our truly magical 1st cruise... April 26 Eastern Caribbean

[dreamcometrue]

the cast:

Me (34)
DH (35)
DS Josh (12)
DD Kaylee (8)

I plan on adding lots of pictures, so get ready! :thumbsup2 :yay:

First let me say, that I have been dreaming of a Disney Cruise ever since Josh was 2 years old and I sat down to watch a Disney movie with him and saw the commerical for Disney Cruise line. DH always thought it was too expensive. Finally 2 years ago, in April 2006, I decided I would just do it! I researched the internet and found the DIS boards and well, the rest is history! I waited and waited for the 2008 dates to open and finally, on November 1, 2006, I booked this cruise!! I was beyond excited that day but it still seemed so long away! Posting on the cruise meets thread helped build up the excitement and I got to meet some great people!! :woohoo:

It really hits you when you get this in the mail:
http://i262.photobucket.com/albums/ii87/disneycruise08/006.jpg
I danced around the house screaming and thinking "OMG WE ARE GOING ON A DISNEY CRUISE". Lots of packing and buying things had to be done and DH complained along but who cares right? After all, we are going on a Disney cruise!!!

The day we left, April 25th, was also my 34th birthday, but I planned on celebrating on the Disney Magic! :dance3: Like any true Disney fan, I was "too excited to sleep" the night before the cruise. I rented a 10 passenger stretch limo as a surprise for the kids to take us to the airport. Our flight didn't leave until 8:35am, but I had the limo pick us up at 5am. We flew out of LAX, and you never know with traffic around here, so better safe than sorry. I woke everyone up at 4am. The limo driver showed up way early, at 4:20am. I called the kids down and told them to go out the front door. They looked at me like I completely lost my mind but knew to not argue with me. They opened to the door and there it was... all lit up and beautiful! They got in to check it out, in their pajamas and all. I finally told them that they had to get dressed. I told the limo driver we were going to be a while. I had to do some last minute stuff, and we weren't expecting him until 5am after all. He was totally fine with that, and started loading our bags up. All 6 of them. (and there were 7 on the way home, since I stacked one inside another on the way there so we'd have an extra for all the souveniers we were going to buy for sure!). Finally we were ready to go!!

http://i262.photobucket.com/albums/ii87/disneycruise08/DisneyCruise225.jpg

The ride to the airport was smooth, no traffic whatsoever, but I know if I had scheduled a later pick up time there would have been lots, that's just the way it works around here. We got there way early, curbside checked our bags and went through security. It was all a breeze, hardly any wait time. Got the kids some Burger King for breakfast as we sat in the waiting area waiting to board the plane. And we waited, and waited and waited.

http://i262.photobucket.com/albums/ii87/disneycruise08/DisneyCruise230.jpg

Finally time to board. The flight from Los Angeles to Orlando went smooth, but it was long and exhausting. Even knowing you'll be on the Disney magic the NEXT DAY, you get tired of hearing "are we there yet?" and "how much longer mom" after 5,000,000 times. At least there wasn't too much fighting going on on the plane.

http://i262.photobucket.com/albums/ii87/disneycruise08/DisneyCruise231.jpg

http://i262.photobucket.com/albums/ii87/disneycruise08/DisneyCruise232.jpg

Ok, let me just say this, but how do you people in the Southern parts of the USA stand the humidity? It was only April and the humidity in Orlando hit me like a ton of bricks!! We are from Southern California and used to the heat, but the humidity!? Forget it!! My sister in law and her family lives in Orlando, and we spent the night with them, so I called her as we landed and right away complained about the humidity. :rotfl: We picked up our bags which took FOREVER! Then we headed over to Budget to pick up our rental car. Saw DCL busses parked outside and got excited!! I rented a full size car, which was too small for us and our 10,000 bags. Ended up with 2 bags on the backseat and of course the kids complained that they had NO ROOM. I told them to be quiet and deal with it because we are going on a Disney cruise. I don't think they cared at that point. :laughing:

My SIL lives pretty close to the airport and I was on the phone with her the entire time as she gave us directions. It was nice to see everyone again and I felt bad we couldn't stay longer. There was a carnival at my nephews school and we all went to that. I finally had something to eat there, after realizing that I hadn't eaten barely anything in about 24 hours (apparently, I was not only too excited to sleep. I was also too excited to eat!). Then my niece had a softball game so we went to that. Got the kids some dinner there. By that time, I was so exhausted. We dropped off everyone at home and my SIL and I headed out again to the liquor store. DH and I wanted to carry on a bottle of Jim Beam on board, so I bought that and my SIL bought some margarita mixings. We went back to her house, and the kids stayed up playing and goofing around until about 1:30. My kids were still on West coast time, no doubt, but I was surprised they made it so long, we were all pretty exhausted. Alan fell asleep at some point and my SIL and I stayed up drinking Margaritas until 2:30am. :woohoo: Hey, I was on vacation!!

http://i262.photobucket.com/albums/ii87/disneycruise08/DisneyCruise243.jpg

I finally went to bed, thinking that I wouldn't be able to sleep, but I fell asleep right away. I guess it all caught up with me finally, no sleep the night before and traveling. Well, and maybe the margaritas too!

Tomorrow... IT'S HERE!!! Hand me the tissues, I can see the MAGIC!!

[mommasita]

I am in on this report..Love the pics..:)

Great start. :surfweb:

[alwayslisad]

Got my popcorn and settled in --- keep it coming!

[jollytammy]

Great start! In fact, let's go back to the margaritas:idea:

[Stitch's O'hana]

I am loving it! You are helping me with the waiting of my mom's and I's trip, we don't go until Nov.8-15( but we leave Nov.6 for Disney World)! We booked our trip way back in March of 2007
We are also doing the Eastern Cruise!

I can't wait to read and see more pictures from your trip!

[lillygator]

yeah - gets me even more excited for SATURDAY!

[Verandah Man]

I'm sitting here eating a Mango flavored Italian Water Ice reading your TR, and thinking I'm sitting on the Magic. Can't wait to read more, great start!!! :thumbsup2

[dreamcometrue]

I'm sitting here eating a Mango flavored Italian Water Ice reading your TR, and thinking I'm sitting on the Magic. Can't wait to read more, great start!!! :thumbsup2

thanks for posting the pictures of us sailing out Andy!! I was hoping someone would! :thumbsup2

[Jillpie]

Fantastic start, LOVING this. The more pics the better!! I loved the one of your daughter looking out at the airport, very nice. I just got home from 11 days at Disneyworld, we're actually thinking that the Magic is sometime again in our future so this report is just perfect. Can't wait for more.:)

[RLccweems]

popcorn:: I'm ready for the rest of the TR...so far so good! popcorn::

[dreamcometrue]

I am still working on editing/resizing pictures, but should have part 2 up tomorrow! Thanks for all the nice comments! :lovestruc We truly had a magical time, it was everything I expected and more!

[zerog]

Kay - What an awesome start to your Trip Report. :thumbsup2 I knew all those details since we were on the same cruise meet for many months, but I still loved reading in report format. You were one of the true bright spots for our vacation, because your enthusiasm is contagious. I'll never forget your reply when I wrote that I could not describe in words our excitement (post 3259):

the only way to express my excitement in words is this

OH MY GOD!!! WE ARE GOING ON A DISNEY CRUISE!!!!!!!!

[dreamcometrue]

Kay - What an awesome start to your Trip Report. :thumbsup2 I knew all those details since we were on the same cruise meet for many months, but I still loved reading in report format. You were one of the true bright spots for our vacation, because your enthusiasm is contagious. I'll never forget your reply when I wrote that I could not describe in words our excitement (post 3259):


Randy it was so great seeing you guys around the ship. Funny how we constantly ran into each other. We were worried after St. Maarten because we didn't see you for a while!! We thought that maybe you decided to stay! :rotfl: :lmao:

[TotallyAngelic]

a great start to your report - we are going on our first Disney cruise in october so it will be great to see what you think of it all as a first time cruiser! I love the photo of your little girl at the airport looking out of the window - it really captures that "airport anticipation"

[amy2girls]

great start... can't wait to read more we will be on the Eastern magic next April:cool1:

[Travelbee]

My family was also on this cruise and I think we were on the same flight to Orlando from LA. Did you fly American Airlines? It took half an hour before the bags started to show up on the carousel. My DH and I celebrated our 10th anniversary on the 4/25 before boarding the ship on the 26th. Everything on the cruise was perfect. Our DD5 discovered karaoke and wanted to go every night. It was a hoot! We had such a great time and glad to hear you did too!

[dreamcometrue]

My family was also on this cruise and I think we were on the same flight to Orlando from LA. Did you fly American Airlines? It took half an hour before the bags started to show up on the carousel. My DH and I celebrated our 10th anniversary on the 4/25 before boarding the ship on the 26th. Everything on the cruise was perfect. Our DD5 discovered karaoke and wanted to go every night. It was a hoot! We had such a great time and glad to hear you did too!

yes!! We were on American Airlines flight leaving LAX at 8:35am. It took FOREVER for the bags, and the kids were tired and grumpy (ok, so was I!) My birthday was 4/25! Glad to hear you guys had a great cruise too!

[chepic]

O.K., I'm in....keep it coming

cheryl

[dreamcometrue]

I should have the next installment up tonight! :thumbsup2

[AirTita]

I should have the next installment up tonight! :thumbsup2

Looking forward to it!:banana:

[wdwluvrs]

Kay nice to read about the cruise again as we were also there with you keep posting... Mike

[Googelibear]

I should have the next installment up tonight! :thumbsup2

Ok, I am in Michigan, it's "night" now ;)

[ohiominnie]

Hey! Aren't you the lady who stuck her tongue out at me after the farewell show????? ;)

[dreamcometrue]

Hey! Aren't you the lady who stuck her tongue out at me after the farewell show????? ;)

no, I stuck it out at Mary! Didn't I? coughsavedanentirerowinthewaltdisneytheatercough :rotfl: well aren't YOU the lady who laughed at me because I cried during the farewell show?? Because if you are, you deserved it! :lmao:

[zerog]

I cried during the farewell show

The farewell show was kind of sad! :sad2:

[dreamcometrue]

sorry, I never got around to posting last night.

