard as soon as they open the gates) that would be problematic. He told me I wouldn't have to stand in line again... just to come right back to his spot. So I chatted with the Dissers some more and found a spot to have a smoke. And we waited for KC to show up. It felt like forever but it wasn't really all that long, I'm sure.

DS12 waiting for KC
http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj18/hypermommy_2007/Cruise%20Pictures/Day%201%20-%20Embarkation%20Day/100_4059.jpg

DS14 waiting for KC
http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj18/hypermommy_2007/Cruise%20Pictures/Day%201%20-%20Embarkation%20Day/100_4062.jpg

KC arrives (and DS14 hits him up for some Pepsi that's in the ever present big blue cup)
http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj18/hypermommy_2007/Cruise%20Pictures/Day%201%20-%20Embarkation%20Day/100_4064.jpg

Yay! He's here. Now time to go get back to see Frank and finish checking in. Oh, no! Frank's nowhere to be seen. He must have gone on break. Oh well.... at least the line's not that long. Got back in the line and was very glad to have boarding number 4 becuase I believe they were up to 11 or so. Got checked in and now we just wait. Because of all the checking in stuff, I didn't get pictures with Minnie (saw her out there though) or of the ship model in the lobby (meant to do that on the way back, not knowing we wouldn't be passing through that part of the terminal again). But I did get the one I wanted with our family in front of the entrance gate.

http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj18/hypermommy_2007/Cruise%20Pictures/Day%201%20-%20Embarkation%20Day/100_4065.jpg

Next up from me ... we finally really and truly get on the ship.

[CRSNDSNY]

:surfweb: LOVED IT!!!!

I love your style of writing and humor. :woohoo:This is a great TR to follow....THANKS! popcorn::

[nzdisneymom]

Keep it coming! Great pics.

I didn't realize that they wouldn't let you check in if everyone wasn't present on Port property.

[RLccweems]

I love the pics....keep the TR and pics coming!

[OSUBuckly]

I think I remember seeing your younger son on the ferry in Cozumel. We were sitting on the top level outside and the trip was quite bumpy. Your son kept walking back on forth from the top to the bottom. Probably at least a half dozen times total. I couldn't quite figure out if he had a reason for so many trips or if he just enjoyed braving the motion of the boat.

[Hypermommy]

LOL... I had told him to come check back with me every few minutes. Apparently the crew didn't like him moving around either becuase they said something to him, at which point I told him he could stay up there until right before we docked. Hope he didn't step on you or anything :)

[disneyfaninaz]

Keep it coming! Great pics.

I didn't realize that they wouldn't let you check in if everyone wasn't present on Port property.

You can check in if not everyone's there if you have their ID. Hypermommy's issue was with which credit card to use. That's why she had to wait for KC.

[Hypermommy]

You can check in if not everyone's there if you have their ID. Hypermommy's issue was with which credit card to use. That's why she had to wait for KC.

Actually, which card to use is what brought it to light that he wasn't on property. Frank said if he were just parking the car I could have gone ahead and checked in with his passport. But becuase he was completely offsite we had to wait.

[King Charming]

Yeah, getting up was rather easy, even if my eyes wouldn't open. The gas station and fast food place were less than a block away so the boys guided me until my Pepsi level got high enough. It seemed like it took forever getting out of the hotel room, but we finally loaded up, made the short drive over (port exit A), and unloaded everybody and everything. If you are going to drop people off (or pick them up) you will drive by the loading zone and chat with the port guy at the first U-turn/left turn lane. There is a median strip that limits turns. He will explain whether you need to make the left (for parking & pick-up) or the U-turn for dropping off. We stopped at area one (of 6) because it was the least crowded and closest to the entry gate. I was there and gone in 4 minutes flat. I loved moving 7 suitcases, 1 garment bag, 1 backpack, and 3 rolling carry-on only once. I drove back to the hotel, parked in the designated lot, stopped by the room a last time, checked out (very quick & easy), then jumped on the 11am shuttle that was loading in the front of the hotel. Reserving a seat for the shuttle on the way back from getting breakfast worked well. I was told I could choose what shuttle to ride over in since I was a solo rider with no bags. I would think that larger groups would need to reserve seats upon check-in if they want to travel together. Our driver "Bongo" attempted to be chatty, but it got real quiet when everybody first saw the ship after rounding a corner and everyone sucked in a breath before proclaiming it's beauty. You will always remember the first time you see the ship. You tend to lose scale and perspective looking at photos of this magical ship. As you get closer you see the largeness of your new temporary home. After driving to within 50 yards of the rear of the Magic you know the good times are about to start. I tipped the man 2 bucks and started soaking up the salt air.

So I'm at the port, at the right terminal, in plenty of time. I'm all juiced up about being within a stones throw of the ship, and what do I do next? Nope, I went out for a smoke. I haven't seen enough of the outside of the terminal, the ship, or even the port yet. I quit smoking cigarettes 6 or 7 years ago, but have decided that for this trip only to start again. Stopping again afterwards will be no problem as I noticed a HUGE difference in my ability to consistently breathe once I stopped. So armed with a full pack, off I went to look for trouble. When I found myself watching the ship being re-fueled, I realized that there were much better things to do and headed in.

[MassDisLovers]

So THAT'S where you were when your family was waiting to check in.........

[CRSNDSNY]

So I must ask....since you are home did you stop smoking??!!

[King Charming]

But of course I did. The first few days of the cruise it was neat to get a nicotine buzz. Unfortunately I overloaded smoking a Cuban Tues night and OD'ed on Wed. I was one sick puppy on Thurs., not knowing what was causing it. Because I was feeling so poorly I cut way back (was up to a pack & 1/2 a day). Two puffs on one now sends me reeling. I don't miss it at all.
I did however get to meet ALL the smokers on board. They were a cool and interesting group. ;) .

[CRSNDSNY]

GOOD! Glad to hear this. :)

[King Charming]

To get past the gate to get to the terminal you need to show a photo ID and be on the list. That done, I slowly strolled/strutted into the building only to be confronted by a metal detector! I don't travel often and this took me completely by surprise. So off comes the hat (w/ pin) so I can put all my metal stuff in it. I walk through the detector; beep beep beep. Then I empty the rest of my pockets of the non-metalic junk and try again. Beep beep beep again. Now what? "Please step over here sir" where the last words I wanted to hear. Now my hat full of money is unattended and I'm getting the eye from folks. They wand me and it goes off over all 4 pockets of my jungle jacket. With its oversized pockets it is a great travel shirt. But not today! The guy can't figure out why empty, turned out pockets are setting off his wand. :confused3 He says take it off (a strip search, here?) and then smiles the "you're a good guy after all" smile. Your suspenders he says (Whew) are the problem (but I need them!), go ahead. I smile back and find my unmolested hat right where it should be. I had the same problem(?) the rest of the trip every time I got back on the ship. After showing the wand guys the suspenders each time the process sped up considerably.

Up the escalator I go. My photo is taken and my pepsi handed off as I'm setting foot on the second floor. Then DW plays 20 questions for the next 30 seconds and shows me our # 4 boarding pass :cool1: . Then she says we have to get in line. Huh? Didn't you ... :confused: this line here? So she explains while what looked like a long line we are at the end of starts cooking right along. Soon the agent swipes my credit card as they announce boarding for 2's & 3's. The are no up-grades available due to a full ship. There is no time for photos or exploring as I have to meet fellow DIS'ers. Hi, how are you, nice to finally meet you, then THE call. Boarding for 2-5's! I know what that means!! A quick photo by the entry way, then on to the gangplank. :banana:

[Hypermommy]

So we go through the magnificent Mickey gateway that really means we've been inspected, detected, injected and NOT put on the group W bench and are actually allowed to get on the ship. On the way out to the ship we stop to get our photo taken. We decided not to purchase this photo and I forgot to even ask to get them to take a copy with my camera. But that's okay... we're just about to walk through those magical doors. Yes, they actually do announce your name and have CMs waiting in the lobby to applaud your entrance like we're some sort of superstars (well, we are in our own minds at least). That was really too cool. And my first view of the lobby was something I'll always remember. Of course, I've seen it several times on the Travel channel specials but it's so different to actually be in there.

My first view of the magical lobby of the Magic
http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj18/hypermommy_2007/Cruise%20Pictures/Day%201%20-%20Embarkation%20Day/100_4066.jpg

Welcome aboard, young sir
http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj18/hypermommy_2007/Cruise%20Pictures/Day%201%20-%20Embarkation%20Day/100_4067.jpg

So then it was off to get the wristband and pager for DS12. The line for youth services in the terminal was ungodly and I decided not to get in it becuase we'd done all the checkin online stuff. Once we got on board we headed up to deck 5 and the Lab and was able to get his pager and wristband with absolutely no wait at all. Since we didn't have any Palo ressies to make (decided not to do Palo) or anything else we needed to do onboard, it was time to find a spot for Dad and me to sit down with the bags while the boys enjoyed touring the ship. We found a spot on Deck 9 near the Goofy pool and cut the boys lose for a half hour. They were supposed to meet us back at 1:00 in that same spot. Notice I said supposed to. Of course, they were late and this would be a constant theme of the week. If you're going to give your kids time to roam on their own, get 'em a watch too. There are very few clocks onboard and they were always able to tell us they didn't know what time it was and it be rather believable. With a watch, this excuse would be gone.

But I'm jumping ahead of myself. At this point, KC and I are sitting by the Goofy pool soaking up the atmosphere of actually being onboard. Once in a while one of us walks back to the smoking area in the adult area, but for the most part we're just enjoying ourselves. And, of course, the drink of the day. I noted the time that we got our first drink becuase it meant we were onboard and all the stuff (kids club) was taken care of and we were in cruising mode. It was 12:20.

Embarkation Day drink of the day -- can't remember what it was, but it was yummy
http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj18/hypermommy_2007/Cruise%20Pictures/Day%201%20-%20Embarkation%20Day/100_4068.jpg

I noticed I was getting a bit hungry so I wandered off to find something to eat. I didn't want more pizza at that point (yes, the boys found the pizza rather quickly once onboard) but I wanted something more substantial. So KC sat minding the bags while I wandered off to find something to eat. I found myself in Topsiders and loved the decorations!

http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj18/hypermommy_2007/Cruise%20Pictures/Day%201%20-%20Embarkation%20Day/100_4069.jpg
http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj18/hypermommy_2007/Cruise%20Pictures/Day%201%20-%20Embarkation%20Day/100_4070.jpg
http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj18/hypermommy_2007/Cruise%20Pictures/Day%201%20-%20Embarkation%20Day/100_4071.jpg
http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj18/hypermommy_2007/Cruise%20Pictures/Day%201%20-%20Embarkation%20Day/100_4072.jpg

I brought the food back to KC, including plenty of peel and eat shrimp which I know he loves and we had a nice lunch together.

http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj18/hypermommy_2007/Cruise%20Pictures/Day%201%20-%20Embarkation%20Day/100_4074.jpg

By this time it's 1:00 and I'm anxious to start heading down to the room to see if it's available yet. But we can't leave without letting the boys know where we are becuase they don't have the lay of the ship yet. Did I mention they were late? Turns out they were about 20 minutes late or so. But finally they show up and we're able to head to the room.

One of the best things about being able to cruise when we did is that my birthday would be on the Monday of the cruise. KC was very sweet and popped the extra dollars to have the room decorated and a cake delivered for my birthday. It looked so wonderful!!

The festive birthday ceiling hanger decoration
http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj18/hypermommy_2007/Cruise%20Pictures/Day%201%20-%20Embarkation%20Day/100_4078.jpg

I loved the "Happy Birthday" thing on the wall
http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj18/hypermommy_2007/Cruise%20Pictures/Day%201%20-%20Embarkation%20Day/100_4082.jpg

My cake... oooh yes, the chocolate ship was yummy!!
http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj18/hypermommy_2007/Cruise%20Pictures/Day%201%20-%20Embarkation%20Day/100_4084.jpg

We had just time enough to dump our stuff in our room and enjoy a bit of cake. I can't remember if our bags were there in the hallway or not at this point. I think they might have been. Anyway, after just a few minutes in the room I noticed the time (1:45) and realized that we had to find out way to the Promenade Lounge for our Dismeet. Off we go.

Next up from me.... April Showers of Happiness Dismeet

[CRSNDSNY]

:thumbsup2 :cool1: :banana: :dance3:

YEAH!!!
Loved it. Pictures are great and it's a wonderful start! I miss the Magic so much!

[hayanyujah847]

I'm loving it~! Your pictures & descriptions of everything are really getting me psyched for my trip~! :)

[King Charming]

After all the prep work, spending, and counting down the days, I'm here, really truely here, what a rush! A crew member walks up and asks our name. Oh super cool, just like I read about, they announce us! As I'm basking in an all over glow a different CM walks up and matches my pace while explaining stuff we should know. I have no earthly idea what she said as I was living the moment, waiting for the adrenalin to subside. We took the "Getting on the ship" photo, but I barely remember it. They could have served me castor oil and I'd have happily drank it all during those first few minutes.

I guess we got on sometime around noon. I was patting myself on the back for how well the timing of the entire morning had gone. The only time I waited more than 10 minutes was loading the van back at the hotel, and even then it probably only seemed like a long time since I badly wanted to be on the ship. Now that we were on board I had only 3 more deadlines to concern myself with; a 2pm DIS meeting, the 4pm safety drill, and an 8pm dinner seating. Life is REAL good.

[littleaussie]

Oh, please! I've got some serious CRS going on at my age. KC had his little black book in his back pocket and I had my Tink mini-notebook. Of course, I didn't start writing in it until Saturday, so right now we're just going on what I can remember.

I had to do the pictures first or my sister would have killed me. Nah... not fighting over computer time. I've actually been writing my installments at work so far. Squeezing in a few minute here and there, don'tcha know. Can you believe they actually expect me to work around this place? :scared1: Don't they know how important trip reports are?

You'll get there... I remember the days of having to be in the pool with mine. Now that they're old enough to stand up if they get in trouble, well, it's just a darwinian thing. Anyone that can't figure out to stand up if he gets in trouble in a pool needs to be out of the gene pool right away. Or as I'm always telling my kids... I had an heir and a spare for a reason and one of them can die. Oh, now I know you think I'm a horrible mom. I'm not. I'm just not a nice person :banana: :rotfl2: :cool1:

That is so funny! I say the same things about my daughters! Except I leave out the die part. Love the report so far :thumbsup2

[King Charming]

Upon getting on the ship, my job was to sit with the bags while the kids took off & DW loaded us up a plate of grub. Not wanting to disappoint my PRE trippie fans, drinks were also ordered. I had made a big deal about drinking & alcohol in the PTR and since I no longer needed my metal keys....:thumbsup2 I started the week ordering tequila w/ a lemonade chaser. Since I had sporadically been attempting to get used to Jose for the past few months (just for this cruise mine you :rotfl2: ), I found this to be the best tasting option. Unfortunately, my drinks were coming one ONE glass :confused3 . After the second time in a row (w/ a dif server), I explained exactly what I wanted and it was brought for free. I felt guilty about drinking the combo drink, but managed to choke it down just fine. After that I only ordered plain shots, using my ever present big blue cup to wash it down. Only one time did I make the mistake of saying "Any brand" when asked what kind of tequila I wanted. I watched the bartender grab a short square-ish bottle and pour. I sipped it and it WAS much better/smoother than (cheap) old Jose. However, the 12+ dollar tab, which included the gratuity (15%?) shocked me and taught me another lesson. Even though the stateroom was free, I had still paid thousands to be here, and I simply couldn't afford to pay that much for one drink. :scared: (For those interested in how we won a "free" 7 night cruise, please read post #5 of my PreTR)

We paid about $150 for drinks during the week, ranging from (w/tax) $4.89 for a beer to $12.65 for a shot of good Tequila. Drink of the Day was $5.18, with other drinks from $6.33 (Jose) to $7.00. 2-4-1 pricing in the am for certain drinks, right DW? My drinking slowed way down on Wed & Thur 'cause I wasn't felling well. And the 2 drinks we had at Castaway Cay never showed up on the bill (don't tell Mickey). It bothers me to get gigged on the price of drinks, but at least I had options; yes, not drink (tried that, no fun), or bring your own (did that too, more about that latter). Given the per drink cost, I was surprised at how little we spent that way. Don't underestimated them though. I got hit with a corkage fee on a bottle they never even SAW!!. I called room service on a sea day for a corkscrew and glasses for some afternoon wine in the room. Best I can tell, it got billed to that night's restaurant and I never realized they charged me until I got home and examined the bill.:headache:

[Hypermommy]

Wow!!! I never realized that. Guess a corkscrew goes on the list of essential things to pack, eh? The funny thing was, that's about the only alcohol we got from the room. It was just too convenient to order the yummy drinks of the day. I'll bet the corkage fee was at least twice what the bottle of wine costed?

[disneyfaninaz]

Wow!!! I never realized that. Guess a corkscrew goes on the list of essential things to pack, eh? The funny thing was, that's about the only alcohol we got from the room. It was just too convenient to order the yummy drinks of the day. I'll bet the corkage fee was at least twice what the bottle of wine costed?

Yeah, the only thing is. I believe, corkscrews are on the "no-no, can't bring on board list." Does anybody know for sure?

[King Charming]

You may not have drank much of what we brought aboard, so I made up for it :rotfl2: And yes, we did pay 15 smackaroos to open a 6 dollar bottle of wine (that wasn't finished and we ended up pouring out the last third :lmao: )

[King Charming]

Dang, I should have said a 30 dollars bottle of wine. Then I could of fooled these nice readers into thinking I had some class. Oh yeah, some of them met me....er....maybe fool some of the people some of the time...maybe?;)

[Hypermommy]

Dang, I should have said a 30 dollars bottle of wine. Then I could of fooled these nice readers into thinking I had some class. Oh yeah, some of them met me....er....maybe fool some of the people some of the time...maybe?;)

Now baby, we know you have some class. It may be a remedial class, but... (/me ducking and running).

[King Charming]

Nice to know you can still handle all the "straight" lines I can feed you dear. :lovestruc

[King Charming]

Oh dang it, would you look at the time! How'd it get to be past 1:30 ALREADY? 2 words (recurring) Late Kids! OK, we are all together, let's get down to the room and drop off the carry-on bags, then run up to the DIS meet, fast! There are three bags waiting for us by the door when we get there, key works, and.... HAPPY BIRTHDAY SWEETHEART!! DW posted the pictures of the decorations and cake they put in the room. Smartly they also put a knife, forks, and plates in the room too. :woohoo: So naturally we "let them eat cake" before dashing off to the meeting. It was a good thing too because with all the food and sweets to be had, this was the only time ANYBODY was up for cake.

Off we go to the lounge to attach faces to the board names we were so familar with. When we got there I thought we were in the wrong place as only a couple other families were sitting around. Introductions commenced and we started arranging the chairs in a large circle. But during those next few minutes the number of people kept doubling. They were at the bar, other tables, just inside the doorway, everywhere! It was about to evolve into mass confussion when my own DW stepped forward to MC the gathering. She takes charge of a situation quickly, faster than even me. After complete intros by scores of people, I was outta there. I left everybody in Hypermommy's good hands, as I had places to go and decks to see.

I was determined to find the most secluded public spot on the ship. I had heard about the deck 7 aft area, but I was also sure that so had everybody else. Besides, I really didn't want to hear from the non-smokers while I was out doing my thing. It didn't take long either. Keep reading and I'll clue you in on the spot and the advantages it offers.:cool2:

[King Charming]

The safety drill is what it is. The hardest part is going up the stairs. I'm sure that when the temp is high, with no breeze (still in port), it can be tough. Thankfully there is a deck over you so you are not standing in the sun. A word to the wise, attend this drill! Attendance IS taken and I would think that angering the Capt and crew is not a good start to a cruise. Just think of it as the only 20 minutes out of the next 10K minutes during the week when you will be exhibiting good judgement. :rotfl:

[Hypermommy]

So we ate some cake quickly and then it was time to head off for the Dismeet. I was very excited about this becuase it meant I'd be meeting some of the folks I'd been hanging out online with for weeks and weeks.

The Promenade Lounge was a wonderful suggestion for where to have the meet but like most places on the ship it wasn't set up for a large group of people. The chairs were set around small tables in a four top fashion (4 chairs to a table). The first thing I suggested was that we pull the chairs out into a large circle so everyone would feel included. I guess from there I just kind of took over. Call it my Type A personality. Call it a function of my oversized mouth. Call it an occupational hazard of being a Scout leader. Call it what you want but I just kind of do that sometimes. No one seemed to mind and if they did they were very kind about it and encouraged me (dangerous thing to do sometimes :rotfl2: ).

The first part of our meet was spent with everyone introducing themselves. The turnout we had was amazing! I'd never done any Dismeets before but even I was impressed at how many people were able to make it down to the meet. I later heard that it was phenomenally successful as a Dismeet as usually only a couple of families will show up. I think that was a function of all the fun we had on the boards leading up to the cruise. In fact, our cruise thread is still going because folks are still sharing and some real friendships have been made. :grouphug:

After the introductions we went into the Yankee Trade. I've heard this called by other names but basically it's everyone that wants to participate brings a gift. Then you draw numbers. Number 1 gets to go pick a gift and opens it. Number 2 can decide to "steal" the gift from number 1 or go get one off the table. Number 3 can "steal" from 1 or 2 or go get one off the table. And so it goes. We had decided to divvy our gifts into "child", "teen" and "adult" categories. So we got all the gifts put out on the table in their separate categories and then Karen made up numbers becuase she had the foresight to bring a pad of sticky notes. We were going to use King Charming's hat from which to draw numbers but by that time he'd disappeared to parts unknown. First we did the kids. I don't think any of them "stole" gifts and everyone seemed happy with what they got.

Note: I don't have any pictures that just contain my guys but I think it'll be safe enough since none of the other kids are identified. If you see a picture of your kid here and would rather it not be shown, just PM me and I'll delete it.

Here's DS12 opening his gift. He loved the rubber duckies! Despite the fact that he tries to act all cool around his friends, he's still my baby.
http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj18/hypermommy_2007/Cruise%20Pictures/Day%201%20-%20Embarkation%20Day/100_4086.jpg

Here's DS14 participating in the Yankee Trade. Only 2 teens participated and because of a "steal" they each ended up going home with what they brought. DS14, you can blame this on your mom. I tried to get something specific to Tallahassee and all I could come up with for this age level is a crossword puzzle book and a keychain. Very "interesting" town we live in, huh?
http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj18/hypermommy_2007/Cruise%20Pictures/Day%201%20-%20Embarkation%20Day/100_4089.jpg

Then it was time for the adults to have a go at it. Let's just say there was more "stealing" going on with this group. Of course, it was all in fun and I believe everyone had a great time.

Loved his tote!
http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj18/hypermommy_2007/Cruise%20Pictures/Day%201%20-%20Embarkation%20Day/100_4095.jpg

God, I hope she doesn't kill me for posting this picture, but can't you just feel the excitement? We all wanted that picture. :rotfl2:
http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj18/hypermommy_2007/Cruise%20Pictures/Day%201%20-%20Embarkation%20Day/100_4098.jpg

At the end of the meet we took a picture of all of us. I didn't have one taken with my camera becuase I figured I'd get one from someone else. There's been one posted on our thread that I'm going to use in my scrapbook but quite frankly, I'm too lazy to go find it right now. But we did have probably about 100 people there total. It was a fantastic start to the trip and it was so much fun having so many people that knew each other. It made our week like living in the small town in which I grew up becuase every time you turned a corner you ran into someone you knew.

Then it was time for the lifeboat drill. I understand why they had us go up the stairs becuase in a real emergency that's what we'd be doing. But in a real emergency I'd have adreneline (sp?) to help me get up those stairs. All I can say is what I was thinking as I was nearing the top of the steps to deck 4 (remember, we're living on deck 2 for the week) -- they shouldn't make a fat woman go up all those stairs. We don't need the lifeboat drill as much becuase we float.

But we made it up there and they had us line up by family with the tallest in the back. That put DS12 in the front. Now this is the same way we line up (by troop or by patrol) for Scouts so both kids were quite conversant in how this works. It's just a logical way of doing things, I guess. But when they got to us, DS12 got to tell them which family we were or which stateroom we were in (I can't remember what he was to tell them). That made him like the Senior Patrol Leader of our little troop. He loved that.

And, of course, I got some of the obligatory lifeboat drill pictures.

DS14 takes it quite seriously. Good for him. Guess he was listening when I told him not to fool around during the drill.
http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj18/hypermommy_2007/Cruise%20Pictures/Day%201%20-%20Embarkation%20Day/100_4099.jpg

DS12 also was very well behaved. Our little Senior Patrol Leader for the day.
http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj18/hypermommy_2007/Cruise%20Pictures/Day%201%20-%20Embarkation%20Day/100_4100.jpg

King Charming... you know, I think that hat would stay on his head even if we were in the ocean.
http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj18/hypermommy_2007/Cruise%20Pictures/Day%201%20-%20Embarkation%20Day/100_4101.jpg

Next up from me .... Sailaway Party and Pulling Out of Port

[TotallyAngelic]

Are there no pictures of hypermommy?

I am really enjoying your reports - really bumping my excitement up a notch for our cruise - and still over 5 months to go!

[rantnnravin]

:rotfl2:Thanks Denise.:lmao:
Not sure if that was a result of excitement or DH's "home"made Bahama Mama's. :drinking1
It's all good. :thumbsup2
I think I was actually in the process of answering whether I wanted to trade that beautiful litho that goes perfectly with the other lithos we have of our DVC homes. But in any case, I think I feel my 15 minutes of Letterman fame coming on. :happytv:
"DH" really did like his bag and looks forward to using it on the boat:boat: and at the beach:beach: this year. :rolleyes1
DD really loved the Tallahassee Manatee and slept with him every night.:lovestruc

[CRSNDSNY]

:cheer2: Once again, I love having a new TR installment to read first thing in the morning.
You guys are great storytellers!!! Keep 'em coming! :surfweb: :thumbsup2

[Hypermommy]

Are there no pictures of hypermommy?

Not many. I love being the photographer because 1) I'm getting rather good at it if I do say so myself and 2) it keeps me out from in front of the camera. Just take a look at my avatar with Mickey...see... ya need a wide angle lens :rotfl2:

Not sure if that was a result of excitement or DH's "home"made Bahama Mama's. :drinking1
It's all good. :thumbsup2
I think I was actually in the process of answering whether I wanted to trade that beautiful litho that goes perfectly with the other lithos we have of our DVC homes. But in any case, I think I feel my 15 minutes of Letterman fame coming on. :happytv:
DD really loved the Tallahassee Manatee and slept with him every night.:lovestruc

I know nobody was getting that picture. I've got to figure out where to get a copy of it becuase I want one so badly. Hey... do you have a scanner? Maybe you could scan me a copy of it and then I could print it out and frame it. I'm not sure of the legality of that but I know Disney gets enough of my money... just ask King Charming.

I had a hard time convincing DS12 to give up the manatee. I'm gonna have to go get him one. But that's our state mammal, I belive, so it's a good souvie from a trip to Florida. I'm glad to hear she loved it so.

[King Charming]

I was properly fortified, so it was time for the first of the (organized) deck activities, the much anticipated, high energy, leave the world and your worries behind Sail Away Party. There are some videos on the net taken of the stage show that I have seen, but they simply can not convey the enthusiasm of the crowd around you. It is alot like being at a sporting event when the home team has locked up a victory, only times 10. At the sporting event you share the joy with a large crowd, but it is tempered with other thoughts such as getting home, or the meeting on Monday. At Sail Away, you are part of a high excitment, up beat music, dancing everywhere experience kicked up many notches with the appearance of Mic & friends, streamers and confetti, and of course that famous ship's horn. There are no bad seats as everything (and everyone) are shown on the mega screen above the stage. This will also be the most crowded (in terms of personal space) you will attend. Next would be pirate night party, third most crowded would be the kiddie pool in the am. Other places and events pack you in, but at least there are aisles and seats for everyone. Remember to walk over to the side of the ship as you are pulling out of port. You may permit yourself to at least have boastful thoughts as you wave at the people on shore. They have to get back to their life on Monday morning whereas you are going on an adventure! If you walk away from this party feeling anything less than extremely optimistic, you must be dead and have severely wasted your time and money. Seriously, look around. I have never seen such a diverse group with at least one tear of happiness welling up due to a shared event. This is why you choose Disney for your cruise. Don't miss it! (How was that, Walt?)

[TotallyAngelic]

I was properly fortified, so it was time for the first of the (organized) deck activities, the much anticipated, high energy, leave the world and your worries behind Sail Away Party. There are some videos on the net taken of the stage show that I have seen, but they simply can not convey the enthusiasm of the crowd around you. It is alot like being at a sporting event when the home team has locked up a victory, only times 10. At the sporting event you share the joy with a large crowd, but it is tempered with other thoughts such as getting home, or the meeting on Monday. At Sail Away, you are part of a high excitment, up beat music, dancing everywhere experience kicked up many notches with the appearance of Mic & friends, streamers and confetti, and of course that famous ship's horn. There are no bad seats as everything (and everyone) are shown on the mega screen above the stage. This will also be the most crowded (in terms of personal space) you will attend. Next would be pirate night party, third most crowded would be the kiddie pool in the am. Other places and events pack you in, but at least there are aisles and seats for everyone. Remember to walk over to the side of the ship as you are pulling out of port. You may permit yourself to at least have boastful thoughts as you wave at the people on shore. They have to get back to their life on Monday morning whereas you are going on an adventure! If you walk away from this party feeling anything less than extremely optimistic, you must be dead and have severely wasted your time and money. Seriously, look around. I have never seen such a diverse group with at least one tear of happiness welling up due to a shared event. This is why you choose Disney for your cruise. Don't miss it! (How was that, Walt?)



OMG - I so can't wait, I so can't wait ! I almost have a tear in my eye reading that - you have done Mr Disney very proud!

