WB repo cruise, the good the bad and looonggg!! Updated day 15 and disembarkation

[cmash95]

ok I am starting this thread and will update it when I get through close to 2000 pictures as well as 900 minutes of tape. can't beleive it's actually come and gone and for the most part we had a wonderful time. Disney sure knows how to treat people. and i have to give the cruise staff cudo's for stretching activitites that usually happen in one week over two. THere was always something to do and everyone on the ship had a smile and always offered a helping hand.

anyway i am getting ahead of myself. LEt me introduce our party.
there's myself, and my DS(21), I told everyone he was my personal photographer and thats why he was allowed to come along.
then there is my DH(53) and my mom.
if you have questions, please post and I will try and answer them and I promise I will start a genuine trip report in a couple of days.

[poffles]

Anxiously await the report, especially if there are pictures :worship:

[jns]

Looking forward to hearing all about your trip
Thanks for sharing

[NewportCat]

I'm excited to read your report and see photos! Can you also post any Navigators you may have?
Thanks!

[figment1986]

I'm excited to read your report and see photos! Can you also post any Navigators you may have?
Thanks!

I will make sure she posts the Navigators we have. We should have day 1 soon.

[aan1701]

I was on board this cruise also. I am looking forward to the bad, as I can't think of anything that was bad except on day at lunch waiting over 40 min to get my make your own pasta in Parrot Cay

[Bobbybear68]

I was on board this cruise also. I am looking forward to the bad, as I can't think of anything that was bad except on day at lunch waiting over 40 min to get my make your own pasta in Parrot Cay

You know I almost forgot about that lunch. I'm not too sure what was wrong, but I waited over a half hour and then our server went over and expediated it some how. Still took another 15 minutes. This was the only problem we had eating too.

[cmash95]

we ate lunch in topsiders that day and the wait was close to 25 minutes for pasta orders. I guess they were slow at both places. to clarify, nothing was terrible but there are a few things that I think disney could do a little better.

[aan1701]

You know I almost forgot about that lunch. I'm not too sure what was wrong, but I waited over a half hour and then our server went over and expediated it some how. Still took another 15 minutes. This was the only problem we had eating too.

we ate lunch in topsiders that day and the wait was close to 25 minutes for pasta orders. I guess they were slow at both places. to clarify, nothing was terrible but there are a few things that I think disney could do a little better.

Glad to see I am not the only one who had a bad day that day. I am still very interested in your report.

[Sully]

A bad day on this cruise? Can't think of any.

[Skallywag]

Would be interested to hear the bad so we can avoid when bring the magic back

[aan1701]

Would be interested to hear the bad so we can avoid when bring the magic back

Like I said beware of the make your own pasta. 40 min. later and still no pasta. I gave up and went to Plutos for a Taco and a Brat.

[cquick]

Like I said beware of the make your own pasta. 40 min. later and still no pasta. I gave up and went to Plutos for a Taco and a Brat.

Yes, I had a problem with that, too. I ordered my pasta dish right away, and then I got Patrick's salad, then his food, and then I got some stuff from the buffet (actually the marinated beef was wonderful).

We waited and then Pat got antsy so we left, and just as we were leaving, the server came with my dish. I felt really bad about telling him I didn't want it by then!

[woody73]

Like I said beware of the make your own pasta. 40 min. later and still no pasta.
Ours took 45 min. If you see "pasta made to order," skip it.

Woody

[figment1986]

Ours took 45 min. If you see "pasta made to order," skip it.

Woody

It was good though... Maybe next time you should run and get there when they open it, or make sure you get the order than get enough food to eat slow before the pasta comes...

[cmash95]

ok let's get started:
Day 1

here is a link for today’s pictures because each day has at least 100 pictures and I am having trouble posting separate ones so for now I will just post a link for that day and you can enjoy them all.

http://figment1986.smugmug.com/gallery/5022258_qzTqE/1/301473665_Qnwzv

To refresh your memory. There were four of us in two cabins. My mother(age 73) my DH( age 53) myself(39) and my personal photographer. Well he is my DS(21)and also a member of the boards so if you see the name figment1986 weighing in in this thread, it’s him. And the pictures posted are all his.

Ok let’s get started. We live in Tampa Florida, which is just a little over 2-hour drive to the port. I checked into the cost of driving to Orlando airport and taking the shuttle over, and found out it was actually cheaper to just rent a car one way. My mother lives in Iowa. She flew down early to spend some extra time visiting because my 25-year-old daughter couldn’t go on the cruise with us. Unfortunately she had to work. So they spent a couple of days shopping and enjoying each other’s company.

On Friday we picked up the minivan from Avis. We spent the rest of the night packing up six pieces of luggage and too many carry ons to count.

Finally Saturday morning arrived. We hopped into the van and drove to port Canaveral. We got to the avis counter around 12:30, turned the car in and grabbed the shuttle to the ship. We weren’t the only ones traveling that day, there were two other couples that were sailing on the carnival glory that afternoon. Avis is right down the road from the port so in no time at all we were dropping our luggage off with security and heading into the terminal.

After passing through security, we headed up the escalator to check in. I expected a big crowd, but there really weren’t that many people left in the terminal. We actually waited just a few minutes in line to check in. We did have a couple of small glitches with out paperwork but for the most part things went smoothly. We finished check in and headed for the line to board. We didn’t get a group number because they had just called open boarding before we arrived. Just a note, I know everyone talks about getting on the ship early but to be honest it was nice not waiting with 1100 to board. We actually were behind goofy who had his suitcase, got his picture taken and was announced as if he were a regular passenger. I have to admit that it was nice to be announced and welcomed aboard as if you are a VIP. Really makes things special. For those of you who don’t know, you board on the third floor, not far from guest relations. I don’t know if it was just for our cruise, or if they do this for all, but they had an ice sculpture of the ship placed nearby with welcomed aboard, carved into a melon.

It was almost 1:30 , so we decided to drop off our stuff in the cabin and then go to topsiders to get something to eat. While at lunch we were offered a deal on a case of water which we decided to take. I have to say that this was the only time while onboard that anyone came up to me and offered me something. The rest of the time if anything was on special or for sail, it was listed in the navigator and wasn’t even announced over the intercom. A big difference from other cruises I have taken.

After lunch , my son took the walking tour of the ship while hubby mom and I returned to cabin for a break until lifeboat drill.

The lifeboat drill took place on deck 4 at 4:00 pm. It only lasts about 15 minutes or so and yes they do take attendance. After the drill, DS and I handed hubby our life jackets and he went back to the cabin while we headed up to deck 9 for the sailaway party, aka adventures away. The ariel view had a map of all the places we were going and the cruise staff danced along with the characters. Of course they had the final countdown and then the horn sounded. I swear that horn gives me shivers whenever I hear it. In no time at all we were off blowing kisses and waving goodbye to the staff in the terminal.

We headed back to the cabin where to our surprise, our luggage had already started arriving. DH had already begun to unpack and hang up things in the closet. The steamer trunk had plenty of space for things that couldn’t be hung up and there was plenty of drawer space for underwear and swimsuits. One thing to note. We had three big suitcases and then three smaller ones a piece. And unfortunately they didn’t fit under the bed. So we nested the smaller ones in the larger and stacked the three big ones in the closet. Oh one more thing, we also brought a small popup hamper for dirty clothes. I think it was the best thing we brought on the cruise.