Part 2... IT'S HERE!!! Hand me the tissues, I can see the MAGIC!!

We left my SIL's house at around 8:30am and made our way to Port Canaveral after a quick stop by Walgreens. Kaylee had the sniffles and I was so worried it was a cold, and I had visions of her not being able to spend time in the kids club. I got her some meds, but it turned out it was just allergies. She never gets allergies at home so I was surprised, but my SIL mentioned that her kids are allergic to the oak something or another so maybe that was it.

I was so excited the whole way to Port Canaveral and couldn't wait until I got my first glimpse of the Magic. I was the one asking "are we there yet" for once, and not the kids! And finally, as we crossed the bridge, I saw her!!! I started to cry, she was even more beautiful than I imagined!

http://i262.photobucket.com/albums/ii87/disneycruise08/DisneyCruise251.jpg

We were early, so we made our way to Budget so DH would know where to go
to drop off the rental car. It is so easy to find. We made our way back to the port, and were still about 10 min. early, so they made us park in the lot across the street. It was a loooong 10 minutes. Finally the wait was over and we made it to the terminal. Got all our bags out, and grabbed a porter who helped us with the bags. The porter is WELL wort the tip. DH and Josh left to return the rental car and Kaylee and I made our way through security. The line wasn't too bad. Finally we were on the escalators up to the terminal. We were really here!! And the Magic was RIGHT THERE!! Here came the tears again. We went straigt to the check in line, and checked the whole family in. Very easy. Got boarding pass 3 and PLAPLAP dining roation, which is what I
really hoped for since it will put us in Lumieres for formal and Parrot Cay for Pirates night!!! And finally I had our key to the world cards in my hot little
hands and made good use of them right away by buying lanyards in the terminal. I also checked Kaylee into the kids clubs and got her her bracelet. We walked around the terminal for a bit then to check things out.

http://i262.photobucket.com/albums/ii87/disneycruise08/DisneyCruise255.jpg

http://i262.photobucket.com/albums/ii87/disneycruise08/DisneyCruise256.jpg

http://i262.photobucket.com/albums/ii87/disneycruise08/DisneyCruise257.jpg

Met Mary and Mark, Karen and family and Randy in the terminal. Mary and mark stood out with their lime green shirts and I recognized them right away. What a nice bunch of people! Mark had mickey bars and of course Kaylee saw them and had to have one right away so off we went to buy Mickey bars. As you can see, I tested my KTTW card well before actually boarding.

http://i262.photobucket.com/albums/ii87/disneycruise08/DisneyCruise258.jpg

Mickey made a grand appearance in the terminal, so Kaylee and I stood in line for that. Got Kaylee's picture taken with Mickey.

http://i262.photobucket.com/albums/ii87/disneycruise08/DisneyCruise259.jpg

Alan and Josh finally caught up with us at around 11:30 or so. Boarding started at 12:00 I think. We were called pretty quickly, so no more long wait! Had our embarkation picture taken, and then finally FINALLY the moment I had dreamed about for so long...we were actually truly boarding the Magic!!! You dream about it for so long, and imagine it, but nothing nothing you envisioncomes close the actual experience when your name is called as you walk on the ship and stand in the atrium for the very first time! Tears again!!

I went to Rock in' Bar D right away for Palo Brunch reservations since I was unable to get any online. There were plenty available and I made reservations for Monday 10:30am.

http://i262.photobucket.com/albums/ii87/disneycruise08/DisneyCruise263.jpg

Then we made it up to deck 9 to the Mickey pool!! The kids were so excited! Got them both changed and they were in it in a heartbeat. They thought I was the best mom in the world for remembering to pack their bathing suits in the carry on!

http://i262.photobucket.com/albums/ii87/disneycruise08/DisneyCruise269.jpg

http://i262.photobucket.com/albums/ii87/disneycruise08/DisneyCruise271.jpg

Alan and I got a table by the Mickey Pool and went off to topsiders and got some lunch. It was also while sitting there that I had my first Bahama Mama. The first of many, I might add!

http://i262.photobucket.com/albums/ii87/disneycruise08/DisneyCruise272.jpg

http://i262.photobucket.com/albums/ii87/disneycruise08/DisneyCruise273.jpg

http://i262.photobucket.com/albums/ii87/disneycruise08/DisneyCruise275.jpg

The Mickey slide opened up at some point and the kids went down it over and over again.

http://i262.photobucket.com/albums/ii87/disneycruise08/DisneyCruise276.jpg

http://i262.photobucket.com/albums/ii87/disneycruise08/DisneyCruise279.jpg

They also spent some time in the goofy pool, they particularly liked the jacuzzi.

http://i262.photobucket.com/albums/ii87/disneycruise08/DisneyCruise282.jpg

http://i262.photobucket.com/albums/ii87/disneycruise08/DisneyCruise284.jpg

http://i262.photobucket.com/albums/ii87/disneycruise08/DisneyCruise285.jpg

I went down to guest services because I forgot to make reservations for Tea with Alice and the Mad Hatter for Kaylee and I so I did that and got is in for Sunday at 4pm.

It was 5 minutes to 1:30 and I snuck down to see if the ropes to the rooms had been dropped yet but nothing, so I asked a CM and she said not till 2pm. So I headed back upstairs and joined the others by the pool. The kids and I went back downstairs at 2pm. DH decided he was still hungry and wanted a hotdog, but I was too anxious and couldn't wait and told him to come down when he was done! I wanted to see our stateroom!! Some of our suitcases were outside the door and by the time Alan arrived about 10 minutes later, the rest of the bags were here too. Yay!! No lost luggage. We were category 9, stateroom 2608. We really loved our room and the location. It was very close to the aft elevators (between midship and aft, but much closer to aft) so it was easy access to most restaurants, the pools and the drink station on deck 9. Our stateroom host was Marilyn from the Philippines. She was very sweet, we loved her! The stateroom was also decorated
with birthday decorations, since it was my birthday on the 25th and I wanted to celebrate on the Magic, I ordered those for myself!

http://i262.photobucket.com/albums/ii87/disneycruise08/DisneyCruise286.jpg

By that time Kaylee was soooo tired, and we decided to just hang out in the room for a bit and unpack, which we did. I managed to get all of mine and Kaylee's things unpacked by 10 to 3 when I headed up to the Promenade Lounge for a DIS meet. I got to meet a lot of great people from our cruise meet threat. It was nice to see everyone around the ship for the remainder of the cruise. We hung out there for a bit then back to the room since it was almost time for the Lifeboat drill.

When I got back, Alan and Josh had also unpacked their things and DH managed to get all of our suitcases put under the bed. Kaylee was asleep on the couch and I felt really awful for having to wake her for the lifeboat drill, but we had to. She was NOT happy. She was so grumy and whining about having to put on the vest and she would not stop until the drill was over. We headed up to deck 4 starboard side. I was worried that it would be too hot, but it was mostly shady and a nice breeze, so it wasn't bad at all except
Kaylee being unhappy.

http://i262.photobucket.com/albums/ii87/disneycruise08/DisneyCruise288.jpg

We made it back to the room just in time to drop the lifevests and then head up to deck 10 for the sailaway party. Kaylee was still a bit grumpy at first, but quickly cheered up and started to dance along.

http://i262.photobucket.com/albums/ii87/disneycruise08/DisneyCruise294.jpg

As you can see, we are already breaking the rules by letting Kaylee sit on the box that says "do not sit or stand on this box" :lmao:

DH and I got a Pina Colada and a virgin Pina colada for the kids. Of course I had tears in my eyes again when I heard the beautiful ship horn for the first time, it gave me the chills. I kept thinking "I AM ON A DISNEY CRUISE". Finally we started moving, right at 5pm. We stayed up there on deck 10, watching the CM at the terminal wave and until we made it through the channel out to sea. We stood up there until after 5:30 when we finally made it back to our room to change for dinner.

http://i262.photobucket.com/albums/ii87/disneycruise08/DisneyCruise296.jpg

http://i262.photobucket.com/albums/ii87/disneycruise08/DisneyCruise298.jpg

http://i262.photobucket.com/albums/ii87/disneycruise08/DisneyCruise299.jpg

http://i262.photobucket.com/albums/ii87/disneycruise08/DisneyCruise300.jpg

[dreamcometrue]

too many pictures in my post, so I have to break it up... ooops...