[MassDisLovers]

I know nobody was getting that picture. I've got to figure out where to get a copy of it becuase I want one so badly. Hey... do you have a scanner? Maybe you could scan me a copy of it and then I could print it out and frame it. I'm not sure of the legality of that but I know Disney gets enough of my money... just ask King Charming.


My darling Denise - I am the one who brought that print to the swap, and it was done by a dear friend of mine. PM me your real world address and I'll send you one! :hug:
Karen

[purplepeg]

Not many. I love being the photographer because 1) I'm getting rather good at it if I do say so myself and 2) it keeps me out from in front of the camera. Just take a look at my avatar with Mickey...see... ya need a wide angle lens :rotfl2:



I don't believe it for a second. I want to see who this comedic woman is. She must be as beautiful as her personality, which seems to be larger than life;) I am lovin this tr. :cool1: :banana:
I have a few comments...You are way nicer than I would be re Cheaters and being a nurse have to comment on the smoking. You're too smart to do that to yourself. King Charming...what were you thinking starting again and then quitting:confused3 I'll just say that I'm glad you've quit again. Now talk to your wife. We need this comedic genius around for a long time. OK, I'm stepping off my soapbox. Thank You.:rotfl2:

[Hypermommy]

I don't believe it for a second. I want to see who this comedic woman is. She must be as beautiful as her personality, which seems to be larger than life;) I am lovin this tr. :cool1: :banana:
I have a few comments...You are way nicer than I would be re Cheaters and being a nurse have to comment on the smoking. You're too smart to do that to yourself. King Charming...what were you thinking starting again and then quitting:confused3 I'll just say that I'm glad you've quit again. Now talk to your wife. We need this comedic genius around for a long time. OK, I'm stepping off my soapbox. Thank You.:rotfl2:

Awwwww... now I'm blushing. Larger than something, that's for sure. Re Cheaters, my momma taught me at a young age that just 'cause your married doesn't mean you can't look at the menu. You just can't order anything, that's all. And as for smoking... I did quit for a while - about 10 months - but I never quit wanting one. Finally one day I decided I didn't want to be schizophrenic and constantly arguing with myself. So I started smoking again. Hey, we all need one vice, right? (my girlfriend, whenever I say that, she says "pick one" :scared1: ). But thanks for the concern. I know it's out of friendship and I do appreciate it.

[Geodoc]

Thanks for the great TR

[King Charming]

Holy Cow. I've been writting this for 5 days now and we are just now SAILING away from the port. As promised, I am again using 20 words where 5 will do; I hope you are getting your money's worth. As evidenced by the total number of views so far (over 2K) you guys don't seem to mind the slow pace.

I'd also like to take this opportunity to point out that there are at least 3 (that I know of) other TRs written about this same cruise. They are: April 19th Western the "Showers of Happiness" cruise by MassDisLovers, Western Trip Recap April 19-26 by Anty30, and Western Trip Roundup Apr 19-26 by OSUBuckly. These folks didn't waste a good portion of their trip puffing away and actually DID things like shows, movies, and events hosted by MC Dave (a really great guy). Please read them for these highlights that we missed.

Up to sailing away from the pier and seeing big white gloved hands waving goodbye, everything is etched in my mind. I had been walking on clouds since I got out of bed that am. My feet finally hit the ground around 6pm. After the first few hours on board you finally calm down and enjoy the peacefulness of "the line". This is my phrase for where the ocean meets the sky. Not every moment is worth writting about, even when you walk around w/ a small note pad like I did. We had LAAPLAP rotation w/ 8pm seating. This should work real good so it will not interfere with our off ship activities.

In the posts to come we will deal with topics like: How can we change dinner?, Check Lost & Found, and which of the 4 off ship experiences was a dud.

(What!! More cliffhangers? and he hasn't spilled the beans about his "spot" yet? Hey, where do I get my refund??)

[a7moulton]

[QUOTE=purplepeg;24880184]I don't believe it for a second. I want to see who this comedic woman is. She must be as beautiful as her personality, which seems to be larger than life;) I am lovin this tr. :cool1: :banana:

Denise and K C are very nice people! I liked to run into them at least once a day to get they're take on this huge experience! They were so nice and could tell they were in complete "awe" of Disney Magic! It takes you back to the first time you stepped foot on the ship and felt the same way! (not that more than once isn't exciting, you just already know what to expect). You guy's definately deserved it!! Hope to meet up with you again!!

Colleen:)

[Hypermommy]

Colleen... you're so sweet. It really was great to have a new Disney experience. After having been to the parks so often I realize I've become somewhat jaded. It's nice to be able to look at something through newbie eyes and remember the magic again.

Now, as for saying that we're nice people... c'mon girl.. you're going to ruin my reputation! :rotfl2:

Okay... on with the trip report.

KC's right... the sailway party was fantastic. As expected based on the videos I've seen on the net, Disney put on a fantastic, high-energy show. But it was the throng of people on decks 9 and 10 that really made it perfect. Everyone was in such a great festive mood (and why shouldn't they be? Every one of them is about to go on the vacation of their lives). Disney gave out these marvelous metallic paper streamers that everyone was waving (so if you're planning a trip don't worry about getting bubbles or anything... they've gotcha covered). I only took a few pictures at the sailaway party and only one really seems to exemplify the party atmosphere so here it is.

http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj18/hypermommy_2007/Cruise%20Pictures/Day%201%20-%20Embarkation%20Day/100_4118.jpg

Of course, the very best part was hearing that magical horn. For the past 90 days or so, I'd heard it every morning. We went and got lots of those mickey head paint chips from Home Depot and I put one up for each day that we had until we sailed. Each morning the kids (in rotating fashion... those of you with kids know you have to keep it fair :rotfl: ) .. each morning they'd remove a Mickey head as I played the ship's horn on the computer. It was our own personal little cruise advent calendar. But nothing can compare to being on deck among the festivities and counting down from 10 and hearing the really real horn itself. And no, I wasn't crying... I think that was a speck of dust in my eyes. Okay, okay.. I'll 'fess up. I turned to KC and hugged him tight and started crying because it was really, really true and we were really, really there and everything was so perfect.

After the sailaway party we wandered around the deck for a bit and got some shots of us leaving port.

The lighting was so perfect we were able to get this really cool "reflection" shot. The shot was KC's idea... he noticed how solid the reflections were.
http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj18/hypermommy_2007/Cruise%20Pictures/Day%201%20-%20Embarkation%20Day/100_4120.jpg

Goodbye Port Canaveral.... now bring me that horizon!
http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj18/hypermommy_2007/Cruise%20Pictures/Day%201%20-%20Embarkation%20Day/100_4125.jpg

After wandering the decks for a bit I decided it was time to get unpacked. KC and I went back down to the room and we told the kids that if they stayed they had to help. Yes, I wanted to get rid of them. Four of us trying to unpack would have been ungodly. So we gave them a time to be back (and they were late, of course) and got the unpacking done. I was surprised at how much storage space there actually was in the room. Of course, the over the door hangars were a great idea I'd picked up here and it helped cut down on the clutter on the desk. But just the sheer amount of closet and drawer space was surprising. We had so many drawers that the Gideon's bible by the bed didn't even have to share with our stuff.

After the boys finally got back and we all dressed for dinner (yeah, the guys and KC hated having to dress for dinner but I was insistant) it was off to Lumiere's. I was so excited and loved everything about it... even the fancy napkin folding.

http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj18/hypermommy_2007/Cruise%20Pictures/Day%201%20-%20Embarkation%20Day/100_4129.jpg

Of course, the boys had a good time trying to live up to the fanciness of the restaurant.

Here's DS14 being all dignified and refined and drinking with the pinky out.
http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj18/hypermommy_2007/Cruise%20Pictures/Day%201%20-%20Embarkation%20Day/100_4130.jpg

DS12 looks more like he's got a brandy snifter or something.
http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj18/hypermommy_2007/Cruise%20Pictures/Day%201%20-%20Embarkation%20Day/100_4131.jpg

Yes, I actually ordered and ate escargot. Let's just say it's not something I'll be ordering in real life (or ever again) but I was able to finish it.
http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj18/hypermommy_2007/Cruise%20Pictures/Day%201%20-%20Embarkation%20Day/100_4134.jpg

My fine looking boys at dinner
http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj18/hypermommy_2007/Cruise%20Pictures/Day%201%20-%20Embarkation%20Day/100_4135.jpg

KC and Hypermommy (there, ya happy? A picture of me.... don't expect too many of them :rotfl2: )
http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj18/hypermommy_2007/Cruise%20Pictures/Day%201%20-%20Embarkation%20Day/100_4136.jpg

I think this was called Croque St. Jacques. Whatever it's called it was delicious.... scallops surrounded by mashed potatoes and all of it baked. I gotta get this recipe becuase it was yummy!
http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj18/hypermommy_2007/Cruise%20Pictures/Day%201%20-%20Embarkation%20Day/100_4138.jpg

No matter how stuffed you are from dinner, you're not really having a Disney experience unless you get one of the Mickey premium bars, right KC?
http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj18/hypermommy_2007/Cruise%20Pictures/Day%201%20-%20Embarkation%20Day/100_4139.jpg

After dinner we cut the boys loose again. They were pretty good at making it back in time for curfew... it was just dinner and other meetings during the day that they couldn't get back in time for. KC and I went wandering around the Beat Street area of the ship which is the adults only nightclubs area. We walked into the Rockin Bar D and they were doing some type of contest that involved men wearing bras over their clothes and acting as over the top female as they could. The audience voted via applause at which guy got it best. That looked like a lot of fun.

Then they were about to choose couples for the Match Your Mate contest. I wanted to play really badly but KC was adamantly against it. Just not his type of thing. So we left RBD so we wouldn't get picked. We wandered down to the piano bar but as we were about to walk in we noticed there was no one else there. I mean no one. Okay, maybe there might have been a bartender but that was it. We stopped in the doorway and looked at each other and turned around and left. We both felt that it would be awful to be the only folks in the place and to walk out on the piano player. Since we didn't want to have to insult him by leaving, we just didn't go in. We looked into Diversions for a moment and checked out the stuff in the duty free store but then we wandered back to Rockin Bar D.

By this time they'd selected their contestants and the game was on. This game is like the old Newlywed Game on tv except for the RBD version they pick a couple who's been married the shortest (we had honeymooners on the cruise so it was them) and the couple who's been married the longest and then someone in between. I don't remember all the questions (even though I was answering them for us in my head) but two will forever be etched in my memory. One was when they asked what's the most unusual place you've ever "discovered the magic". The newlywed couple agreed that it was in the dressing room at KMart. Okay... now that just gives new meaning to the whole idea of a blue light special. :scared1: But I think the best answer of the night was when they asked the wives what the first thing their hubby grabbed, poked, pressed or prodded was in the morning. The new couple and the mid couple both agreed that it was the alarm clock. But the older couple, now here's a man after KC's own heart. He very calmly and elegantly replied "well... I've always been a bust man." That brought the house down!

After the RBD we went and got the bottle of champagne out of the room and took it out to deck 9's smoking area to enjoy. I've never been much for champagne but it's KC's celebration drink of choice. I had some -- I guess I must have had too much. It was wonderful sitting there with him out on the open ocean and enjoying the peace and quiet. But after we went to bed at 1:30 AM, I had a terrible night. I was up several times during the night getting sick. At first I thought it must have been seasickness but it didn't happen again (although don't let anyone tell you that you don't feel the motion of the big ships because you do, you do, you do). But since I didn't get sick the rest of the trip I'm guessing it must have been the champagne. It was still worth it ... just think of what a lucky girl I am to be sitting out on deck watching the ocean go by with this marvelously wonderful man at my side. Man, life doesn't get any better than this, that's for sure.

Next up from me... Early Morning Onboard

[rantnnravin]

Denise,
I don't think it was the champagne. I got sick after eating at Lumiere's as well.
DH thinks it was the partially undercooked scallops - didn't bother him, but i don't usually eat much seafood and i was right as rain the next day.
:confused3
anyhow, love the tr. keep it comin'

[CRSNDSNY]

LOVE THE TR!!! (as usual) :goodvibes

Love the tag team aspect! :rotfl:

[King Charming]

The restaurant tonight is Lumiere's, the nicest of the three. The food was good. In fact everything I ate was cooked well. All the restaurants attempt to "present" an attractive plate; they are truely photo worthy. We tasted a few things we didn't care for, but that's one of the perks of cruising. You can order stuff you normally wouldn't or are curious about without feeling guilty about wasting money on it. I decided it must have been a fellow poor folk'er who came up with cold potato soup. Don't be shy, go ahead and order 2 entrees (or order 3 for the two of you). Somebody at the table will think it looks too good to resist and want a taste anyway.

As I'm sure DW will tell you, we got blessed with THE two best table servers on the ship. That's not just our opinion as I'm sure everyone who comes in contact with this pair has been affected by their huge smiles, superb service, and eagerness for "excellent". The head dining room dude was aloof and professional, so we nick-named him Mr. Snooty. He was good at his job as the dining room stayed humming all night. It has been awhile since we have been to a place with nice tablecloths and multiple place settings. Even though fine dining is mostly wasted on me, it is nice the the kids get a clue. It was a great introductory dining experience for a first time cruiser.

[CRSNDSNY]

KC - Any food choices stand out to you from the cruise? Anything spectacular that still makes your mouth water just thinking about it?

[Hypermommy]

As I'm sure DW will tell you, we got blessed with THE two best table servers on the ship. That's not just our opinion as I'm sure everyone who comes in contact with this pair has been affected by their huge smiles, superb service, and eagerness for "excellent". The head dining room dude was aloof and professional, so we nick-named him Mr. Snooty. He was good at his job as the dining room stayed humming all night. It has been awhile since we have been to a place with nice tablecloths and multiple place settings. Even though fine dining is mostly wasted on me, it is nice the the kids get a clue. It was a great introductory dining experience for a first time cruiser.

He's right... I can't believe I forgot to mention Jaimey and Aditya. They were absolutely marvelous and we had a great time with them as did the kids!! I have pictures of the boys with them later on but this pair was phenomenal.

The only reason Mr. Snooty got a tip is becuase it was obligatory. I did not like him at all, at all, at all!

[MassDisLovers]

We've taken a far amount of cruises and our experience has alwys been that the Head Waiter was Mr. (or Ms.) Snooty. We got SOOOO lucky this time. We had Arnold from Trinadad. We actually tipped him more than the recommended which is unheard of for us. He was pleasant, personable and present. He went out of his way to greet us and to chat - not only at dinner but at other times as well. He is what a Head Waiter should be!

[Hypermommy]

We've taken a far amount of cruises and our experience has alwys been that the Head Waiter was Mr. (or Ms.) Snooty. We got SOOOO lucky this time. We had Arnold from Trinadad. We actually tipped him more than the recommended which is unheard of for us. He was pleasant, personable and present. He went out of his way to greet us and to chat - not only at dinner but at other times as well. He is what a Head Waiter should be!

Maybe I should write to Disney and say something about it. Maybe it's just becuase I'm a newbie but you'd think a Head Waiter would be over and above what a Waiter is (I mean, like a super waiter of sorts). Anybody can bring food, but to make the experience fun, that's what the Server staff does. And the Head Server should be even more so that.

Anyway... thanks for the benefit of your experience. I wonder if there was an option of not tipping that person. Of course, it's not that much... from any one person he gets the least of all of them but then again he gets it from everyone in the restaurant.

Too much to think about. I've been scrapping all day so I'm off to bed :laughing:

[wdhinn89]

We've taken a far amount of cruises and our experience has alwys been that the Head Waiter was Mr. (or Ms.) Snooty. We got SOOOO lucky this time. We had Arnold from Trinadad. We actually tipped him more than the recommended which is unheard of for us. He was pleasant, personable and present. He went out of his way to greet us and to chat - not only at dinner but at other times as well. He is what a Head Waiter should be!

We also had a fantastic head waiter on the same cruise. His name was Ronald. He came to our table every night to chat and see how everything was and to tell us about the next days dining restraunt and menu. He also came over to say hello while we were eating at Castaway Cay. Needless to say he, along with our dining servers, Alvin and Wemick recieved more than the recommended amount tip.

[King Charming]

After dinner it was time to pop the cork on champagne #1. I had hoped to drink it during Sail Away, but there is no easy way to chill it. The mini-fridge in the room is cool, but thats it. This unit is only useful if the bottles are left in for 24 hours. It is no good for a quick chill and you will have to use your ice bucket or the sink as your cooler. Your cabin attendant will get you all the ice you want. If you know you are going to want ice everyday (I did), extra pillows (ditto), and the table removed (recommended), seek him/her out and let them know. I refered to our guy as "the hardest working man on the ship". He had to be working split shifts and about a million hours that week because he was ALWAYS around. Anyway, I iced this one up around 3:30, and we ( the bottle & I) were ready by 10 pm. DW, not so much. She just don't like the stuff, so I know it will be a solo campaign. I was glad to not end the night as the couple everybody yelled "K-Mart" at. This evening seemed to hurry by, and it got late too soon. The weather was perfect and there were no waves to speak of on the ocean. My notes say I was back in the room by 1:30. I would have liked to be on deck when we sailed past Turkey Point at the south eastern end of the mainland. They have 2 very tall smoke stacks down there for the power plant that might have been seen. I have some very fond memories of the 6 years I was living near or being stationed at Homestead AFB.

[crazed'boutmaryP]

Loving the TR-great writing, wish I could remember all the details.:thumbsup2
As you know we loved Addy and Jeamy(sp), but after talking to Marco(aka Mr. Snooty) I thought I had heard of him. So I searched the Disboards the other day and found out he is a beloved server of many that has worked in Palo. We, like you and Hypermommy. also found him aloof, distant and felt he was doing his obligatory hello while looking at someone else(esp if they were young and attractive). Anyway, he did get my DH and our friend Porterhouse steaks from Topsiders that we heard about on the Galley Tour, so I guess he earned some of his tip (Jeamy went and picked them up) . My kids will remember him, because I (being of Sicilian decent) made a comment that he must be northern Italian, because the southern Italians are very warm and social-so we asked him and guess what-he is Sicilian:rotfl2: . Everyone got a laugh from that.
Do a search here on the Dis, you will hear about a different Marco than you and I experienced. Glad to know you had the same thoughts.

[King Charming]

This one one of the food highlights of the cruise. CRSNDSNY asked about favorites and this had to be it. I was going to write about them latter, but since you mentioned it I knew I had to write and concur. I couldn't believe the size of these giants. It was almost as if they were served on a smaller plates to make them look huge. They were as good as they were big. All meat and potato lovers should remember that when paired with a baked spud, dinner choices are easy at Topsiders. Smart folks have it brought in to the other restaurants and skip the 3 shrimp seafood dishes. Although I really love critters from the ocean, when you order the shrimp and scallops app, and a shrimp dinner, but only get a total of 6 (jumbo) shrimp, you can see why a Texas sized steak sounds/looks/tastes so appealing.

Thinking back about Marco, I guess I liked him even though I saw him very little. He was just too darn professional and not as personable as I would expect a CM to be. He addressed all our needs (we had minor issues), and by the end of the cruise we had dinner the way WE wanted it.

[always on vacation]

Are the steaks available at topsiders every night?

We're going on the Magic 5/25 & were concerned because we will be back from a shore excursion late & will miss our early seating dinner. We never even thought about having dinner at topsiders.

[Hypermommy]

Are the steaks available at topsiders every night?

We're going on the Magic 5/25 & were concerned because we will be back from a shore excursion late & will miss our early seating dinner. We never even thought about having dinner at topsiders.

Yes, I believe they're always on the menu. We at at Topsiders a couple of nights (more on that in the TR later) and they were right there. Very, very, very yummy!!!

[King Charming]

I got right up at the crack of dawn (actually around 10), another recurring event. By the time I made it up on deck we were into our big sweeping right hand turn around the bottom of Key West. I felt great, the in-shore waters were relatively calm, the temp was to top out around 83, and not a cloud in sight. I had so hoped for this when we picked April. With no organized excursions planned for this tiny island, we were in no hurry to leave the ship. I think we grabbed lunch and set off on our grand explore.

I had hoped to take a cab to the southern most marker for photos then walk back, but didn't see a cab stand. I looked for one a few blocks in from the port, so we started walking. Duval street I believe. Key West is full of interesting and odd people. We saw pirates, bikinis, and a biker with a pull behind trailer for his dog. Every sub-set of society was represented except shirt & tie man. Anyway, we end up walking down to the marker (about 25 blocks). Stuff you should know; line up on the sidewalk. To do otherwise will get you run over by the buses and trolleys that come by. Wave to the people on the trolleys. Most of the time they are being told that they are looking at the southern most tourists. Finally, make friends with the person in line next to you. There is no "official" photographer, or someone who will use your camera so you can be in the picture. If you want to be included, speak up and learn to use someone elses camera so you can take pictures of each others family. Most cameras can be set for point & shoot, so it almost always works well.

[King Charming]

We got the marker photo we wanted, but now it is coming up on 3 pm, it is hot, we are tired, and I still have cab fare in my pocket. I called the cab from DW's cell phone (she's been calling EVERYBODY she knows bragging about where she is) because we have an all over Florida plan. I was told it was a flat $7.50 per head to the port from where we were (actually the Southern Most Hotel parking lot). I about bit my tongue off hearing the price, then asked how close to the ship do they take you. For 30+ bucks, I expect 2nd deck service. The boat? Oh, are you going to the pier? Thats a flat $2.50 per person. Hey, that's better, send two. Naw, on second thought, we will just need one. Five minute wait? even better. A fast cab ride along a road a block or two over from the one we walked down (the road the locals use to get around) had the four of us back to the port for $15 dollars (I do love a good driver). The boys had fallen in love with their clubs/activities and wanted back on the ship, so we checked them in. We went back into town for a drink or two.

We limited our search area to within a few blocks of the port. I forgot the name of the place we settle in. The lone acoustic guitar player is what brought us in. DW had heard his home-spun (and bawdy) lyrics earlier and thought he'd be fun to listen to. The bar was dark, smokey, and had woman's bras nailed to the ceiling. This place had all the potential in the world, so in we go. We were talked out of frozen margaritas by the bartender (no blender?) so got them "up". The price was more than the ship charged :scared1: . The guitar guy (GG) made up for it. He was good, no, he was great. A talented musician, he worked the crowd like a seasoned pro. His "let the good times roll" attitude was contagious and demonstrated just before his last set ended. He asked a favor of a fellow who was with 2 cute bikini ladies. GG explained how good he would look if photographed with the two girls topless! Quick as a wink the girls are both positioned as requested with GG's hands covering... ah...er.... yeah, there. In the photo we took you can count all of GG's teeth because his smile is so big. The only request the girls made were that the photo's never be showed to the Army. Roger Wilco Darlings.

With the cost of a drink stupid (boo), and the show over (double boo), we went back to the ship. We probably stopped in or lingered by 30 or 40 shops both with and w/out the boys, but only bought DS 14 a hat ($12), my butts ($4, but 5 at most places), and sodas ($2 each). Looks like everybody (thankfully) got the word about not spending much in Key West. Getting back on the ship brings on a whole new emotion, RELIEF!! It is an almost overwhelming feeling of joy that you have not completely screwed up your vacation by missing the boat. You may now go back into relaxation mode as you await another adventure.

[purplepeg]

We've taken a far amount of cruises and our experience has alwys been that the Head Waiter was Mr. (or Ms.) Snooty. We got SOOOO lucky this time. We had Arnold from Trinadad. We actually tipped him more than the recommended which is unheard of for us. He was pleasant, personable and present. He went out of his way to greet us and to chat - not only at dinner but at other times as well. He is what a Head Waiter should be!

We loved Arnold too and tipped him above and beyond the recommended amount. He was always around and talking to us wherever he saw us. Our wait staff were all right but not over the top like I was expecting from Disney.

[purplepeg]

I love that reflection picture of you both but I actually get to see your face at dinner. Very nice picture. Thanks for not hating me after my soapbox rant:rotfl2: It's nice to hear what goes on after dark on the ship because I was always in bed by 10 pm:lmao: I love those newlywed games, they're always good for a laugh. Love the food pictures. It's funny, the other day I was looking at my Pirate night menu and wondering why I did't order different things. It's funny how you're tastes are different at home and not hungry. At one point on our cruise I couldn't decide which appetizer to get. I was thinking maybe our waiter would say "I'll just bring you both", but he said "get this one". I kind of felt maybe it was because he thought I could stand to lose a few pounds.:lmao: Keep it coming, you guys are doing a great job. Oh and a question, could you only get the porterhouse at Topsiders? I told Geodoc and he was like "what Porterhouse?" He probably would have had one every night if he'd known.

[King Charming]

Dinner this night was AP. This was our first night there so there was the show. Our table was in the same general area of the dining room as it had been the night before. This time our table touched the wall whereas the prior night we were one set of tables in from the portholes. At Parrots we were on the aisle near the wall, making this table easy to find also. I had heard so many different things about the show, from Mickey explodes, to...ah, OK, I didn't really hear that, but with everything except a kitchen sink included in various stories, I expected too much and was therefore slightly disappointed. I figure the less you know about the "changes", the more impressive they become. You should stay until your servers tell you the show is over is about all you will get from me about this very interesting place.

[Jillpie]

Well, its 2 AM, and I'm utterly hooked. Just fantastic, you have us right there, with every thing that you guys are doing. I just love it. Please, more and very soon!:thumbsup2

[CRSNDSNY]

:dance3: :hippie: popcorn::

[Hypermommy]

Hello again all.... you'll have to forgive me for not posting for a couple of days, but Saturday was National Scrapbooking Day and my scrapping mojo took over. Thank goodness all of my guys have enough sense to leave me alone when I'm scrapping. Some of the girls on SM asked what kinds of deals we had to make to be able to scrap all day. Fortunately, KC was gone most of the day working and then there's poker at night (standard Sat night thing). And as for the kids -- well, you know my line... I had an heir and a spare for a reason.. one of you can die.

But here I am again bright and bushy tailed and ready to go on with the report.

One of the folks on our list had posted sunrise times for the various ports we were going to be in and Key West was the latest sunrise, so that's the one I decided to be up for. DS12 decided he wanted to wake up with me and enjoy sunrise. So at 6:30 AM the phone rings and it's Mickey. I do so love those wake up calls. Even though it means I have to quit snoozing how can you be upset hearing that delightful voice?

DS12 and I went up to Topsiders and waited with several other folks for the sun to rise. During our wait and after the sun rose, I remembered that folks used to worship the sun and I can see why. First it's all dark with just the beginnings of a glow. Everyone's quite and what talking there is going on is in hushed tones. (Except for DS12, of course. I keep having to remind him to whisper.) And then, all of a sudden, before you even realize it's happening, the sun pops up -- magically... magestically embarking on it's daily journey across the sky. We got some great pics of sunrise but none can match the magic I felt that morning.

http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj18/hypermommy_2007/Cruise%20Pictures/Day%202%20-%20Key%20West/100_4150.jpg

Doesn't it look like there are ships or something in front of the sun? It took me a while before I figured out those were clouds. Hey, cut me some slack... it was early and I hadn't had enough coffee.
http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj18/hypermommy_2007/Cruise%20Pictures/Day%202%20-%20Key%20West/100_4151.jpg

http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj18/hypermommy_2007/Cruise%20Pictures/Day%202%20-%20Key%20West/100_4157.jpg

After the sunrise I took DS12 off to the windiest part of the ship that KC had found. It was on deck 9 forward... all the way up to where the captain has the docking deck (the clear-floored one he uses to see how close the ship is to the dock). At some point I snapped this pic of DS12.

http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj18/hypermommy_2007/Cruise%20Pictures/Day%202%20-%20Key%20West/100_4158.jpg

Then I took him back to the room where KC and DS14 were snoozing. Those two are sooooo much alike (which, believe you me is making my life interesting now that DS14 has hit the whole teenaged, moody, knows-everything portion of his life). I went up for a smoke. I learned to absolutely adore early mornings on the ship when it's quiet and I can have a smoke and coffee and usually a nice chat with Marian from Germany (who's English was very good). Mornings were absolutely magnificent!

I went back to the room and got some magnets up on the door and offloaded the pictures from my camera so I could make more room to take pics in Key West. By 8:25 I had my fanny pack loaded up (which I did while enjoying a smoke and a coffee and chatting with Marian -- and no, purplepeg, your "rant" didn't bother me at all... I know true concern when I hear it). I thought about getting some breakfast but my tummy was still a bit queasy. Besides, the music was on now by the adult pool and I have my smokes, my coffee and smooth jazz and a beautiful view. Who needs breakfast?

While I was sitting there I noticed the CM setting up the deck loungers by the pool. Now you know most folks would just get the things generally lined up, but not Disney. First, he got them off the stack and laid them out in the general location they were to be. Then he started back from the middle and raised the back of each of them and moved them a few inches here and there so they'd be perfectly aligned. You know, it's that attention to detail that makes me think I don't ever want to cruise or vacation anywhere except with Disney!

By 10AM, like KC said, he and DS14 rolled out of bed. I dunno... maybe I had a hand in that <evil grin>. DS14 and I went and got in the hot tub by the Goofy pool for a while becuase he wanted to try it out. After a while I ditched him (sorry baby) and came to the adult spa and relaxed.

The seas were even calmer now. Guess it's what KC said about being in close to land waters. Of course, it helped that we were going a lot slower. Maybe I will go get some breakfast.
http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj18/hypermommy_2007/Cruise%20Pictures/Day%202%20-%20Key%20West/100_4162.jpg

I caught up with a7moulton and her hubby and we chatted for a while and then KC showed up and joined us. It was a very relaxing and enjoyable time.