Once unpacked my mom, son and I decided to go to the show. That night it was All Aboard and featured John Charles, and the hypnotist Ricky Kalmon as well as the performers of the Disney magic and of course Brent, the cruise director. After the show my son and I took in the Mickey Mania show in Studio Sea and then met my DH and Mom at animator’s palette for the Let the Magic Begin Dinner. Our Server was levent from turkey and our assistant server was Adrian from New Zealand. Because it was the first night, it took almost two hours to finish dinner. By then it was almost 10:30 so my DH and I decided to call it a night, while my son headed to rockin bar D to meet the cruise staff and have a good time.

[Joan1]

sounds like a great first day - can you share what the cost of the case of water was and the size of the bottles?

Thanks

[cmash95]

sounds like a great first day - can you share what the cost of the case of water was and the size of the bottles?

Thanks
it was your standard 20 oz size bottle and the entire price( including the gratuitity) was 40 dollars. that was for 25 bottles I believe. I am sure you can find it cheaper off the boat but we were taking so many other things onboard, I couldn't figure out how to bring one more thing. I can say that even with three people in the cabin, it was just enough for the whole two weeks. A couple of things we did bring, four 32 oz mugs from epcot( the light up kind) and we filled them with soda when onboard or not in the diningroom. we also brought a large bottle of grenadine because we like cherry cokes and shirley temples. I am scanning the daily navigators and will try and post them with each day if I can figure out how. anyone have any other questions feel free to ask as we go along.

[lillygator]

great first day!
You can check water in with the porters and a case of water is $4.99, much cheaper. Next time I am bringing some for the CM's!

[cmash95]

wow 5 bucks for a case? wish I could get it that cheap here, it's time to stock up for hurricane season. I usually keep a couple of cases in the garage and we also bring a couple of bottles with us when we head out to orlando or busch gardens.

[cmash95]

Day 2
today's picture link
http://figment1986.smugmug.com/gallery/5031532_ZtG5s/1/302132583_eb5qW

Not only were we at the awesome Castaway Cay for the day, but it was also Mother’s day. How cool is that? My DH and Mom started the day out bright and early ( 7 ish ) with a few laps around deck 4 and then breakfast at topsiders. This became a regular thing for them to do. Not me, I managed to get myself and my son out of bed around 9 . We had a glass bottom boat excursion at 10:30 so we hurridly showered, got dressed and headed out for our excursion. Thank heavens the walk to the glass bottom boat wasn’t far, because I nearly melted in the heat and humidity.

The boat operator was so nice, he let us sit in the shade and also let me be the first person onboard so I could sit down otherwise I don’t think I would have made it through the excursion. Oh and we did bring a couple of bottles of water with us to drink while on the boat as well. The excursion was ok. The boat takes you out beyond the protected areas of the island into open water so it was very rocky . There was one person talking about the island and the Bahamas in general. He also pointed out various types of coral and fish as we drove over the reef. After awhile the boat stopped and they threw oatmeal overboard to the fish. Everyone onboard that wanted to could throw out some oatmeal. It was fun to see the fish clammer for the food. Once all the oatmeal was gone, we headed back to the dock. I have to say that the tour operators were so nice to me and I felt bad because I forgot to bring along extra cash in order to give them a tip.

Anyway, when we got back to the dock, they called the first aid people who operate an island taxi of sorts if you can’t make it to the trams and they drove me and my son up to the first aid station which just happens to be next to the shop and near cookies. I sent my son to buy a spritzer fan and then settled in under the covered picnic area for a bit. My son was hungry, so he headed over to cookies to get some food and something to drink.

We had three oclock resies to feed the stingrays, but I was too tired to go, so my son headed over to meet his dad at the stingray lagoon, while I decided to head back to the boat and take a nap. I headed back to the first aid station to ask for a taxi ride back to the boat, but when I got there, they were very busy with a patient suffering from heat exposure. So I waited on the bench outside the office until they could get another cart out my way. It only took 5 minutes and then I was headed back to the ship. On our way back, we passed several tables where cast members were handing out wet towels and water to the passengers as they headed back to the ship. My driver was so nice, he drove me right up to the gangway so I didn’t have far to walk at all. I managed to get back to the cabin and took a short nap while my son and DH were enjoying the stingrays. Unfortunately we don’t have any pictures of the excusion but I have been assured that they had a great time.

Before continuing with the rest of the day, I want to point out a couple of things about castaway cay that I didn’t know. I knew about the sand wheel chairs, but I didn’t know about the wagons that you could use to transport your kids in. Nor did I realize that the band from the ship came out and played during the day. I have to admit that I can see why everyone raves about this island. Even with the heat, it was a great day and I hope to get back someday. I hear they have the imfamous double dip cruises where basically the only thing you do is castaway cay. Oh one more thing before I forget. When you get off the boat they have signs warning people about the chances of encountering sharks and other sea life like eels and barracudas. Take head of those warnings as I spoke to a passenger at dinner who related the story of her encounter with a barracuda. She wasn’t hurt but she was a bit spooked by it. So just be careful when you are out snorkeling.

My mom had spent the day relaxing on the ship. She did a lot of that this trio. When my son and Husband got back for the stingrays, we called her and decided to take in the hypnotist. He was a lot of fun. After the show we did some shopping and then hung out in the atrium until it was time for dinner.

Tonight it was Parrot Cay and Island dinner. They had a beautiful cake at the enterance wishing us a Happy Mother's day and they served a small piece of cake to each mom in the dining room.Dinner ran late and I was tired from castaway cay so I decided to head back to the cabin and go to bed. My mom and Husband called it a night as well but my son wanted to go to rockin bar D and see John Charles’s adult cabaret show. He told me later that the show was so crowded they had to put a video feed into diversions to hold everyone. Needless to say beat street became his home away from home nightly on the cruise. He had a great time.

There were a couple of bad things to talk about but only one could Disney do anything about. First. the weather was HOT. Second, I lost my drivers license reboarding the ship. Thank heavens I had my passport or I would have had a tough time getting off not only in mexico but back in LA as well. Lastly( and this is something Disney could deal with.) my husband commented that the meat at the BBQ was really dry and almost overcooked.

[CruisinEars]

Enjoying your report. The pictures are beautiful. Looking forward to more. :goodvibes

[NZMUM]

Enjoying your report :goodvibes . The photos are great. Looking forward to more.

Tania

[cmash95]

thanks for the comments, the pictures are courtesy my DS, figment1986. otherwise known as my personal photographer.

[wilma-bride]

Really enjoying your report so far. We loved Castaway Cay on our last visit there. I am off to look at all your pictures now :)

[gofenmom]

Love your post and photos. What kind of camera is your son using?

[figment1986]

Love your post and photos. What kind of camera is your son using?

I am using a Cannon Digital Rebel XTi, with the basic lens kit and a telephoto lens. (I never remember specs of my lenses)

[Perdie]

I love readig your TR!! Wish I could have been on this trip...maybe next time! I live vicariously through your report!!popcorn::

[cmash95]

Day 3

http://figment1986.smugmug.com/gallery/5093010_tD9GT/1/306986286_vcBp5

Our first day at sea. The phone rang around 7 with my mom calling to see if my DH was ready for their morning walk around deck 4. After their walk, it was up to topsiders for breakfast. This morning was a little different for them because they ran into the cruise director leading a group in a power walk around the deck.