Dinner was at Parrott Cay and met our serving team. We really really loved our servers. We had Dobi from Bulgaria and Danielo from the Phillipines. They really went out of their way to make us happy throughout the cruise! Both kids were tired. Josh fell asleep during dinner and only touched some fruit and fries. During dinner, we really felt the ship move. None of us got sea sick though. I looked on the stateroom TV at 11:30 that night and swells were 4 - 8 feet. I hear that first night is alwas the worst. We felt it but it wasn't too bothersome, but I can see how it could make someone who is prone to motion sickness very sick! I don't remember what DH had but I had a clam appetizer (don't remember the name of it) in cheese sauce and the Mixed Grill for entree. Both of which were absolutely to die for!!

http://i262.photobucket.com/albums/ii87/disneycruise08/DisneyCruise305.jpg

http://i262.photobucket.com/albums/ii87/disneycruise08/DisneyCruise306.jpg

Neither one of the kids wanted desert, so they got "Nothing". I had the cheesecake with whipped cream and fresh strawberries. Again, absolutely delicious.

http://i262.photobucket.com/albums/ii87/disneycruise08/DisneyCruise307.jpg

http://i262.photobucket.com/albums/ii87/disneycruise08/DisneyCruise309.jpg

After dinner we stopped by the Atrium and Kaylee had her picture taken with Minnie.

http://i262.photobucket.com/albums/ii87/disneycruise08/DisneyCruise311.jpg

We headed back to the stateroom because Josh was really really tired. Towel animal for tonight was a swan. The kids LOVED it. We met some people later on that said they never got a towel animal! :confused3 I thought it was pretty much standard that you would get them? Anyway, we were anxious every night after dinner walking to our stateroom, wondering what animal would await us that night! :yay:

http://i262.photobucket.com/albums/ii87/disneycruise08/DisneyCruise312.jpg

Josh didn't want to see the show, he was too tired and DH wasn't really in the mood either. Kaylee and I headed out again, we walked down Promenade Deck and the sun was just beginning to setl. It was so pretty.

http://i262.photobucket.com/albums/ii87/disneycruise08/DisneyCruise314.jpg

http://i262.photobucket.com/albums/ii87/disneycruise08/DisneyCruise316.jpg


We headed to the shops. She got a sailor donald. It was too crowded in the shops for me to shop around and I decided to come back later. Then the two of us saw "All Aboard" show. I thought it was just ok, nothing too spectacular. Probably wouldn't go see it again. Kaylee was really getting tired during it and almost fell asleep but she made it through. The show lasted an hour and I took her back to the stateroom after and got her all ready for bed. I wanted to do some shopping so I headed out again and up the shops. Bought a t-shirt, refrigerator magnet, christmas ornament. I also went to Shutters for the first time, and bought a photo packet and our Embarkation Picture which I thought turned out well. Oh, I also dropped of our photo mat at Guest Services. Walked around for a bit, got a drink on deck 9 and back to the stateroom. I think I was in bed by 11:30. I have to say that I slept so well every night on the ship. The bed was so comfortable and I actually enjoyed the rocking of the ship while laying in bed! :cloud9:

Tomorrow Day at Sea and Formal Night....

[anewmac]

aww 1st night sounds awesome. I cant wait to read more. The food pic looks yummy too.. I cant wait for our turn LOL.

[Jillpie]

yes, thank you! I was worried you weren't coming back. So great, what a fantastic report. I completely understand all the running around you did that first night, you don't want to miss a thing. I could never understand how my family could sleep! Can't wait for more!

[Verandah Man]

Good Job!!! Can't wait to read more and see more pics!!! :thumbsup2

[zerog]

It's like reliving the vacation all over again. I love your report! popcorn::

[WDWLVR]

Great report Kay - keep it coming!

[frdeb1999]

Great TR and pics!! Looking forward to the rest! :)

[HiddenMickeys]

thank you sooo much for the pics! as we have yet to go, it is great to see it from the first timer's point of view, and the pics just bring it all together. Great report, can't wait for more. :thumbsup2

[MaryAz]

Great report and I love all the pics! We leave for the Magic in 18 days!! I get teary seeing the pics-I better bring a big box of kleenex. Can't wait to read more!!
Mary:cool1:
First DCL cruise 5/25

[TiszBear]

Love this. I can't wait for more. I am or I shoudl say was like you, I am so excited to go on my trip.

[nokidz]

awsome report. keep it going, cant wait for the rest. awsome pics.:thumbsup2

[jollytammy]

Your pictures are wonderful and you have a great trip report. Keep up the good work.

[Travelbee]

Love your photos! It's like reliving our cruise experience reading your post. We did Tea with Alice on Sunday as well. Our DD was the hare chosen to go up front and got scared by the Mad Hatter's loud talking and pounding on the table.

Keep the post coming!

[lvstitch]

Really enjoying your report...thanks for sharing.

[chepic]

Great TR.....but it almost looks like the ship was empty in your pictures, I don't think that the kid's pool was ever empty, except when I took my early morning walks...:goodvibes

che

[daisy112878]

Kay - I'm so glad yall had a great time!!! I really really missed not being on the cruise last week week with everyone.

By the way I see your ticket is set once again, what date are yall sailing next time?

[dreamcometrue]

Love your photos! It's like reliving our cruise experience reading your post. We did Tea with Alice on Sunday as well. Our DD was the hare chosen to go up front and got scared by the Mad Hatter's loud talking and pounding on the table.

Keep the post coming!

ohhh, I remember her! What a cutie! I felt bad for her, she looked really scared.

[dreamcometrue]

Great TR.....but it almost looks like the ship was empty in your pictures, I don't think that the kid's pool was ever empty, except when I took my early morning walks...:goodvibes

che

I took those right after embarkation, the pools were pretty empty then. I also took quite a few pictures very early in the morning. I woke up early every day, went up to deck 9 for coffee and walked around the ship! You can take pictures of an almost empty ship that way! :thumbsup2

[dreamcometrue]

Kay - I'm so glad yall had a great time!!! I really really missed not being on the cruise last week week with everyone.

By the way I see your ticket is set once again, what date are yall sailing next time?

We rebooked for December 12, 2009 Western! Soooo far away still!

[Mastiff]

Your trip report is great! Thank you for sharing it with us.

How early did you get up? I am not an early morning person but I would love to get some good pics!

Thanks

[dreamcometrue]

Your trip report is great! Thank you for sharing it with us.

How early did you get up? I am not an early morning person but I would love to get some good pics!

Thanks


I usually woke up at around 6am, showered and then headed upstairs by about 6:30 or 6:45am. I am not normally a morning person either but on vacation I always get up early. I enjoy this time to myself before my family wakes up.

[zerog]

Kay
One thing you forgot to mention - remember the dolphin we saw just after passing the jetties? I told you we'd see a dolphin and I delivered!

OK, OK, I paid that dolphin 3 fish to make an appearance. :rotfl:

[dreamcometrue]

Day 2 Day at Sea and Formal Night

My alarm went off at 6am, I got up at 6:15, showered and headed up to the Cove Cafe while everyone else was still asleep. By the time I got up there the sun had just risen, and it was beautiful and warm out. Seas were considered rough with swells between 8 - 13 feet pretty much all day, but we barely felt it. I guess we got used to it. I had a mocha and sat in one of those big loungers in the quiet cove looking out at sea. It was so nice and relaxing. Then I walked all around deck 9 and 10, took some pictures
while most everyone was still asleep, it was nice and quiet. :cloud9:

http://i262.photobucket.com/albums/ii87/disneycruise08/DisneyCruise323.jpg

http://i262.photobucket.com/albums/ii87/disneycruise08/DisneyCruise325.jpg

http://i262.photobucket.com/albums/ii87/disneycruise08/DisneyCruise327.jpg

I went down to deck 4 and walked a lap around it, and then headed down
to Guest Services so settle our bill from the day before. I was told that my credit card was charged already and that it would get charged when the bill reaches $400. I was thinking "WHAT?? No way we already spent $400" :scared1: I asked for a printout and my eyes went to the total balance right away which was over $1,000!! I quickly realized that they already charged for the St. Maarten and St. Thomas excursions. Whew! That was a relief!

I headed back to the stateroom and read the Navigator for today while I waited for everyone to wake up, which was around 9am. Everyone got dressed and we headed up to Topsiders for breakfast. It was so good. Josh ate so much, since he barely ate the night before (remember he fell asleep at dinner!).

http://i262.photobucket.com/albums/ii87/disneycruise08/DisneyCruise337.jpg

The kids decided they wanted to check out the kids clubs. We never got around to do so the day before, it was just too much the first day. Josh headed to Ocean Quest, and we were informed that Kaylee's age group at the lab was up at World of Sports on Deck 10, so we took her up there
and checked her in. Alan and I walked around and explored the ship for a while, then headed down the the shops to shop for a bit without the kids. Kaylee ended up paging us after a while to pick her up so we did. She wanted to go in the goofy pool. We went back to the room so she could change and headed up. We found 2 lounge chairs right in the front and Kaylee went to swim while Alan and I had a drink. I had the drink of the day which was Deep Sea Blue, which was ok. After a while Josh paged us to
let us know he left Ocean Quest and was heading to the room. He had check out priviliges under the condition that we always know where he's at and that he is to pages us everytime he checks in or out and where he is headed. I knew he wasn't going to stay in the room, so I headed down there to meet him. Turns out he wanted to go swimming too, so we both went back up to the Goofy pool again. We just basically hung out there all afternoon, atesome wraps and fresh fruit at Goofy's Galley. :beach: Kaylee took pictures with Max and Goofy while there.

http://i262.photobucket.com/albums/ii87/disneycruise08/DisneyCruise343.jpg

http://i262.photobucket.com/albums/ii87/disneycruise08/DisneyCruise345.jpg

Josh got tired at some point, I think around 2pm and went back to the room to take a nap. The rest of us headed down at around 3:15. Kaylee and I had tickets for Tea with Alice and the Madhatter. I took a quick shower to get the sticky sunscreen off me, and while I was doing that, Kaylee took a nap on the couch. We headed up to Studio Sea for the tea. This turned out to be a really nice and fun event which lasted about half an hour or so. We had our picture done with Alice and the Madhatter then headed back down to our stateroom to get ready for formal night.