KC gave you the highlights of Key West so I'll just drop some pictures here.

http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj18/hypermommy_2007/Cruise%20Pictures/Day%202%20-%20Key%20West/100_4166.jpg
http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj18/hypermommy_2007/Cruise%20Pictures/Day%202%20-%20Key%20West/100_4181.jpg
http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj18/hypermommy_2007/Cruise%20Pictures/Day%202%20-%20Key%20West/100_4190.jpg
http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj18/hypermommy_2007/Cruise%20Pictures/Day%202%20-%20Key%20West/100_4194.jpg
http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj18/hypermommy_2007/Cruise%20Pictures/Day%202%20-%20Key%20West/100_4195.jpg

Cap'n Tony's was the place with the fun "show" and guitar player
http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj18/hypermommy_2007/Cruise%20Pictures/Day%202%20-%20Key%20West/100_4197.jpg

Some of the decorations at Cap'n Tony's
http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj18/hypermommy_2007/Cruise%20Pictures/Day%202%20-%20Key%20West/100_4204.jpg
http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj18/hypermommy_2007/Cruise%20Pictures/Day%202%20-%20Key%20West/100_4205.jpg
http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj18/hypermommy_2007/Cruise%20Pictures/Day%202%20-%20Key%20West/100_4206.jpg
http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj18/hypermommy_2007/Cruise%20Pictures/Day%202%20-%20Key%20West/100_4207.jpg

I purposely left off the picture that I took specifically for KC of the real "show" that went on. Hey... it's his vacation too... he should have some pictures of his favorite destinations and diversions :rotfl2:

And yes, I took some pictures of the fabled Key West sunset. It was beautiful.
http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj18/hypermommy_2007/Cruise%20Pictures/Day%202%20-%20Key%20West/100_4240.jpg
http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj18/hypermommy_2007/Cruise%20Pictures/Day%202%20-%20Key%20West/100_4241.jpg

As KC mentioned, our dinner was at Animator's Palete. I got the polento appetizer which was very good. I also go the pasta alfredo becuase I'd been jonesin' for some alfredo lately. It was good, but I had some of KC's filet mignon and wish I'd ordered that.

http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj18/hypermommy_2007/Cruise%20Pictures/Day%202%20-%20Key%20West/100_4242.jpg
http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj18/hypermommy_2007/Cruise%20Pictures/Day%202%20-%20Key%20West/100_4243.jpg
http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj18/hypermommy_2007/Cruise%20Pictures/Day%202%20-%20Key%20West/100_4244.jpg

Yes, I did take some pictures of the inside of AP, but I can't show them here becuase they'd give everything away. I agree with KC.... just enjoy the show (most of which happens at the end of dinner) and wait until the very end.

Speaking of dinner, this seems as good a place as any to mention it.... maybe KC and our family just aren't into the whole "fine dining" thing, but we were getting frustrated that dinner took 2 hours every night. We love good food as much as the next person (just look at me and you'll know that's true) but there's too much else going on to spend 2 hours sitting eating dinner. This is why you'll notice for the next couple of nights we're grabbing something at Topsiders. For dinner they aren't a buffet, but a table service restaurant. But they're like we're used to with nice tablecloths and fine wait staff and dinner's done in an hour. There are pros and cons to everything, you know... by going to Topsiders we learned about the fantastic porterhouse steaks. But later we learned that we could let our servers know we'd like to have dinner completed in less time and they accomodated us excellently. In fact, I almost felt guilty becuase they would stop whatever else they were doing when we got in so we could get our menu quickly and get on with dinner and get it done with so we could get back and enjoy the ship. They really were fantastic! No, excellent!!! That's the word they like to see on their guest survey :rotfl2:

When we got back to the room we had an elephant awaiting us.
http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj18/hypermommy_2007/Cruise%20Pictures/Day%202%20-%20Key%20West/100_4274.jpg

By this time it was about 10:00 and I was about to turn into a pumpkin. We let the boys head to their clubs with instructions to wake me when they got in. We timed their evening curfews so that they would be in after the activities in their clubs were done. I didn't mind them staying out late but they didn't need to be wandering the ship at night or they might pull a Pinocchio and turn into a donkey. Of course their curfews were adjusted based upon how late they were for dinner (yes, they were late for dinner again -- definitely if you're going to give anyone in your party time on their own, invest in a watch). I think KC might have spent the evening exploring the ship... not sure if this was this night or not. But since I was up at 6:30AM, 10:00 was as late as I could make it. I hated going to bed early because there was so much I was missing. But I guess I'm just too old to be burning the candle at both ends anymore.

Next up from me.... A day at sea (my birthday!) What a joy!!!

[LisaSp]

We loved Arnold too and tipped him above and beyond the recommended amount. He was always around and talking to us wherever he saw us. Our wait staff were all right but not over the top like I was expecting from Disney.

Just chiming in to say we had Arnold too and loved him. We also tipped him over and above! We have only taken 2 Disney cruises but he was 100% better than our head waiter on our 1st DC.

Also wanted to say this is a very entertaining TR! Keep it coming both of you!

[King Charming]

Let me first preface this by saying NO public outdoor area will ever be void of wandering people during "normal" hours, however....

The least used public outside spot with allowable access is indeed up on deck 9. There is two different ways to get to it, but because it is a dead end passageway, people come to it once, realize it is way too windy AND it goes nowhere, so they leave just as quickly. Due to the way the ship is laid out, you can not walk forward on deck 9 to see the front of the boat on the right side, but you can over on the port (left) side. You can get to the spot by either walking all the way forward up the left side of deck 9, or can use the staircase (again forward port side) from deck 10 to get there. At the end of this passageway are two locked doors. One comes from the spa area, the other is for crew members coming/going to the bridge (I think). I NEVER saw anybody use these doors during the hours I spent there. As it was so very windy at the front of the ship during transit, it was an ideal place for a private puff or two. And because nobody hangs out there (except me), if they did realize I was smoking, they didn't say a word. (I was afterall, there first). Most folks were chagrined to find themselves turning around and leaving and therefore didn't stick around to chit-chat. Anybody coming down the steps could be seen WAY before they are aware of you. The absolute best time to go there is after dark. 90% fewer people use these mostly unused stairs, and you get extra warning of people walking up by wisely using the reflections. With the glass "bubble wall" you can see reflections of people AROUND THE CORNER!! Having a 10 to 15 second warning open up all kinds of exciting possibilities. I spent a great evening there Sunday night watching the lights of Havana come into view, along with a couple of "other" fun experiences. When we were sailing off into the sunset on Wed. night I had to share this spot w/ a few others taking pictures, but that was the only time I had unwanted others to deal with. This place is also THE place to be to watch the Capt dock the ship when he is using the port side flying bridge since you can look down on him. I brought a chair there Sun. and Mon. nights, but they had been removed by morning each time so I stopped. Go there sometime (but leave after I get there and say hello), you will find this to be the most windy spot, and least used spot on the ship. Strangely enough, 7 paces away from the railing here is also the calmest outdoor spot as far as wind goes. The two doors at the end are recessed back into the structure with a small dry area out front in case of rain. I think you will really like my spot, don't tell anybody else so this can remain OUR secret.

[King Charming]

I started drinking the beers I brought Sun evening after DW turned in. One of the best perks of having the "crack of dawn" come at 10am is late nights. :cool1: . I checked out channel 12 (more about this great TV channel later) to figure out that it really was Havana I saw around 12-12:30. I grabbed a couple more brews in my jacket pockets and headed back up to the designated smoking area. It was here that I got to play "Who's the Rookie Now?". With the bars closed I shared a beer & a smoke with a guy from Cal. (CG). He has cruised many times before , both Disney and others :confused3 and insisted on educating me on the ways of the seas when I admitted I had never cruised before (silly me). He was going on & on about this and that, and I'm busy waving and talking to everybody who happens to wander by. First it was Dear Barbara, a gentle lady who I ended up smoking with at least twice a day for the whole cruise. Then Connie's friends from Germany come by. Although her English is good, both CG and my ears stopped working 3 beers ago. We did manage a friendly wave and smile when they realized our impairment and moved on. CG mumbled something about them being from France, so I set him straight about where they were from and the wedding planned for Thurs. Finally when John stopped by for a heartly hello (another regular & fellow DIS'er TECHPMJ), CG couldn't stand it anymore and demanded to know how I knew so many different people, from so many different countries, when I had never been on the ship before.

"You did vote for me, didn't you?" Whoa, this really threw him, huh? "Thank you" I said. "It was really an honor being elected 'The MOST POPULAR Passenger'". I loved watching his expression change. From confussion to 'damn, what did I miss out on', from 'did he really say what I think he did', to 'kinda play along with him'. I just love pulling a leg when given an opportunity, and this poor fellow set himself up perfectly. I laid it on thicker and thicker until even I couldn't believe the load of crap I was serving up and burst out laughing. I quickly told him about the DIS boards and the cruise meet forum we were active in. I sure hope CG can forgive me for yanking his chain so hard I may have left a scar. ;)

[aemacias]

KC and Hyppermommy,

I am truly enjoying the trip report, brings back good memories of our first cruise. However, I don't remember anything spectacular happening at the end of the show at AP. I think we missed it:confused3 Can you PM and share the details? Please?

thanks and keep those details comming
adri

[CRSNDSNY]

"You did vote for me, didn't you?" Whoa, this really threw him, huh? "Thank you" I said. "It was really an honor being elected 'The MOST POPULAR Passenger'". I loved watching his expression change. From confussion to 'damn, what did I miss out on', from 'did he really say what I think he did', to 'kinda play along with him'. I just love pulling a leg when given an opportunity, and this poor fellow set himself up perfectly. I laid it on thicker and thicker until even I couldn't believe the load of crap I was serving up and burst out laughing. I quickly told him about the DIS boards and the cruise meet forum we were active in. I sure hope CG can forgive me for yanking his chain so hard I may have left a scar.


:rotfl2:

[King Charming]

I again sprang from bed at the crack of 11? Upon becoming human after nicotine and Pepsi levels become stable I find I'm feeling better than the new day looks. Perfect temp (around 80), good breeze (we must be cruisin), barely any waves or clouds as we sail around Cuba. Today is a sea day, and Bday cake is on the menu so it should be a good day. It is also formal night and we will get our pictures taken in our rented tux'es. I sure hope all of this doesn't interfer with my drinking today. :rotfl:

[DisneyDavO]

You guys are making me miss the ship so bad its killing me! Deniece, my wife and I were also pretty early risers, so we too missed most of the night action. I did try to go to kareoki one night with Aubrey, but we were falling asleep in the chairs. Thats the one thing I will do different next time, at least one sleep in so we can stay up past 10:30.:faint:

[King Charming]

So in checking my notes, it seems that I was up at the crack of 9am. I guess I turned in around 2am. Our character breakfast was at 9:45, and the boss said I was eating. Thankfully we were warned that it would be different than previous meals in that Mickey & friends do NOT come to the table for pics. That Monday morning I wrote: What's worse than sitting on a side aisle when the Mic is dancing in the center of the room AND he is immediately surrounded by dancing children and mom's with cameras (DW included); to not see Mickey but only the backs of a knot of people? Careful what you ask for silly boy...

It is when Mickey makes his second appearance and stations himself 8 feet from your table. We were instantly set upon by hordes of hyper people with flash cameras as you are eating your bacon. One hypermommy is super cool, by the dozens my love drops off exponentially. The insane part was that DW couldn't get a decent photo of him even being seated 10 feet away! (Over) eager moms had no problem pushing their way between the table and the mouse. I wish they would go back to the old way when you got one minute at the table for photos with each character. (Are ya listening in there? :rolleyes1 )

[King Charming]

Nothing really happened, please skip to the next post. :lmao:

I know at some point we had lunch as a family. We covered our itinerary and deadlines. I do remember after lunch the boys and I tried on our clothes. Finding a sizing error at the last minute will not do. One of the reasons I rented from Fancy Cruise Duds dot com or whatever was the on-board dude who can fix problems. I never had to figure that one out because they came through as promised.

I discovered the Cove Cafe today. This has got to be the 2nd most unused indoor public area on deck 9. (the other is the 4 chair w/ table area at the 9 Forward elevators). The cafe has seating for 20-25, and has a big screen TV set to CNN News. It was nice to touch base with reality for a few minutes everyday. They sell deluxe coffee and cocktails, and give away treats worthy of Palo (where it probably came from). In the day-time, the unlocked display case contains sweets, neat tasty finger food type stuff. There are plates and napkins to the left of the large glass case. In the late afternoon/evening they swap out the petit fours for hors d'oeuvres. Although they look devine, they only tasted pretty good. It was only toward the end of the cruise that I noticed I was not taking the first or second serving. Even though the stuff is display quality, it is really there to be eaten with your cup of joe or nibbling on over a pre dinner drink. Or just raid the place to satisfy your cravings. I thought it was great planning to put this neat place within 200 feet of my favorite spot.

[Hypermommy]

You know Mickey planned that just for you, darling. I know he likes to take your money but you must admit that he does try to make it fully worth it.

Gotta go... back to fighting with my external hard drive -- you know... the one that has all the pictures from the cruise on it (as well as hundreds of pictures from the last few years of Disney trips)? I'll try to get my thoughts on Monday posted as soon as I can, but y'all pray for me that I can at least recover this data.

[CRSNDSNY]

Great updates!

I am not sure how I feel about the changes to the character breakfast...I guess I'll have to wait and experience it for myself.

Hypermommy -- Hope you are able to recover your pictures!

[nzdisneymom]

I didn't know about the pastry-cabinet thing in Cove Cafe until another DISer showed it to me. I never got around to trying anything from it, but it's on my list of things to do on our next cruise :)

Can't wait to read more of your trip! Hypermommy - hope you get the hard drive working.

[King Charming]

We had talked about skipping dinner after complaining to ourselves that we weren't really DOING anything in the evenings. A two hour dinner wasn't working for us at all. I'd bore you with the details but when there is a 10 to 20 minute "built-in" pause between bread, salad, soup,... oh yeah, you didn't want to hear about it. You are right, it bored me too. Tonight we HAVE to go to dinner, I ordered a Bday cake for DW. If my deserving wife wants us to get all dressed up and eat a fancy dinner & cake, thats exactly what we are going to do!

Prior to dinner we had photos taken in front of a couple of back-drops set up around the lobby. This is something we planned and budgeted time for. I refer to this night's pictures as my $500 photographs since this is about what the outfits and the pics themselves cost. After seeing the way some of them turned out, I guess I can say I got my money's worth.

We are back in A.P. again, sans show. Dinner again took forever, and THEN the wait began. After a long while I spy the head boss holding a cake, the next moment he is across the room (must not be our cake). A minute later he has moved, but still has the cake. Maybe he is showing it off (must be some cake). After watching the man for 5 mins or so, I realize he's not showing it off, he is actually needed at all these tables (or at least speaking w/ them) and is merely "taking the cake" with him. Another 5 minutes later he has rounded up a group of servers who sing Happy Birthday as Mr. Marco presents the well traveled cake. There has got to be a quicker way, and we aim to find it.

[Kim1964]

I'm very much enjoying this report. As a cruise newbie, I'm learning a LOT about what to expect and what to plan on circumventing next year when we go:).

[King Charming]

After dinner the kids were sent back to the room to hang up their fancy clothes and change into "you can get dirty in that if you want" clothes. This was done in record time and off they went for a few more minutes of whatever they have been finding to do. We had plans :love: , but they suddenly don't include champagne. DW wants to blame her upset tummy from Sat nite on the bubbly we had that evening. Granted, it wasn't the best stuff in the world (black bottle brand), but it wasn't THAT bad. She has never really liked the drink and only choked down a glass to be polite to me. (Yes, a rarity). Thats fine. DW had planned on dragging me out on the dance floor this evening (we even took lessons!), but I helped her change her mind. For her Bday I took her into the gift shop and got her an oversized (12x12) Mickey/DCL scrap book that is sure to be filled with memories when we get home.

The kids showed up after midnight (late again), and with me almost asleep, room service for four was ordered! "Whatever you want, Dear." (an extremely seldom used phrase) was again heard during the cruise. I tipped the guy 2 bucks a plate, ate a meat sandwich, and fell back asleep all in one motion. I'm told that the light got turned off around 2am.

If this didn't turn out to be her best birthday EVER, I might as well turn in my "man card" and just stop trying.

[Hypermommy]

Good morning again all,

I've not been trying to ignore the TR, but there have been so many things getting in the way. Don't tell purplepeg but I think I may be understanding what she's going through trying to get her TR up. :rotfl2:

Well, I got a quote on recovering my data on my EHD. $500-2500. Wow!!! I'm going to check in town.... there's got to be a better option. Fortunately, I had uploaded a bunch of pics to photobucket in preparation for this trippie so it's not a complete loss and I can go on with the report.

Monday was an absolutely wonderful morning! I slept through the night without incident and woke feeling refreshed and happy -- exactly how I should feel for this day I had been most looking forward to - my birthday at sea! Marion and I had some coffee and wonderful conversation again and it was a perfect morning.

Our character breakfast was scheduled at 9:45 and like KC said, it was something of a madhouse. I understand that the restaurants are perhaps too large for the characters to cover every table in a traditional character meal type setup, but they've got to think of something else. As soon as the characters showed up in the middle all the kids went up -- well, not mine.. they're to old for that kind of thing and not old enough yet to realize that acting like a kid can be fun sometimes. But I couldn't get a good shot with the characters out in the center like that and all the little kids and moms around them. So I figured I'd blend into the crowd as if I were one of the moms and off I went. Later I realized that the characters do parade around the big aisle in the room so I could have sat and enjoyed my breakfast. Oh well... I got some good pictures.

Check out the "tell me again why I'm up this early" look on KC's face
http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj18/hypermommy_2007/Cruise%20Pictures/Day%203%20-%20Day%20at%20Sea%20and%20Formal%20Night/100_4313.jpg

http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj18/hypermommy_2007/Cruise%20Pictures/Day%203%20-%20Day%20at%20Sea%20and%20Formal%20Night/100_4360.jpg

http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj18/hypermommy_2007/Cruise%20Pictures/Day%203%20-%20Day%20at%20Sea%20and%20Formal%20Night/100_4355.jpg

http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj18/hypermommy_2007/Cruise%20Pictures/Day%203%20-%20Day%20at%20Sea%20and%20Formal%20Night/100_4330.jpg

http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj18/hypermommy_2007/Cruise%20Pictures/Day%203%20-%20Day%20at%20Sea%20and%20Formal%20Night/100_4361.jpg

Here are the guys with Jaiyme, our Assistant Server. She was wonderful and so friendly and always smiling and fun to be with all week.
http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj18/hypermommy_2007/Cruise%20Pictures/Day%203%20-%20Day%20at%20Sea%20and%20Formal%20Night/100_4362.jpg

So breakfast ended around 11:00 and then it was time for Jim and the kids to try on the tuxes and make sure there are no problems. That leaves me time to go do what I'm interested in. There was a digital photography seminar at 11:15 and I always want to learn to take better pictures so off I went. Oh, as an aside because I just thought of it ... if you're ever at Mousefest and get a chance to take one in of Tim Devine's meetings about taking better pictures, don't miss it. His photographs are excellent and he loves sharing the information. Unfortunately, that is not what this seminar was. I sat through the first few slides where they were talking about the differences between digital and traditional cameras. Then the leader talked about what pixels were. About that time I decided the seminar wasn't for me. I sat there for a while trying to figure out if I should just leave, but thinking that would be incredibly rude. I wasn't the only one there or anything but I'd positioned myself right up front (as I do when I want to learn something). Finally I decided this was my vacation, not the leader's, and she'd just have to deal with it. I know that sounds callous but I didn't want to waste an hour listening to stuff I already knew. So off I went.

I don't have any notes about what I did between 11:45'ish (when I left the seminar) and 3pm when I went down to the room to prepare for Karen's most excellent offer to do my hair. I remember my birthday being absolutely perfect so I know I must have just relaxed and enjoyed a day at sea. I know after Monday I decided days at sea were my favorite so I know I had a great time. I'm sure I got a drink or two (not me!) becuase I do have this picture.

http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj18/hypermommy_2007/Cruise%20Pictures/Day%203%20-%20Day%20at%20Sea%20and%20Formal%20Night/100_4363.jpg

And I know I must have caught up with KC at some point at his deck 9 forward secret hiding place because I have this one (which is taken in front of the door we think goes to the bridge)
http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj18/hypermommy_2007/Cruise%20Pictures/Day%203%20-%20Day%20at%20Sea%20and%20Formal%20Night/100_4365.jpg

At 3:00 I went down to prepare for Karen doing my hair. Karen was one of the most active members of the pre-cruise thread we had going here at the DIS (which is still going and a few people are planning another cruise so that thread might just take off and keep going and going and going....). At one point before the cruise I'd wondered how much it was going to cost to get the salon to do my hair up in a Cinderella style before the ball, er, uh, I mean dinner. Karen kindly offered to do my hair for me and save me the $$$ of going to the salon. She's such a sweet and wonderful lady. She was coming at 4 so I went to the room at 3 to order the cheese platter and a corkscrew and two glasses for the wine that I'd brought for us to share. Can you think of a more wonderful way to get ready for the ball than to enjoy time with friends enjoying wine and cheese? I sure can't.

Karen got there after the martini tasting and had brought a couple of the martinis with her. Turns out a friend of hers had surprised everyone with tickets to the martini tasting. But I never have cared for martinis either so they just sat there. Not so the wine, of course. Oh, by the way.. this is the bottle of wine we got charged $15 to drink even though Disney never saw it. I'd heard if you take a bottle of wine to dinner they'll charge you a $15 uncorking fee. It never occurred to me the same fee would apply if you drink it in your room. Next time I'm taking a corkscrew... I figure if a pair of scissors can get through security hopefully so will a corkscrew. We'll just have to see. What's the worst that could happen -- they take it away and still charge me $15? I'll have to try at least.

Anyway... Karen came at four and we had a great time with her doing my hair and talking about my DS14. Karen's a middle school teacher, I think of special needs kids, and it was great to get her take on the whole Asperger's thing. At least I had a great time... don't know about poor Karen. First, I couldn't find all the bobby pins I brought so we only had about 8 or 10 to work with. And then she gets a call from one of the other dis thread cruise buddies asking if Karen can do her daughter's hair who had suddenly decided she wanted to look like a princess. And, of course through all of this I forgot that Karen had the early seating for dinner. I sure hope she had time to go back and get herself ready without much stress. But boy, she did a fantastic job! Check it out!!!

http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj18/hypermommy_2007/Cruise%20Pictures/Day%203%20-%20Day%20at%20Sea%20and%20Formal%20Night/100_4367.jpg

So now it was time for the ball. Okay, so it's really only dinner aboard the Magic. But it's my birthday and I actually spent weeks looking for the perfect dress. This is one of the things this cruise did to/for me that I sure wasn't prepared for... I actually had a great time looking for two perfect dresses for the cruise - one for formal night and one for semi formal night. Now I know this doesn't sound like a terribly new thing or anything but for me it is. You gotta remember that I'm a redneck woman of the first caliber who has absolutely no problem standing barefooted in my own front yard (or anywhere else for that matter) with a baby on my hip (someone else's baby -- I love "give back" kids but I'm not having any more God willing. That's just too much work). Anyway, I found the semi formal dress pretty quickly but looked and looked and looked for a dress for formal night. I had pretty strict requirements about this dress, the most important of which is that I'd wear full crinoline under it so it puffed out like a princess gown and made the tiara look right. Because of course I'm wearing a tiara and I don't care if no other adult onboard does. It's my birthday on the Disney Magic and if I can't be a princess this night I never will. The dress turned out to be a bit paler than I'd like (I like rich colors... a forest green would have been perfect) but since I wasn't willing to pay full price, I took what I could get.

So did I get to be a princess that night? But of course... King Charming had his charisma turned on full force and the boys were well behaved and extremely polite. Everyone on the ship seemed to realize what I was going for and was very kind and deferential and treated me like royalty. I must admit that I almost ruined my make up when I saw my darling King Charming and my two princes in their formal wear. Last week we had a scrapbooking challenge in which we had to use the quote from Yeats that says "I kiss you and kiss you with arms 'round my own. Ah how I shall miss you my dear when you've grown." Is it any wonder that I used the formal picture of my two young men with this quote? They looked so grown up and so handsome and so wonderful. And KC looked absolutely dashing (see for yourself).

http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj18/hypermommy_2007/Cruise%20Pictures/Day%203%20-%20Day%20at%20Sea%20and%20Formal%20Night/100_4378.jpg
http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj18/hypermommy_2007/Cruise%20Pictures/Day%203%20-%20Day%20at%20Sea%20and%20Formal%20Night/100_4379.jpg
http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj18/hypermommy_2007/Cruise%20Pictures/Day%203%20-%20Day%20at%20Sea%20and%20Formal%20Night/100_4380.jpg
http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj18/hypermommy_2007/Cruise%20Pictures/Day%203%20-%20Day%20at%20Sea%20and%20Formal%20Night/FormalNightAllOfUs.jpg
http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj18/hypermommy_2007/Cruise%20Pictures/Day%203%20-%20Day%20at%20Sea%20and%20Formal%20Night/FormalNightBoys.jpg
http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj18/hypermommy_2007/Cruise%20Pictures/Day%203%20-%20Day%20at%20Sea%20and%20Formal%20Night/FormalNightMickeyMariner-1.jpg
http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj18/hypermommy_2007/Cruise%20Pictures/Day%203%20-%20Day%20at%20Sea%20and%20Formal%20Night/FormalNightMomandDad.jpg

See there... wasn't the gown perfect? Thanks so much to my boss's wife from whom I borrowed the crinoline and the jewelry and the tiara. And thanks to KC who made sure everything for the ball went perfect. I had the most excellent birthday!!!

We were in Animator's Palette again that night but with no show. I had hoped that without the show dinner wouldn't take as long. No such luck... it still took a couple of hours. That's just not our cup of tea. We started talking about maybe getting room service or something for dinner the next night. Just not into the two hour dinner thing. And then we had to wait and wait for dessert. Everyone was telling me I had to stay for dessert - even DS14 said it would be rude to leave before dessert. Wait a minute... instruction on etiquitte from DS14? Something must be up. Yep... a beautiful cake is brought to our table and we put a good dint in it and took the rest back to the room.

Oh, I so wanted to go dancing in my ballgown. I had dreams before the trip of waltzing with King Charming to the strains of "So This Is Love" (my song for him). But after dinner we were both tired and I didn't feel like dancing. So we went for a swim (the water was cold!) and a dip in the hot tub (very nice as long as I didn't get my sunburned shoulders in).

I have a note that the kids were on time for curfew. They were late for most of the times we told them to meet us somewhere but they were usually on time for dinner. By this time I was hungry and so was bottomless pit #2. We got some food, including something for KC which he grumbled he wanted when I told him I was calling room service. You know, I think he's right... he ate and went back to sleep all in one motion. I closed the curtains and let the kids watch tv for a while until they nodded off.

Absolutely no need to turn in your "man card", KC. This was absolutely and without a doubt the most excellent birthday I have ever celebrated in my entire life. Thank you, darling!!!!

Next up from me... There and Back Again (aka Grand Cayman Day)

[CRSNDSNY]

WOW! What a wonderful addition to your report. YOu look LOVELY inthat dress and your men look absolutely handsome! I really love that color green!
Sounds like the perfect bday to me!

[wdhinn89]

You looked FANTASTIC!!! and so did your family. I heard so much about your dress on our meet thread and I couldn't wait to see it. It was beautiful and elegant.;) What a great family potrait too.

PS. Karen, you did a beautiful job on Denises' hair. :thumbsup2

[frdeb1999]

What a fantastic TR so far! The pics are beautiful! :)

[nzdisneymom]

You guys sure clean up nice! Love the formal pics. There is no way I'd ever get DH and the boys in tuxes...... although I will have to show DS#1 the pic of your DS#2 so he can see that it's cool for boys their age to dress up nice for their moms once in a while! (BTW, just so you'll know, my DS#1 is talking to your DS#2 about DVC ownership.... is that part-time home in your future?)

[King Charming]

This was the morning I slept until 11. Thanks to the time switch I get an hour of that time back. Grand Cayman (GC) apparently doesn't do daylight saving time and with Cozumel in the Central Time Zone, ship clocks are set back one hour during the next two days to line up with local time. GC is the only port you ride a tender to get ashore. Prior to 12:30 your name needs to be on someone's list for a seat on a tender. I/we were so slow that morning our names never made it on no stinkin list. We eventually take the 8-10 minute tender ride over, walk around and take it all in. It was ANOTHER perfect day, around 80 w/ scattered clouds. There was a band playing and still quite alot of activity considering it was 1pm. There was another ship out there with us, and a couple more further on down.

For months DW has been enjoying the play on words for this visit. I've been directed to Hell so many different ways it's finally gotten old. At least now I get to pick how big a hand basket to get me there. We walk out to the street and there are guys holding placecards touting their organized trips around the island. The only one I really spoke to explained it was 12 bucks a head to go to Hell, 20 each for Hell/Turtle Farm/Rum Cake. He never said anything about coming back or roundtrip, but it made no difference to me. No thank you. Quick, grab the family and walk away, this man hates us!! Ya see, I knew about the bus :cool1: . One of the websites I visited said there were 3 bus lines on the island. The one to Hell & back runs every 15 mins, the other two that go east run every 30. Everyone I ask says the depot is over by the library 3-4 blocks away. See that little (out house sized) white building over there? Go there and pay the man. Huh? Over we go and sure enough there are prices on the wall. Only 2.50 USD per, each way, and similar low prices to the other places. We get in this vehicle over here? SURE! The bus is really a 14 passenger van with a siding side door, right hand drive with A/C, with driving on the left side of the street. The driver said we would leave in five minutes, then does!

I loved this guy. He drove fast and lived on his horn. It made no difference what the driver was trying to say, be it "The bus is coming", or "Hi there" or "Get the hell outta the way". It all sounded the same beep beep. I guess it took about 20 minutes to cover the 10 or 12 miles to Hell. We went past some pretty fancy resorts along the way. We stopped 6-7 times to trade passengers.

The road to Hell is actually paved fairly well, but I didn't see a single good intention anywhere. :laughing:

So we get to Hell and the driver says he is going up the road to turn around and will be back the way in 15 minutes! This guy made the trip up fun, I really don't want to miss a repeat proformance. Next up: Into Hell Itself!