According to the navigator, Disney had a retired canal pilot onboard and he was going to be giving a series of lectures on the panama canal. The first one was about the history of the canal and how it was constructed. The lectures were in the walt Disney theater. Mom and DH decided to go to the first one at 11 am. And then catch lunch at topsiders afterwards.

The theme for the lunch buffet was American. My son, after having partied until the wee hours of the morning in rockin bar D was barely awake at 10:30 so he decided to skip the lecture but found out that Disney was having a lunch get together for college students in parrot cay at noon. This was something I believe Disney was experimenting with during the cruise. His hosts were the pubmaster in diversions; Drew, and Terry. Terry had been temporarily assigned to the Family cruise staff for this cruise. She usually took care of the 3-4 year old age group. They had what I would consider a pretty fair turn out, ( my son couldn’t remember the exact number but said he thought it was around 9 people.). My son was surprised that he was the only one of the group who hadn’t cruised Disney before.

I spent the morning in the cabin reading on the balcony and then decided to join my DH and mom up in topsiders for lunch. I have to admit that I really enjoyed topsiders lunches, they had something different every day but the big draw for my family( especially my mom,) was the deserts. I think they were the best of the cruise.

After lunch I wandered around deck nine for a bit and met several crew members. The most memorable was with a server named Caio. He was from the phillipeans and it turned out that he had our dinner rotation So he said he would stop by out table and say hi. It turned out that he was a head waiter and every night from that day until the last breakfast he was true to his word and he stopped by and checked on us. He was so nice and always had a big smile on his face. I also got to meet drew from diversions but I didn’t realize until later that my son met him as well. I found out that drew and I graduated from the same college only about 25 years apart. Small world isn’t it?

While my DH and mom relaxed in their cabins, I decided to do some shopping and as I was headed back towards the atrium, I came across my son taking pictures of the dance party going on below. The kids looked like that were having a ball. He waited around awhile after the party and snapped a picture of the disboards group. I had totally forgotten about the picture. One of several things I missed.

At 2:30 he headed for palo’s to do the Art of the Theme Show Ship Tour. This was a walking tour that highlighted several areas of the ship and how the Disney theme was incorportated in the area. An interesting piece of trivia. When they were planning the tile picture of walt Disney in front of the walt Disney theater, they decided to photoshop out the cigarette he was holding. However, they didn’t take out the smoke and if you look carefully you can still find it on a couple of the dark tiles. (And yes we checked and found it.)

At 5:00 that afternoon, the magic sailed between cuba and Haiti. It was actually only about 4 miles off the coast of cuba and eventhough it was pretty hazy, we have a few pictures of the coastline. Even the southern tip of cuba where Guantanamo bay is. Considering that was probably as close as anyone can get to cuba, at least for now, It was pretty exciting to me.

It was not only the first sea day, but also formal night. We debated on whether to wear our formal wear to the show but decided against it since we would have plenty of time to get ready after the show. The show was the Golden Mickeys The DH is definitely NOT a Disney nut like my son and I are. So he stayed in the cabin and watched a movie while the rest of us went to the show. I have heard so much about this show and was really looking forward to it. Needless to say, it exceeded my expectations. The Golden Mickey’s is a huge hit with our family.

After the show we headed back to the cabin to get ready for dinner. My Dh was already dressed when we got back. He brought along a nice suit for the occasion, but I splurged and rented a tux for my son. He looked so handsome. DH didn’t look too bad either. We had dinner in Luminier’s that night, (A perfect place for formal night,) and of course we were treated to the Golden Mickey menu, and we got a nice surprise when we got to the dining room.

I need to backtrack just a bit here and explain that we were part of a larger group reservation and because of this, all of the reservations were linked together for dinner. The entire group consisted of 19 people. The first night in animator’s palate we were set up at three tables. My family was at a table for four and the rest were split into two tables in the same area. We actually got table one. The next night the rest of the group wanted to try and put their two tables together so they had one table for 15 people. It was really too much for one server and one assistant server to handle. And it was also in the front corner of the restaurant so it was hard to get in and out of. Well that night when we arrived, we were lead to two tables almost directly in the middle of the restaurant and we also had an additional assistant server,(Giovanni from Italy.) I think it made things a lot easier for the staff because things did move faster and we were able to finish dinner and get out of the restaurant in time for the balloon drop.

Of course luminier’s is right there in the center of the atrium. Anyway after dinner we did make our way out into a very crowded aitruim for the after party balloon drop. Now this was 10:30 at night and I was surprised how many little kids were still up and bouncing around. Mickey and Minnie showed up and two big bags of golden balloons and tons of confetti fell on the crowd. It was lots of fun and reminded me of a big new year’s eve party.

After the after party, DH, DS, and myself headed over to Rockin Bar D to see the hyptnotist. He was doing an adult cabaret show that evening. It was a big hit. We laughed so hard most of the audience was crying. Two of the most memorable bits he did was to have a presidential debate with a guy who was supposed to be a sumo wrestler who couldn’t speak any English, and someone who was supposed to be carson crestley of queer for the straight guy fame. It was one of those moments I will never forget. He also had the group see everyone in the audience naked.now if that wasn’t bad enough, Two of his subjects were in college and traveling with family, so he had one of the girl’s father’s stand up. You can imagine her reaction. I have to admit I ran into the guy who was carson crestley several times after that and we had a good laugh. Thank heavens everyone was a good sport about the evening.

It was getting late, so I decdied to head back to the cabin and get to bed. DH left right after the show but I stayed around for a bit to chat to people. I honestly don’t have any idea what time DS got back that night but I do know he eventually got back because he woke me up when he came in.

[Joan1]

I am really enjoying your reports and your son's photos.
It would make the report easier to read if you split it into paragraphs
Thanks for the time you are spending putting this together

[wilma-bride]

Really enjoying this report. We love the Golden Mickeys too. Sounds like you were having a great time.

[cmash95]

I am really enjoying your reports and your son's photos.
It would make the report easier to read if you split it into paragraphs
Thanks for the time you are spending putting this together

I'm sorry about the format, I wrote this using microsoft word on my sons computer, When I copied and pasted it came out that way. I just went back and fixed the 2 days.

[scottishwee35]

Hi

Just let you know that I enjoyed reading your story and loved the photos too.

What a great memory.:thumbsup2

Saw the photo of group that I was there ::yes::

Scottishwee35

[figment1986]

hmm, is it me or are some people looking at the photos ahead of the report ;)

Thanks for the comments everyone

[cmash95]

Day 4

http://figment1986.smugmug.com/gallery/5106018_YK4jC/1/308091059_tRCRi

Sea day number 2. Again Mom and DH get up at the wee hours of the morning to do their morning walk and catch some breakfast. This actually was working out well for DS and I because when DH would get back to the cabin, the morning"paper" would have arrived and he could read the news. I have to admit I was actually happy to get the news every morning because my dear husband is addicted to the newspaper at home and he gets very cranky if he hasn't read his news in the morning. So thank you Disney Cruiseline for the news each day.

Disney began their Behind the scenes series of lectures with a lecture from Jeff Kurti and creative consultant who is currently working with the Disney family on the Walt Disney Museum that will open in San Francisco next year. My son decided to take in the lecture. That was at 11:00 am.

My mom and DH had their usual lunch at topsiders, while I hung out in the shade at the goofy pool , drinking a mai tai and reading a book. A nice quiet day for the most part.