http://i262.photobucket.com/albums/ii87/disneycruise08/DisneyCruise346.jpg

http://i262.photobucket.com/albums/ii87/disneycruise08/DisneyCruise351.jpg

We wanted to be in the Atrium a little early for formal night pictures. We had pictures done with Captain Tom and another backdrop of the Magic and then the kids alone in front of yet another backdrop. I will scan in all the Shutters pictures later. Dinner tonight was at Lumiere's which was perfect since we were all dressed up. I really wanted to try Escargot, so I ordered that, and also a shrimp appetizer, incase I did not care for the Escargot. I ended up loving it. Alan tried a piece and Kaylee ate 2 pieces, so Dobi brought out another plate for us. The shrimp appetizer was delicous too. I had Tomato and Basil soup, and then a Halibut entree. Don't remember the exact names
of everything, sorry. For desert, I had creme Brulet. I forgot that Dobi said the night before that we'd be celebrating my birthday tonight, so when they came out singing and bringing a birthday cake I was so full, I could hardly stuff the thing in. But I managed ;)

http://i262.photobucket.com/albums/ii87/disneycruise08/DisneyCruise355.jpg

http://i262.photobucket.com/albums/ii87/disneycruise08/DisneyCruise357.jpg
see the Bahama Mama? :rotfl:

http://i262.photobucket.com/albums/ii87/disneycruise08/DisneyCruise358.jpg
escargot

http://i262.photobucket.com/albums/ii87/disneycruise08/DisneyCruise362.jpg
Kaylee and her dessert

http://i262.photobucket.com/albums/ii87/disneycruise08/DisneyCruise363.jpg
Josh discovering the Mickey bar! :mickeybar :banana:

http://i262.photobucket.com/albums/ii87/disneycruise08/DisneyCruise364.jpg
birthday cake. It was delicious. We had another one in the room that came with the birthday package that we never touched and eventually had Marilyn take. What a shame :(


We went back to the stateroom to change into more comfortable clothes after dinner, and went back up to the Walt Disney theater. Tonight was the Golden Mickey Show which we absolutely loved!! We all went this time, noone was too tired for the show, which was nice. After the show we did more shopping and then headed back to the room. Marilyn turned down our beds and tonight's towel animal was an elephant!

http://i262.photobucket.com/albums/ii87/disneycruise08/DisneyCruise368.jpg

I was thirsty so Alan and I went up to the drink station on deck 9. I got a soft drink and hot tea. :drinking1 There is a good selection of tea bags up there. We also decided that we all wanted a late night snack so we ordered room service. I could definitely get used to that :) Everyone stayed up until almost midnight which was late for us on this cruise. We were usually in bed by no later than 11.

tomorrow... another day at sea and Palo Brunch!

[dreamcometrue]

Kay
One thing you forgot to mention - remember the dolphin we saw just after passing the jetties? I told you we'd see a dolphin and I delivered!

OK, OK, I paid that dolphin 3 fish to make an appearance. :rotfl:

:lmao: :rotfl: is that why there was only ONE? Usually they come in groups. Maybe all the others couldn't be bothered by 3 fish!

Yes, folks, we did see a dolphin, which was really fun and only added to the excitement! :banana:

[Nftysqrt]

Thanks for the great trip report so far. This is making me so excited for our first cruise!

[LITTLEKID58]

:cool1: Txs so much for sharing .............:cool1:

[lulu201]

LOVING your trip report! Thanks so much for taking the time to share it all with us!

[scrapbookingpro]

I love your trip report! Great pictures too!!

[pierresgirl]

Great so far! Love all the pics and your writing style is like mine, lots of booze talk :rolleyes1 ...... Keep it coming!~

[MagicMe]

Enjoying your trip report - waiting for more.....popcorn::

[dreamcometrue]

thanks for all the nice comments everyone! It's nice reliving our vacation!

[poffles]

Great report, I absolutely love all the pictures! Nothing better than a picture story book.

[MsLeFever]

I'm really enjoying this - especially all of the photos! I'm thinking I'll actually have to get up early to get some of the great shots you did!

[Hobbitmomma]

Keep it coming! Our trip isn't until Dec.'09, so I'm living vicariously through the trip reports! Love the pictures.

[dreamcometrue]

Keep it coming! Our trip isn't until Dec.'09, so I'm living vicariously through the trip reports! Love the pictures.

I think we are on the Western before you. Are you going Dec. 26th? We are going on the 12th! Looking at Western excursions already! :rotfl:

I hope to have the next installment up tonight. DD and I have a cough/cold and I have been tired! But it's Friday!! :banana:

[Hobbitmomma]

Yep, we're going Dec. 26th. We are surprising the kids. They will find out that Christmas morning! We are also looking at excursions already. I can't believe we have a year and 7 months to think about this.

[dreamcometrue]

Day 3 another day at sea and Palo Brunch!

I was up again today at 6:30, showered and up to the Cove Cafe for a mocha. It is so interesting to see the CM in the morning, getting the ship ready for the day. Mostly adults out and about this time of day, probably doing the same I am doing... getting some peace and quiet before the kids wake up. :rotfl: I just walked around for a bit after sipping my coffee while laying on one of the loungers near the cove cafe, did a lap on deck 4, then headed back up to the room and fell back asleep until around 9ish. Got the kids and DH up and got dressed for Palo brunch. While Alan showered and got dressed, I took the kids up to Topsiders for some breakfast. I love that they have a kids buffet line at Topsiders!

http://i262.photobucket.com/albums/ii87/disneycruise08/DisneyCruise371.jpg

http://i262.photobucket.com/albums/ii87/disneycruise08/DisneyCruise373.jpg
Mickey waffles!

After the kids had breakfast, I took Kaylee to the Lab where they just got started making Flubber and Josh's age group was at the stack this morning so he went up there. Then I went and picked DH up in the stateroom and we went up to Palo. We really really enjoyed our brunch. Our server was Sylvester and he was awesome!! I really cannot say enough good things about him. He was very attentative, took his time walking us through the buffet line explaining everything and very friendly all around! We had
champagne and the buffet was soooo delicous. We also ordered sausage pizza, eggs benedict and some other egg dish that I can't remember the name of now. We ate soooo much and it was all so delicious! We were there from 10:30 until noon.

http://i262.photobucket.com/albums/ii87/disneycruise08/DisneyCruise374-1.jpg


http://i262.photobucket.com/albums/ii87/disneycruise08/DisneyCruise377.jpg

http://i262.photobucket.com/albums/ii87/disneycruise08/DisneyCruise378.jpg

http://i262.photobucket.com/albums/ii87/disneycruise08/DisneyCruise379.jpg
I can't remember what the dessert on the right is called, in the little glasses, but oh my god.... heaven on EARTH!! I think I had one and then Sylvester brought me about 4 more! :rotfl:


After brunch, we headed down to Shutters. I initially purchased the 5 8x10 pictures. We are not very big on purchasing pictures when we go to the parks, so I never thought we'd buy so many!!! :scared1: But we were already up to 4 8x10's and had a 6x8 in our hands, so we upgraded our package to the 5 6x8 and 8 8x10. Who can resist the pictures though, they are all so great. We bought quite a few from formal night. We don't get family portraits done too often, so this was well worth it!

Then DH and I took a stroll around deck 4. Got a page from Josh that he checked himself out of the Lab and was heading to the Mickey Pool. Shortly after, we got a page that Kaylee wanted to be picked up from the Lab, so we went down there. They were at Ocean Quest and we checked her out. She wanted to go swim so we went to the cabin so she can change. DH kind of dozed off while there, I guess all the yummy Palo food got to him. Josh showed up in the room too. I guess he was waiting for us at the Mickey pool and we never showed up so he came to find us. I took both kids up to the pool and sat there for a few hours reading while they played. Kaylee got tired around 2 or so, and wanted to rest in the cabin, so we told Josh who was playing with some kids. We went to the cabin and Kaylee watched TV and never fell asleep. Me on the other hand, laid down on the bed and fell asleep until 5pm!! Yikes!! Josh showed up sometime while I was asleep.

We all got ready for dinner after I woke up. Dinner today was at Animators Palate. I had some sort of shrimp and crab with avocado apetizer, some sort of salmon salad and beef tenderloins for dinner, and a sundae for dessert. I am sorry, I can't remember the exact name of what I had. It's all a blur already. The light show was great and Sorcerer Mickey came out at the end along with all of the servers. It was a fun show!!

http://i262.photobucket.com/albums/ii87/disneycruise08/DisneyCruise381.jpg

http://i262.photobucket.com/albums/ii87/disneycruise08/DisneyCruise383.jpg

http://i262.photobucket.com/albums/ii87/disneycruise08/DisneyCruise385.jpg

http://i262.photobucket.com/albums/ii87/disneycruise08/DisneyCruise391.jpg

http://i262.photobucket.com/albums/ii87/disneycruise08/DisneyCruise397.jpg


After dinner, we headed down to the Atrium for pictures. I wanted to get Kaylee with Minnie but the line was way too long, and we couldn't do both Minnie and Sorcerer Mickey before the show, so we stood in line with Mickey and had both kids pictures taken with him. We also ran into Brent. I love Brent. I think he should make a CD of just him talking. I would totally buy that.

http://i262.photobucket.com/albums/ii87/disneycruise08/DisneyCruise399.jpg

http://i262.photobucket.com/albums/ii87/disneycruise08/DisneyCruise401.jpg

Tonight's show was Twice Charmed. I made DH stand in line while I was in the line with the kids for Sorcerer Mickey. After the picture, Kaylee decided that she wanted to change out of her dinner clothes. I left Josh with DH and ran down to the stateroom with her in record time since it was already close to 8pm and I knew they would open the theater doors soon. I made her change in record time and up again we went. The doors were open by then
and DH and Josh managed to save 2 spots for us pretty close to the front. I know, I know, saving seats... BAD!! The show was really great, Kaylee
enjoyed it a lot and even Josh did even though he isn't into princesses for obvious reasons ;) We went to the gift shop after the show. Seems like we are there every day spending money, but it's not REAL money when you use your KTTW card right? We had to get DH a shirt for pirate night tomorrow, and well, some other things! :rolleyes1

We went down to the room after, I wanted the kids to shower before bed since there would be no time tomorrow morning. I ran back up
to Shutters and picked up the Sorcerer Mickey photo (told ya, Shutters is like an addiction!). I also went and got my nightly tea and a soda from the soda station on deck 4. I love being aft, because it's only a short elevator ride up to the drink station. I went up there in my pajamas and was afraid that I would run into Brent! :rotfl2:

We had a pretty low key, relaxing day. Our towel animal tonight was a turtle!

http://i262.photobucket.com/albums/ii87/disneycruise08/DisneyCruise402.jpg

Tomorrow... land at last!! St. Maarten!