[Hypermommy]

You guys sure clean up nice! Love the formal pics. There is no way I'd ever get DH and the boys in tuxes...... although I will have to show DS#1 the pic of your DS#2 so he can see that it's cool for boys their age to dress up nice for their moms once in a while! (BTW, just so you'll know, my DS#1 is talking to your DS#2 about DVC ownership.... is that part-time home in your future?)

All riiiiiight!!! Tell him to talk it up big. I'd love to have DVC and then we could cruise much more often and/or go to the parks and not "pay" for lodging. Yep... see, KC, it'd be a good thing! :lmao:

[Hypermommy]

I thought the little bus stop building was blue. Just in case someone's going to try to take this bus I thought I'd mention that. But KC could very well be right because we all know I have CRS. Anyway, it is right by the library and it's just a few blocks inland. Very easy to find and get to and very, very much cheaper than taking tourist-y transportation.

[jollytammy]

I just loved your dress!! And your trip report is wonderful. Keep up the good work!

[sejejoemmiev]

Oh, now I know you think I'm a horrible mom. I'm not. I'm just not a nice person :banana: :rotfl2: :cool1:

:rotfl2: :rotfl2: :lmao: :lmao: :rotfl2: :rotfl2:

[King Charming]

We saw pictures of everything there is to see in Hell that have been posted. How do I know I have seen it all? Because there are only 20 photographs TO take, even if you waste 5 of them. Hell is also fun and I'm glad I came (but not 50 bucks glad by any stretch). Hell is a gift shop and a gas station. Thats it! There is a field/pasture across the street. I went next door to the very old Cheveron (I think) station for a pack of butts and some cold Pepsi while they shopped. Then I went and got the camera and went out back to photograph the strange rock formations, iguanas, trees, cute tourists, whatever. DW had already taken the front of store pics. The 'Stick your face thru here' poorly painted and faded devil and angel, 'Welcome to Hell' signs, etc; all 8 of the required photos.

I thought the black limestone and story behind the resulting formations was neat although the boys were more interested in the wildlife. The smallish shop is exactly what you expect after seeing the outside. About half T-shirts, but every single item has the word Hell on it. The funnier the printed saying on a shirt, the less likely the kids could wear it to school. There was a 5 dollar rack of shirts that became 8 bucks because someone must have moved it down from the upper shelf. Expect to pay $8.50 USD for iron-on transfer shirts (we got 4). I probably spent 50 bucks in Hell. You can buy these shirts around the port, but you won't have nearly as large a selection or be able to brag about going to (and coming back from) Hell.

[King Charming]

The driver is waiting! Just another valid reason to tip the guy extra. The guy is such a veteran driver that I knew no matter how close he came, we won't be delayed in a traffic accident. So it was a fun trip back into George Town. Irish skin and tropical beaches simply should not mix, so we didn't even try SPF 10K on Seven Mile Beach. We spoke to the driver about letting us off at a shopping center before getting into town. As a result of all the ritzy resorts that have popped up along that beach, shops have blossomed one block in. We saw several larger "strip" centers on the way up and figured prices would be better away from the port. Not really advised our driver, he said greater variety, quality, and price could be found around the port. It didn't dawn on me until later that walking around with three other fools who have tourist written all over them would not be the safest thing I could do for our family. Thankfully I'm good at taking advice and knew I'd feel more secure if I can see the ship and the tender area. We stopped in dozens of stores and shops and only bought new reading glasses for DW, cuban cigars, and 5 dollar T-shirts.

A thing to remember about shopping in GC. You will pay more than the listed price for everything because of the difference in value between the US and GC dollar. When we were there 1.2 USD = 1.0 GCD; simply put, anything listed for 10 bucks really cost twelve dollars American.

We also had issues with DS12. He is at an age/stage where 'parents are not cool to be with in public' and 'I can get around fine by myself'. Only NOT in a foreign country where getting separated/lost WILL ruin the day, and could monkey-wrench the whole week.

Getting back on the ship via tender was as easy and uncrowded as coming over. Being back on the ship brings that same overwhelming sense of relief, times two! At least a screw-up in KW would only cost hundreds in addition to the automatic forfeit of at least part of the cruise. Now it would have cost thousands; it's good to be home.

[LITTLEKID58]

TFS great TR

[KristinK]

Loving your TR! Can't wait for more...

"We also had issues with DS12. He is at an age/stage where 'parents are not cool to be with in public' and 'I can get around fine by myself'. Only NOT in a foreign country where getting separated/lost WILL ruin the day, and could monkey-wrench the whole week."

We had similar issues w/ DS18 on our Eastern last September...:rolleyes1 The morning we docked in St. Maarten, we went to wake DS to get ready to go ashore, and he told us to go ahead without him, that he'd met a new friend in the Stack the previous evening and would be spending the day on the island with him...I DON'T THINK SO!!!:laughing:

He was pretty determined, but as he was still sleepy and in bed, I grabbed his wallet and confiscated his KTTW card and ID and informed him that he was either welcome to join us for the day, or he could spend the day on the ship...Well, he wasn't very pleased with me for a bit, but he came around and we ultimately enjoyed a wonderful day on the island - together! :thumbsup2

Hurry and post more - I need something to do when I'm supposed to be working ;)

[Hypermommy]

He was pretty determined, but as he was still sleepy and in bed, I grabbed his wallet and confiscated his KTTW card and ID and informed him that he was either welcome to join us for the day, or he could spend the day on the ship...Well, he wasn't very pleased with me for a bit, but he came around and we ultimately enjoyed a wonderful day on the island - together! :thumbsup2

The way I figure it, if my kids aren't happy with me then I must be doing my job right. LOL at taking his card and ID. It's a good feeling to know you can still outsmart your offspring, isn't it?

Well, let's see. My notes say that I slept in this morning. Now, for me, sleeping in means getting up around 7 or 8, since I'm usually up by 4 or 5 in the morning. Moms, out there... you'll know what I mean -- it's the only time that the house is quiet so my body's gotten used to being up at that time.

I also have a note that we were off the ship by 11. Guess I'm remembering things slightly differently than KC. Or maybe I'm still on Eastern time and he's on island time or something. We got some breakfast at Topsiders.

http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj18/hypermommy_2007/Cruise%20Pictures/Day%204%20-%20Grand%20Cayman/100_4385.jpg

And then it was off to GC. The tender over to GC was quick and uneventful. The island was pretty and I got a couple of pictures as we were headed up to the bus/van stop.

Got a pretty good view of the ship from the tender
http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj18/hypermommy_2007/Cruise%20Pictures/Day%204%20-%20Grand%20Cayman/100_4389.jpg

And the obligatory welcome picture
http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj18/hypermommy_2007/Cruise%20Pictures/Day%204%20-%20Grand%20Cayman/100_4393.jpg

You guys know that techno song about "he is a crazy frog!" that has the old "Axle F" song with it? Well, we love that song around here (I'm trying to keep up with the teenagers, but I can feel my age with some of their music :scared1: ) so we just had to get this picture
http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj18/hypermommy_2007/Cruise%20Pictures/Day%204%20-%20Grand%20Cayman/100_4396.jpg

Now this next picture has a pretty good story related to it. We found this sign outside a bar that said you had to be this tall to order a drink. So, of course, my teenager and 6-months-away-from-teenager sons had to go see how they rated. Yep, they're old enough to order a drink. DS14 told me that the counselors in the Stack had given the kids strict instructions that if there was any alcohol in their system when they got back on the ship they'd be in a ton of trouble. But I told him it'd be okay because we were going to be walking around in the sunshine and I wouldn't let him drink enough to get drunk or even noticably tipsy. But I thought it might make a good story to tell their friends that they were in a place in which it was legal for them to order a drink so they did. Besides... remember the first time you had a beer? I remember DS12 asked me for a taste of my Amber Bock one time so I poured about a pinkie finger full in a cup and let him try it. To his credit, he did not spew it all over the living room. So I figured a couple of sips would be all they could stand -- not enough to effect them in any way shape or form but a great story to tell their friends. So up we went to the bar. When we got up there the bartender let DS14 know that he could order a drink -- a coke. But if he wanted alcohol he had to be 18. Well, I kinda figured it'd be something like that but it was worth a shot. It would have been a great story to tell his friends!
http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj18/hypermommy_2007/Cruise%20Pictures/Day%204%20-%20Grand%20Cayman/100_4397.jpg

Next come some pictures taken at Hell. I was rather disappointed in Hell. Really it's only about the size of a city block with a gift shop on one corner, a gas station on the other and the rest of the lot filled with the black rocks. Our wonderful cabby (Mr. Beep Beep) got back so quickly that I didn't even get a chance to take a picture of the rock formations. The boys took pictures of that while I was in the gift shop sending some obligatory postcards, but I haven't uploaded their pictures yet. Besides, just google up "Hell, Grand Cayman" and you'll see just about every shot there is.

Met the proprietor though. At least I saw the guy who's mug is on all of the postcards and such. I gotta admit a measure of admiration for this guy. He takes this little area of rock where nothing can grow and makes it a destination for thousands of tourists every year coming from all over the world. Talk about a marketing genius!!! And he was really funny. As I walked up to the counter to pay for my postcards and get stamps he cheerily asks "How the hell are you?" And when I'm asking where the mailboxes are, he points to a door where there's a guy standing and tells me I can get out right there if that guy will get the hell out of my way. Dude was really cool and I wish I'd given myself more time to talk to him. I'll bet he has some great stories to tell.

Most of the pictures I got at Hell were of the boys in the angel and devil cutouts. Actually, this was totally appropriate since the only things that hold up my sons' halos are their horns.

http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj18/hypermommy_2007/Cruise%20Pictures/Day%204%20-%20Grand%20Cayman/100_4401.jpg
http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj18/hypermommy_2007/Cruise%20Pictures/Day%204%20-%20Grand%20Cayman/100_4403.jpg
http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj18/hypermommy_2007/Cruise%20Pictures/Day%204%20-%20Grand%20Cayman/100_4404.jpg
http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj18/hypermommy_2007/Cruise%20Pictures/Day%204%20-%20Grand%20Cayman/100_4406.jpg

How the hell are you?
http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj18/hypermommy_2007/Cruise%20Pictures/Day%204%20-%20Grand%20Cayman/100_4408.jpg

But Mr. Beep Beep was back in 15 minutes just like he said and off we headed back to the port. Once we got back to the port we shopped around a bit and KC bought himself a real cuban cigar.

http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj18/hypermommy_2007/Cruise%20Pictures/Day%204%20-%20Grand%20Cayman/100_4413.jpg

I was looking for tanzinite becuase I'd heard about it and seen examples at the jewelry talk yesterday but I found out that it was very expensive. I'm still hoping to get a tanzinite piece someday becuase it is a brilliant color, but we'll see. See how much this cruise has turned me into a girl?!?! Now I'm even thinking about real jewelry :scared1:

So we just took pictures instead
http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj18/hypermommy_2007/Cruise%20Pictures/Day%204%20-%20Grand%20Cayman/100_4415.jpg

And yes, DS12 wouldn't stay with us. I just wish these kids could see things logically. But then again, I guess I didn't when I was that age either. Yes, we restricted him to the room for a while once we got back onboard. But you can't stay mad at this little face for long, can you?
http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj18/hypermommy_2007/Cruise%20Pictures/Day%204%20-%20Grand%20Cayman/100_4420.jpg
http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj18/hypermommy_2007/Cruise%20Pictures/Day%204%20-%20Grand%20Cayman/100_4440.jpg

DS14 is, of course, a legend in his own mind... as kids of that age should be.
http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj18/hypermommy_2007/Cruise%20Pictures/Day%204%20-%20Grand%20Cayman/100_4421.jpg

And yes, we breathed another sigh of relief at not having missed the ship. Our Cozumel excursion is a Disney-booked one and I've heard they'll hold the boat for you if you're late getting back from one of their excursions. And I can't imagine they'd leave us at Castaway Cay (wouldn't that be "horrible"). So Grand Cayman was the last place that I really fretted about getting back to the ship on time. But we did and life was again really, really good.

http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj18/hypermommy_2007/Cruise%20Pictures/Day%204%20-%20Grand%20Cayman/100_4446.jpg
http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj18/hypermommy_2007/Cruise%20Pictures/Day%204%20-%20Grand%20Cayman/100_4447.jpg
http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj18/hypermommy_2007/Cruise%20Pictures/Day%204%20-%20Grand%20Cayman/100_4448.jpg

That afternoon I dropped by Diversions and played Pub Trivia. It was like Jeopardy and they even had buzzers and everything. All six of us who showed up were put in teams of two each. My partner and I knew most of the answers (except for the double jeopardy that we wagered $1K on) but just couldn't get the buzzer to work fast enough for us. The winners got nice hats and t-shirts but becuase there were so few of us, we all got a little keychain flashlight with the DCL logo on it. It was cool.

I caught up with KC and the rest of that afternoon we just relaxed. Met up with DS12 at 6:20 (they were supposed to meet us at 6:00 I believe). He was apparently up on deck playing Dr. Dodgeball. At 6:30 I went looking for DS14. I saw a note he'd written in the room that said he'd be back at 6:00 so I know he was trying but just lost track of the time (again). Definitely get a watch for every member of your party. I found DS14 in Quartermasters and sent him down to get changed while KC and DS12 played foosball.

While waiting I snapped some pics of the sunset (well, it was either me or KC, can't remember which).

http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj18/hypermommy_2007/Cruise%20Pictures/Day%204%20-%20Grand%20Cayman/100_4449.jpg

And here's a real competition.
http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj18/hypermommy_2007/Cruise%20Pictures/Day%204%20-%20Grand%20Cayman/100_4466.jpg

Check out the concentration
http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj18/hypermommy_2007/Cruise%20Pictures/Day%204%20-%20Grand%20Cayman/100_4471.jpg

Tonight we went to Topsiders becuase we just couldn't stand the idea of another 2 hour dinner. Everyone needs to go here at least once! It's a nice restaurant with table cloths and table service. See, this is what is usually considered a fine restaurant for us. Hey, it beats McDonald's. And you should see the porterhouse steak they serve here. I swear it covers the whole plate. Unfortunately, I didn't get a picture of it. When it arrived I just gawked at it and then dug in.

After dinner I went to see Twice Charmed. It was a nice show, but the storyline was a bit too much like the movie that they've put out where the evil stepmom goes back in time to ruin Cindy's destiny. Same plotline here. I guess if you have a good story you tell it everywhere you can. But I was rather disappointed. Some of the music was good and the Evil Fairy Godfather was absolutely a juicy part with great music.

After the show I caught back up with KC and we relaxed a bit. When we went back to the room we found a turtle on the bed.
http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj18/hypermommy_2007/Cruise%20Pictures/Day%204%20-%20Grand%20Cayman/100_4477.jpg

KC decided to go to sleep but I wasn't quite sleepy yet. So I took my little Cub Scout Mickey and got some more pictures around the ship with him. I plan to put these up on my website at some point. I saw DS14 in the pool and in the gameroom with some friends. Then it was off to bed for me too.

Next from me .... Hola! Benvenidos a Mexico!!

[King Charming]

Gee, who knew keeping track of 7 days could be so hard. OK, I may be off in the timing thing, but I'm darn sure I went to Hell. That's probably why TR's are solo efforts; no one to contradict you. I hope you could care less about what hour something got done, cause this old watchless one felt about the same way. There were only four times I really needed to know this trip; the 4 last call/all aboard times. I too remember doing stuff but am pretty hazy about when it got done. One of those things was the night I stayed up till close to 4 am. I put new batteries in the camera and took dozens of pics of our Scouting Mickey all over an empty ship. I didn't know to set the date that gets stamped on the photo and lost that way to trace it.

I do remember stopping by Guest Services for a copy of our bill (so far). I've been advised that this is a good ides since you are more likely to recall the charges. If they got something wrong at check-in this is the ideal time to straighten it out. There were three surprises on my bill. The first was that we had run up a 2 page bill so quickly. Next was the fact that they had tapped my credit card $800+ on Sunday. 4 or 5 hundred in charges and they automatically dun your card on file. They hit me for another $600+ on Thursday when I charged my tips a day early. Finally it was the total amount we three guys had run up in the arcade. I spoke to the boys about it and reminded them they were paying for it, they said to thank Meme.

I like the layout of the bill they give you. For each person with a KTTW card separately, it lists the date purchased, check #, server #, Location/Description, cost, & payments. The very brief description helps ID'ing what the charge was for. The cutest part is the heading. "Guest Folio - Summary" I guess there is a euphemism for everything. Some other things to know about billing is: How often they hit your credit card. Not all at the end unless you are under $400. You may use more than one credit card to pay. It takes a few minutes to swap out (and back) your primary card. Cash is accepted at Customer Services. Credits show up as expected and it is possible to run a neg balance. After a cash payment on Friday left me $100 to the good, it was explained that at the end they would apply it to my primary card as a payment on the card. At the end of the cruise Shutters took credit for this mistake.

[CRSNDSNY]

:surfweb:
Lots of great reading this morning. THANKS!

[Hypermommy]

First, sorry to contradict you, darling. I know you never make a mistake and it must have been me that just wrote it down wrong at the time it happened. That had to be it becuase you're always right, right?

Second, I agree completely with you that they make the guest folio very easy to read. It's very easy to see who made what charge becuase it's grouped by person. The only time this is a problem is if you have two persons in your family with the same name (like KC and DS14). Since they only use first and last names, all of those charges were in the same grouping. Now it was pretty much a given that DS14 wasn't ordering liquor but when it came to gameroom charges, there's no telling. KC found his golf game in the arcade and as soon as that was found he started splitting his time between there and the secret spot on Deck 9.

Oh, also before I get into Mexico, let me offer one other word to the wise that I learned. I participated in the "pay it forward" thread they have around here. This is where you can get postcards sent to your kids (or kids at heart) from someone that's going on a cruise before you and you promise to send out a few to folks that send you their snail mail info (via PM of course). I'd done this before during trips to the parks and it was always just as easy as pie. But it's harder on the cruise. In Key West we were there on a Sunday so no post office was open. And in Grand Cayman and Cozumel it was equally hard to find a place from which to mail postcards. Of course, there's Castaway Cay but they're notorious for taking forever to get postcards to someone (I still don't have the one I mailed myself from there) and since a couple of the cards I agreed to send were to kids who were cruising on 28 May, that wouldn't work. I should have checked at guest services, but I figured if I went that route they'd just be sent from Port Canaveral. And I could just as easily send them from PC when we got back. Of course, I didn't -- I was so tired and just forgot. So, I sent them from home here a few days ago. Just thought I'd mention it as something to keep in mind in case you want to particpate in this most wonderful "program".

Okay... on to Mexico.

On Cozumel Day I woke up at 5:30. Now that I'm back I realize it was Wednesday but they say the mark of a good vacation is when you forget what day it is and I did that about Sunday or Monday of this one. Anyway.. I woke up at 5:30 because we had a 9:15 meeting for the Tulum excursion. As was my wont by this time, I went up and got coffee and headed straight up to the seating area by the adult pool where I could smoke. I remember painting my nails after finally getting the fakes off that I wore on formal night. I also spent some time that morning giving out the goodie bag stuff we brought. We'd gotten a bunch of pirate themed stuff like paper pads, pencils, mini yo yos and mini beach balls. We put that in baggies with some candy and hoped everyone would like it. Giving out pirate themed stuff seemed like a good idea when we bought it. But when I realized I'd have to come back from an all day excursion and still have to go around and put out fish extender stuff... well, it wasn't such a good idea. But I found myself with some time in the morning so I got that done.

I woke the family up at 7 but no one started really moving until 7:30. I spent some time downloading the pics from the kids cameras so they'd have an empty memory card to fill in Mexico. Once everyone was up we went to breakfast at Topsiders.

9:15 came and we were at the Buena Vista theater as we were supposed to be. That's when DS12 realized he left his KTTW card in the room. He ran to go get that and left his hat there. Ugh! But eventually we got stickers that let the CMs know which excursion we were on. Turns out there were several excursions that all started out in the BV theater and then we were separated as we got to our areas. Just Disney moving people around quite effectively -- again :)

When we got off the ship we got on a very large tender like the yellow one in this picture.
http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj18/hypermommy_2007/Cruise%20Pictures/Day%205%20-%20Cozumel%20and%20Pirate%20Night/100_4492.jpg

I couldn't believe how clear the water was.
http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj18/hypermommy_2007/Cruise%20Pictures/Day%205%20-%20Cozumel%20and%20Pirate%20Night/100_4497.jpg

I sure am glad they gave out the seasickness pills before we even left the Magic though. I still felt queasy, but it wasn't as bad as I'm sure it could have been.

After about 45 minutes on the boat, we got to Playa del Carmen. They played a lot of commercials and that kind of thing on the video on the boat. I was hoping they'd play some type of history of the area when I saw the TV screen, but I guess that doesn't pay as well, huh?

I was going to include a few shots of Playa del Carmen but I had too many images in this post so they have to be cut. No biggie.... just because the stop sign said "ALTO", you could still recognize it as a stop sign.

We had a rather long walk through streets lined with a bunch of touristy shops in PdC. We thought for sure we'd have time to shop at these once we returned from Tulum, but no dice. We didn't have time to stop now because we were heading for the bus to take us to Tulum. And we didn't have time to stop once we returned because we had to catch that tender.

We got on the bus and one of the guides gave us a talking history of the area, the Mayans, etc.
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After about 50 minutes on the bus we stopped at a huge gift shop. The kids and I went in and got some sodas and looked around but didn't see anything we just had to have. As we reboarded the bus they gave us Subway lunch (sandwich, cheetos and a bottled water if we wanted it, which we declined because we had our sodas).

This rather cool little statue was at the gift shop
http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj18/hypermommy_2007/Cruise%20Pictures/Day%205%20-%20Cozumel%20and%20Pirate%20Night/100_4508.jpg

As we neared Tulum we were further subdivided into groups. Each of the tour guides took one group. I guess there were maybe 20-30 people in our group.

Now they'd warned us on the Magic that the vendors in Mexico were somewhat more aggressive than other places. And it's true. In fact, all I could think of while dealing with the vendors there was of the old El Rio del Tiempo in the Mexico pavillion at Epcot. Did you get a chance to see it before it had the Tres Caballeros overlay? I remember there was one scene in which your boat was floating by a little outdoor market. And whatever vendor was on the video screen when your boat first entered that hallway would follow you all down the hallway trying to get you to buy their wares. And that's really how it is. They work very hard at getting you to purchase and bargaining is a must. When we got off the boat, some guy put a hat on DS12's head and another on mine. At first we thought these might be complementary (hey, when we got on the bus last time they gave us lunch so maybe this was just something else we got). But as we started walking off he told us the hats were $10. Nope, wasn't going to pay that. We bargained but I could only get him down to $8. Well, since I knew my little redhead needed a hat, I went ahead and bought it. Not five minutes later I saw the same hat for $5. Oh well. :rotfl2:

Our tour guide, Juan, was excellent!! Very knowlegeable about the place and a very delightful guy to talk to. And what's best is he knew we gringos needed all the shade he could find. Every time he'd stop us to look over something or to talk about something he'd find us any bit of shade there was around. It was comfortable and pleasant in the shade but hot as Hades in the sun. Are you sure we left Hell back on Grand Cayman?

The ruins were everything I'd hoped they'd be. It was so cool going on this excursion and learning so much. And at one point I put my hand on some of the stones and I know it sounds corny but I really could feel the age of the things. Just to touch something that was put in place thousands of years ago... whoa! (she says in her best Keanau Reeves voice)

Here's some photos of Juan and Tulum.

Juan gives us some info
http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj18/hypermommy_2007/Cruise%20Pictures/Day%205%20-%20Cozumel%20and%20Pirate%20Night/100_4513.jpg

Entrance to the walled city
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http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj18/hypermommy_2007/Cruise%20Pictures/Day%205%20-%20Cozumel%20and%20Pirate%20Night/100_4532.jpg

There were iguanas everywhere
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The beach was just beautiful. KC went and took some pictures and I stayed at the top of the steps looking out over the boys. They're old enough to go ahead and get in the water by themselves because they'll look after each other and besides that's a lot of steps!

See those dots way out there further than they should be? That's DSs
http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj18/hypermommy_2007/Cruise%20Pictures/Day%205%20-%20Cozumel%20and%20Pirate%20Night/100_4547.jpg

It is a beautiful beach
http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj18/hypermommy_2007/Cruise%20Pictures/Day%205%20-%20Cozumel%20and%20Pirate%20Night/100_4550.jpg

But it's way too many steps. Hey, do you think I got this beautiful figure by traipsing up and down steps?
http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj18/hypermommy_2007/Cruise%20Pictures/Day%205%20-%20Cozumel%20and%20Pirate%20Night/100_4556.jpg

We finally saw all we wanted to of Tulum and wanted to head back to some of the shops where the bus was parked. Here's DS14 on the tram back.
http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj18/hypermommy_2007/Cruise%20Pictures/Day%205%20-%20Cozumel%20and%20Pirate%20Night/100_4572.jpg

When we got back, some guys were re-enacting a ceremony that had to do with them going up a very tall pole and spinning around the pole and then riding the ropes on the way back down. There is no way in Hades you'd catch me doing something like this.
http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj18/hypermommy_2007/Cruise%20Pictures/Day%205%20-%20Cozumel%20and%20Pirate%20Night/100_4579.jpg

When we got back on the bus everyone was zonked. I tried to get some sleep but my leg had some RLS going on (which I never get, so of course I did now). But the guys all got a bit of a nap.
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We had a shorter walk through town on the way back to the tender, thank goodness. When we got on the tender there were a couple of people selling silver jewelry. I saw a piece I mgiht have gotten but there was a spot where a stone was missing. She had another one just like it, right down to the missing stone, but in a different spot. So I decided not to get it since it apparently broke so easily. The boys each bought a silver chain, though. We didn't get a chance to shop in Playa del Carmen (other than the stuff that was sold on the tender) but we did when we got back to Cozumel. We had about an hour so we shopped some of the spots by the port. We got a couple of t-shirts and I got an absolutely exquisite little silver and amythest pendant. Thanks KC!!!!!!!!

And once again we made it back to the ship on time.
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I don't really have a picture that shows it well, but I noticed something as we walked back out the pier to the ship. The pier had no railing. It had a big heavy red line painted a few feet in from the edge with warnings in English and Spanish not to go past the red line. It struck me as odd becuase you know in our litigious American society you'd never have a pier like this without a railing. Personally, I think the red line should be enough -- call it a bit of Darwinian selection. But then again, remember I'm not a nice person.

When we got back to the ship, KC and DS12 played a game with the chess set DS12 bought in Tulum. He got a pretty good deal on it and was very proud of himself.
http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj18/hypermommy_2007/Cruise%20Pictures/Day%205%20-%20Cozumel%20and%20Pirate%20Night/100_4602.jpg

When we got back to the ship, we cut the kids loose with a meeting time of 9:15 to get ready for the Pirates IN the Caribbean party. Of course, we got some photos of the sunset.
http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj18/hypermommy_2007/Cruise%20Pictures/Day%205%20-%20Cozumel%20and%20Pirate%20Night/100_4607-1.jpg

KC and I went to Topsiders for dinner, except I think this was the night he decided not to eat. I don't think he was feeling really well, but I dont' have anything in my notes. I couldn't decide on the shrimp or the beef tenderloin so I asked them to bring me the shrimp dish but with just a few slices of the beef on it as well, which they did. It was delicious!
http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj18/hypermommy_2007/Cruise%20Pictures/Day%205%20-%20Cozumel%20and%20Pirate%20Night/100_4622-1.jpg

Then it was time to head back to the room and get our pirate gear on for the party. I'd spent quite some time and energy assembling costumes for all of us. Actually, KC's was pretty easy becuase we borrowed stuff that my boss wore last Halloween. I was going to borrow stuff from a local lady here in town but that fell through so I spent the last few days before the cruise putting mine together. I think they came out pretty good, if I do say so myself.
http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj18/hypermommy_2007/Cruise%20Pictures/Day%205%20-%20Cozumel%20and%20Pirate%20Night/100_4623-1.jpg

And then we had a great time at the party!

The guys onstage were so high-energy! In fact the next day one of the girls said that's the best aerobic workout she gets all week long.
http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj18/hypermommy_2007/Cruise%20Pictures/Day%205%20-%20Cozumel%20and%20Pirate%20Night/100_4641-1.jpg

I tried to take pictures of the fireworks show but since we were on Deck 9 and that has the enclosed glass, none of them came out really well. We could see them great, but the camera picked up all the water spots on the glass instead of the fireworks. It was a short fireworks show but it was fun and besides... short or not it's still the only fireworks show at sea!

After the party I went over to the Rockin' D Bar and met up with Karen and Meg and their family for some kareoke. Meg sang beautifully and I was so glad I didn't have to follow her. I found one song to do and was okay at it. They don't have a really large selection compared to other kareoke places I've been but it was fun nonetheless and there were some truly talented passengers on this ship.

When I got back to the room I found a monkey which I absolutely loved!
http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj18/hypermommy_2007/Cruise%20Pictures/Day%205%20-%20Cozumel%20and%20Pirate%20Night/100_4663-1.jpg

Next up from me... Another Marvelous Day At Sea

[nzdisneymom]

I am so glad that the Tulum excursion turned out so well for you all because I know you were really looking forward to it. Loved seeing the pics and I have to say your pirate pics came out great! Loved the costumes!

And we are so going to eat at Topsiders for dinner next time (which is still a secret from my children).

[King Charming]

Hey, not so fast Hyper-one, I'm not done with Tues. The last solid memory from this day was that I popped the cork on a pretty darn good bottle of bubbly, and started digging around in my brand new cache of cigars. I was up on deck boozing it up, but after seeing all the guys on the ship puffing away, I knew I had to be part of that group. Most of these fellows hadn't been to the smoking area prior and (as it turns out) would not be seen again on other nights. I ended up rooted there for a while. My new mantra for the evening (when I could still say it) was "A great cigar, a good bottle of champagne, and a great ship at sea! If life gets any better, it is only by a little bit". It was another highlight among a boat load of 'em.