That night's show was "When Mickey Dreams" it was a show that was done during the transatlantic cruises last year and was such a big hit that they decided to show it again for this cruise. If you like Circque du soliel( please excuse the butchered spelling) you will enjoy this show. the acrobats were awesome. and I have to admit I was amazed at the feats that were accomplished on a moving ship. Oh and the ship was definitely moving. I think we hit a bit of a rocky patch because you could definitely feel the rocking motion throughout the ship. Brent did say the next day that the captain had slowed the ship a bit durnig the showtimes so the stabilizers could kick in. Not sure if he was kidding or not.

After dinner my DS and I decided to check out Who wants to be a Mouseketeer in Studio Sea. When we entered the club we were given a number and the computer randomly picked numbers throughout the night. My number actually came up but I sent my son instead. He got all the way to the last answer. the question was " where did the world premier of who framed roger rabbit take place?" He had 50/50 left so after using it, the choices were New York or London. Ok he lost.- it wasn't london. But he got a pin for playing. We collect pins so this one will be a valuable addition to our collection.

After the show, we headed to animator's palate for dinner. It was the show dinner that night and what a show it was. During the meal various pictures would be on display. they would start out as pencil sketches and then eventually turn full color. I had heard about this many times but I have to admit that the effect is so much better than I expected. At the end of the meal scorcerer mickey shows up and the wait staff and the whole room are all aglow in color. It's a lot of fun to watch and the food was pretty good too.

After dinner my son headed back to rockin bar D for another performance by John Charles. He was planning to disembark in Aruba the next day so this was going to be his only other performance onboard. It turned out that he was so popular, the cruise staff asked him to stay onboard and he didn't get off the ship until Acapulco. I decided to check out Studio Sea and watch the disney kareokee. Believe it or not, I actaully had a good time watching and listening to the tweens, teens, and even a few youngsters and their parents butcher disney songs. Especially those wonderful High School Musical numbers. After kareokee, I headed back to the cabin and was greeted by the sounds of my husband snoring away in bed. It wasn't too long after that I joined him. I honestly don't know what time DS got in because I was so tired I didn't wake up when he came back. I guess a relaxing day at sea can really tire a person out.

[aan1701]

Love the report. Caio was my head waiter and to be hones I was not very impressed with him. He never did anything for our tabe and some nights he never came by. By far the worst head waiter I have ever had on DCL and I did let DCL know this. You must have had late seating. Also Love the pic of Rockin bar D on night three. I saw myseld in my Dodger Hat and shorts. Cool.

[Bobbybear68]

Love the report. Caio was my head waiter and to be hones I was not very impressed with him. He never did anything for our tabe and some nights he never came by. By far the worst head waiter I have ever had on DCL and I did let DCL know this. You must have had late seating. Also Love the pic of Rockin bar D on night three. I saw myseld in my Dodger Hat and shorts. Cool.
That is very interesting about Caio, because we had him as Head Server early seating and he stopped by our table every night and some of the other people at our table made special requests such as a special appetizer and he came through for them.

[wilma-bride]

Still loving this. Who Wants to be a Mouseketeer sounds fun :)

[cmash95]

[QUOTE=aan1701;25634616]. Caio was my head waiter and to be honest I was not very impressed with him. He never did anything for our tabe and some nights he never came by. By far the worst head waiter I have ever had on DCL and I did let DCL know this. [QUOTE]

I feel bad because we did have late seating and he came by every night to check on us. It was like we had two head waiters. Our head waiter was Gaspare and I have to admit he worked his but off, not because of us but the rest of the group ( the party of 18) took alot of his time.

[cmash95]

day 5

http://figment1986.smugmug.com/gallery/5112885_qWLpt/1/308663171_W26YE

ARUBA!!! We didn't have any excursions scheduled so everyone sort of just took turns getting off the boat and walking around the city. Of course shopping was involved as well. I was a little concerned with my son leaving the boat because he had never been in a foreign country by himself. He had always been on a excursion or with other family members but you can see from the pictures, he did fine and had a good time on the island. I thought my mom would hit one of the casinos when she was in town but she hit a few stores and found some very pretty scarves.

Since most people were off the ship during lunch,my mom, son, and I decided to try out luminiers. Lunch in the dinningroom was alot of fun. I had seen our servers up at topsiders a couple of days before. They told me that they rotate between the diningroom and the two buffets during lunch.

National Treasure book of secrets was playing in the theater that day, so my mom and DH and I decided to take in the movie instead of going to the ventriloquist. After the movie, we also decided to try out topsiders for dinner. Actually I wanted to try it out because I wanted to get a spot for the tropicalifragilistic deck party that night and I figured that if I ate dinner in the diningroom I wouldn't make it up to deck 10 on time. Mom and DH decided to join me. I have to admit that noone informed my son. but luckily someone from the other table offered to eat dinner with him so he didn't eat alone. The menu in the diningroom was carribean that night and I was told I missed a great limbo contest.

Dinner in topsiders is a lot like dinner in the diningroom. You are seated at a table and order your entre from a menu. The menu isn't the same as what is being offered in the diningroom that night. they also offer a salad bar instead of your salad course. The food was delicious and plentiful. I mistakenly ordered the porterhouse steak and there was enough to share with mom and hubby. The other nice thing about topsiders is you can eat there no matter what rotation you are on. IT's open from 6:00 - 8:30 each evening. so if you can't wait for your late dinner or miss your early dinner, this is nicer than hot dogs or burgers on deck. When dinner was over, I went up to deck 10 and found the perfect spot for the deck party.

The deck party was alot of fun. The band from rockin bar D played and they had a conga line and of course lilne dances for the kids. Mickey and the Gang made an appearance at the end. Deck 9 was packed. they had two small buffets set up on each side of the deck with lots of goodies. I was really surprised how many young kids were still up at 10pm and going strong until close to midnight. Luckily the next day was a sea day and they could all sleep in.

My son talked me in to hitting Rockin Bar D for some crazy kareoke. It was definitely crazy. the adult cruise staff really lets their hair down at night. I must admit that rockin bar D was the place to be most evenings. I would recommend crazy kareoke to anyone, even if you don't participate, it' really is alot of fun to watch. Amazing what people will do for a free shot or free beer.

[aan1701]

That is very interesting about Caio, because we had him as Head Server early seating and he stopped by our table every night and some of the other people at our table made special requests such as a special appetizer and he came through for them.

[QUOTE=aan1701;25634616]. Caio was my head waiter and to be honest I was not very impressed with him. He never did anything for our tabe and some nights he never came by. By far the worst head waiter I have ever had on DCL and I did let DCL know this. [QUOTE]

I feel bad because we did have late seating and he came by every night to check on us. It was like we had two head waiters. Our head waiter was Gaspare and I have to admit he worked his but off, not because of us but the rest of the group ( the party of 18) took alot of his time.

We had the early siting, and it was like we had a a big sign around our table that told him never to come over. I even asked for a menu or two and he would not let me have them even though I pointed out several other guests were walking out with them. Oh well to each their own on this one I guess. We had a wedding aniversary at our table the second Sunday and he never came over to wish the couple happy aniversary, or even give them a button.