[TotallyAngelic]

Great photos - I especially like the one of your two kids with Mickey - it looks amazing with the white background!

[WDWLVR]

We love Sylvester! He was our server back in May of '03 and it was great to see him at Palo!

As for saving seats...who would ever do that. :rolleyes1

[pierresgirl]

Great pics and the Palo desserts look SOOOOOO yummy!

[dreamcometrue]

We love Sylvester! He was our server back in May of '03 and it was great to see him at Palo!

As for saving seats...who would ever do that. :rolleyes1

hahaha Mary!!! Yeah one night, this lady that looked vaguely familiar saved 4 (FOUR!) seats!! The nerve! :lmao: :rotfl: And people wonder why I stick my tongue out!

[zerog]

[B]

After brunch, we headed down to Shutters. I initially purchased the 5 8x10 pictures. We are not very big on purchasing pictures when we go to the parks, so I never thought we'd buy so many!!! We don't get family portraits done too often, so this was well worth it!

Ditto on the family portraits. We've got a ton of school pictures and photo's of DS playing baseball, but nothing professional of the family. I purchased the (5) 8x10 and (10) 6x8 package - I had a really hard time putting the rest of the photo's down the shoot. It's tough to just throw away great photo's of your kids. :sad2: Disney knows this!!

Kay, another great addition to your trip report. I check every few hours to see if there are any updates. I'm really glad I got to meet you!!

[philatiger]

We love Sylvester! He was our server back in May of '03 and it was great to see him at Palo!

As for saving seats...who would ever do that. :rolleyes1

Yea, we ran into a woman the first night who saved five seats and got pretty nasty with us and another family when we tried to sit in them. We stayed clear of her the rest of the week. She saved those same seats for every show. It was actually great pre-show entertainment watching her for 20 minutes fighting off the hungry masses...lol

We had Sylvester for Dinner at Palo. I agree, he was wonderful. He just kept bringing food to the table. Just "try it" he kept saying....lol...by the end of dinner all I could think of was I need to get out of my tux.

As much as we loved dinner at Palo, I have to say, Mary was right....brunch is a definite "do not miss". We will be booking brunch before dinner, that's for sure. And if Sylvester is still there we will ask for him.

New to the boards so I can not post any pics until my post count goes up. I took some really good pictures at the shows that I think many will enjoy. My avatar is a pic I took at CC.

that's all for now.

Chuck

[Hobbitmomma]

OK, so my husband and I weren't much interested in brunch at Palo until we saw your pictures! We thought that we didn't want to spend that much time out of our sea day in a restaurant, but we are having second thoughts now. It looks amazing. Can't wait to hear the rest.

[dreamcometrue]

OK, so my husband and I weren't much interested in brunch at Palo until we saw your pictures! We thought that we didn't want to spend that much time out of our sea day in a restaurant, but we are having second thoughts now. It looks amazing. Can't wait to hear the rest.

you should definitely do brunch!! It's amazing. It's only an hour and a half out of your sea day and WELL worth it! We didn't do dinner because it was important to us to eat dinner as a family each night. We will do brunch again for sure on our next cruise! I wanted so badly to take more pictures of the whole buffett but my DH was embarrassed by me taking pictures so I didn't! :rotfl:

[dreamcometrue]

Ditto on the family portraits. We've got a ton of school pictures and photo's of DS playing baseball, but nothing professional of the family. I purchased the (5) 8x10 and (10) 6x8 package - I had a really hard time putting the rest of the photo's down the shoot. It's tough to just throw away great photo's of your kids. :sad2: Disney knows this!!

Kay, another great addition to your trip report. I check every few hours to see if there are any updates. I'm really glad I got to meet you!!

hey Randy, maybe we can have a mini DIS meet when we come in Dec. 09. :goodvibes

I know, it was very hard throwing away the pictures. Especially since Kaylee wanted to buy them all!! She was always the one posing with the characters, Josh is not into all that anymore, so I didn't want to end up with 10 pictures of her with characters and none of him. I bought a few of her, but mostly pictures of the whole family and the kids together!

[dreamcometrue]

sorry guys. I didn't abandon my trip report, just been busy with work and family stuff. I will have a new installment up asap! :thumbsup2

[chepic]

OK, so my husband and I weren't much interested in brunch at Palo until we saw your pictures! We thought that we didn't want to spend that much time out of our sea day in a restaurant, but we are having second thoughts now. It looks amazing. Can't wait to hear the rest.

I agree with Dreamcometrue....the brunch is the best.

cheryl

[zerog]

sorry guys. I didn't abandon my trip report, just been busy with work and family stuff. I will have a new installment up asap!

Whew. I was suffering withdrawal pains. :-) I love me some Trip Reports!

[vriecke]

Thanks so much for posting your trip report. It's like being on the cruise all over again! We enjoyed meeting everyone, and had a really great time. We drove back to New Orleans (again with a van full of luggage), and got home on Sunday evening. Every day I say, "Two weeks ago today we were doing this, and this....." Post-cruise depression I guess.

Ginny

[philatiger]

Thanks so much for posting your trip report. It's like being on the cruise all over again! We enjoyed meeting everyone, and had a really great time. We drove back to New Orleans (again with a van full of luggage), and got home on Sunday evening. Every day I say, "Two weeks ago today we were doing this, and this....." Post-cruise depression I guess.

Ginny

3 weeks later just like you, I am still doing the "we were doing this..." and to think I have to wait a year and a half till the next one..ugh Unless some kind soul gives up their spot on the DVC member cruise in September.

[binky1]

Just wait until you have a 1 year anniversary of the last time you cruised and your DD7 says - Mom, what would we have been doing today? and unfortunately, you remember exactly what port you were in, etc.:rotfl: :rotfl:

[dreamcometrue]

Day 4...land at last!! St. Maarten! (warning, lots of pictures ahead!)

This morning I woke up, showered, and walked on deck to see us approaching St. Maarten. It was good to see land after 2 days at sea.

http://i262.photobucket.com/albums/ii87/disneycruise08/DisneyCruise404.jpg

I went back downstairs to wake everyone up and DH went up on deck to videotape the docking while the kids looked out the window. We ordered roomservice breakfast the night before and it arrived in our cabin a little before 7. Alan showed up right after it and we ate and then got ready to go. Our excursion met in Rockin Bar D. Can I just say how inconsiderate I find it of people to show up late to a thing like that? People strolled in at 8:15,
coffee and danish in hand, like they did not have a care in the world. Our meeting time was 8am. Everyone was waiting for them. It just irriates me. We booked the St. Maarten Island Tour & Butterfly Farm excursion. We were taken to a bus by the dock and drove around the Island. Our tour guide Jimmy was great and slowed down a lot for everyone to take pictures and let us get off the bus for about 10 minutes at a scenic spot.

http://i262.photobucket.com/albums/ii87/disneycruise08/DisneyCruise427.jpg

We then proceeded to the Marigold shopping area where we had 45 minutes to spent. I found that time frame to be a bit short, we felt a bit rushed. There was a great flea market there and we got some shopping done.

http://i262.photobucket.com/albums/ii87/disneycruise08/DisneyCruise438.jpg

After that, we continued on to the butterfly farm which my whole family just loved. There were hundreds of butterflies there and we spent another 45 minutes there. Also included was rum and juice or just plain juice for the kids

http://i262.photobucket.com/albums/ii87/disneycruise08/DisneyCruise453.jpg

http://i262.photobucket.com/albums/ii87/disneycruise08/DisneyCruise456.jpg

http://i262.photobucket.com/albums/ii87/disneycruise08/DisneyCruise460.jpg

We drove back to the dutch side of St. Maarten where the ships are docked. There were 3 other ships in port and can I just say that the Magic was the only one that made my heart skip a beat :)

http://i262.photobucket.com/albums/ii87/disneycruise08/DisneyCruise472.jpg

http://i262.photobucket.com/albums/ii87/disneycruise08/DisneyCruise473.jpg

We strolled around the dock area for a bit since there are some shops there, then we all decided we were hungry and went back onboard to have lunch at Topsiders.