Dear Barbara hobbled up and said she had been run over by a bicyclist and broke her foot in town today. She apparently looked the wrong way before crossing a street, but was mad at everyone else. The bicycle guy didn't stop, nobody helped her, the ship's doctor charged her $172 for X-rays, but didn't cast it, and now she can't go off the ship tomorrow in Cozumel. Every other day she had fabulous stories about her recent travels and was very sweet. She goes to alot of neat places. It was such a shame to see a seasoned traveler get sidetracked and miss the reason she picked this cruise. I guess when you are 70+ in age, bones tend to get a tad brittle. With the way she was getting around on Friday evening and the swelling way down (w/ no discoloration), broken may have been stretching it a bit. Just because you are on vacation and having the time of your life, you are not Superman. It can happen and it does happen, so PLEASE be careful in your quest to see and do everything.

I switched to beer when the wine ran out and grabbed another cigar as I raided the tiny frig in the stateroom. There was no shelf in ours, so bring 6 packs of CANS as they can be stacked real good. Besides, finding a bottle opener after midnight can be a challenge. I knew I was tired, but I was having way too much fun talking with everyone. I didn't want the evening to end, even with tomorrow's early excursion. Why be reasonable at this hour? Ya know, another beer does sounds pretty good. Sure enough, when I got back to the room, my priorities changed; hello pillow!

[CRSNDSNY]

OH!!! Poor Barbara!

[Hypermommy]

Sorry, KC but you know if I don't get to it in the morning on the weekdays it won't happen. :)

Yeah, it was quite a bummer to think about someone who sounded so nice (I never met her but KC pointed her out) to get hurt like that on vacation. Everyone remember to be careful, please.

[King Charming]

Getting up at the crack of 8 was rather interesting. I wasn't really hungover, but I'm sure I still had a blood alcohol level. I've got to be ready by 9:15 for a 9:45 tender. The shower didn't open my eyes. I drank the last of my Pepsi and put lemonade in my cup. I'm sure I'll fell better once I get moving. We show our passports, picture ID's and tickets to the CM and receive a blue excursion sticker (Chip & Dale) and a bus sticker (#1). Now it is just a matter of keeping up with Peter(?) and the "Tulum" sign he holds up. He was the CM who was with us the entire time and answered everyones general questions.

Down the stairs, off the ship, along the pier but not to the end is our tender. Again 2 levels, only this time the first floor is enclosed and has A/C; not so important at 10am, but in the late afternoon you notice these things. Dang, I left my bundle of small bills and coins on the ship. Thankfully I ALWAYS know where the wallet is, and it made the trip. It seems like it took only 30 mins going over to the mainland, then a 9 block walk up-hill to the buses. You go past hundreds of shops selling just about everything (mostly tourist schlock), but you may not stop and must stay with the group. Quickly on the A/C equiped full sized tour bus and we are off as soon as everyone gets settled. Our tour guide, Juan, who will lead us for the next few hours picks up a microphone and starts into a history of the Mayans and Tulum. He used no notes and was a fountain of information for the next 35 minutes. After 45-50 minutes we stopped for lunch. The sole building was a good sized tourist trap that sold all things Mexican. They had a guy outside rolling cigars, and 2 guys cutting stone into large trinkets off to the side. When you get back on the bus after your 20 minute smoke/shopping/bathroom break you get a bag containing your lunch. A 6 inch turkey Subway sub, a bag of Cheetos, and a 2 pack of muffins :confused3 . They were also offering water, but DW found Pepsi. With my pepsi & nicotine levels fortified, I felt good and was ready to see some ruins.

[Hypermommy]

Gotta keep my man in Pepsi. Did you know that King Charmings turn into dragons just like Maleficents when they don't have their Pepsi? :rotfl2:

[King Charming]

This is the type of place I imagined when I first heard of a western Caribbean cruise. When I found out that there was this side trip we could make, the decision was made. When I found out they will hold the ship for you if you book this 7 1/2 hour tour thru Disney, there was no more to say, I was all over it. The last 15 minutes went quickly as we wolfed down lunch. Everybody on the whole bus was smart enough to eat something as the next food was hours away. The bus stops and everybody files off, looks around, and ... we are in a parking lot dealing with pushy vendors and video camera permits. You can take all the stills you want, but they hit you for 3 bucks if using a video camera. Our Mexican guide warned us about this and eagerly offered to purchase them for everybody. He said it would be faster to purchase them all at once AND he wouldn't wait in line to get them. I think he was getting a kickback (when in Rome?). I didn't bring the video, using this as one of the reasons ;) . Step fast, avoid the marketplace, and hop on the tractor pulled tram, SRO! It was free for us, others paid a buck or 2 or walked the dusty path for the 7 or 8 minutes it took to get to the walled city. 300 had lived within the walls, 10K in the surrounding area. As expected of any fort, entry ways were few and single file.

Our guide earned his tip by doing 2 things I saw no other guide doing. There were several groups being led around. First were the photos he kept taking out of his bag and showing around. "This is what we think it looked like 1500 years ago with plaster and paint", "What they wore", photos from the most recent archeological dig (that he was a part of?). Anything needed to help explain a point, he had an illustration for. The best part by far though was his ability to find shade. It was around noon when we started the guided tour and it went for about 90-100 minutes. Someone said it was 93 out there and I don't doubt it. Whenever and whereever possible, the group would stand in the shade to hear him talk. We would huddle under the only tree within 100 feet as he would explain and point, usually ending with "we will be walking by there next, please ask questions". We ended the tour on the cliff at the sea. We had been slowly climbing this hill for the past hour! A georgeous view of the caribbean and the 2nd largest natural barrier reef in the world opened up. By looking carefully, you can see the opening in the reef that encircles the bay making it a natural lagoon. Talk about finding the perfect spot! There is a small beach at the base of the cliff and a sturdy looking set of wooden steps that take you down. After a second application of sunscreen the boys were given 30 minutes to swim. I spent the time climbing the southern wall and taking pics from there.

By 2:10 we are back through the hole in the wall after taking a ton of pics. It is a different hole than we came in thru, but right near the tram that is pulling up. Hop on, ride, hop off where the 'pole dancers' are. Five guys in costumes jumping around as one plays a flute and small drum. Up the 40 foot pole go 4 of them. They start spinning around while sitting on a flimsy square, and one of them takes over the music. This allows the 5th guy to pass the hat. DW puts two bucks in and the guy stops to talk to her. Only she don't look too happy. I go over after hat man moved on and asked about their exchange. It seems that he was taking a collection for his God, and God wanted a 5 dollar minimum tip :eek: . DW told him words to the effect "He'd be a 2 dollar God today or else be a poor one" I was again so proud of her. Hat man was done and scampered up the pole and picked up the music. The 4 corner guys stop and now spin the other way, lean back, ... and are airborne! Securely tied to a thick rope, these guys start slowly decending. They had been carefully wrapping the ropes around the top of the pole while hat man did his thing.

Show's over, time to go find Pepsi and check out the flea market.

[King Charming]

There was no Pepsi to be had, but orange soda for me and cokes for everyone else will do. Then there is the second trip for 2 dollar 20 oz bottles of pop because due to the heat the first round was inhaled immediately. Next it was off to seek the shade in the 50 or 60 stalls/shops. DS14 came back with tales of silver necklaces for $9.25 and DS12 told of a chess set marked down from $100 to $30 American. The chess set is believable, not so a silver necklace. He was adament, took me over to the shop, and showed me the 9.25 sign. Boy oh boy was my son ever crushed when the merchant said the sign referred to the quality of the silver and that the actual price was $1,200! (I'm sure that had to be some kind of opening bid). The whole place may look like a flea market, but you can spend some serious money there. Back at the meeting place, DS12 is now talking about a slightly smaller chess set for $20. I give him a ten, a five, and 5 single dollar bills and instruct him on offering $18, then $19 hoping he will get the hang of bargaining. Judging from how quickly he returned to show off his purchase, he just handed over all twenty the minute he walked back in. Including the two straw hats that were thrust upon un-hatted heads upon arrival (for $8, then $5), we probably spent $75. Don't expect to use your credit card here. The be on the bus deadline is 3pm. They fire up the engine and A/C at 2:30. We got on a mostly full bus around 2:45 and settled in for the long ride back. The bus ride back was quicker since we didn't stop and probably took a more direct route. (I'm sure a nap made it seem quicker also). They also let us off only 3 blocks from the pier, and it is downhill all the way :cool1: . Back on the tender and off we go.

No sooner do we sit down (1st level thank you) than DS14 is back with a new friend. He is the silver jewelry salesman with an armload of necklaces and a handful of bracelets. The boy has his heart set on a $25 necklace. I pretend I didn't hear the number and the price goes $50, $30, $25, $20, sold! After watching that disappointment earlier I didn't even ask if it was plated with real silver. But now DS12 is in on the action and picks out a real nice diamond cut silver necklace that fits him well. I have already set the price and now he won't listen to a two for $35 deal. I'm not gonna do this a third time and eyeball DW before coughing up another $20. It was amusing watching DW deal with a pushy saleswoman who would not take no for an answer after realizing our boys were showing off new necklaces. It made no difference to the sales lady that stones were missing from the bracelets she kept shoving at DW.

The tender ride to Cozumel seemed alot rougher and longer. I did not feel good after getting off that boat. Knowing we don't have much time left, we went shopping in the 2 story mini-mall right at the end of the pier. You talk about your pushy salesmen trying to get you in their stores, here it was in spades. One silly fellow tried to talk me in with belt buckles. Maybe he thinks I'm from Texas. I say I don't wear belts. Yes you do, come inside. No, I don't, see, suspenders. Oh yes you do, I have big belt buckles. I realized how bad I felt a moment later when I about bit his head off for being so blind and stupid. I wished it was just the crossing and that it would pass as my stomach was OK, but I was feeling more hung over than anything.

[laura001]

I have been lurking for ages on your pre-trip and post-trip reports....they are just fantastic! Kudos to you both!

A quick question about the Ruins...what time did you arrive back onto the ship? We are thinking of doing them but have early dinner seating, not sure if we would be back in time. Also, what was the price of the tour?

[King Charming]

Hey Laura, Thanks for posting. It is ALWAYS good to hear that my effort is being enjoyed by others as much as I enjoy the telling of this whole ordeal.

Disney charges $97 a head, no age limit I know of. There were very few kids there younger than mine. It was more like a high school lecture/field trip and is not geared towards youngsters. The only "fun" part for mine was swimming in the Caribbean Sea. You might find a less costly option, but the security of knowing they will hold the ship (for Disney excursions ONLY) in the event of a SNAFU makes up for the cost. Being over 50 miles from the ship, things can go wrong.

Give or take 10 minutes, we got back to the port/pier around 5pm. Last call/all aboard was 6:30. Go on the excursion and plan on skipping dinner. Topsiders will be open and waiting on you when you are ready to eat that wonderful steak they serve. The only downside was the limited time in Cozumel. As many will attest (but not me), this is the reason for re-booking.

With hundreds of daily readers :banana: , I know that there are lots of you lunkers out there that may have questions. Speak up, post, and be recognized. I'd love to know if my style is good enough to write guide books or travel stories. Lord knows I'd love another free cruise or some other fabulous vacation. Come on everybody, you too can be a critic, give it a try :) . (What else are you doing in the next few minutes?)

[purplepeg]

Keep up the great work.

[purplepeg]

Good morning again all,

I've not been trying to ignore the TR, but there have been so many things getting in the way. Don't tell purplepeg but I think I may be understanding what she's going through trying to get her TR up. :rotfl2:

)

What was that? I don't thnk I heard you:scared1: Real life getting in the way, not you too:woohoo: :rotfl2: I was catching up all last evening and then couldn't post. Those darn kids need supervising outside:lovestruc You guys are doing an awesome job with tr. I absolutely love your dress:love: Your family looks great dressed in their finest. How great is it that your birthday fell on formal night. Love the pictures. It's great to hear about the excursions we never went on. I, too, love sea days. They are so much more relaxing. This trip was really like sea days all the time because I only ventured off once to shop alone. Heaven:cloud9:
Keep up the great work guys.popcorn::

[Hypermommy]

The only downside was the limited time in Cozumel. As many will attest (but not me), this is the reason for re-booking.

Hmmmm..... so maybe if we do no excursions and I promise not to go too crazy in Cozumel there's a chance, huh? Never been one for silver but some of the stuff they have there is absolutely exquisite!

[King Charming]

Back on the boat after leaving 75 bucks in the mall. Most of them took credit cards, half of them had 'ushers'. Both times I used the card I was warned the amount charged was in Pesos and would show up that way on the statement and not to panic. "See, I'm writting right here 30 dollars US". I guess other people have freaked out when they got home and saw a number ten times what they agreed to. Even with another stop/port to make, this is the final time I am happy to re-board. It was cool to see the city lights of Cancun fade away into the night as we sailed away. I'm still feeling uncomfortable and at first blame it on the tender ride back. I'll go through a few diagnoses before I hit on the real reason.

Tonight is THE night on the ship, I have been waiting weeks for it. I skipped dinner tonight for 2 reasons, I'm not up to snuff and I saw them setting up tables on deck 9 for the BIG spread they lay out and people rave about. We get on the 'Best Family' award winning costumes (you did vote for us, didn't you? :lmao: ) and head out to get a good seat. Castaway Club member John knew EXACTLY where to sit to watch the fireworks and had staked out a couple of tables. I'm sure I wasn't much fun as I gulped a few shots of Tequila (Hey, maybe this'll help!) during the hour long dance party. I tried not to be a stick in the mud during Kareoke, but between the un-ease, late hour, and walking around Mexico, I was shot. It's pillow time. I never did make it over to the buffet table, but still managed to have a pretty darn good time.

[purplepeg]

Sorry to hear you weren't feeling well. :sick: Hope things get better for you.

[Queenofallthings]

Good morning again all,


So now it was time for the ball. Okay, so it's really only dinner aboard the Magic. But it's my birthday and I actually spent weeks looking for the perfect dress. This is one of the things this cruise did to/for me that I sure wasn't prepared for... I actually had a great time looking for two perfect dresses for the cruise - one for formal night and one for semi formal night. Now I know this doesn't sound like a terribly new thing or anything but for me it is. You gotta remember that I'm a redneck woman of the first caliber who has absolutely no problem standing barefooted in my own front yard (or anywhere else for that matter) with a baby on my hip (someone else's baby -- I love "give back" kids but I'm not having any more God willing. That's just too much work). Anyway, I found the semi formal dress pretty quickly but looked and looked and looked for a dress for formal night. I had pretty strict requirements about this dress, the most important of which is that I'd wear full crinoline under it so it puffed out like a princess gown and made the tiara look right. Because of course I'm wearing a tiara and I don't care if no other adult onboard does. It's my birthday on the Disney Magic and if I can't be a princess this night I never will. The dress turned out to be a bit paler than I'd like (I like rich colors... a forest green would have been perfect) but since I wasn't willing to pay full price, I took what I could get.

So did I get to be a princess that night? But of course... King Charming had his charisma turned on full force and the boys were well behaved and extremely polite. Everyone on the ship seemed to realize what I was going for and was very kind and deferential and treated me like royalty. I must admit that I almost ruined my make up when I saw my darling King Charming and my two princes in their formal wear. Last week we had a scrapbooking challenge in which we had to use the quote from Yeats that says "I kiss you and kiss you with arms 'round my own. Ah how I shall miss you my dear when you've grown." Is it any wonder that I used the formal picture of my two young men with this quote? They looked so grown up and so handsome and so wonderful. And KC looked absolutely dashing (see for yourself).




Hypermommy, will you be my new best friend? I am Purplepeg's sister and when I read this last report through with her, I was a little weepy! I loved the fact that you wore that tiara, open weepy did I mention that? I am very much like you, who cares what everyone else thinks, been there done that and that was no fun! When I thought it couldn't get any better and you said you were looking for a gown in forest green I was sure I had died and gone to heaven. That's my favorite color! Purplepeg turned to me and said, "see, she's you!" Your pictures are gorgeous, your young men are very dapper looking and could you get any luckier with your KC? I am hooked! I don't have the internet at home, so Purplepeg and I gather on the phone after her children are tucked in tight and she reads your report to me over the phone and we have a great laugh! Look forward to hearing more!!! You were every inch the princess my dear, absolutely gorgeous!princess:

[MassDisLovers]

Hey! Wait a minute, Queenofallthings, HyperMommy is MY new best friend! Oh, I guess there's always room for another friend.....


:surfweb: Loving the report HyperMommy and KC and we're all missing you! :love: Your pics are great, wish I knew how to post mine but I am picture-posting challenged!

[purplepeg]

Hey! Wait a minute, Queenofallthings, HyperMommy is MY new best friend! Oh, I guess there's always room for another friend.....


:surfweb: Loving the report HyperMommy and KC and we're all missing you! :love: Your pics are great, wish I knew how to post mine but I am picture-posting challenged!


I, too, was picture-posting challenged. It's pretty easy if you go to photobucket.

[Daisy5115]

OMG! Where did you find the Tiger cub Mickey! I am a Tiger Den leader and would love one of those. You may remember we met at the Jeopardy game that only a few of us attended at Diversions. (sorry, me and dh did so well, lol) Anyway, it was so nice to meet you and your family and I wish I'd been more active in the meets, but my kids require a lot of my attention.:sad2:
Oh, and I did see an X ray machine at the entrance to the building, but the girl doing the scanning never raised an eyebrow about my 3 bottles of wine in the carryon. :woohoo:

Karen

[Daisy5115]

LOL< Your first pic in the cruise terminal "DS12" has my husbands foot and my carry on with wine in the background. Wish I'd spoken to you then.

[Hypermommy]

Hypermommy, will you be my new best friend? <snip> ... couldn't get any better and you said you were looking for a gown in forest green I was sure I had died and gone to heaven. That's my favorite color! Purplepeg turned to me and said, "see, she's you!" <snip> I don't have the internet at home, so Purplepeg and I gather on the phone after her children are tucked in tight and she reads your report to me over the phone and we have a great laugh!

Glad you're enjoying it and of course there's always room for new friends! No i'net at home?? :scared1: I'd die!!! But I'm glad to know that you're having a fun laugh with your sis. Y'all must be getting terribly excited... only a few months now!

Hey! Wait a minute, Queenofallthings, HyperMommy is MY new best friend! Oh, I guess there's always room for another friend.....
:surfweb: Loving the report HyperMommy and KC and we're all missing you! :love: Your pics are great, wish I knew how to post mine but I am picture-posting challenged!

We miss you too! We had so much fun!!! And of course there's room for another friend. Have you seen me, girl??? As big as I am, there's room for plenty of friends!!! :rotfl2:

OMG! Where did you find the Tiger cub Mickey! I am a Tiger Den leader and would love one of those. You may remember we met at the Jeopardy game that only a few of us attended at Diversions. (sorry, me and dh did so well, lol) Anyway, it was so nice to meet you and your family and I wish I'd been more active in the meets, but my kids require a lot of my attention.:sad2:

Actually, I was Committee Chair in my youngest's last year of Cubs (in addition to having been popcorn chair and advancement chair and a score of other things over the years... you know how it is) and during the year end picnic the pack gave it to me. One of the mom's special made Mickey's uniform. I don't know if she'd be willing to do another -- apparently it took quite a bit of time -- and I have no idea what it would cost, but if you're interested, I could ask her. Just let me know.

NP on you and DH doing so well... you deserved it! I had a bunch of fun!! And that's the important part, right? I was sorry for the MC that it was so poorly attended but I think the six of us had more fun than if there'd been a whole bunch of people. And as for your kids... that will go by soooooo fast. I remember when folks used to advise me to cherish the young years because of how fast they go by and I didn't listen. Now they're teenagers and hanging with Mom is just not cool. Oh, well... one day they'll "come back" I hope :love:

LOL< Your first pic in the cruise terminal "DS12" has my husbands foot and my carry on with wine in the background. Wish I'd spoken to you then.

LOL!!! Don'tcha love it when you see something you know in a stranger's picture?

[King Charming]

Speaking of pictures, I finally picked out the best ones. It has been a couple of weeks since we've "been there" (the Castaway Cay postcard mailed to ourselves came yesterday!), and I've had some time to look them all over. This group of pics includes all 5 of the photos we bought from shutters for 88 bucks (4 formal attire poses and a semi-formal family pic w/ Mickey), and the great postcard quality shot DW took of the Mayan temple upon arrival w/ no people in it. Most folks like to give their pictures captions or titles, and I've done the same with my 3 favorites. Although not posted yet, my very favorite is called the $200 photo. It is the semi-formal pic taken w/ Mickey in the lobby. Second best is named $400 photo (pic #7 of post 120). Of the dozens of photos taken at Tulum, this one was far and away the best shot. Third fav, titled $500 photo (pic # 13 of post 103). This was the formal family shot in front of the full moon backdrop. These soon to be widely distributed among friends and family photos got their very appropriate names by rounding off the approx cost spent to achieve them. I figure close to 25% of what I spent for this free cruise showed up in these 3 pictures. I know I moaned about the total "dress-up" costs in the PRE TR, but as time passes the investment in our family and the resulting pics will grow in value and be treasured forever. The opportunity to take pictures of your kids while they are "young" disappears every single day, don't let it pass.

As you can see, DW is pretty good with a camera. Most people are. That being said, you really should plan and budget on buying photos from Shutters. Five 8x11 for less than 100 bucks, plenty of poses to choose from, especially if you make the effort to seek out the photo ops. They generally take more than one picture for each setting, and at least half of these photos will be keepers. Go by Shutters during the week, reviewing them and tossing out the so-so ones; picking out 5 will be easier. Yes, Shutters was jammed Friday evening, but when we needed a place to lay-out the final 8 or 10 for the final choice, or were ready to check-out, there were plenty of CM's waiting to help. Buy them, you will never regret this decision.

[purplepeg]

Speaking of pictures, I finally picked out the best ones. It has been a couple of weeks since we've "been there" (the Castaway Cay postcard mailed to ourselves came yesterday!), and I've had some time to look them all over. This group of pics includes all 5 of the photos we bought from shutters for 88 bucks (4 formal attire poses and a semi-formal family pic w/ Mickey), and the great postcard quality shot DW took of the Mayan temple upon arrival w/ no people in it. Most folks like to give their pictures captions or titles, and I've done the same with my 3 favorites. Although not posted yet, my very favorite is called the $200 photo. It is the semi-formal pic taken w/ Mickey in the lobby. Second best is named $400 photo (pic #7 of post 120). Of the dozens of photos taken at Tulum, this one was far and away the best shot. Third fav, titled $500 photo (pic # 13 of post 103). This was the formal family shot in front of the full moon backdrop. These soon to be widely distributed among friends and family photos got their very appropriate names by rounding off the approx cost spent to achieve them. I figure close to 25% of what I spent for this free cruise showed up in these 3 pictures. I know I moaned about the total "dress-up" costs in the PRE TR, but as time passes the investment in our family and the resulting pics will grow in value and be treasured forever. The opportunity to take pictures of your kids while they are "young" disappears every single day, don't let it pass.

As you can see, DW is pretty good with a camera. Most people are. That being said, you really should plan and budget on buying photos from Shutters. Five 8x11 for less than 100 bucks, plenty of poses to choose from, especially if you make the effort to seek out the photo ops. They generally take more than one picture for each setting, and at least half of these photos will be keepers. Go by Shutters during the week, reviewing them and tossing out the so-so ones; picking out 5 will be easier. Yes, Shutters was jammed Friday evening, but when we needed a place to lay-out the final 8 or 10 for the final choice, or were ready to check-out, there were plenty of CM's waiting to help. Buy them, you will never regret this decision.


I agree wholeheartedly with you. You will always have your memories but when they start to fade bring out your pictures and they take you right back and make you smile. We spent about $600-$700 on pictures alone. That was our biggest expense. We didn't buy too many souveniers and we don't drink much so we thought it was well worth it. We do plan on giving family some of these pictures but I have to scan and post them first:rotfl2:

[King Charming]

Thursday was a fun, lazy, and good day in spite of feeling run down/over most of the day. I kicked around several possible explanations as to why I felt so disoriented and grumpy. The first reason was lack of Pepsi. Going from an average of 6 liters a day to 3 liters to zero sure bothered me, but not enough to have this bad an effect on me. The ocean has been progressively getting rougher, maybe I'm seasick! Naw, this can't be it because even though there is some sway to the ship, if this was the real cause I'd have been ill on Sat or Sun. I popped a Bonine just in case. I also ruled out food related illness because my body is fine, it is really all up in my noggin.

After smoking my last Cuban and feeling extra bad, I misdiagnosed it to be nicotine poisoning. From no cigs to a pack and a half a day, plus cigars, this had to be it. Plus I rather liked this conclusion as it would make walking away from cigarettes SO much easier after the cruise. It wasn't until I had been home for many days and had carefully reviewed everything that had happened for this TR that it became clear what had happened. Oh yeah, sun stroke baby! A mild heat stroke was visited upon me out in the hot Mexican sun. I had gotten dehydrated and slightly sunburned while looking at old piles of rocks and darn near addled my brain :scared1: . My ever present big blue cup was empty from sharing and therefore left on the bus. It was no wonder I was drinking soda faster than I could buy it and wouldn't leave those beautifully shaded shops after leaving the walled in complex. I sure didn't need a doctor to tell me to take it easy for a few days as I couldn't have traveled anywhere even if I wanted to on Wed evening or most of Thur. By Thur evening I was eating again (not alot mind you), and felt generally good by Fri morning.

Granted, I can't do things like I did them 30 years ago, but I work most days out in the hot north Florida sun and this should not be happening to me! The lesson to be learned; stay hydrated! Bring along a canteen if need be, but don't think a hat and sunscreen are the only protection you need from a tropical sun. And not just for long excursions either, if you are unsure when or where your next drink might be, bring a stash. You might not need it, but there is a fair chance SOMEONE will.

[tksbaskets]

Granted, I can't do things like I did them 30 years ago, but I work most days out in the hot north Florida sun and this should not be happening to me! The lesson to be learned; stay hydrated! Bring along a canteen if need be, but don't think a hat and sunscreen are the only protection you need from a tropical sun. And not just for long excursions either, if you are unsure when or where your next drink might be, bring a stash. You might not need it, but there is a fair chance SOMEONE will.

Sage advise my DIS friend. I'll be sure to follow it when we are in Mexico in a bit over a month. Do they still offer the Shore Excursion Package for bottled water?

Loving your trip report! Sorry you felt rotten for a couple of days. Did you get your mug back or was it lost on the bus?? :surfweb:

[Hypermommy]

Sage advise my DIS friend. I'll be sure to follow it when we are in Mexico in a bit over a month. Do they still offer the Shore Excursion Package for bottled water?

Don't remember anything about a Shore Excursion package of water but I do remember something about them having a bottled water package onboard. We didn't use it becuase we love our soda and aren't all that healthy anyway :rotfl2: But I'm sure you could get the package and take some with you on excursions.

One thing we did definitely do is tell the boys not to drink anything, even soda on ice, unless it came out of a bottle in Mexico. Ahhhh, the ways in which travels opens up the young mind. Now they have some idea what Montezuma's Revenge is all about.

[tksbaskets]

Don't remember anything about a Shore Excursion package of water but I do remember something about them having a bottled water package onboard. We didn't use it becuase we love our soda and aren't all that healthy anyway :rotfl2: But I'm sure you could get the package and take some with you on excursions.

One thing we did definitely do is tell the boys not to drink anything, even soda on ice, unless it came out of a bottle in Mexico. Ahhhh, the ways in which travels opens up the young mind. Now they have some idea what Montezuma's Revenge is all about.

:scared1: I'll be sure to pack my Imodium AD too! I loved your formal pics. I'm the mom of two teen-aged sons so I can relate. You all looked great!

[Hypermommy]

Absolutely -- it's not often that I get to see them in something that's not wrinkled or dirty, you know. I loved the look of them all dressed up so much that I had to use it for a scrapping challenge (see what you get by encouraging me Purplepeg?)

http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj18/hypermommy_2007/Cruise%20Scrapbook/BoysFormalNightcopy.jpg

[tksbaskets]

A scrapbooker too?? Now I know we are sisters from another mother :goodvibes

[Hypermommy]

A scrapbooker too?? Now I know we are sisters from another mother :goodvibes

Cool! We'll just have to take over KC's thread here for a minute. I'm terrible with keeping up with names... have you found the scrapping threads here on the DIS? Where else do you hang out for scrapping?

[King Charming]

Yes, I got my cup back. There would have been hell to pay if it ran off. Actually they said we could leave anything on the bus that we wanted to, as we would get back on the same bus. If I was going to do this one again I would have brought our soft sided cooler, slap full of drinks, since we don't have to tote it everywhere.

Hey DW, remember PM'ing? This is a TR, not scrap book central :sad2:

[King Charming]

I'm not so sure there even was a Thursday morning :confused:. To those who insist there was, I kinda might agree, but...:sick: . The only reason I got up at the crack of lunch was so I wouldn't miss the entire day. With another absolutely perfect day, I nursed my imitation hangover up on deck. Today was the second (last) sea day and we had thankfully very little planned. A couple loads of laundry got done. The laundry room was only a few doors down from our second deck room. Washers, dryers, and soap all cost one dollar. We brought soap along (we brought EVERYTHING along for that matter), but didn't dig it out as it was simpler to just buy it. Washers run for 38 mins, dryers for 40. A high quality steam iron and ironing board are also in the room. Unless you enjoy waiting in/near a hot room (not vented as well as needed), do your ironing early on dress-up days.

The arcade got a good workout, both today and during the week. There was a good variety of games, and I was as guilty of tossing money away as the boys. Despite its name, the games take no quarters. To play, you must purchase a 'Disney Gamer' card that you swipe thru the card reader on each game. Most take 40-60 points, but a few take 100. The cost of a card is $10 for 500 points, $20 for 1500 points, and $30 for 2500 points. There are two machines that sell/re-charge these gamer cards, all you need is your KTTW card. I made the mistake of showing the kids the difference between the number of points you get for 10 & 20 bucks, so naturally they went the 20 & 30 dollar route. Further wasted money resulted in lost or mis-placed cards. For the boys this was no problem, just buy new ones :woohoo: . After packing up Friday night, 3 such cards were found.