[littleaussie]

Day 4

http://figment1986.smugmug.com/gallery/5106018_YK4jC/1/308091059_tRCRi
After dinner my DS and I decided to check out Who wants to be a Mouseketeer in Studio Sea. When we entered the club we were given a number and the computer randomly picked numbers throughout the night. My number actually came up but I sent my son instead. He got all the way to the last answer. the question was " where did the world premier of who framed roger rabbit take place?" He had 50/50 left so after using it, the choices were New York or London. Ok he lost.- it wasn't london. But he got a pin for playing. We collect pins so this one will be a valuable addition to our collection.


Hi there,
I think I was there the night you guys played. My daughter and I were the 4th team up there and we were the first winners of the night! I saw in your pictures the question about Epcot and Test track, I think that was our question and I had no idea! We asked the audience on that one. It was a fun game, wasn't it?
I'm enjoying the report and pictures!

[frdeb1999]

Enjoying the TR and pix!:)

[BibbidyBobbidyBoo]

I love your report!
couple of comments...
Okay so wow you get to the last question on that and only get a pin? You should get a pin and something else- I mean getting to the last question! What do you win if you WIN and got the last question right?

oh, so rockin bar D is where we should have went our entire last cruise. :rotfl: good to know- that's where we'll go next time. We kept wandering around wondering where everyone was late at night. LOL And then DH would go to bed earlier. So now I know where to go! LOL

You are giving so much info on your trip report- I love it!

[figment1986]

I love your report!
couple of comments...
Okay so wow you get to the last question on that and only get a pin? You should get a pin and something else- I mean getting to the last question! What do you win if you WIN and got the last question right?

If you win, you get a baseball cap, mug and the pin.

If you get picked to go up there you get a pin.

[cmash95]

I love your report!
couple of comments...
Okay so wow you get to the last question on that and only get a pin? You should get a pin and something else- I mean getting to the last question! What do you win if you WIN and got the last question right?



the ship's version only has five questions so more people can play. and the first three are pretty easy pllus the host is allowed to help out. that way you are at least guaranteed a pin.

[DiaLady]

Great Trip Report and Pictures . . . can't wait to see the rest.

[cmash95]

Day 6

http://figment1986.smugmug.com/gallery/5119750_DZr2i/1/309150184_Ks2Pg

Another sea day. I didn't do a whole lot because I could feel the beginnings of a cold coming on. My DH and mom started out the morning as they did every morning, walking and then breakfast. They then took in the second lecture given by Ken pucket about what to expect going through the canal. That was at 11:00am. Afterwards they headed to topsiders for the mediteranean Buffet. My son decided to check out the college lunch meet at parrot cay and then meet me at 3 pm for ken pucket's last lecture about the canal.

In the meantime I decided to grab a snack and relax. I ended up getting some pizza and chicken strips. I have to admit I love those chicken strips and miss them dearly at WDW. They don't serve them anymore, Instead we get chicken nuggets. If i wanted nuggets I would go to McDonalds. My cold was making me sleepy, so I went to the cabin and took a nap until it was time for the lecture.

I wasn't sure what to expect from the lecture, since he was talking to kids about the canal and I figured they would get bored very easily. He managed to keep all the kids interested and I found the lecture alot of fun. From the start he promised the kids that they would not only learn something but he would make it fun for them and he did. By the time he finished most of the kids in the audience were getting excited about the canal.

That night's show was an impressionist named Scott Record. This was his first time on Disney. I enjoyed his show but I have to admit I think his was the weakest show of the cruise. of course they did have to get entertainment for 15 nights.

After the show my son and I headed to Studio Sea for the game show, " So you think you know your family. " think the newlywed game with one parent and one kid. You know the expression Out of the mouths of babes? Let's just say alot of laughs were had by all, and a few family members left with red faces.

Dinner that night was the show dinner for luminiers. About halfway through the dinner, an MC grabbed some diners and created a kickline to "Be our Guest" Then toward the end of the meal we were treated to a short dance from Belle and the beast. I was so taken with the look of the menu that I asked our server if we could take one with us. He agreed as long as we didn't tell anyone. So my son "smuggled" the regular and desert menu out under his shirt. I honestly couldn't tell if he was teasing or not and didn't want to get him into trouble. He was too good a server to lose.

There wasn't much scheduled that night I think because they figured everyone would go to bed early. As I said earlier, I wasn't feeling too hot, so I did get to bed early.

My son decided to take in the ventriloquist's adult show in rockin bar d. Afterwards he hung out on deck 4and watched the magic refuel. That was until a crew member shooed him away.

One thing of note especially for those coming back in August. At the show that night and also at dinner, Brent made a couple of announcements. One that caught my ear was a warning about throwing things overboard. Apparently during the first cruise, people wanted to be generous to the workers in the locks and they threw soveneirs overboard to them. When they got through the canal, Disney was fined for it. SO no throwing anything over the side.

[cmash95]

Day 7

http://figment1986.smugmug.com/gallery/5141133_BmkWu/1/310846596_vxzGa

The canal!!! the four of us split up for the day and everyone except me wandered the ship. Unfortunately the cold I was fighting decided to hit me that day. I spent the entire day in the cabin between the couch and the balcony. Thank heavens it was hot as the heat actually made me feel better. They had a bbq up on deck, so DH brought me lunch . I have to admit again the meat was overcooked but everything else was good.

I felt so sick that I skipped dinner that night. IT was the est meets west dinner. My mom and son went and brought back menus signed by our server. They also told me how annimator's palate was done up like the old mickey mouse club and all the servers had on t-shirts and mouse ears. It sounded really cute. I wish they would do something like that for the regular cruises. I was really sorry I missed it but thanks to my son, we have pictures.

They didn't have a show in the theater that night, but instead they premeared ( yes that's how they spell it.) Prince caspian. My son decided to take in the late show that night. He even got a chance to meet the prince in person.

I have to admit that even being sick, the canal was something that I really enjoyed. I had the chance to go to alaska a couple of years ago and we spent the day going through glacier bay and got chance to get up close to several glacier. The canal ranks right up there with glacier bay on my not to be missed list. ok if you haven't already checked out the pictures, let me warn you, There are over 350 for this day because we couldn't figure out a way to cut them down. I hope you enjoy them!!!

[cmash95]

Day 8

http://figment1986.smugmug.com/gallery/5146081_kFTQL/1/311275586_U6BTm

Yet another Sea day. I can honestly say I was getting pretty crazy with the sea days. I wanted to get off the ship and go home. I wasn’t the only one getting a bit of that cooped up feeling, I noticed the kids on our floor were starting to get a little more rambunctious as the days went on. I really think that 15 days on a ship is too long for a kid. Too much of the same thing even if it’s fun can get boring after awhile. And of course we had just gone through the canal so it was sort of like, now what? For a lot of them.

There were a lot of interesting things planned though. First was the beginning of Desparate Shipmates. This is a multi day mystery. Now most ships that hold these, hold murder mysteries, but of course this is Disney, so no murder on the high seas. Instead we had to solve the mystery of who stole the captains portrait, and why was it so important. Not giving away anything here but to say that the clues unfolded over the next few days and it was a lot of fun participating. Everyone that participated got a little notebook and pencil to keep track of notes. It was a nice additional souvenier.

My son headed out to another college lunch in parrot cay, while I joined my mom and DH up in topsiders. The day’s theme was pacific, so there was a lot of seafood as well sushi bar.