Kaylee decided she wanted to stay on the ship, so I took her to the Lab. Josh, Alan and I got off again and took a water taxi to the main shopping area. A lot of shops were closed since there was a big parade that day, but a lot were still open, especially around front street and where the beach was. We didn't bring our bathing suits, so we just got our feet a bit wet and then just strolled around and looked around and enjoyed the caribbean atmosphere.

http://i262.photobucket.com/albums/ii87/disneycruise08/DisneyCruise494.jpg

I got a bit nervous leaving Kaylee on board. I don't know how people go on whole excursions with their kids in the club, I was nervous after about 2 hours. We headed back, and she paged us about an hour later. We just hung
around the room and relaxed a bit until it was time to dress for dinner. Tonight was pirate night and we were in Parrot Cay. I had some sort of shrimp appetizer again (love the shrimp) gumbo soup, and some seafood dish with pasta. White chocolate cheesecake for dessert. It was delicous as always. There was also a little show the servers put on and almost everyone participated in.

http://i262.photobucket.com/albums/ii87/disneycruise08/DisneyCruise498.jpg

http://i262.photobucket.com/albums/ii87/disneycruise08/DisneyCruise499.jpg

http://i262.photobucket.com/albums/ii87/disneycruise08/DisneyCruise501.jpg

http://i262.photobucket.com/albums/ii87/disneycruise08/DisneyCruise503.jpg

http://i262.photobucket.com/albums/ii87/disneycruise08/DisneyCruise505.jpg

Kids had their picture done with pirate Mickey and pirate Minnie after dinner and I went to the rebooking agent and booked our next cruise for December 2009!!! Western Itiniary this time. So I was giddy all night after that, knowing we'd be back on the Magic!

http://i262.photobucket.com/albums/ii87/disneycruise08/DisneyCruise509.jpg

http://i262.photobucket.com/albums/ii87/disneycruise08/DisneyCruise512.jpg

We went back to the cabin because Kaylee wanted to change into different clothes. Our towel animal for tonight was a monkey!

http://i262.photobucket.com/albums/ii87/disneycruise08/DisneyCruise514.jpg

http://i262.photobucket.com/albums/ii87/disneycruise08/DisneyCruise515.jpg
Josh with his fake pirate teeth

http://i262.photobucket.com/albums/ii87/disneycruise08/DisneyCruise516.jpg
our awesome stateroom host Marilyn!

We just strolled around and eventually grabbed some good seats up on deck 10 and waited for the pirate party to start. It was a great show and the fireworks were awesome, but by the end, the kids were completely exhausted, we didn't even make it to the buffet on deck 9. As soon as we went back to the stateroom, and they changed into their pajamas, they were
out like a light.

http://i262.photobucket.com/albums/ii87/disneycruise08/DisneyCruise519.jpg

http://i262.photobucket.com/albums/ii87/disneycruise08/DisneyCruise527.jpg

http://i262.photobucket.com/albums/ii87/disneycruise08/DisneyCruise533.jpg

http://i262.photobucket.com/albums/ii87/disneycruise08/DisneyCruise535.jpg

http://i262.photobucket.com/albums/ii87/disneycruise08/DisneyCruise542.jpg
I managed to snap a picture of the buffet as we walked by it!

Tomorrow... St. Thomas and dolphin encounter

[Nftysqrt]

Completely awesome pictures of Pirates night! I loved the butterfly pictures as well. Thanks for sharing with us!

[poffles]

Another great installment! :thumbsup2

:surfweb:

[Karen Mouse]

Great trippie - loving it so far:banana:

[zerog]

Great photo's Kay. I recognize your stateroom hostess, since we must have walked by your room at least 100x. I knew it was your room because I knew your door signs (from Kristin).

Next cruise, it's going to be nice being directly below Topsiders. Remember, we've got your room on our next cruise. BTW, we didn't plan it that way. It was odd because Kylie (I think that was her name) booked us in 2610. As we sat there asking questions, she goes 'oh, 2608 just opened up.' So we took it since it was that much closer to the mid. Even then, it didn't occur to me till later that was your room. :)

[dreamcometrue]

Great photo's Kay. I recognize your stateroom hostess, since we must have walked by your room at least 100x. I knew it was your room because I knew your door signs (from Kristin).

Next cruise, it's going to be nice being directly below Topsiders. Remember, we've got your room on our next cruise. BTW, we didn't plan it that way. It was odd because Kylie (I think that was her name) booked us in 2610. As we sat there asking questions, she goes 'oh, 2608 just opened up.' So we took it since it was that much closer to the mid. Even then, it didn't occur to me till later that was your room. :)

you will love MY room Randy!! It was really really nice to be so close to the aft elevators, it's just a short trip up to deck 9 which is nice esp when you get thirsty at night, and also so close to most restaurants. We have the same room again for our next cruise! It was also very quiet, we never heard a thing!

[pierresgirl]

Great installment! Love the butterfly pics! Can't wait to hear about the dolphin encounter. I really want to do that!

[Tonyspad]

Waiting for day 5!!!

[JDBlair]

There are a lot of similarities between our TR's! We were in room 2606 (awesome location - rebooked it for our next cruise), we had Sylvester in Palo, it was our first cruise! I'm enjoying your TR!!! :goodvibes

[dreamcometrue]

I am hoping to have day 5 up tonight! Thanks for all the nice comments! We can't wait to go back!!

[MsLeFever]

great reading!

[DundasDad]

Wow ... loving your trip report. Absolutely fantastic!

Hoping to book our first cruise for early next year ... fingers crossed!

[philatiger]

really enjoying your TR. It's been great seeing the same trip from someone else' eyes. We had a great time as well. Thanks for the pirate night pics...I was tired of luggnig my camera around all day and didn't bring it up on deck that night

[dreamcometrue]

Day 5 St. Thomas and Dolphin Encounter

I woke up way early today, showered and headed up to deck 10 to watch the Magic dock in St. Thomas.

the sun is rising as we pull closer to St. Thomas
http://i262.photobucket.com/albums/ii87/disneycruise08/DisneyCruise003.jpg

Captain Tom and the other officers docking the Magic. I thought that was so cool to watch!
http://i262.photobucket.com/albums/ii87/disneycruise08/DisneyCruise006.jpg

I called down to the room to wake the others up and then headed down too. We made our way to immigration, which was pretty painless. We had an early
excursion and had to be in Studio Sea at 7:30am anyway. We checked in for the dolphin encounter and were off the ship by 8. We got on a 1 hour ferry ride that took us to the Island of Tortola. This was a bit of a pain since Tortola is in the British Virgin Islands and St. Thomas U.S. Virgin Islands. We had to go through immigration again in Tortola. We were put in little open air busses and drove a short distance to the dolphin discovery facility. There we put our things in cubbies and were given life vests. Then, we watched a short orientation video and they took pictures of all the families posing with parrots.

this is a scanned picture
http://i262.photobucket.com/albums/ii87/disneycruise08/dolphin1.jpg

We went in groups to where the dolphins are. Our dolphins name was Calypso, he was a 12 year old male. We went in the water with him and got to play around with him touch him, learn about dolphins in general, kiss him and dance with him. It was a great experience and of course we bought all the photos they took of us and souveniers at the gift shop. Here are some pictures I took with the disposable camera:

http://i262.photobucket.com/albums/ii87/disneycruise08/006_20A.jpg

http://i262.photobucket.com/albums/ii87/disneycruise08/008_18A.jpg

http://i262.photobucket.com/albums/ii87/disneycruise08/011_15A.jpg

http://i262.photobucket.com/albums/ii87/disneycruise08/013_13A.jpg

http://i262.photobucket.com/albums/ii87/disneycruise08/016_10A.jpg

And here are the scanned images of the kids interacting. Yeah I know... how can you NOT buy these? And they know it too, and they make you sell your soul but hey, we were on vacation so who cares right?

http://i262.photobucket.com/albums/ii87/disneycruise08/dolphin2.jpg

http://i262.photobucket.com/albums/ii87/disneycruise08/dolphin3.jpg

http://i262.photobucket.com/albums/ii87/disneycruise08/dolphin4.jpg

http://i262.photobucket.com/albums/ii87/disneycruise08/dolphin5.jpg

They gave us a lunch of cheeseburgers, hamburgers, hotdogs, fries, pasta salad, little tuna and cheese sandwiches and some pastries. After that, we went on a island tour. Our tour guide took us way up in the hills to a restaurant type place where we got a complimentary drink and stopped for photo op. You could see both the British and U.S. Virgin Island from up there and it was just breathtaking! Soooo beautiful!

http://i262.photobucket.com/albums/ii87/disneycruise08/DisneyCruise014.jpg

http://i262.photobucket.com/albums/ii87/disneycruise08/DisneyCruise026.jpg

view of Tortola from the bus
http://i262.photobucket.com/albums/ii87/disneycruise08/DisneyCruise031.jpg

Then it was back to the ferry and back to St. Thomas and through immigration once again.

this was on the ferry ride back. I wouldn't mind spending some time there!
http://i262.photobucket.com/albums/ii87/disneycruise08/DisneyCruise036.jpg

beautiful Magic docked in St. Thomas
http://i262.photobucket.com/albums/ii87/disneycruise08/DisneyCruise042.jpg

The only thing that bothered me about this excursion is having to go through immigration all these times, which meant standing in line. It was never more then 10 minutes though so it wasn't soooo bad. But you had to take your passports along which always makes me uneasy because I worry that we will lose them. The whole dolphin encounter was awesome and my whole family enjoyed it very much.

After we got back to St. Thomas it was almost all aboard time, we had about 20 minutes to shop, so we headed to the mall right by the pier and bought us some t-shirts and a St. Thomas magnet, just a little souvenier. Then back
to the ship. We watched the Magic pull away. There were a whole bunch of passengers on deck on the Royal Caribbean ship next to us and they all cheered when our Disney horn sounded. Gave me the chills!

http://i262.photobucket.com/albums/ii87/disneycruise08/DisneyCruise049.jpg

We got hungry and had a quick bite to eat by the Mickey pool. The kids put their bathing suits back on and swam until dinner time. We had a special moment by the aft elevator on deck 9. Kaylee and I were about to head
down to the room when in walked Chip and Dale. I took a quick picture and then much to our surprise they both squeezed in the elevator with us!! (we all know how tight those elevators can be, imagine being in there with 2 huge chipmunks!!) Kaylee was in heaven. Dale picked at Kaylee's hair on the way down, and she giggled like crazy. She could not wait to tell her dad about that!

http://i262.photobucket.com/albums/ii87/disneycruise08/DisneyCruise052.jpg

http://i262.photobucket.com/albums/ii87/disneycruise08/DisneyCruise053.jpg

Dinner tonight was in Lumiers again and I had some jerk pork appetizer, some gumbo seafood soup, and roasted chicken dish for entree. Dessert was some sort of White Chocolate Truffel Torte which was delicious.