[Hypermommy]

Further wasted money resulted in lost or mis-placed cards. For the boys this was no problem, just buy new ones :woohoo: . After packing up Friday night, 3 such cards were found.

Hey, they are my sons, dontcha know! :banana: :rotfl2: :banana: :rotfl2:

[tksbaskets]

Cool! We'll just have to take over KC's thread here for a minute. I'm terrible with keeping up with names... have you found the scrapping threads here on the DIS? Where else do you hang out for scrapping?
Favorite Scrappin' places:
Dmarie dot com. I have borrowed several poems and page layouts from there. Another is twopeasinabucket.kaboose dot com.

I haven't found the scrapping threads here - YET :rotfl: I do enought damage with between DCL and DVC threads!

Done with the hijack! pirate:

[purplepeg]

Absolutely -- it's not often that I get to see them in something that's not wrinkled or dirty, you know. I loved the look of them all dressed up so much that I had to use it for a scrapping challenge (see what you get by encouraging me Purplepeg?)

http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj18/hypermommy_2007/Cruise%20Scrapbook/BoysFormalNightcopy.jpg

I love that page, it's great:thumbsup2 I have dreams of becoming a scrapper:wizard: Thanks for indulging me.

[King Charming]

I again stopped by GS for a new bill printout. At nearly 2 pages it was darn difficult to verify each charge so I didn't try. I made a payment with a different credit card to make sure they didn't hit my primary card too hard. I then proceeded to run the bill right back up again :sad1: .

While I'm here at Guest Services, let's go ahead and take care of the suggested tips thing. I figure we can pass them out a day early and be done with it; $325. DW's spa/massage today was another $125 w/tip. We haven't done much shopping, might as well get that over with too, as I'm willing to try most anything to clear my head. $40 for a polo shirt and postcards from one shop, then across the hall four T-shirts and 2 pins bought qualified for the DCL rolling carry-on case. (Buy $60 worth, get roller for $20). This added another $120. The final major injury to our account today was Bingo :rolleyes: .

They play Bingo on ship at least once a day and have a roll-over jackpot for each session's last game. We are not Bingo players, but with the grand jackpot for the afternoons session above $8K, we will be today. A win today not only pays for this cruise, but is the ONLY way we will re-book! We didn't play any of the earlier times, but made sure we were in line before the doors opened in the big theater today. Upon entering you saw two large screens that showed the prices. If you played twice or more prior to this session you got a 10% loyality discount. Four games were played today and the number of cards listed was for all four games. Paper cards (punch-outs) were 6 for around $35. Hand held computers tied in to the wireless Bingo system were $69 for ones that hold 36 different cards, and $99 for ones that hold 72 cards per game. These hand held units are really neat as they show whichever of your Bingo cards has the most hits and therefore changes as a different card eventually has more called numers on it. It will actually tell you when you have a Bingo (or so I've been told). There is a limited number of these (why?) and late comers were S.O.L.. Once they swipe your KTTW card be sure to look for your name on the display screens. Once they get going and start explaining things for rookies, these screens display rules and called numbers.

During game one we needed only one number and were eagerly standing and yelling "shake it up!", when 12 (other) people split a 1K jackpot. (They have you stand when you need one number so the entire room knows they are nearing the end). Game 2 & 3 had 1K and 1.2K jackpots that we were never close to. Game 4 was a fill the card game (lots of #'s called), thank heaven for the computer as I don't want to mess this one up. Again not really close (but at least I was sure) and two elated people split $10.2K :woohoo: . Of course we went all out, doing the 72 card "good" deal. Trying to buy another cruise for 99 bucks seemed like such a good idea going in, but...:rolleyes1

[King Charming]

I just love the picture featured in post # 155.

It is my forth favorite photograph of the over one thousand taken.

This one also has a name: PRICELESS!

[Daisy5115]

"We are not Bingo players, but with the grand jackpot for the afternoons session above $8K, we will be today. "

LOLOLOL!

I too caught the bingo bug while not normally a bingo player. I discovered after the first day that you could save money by buying only the last game each session and get more cards for that game. (for $19)This was the big payout anyway. If you came in early enough your name was in the raffles too. Not saying I won anything, but felt like I saved some money...:cutie:

I wondered what those computers cost, but figured it was a fortune.

Enjoying your report!
Hey, Denise, don't worry about the Tiger Cub bear, I don't really need one but it sure is unique.

[King Charming]

We got to know this part of the ship real well (it is at Guest Services) as we checked in with them at least twice a day since Monday evening. That is when DS14 confessed to losing his sneakers! He said he was up on deck 10 playing a shoe-less game and when the activity ended his black tennis shoes were gone. He assured me they were gone BEFORE he left the deck which really had me scratching my head. When they didn't turn up within 36 hours I began to suspect they never would and that my eldest wasn't kidding when he said they were stolen. He was able to show me the exact spot where he left them and was bummed to lose such a "cool" pair of shoes. The part that I couldn't understand was how an extra pair of shoes could turn up inside one of the small staterooms and the parents not notice and wonder where they came from. This could have turned into a real problem since the only other shoes he packed were dress shoes and hard sole water shoes. Thankfully one of the very last things I did before driving to the port was buy myself a second pair of sneakers. There was no way I was going to make myself miserable and squish around the ship if my only pair got soaked. DS got to wear my hi-top black Converse sneaks to replace his lo-top black Cons with orders not to take them off. I was quite impressed and got a kick out of a CM's very politely raised eyebrow at GS on Fri night when I went there with a list of lost stuff. I'm sure he was dying to ask questions about my family (I would have), but merely replied "I'll go check, sir". The sneakers never did show up (I still can't believe it).

[Hypermommy]

Okay, so I'm behind again. I'll have to work on a TR installment at some point today. Maybe I can sneak one in at work :-) If they would just learn around here that Disney and scrapping are the important things in life then we'd get along a lot better :-)

[King Charming]

Holy cow, they just keep coming. I told ya'll that we had a great group on our cruise. A near record FIFTH TR has been written about the ideal weather vacation we experienced.

April 19th Western trip report by Daisy 5115 has been started. She got a much better deal on her corkscrew. Stop by and ask her how she did it. ;)

[Hypermommy]

I guess I'd better get caught up here, huh? KC has just about gotten through all of Thursday and I haven't even started. Okay, here goes.

I have a note that I had a 7AM wakeup call. See I had a massage scheduled for later that morning and I wanted to make sure to get some wakeup time before it. I'm not the type that jumps right out of bed ready to go. I need several cups of coffee and several smokes before I can really be human to anyone. So, instead of going into the spa lacking my morning drugs, I figured I'd set a wakeup call. Besides, days at sea are my favorites and I didn't want to waste a single moment.

When they tell you that the laundry gets a lot of use on sea days, believe it. When I got up I went to deck 9 and had 2 smokes and a cup of coffee. By the time I got back down to the laundry room it was full! So I went to the room and downloaded some pictures. So far I had 627! I then noticed that our fish extender needed a bit of repair. I couldn't find any of the tape I'd brought so I took it to Guest Services and stapled it. Hey, whatever works, right?

Since it's Thursday and I'd been adding to the door magnets every day, I had quite a few by now. Here's a picture of what our door looked like. And the fish extender made it real easy to see our door from far down the hallway.

http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj18/hypermommy_2007/Cruise%20Pictures/Day%206%20-%20SemiFormal%20Night/100_4665-1.jpg

So while I was waiting on a machine in the laundry to open up I took a few pictures. Before the cruise I'd heard that the anchors on the carpet always point you to aft with their red side (red and aft both have 3 letters). But I wasn't quite sure what they looked like. So in the hopes that it helped someone else, I took a picture of it.

http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj18/hypermommy_2007/Cruise%20Pictures/Day%206%20-%20SemiFormal%20Night/100_4668-1.jpg

About that time I went up to Topsiders for breakfast. The only note I have is that it was very windy. After breakfast I headed back down to the laundry and got a load in.

About this time KC woke up and joined me on deck. He was kind enough to finish the laundry load and even put them in the dryer and folded them while I was at the spa, which was

WONDERFUL!!!!!!!

I got to the spa and had to fill out a form. It had all kinds of medical stuff on it. I felt like I was at a doctor's office or something. But I guess all of that is important for some of the treatments they do so they probably just get the information from everyone. Then Bruno came to get me for my massage. I wasn't uncomfortable having a male masseuse because I figure he sees a lot more nubile bodies than mine on a regular basis. Besides, no part of any importance was ever uncovered. Oh, the massage was incredible!!!! The only possible thing that could have made it better was some soothing music. I could hear some music but not really well. At some point I asked Bruno if he could turn it up and he said he couldn't. Oh well. Man... I definitely gotta do that again whenever I go on another cruise. Or mabye here in town sometime. Talk about completely relaxed! Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh....

I had lunch with the kids. I don't think KC was with us at this time. He really wasn't feeling all that well. But the boys and I saw Jaime at lunch and she asked us where we'd been. I kind of sheepishly explained that we just didn't want to miss all the fun stuff on the ship and that a 2 hour dinner just wasn't our thing. She assured me that they could fix that and heartily invited me to please try again. I told her we'd be there tonight though becuase KC and DS14 both wanted lobster and becuase it's semi-formal night. She seemed very happy with this.

For the rest of the day it really was just a lazy day. I caught up with KC at some point and we went to pay off some of the bill and then went shopping. They had some chains that were 99c an inch and I wanted to look for a chain for my new pendant. No luck there. I also wanted to get an anklet made with Mickey becuase it's hard to find anklets that fit me. No luck there either... guess the were all out of Mickey. And I didn't want Minnie or Donald or anything else they had. Oh well.

Now I can't remember if it was Thursday but it probably was becuase this is when we did our big shopping. KC asked me if I wanted to look at scrapbooking supplies. I told him I didn't really need anything becuase I do digi-scrapping now. But he said I'd need an album. We looked for an 8x8 becuase that's the size I like but they didn't have any. I picked up a 12x12 and looked at it. It looked great with the pirate treasure map cover and all the characters on there in their pirate outfits. It looked really, really good! But then I noticed the price -- $30. Ugh!!!!! For an empty scrapbook. I started to put it back down but KC wouldn't let me. Nothing must do but he was gonna buy that scrapbook for me. Now, I ask you.... knowing how he likes to squeeze a penny until Ol' Abe cries uncle, but gonna pay that much for a scrapbook to make me happy.... is there any question at all why I'm ecstatically in love with this man?

At some point in the afternoon we stopped by the room and found another blanket animal. I guess it's a squid?

http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj18/hypermommy_2007/Cruise%20Pictures/Day%206%20-%20SemiFormal%20Night/100_4674-1.jpg

As KC mentioned, later on that afternoon we played bingo. No, we didn't win. It would have been great to win, but I figured it's a lot like playing the lottery.... you don't expect to win (although you wouldn't give the money back if you did) but it's fun just to be in to win so you can dream about what you'd do with the money. I snapped a pic of KC while we were waiting for bingo to start. Kind of hard to take a picture when you're sitting right next to the person, but it came out pretty good.

http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj18/hypermommy_2007/Cruise%20Pictures/Day%206%20-%20SemiFormal%20Night/100_4677-1.jpg

Later on that afternoon I got some shots of the boys in Ocean Quest.

Here's DS14 piloting the ship. He loved this simulator.
http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj18/hypermommy_2007/Cruise%20Pictures/Day%206%20-%20SemiFormal%20Night/100_4680-1.jpg
http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj18/hypermommy_2007/Cruise%20Pictures/Day%206%20-%20SemiFormal%20Night/100_4681-1.jpg

And here's DS12. Don't know what he was doing or about to do. Doesn't that chain look good on him?
http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj18/hypermommy_2007/Cruise%20Pictures/Day%206%20-%20SemiFormal%20Night/100_4683.jpg

Then it was back to the room and time to get ready. I headed back early so I could get in the shower and get the makeup done and get the dress on. Can't parade around the room in my altogether with the kids around, don'tcha know. We thought DS14 was late again because I thought I'd said 6:15. Called The Stack and the first words out of his mouth were "It's not 6:30 yet" which is when I remembered telling them 6:30. But getting the shower first worked out well becuase it let me not stress, get a few last minute things done, help the family and get this great picture of KC teaching DS14 how to tie a tie.
http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj18/hypermommy_2007/Cruise%20Pictures/Day%206%20-%20SemiFormal%20Night/100_4684.jpg

And check out the vest on DS12. Picked that up at Goodwill the week before the cruise for $4.50!!!!! Of course we had to get the picture with Mickey in his formalwear. Actually, this is my favorite of all the pics we had taken. Well... 2nd favorite. My fave is the one of my babies in their tuxes.
http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj18/hypermommy_2007/Cruise%20Pictures/Day%206%20-%20SemiFormal%20Night/SemiFormalNightwithMickey.jpg

So we're back at Animator's Palate again tonight. Got a great pic in the porthole. Loved the way the colors worked together.
http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj18/hypermommy_2007/Cruise%20Pictures/Day%206%20-%20SemiFormal%20Night/100_4688.jpg

Jaimey and Aditya were really happy to see us again and they made everything lightning quick! Definitely, if you're not enjoying your two hour meals, let your servers know. I had heard that I should let them know anything, but I figured there's nothing they could do about this becuase they've got so many people to feed. But they just worked their Disney magic and life was great! Yes, KC and DS14 had lobster. I had the fettucini alfredo. Everything was delicious!!! I felt so bad for KC because he'd been looking forward to this meal for a while. Oh well... he did finish his lobster. Guess I'll just have to take him out for a good lobster for his birthday at the end of the month, huh?

Here's DS12 watching the cartoons that played to entertain the kids while at Animator's Palate. We take him on a wonderful cruise to a fancy restaurant in his darling duds and what does he (and DS14 do)? Zone out to the **** tube! Kids!!! :confused3
http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj18/hypermommy_2007/Cruise%20Pictures/Day%206%20-%20SemiFormal%20Night/100_4696-1.jpg

Here's KC. He doesn't look that ill, does he?
http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj18/hypermommy_2007/Cruise%20Pictures/Day%206%20-%20SemiFormal%20Night/100_4698-1.jpg

And he said I couldn't get away without having this picture taken.
http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj18/hypermommy_2007/Cruise%20Pictures/Day%206%20-%20SemiFormal%20Night/100_4699-1.jpg

Here's the guys with our servers. This serving team was great and made us feel like they were so very happy that we were there! And the way they joked around with the kids and such! They made dinners such fun!!
http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj18/hypermommy_2007/Cruise%20Pictures/Day%206%20-%20SemiFormal%20Night/100_4705-1.jpg
http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj18/hypermommy_2007/Cruise%20Pictures/Day%206%20-%20SemiFormal%20Night/100_4706-1.jpg

After dinner KC went and hit the sack as he wasn't feeling well at all. I went ot Rockin Bar D and listened to the band for a bit waiting for the comedian to come on. But when he came out, I only listened to the first few minutes of his act and then I had to leave becuase my leg was bothering me with RLS again.

I met up with a7moulton (I'm terrible with real names and am doing well to remember board names sometimes) and her husband on deck 4 and we talked for a while. It was really windy though and my dress kept threatening to do a Marilyn Monroe on me. I decied to go down to the room and change. I then putzed around on deck 9 again just enjoying being at sea.

At some point during the evening KC got up and helped DS14 get ready for the homecoming party they were having in the Stack that night. Everyone was to wear their dress clothes. So he wore all his good stuff, including the vest. Man, but this boy looks good, don't he! Later that night he came back to the room to get some little headphones thing. He put the thing in his pocket and had one earplug up in his ear. Said it made him look more like an FBI agent. I've given up trying to figure that boy out :rotfl2:
http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj18/hypermommy_2007/Cruise%20Pictures/Day%206%20-%20SemiFormal%20Night/100_4707-1.jpg

Later on I ended up in the room and DS12 and I were hungry so we got a cheesburger and pizza from room service. DS14 woke me when he got home from the homecoming dance (as I'd asked him to). Thus ends another perfect day at sea......

Next up from me .... We're really, truly and finally at Castaway Cay!!!!!!

[purplepeg]

Hey hypermommy I think you sat at the exact same table we did at Animators palate. Look at some of our pictures from there and I think they are the same shots:confused3 :laughing: You guys looked great again in your finery;) I noticed you chose to ignore KC's scrapping comment on his tr:rotfl2: I guess you must let some things slide since he did buy you the album. I was thinking they must do different promos when you're on board in the stores. We didn't have the opportunity to buy a rolling carry-on. That would have been neat. I can't believe we're at the same point in our tr's but I started a lot earlier than you did:worship:

[nzdisneymom]

What a great find with the vest for the boys... loved it! Your pictures came out great from that night as well. Your boys are so much more cooperative about photos than mine are... how in the world do you manage to get them to pose for you?

[Hypermommy]

Table #27? I can't remember who's picture was above us. I'll have to go check your pictures again.

As for the scrapping stuff... I figured it best not to rile him. If I feel like it, I'll just put another LO in and that'll be that. You know... better to ask forgiveness than permission?

Yeah, the roll on thing is great! What'd they offer when you were on?

See.... ya gotta get going girl! :-)

[sejejoemmiev]

http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj18/hypermommy_2007/Cruise%20Pictures/Day%206%20-%20SemiFormal%20Night/SemiFormalNightwithMickey.jpg


You Guys Look GREAT!!! :thumbsup2 :thumbsup2 This is even Better than your Formal Night Picture!!
I'm enjoying your TR!! Can't wait to read about Castaway Cay!!

[jollytammy]

I just love this picture! the colors look so good!

[bdwk1997]

Denise, what a great Family Photo with Mickey!!!!

[pixidustmom]

YEP YEP you all do clean up real well. I am so loving your tag team TR. By the way I was noticing the over the door shoe holder. I haven't seen a mesh one before where did you get it??

[Kim in TN]

Excellent trip report, loving 2 perspectives on the same page. Great pics, I love the color theme for semi formal nice, the vest is awesome. Can't wait to hear about Castaway Cay. :surfweb: Keep up the great work.

[Hypermommy]

What a great find with the vest for the boys... loved it! Your pictures came out great from that night as well. Your boys are so much more cooperative about photos than mine are... how in the world do you manage to get them to pose for you?

Threats of beatings from a young age if they didn't learn to pose for me seems to have worked rather well, I think. Nah... i dunno.... they just do. They know that I'm going to get upset with them if they don't and they just know that it's important to me. I dunno.... I guess when it comes right down to it I talk a lot about them but I really do have great kids!

YEP YEP you all do clean up real well. I am so loving your tag team TR. By the way I was noticing the over the door shoe holder. I haven't seen a mesh one before where did you get it??

I got them at Family Dollar. The only thing is that they weren't really "over the door". They had a suction cup (which I knew I'd better not use) and a little metal S clip. Thus we ended up hanging them from the little posts used for hanging clothes instead of on the bathroom door. It worked, though and it was very easy to get at things. I think the over the door or other type of hanger is one of the best tips that I learned on the DIS before I went because it really does help control the small stuff.

Oh and the scrap mojo is pirating the TR again. One of the things that KC didn't get to see ('cause he was snoozing! Hey, I guess it's his vacation too) is the beautiful, magical, marvelous, awe-inspiring sunrise. Remember when I said DS12 and I got up for the sunrise at Key West and I really understand now how people could have worshiped the sun becuase it really is magnificent watching it rise? Well, last night, my pics of that fit perfectly into a scrap challenge. I think the pictures came out so beautiful and don't remember ever getting pictures of sunrise from on land that came out as well. Hope you like them (and if you're a scrapper, click for credits)

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2175/2491247759_f7b94a6613.jpg (http://flickr.com/photos/26438370@N02/2491247759/)

[tksbaskets]

Oh and the scrap mojo is pirating the TR again. One of the things that KC didn't get to see ('cause he was snoozing! Hey, I guess it's his vacation too) is the beautiful, magical, marvelous, awe-inspiring sunrise. Remember when I said DS12 and I got up for the sunrise at Key West and I really understand now how people could have worshiped the sun becuase it really is magnificent watching it rise? Well, last night, my pics of that fit perfectly into a scrap challenge. I think the pictures came out so beautiful and don't remember ever getting pictures of sunrise from on land that came out as well. Hope you like them (and if you're a scrapper, click for credits)

Outstanding page :cool1: I can't wait to see the rest. (I figured the click thing out - hey it's early in Michigan!) I love the Mickey pin tacks.

[King Charming]

Tonight was semi-night and we got all dressed up again. As planned, we again set aside time before dinner for photos. The only one we haven't done yet that I REALLY want is a family shot with Mickey. We went to the lobby early enough to be 4th or 5th in line, right behind the newlyweds from Germany. Marion looked radiant in her lovely gown and her husband looked equally as dashing in a fancy grey tux. Being fellow smokers, we hung out with them quite a bit that week and got to know them pretty well. As part of their wedding package they had a photographer follow them for hours and part of this was photos w/ Mic. A different CM who was helping them explained to the others in the front of the line why there was a new 'fastpass line' for these well dressed folks. With our picture taken (my favorite), and lines for the other backdrops looking like 20-30 mins, we headed off to dinner at AP.

We had many good reasons for attending dinner tonight besides hunger. DW had run into our servers (separately) during the past two days and explained why we had skipped the last 2 days. They assured us a quicker meal could be served and that the previous pace was planned. Sure enough we were the first in and first out tonight! I sure as heck wasn't going to get all dressed up, take pictures, then become a hermit. I sure didn't want to be remembered as T-shirt guy (like one silly fellow who will forever be referred to as "K-mart"). Heck no, I was going to strut around and play with my necktie. It was also lobster night. Even if it was rock lobster (not Maine) it is still good. I ate two tails and a chunk of bread. Not much, but at least a start. I mean, what fool goes on a cruise and stops eating? (especially when it is staying down!). The fog in my head was slowly lifting, but I'm sure it was an early evening for me.

BTW, the lobster tails are pre-split, and your server will dig the meat out if asked for those who don't want to fight with their dinner. However the crab claws at Topsiders on Tues night were NOT cracked/split but crackers were available.

[purplepeg]

Hypermommy, thanks for posting another scrapper page and what a nice surprise for me when I clicked on it:cool1: Thank you:worship: you are truly talented. You've inspired me to give it a try, when, you say:confused3 Sometime. :rotfl2:

[Hypermommy]

Hypermommy, thanks for posting another scrapper page and what a nice surprise for me when I clicked on it:cool1: Thank you:worship: you are truly talented. You've inspired me to give it a try, when, you say:confused3 Sometime. :rotfl2:

There's a couple of digiscrapper threads right here on the DIS. Come on over and join us. I don't have the link right now (becuase I forgot to grab it before I hit reply) but it's in the Scrapbooking forum. See ya soon, I hope.

[King Charming]

I woke up this am feeling better and determined to end this cruise with a great day. We had given DS 14 a choice of doing the teen excursion or do the scheduled parasailing with the caveat of it being available. He went with hanging out with his new friends and DW was able to square it away with Mickey. His deal started around 9am verses 11:30am parasailing, so DW hustled him up and out on time. I remember some of it, so I must have gotten up early on a voluntary basis for a change. I was glad to be up on deck when we sailed up to CC, because the Capt. BACKED it in.

DW insisted I go with her and other boy (OB) on the island and to the parasailing site (which is near the tram drop-off). We didn't take the tram because we were warned that with the tram you by-pass a photo op w/ Capt Jack Sparrow & the pirate ship in the background. The sign says it is only a 7 min walk instead of the tram, so we walk over the bridge and over to the empty area Jack should be, but is not. At least we got some good shots of the ship and the boat. Score another one for all those who CAREFULLY read those navigators and knew what time to come back. We mailed a few postcards, either 50 or 65 cents per, depending on the size. Everyone else will warn you for your needing cash here, so I won't. The card we mailed to ourselves to find out just how long a time it takes to be delivered arrived 15 days later!

While we waited we saw some people in wetsuits 'playing' with a 10 man round inflatable raft. We later found out they were CM's who had regularly scheduled training. It seems DCL has training in EVERY port which sometimes includes lowering the big yellow lifeboats. It's a part of the ship's operation, like maintenance or housekeeping that is so easily overlooked.

At the appointed time DW & OB get on-board the boat that will take them out as I head back to the ship. I do not parasail! Or more accurately, do not anymore. In addition to fishing the area, other fond memories of Turkey Point Florida (on the very SE tip of the mainland) include water survival school while in the USAF. Even though I was not part of a flight crew, as THE air base telephone man I was able to trade a few favors and occupy an otherwise empty seat. It was a two and a half day school. The best part were the two water landings from 400 feet! That was 30 years ago, homey don't play that game NO more.

I get back on and get caught in the emergency generator test. I climbed up to 9 and found the drink station off. I started wandering around emply decks. I've seen this ship a few times at 2 am, and there were fewer people out now. This is the time to take those outdoor 'barren ship' photos. I think there was a family or two out at the Mickey pool, but that was it. All the food and bar areas are closed, just about forcing you off the ship. I think I'll go with the flow and ease on off. A fast refill now that the test is over and I'm gone. I've got a hot date on a secluded adult beach in paradise :woohoo:

So why will I re-board this ship 4 more times today?

[Hypermommy]

Only time for a quickie here before I have to go wake the family up for school/work. And those of you who have been following along know how much fun that can be.

Just wanted to mention that knowing how long it took to get our postcard wasn't the only reason I sent it. What I wrote on the card was "Hello you! It's us... Don't you wish you were here. Hurry Back!" We really gotta get on another Disney cruise. Now if we can just figure out how to rig those lottery numbers.

[SweetSpot]

Thankk you for such a great trip report! I know you went to Topsiders for dinner a couple times but don't remember seeing you mention what you ate. Do you remember what the selection up there was like at dinner time? Also, did you go in casual clothes (shorts, etc) or did you have to get into resort casual to hit Topsiders?

[Hypermommy]

I was probably in jeans and a nice top for Topsiders and KC was probably in jeans and a t-shirt or maybe a polo. That's about the extent of it. For the life of me I can't remember right now what I ate on pirate night but I believe it was something with pasta and scallops and a few slices of prime rib or roast beef becuase it sounded good too. The other night I had the huge Porterhouse steak. KC had the Porterhouse the one time he actually felt good enough to eat there. It's a humongous steak! I don't remember the rest of the selection though. Sorry. It's not buffet though... it's a nice sit-down dinner.

[King Charming]

I got back on the island and back to our meeting place 5 minutes before DW & OB get done parasailing. I could see their ear to ear smiles before the boat docked. The next moment OB is hitting me up for tip money. DW was very happy with the guys that took them out, and used DW's camera to take many (good) photos. Next up was lunch, but OB just had to go swimming, NOW! Fine, meet us in 30 minutes, POW, he's gone! We poked around, took more pictures, then DW went looking for him on the family beach. Well they came back, but not his towel, T-shirt, wallet, or KTTW. Heck, it hasn't been that long, so I send them back out to search while I inquire about cancelling the card. No go on finding the stuff. I refuse to believe that someone moved his stuff, and insist that it must be out there. Let's go OB, show me the chair you put your stuff on. We never made it out onto the beach as we had a mutual meltdown. OB was escorted back to the room where he would remain for the rest of the day. It made no difference to me that he would miss lunch or the banana boat ride at 3:30.

I returned to the cay a third time, still determined to have a good time. I caught up with DW and she wanted a second drink. Over to the outdoor bar we stroll and pull up stools. Had I known her two drinks were going to be free, I'm sure I'd have ordered a few shots also. One of the benefits of tipping cash here at the bar is that if the slip gets lost, they still get the tip. Using these dollar and half dollar coins for tips has worked quite well, but going through a metal detector everyday doesn't. DW aka 'Marshmellow Mom' (for her stern disipline methods) worked on me a while and I was on my way back to the room for a replacement T-shirt for the one she gave OB when his went AWOL. Oh yeah, OB gets a pardon and he's coming back with me.

[laura001]

Oh my!!! Did you ever find his belongings, did they replace his KTTW card right away??

[Hypermommy]

Oh my!!! Did you ever find his belongings, did they replace his KTTW card right away??

Yes, they cancelled the card right away and replaced it when we got back on board. We didn't have any problems whatsoever. And we got his shirt back the next day. So the only issue is the boy's doofiness at throwing his stuff down on one of a million identical chairs and then not remembering where it was. Think maybe he learned anything? Probably not! :rotfl:

[King Charming]

Replacing a KTTW is simple, but it must be done at GS on the ship. DS 14 lost (?) his earlier having left it in the tennis shoes that walked off. Although I didn't think about it at the time, I'm sure you can pick up a phone and report it. There is a guest services type CM near the family beach area, as well as at the lost and found at the tube rental building. These nice folks are very professional when you confess to having clueless offspring, and actually encourage you to check back with them later.

And while I'm thinking about it, I might as well confess I was wrong! Those dorky lanyards that everybody wears really are a treasure. I wish I had gotten them for at least the kids, hopefully making these KTTW's harder to lose. The reason I didn't was the last time they wore lanyards at Mickey's. They came home cluttered with pins! I got off light this time (only 3 pins), but you know how multiple collectors within one wallet, er... family can get;) .

As scatterbrained as I felt Wed evening, I never felt the need to keep my drivers license and room key in a clear plastic envelope hanging from my neck. But I must admit that between the coins and the lanyard, it would have been nice to leave my wallet in the room. Since about half the folks wear one, I guess this falls under 'cruise casual'.