After lunch I joined my son for the presentation by Ducky Williams. Unfortunately we didn’t win one of the drawings, but it was a lot of fun listening to him talk and watch as he drew the characters. After the presentation, we headed to the atrium for a special Disney auction of some of Ducky’s lithographs as well as the original painting that was done for the lithographs we had gotten the day before. I have to admit this was one of the highlights of the cruise for me as well as probably most of the people at the auction. Ok for those of you who were there, do you remember the lady who won the new years lithograph who was so excited she told everyone how her husband was going to kill her? YUP that was me!!! Btw the litho is home but I can’t figure out where I am going to hang it. It wasn’t my first choice but I don’t care.

When the auction was finished, we headed back to the cabin to get ready for the show. Tonight was Twice Charmed, A show I had been looking forward to for a very long time. Needless to say, I loved it. It just goes to show that Disney can still come up with orginal material that is entertaining and fun!!! I hope they keep up the good work when the new ships come online.

Dinner that evening was in Parrot Cay. We were treated to the Prince and Princess menu. Dress that night was semi formal, but I saw a lot of attire that would have bordered on formal wear in my mind. A few members of the larger group purchased small princess tiaras and wore them to dinner. Of course our servers ended up having to try them on by the end of the meal. I have to say that the it would have been nice to have Cinderella and belle and snowwhite make an appearance during dinner. Even princess Minnie would have been a nice addition. I saw something else at dinner that night that really bothered me. This has nothing to do with the crew but with certain guests. Ducky had our dinner rotation and while he was seated with his party enjoying dinner, a group of guests, walked all the way across the restaurant to his table and stood and waited until he drew them a sketch. Now this wasn’t someone at his next table or near him. They walked all the way across the restaurant so that everyone could see them and didn’t leave his table until they got their sketch. I have to admit my son wanted to go see him but I informed him that Mr. Williams was eating his dinner like the rest of us and it would be very rude to disturb him. Of course after the group got their sketch they walked back across the restaurant so everyone saw the sketch. Sorry but that really got my goat.

After dinner my son and I headed to Rockin Bar D for an evening of rock and country. What a lot of fun. They had cowboy hats for everyone and the entertainment staff did a number. The cruise staff also led line dances. I have to say that the adult cruise staff really let their hair down at the “parties” at the club. They made sure everyone was having a great time no matter what the theme of the evening was.

[cmash95]

day 9

http://figment1986.smugmug.com/gallery/5150464_7Fk5n/1/311641002_fkJhR

Quiet Sea day. not much happening, or so we thought.... My mom and DH started off as usual with their morning walk and breakfast at topsiders. I actually grabbed a little bit to eat later in the morning.

Lunch had an asian theme. I joined my mom and DH in Topsiders, while my son had another college meet in Parrot Cay. I have to admit it was nice having the extra choice for lunch on sea days. The buffets have the same items on them. Including specialties and deserts. It's just that in Parrot Cay you are seated and they bring your drinks to you, and in topsiders it's all serve yourself. IT also breaks up the lines so you don't have to wait so long to get your food. Of course if you want to sit down and be served, luminiers was always great for lunch.

After Lunch I met up with my son and we watched to beginnings of Goofy and Max's Boat Builiding Competition. This was a brand new activity on the magic and I hope they make it permanent. Today was registration and rules. What happened was simple, each person got a milk carton and they had five days to build a boat out of it. There were four catagories you could enter in. THe fastest, the most seaworthy, the most beautiful, and of course since goofy was there, the goofiest. Max and Goofy were there to kick things off.

After Max and Goofy, my son and I had a date with Francine(the captain's daughter) and her new boyfriend, the artist yuri. in the promenade lounge.That morning we recieved a phone call inviting us to a lecture given by the famous artist. Of course this was the next installment of desparate shipmates. I am not going to go into great detail because i don't want to spoil it for those on the eastbound cruise, eventhough I hope they change it up a little. When Yuri finished his class, He headed out to have lunch with Francine and her little dog. But before he left, he gave us a card that said Storm was giving a lifesaving demo at the quiet cove pool in 15 minutes and we should check it out. Ok so here we are at the BACK of the ship on DECK3 and we have to head ALL the WAY FORWARD!!!! and had just a few minutes to do it.

A mad dash to the elevators and brisk walk forward and we made it just in time, but boy was I pooped. Anyway we got hints as to where more clues were hidden. I was so bushed after all that running around, that I decded to head back to the cabin and take a break. My son decided he needed one too so we headed back tothe cabin and found my DH relaxing on the verandah doing what he loves to do on sea days... reading. I think he read 4 books while onboard.

That night's show was one done just for extended cruises called " The Art of the Story." It featured songs from Hunchback, Mulan, Tarzan, and beauty and the beast. I truly enjoyed myself.

Dinner that evening was in Luminiers and was the Master Chef. That night John Charles gave one last performance this time in the Disney Theater. this was going to be his last show because he was disembarking in acapulco tommorrow. After the show Rockin bar D was hosting a Spring break bash. So my son came back to the cabin after John charles, grabbed a towel and changed into his swim trunks. I wish I had stayed up late enough to enjoy the bash but I had to be up early for acapulco, so I went to bed. I have no idea what time he got back but I heard all about it the next day in acapulco so I know he had a good time.

[newfamilyman]

Ducky had our dinner rotation and while he was seated with his party enjoying dinner, a group of guests, walked all the way across the restaurant to his table and stood and waited until he drew them a sketch. Now this wasn’t someone at his next table or near him. They walked all the way across the restaurant so that everyone could see them and didn’t leave his table until they got their sketch. I have to admit my son wanted to go see him but I informed him that Mr. Williams was eating his dinner like the rest of us and it would be very rude to disturb him. Of course after the group got their sketch they walked back across the restaurant so everyone saw the sketch. Sorry but that really got my goat.


I am enjoying your report, especially that you are sharing the bad as well as the good. I did want to comment on this part, though. While I agree with you that it is arguably tacky to ask a famous animator whose drawings sell big bucks for a complimentary sketch, I do admire the cojones of such a person. And I personally have no problem with someone approaching him at dinner. After all, he is getting a free cruise out of the deal, and I assume part of the reason that it is free for him is there is an obligation to mingle with the guests. Maybe I'm biased because I live in LA, where seeing celebrities is not such a big deal, and if it's somebody I want to talk to, I will. It usually goes well, since they understand it's part of the package.

[ibouncetoo]

day 9

After Max and Goofy, my son and I had a date with Francine(the captain's daughter) and her new boyfriend, the artist yuri. in the promenade lounge.That morning we recieved a phone call inviting us to a lecture given by the famous artist. Of course this was the next installment of desparate shipmates. I am not going to go into great detail because i don't want to spoil it for those on the eastbound cruise, eventhough I hope they change it up a little. When Yuri finished his class, He headed out to have lunch with Francine and her little dog. But before he left, he gave us a card that said Storm was giving a lifesaving demo at the quiet cove pool in 15 minutes and we should check it out. Ok so here we are at the BACK of the ship on DECK3 and we have to head ALL the WAY FORWARD!!!! and had just a few minutes to do it.

A mad dash to the elevators and brisk walk forward and we made it just in time, but boy was I pooped. Anyway we got hints as to where more clues were hidden. I was so bushed after all that running around, that I decded to head back to the cabin and take a break.

.

Well, I was doing just the opposite of you. My call was from Storme and then we were sent to 'spy' on Uri. They actually did three or four skits so everyone could see it, and I stayed and watched the rest of Uri's...as they had audience participation in that one. I think the CMs had a lot of fun with this! ::yes::

Really enjoying your report. :thumbsup2

Now I'm off to look at more photos!