Kaylee at dinner. I have to mention that she LOVES the cherries in her Shirley Temple. She told Dobi, our server the first night, and every night after that when we sat down for dinner, there was a small dish full of cherries waiting for her along with her drink! She always dumped them all in her cup!
http://i262.photobucket.com/albums/ii87/disneycruise08/DisneyCruise058.jpg

http://i262.photobucket.com/albums/ii87/disneycruise08/DisneyCruise060.jpg

After dinner, we went to Shutters to pick up some pictures, and then had more taken around the atrium and just wandered around the ship for a bit.

Ran into this silly guy...
http://i262.photobucket.com/albums/ii87/disneycruise08/DisneyCruise061.jpg

http://i262.photobucket.com/albums/ii87/disneycruise08/DisneyCruise062.jpg

We were all exhausted so we headed to our stateroom early. There was no
show we wanted to watch tonight, so we just all put on our pajamas and got in bed and watched a movie. Towel animal tonight was a bunny (I think!?)

http://i262.photobucket.com/albums/ii87/disneycruise08/DisneyCruise070.jpg


Tomorrow... Day at Sea and character breakfast.

[poffles]

Another great installment. Everyone still having lots of fun.

[jollytammy]

I am so enjoying your trip report!!!

[philatiger]

Can't wait to hear about the character breakfast. We opted to skip ours on Thursday morning since we had brunch scheduled at Palo

[Suzanne Place]

Hi, We are from Leeds in England and this was our 1st Disney cruise, which we discovered after an amazing holiday last year at Animal Kingdom!! We've been watching your blog ever since we got back off our holidays as my husband discovered it, whilst browsing DIS...we have loved looking at your photo's as we lost our camera with about 300 pictures on our very last night of our holiday. After the cruise we spent 5 nights in saratoga springs, which was lovely, but was gutted about losing our camera on our last night!....

We are actually starring in your photo's on pg 2, im the lady in the blue top with my back to you, sat near you on the next table, just near the mickey pool. This must have been really soon just as we had boarded onto the ship, I had seen you with your lunch and had sent my husband and kids off to investigate where you had got it from, while I sat with the pushchair!!..we had ticket number 5 to board from the cruise termainal, so we got on the ship quite early...Its been really lovelly to to re-live some of our memories through your photots and if you have any more of Brett, send them on, as I thought he was gorgeous!!!! x

[dreamcometrue]

Hi, We are from Leeds in England and this was our 1st Disney cruise, which we discovered after an amazing holiday last year at Animal Kingdom!! We've been watching your blog ever since we got back off our holidays as my husband discovered it, whilst browsing DIS...we have loved looking at your photo's as we lost our camera with about 300 pictures on our very last night of our holiday. After the cruise we spent 5 nights in saratoga springs, which was lovely, but was gutted about losing our camera on our last night!....

We are actually starring in your photo's on pg 2, im the lady in the blue top with my back to you, sat near you on the next table, just near the mickey pool. This must have been really soon just as we had boarded onto the ship, I had seen you with your lunch and had sent my husband and kids off to investigate where you had got it from, while I sat with the pushchair!!..we had ticket number 5 to board from the cruise termainal, so we got on the ship quite early...Its been really lovelly to to re-live some of our memories through your photots and if you have any more of Brett, send them on, as I thought he was gorgeous!!!! x


wow that is so funny you found my trip report and are in one of our photos! What a bummer about losing your camera. If you want any of my pictures, feel free. I have tons I took from around the ship, and even though it wasn't you that took them, you were still on the same cruise so you might want them. Let me know!

[zerog]

Kay, I'm still enjoying your trip report. Keep up the good work, but just like the cruise I don't want it to end. :sad2:

[GoofyTraci]

wow..I am so excited to hear and see your pictures. I almost cried when you talked about leaving the port and the sounding of the horn. I have nine months before our first cruise so i feel sad about that, but love to see what lies ahead for us and our cruise.

can't wait to hear more..:surfweb:

[CruisinEars]

Great tr! We were on the western the week following you. We had a fantastic time. Your kids remind me of my kids. My dd even has the same pirate costume as your dd.
http://i282.photobucket.com/albums/kk254/cruisinears/Disney%20Cruise%202008/DSCN0233.jpg

We just booked an Eastern for Aug 2009 so I am interested in your report, pictures and itinerary. I just don't know what to do for our port days. Thank goodness I have 15 months to figure it out! :rotfl:

Looking forward to reading about St. Thomas and the rest of your report.

[dreamcometrue]

I will have my next installment up soon. :thumbsup2

CruisinEars, my last installment was St. Thomas. We didn't actually spend a lot of time ON St. Thomas, since our excursion took us to Tortola, but St. Thomas was beautiful!! I could definitely see us spending a week or vacation there. Between St. Maarten and St. Thomas, St. Thomas was by far the more beautiful island! :lovestruc

[goofygal1975]

I"m really enjoying your trip report!! Such great pictures!! Your family sure looked like you all were having a magical time!!

I have a couple of questions for you. We are on the 2nd sailing of DCL stopping AT TORTOLA. I had never even heard of this before. I would be VERY interested in any info you may have regarding your dolphin experience tour. It may be something we'd like to do!

Also...do you mind if I use a picture or two of your Tortola pictures for my webpage for our dis cruise group. (just the ones of the island itself and the view?)


Can't wait to read more about your trip!!

[dreamcometrue]

I"m really enjoying your trip report!! Such great pictures!! Your family sure looked like you all were having a magical time!!

I have a couple of questions for you. We are on the 2nd sailing of DCL stopping AT TORTOLA. I had never even heard of this before. I would be VERY interested in any info you may have regarding your dolphin experience tour. It may be something we'd like to do!

Also...do you mind if I use a picture or two of your Tortola pictures for my webpage for our dis cruise group. (just the ones of the island itself and the view?)


Can't wait to read more about your trip!!

I have more pictures of Tortola in my flickr album here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/disneymom/sets/72157605168846314/ From the dolphin pictures on up until my son sleeping on the ferry on the way back to St. Thomas are all Tortola. Feel free to take whatever you like. If you click on a picture you will have the option up on the top to click "all sizes" and you can choose a bigger size to save.

The dolphin encounter was very very nice. The facilities were very clean and the staff very friendly. It was an expensive excursion for the 4 of us to take, but it's one of those once in a lifetime things. My kids still talk about this and will for a long time. Just the smiles on their faces while in the water with the dolphin was priceless and worth every penny! :lovestruc It may be cheaper for you since the Magic will dock in Tortola and you may save on not having to pay for the 1 hour ferry ride one way to and from Tortola. It will also be nice for you since you won't have to hassle with immigration. If you have any more questions other than what I have already talked about in my trip report, feel free to ask! One thing... plan on spending a ton in the gift shop there! You will not be able to turn down the pictures they take of you. We ended up saying no to the video. They also sell t-shirts that have a picture and name of YOUR dolphin on it, along with "friends forever" or something like that. Great souvie for the kids. But we ended up spending another $200 in the gift shop there. :rotfl: Just a warning... :rolleyes1

[goofygal1975]

Thank you!! I'll take a look at those pictures and put it up on the site. This will help with everyones excitement!! I've been trying to find some good pictures of Tortola.

The dolphing experience sounds amazing!!! And I can see spending a lot of money on the pictures and other items there!! What is the name of the place that you went to for this?

Thanks again!! :goodvibes

[dreamcometrue]

Thank you!! I'll take a look at those pictures and put it up on the site. This will help with everyones excitement!! I've been trying to find some good pictures of Tortola.

The dolphing experience sounds amazing!!! And I can see spending a lot of money on the pictures and other items there!! What is the name of the place that you went to for this?

Thanks again!! :goodvibes

it was Dolphin Discovery. It's an excursion we booked through DCL. You can probably get it cheaper booking with them directly, but I am not sure how it would work since when we were there, there were only people from our cruise. They put us in several groups. We were in group A and did the dolphins first, then lunch at the facility, then the island tour. Not excactly sure how many groups there were, I know there was a group B but don't know beyond that. All I know is when we ate lunch, group B was in the water with the dolphins, and we only ever saw people from Disney so I am not sure what the time schedule would be like if you booked through them directly. This was our first cruise and we just felt better booking our excursions though DCL directly!

[BabyFavorite]

Love your trip report!!! We're going on our first cruise on the Magic in August, we're from California, and our kids are an 8yo girl & 12yo boy, too!

[CruisinEars]

I will have my next installment up soon. :thumbsup2

CruisinEars, my last installment was St. Thomas. We didn't actually spend a lot of time ON St. Thomas, since our excursion took us to Tortola, but St. Thomas was beautiful!! I could definitely see us spending a week or vacation there. Between St. Maarten and St. Thomas, St. Thomas was by far the more beautiful island! :lovestruc

Sorry, should have made myself more clear. I had to stop reading at your st. thomas day because I had to go to bed.:rotfl: I just finished reading and it sounds wonderful. I actually want to go to Tortola, but the only excursion is the dolphins. My dh balked at the cost though.

[dreamcometrue]

Day 6... Day at Sea and character breakfast.

I didn't do my daily coffee run and walk this morning, I slept in till about 7:15. I was so exhausted. We had to be in Parrot Cay at 8:15 for Mickey's Island Jam. It was a bit disappointing that the characters didn't come to the table and just danced with all the kids but the kids had fun. I do think that this is more for the younger crowd, my kids aren't the "get up and dance" type, but our table was right by the aisle so we had a great view of everything going on without having to participate.