In order to take OB off the ship we have to get a replacement KTTW. There was no line and was done in a flash. They reviewed with us the procedures for 'L&F'. I was in a hurry to get off and get to the tram. While waiting for our ride, a quick inventory reveals no shirt for DW. After the uneven sunburn she got on Sunday, I know she will need this. I re-board a fourth time (Hi, how are you, again? It's me, old guy w/ a hat full of coins and suspenders, remember?), get the T-shirt, and top off the blue cup. Back off the ship, pick up OB right where I left him (better be there), and walk over the short bridge. It's amazing what you remember when you make the trip so often. We meet up with DW, but she is bummed because there is no time for a quicky over to the far beach before the banana boat ride at 3:30. I was disappointed to find out that the child trading center was closed AND that they had stopped serving lunch. Not only will I finally be hungry, but I will have to take home the same pair of kids I started with. I thought parents got to have fun on paradise island :cloud9:

3:20 at the floatation vest area for the boat ride and no DS14. They suit up and I walk back towards where he will likely be coming from. I found him and he went running down there waving his arms and yelling as advised. DW took it from there and he was the last to get on.

By now there is the shifting of the human tide and people begin trickling back to the ship. The flow continues to grow for an hour. I found an empty hammock not far away and enjoyed a peaceful rest. We poked around 'She Sells' when they returned, checked L&F a last time, then headed back. She Sells is about what you would expect a touristy beach wear shop to be, only more expensive. Most everything had DCL or CC printed on it. I wanted to buy several beach towels because of all the neat prints they had. A full display case with 20 each of 20 prints for $20-22 each. Tell me they are half price on the cay only and watch that case empty out. Just as well, the final accounting is coming soon, and I don't need to be padding the expenses.

[rala]

Great TR. Thank you. We are back to rainy Germany and we miss you so much. It was so nice to drink a coffee with you in the early morning.

Marion & Michael

[Hypermommy]

Sorry to get behind guys. Just truly enjoying scrapbooking and trying to keep up with a post-as-many-as-you-can-do-in-May challenge over at one of the scrap boards I hang out on.

Oh, Marion, got your PM. Glad you guys made it back safe and sound. I can't wait to hear about your trip. I'll PM you back sometime today.

But on to Friday. Ahhhh... Castaway Cay. I'd heard so much about it. I'd seen it on TV lotsa times. I was sooooo looking foward to a few hours at Serenity Bay hearing nothing but the lapping of the waves and enjoying a bit of lobster or steak. Ahhhhh.

But first we have to get there. I woke up early on Friday (what else is new) and noticed that we had a message on the phone. I picked it up and it's fromm guest services letting us know that there's been $120 in charges in the gameroom. Now I knew the boys had been steadily building all week but something about the way it sounded made it seem like someone had bought a $120 one-time charge. Of course, I freaked a bit.

Not enough not to go get coffee and have a smoke first. Hey, some things are important! :-) But after that I went down to guest services and learned that it was more like $300 but it was not all at one time. There was no more than a $30 one-time charge. Whew!!! After seeing DS14 in there at some point buying some games for some girls (what we won't do to get what we want from these guys, huh, ladies?) I thought maybe he'd decided to treat everyone in The Stack or something. Okay.... now I can calm down again.

I ran back to the room for my glasses (yes, trying to figure out the game room charges without my eyeballs was fun, but I told you I'd freaked) and went back up on deck for more coffee and nicotine.

Around 8 or so I went to wake up DS14. It was easier than I thought it'd be given how late he was out at the homecoming dance last night. But he'd decided to do The Wild Side excursion with his friends instead of parasailing with his brother and I and he had to be at The Stack at 9am. At least now you know why I don't have any CC pictures of him. It's not that I hate my son :-)

After getting him situated I went to get some breakfast for me. I know the seaguls that live at CC absolutely love Topsiders, that's for sure.

http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj18/hypermommy_2007/Cruise%20Pictures/Day%207%20-%20Castaway%20Cay/100_4709-1.jpg

Okay... well, I was trying to be good this morning but now I have to go help pick up a free couch. Thank goodness for freecycle.

Back later.

[Hypermommy]

Ugh! So we got the couch and it's a nice one. And KC and DS14 moved out the old one (ain't it great to have sons that are old enough now to help with the heavy lifting?). So DS12 and I started cleaning out from where the couch had been. It's amazing what mess collects. And then we decided we needed a new vacuum cleaner. I didn't think we did but, as usual, KC was right. And he knew just the right words to say to get me to go along -- "wanna go get a Costco membership"? We just had a new Costco open around the corner from our house. So we're there and they have lots of stations where there are free samples. One of them is salmon cooked with just some seasoning salt. Well, that's easy...even Hypermommy can cook that. So we picked up some salmon. And then I cooked it last night. Now why do I say all of this that's not related to the trip? Becuase I wanted you to know that I didn't mean to neglect the TR for almost 18 hours when I promised I'd be right back. (hush, purplepeg! :rotfl2: )

So where were we? Oh yeah... eating breakfast and watching the seagulls and how much they love Topsiders. Okay, so I got some breakfast and took it out to Deck 9's Goofy pool area where I shared it with KC and DS12. Good thing I got lots of bacon but I guess by now I know my menfolk. And then it's off to Castaway Cay!

As we got off the ship we decided to walk to the main section of the island in the hopes of seeing Capt. Jack Sparrow. Alas, no luck. But I did snap a picture of KC and DS12 with the Dutchman in the background. It'd be one of the last pictures I was able to get of them that day with something akin to a smile on their faces.

http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj18/hypermommy_2007/Cruise%20Pictures/Day%207%20-%20Castaway%20Cay/100_4713-1.jpg

Then we were on the island proper. Seeing this sign is great!

http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj18/hypermommy_2007/Cruise%20Pictures/Day%207%20-%20Castaway%20Cay/100_4715-1.jpg

And I got a photo of DS12 at the Scuttle's Cove sign becuase the plan was that this is where he'd go after we finished parasailing.
http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj18/hypermommy_2007/Cruise%20Pictures/Day%207%20-%20Castaway%20Cay/100_4717-1.jpg

Of course, the best laid plans...... right?

And we got this cool picture. I love how the shark hooked the humans with a hot dog!

http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj18/hypermommy_2007/Cruise%20Pictures/Day%207%20-%20Castaway%20Cay/100_4726-1.jpg

We bought some postcards to mail back to family and ourselves and then took the tram back over to the post office to mail them. Sent one to ourselves that said "Hey you. Bet you wish you were here." Ain't that the truth!!!!

And the island wasn't totally characterless. Got a pic of us with C&D at the post office.

http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj18/hypermommy_2007/Cruise%20Pictures/Day%207%20-%20Castaway%20Cay/100_4729-1.jpg


At that point we had just a bit of time to kill before our parasailing. The meeting point was at Marge's Barges which is just about across from the post office. We checked in for parasailing and they had a little waiting area for us until the boat was ready for us. There were about 20 of us or so but they split us up until there were about 10 of us in each boat. I had been debating all week whether or not I should take my digital camera or just use the waterproof one. In the end I decided to take the digital and boy was I glad that I did. We got in the first boat with Mike and Ken. They had reggea (sp?) music playing and the ride out to where we'd go sailing was fast and fun. Ken was sweet enough to take pictures of DS12 and I as we parasailed and I think they came out marvelous!!!

http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj18/hypermommy_2007/Cruise%20Pictures/Day%207%20-%20Castaway%20Cay/100_4737-1.jpg
http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj18/hypermommy_2007/Cruise%20Pictures/Day%207%20-%20Castaway%20Cay/100_4739-1.jpg
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http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj18/hypermommy_2007/Cruise%20Pictures/Day%207%20-%20Castaway%20Cay/100_4746-1.jpg

Everyone had said how peaceful it is when you're parasailing. It was. It was really cool. Of course, I kept worrying about how high up we were in case we were to fall. It was really getting to me. I never knew I had such a problem with heights, but I guess it was something about being that high up and just tied on with a few ropes and hoping that the harnesses would hold me and stuff like that. I even said something to DS12 about if he were to fall to make sure he crossed his ankles and stuff. It really weighed on my mind. Wish I could have gotten past the height becuase it really was a cool experience. But as you can see in those last couple of pictures, Ken told us to stick out our arms for a good picture and we did, but I just couldn't leave my arms out. I had to be hanging on to something. Don't know what I thought I could do if the harness broke. It's not like I could actually hang on for a long time -- I just don't have that kind of strength. It's like when the boys were younger and we'd go on roller coasters and I had to have my hands on their legs in case they slipped out of the restraint. Did I actually think I was going to be able to hang on to them? I know... doesn't make much sense does it? Welcome to the worrywart world. Whenever I get to worrying like this KC always tells me to worry about an asteroid out in space that's going to hit the earth someday because at least I might as well be worrying about something reasonable.

But it was a fantastic experience!

From this point our Castaway Cay experience started to go downhill. KC and I were snitting at each other after the parasailing ride. I don't even remember now what it was about. You couples out there that have been married a while ... you know how it is. Every now and again you hit a patch where you're just not happy with each other. And later on the reason (if you can even remember it) is so stupid. Well, that's how it was with us. I don't remember what we were snitting about but we were.

And then there's the incident with DS12 and his wallet and shirt. I won't go into great detail because KC has covered that quite thoroughly. But it was sure aggravating. KC kept telling DS12 to go back and look for it. And this was after I'd been with him at least a half hour (or at least that's what it felt like) looking up and down the beach for it. I knew we weren't going to find it and it seemed rather pointless to tell him to go look again. And all the while I knew that we were running out of time for Serenity Bay. Which is what I really, really wanted to do. And I was getting frustrated with the fact that we weren't going to get to do that.

Now, looking back on it, I figure this alone -- the fact that I didn't get to go to Serenity Bay -- is reason enough to get on a cruise again. So I'm telling KC right here and now in front of everyone that we absolutely have to figure out a way to get on another cruise. A 3 day is fine with me becuase the only place I want to go is SB. And next time there will be no excursions booked for me (even though I was greatly looking forward to the ones we had)... nothing but SB. All day. Until they make me leave!

But okay, so there's all the stuff with DS12 and his wallet and getting on and off the ship for KC. Meanwhile, DS14 has finished his excursion and met us at Cookie's for lunch. Poor thing... he saw how KC and DS12 were getting angrier and angrier at each other and how upset I was at missing SB. He tried to come up with a solution. He's such a good boy. But nothing worked. He wanted to go to the teen beach and I told him to go ahead and have fun but to be at the banana boat place at 2:30 (becuase our ride was at 3:30 -- I figured this would give him a bit of time in case he was late).

So now here I am alone at Cookies, in a bad mood, plans for Serenity Bay ruined. Well, I might as well get some pictures for the scrapbook. I really loved how the restrooms were labelled.

http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj18/hypermommy_2007/Cruise%20Pictures/Day%207%20-%20Castaway%20Cay/100_4753-1.jpg

And I had to get a picture of Mt. Rustmore

http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj18/hypermommy_2007/Cruise%20Pictures/Day%207%20-%20Castaway%20Cay/100_4754-1.jpg

And look where I found myself

http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj18/hypermommy_2007/Cruise%20Pictures/Day%207%20-%20Castaway%20Cay/100_4757-1.jpg

Yes, I believe I will have a Conch Cooler. Of course, I know that I'm out in the sun so I made a rule. For each Conch Cooler ordered, I'd have to get 2 cups of water and drink them first. Boy, you ain't never seen water disappear quicker in your life. But I walked around and shopped and enjoyed my Conch Coolers and eventually caught back up with KC. Eventually I was able to talk him into letting DS12 off the boat to enjoy the banana boat ride. I know I shouldn't do that. I really do try to let him handle the discipline of the kids becuase I know that I'm the original Marshmallow Mom (soft as a marshmallow when it comes to discipline). But this would be my baby's only chance to be on Castaway Cay and ride the banana boat. So off KC goes to get him.

We met up and checked in for the banana boat ride. Where's DS14? Late again, of course. We got ourselves all checked in and were actually boarding the boat when he came running up waving his hands. I let the boat folks know that he was with us and they got him in a lifejacket and on the banana boat. He apologized to me and said that folks on the teen beach kept telling him it was 2:30. Now I know I've said this before but GET A WATCH in case you want members of your party to meet you at particular times.

So here we are on the banana boat. How to describe this. Well, you ever seen that mechanical bull that was so popular back in the 80s? Think of that but on water. It was actually a lot of fun! Until the point where I looked off to my left and saw a tsunami heading towards me. The next thing I know, I'm in the middle of the water along with about four or five other folks and the boat's still moving without us on it. That's about when my mind thought about sharks. Okay, so now I'm ready to walk on water or something. I pull my legs up -- I don't know why -- to give the shark a better bite at the rump roast, I guess. Fortunately, both of my boys are still on the raft so I don't have to worry about that. Now I have to figure out how I'm going to get back on this raft myself. No I don't... one of the operators is pulling people up by the lifejacket. Poor guy doesn't know what he's gotten himself into with me. He managed to get me up and almost fell off the other side doing so becuase he had to give such a mighty heave-ho. But here I am back on the boat and now I'm scared of falling off becuase I can't quit thinking about sharks. I'm ready to be back at shore. It was a lot of fun and if I were younger I'd definitely do it again. But I think I'll do without it next time. Remember, I'm going to be at Serenity Bay all day... until they kick me off the island.

So back to the ship we go. We had a bit of time to kill before dinner which was at Parrot Cay. DS14 was late again (big surprise) and boy you should see how sunburned his back is. No other part of him... just his back. I gotta teach that boy how to ask some pretty girl to put sunscreen on his back. Hey, it's legitimate ... he needs the sunscreen back there. You'd think a boy would think of this kind of thing on his own.

After dinner it was time to pack. KC was absolutely WONDERFUL in how he helped me pack. He really is a marvelous person. The sons came into the room a time or two but they were properly scared off when I told them if I saw them again they'd help pack.

Of course we went to Guest Services and got luggage tags in all varieties so we'd have one of each character for scrapbooking purposes. And we went to Shutters and picked out pictures. We ended up getting five 8x10s. There were a lot of other ones I would have wanted if we had unlimited funds, but with the price of these we kept it just at the 5.

Later that night I was wandering around and saw the "Till We Meet Again" show. I thought it was really cute how Goofy tried to hide in front of the Mariner Mickey statue because he didn't want to go to bed. And I loved how Stitch scampered up the stairway on all fours. It's a really cute show and you should definitely try to catch it.

Later on we tried to turn in the pager for DS12 (which went off once during the course of the week because he wanted me to join him for a video game during open house) but we couldn't because he was still checked in. Oh well... I got a free Disney Sea Institute (children's program) t-shirt because I noticed them laying over there and asked if he got one. I was honest -- I told them that he hadn't participated in the program. They said I could have one anyway and far be it from me to turn down a freebie Disney anything!

We went shopping a bit more and got a frame for my mother in law. Her birthday was the Sunday after we get back so we figured a framed picture of us in our semi-formal wear would be a good present. I thought about getting a DCL frame of my own but then I realized that when she passes away I'll get this one back so I can wait a while and save a bit of money (I'm so bad, aren't I?).

We spent some time chatting with some DISsers (I really enjoyed doing this all week!) and then went back at midnight to turn in the pager. Turns out DS12 had already checked himself out so we were able to turn it in this time. Whew! That's done. Time for bed.

About 2:30 in the morning I woke up and realized KC wasn't in the room. I went looking for him and found him in Quartermasters trying to spend down some of what was left on those cards. I left him there and went back to bed.

Next up from me.... Debarkation Day - A Sad Morning

[TotallyAngelic]

amazing photos! castaway cay looks beautiful!

[nzdisneymom]

We ended up buying a new vacuum at Costco about two weeks after they opened because our old one bit the dust.

Love the pics of you and DS12 parasailing - how fun! I want to parasail our next time.

[Jillpie]

Ok, LOVED this last report from you, I laughed right out loud so many times. Buying the frame for MIL to have later, omg:lmao: :lmao: and trying to get back on the banana boat:rotfl: , funny, funny stuff!! And boy do I understand how you and DH had a tiff shall we say, we all do that and understood every minute of it. I hate to see this cruise end, you guys have done such a great job.:thumbsup2

[King Charming]

An interesting range of emotions tonight; thrilled to STILL be on the ship, sad knowing it is almost over. Dinner was again good, taking a relaxing 70 minutes from entry to exit. Next was packing :confused: . I hadn't taken an active role in packing for the trip and was unaware of how much stuff we brought along. No wonder she wanted help. Even with the new T-shirts taking the place of the booze that filled 2 carry-ons, it was still a pain getting it all to fit. Smart people take into consideration the souvenirs and shopping they will be bringing back and pack accordingly. I lucked out and bought a rolling DCL carry-on so that helped some. Caution, do not put breakable items in your checked bags. Part of the efficient baggage movement includes stacking it to the ceiling. The three foot plastic saber for my pirate costume was no match for our soft sided luggage getting on, so they were not too gentle there either. After getting the 8 tagged bags into the hallway, they were quickly whisked away. I would have expected the hallway to become hopelessly jammed with luggage, but they were flawless in the removal process.

In addition to the regular, extra, and cash tips given to our room attendant, the hardest working man on the ship also got the remaining 5 bottles of cold beer. Cold beer is universally accepted and Clefus again displayed the best smile on the boat. (you did vote for him?) This turned out to be the last time we saw him as he was on a bag mover team. He and Edwin were always around and were great helpers. On Sat morning he also inherited some more stuff by default. 6 un-opened tax free packs of cigarettes, a plastic toy beach bucket/shovel, and the remaining arcade cards. Everybody has a buddy who will smoke free cigs, and I'm sure he will pass along the other items as he see fit.

Next was the dash to Shutters. We had been in during the week tossing the bad ones, so selecting pics was easy. Yes it was a madhouse, but for some reason we got in and out pretty quick. Go to the room to drop them off, then head back out. The timing of this evenings events worked out so nicely. There were so many things to do and we had just enough time for everything.

Next up was a trip to deck 9 for cake. Michael and Marion invited us to share some wedding cake:yay: . They don't look too happy when they show up without cake.:headache: . Seems they have to sift through 400 wedding photos and pare it down to 80 keepers.:sad2: . Off they go so we hunt down John. He and his wife were another couple who lived up here on deck 9 with us. They are from NJ, are fellow DIS'ers, and are repeat cruisers we learned alot from. We later used his lap-top to see the wedding pictures when the newlyweds came back with a disc containing ALL the pics. The photos were proof of the fabulous ceremony, beautiful backdrops, and two people deeply in love. (The honeymoon was 2 weeks in WDW! :woohoo: ). We turned our pager in with 2 minutes to spare, but were only second to last. We went back to the room to check on the boys. I was ready to turn in when I saw the arcade room cards.

Back up to deck 9 to the arcade. Quarter Masters, a neat word play there. So I check the cards, and sure enough there are hundreds of points on each card! So I start playing and I'm watching the only other guy in the place play every other machine. After 20 minutes or so he walks over to the re-load machine. "Not so fast" I yell, "Here, have one of these" I beg. "No thanks" he says as a big grin appears. "I'm trying to use these up and wanted to know if the machine would tell me how much is left on them" as he shows me 3 cards of his own. Nice to know I wasn't the only fool who let his kids have charging authorization near an arcade.

I was surprised when DW came to claim me. I don't see why the night should end. I feel great and I'm sober (wish I hadn't have been in such a hurry to get rid of those beers) and the vacation still has one more night, ah... er...morning to go. Why would I want to go to sleep now? As my head hit the pillow, I knew why.

[podsnel]

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2175/2491247759_f7b94a6613.jpg (http://flickr.com/photos/26438370@N02/2491247759/)[/QUOTE]

WOW!!! This is a great, GREAT page! Love your red and black photos, too!!:goodvibes

[King Charming]

Like I said, I charged whatever I could so I would have an itemized record. The total ship charges were $2.1K+. A total breakdown as follows:
$ 400 Tulum
$ 300 CC
$ 325 tips
$ 325 arcade
$ 200 gift shop
$ 130 spa
$ 150 booze
$ 99 Bingo
$ 50 duty free
$ 100 misc. b.s.

I laughingly told a buddy that the money blown in the arcade was as bad as losing it on another cruise ship's casino. He quickly pointed out there is at least a chance of a pay-off the second way. If I had to do it over again I would have removed the charging privileges from the kids cards because they blew thru $ 300+ total. I'm sure I could have run up a more respectable bar tab if I hadn't cut way back after stroking. Beers were around 5 bucks, drinks averaged 6, w/out tip. You CAN go higher. Drink strength varied by location/venue; free drinks at the Capt's Gala and early morning Bloodymarys were noticeably less 'full bodied' than drinks poured by a well tipped bartender. By carrying around $ 20 worth of coins each day in one pocket, and a wad of 5's in the other, I was ready to give away money and be easy to remember.

I was kind of unsure who/when to tip and how much. I'm not allowed out much. We did the recommended tips and ended up giving away over a hundred more; ranging from the fellow who opened my beer bottle in Cove Cafe ($1) to $ 20 for a less than one hour massage. I had counted on the uniqueness of the shiny gold dollars and large silver halfs to make up for my cheapness. They did, and were a genuine hit with everybody. Two responses stood out; one fellow didn't know they were money and asked what they were. The other lady said they would go into her 'America' scrapbook. I never thought to tip the tender operators, nobody else seemed to be doing it, so It never dawned on me. I also missed the bus driver in Mexico, another rookie mistake. I had heard 2 bucks was the magic number per person per event for tipping and used it as my model. Here's a rundown of who got what:
$ 1 Politely explain something or generally make my life easy (L&F guy)
$ 1.50-2.50 Bartenders
$ 2-2.50 Deck servers,per plate room service, shuttle to port driver (X2)
$ 5 GC bus driver (X2),KW cabbie, parasailing guys, Radisson housekeeping
$ 8 Tulum tour guide
15-16 Porters (X2)
$ 20 Spa guy, stateroom attendant (X2)

Finally, remember to keep some cash for leaving the ship. The re-entry tax MUST be paid in cash so... what?....No more?....OK then, you'll still need a wallet full to return to the real world where cash IS used. Porters, cutoms duties, tolls and other transportation costs, and lunch will need to be addressed almost immediately. Your wallet is not safe until you get home, be prepared!

[jollytammy]

Thank you for the breakdown and tips:yay: They will be helpful in my planning!

[King Charming]

This was not what I expected and wish I had done a few things differently:rolleyes1 . I thought it would be more personal, more one on one like when I came back from an afternoon in T.J. Mexico, south of San Deigo. Statements like 'Business or pleasure', 'What are you bringing back', and 'Show it to me' were spoken then. Where are the fearsome dogs that can sniff out more than two bottles of booze, or only Cuban cigars? I could book another cruise with the black market markup on all these tax free cigarettes. Due to the clientele of DCL, I don't think smuggling has ever been an issue. It is all about paperwork now. They seem less concerned with a gallon of tequila then the threat of fruits or veggys coming in. I never once saw the line get held up by someone who brought back more than authorized and had to pay a duty.

Even DCL seemed to agree. They were more fussy about fresh food items but ignored personal use amounts of most anything. I got the impression that the DCL screeners were more for show than anything else. I never saw or heard of them ever physically poking around a purse or package after it went through the X-ray. Of course we gave them no reason to, also. While waiting on lost and found on Saturday, I got to look around the baggage handling area. I again found no scanner these bags must go through somewhere. I wonder when, where, and how this items are checked. Our bags were found up on a table when we claimed them, surely making it harder to be inspected by any type of K-9 unit.

It was a hoot when DW gave away a couple of apples she had taken from the ship. We were in George Town GC and we had just bought another round of T-shirts and were about to head back. The guy at the cash register was getting these apples. She is trying to explain the ships policy to someone who really didn't care why he was getting them. The apples looked great, which is all that mattered to the guy, so yeah, thank you. She hadn't realized he said yes, and gave him a better explanation. She talked him into accepting all over again.

[Daisy5115]

Thank you for a very entertaining trip report! I only met Denise briefly in line for formal photos, at trivia and in the bathroom I helped her check the back of her evening gown. It was a great trip, thanks for stretching it out a little bit for all of us.:woohoo:

Karen

[TotallyAngelic]

A fantastic trip report. Thanks for sharing this. I have really enjoyed it and it has been so informative re. the financial extras I should be prepared for. I hadn't even thought about or budgeted for the arcade, but maybe I should as I have 4 teens and one of them a gaming addict. I didn't realise the arcade bill could sneak up and bite you on the bum like that! :scared1:

[King Charming]

I'm happy this helps. I had hunted high and low trying to find out what stuff costs and what to expect before we went. I'm sure most people don't list costs because they don't want to appear cheap/extravagant.

Another significant ship expense I missed in the breakdown was Shutters. I think it was $88 for five 8x10s (the smallest package).

As a sort of payment for this fine planning tool you have been reading, you soon to be cruisers will have to promise me something. You will set aside the 88 or 90 bucks for these professional photos. (Oh, that photo? Yes, thank you, we do look good. That was taken during our Caribbean cruise.) Sure they are overpriced, but do it for your 'tomorrow' self. You will fondly look back on the trip and remember the exact moment the picture was taken, and smile.

[tksbaskets]

I'm happy this helps. I had hunted high and low trying to find out what stuff costs and what to expect before we went. I'm sure most people don't list costs because they don't want to appear cheap/extravagant.

Another significant ship expense I missed in the breakdown was Shutters. I think it was $88 for five 8x10s (the smallest package).

As a sort of payment for this fine planning tool you have been reading, you soon to be cruisers will have to promise me something. You will set aside the 88 or 90 bucks for these professional photos. (Oh, that photo? Yes, thank you, we do look good. That was taken during our Caribbean cruise.) Sure they are overpriced, but do it for your 'tomorrow' self. You will fondly look back on the trip and remember the exact moment the picture was taken, and smile.

I commend you and your DW for the amazing restraint at Shutters - I just go ahead and pony up for the biggest package they have...:rolleyes1

[King Charming]

We were up early enough to finish packing and trip over each other a few last times as we got ready to head out. I can't imagine 4 people co-existing in a smaller room (like on other ships). We found that with the table removed, there was room for two people to move around at the same time. It also made a big difference that seldom were the 4 of us in the room at the same time unless we were sleeping. The boys sure didn't want to hang out there, and with no verandah, neither did I. At first it was strange not to have a window and see daylight upon waking, but with the ease & speed I could get on deck, I was glad (sour grapes?) I didn't spend the extra $500 or $1K for a porthole room. Our cat 10 room was everything we expected. The split bath will soon be standard industry wide it worked so well.

It was bad enough realizing that I missed the large majority of ship-board activities simply because so much was scheduled. It would have been even worse if I had missed anymore because I was enjoying the view I paid extra for.

With the late dinner seating comes a late breakfast seating. We are in no hurry as a 5 hour drive awaits us. Thankfully this is the only other early meal I am required to attend, but at least Mickey stopped by last time. Our pleasant table servers bid us farewell as I gulped coffee. I left the restaurant a tad early to go over to lost and found at CS. They had left a message at 2:30am on the stateroom phone saying they found OB's stuff :thumbsup2 . They seemed to have many CM's working here this morning and the wait was only 10 mins or so. There were a couple sets of folks here complaining about 'phantom' charges. I was warned by DIS'ers during the cruise that this does happen and to check my bill carefully. I'm sure it was some screw-up with the corkscrew charge I got hit with, but since I wasn't charged for 2 Cay bar drinks, it's a wash.

Anyway, I was rapidly dispatched when told that L&F had been transfered to the terminal, next passenger please? Boy, was I peeved when I found out she was wrong:headache: . So then we line up in an ever growing queue. We were near a porthole and could see that the re-fueling barge had already hooked up. We gazed out there for 10-15 mins before the line took off. We were again halted just inside the terminal. We waited in this hallway for another 10 mins. Every so often a family would walk by in the 'fastpass'/concierge lane, so it was frustrating to wait. I assume we were among the last 10-20 percent off the ship. I have no idea if the delays were due to some poor soul getting hauled off for smuggling or if it was crowd/density issues. Our bags looked pretty lonely on the big long table when we got into the customs room. The room is quite large. I quickly counted all eight bags, then checked in with L&F. They let me dig through the bins of stuff turned over. OB's stuff ain't here. I explain about the message so she calls back to the ship. They confirm his junk is still onboard. "Should I send him back for it?" The whole room could have heard this fellow say no. If they get you off once, you're gone! They'll send someone down w/ it. Now 10 to 15 mins of poking around and observing. First thing you notice is how fast the room is getting empty. People with passports are being hustled through just as fast as they can swipe the info. Folks with photo ID's go through almost as fast. I went looking for the checked luggage scanner. I figure it has got to be in here somewhere, since here are all the bags to be loaded on the ship. Make sense to put it somewhere around here :confused3 . Oh well, makes no never mind to me what they take on this week. They must have sent it out for repairs;) .

The L&F consisted mostly of white T-shirts with prints on them, followed closely with little girls hair adornments. A couple pair of flip-flops and that was it. You could see that the stuff was easy to replace and wouldn't be claimed. But no black sneakers! OB's stuff arrives complete! Shirt, KTTW, and wallet w/ 4 bucks in it!

Our bags are now the only bags on any of the 8 or 10 tables, so finding a porter is a snap. At the back of a speedy line (2 check'ers working), we are outside almost as fast as we can walk. The porter is so tickled with the 6 gold coins that accompanied a ten dollar bill (can't wait to give them to my grandkids), that he sets us up in his favorite spot. It has a bench, is in the shade, and is near water fountains and bathrooms. It is also within 30 feet of the curb for pick-up, so it is the ideal spot to wait.

[Hypermommy]

I really don't want to write this part of the TR becuase that means the trip is really, really over. I find myself feeling about like I did that last morning .... really brought down because it's over. What a depressing feeling.

But then again... I still have pictures to scrap so I guess there's still that :rotfl:

So what did I do the last day? Well, of course, I woke up at 5am and went to get coffee. No sense wasting the last few hours, I figured. It was chilly that morning -- guess the weather was picking on my mood. Oh, but we did have such beautiful weather on the cruise!!!

As I walk around the ship I'm reminded of all the stuff we didn't do. We didn't play shuffleboard, not once! We didn't see Captain Jack Sparrow at all, nor did we get pictures with Stitch. And to think I bought a backgammon set for KC just in case he got bored. :rotfl: Never did send the postcards I promised to send (I bought them but they didn't get mailed until I was back in Tallahassee). Just so busy!