,

[ibouncetoo]

Chris, on Day 4 I was probably standing very close to you when you were watching the midnight dress rehersal of Minnie's Fiesta! That's practacly the same view I had!!

.

[figment1986]

Chris, on Day 4 I was probably standing very close to you when you were watching the midnight dress rehersal of Minnie's Fiesta! That's practacly the same view I had!!

Actually, All photos are mine. Cmash95 (mom) was not there during dress rehearsals, but included stuff I did (and took photos of) into the trip report.

It was a nice treat to see the dress rehearsal though.

[disneycruise05]

Great pictures (found myself in a few of the pictures during the sail-away party and CPR class with Storme)! Looking forward to seeing the rest and reading the TR!

[cmash95]

I am enjoying your report, especially that you are sharing the bad as well as the good. I did want to comment on this part, though. While I agree with you that it is arguably tacky to ask a famous animator whose drawings sell big bucks for a complimentary sketch, I do admire the cojones of such a person. And I personally have no problem with someone approaching him at dinner. After all, he is getting a free cruise out of the deal, and I assume part of the reason that it is free for him is there is an obligation to mingle with the guests. Maybe I'm biased because I live in LA, where seeing celebrities is not such a big deal, and if it's somebody I want to talk to, I will. It usually goes well, since they understand it's part of the package.

It only bothered me during dinner. I know he was working but I am one of those people who believes that anyone, no matter who they are should be able to eat in peace. Also he was with his friends and family. There were times he was out in the atrum or on deck and I saw him talking to people. We even spoke to him a couple of times. I just have a thing about dinner time being kept for ones self.

[cmash95]

Day 10

http://figment1986.smugmug.com/gallery/5195811_eUyDH/1/315186513_QoE2i

ACAPULCOOOOO I was really excited about this port. If only because I was finally getting off the ship!!! To give a bit of backround. I know I am dating myself, but I grew up in the 60s and 70s and to me acapulco was the place where all the "beautiful" people went and of course if you could afford to go to acapulco you were rich in my eyes. I had an aunt and uncle that went on a regular basis and they always had pictures of themselves with various celebrities. I always dreamed of going to acapulco. Of course it lost some of it's luster in the 80s and 90s, but now, its coming back.

My mom didn't have an excursion booked, but she did get off the boat and do some shopping. DH had the ancient petryoglyphs booked. My son and I booked the acapulco city tour with the cliff divers. We met at rockin bar D at 12:30 to check in. I had put the tickets in my wallet the night before so I wouldn't forget them. I got them out and then checked to make sure that I had some cash and that I had the all important credit card. That's when I realised my drivers license was missing. ( remember me saying I thought I dropped it somewhere getting back on the boat in castaway cay?) I had my passport so I still had ID.

Due to security, busses aren't allowed in port area, so we had to walk off the ship and through a wearhouse where our busses were waiting. We loaded onto the busses and headed out. I really enjoyed the city tour. however I must admit that I held my breath alot as the bus negotiated the winding roads in the mountains. We saw what i would call the old glamour area, I think they called it " gold" area, as well as the newer glamourous area. and many spot in between. Unfortunately because of security conserns, we weren't allowed into any of the hotels. Many of the high end hotels have their own security forces patrolling the area. It was a big scary to see guards with machine guns running around and large electric gates. Our guide admitted that there were situations with drugs and gangs in certain areas of town and the police could only do so much so the hotels hire protection for their guests. SOme of the nicer hotels looked like a fortress to me. After the city tour we headed over to the clff divers. We actually arrived a bit early so lucky us, we had more time to shop. The shop was actually very nice, but like most vendors, the salespeople were pretty pushy. especially when selling the jewelry. I had to say no to one more than once.

When the time came for our show, we headed into the restaurant. It actually has three different levels where you can stand, or sit if you can grab a chair, and watch the cliff divers. We were warned ahead of time that they ask for tips after wards but it was up to us if we wanted to give them extra. They had already been paid extra for this show. It was interesting watching them climb up the cliff. They had to wait until the tide hit just right in order to dive. They actually dove from two spots. The whole show lasted maybe 15 minutes, they also had a small folk dancing group the danced at the end.

When all was done, we loaded up the busses and headed back to the ship. I sent my son back to the cabin with our purchases and had him call my mom and meet us at the theater. While I was waiting for them, pluto showed up for a quick meet and greet. There weren't alot of people around so we all had a chance to " pet " the dog. btw he loves to have the nose scratched.

The show that evening was Los Caporales Festival Folklorico. They were wonderful. I happen to really love the flowing dresses and the mariachi music.
When the show was over, I headed back to cabin and found my DH half asleep. I was kind of surprised because his tour wasn't supposed to get back until around 8. ok time for another bit of backround. We are big people and when i was looking at excursions for our family, i purposefully stayed away from the excusions that were extremely active in nature. The petrolyphs was listed as having a medium level of activity. I should have double checked when I booked because the level was up to active and he couldn't climb the 500 steps. Now Disney sent a rep along for all their excursions in case something happened. She took his name and cabin number and stayed behind with him until the rest of the group came back down. He told her he wasn't short of breath or anything like that but that his legs were hurting him so he wanted to take a break.

When we got back to the room,there was a note that had been pushed under the door informing my dh that if according to the activity level and the fact that the discription said he would be doing alot of climbing, it was not disney's responsibility if something happened. I know disney had to cover their buts so he wouldn't sue so we sort of just let the whole thing slide. He did however tell me he had a good time and enjoyed what petroglyphs he saw.

DH was still tired from his excursion so he decided to skip dinner that night and catch something on deck later. of course dinner that night was themed to mexico. and minnie and her girls showed up at the end to invite everyone up on deck for minnie's fiesta grande deck party.

we headed up to deck ten to get a spot for the party. it was pretty crowded by the time we got there but we did find a spot. One of the nicer things they did was have servers milling through the crowd with spicy finger foods. Lots of fun!!! the cruise staff also set up an ultra lounge in the cove pool. I didn't go but heard it was very popular.

After the party, DH, mom and I headed for bed, but my son headed of course to rockin bar D for krazy kareokee.

Oh one more thing, that morning there was a note under the door to check out channel 10 for more desparate shipmates clues. thankfully the loop ran all day other wise i would have missed it. of course that meant more clues to check out.

[Joan1]

Thank you for your report - I am really enjoying it

I do have a question - can you tell us what dining time you had and what the dining rotation was? Did you have PAL, LAP, APL, and did they just repeat after the 3rd night?

Thanks

[figment1986]

Thank you for your report - I am really enjoying it

I do have a question - can you tell us what dining time you had and what the dining rotation was? Did you have PAL, LAP, APL, and did they just repeat after the 3rd night?

Thanks

We had later seating (8:30 i think) with APL, and it just repeated itself after that

[cmash95]

Day 11

http://figment1986.smugmug.com/gallery/5202081_ts2kT/1/315647734_2gSkn

Quiet day at sea. not much happened. Lunch that day was the infamous italian buffet. The food was good as usual but it did take forever to get your made to order pasta dish. This was the only day the entire cruise where my mom, DH, DS and myself all ate together.

after lunch my son and I headed to studio sea for a meeting with inspector salty and yet another eddition of desparate shipmates. this time though we were gathering questions to ask the suspects during the final round. I forced him to stay for disney kareoke afterwards. It was funny watching and listening to those tweens butchering highschool musical among other disney classics.