Here are a few pictures of Mickey's Island Jam. I quite enjoyed Luke dancing around in front of us, thank you very much!!

http://i262.photobucket.com/albums/ii87/disneycruise08/DisneyCruise072.jpg

http://i262.photobucket.com/albums/ii87/disneycruise08/DisneyCruise073.jpg

http://i262.photobucket.com/albums/ii87/disneycruise08/DisneyCruise075.jpg

http://i262.photobucket.com/albums/ii87/disneycruise08/DisneyCruise077.jpg

http://i262.photobucket.com/albums/ii87/disneycruise08/DisneyCruise080.jpg

http://i262.photobucket.com/albums/ii87/disneycruise08/DisneyCruise081.jpg

http://i262.photobucket.com/albums/ii87/disneycruise08/DisneyCruise082.jpg

http://i262.photobucket.com/albums/ii87/disneycruise08/DisneyCruise083.jpg

After breakfast, we headed up to deck 9. Kaylee had a hair braiding appointment at 10am. They really hurt going in, and she cried. She kept asking me every 2 seconds how many there were and how much longer to go! The girl putting them in worked really fast and it only took about 15 minutes for a half head of corn rows. I think Kaylee got 10 or 11 rows.

http://i262.photobucket.com/albums/ii87/disneycruise08/DisneyCruise087.jpg

http://i262.photobucket.com/albums/ii87/disneycruise08/DisneyCruise090.jpg

We just hung out at the goofy pool. Josh and DH watched Cars on the Dumbotron and I took Kaylee went down to change into her bathing suit so she could swim.

http://i262.photobucket.com/albums/ii87/disneycruise08/DisneyCruise092.jpg

kids got a virgin pina colada
http://i262.photobucket.com/albums/ii87/disneycruise08/DisneyCruise095.jpg

http://i262.photobucket.com/albums/ii87/disneycruise08/DisneyCruise099.jpg

http://i262.photobucket.com/albums/ii87/disneycruise08/DisneyCruise100.jpg

At noon, I went to the stateroom to get a lithograph for captain Tom to sign. There was a Captain signing in the Treasure Ketch. I got there early so I was only the 4th or 5th in line. DH stayed up at the pool with the kids. After I got back we had lunch at Topsider. They had a great seafood buffet today with a nice Sushi bar!! My dream come true!

http://i262.photobucket.com/albums/ii87/disneycruise08/DisneyCruise102.jpg

I wanted to include this picture too, I think it's one of my favorites that I took. It just seems like the ship is neverending, doesn't it?

http://i262.photobucket.com/albums/ii87/disneycruise08/DisneyCruise104.jpg

After lunch, Kaylee was a bit tired so we went back to the cabin and I started to pack a little. Stuff I knew we didn't need anymore. Kaylee ended up not going to sleep after all, but watched a movie on TV. Around 3, Kaylee went to the lab and Josh to Ocean Quest. Today was the kids club graduation. DH and I did some more packing while they were there, then went down to the Walt Disney theater. There was still bingo going on, so we shopped around for a while before going in. The kids club graduation
was pretty short but nicely done. The kids got a graduation hat with Mickey ears and a t-shirt.

http://i262.photobucket.com/albums/ii87/disneycruise08/DisneyCruise110.jpg

http://i262.photobucket.com/albums/ii87/disneycruise08/DisneyCruise118.jpg

Here's a little clip of the graduation: (click to play)

http://i262.photobucket.com/albums/ii87/disneycruise08/th_DisneyCruise111.jpg (http://s262.photobucket.com/albums/ii87/disneycruise08/?action=view&current=DisneyCruise111.flv)

We went to dinner right after it was over and we checked the kids out of the lab. Today was semi formal night and we were in Animator's Palate. I had a shrimp appetizer, wild mushroom soup, lobster tail (I had 2 actually. I told Dobi how much I liked lobster and she just brought 2 out for me, on one plate!), and a chocolate lava cake for dessert. As always, everything was absolutely delicous.

http://i262.photobucket.com/albums/ii87/disneycruise08/DisneyCruise119.jpg

http://i262.photobucket.com/albums/ii87/disneycruise08/DisneyCruise123.jpg

http://i262.photobucket.com/albums/ii87/disneycruise08/DisneyCruise124.jpg

http://i262.photobucket.com/albums/ii87/disneycruise08/DisneyCruise125.jpg

After dinner we stood in line for Mickey in the Atrium and then went to the show. Today was Disney Dreams, and we absolutely loved it. I really can't decide which one out of Golden Mickey's, Twice Charmed and Disney Dreams I like best, they are all so good! As always, we were really tired after dinner. I took the kids to the gift store and they picked out 2 DCL pins each and then we headed to the room. They fell asleep pretty quickly again. The dessert buffet was also tonight, starting at 11pm, but we never made it up there. I had every good intention, but was just too tired!

http://i262.photobucket.com/albums/ii87/disneycruise08/DisneyCruise127.jpg

Tonight's towel animal was a stingray!


http://i262.photobucket.com/albums/ii87/disneycruise08/DisneyCruise128.jpg


Tomorrow... Castaway Cay!!

[poffles]

Oh I so want to be there! I love the "never ending" picture of the ship too, the overall blue color of the picture is also pleasing to the eye.

Looking forward to Castaway Cay!

[wilma-bride]

I am absolutely loving your trip report. I dream of being able to do a 7-day cruise but, for now, I'll make do with the 3 day and live vicariously through other people's reports ;)

Your kids look like they're having a blast.

[zerog]

Welcome back Kay. I thought you were never going to finish your TR. :3dglasses Who am I to talk since I didn't even post a report.

As always, reading your TR takes me right back to the cruise. You took great pictures and your write-ups are very interesting. ::yes::

I took my DS to the desert bar at 11pm (DW and DD were too tired). They had a nice set up on the table followed by 2 chocolate fountains. I didn't really care much for the table deserts but the stuff dipped in chocolate (fondue style) was great. The only problem this nite was that people were lined up on both sides of the desert table and then merged into one line for the chocolate fountain. There were no clear lines where this happened and we were on the wrong side. :confused3 Somehow we managed to merge in and get desert. Always the messy one, my DS managed to get melted chocolate on everything. :worried:

Can't wait to read your report on CC. :hyper:

[Suzanne Place]

aww brilliant...Your trip report is really good, and we got to grab another picture with our kids in....on your graduation pictures our baby girl was on the front row near Mickey...she has ginger curly hair with a crown (that she made!! - not a graduation hat - she obviously wanted to be a princess) and on the video clip we can see both Ben & Millie...im with everyone else - your trip report is absolutly fabulous and really takes you back as your pictures are really good!!...thanks Suzanne..

[goofygal1975]

it was Dolphin Discovery. It's an excursion we booked through DCL. You can probably get it cheaper booking with them directly, but I am not sure how it would work since when we were there, there were only people from our cruise. They put us in several groups. We were in group A and did the dolphins first, then lunch at the facility, then the island tour. Not excactly sure how many groups there were, I know there was a group B but don't know beyond that. All I know is when we ate lunch, group B was in the water with the dolphins, and we only ever saw people from Disney so I am not sure what the time schedule would be like if you booked through them directly. This was our first cruise and we just felt better booking our excursions though DCL directly!

Thanks for all the info!!! And pictures of Tortola. I'd also feel better doing the excursion with Disney!!!:goodvibes

[chepic]

Great report, helps me to remember our trip not so long ago. Great pictures too; nothing better than a TR with super pictures.

cheryl

[Goanyerself]

This is a shameless bump to see if we can get that Castaway Cay report. I have been lurking for months and finally joined and have been loving this report.

[dreamcometrue]

This is a shameless bump to see if we can get that Castaway Cay report. I have been lurking for months and finally joined and have been loving this report.

sorry everyone! I promise Castaway Cay is coming! I finished work, it was crazy these past few weeks with end of the year stuff (I work in an elementary school office). Now I am off until August and have lots of time on my hands! :banana:

[Disney Brat]

I followed you from the randomites board!! Great TR! It is my dream to do a Disney Cruise at some point too!! Looks so amazing!!

[kvaday]

:cool1: I am loving your TR!!!! We will be on our first disney cruise for halloween this year! Your kids sound like mine. No matter where we go they always want to swim. :lmao: I'm sure we will be spending a lot of time at the pools.

After reading your TR I cant wait for ours! i am so excited now! your pictures are great, you have such a beautiful family!

Cant wait to read the rest!popcorn:: :dance3:

[disneyfav4ever]

Got boarding pass 3 and PLAPLAP dining roation, which is what I really hoped for since it will put us in Lumieres for formal and Parrot Cay for Pirates night!!!That's the rotation I want too, for the same reasons.

[Disney Brat]

We need more!!!

[dreamcometrue]

it's coming, it's coming, I promise!

[dizfan]

We're really enjoying reading your trip report.

Next year, we'll be taking the Eastern Caribbean around the same time of year.

We we so happy to see the pictures of Tortola. It looks like it's still not nearly as commercialized as the USVI.

Dan & Debbie

[DisneyMama629]

I'm just joining in here! Great report so far! Your daughter is adorable and your son is very handsome. We are going on the Eastern Itinerary in July 2009 so I love reading all your details. Keep it coming!

[yazee1]

Great report. I love reports with short paragraphs and lots of :thumbsup2 pictures!

[CapnJackGroupie]

popcorn:: popcorn:: I just read your entire TR so of course I have to join in for your CC installment!! Thanks so much for sharing and for the awesome pictures!!!