I noticed a few things this morning. Did you know when it's really quiet that in the lobby of the Parrot Cay entrance you can hear birdsong? I think that's part of why I love Disney. They always plus it even when it's not something that most people are going to notice.

Breakfast was sad. It was hard to say goodbye to Jaimey and Aditya. They were soooo wonderful.

As we were on the line to get off the ship the boys saw dolphins. They'd been hoping to see them and look... there they are! Talk about your Disney magic!

So how do you end a trip report from your very first cruise? First, I know I need to thank all of you that have stuck with this report for so long. We've had a marvelous time writing it but it wouldn't have been near as much fun had you not chimed in with your comments and fun. Second, I guess the only thing left to do is show some of the pictures I took as I was moping around the ship Saturday morning.

Early morning on Deck 4
http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj18/hypermommy_2007/Cruise%20Pictures/Day%208%20-%20Debarkation%20Day/100_4826.jpg

I just love the colors on this one but it's a sad picture because the only way to get this shot is to be pulling into port and about to have to leave the ship
http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj18/hypermommy_2007/Cruise%20Pictures/Day%208%20-%20Debarkation%20Day/100_4848.jpg

He says it all started with a mouse, but we all know it all started with a man... a man with a dream and a vision and the drive to see it through. What a role model for all of us.
http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj18/hypermommy_2007/Cruise%20Pictures/Day%208%20-%20Debarkation%20Day/100_4851.jpg

The hardest working man onboard... our buddy Clefas
http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj18/hypermommy_2007/Cruise%20Pictures/Day%208%20-%20Debarkation%20Day/100_4873.jpg

I hope so Mickey... I sure hope so!
http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj18/hypermommy_2007/Cruise%20Pictures/Day%208%20-%20Debarkation%20Day/100_4882.jpg

Remember that sunburn I told you DS14 got?
http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj18/hypermommy_2007/Cruise%20Pictures/Day%208%20-%20Debarkation%20Day/100_4891.jpg

Waiting for Dad to return with the van
http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj18/hypermommy_2007/Cruise%20Pictures/Day%208%20-%20Debarkation%20Day/100_4894.jpg

Now it's time to say goodbye to all our family......
http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj18/hypermommy_2007/Cruise%20Pictures/Day%208%20-%20Debarkation%20Day/100_4895.jpg

Finally, I'll end by saying that I know we'll cruise again. Don't know how, don't know when, but I know this is one wish my heart will be making and I'll definitely be wishing upon a star.

[nzdisneymom]

** sniff sniff *** I'm sad, too, reading about the end of your vacation - I know how much you all looked forward to it, and I know how much you'll look fwd to another journey.

I love the pic of the clock at the end. One thing that I like to think about as we're disembarking is how exciting it must be for those who are just arriving at the Port -- about to venture on a fabulous cruise!

Thanks for sharing this with all of us.

[jollytammy]

loved it! :love: loved it! :lovestruc loved it! :hippie:
Thank you so much for sharing such a wonderful report and all your pictures!

[daveyc150]

Wow!

What a great trip report, I have been checking this thread everyday for updates. It has been great to enjoy your trip through your story and makes me excited for my 7 night western next year.

Hope that you get to go again soon and that you write another amazing trip report like this one.

David

[DisneyDavO]

Deniece and Jim, that was a great tr! I too was reading the whole time and re-living the cruise with everyone. It realy does feel like its over all over again.:sad: :sad: :sad: :sad:

It was nice to meet you and your boys, I hope we see you again on another cruise or park visit somewhere down the road. Ill be looking for you on the Dis till then.

Dave

[King Charming]

I am also bummed about coming to an end (again) :sad1: . In an effort to extend this a few more days I thought I'd bore yous guys with a few observations, opinions, and other reflections from a first time cruiser.

Between the PRE TR (that's still getting hits BTW) and this here TR, I've been writting and posting for ten weeks. Looks like it's time to find a new hobby. I sure hope my new passtime is less expensive than this one has proven to be. It will be some time before my wallet is ready for another free cruise. ;) .

About your room attendant, do not expect to talk to these folks Friday evening or Sat. Am. I know you will grow to appreciate the person who has been picking/cleaning up after you twice a day, and will want to say thank you/goodbye. Although you might see them, you will both be too busy to stop and chit-chat like you have all week. Due to split shifts and odd Sat. hours, they might not be on-shift until you leave. I took me 15 mins to find Clefus on Fri night for the beers, but I couldn't find him later. I'm glad we passed out the tip slips on Thurs.

[King Charming]

As you might expect, some things were much better than hoped for, other items not so much. For what it's worth, here are the things that get my thumbs up/down awards.

:upsidedow Keep venues open later. It was such a drag watching the ship fold up and close down at midnight. Granted, staying up till 4am drinking, or being in the hot tub till dawn has it's consequences, but I should be able to make that choice.

:) Kids Clubs were fantastic! With so many age groupings, age related activities are easily coordinated. I have yet to hear about folks who's kids didn't WANT to go there.(Fussy, clingy kids excepted). My two boys loved it. DS14 spent just about every ship-board minute either sleeping, eating, playing in the arcade, hanging out at The Stack, or doing Stack related activities (no particular order). OB was similar in his quest for independence and also was engrossed in Ocean Club stuff and never had us paged.

:upsidedow Bring out Mickey for photo ops more often! This is a DISNEY cruise, so please bring out our beloved icon and show him off. Also, if I get in line for a pic w/ mic, please don't swap him out for another character when his time is up and I'm nearing the head of the line. Bringing out Mickey2 as soon as Mickey1 is out of sight should solve any illusion problems. Or how about a Mickey room for stop by anytime afternoon pictures like in the parks?

:) Giveaways. DCL gives away all kinds of stuff. Hats, keychains, laynards, flashlight, etc. for attending stuff from Bingo to trivia. A limited number of people get goodies for participating, or just luck of the draw. DCL and Castaway Club members also get bonus stuff for attending the sales meetings.

:upsidedow Fix the character breakfast to make it like the in park character breakfasts. Partitioning off the room and bring out two sets of characters might help. This goes hand in hand with getting more Mickey interaction.

:) Extra CM's were a great help. I didn't notice this until later in the week, but they were very good at giving you as short a wait as possible. Friday night at Shutters, Sat am at Customer Service, or even at the Cay where there were extra CM's on hand just in case, most lines were 10 mins or less.

:upsidedow Either enlarge the smoking area, or have alcohol free zones. Discrimination against smokers has gotten out of hand, no matter how misguided. Anybody who complains about second hand cigarette smoke outside, on a windy deck, just doesn't have enough to complain about. (The full-time smokers made me write this, right John?)

:) Shutters. For a place I initially thought would be a huge rip-off, I am now singing their praises. With knowledgeable photographers who take multiple shots, great backgrounds, cool dated borders, and most importantly, you are able to pick which ones you want, you WILL take home THE most personalized mementos. I had a real hard time justifing the cost of them until I put it in perspective. Considering the total cost of the entire vacation, it's only another 1-3%

:upsidedow High gift shop prices of forgotten items. The shops must be embarrassed at the price they charge for items like batteries and sunscreen because finding prices is a challenge. Being beaten up to the tune of 10 dollars for something that should cost 2 or 3 bucks shouldn't happen if the get on the boat cost is the highest in the industry. Just like the old saying, if you have to ask, you probably can't afford it.

:thumbsup2 The entire experience! Although a bit of advice to all financiers. Begin to complain around Thursday, find something (anything) to moan about on Friday, and be sure to grumble on the way home. Now when the subject of another cruise comes up, you have laid the groundwork for nixing the idea before it gains momentum, thereby saving you literally thousands of dollars. (maybe you'll have better luck with this strategy than I did). Yes I did have a blast. It was far more fun than I dreamed it would be. But until I can find a better way to do it again, it might be a while before we see deck 9 again.

[Hypermommy]

LOL at your last point there, KC. Yeah, like I would believe you didn't have the time of your life. And you know good and well that we're gonna get on another cruise within the next few years. You know how I am :rotfl2:

[okwminnie]

Thank you so much for posting - i loved all the pictures as well as every word of your report!

[jollytammy]

You guys are the greatest! Just loved your report and you insights!

[purplepeg]

I can't speak.....it's over:eek: I'm so sad. It was an awesome report.
I loved the financial breakdown. It's scary when I looked at the breakdown $100 here $250 there...I thought, "that doesn't add up to over 2k" but what do you know it does! Ours was the same, our biggest expense being Shutters and I agree with you, budget for it. They are fabulous photographs. We have others from other cruises and I do remember them being taken, and it does make me smile:love:
I can't believe you went parasailing and on the banana boat ride. You are braver than I. I do recognize my fear of heights and don't try and get over it. Last summer our niece talked me into going on the power tower at Valleyfair in Minneapolis. I believe it was over 200 ft in the air they shot you or you could get taken to the top and then wait and wait and then get shot down. That was the one dd7 decided to do once we talked her into coming on with us. I never stopped talking CALMLY to her the whole way up and while we waited because she was really scared and I didn't want her to see how scared I was:eek: You feel pretty good after you do something you're scared to do and survive it:rotfl2:
Your son will always remember you doing that with him:lovestruc
I have an idea on ways to save for your next cruise and it will happen quickly if you follow my plan....
quit smoking but keep putting the amount you would have spent on cigarettes in a travel fund jar, KC quit drinking all that Pepsi and put that money in a travel fund regularly. Take jar money to the bank regularly and put in a special travel account and watch it grow and grow:) You'll be amazed how soon that cruise will be here. Sons could start saving for their arcade money so you wouldn't have to provide that.
Well what do you think? I think it would work:rotfl2:

What am I going to do for entertainment now:confused3
Keep in touch:)

[Hypermommy]

I have an idea on ways to save for your next cruise and it will happen quickly if you follow my plan....
quit smoking but keep putting the amount you would have spent on cigarettes in a travel fund jar, KC quit drinking all that Pepsi and put that money in a travel fund regularly. Take jar money to the bank regularly and put in a special travel account and watch it grow and grow:) You'll be amazed how soon that cruise will be here. Sons could start saving for their arcade money so you wouldn't have to provide that.
Well what do you think? I think it would work:rotfl2:

What am I going to do for entertainment now:confused3
Keep in touch:)

We'll definitely have to keep in touch. I'm looking forward to reading more of your report too :rotfl:

Now, as to your plan, on the surface it sounds like a great idea. But remember how that prince turned into a Beast? Well, that's what KC's like without Pepsi. And me? I'm a b with an itch in general life. Can you imagine what I'd be like without my nicotine fix? Besides, we all need a vice, right? (whenever I say that around this one girlfriend of mine she says I should pick one :rotfl2: )

Okay... I'm off to go read your TR. I'm sure more's been written now. :rotfl:

[King Charming]

In an effort to clear my mind and notebook of the exciting trip, here are some more random thoughts that didn't fit into the TR

The first is actually a wish. With such an excellent resource available, I sure would like it if DCL/travel agencies would let future cruisers know about the DIS boards, even in some un-official way. I know corporate rules and all that BS apply, but it really enhanced our trip by knowing and seeing familar faces on board. Having a forum where you can get to know folks you will meet on board insures you will not be some anonymous family traveling among a huge group of strangers. Also, by having a site that is slap full of helpful people eager to answer your 'stupid' questions truely helped a rookie like me to understand what it would be like. Thank you.

Don't wear suspenders or any other metal on your clothes that can not be easily removed. EVERY single time I got back on the ship I was directed over to the wand CM. Wand person always took their job seriously, even when I played 'let's get off the ship/let's get back on' at Castaway Cay many times. The opposite was the X-ray scanner folks working the door. With all the packages, purses, keys/coins, etc. going thru, they seemed more interested in moving the line than going through your stuff. Not once did I see someone say 'Please open that bag'. I assumed the X-ray unit worked by detecting dense metal objects (like handguns), since my hatful of coins attracted no attention.

Early dinner seating seems to work better for families with small children (bedtime issues), and gets you to the night time activities early. Drawbacks are that it cuts into late afternoon; either getting back on ship, or just getting ready (dressed) for dinner. You are also the first group off the ship and get to do the bag hunt in the terminal. Late seating worked well for us, although it was a drag to have the evening half over by the time we got done. Either way, do NOT let your dinner schedule dictate YOUR schedule. Topsiders serves great meals when you are ready, and is a good alternative.

Talk your kids into swimming in the late afternoon. The Mickey pool, and to some extent the Goofy pool are crowded early in the day. It will be much easier on you trying to keep track of them, and pool lounge chairs should be available.

Don't be foolish like I was by bringing games, cards, or the like, for either you or the kids. I took along a back gammon set to take up on deck to pass the time. That's right, it never got unpacked. Unless you simply can't live without it, leave it home. There is way more available to do than can be accomplished on TWO cruises, so being bored will not be a problem.

[Hypermommy]

Don't be foolish like I was by bringing games, cards, or the like, for either you or the kids. I took along a back gammon set to take up on deck to pass the time. That's right, it never got unpacked. Unless you simply can't live without it, leave it home. There is way more available to do than can be accomplished on TWO cruises, so being bored will not be a problem.

"So does that mean we're ready to start planning the next one?" she asks hopefully?

[pixidustmom]

I am truly sorry it's all over. I have read the pre and the post and loved reading your stories. You have been so much fun. I so can't wait to go on mine and I will take your idea of writing it down each day. I know from my last trip I just couldn't remember so many things that happened.

[Jillpie]

KC, I pretty much doubt DCL would ever recommend the Dis to customers. As much as I LOVE this place, and all the good that it brings to everyone, it also brings out all the bad. Every last detail of bad. That is the last thing they want to have shared with new potential guests. Agreed?
We'll keep this thread alive if its the last thing we do!:thumbsup2

[King Charming]

Don't make plans for the Sunday after you get back. Between keeping short hours during the week, and traveling home that Sat., when you finally get home you will be too tired to even eat. (Cook? I'm not sure I remember how, its been over a week!) Sleep till noon that first full day back, do a few loads of laundry, then hit the hay again around 6 or 7. Tell the children it is a 'survival day'; meaning that if they survive the day without you, you just might take them with you again. Hire a sitter if need be, but you will feel SO much better for resting and putting your feet up.

Speaking of feet, please wear sensible walking shoes. Good looking flip flops or sandals may be stylish, but remember, active people will probably walk 3-5 miles a day on sea days, and 5-7 miles a day going ashore. It really is a very large ship. If your footware is not suitable for running laps, why would you walk a mini-marathon in them?

Apply sunscreen (waterproof please) at 9am, noon, and 3pm. The sun's rays ARE stronger towards the middle latitudes. It only takes one sunburn to make you irritable all week. By getting some smaller travel/pocket sized bottles to fill will encourage you to keep it with you and actually use it.

The other three thousand people on board with you don't have to be strangers, get to know them. While I don't advocate smoking, I did get to meet the other 200 or so smokers. A few from Europe, some from the west coast, most from the northeast. With a shared habit and limited space, we saw each other quite often. Even though I won't be sending them Christmas cards, I wouldn't mind hanging out with the lot of them again, or listening to more of Dear Barbara's interesting travel stories.

Although it works at any time of year, or for any holiday, during the later third of the year cruisers should bring along a Xmas sweater or hat to wear in addition to or instead of formal wear pictures with Mickey. The CM's and Mic sure don't care. Scan it when you get home for smaller prints you can send out with your cards.

If you are going to several places, arrange transportation and go to the farthest destination first, and work your way back toward the ship. This works well for two reasons. First is you are getting closer to the port as the day wears on. And since 4 out of 5 times the furthest place is also the place you most wanted to go, you ensure that you actually get there before something comes up to cancel your day.

I wish I had a GPS device to bring along. I think it would have been cool to get a reading in the middle of the gulf 93 feet above the water.

The ship's closed circuit TV was great. In addition to CNN and Disney movies and shows, two were my favorite. The 'View from the Bridge' channel (11)was neat, but channel 12 was better. The navigation/info channel stayed on most of the time. It showed our course plot, weather conditions, time of sun rise/set, and other nerdy info I really enjoyed. Did you know our cruise traveled over 2K naut. miles?

[Hypermommy]

So now y'all see how KC handles Hypermommy. Notice that there was not one breath of a response to my question. No, darling... I do not go away if you ignore me :rotfl2: But as y'all may have guessed, after 22 years together with no possibility of parole, he's learned various ways of handling my Type AAA personality and maintaining his Type Z personality :rotfl: :lmao:

[purplepeg]

you guys are so funny:rotfl2: :rotfl: You guys have to find a way to do it again. Think, Think, Think:goodvibes It was fun getting a gps reading and really seeing where in the world you were.

[pfuentes1098]

I've really enjoyed reading your TR. Very funny! :rotfl2: DS12 looks familiar- soccer, maybe? I hope you get to have that next cruise.:goodvibes

[Daisy5115]

It would be nice if there were a school spring break chart somewhere on the disboards. Not sure if you realized it, but it was school break in NJ, NY, and Mass. It's the same week every year around us. 3rd week in April. I did notice the week before is more money in 2009. However, I think your reasoning about the possibility of a veranda coming down in price makes more sense on other weeks. If you are willing to take your kids out of school, you may as well make the most of it. Just more helpful planning info for next time.;)

Karen

[Hypermommy]

I keep wishing but quite honestly, we'd have to hit the lottery to be able to take another cruise next year. I can't honestly understand how folks can afford to do it every year. We didn't even have to pay the $XXXX.XX (literally four digits) to actually get on the boat, and still it was soooo expensive. I do hope to cruise again someday but I know it won't be anytime really soon. And I think the next multithousand dollar vacation we take will have to be to the parks. I really, really miss them. I haven't been since December 07 and I'm having withdrawals and constantly trying to figure out a way to get down there. But then again, cruising was sooooo much fun too.

Arrrgggggghhhhhh.... just need to win that lotto, that's all there is to it :-)

[purplepeg]

Dreams do come true, dreams do come true, dreams do come true:wizard: Do you think if you said that enough times you'd win the lottery? :rotfl2: My sister actually works with someone who did win just over 4 million$ in the lottery:worship: Apparently it's not all it's cracked up to be although I would like to see that for myself thank you very much:laughing:

Well the parks are always lots of fun and maybe if you made a plan like for your 25th anniversary or something for a next cruise. If it doesn't happen again you guys did it up right, and you were a princess for your birthday (29 wasn't it?) and had your own KC to make the ball special:cloud9:

[Hypermommy]

Dreams do come true, dreams do come true, dreams do come true:wizard: Do you think if you said that enough times you'd win the lottery? :rotfl2: My sister actually works with someone who did win just over 4 million$ in the lottery:worship: Apparently it's not all it's cracked up to be although I would like to see that for myself thank you very much:laughing:

Well the parks are always lots of fun and maybe if you made a plan like for your 25th anniversary or something for a next cruise. If it doesn't happen again you guys did it up right, and you were a princess for your birthday (29 wasn't it?) and had your own KC to make the ball special:cloud9:

Yeah, me too -- I know they say that money doesn't bring happiness but I would sure like to give that a try for myself.

Yep, it was the 21st anniversary of my 21st birthday. :rotfl2:

And speaking of birthdays -- guess whose birthday today is? Yep, our very own King Charming. I won't say exactly which birthday it is, but let's just say he remembers his father getting a new color television set! :cool1: Y'all take a moment to wish the old geezer -- er, I mean, handsome and adorable and wonderful (oh, Lord... now that head's gonna swell for sure) King a marvelous birthday!!!!

[tksbaskets]

Happy Birthday KC! :bday: party: :jumping1:

[King Charming]

Thank you all, it's good to be old.

I've been writting now most every day since last Christmas, when we won this great trip. I've had alot of fun with it, but now it's time to fade away. A few of my goals and objectives for these reports have been met, some have not. Even though the previously listed reasons for writting this were true, they were not the only reasons. It really was nice to be one of the most popular passengers on board (even if I wasn't formally elected). I was flattered to have so many people shake my hand and tell me they enjoyed reading the PRE TR, and had been looking forward to meeting DW and I. I had also hoped that popularity would translate into drinks/perks/upgrades, which did not happen. Writting a PTR is a great way to intro yourself to your fellow cruisers, especially if you have a different approach or an interesting perspective.

And with a tear in my eye, I'm sad to say no one has taken me up on my offer to write another spellbinding TR on their dime. Lord knows I'd love to get back on that ship again next month if I could, but my wallet refuses to discuss it. I can live with a future that does not include me becoming a travel writter, or even going on other free vacations out of the country. I'm sure it would have been fun.

I'd like to think I covered most aspects of the costs involved. Alot of mine were minimum (tips, photos, spa), or could have been MUCH higher with just a little effort (shopping, booze, non DCL excursions). If you still haven't spent enough, there are plenty of ways to do it at DCL. They have many packages/tours/tastings, concierge level adds a new round of tips, and DVC is always on the prowl for 'points lovers'. There are so many different ways to spend thousands of dollars AFTER you have bought your tickets.

Including shopping in port and formal duds, I'm sure I ran over $4K. One day soon I'll go back to the PRE TR cost spreadsheet and compare it to the actual bills that are still arriving. I'll then post it to give you a detailed list of my actual vs anticipated costs.

Having bought passports, future vacation destinations have become limitless. Do you think anybody would be interested in a pre trippie about adding Paris to our Disney been there's?

[MassDisLovers]

Happy Birthday Jim! (Since it's your birthday I thought I should use your real name! ):cake: Hope you had a happy day

Meg graduates from high school tomorrow - we're up to our ears in party preparation and the MIL arrived yesterday for "a while" :scared1:

Hope all is well in Tallahassee! MA is finally warming up - it might really be spring, just in time for it to be summer!

Karen

[purplepeg]

Happy Birthday KC:dance3: :banana: Hey I remember my parents getting a color tv and first show we watched on it was The Little Rascals ( in black and white):rotfl2: :rotfl: :lmao:

[DisneyDavO]

:dance3: Happy birthday Jim :dance3: I too remember our first color tv, and Im only 41, so you cant be that old! (of course we were the last family in Philadelphia to get one though!) :lmao:

Dave

[rala]

Happy Birthday Jim :bday:
best wishes from Germany. Have a great day.

Marion & Michael

[AddictedtoMickey]

Happy Birthday KC...great trip reports!!!

Frank

[goofygal1975]

What a great trip report! :thumbsup2 I sat here all evening yesterday reading your trip report. I'm not feeling so good...so I settled in, got comfy and read your TR. (I did take a nap in between..lol) I really enjoyed reading about your trip and seeing all your pictures. The one with your two ds all dressed up came out great!! And the two formal/semi-formal pictures of all of you was wonderful!!

Thanks for sharing your trip with us!!:goodvibes

[King Charming]

Oh no, I went and done it good this time. Someone please help me clean my shoes and help me understand why I did such a thing. For all the grousing about how much it all costs, I still booked another Magic adventure. The $ 4,450.00 we spent for pre, during, and post cruise expenses floored me, but I think this next time it'll be MUCH less because we won't be trying to do it all.

Seems the cruise bug bite I got last April had lingering side effects. Not content with waiting for another 'free' cruise offer, we prefer a double dip. Sure, it's a little more expensive than the regular western, but compared to the costof the Christmas 09 cruise I inquired about, it is darn near reasonable. I had visited half off cruise sites and the like to try and find a less costly option, but kept thinking back to the great time we had, even though we missed so much. Like the parks, a return engagement is demanded.

Now my wallet got wind of Mickey whispering in my ear and about had a fit. 'You promised' it screamed at me. Well, thats why I didn't go for any of those lesser cruises. "And 2008 is out, no way'! But 2009's vacation budget hasn't been spoken for, and if we add in what we might have spent in 2010 & 11 for vacations, we shold be able to do this; but not anytime soon. So a check of itineraries showed a western double dip mid Nov 09 and I was again hooked. Fifteen months of pre trip report I won't bother you with, but it will be interesting making payments on a dream. Knowing I won't spend $400 again on passports, or many hundreds more on formal clothes or fancy excursions (these 3 totaled about a third of my costs) has given me the courage to try this on my own. Staying in a Cat 11 room should help us keep the grand total under $6K.

So a new adventure is planned, as is a trip report covering it. With luck the time will pass not too quickly and we will enjoy another fabulous week with the Magic. Until then...

[CRSNDSNY]

That's awesome! Congrats on your booking....it'll be here before you know it! And I look forward to your TR...you and your wife are fun to read about!

[MassDisLovers]

Congrats, KC. :cheer2: You must have racked up major points with this one! Denise, I need to know your secret.....HOW did you manage to get him to agree to this??? :hug:

[Hypermommy]

Well, since this is a family oriented board I guess I shouldn't get into the specifics but let's just say that it involved a magical moment or two.

:rotfl2: :banana: :rotfl2: :cool1: :banana: :rotfl2:

And yes, he racked up some seriously major points. But the best part of it all is that

http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj18/hypermommy_2007/mickey_wins_again.jpg

[MassDisLovers]

You go girl!:love:

[AddictedtoMickey]

That's great Hypermommy (and KC)! :banana:

Since our last cruise, I've been planning the next one. We booked onboard and may or may not move our cruise to April 2010, when they come out. We're booked right now for the St. Croix Eastern in Dec. 2009. A double dip would be great. My wife likes Castaway Cay best. However, I'm nervous about the weather in the Bahamas during the Fall/winter. We'll see.

[Hypermommy]

It's really late August through October'ish (I think) that you need to worry about. We're doing November because by then things will have settled down.

[AddictedtoMickey]

I'm not worried about hurricanes, I was more concerned about tanning weather :cool1:

Although I haven't really checked that closely, have you looked at the temps that time of year? It would be fun to plan another trip together again!!

[King Charming]

OK, so maybe I will bore you with another PTR. :rotfl2: It seems that Hypermommy wanted to jump into one and has dragged me kicking and screaming back to the keyboard. It should be easy to find as she posts often. So please join us on another attempt at being vote the MOST POPULAR passengers ;) .

[CRSNDSNY]

Ooooh! I'm off to look for your Pre-TR!!! Is it posted yet?

[Hypermommy]

I'm not worried about hurricanes, I was more concerned about tanning weather :cool1:

Although I haven't really checked that closely, have you looked at the temps that time of year? It would be fun to plan another trip together again!!

I haven't yet. But then again, I'm the type of person that's more into cold weather. Remember, I have that "Rubenesque" beauty? It's much easier to put on clothes because there's only so much I can take off before people go running and screaming and jumping off buildings and boats.

However, I did a quick google of "caribbean cruise temperature november" and a couple of sites said it'd be somewhere between 77 and 87, so that sounds really good to me.

Ooooh! I'm off to look for your Pre-TR!!! Is it posted yet?

Sure is. Link is in my siggie. Hope you enjoy it.

[CRSNDSNY]

Thanks Hypermommy! I found it earlier and am already onboard and loving the commentary! :)

[Hypermommy]

Although I haven't really checked that closely, have you looked at the temps that time of year? It would be fun to plan another trip together again!!

That would be lots of fun!

Oh, and check this out
http://disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1944364
Seems that they've gone back to a traditional character meal format.

See, KC.... I told you if you give Mickey enough money he might listen to you. :rotfl2:

[purplepeg]

I am so excited for you guys and I'll be hopping on over to tour pre tippie because heaven knows we won't be going anytime soon. Something about the Titanic.:rolleyes1 I'll have to live through you.

[King Charming]

Hoo-ray for the change :thumbsup2 . Post # 95 covered my unhappiness with the Island Jam style dance party, so of course I'm happy about this.

Does this mean that if I slip the Mic another $2K during the cruise he might keep the ship open past midnight?

[Hypermommy]

Nah... probably not. But think about it. Would you want Stitch running around free after midnight? He might turn into a Gremlin.

But seriously, aren't the clubs open later than that? I wouldn't know because I was always snoozing by then.

[modlitekrt1]

I caught onto this trip report two nights ago and could not stop reading it for the past three nights. You both did an amazing job in writing this report as it has signifcantly helped our family in preparing for our dream cruise in October.

Thanks again...
Paul

[King Charming]

Inasmuch as I wrote this so others would know what to expect, I find myself coming back to re-read it so I can again experience the wonderful time we had. I had hoped that by adding as many details as possible the information value would outweigh the bragging aspect. This was, after all, the trip of a lifetime, no matter how many times you do it.

I wish more people would write comprehensive TR's (w/pics) because with everything there is to see, eat, do, etc., nobody can do it all. But like recurring characters in a good book series, we never weary of hearing about fellow travelers and their experiences. Please consider writing one yourself.

[King Charming]

I finally logged on often enough to drive the view count on this up past 20K! :thumbsup2 I had such a good time with it, and am having a hard time ignoring this TR, even with another cruise planned. And yes, I also wanted to see it on the first page one last time.

One year to wait until our Double Dip Delight 09. Be sure to stay tuned in for another marathon adventure. Thankfully we again have an active meet thread, and I expect our DIS numbers to at least double in the next few months as the ship begins to fill up.

Hypermommy's lists are starting to form up, a cruise pile has begun, and we are working like mad to pay Mickey off. After a vacation or two at the parks, maybe boarding a brand new ship in 2012 is on the horizon.

I also wanted to thank the other 10K viewers for spreading the word about this, as there still seems to be a steady 20 or so daily readers on a long dead TR. It's SO nice to know I'm not the only die-hard who tries to read everything available.

As for YOUR trip (why else would you be here?), I hope it is everything you dream it can be; it sure was for us, and thousands more just like you and me. Probably 99% of DCL'ers have been to the parks and know the type of customer service and overall experience Mickey is famous for. Go, enjoy it, bring the family, celebrate life, take pictures, party your butt off, just go! You WILL have such a good time that you will become Castaway Club members before you know it.

Finally, please let me know in your TR if you get voted into any of the 'passenger positions' :rotfl2: ie Most popular, Best pirate costume, Worst sunburn, Most likely to close down the bar, you know, the things that make your trip all the more memorable. There is nothing like getting elected while holding a drink to get you in the right state of mind. Have fun and enjoy it!