When kareoke was over, we decided to take a walk along deck 4 and came across a pod of dolphins frolicking alongside the ship. They swam and jumped for what seemed like forever until the ship outran them. I have seen dolphins before at sea world and Epcot but this was the first time to see them in the wild.

the show that evening was an entertaining event by joey fatone and alfonso riberio. You could tell it was something quickly put together but they were thoroughly entertaining. I have seen joey before at WDW and he is always funny and enjoyable to watch.

dinner that night was in parrot cay, it was around the world. My son and I finished quickly because we wanted to make it to the rock star party in rockin bar d. What a hoot to see the cruise staff all dressed up as " rock star" and of course there was audience participation as one guy was mick jagger. sorry I can't remember who else was there that evening. I do have to make one note, towards the end of the party my son nudged me and directed me to look towards the back door and who came in but joey and alfonso and their wives. they sat a couple of rows behind us. I think everyone in the club was having too good a time to notice and with one exception, they were pretty much left alone to have a good time.

They had a cabaret act after the rock star party but I really wasn't liking it so i headed back to the cabin to go to bed. My son stayed for a bit but he said later that the guy wasn't really that good. he just didn't want to seem rude and leave early. and yes he really is that nice.

[ibouncetoo]

after lunch my son and I headed to studio sea for a meeting with inspector salty and yet another eddition of desparate shipmates. this time though we were gathering questions to ask the suspects during the final round. .

This was one of my favorite parts of the 'game'. Trent is such a doll and he really cracks me up. He gave me such a case of the giggles, I could barely ask my question! :rotfl:

.

[cmash95]

day 12

http://figment1986.smugmug.com/gallery/5231309_NGBQJ/1/317782175_LmAqY

Puerto varllarta...
I stayed on the ship, while my mom and son got off and did some exploring close to port. DH had the Historic towns and tequila tour.

I spent the morning shopping and relaxing by the pool. topsider's had a noodle buffet which didn't seem too apatizing, so I decided to eat at luminiers. I had their burger and I only mention it because it was absolutely delicious. The best burger I have had in a long time. but a warning, it's 1/2 pound of burger. so it's bigggg.

after lunch I headed back to the cabin. My son and mom had come back onboard and I got to see the treasures he bought. One of my favorites was a handpainted tile. absolutely gorgeous and i think he said he paid 20 dollars for it. I think it was one of the cheapest things we brought home. DH came in awhile later with a bottle of orange tequila and also a sampler box that he bought at the factory. He said he was surprised that he had such a good time. he liked the little towns as much as the factory. but I have to admit this tour isn't for everyone, I did hear some complaining about the long time on the bus at dinner that night.

The evening's show was the infamous crew talent show. We all decided it was worth checking out. ( DH tended to skip any show that was "disney") Who knew the crew was so talented? they had dancers, a juggler, pop singers, an opera singer, the 'wiggles" ( including cruise director brent.) and several segments of dancing with the oficers, just to name a few things.

After the show my Son and I decided to check out the new show in studio sea. " a pirate's life for me." on our way we encountered none other than the infamous captain jack sparrow. He seemed familiar to me somehow,,,, and when I jokingly told him we met several times before, he shocked me by telling me that we had indeed met at WDW and proceeded to ask about my daugther. It seems that he worked at WDW before working on the ship. I told you there was something familiar about him!!! anyway back to the show. IT was alot of fun. It took the place of the pirate show that had something to do with walking the plank. It's pretty simple actually, there is one male pirate and one female pirate, and the wheel of destiny. two teams compete to collect the letters P-E-A-R-L. Spin the wheel, play the game. the first team to collect the letters wins. This night's game was a test run.

Game over, time for dinner. Thank heavens it was downstairs in luminiers because the game ran a little late. The menu that night was " taste of california." after dinner it was down to rockin bar d for Jeff Civilico and the Rocl and country party. I didn't stay for the party because I had gone to the country party before, but my son came in with a cowboy hat!!!. Dh wasn't too happy about it because it meant he would have to find a place to pack it. ( more on packing later!)

[ibouncetoo]

Well, I just saw myself in one of your pictures! Although, nobody else would know it was me. :rotfl2:

It's the one of Trent as Inspector Salty...that's me in the lime green top with my arm resting on the wall.


Really enjoying the report, can't wait to read more.

.

[cmash95]

day 13

http://figment1986.smugmug.com/gallery/5236874_53Mti/1/318246471_yTUR7

Sorry this took so long, was waiting for my son to upload his photos. Lunch today was tex mex. which included a taco bar. Both my mom and DH were feeling pretty bad because they caught the colds my son and I had earler. We didn't have anything scheduled in Cabo so we just hung out on the boat.

After lunch we stumbled upon the characters rehearsing for Mouse20. I hadn't seen prince caspian yet so I decided to take in a movie while mom and DH were taking naps. DH ended up spending the entire day in bed or resting on the verandah. He even skipped dinner ( of course it was pirate night so he missed the party as well.)

My son and I decided to dress a bit for dinner and then met my mom for the magician, Mike Super. After the show we stopped by Studio Sea for a second run at "a Pirate's life for me." It was just as much fun the second time as the first. Also capt. Jack kept poppin in and out in between meets and greets. (We think the character break room was near by, so he would pop in before and after his breaks.) The kids loved when he did and of course the crew staff never did see him.

Show over, time for dinner in annimator's palate complete with souveneir menu and bandana. I have to give bigtime cudo's to our servers because they managed to get us out of the diningroom in plenty of time for the deck party. Unfortunately when you are on the latest dinner rotation, there was little room left on deck to watch. I did manage to find a spot on deck 10 towards the back. It wasn't a great spot for the show but awsome one for the fireworks. I can see why this party is a big hit and so popular. I would suggest to disney that they stock their buffet better. They ran out about 45 minutes into the party. and the turkey legs were all gone in about 20 minutes.

I hung out on deck for a bit while my son finished out the evening in his favorite spot, rockin bar D. the crowd was treated to a surprise as joey and alfonso joined in krazy kareoke.

[cmash95]

day 14

http://figment1986.smugmug.com/gallery/5239805_pYiAf/1/318495223_gfvgp


Sea day, very busy. It started out with the debarkation talk at 10:30. Then my son and I went to the last performance for desparate shipmates at noon while my mom met my DH at topsiders for lunch. IT was steakhouse day.

I am not going to give away anything about desparate shipmates because i don't want to spoil it for anyone who is on the EB because it was alot of fun. I will say that inspector salty trawler had alot of help figureing it out. and there were alot of laughs along the way.

My son and i didn't get a chance to go to topsiders because we headed up to deck 9 and the goofy pool for the finals of the boatbuilding contest. The ship was traveling through some pretty choppy water so the pool was more of a wave pool that swimming. It was also pretty chilly that afternoon but the kids at the pool didn't seem to mind. There were four catagories that you could enter and the winner of each catagory won a tour of the bridge. Lots of creative families on board I must say. They also had a guest judge to help out, miss daisy duck was there. I have to admit I hope they do this competition on the regular 7 day cruises. While I didn't participate, i could see kids and parents working all week on their boats, It's a shame that everyone couldnt win.

We went from the boat building directly to Mouse 2 O. a crazy deck party with perfprmances bymickey, minnie, stitch, lilo, goofy, max, and chip and dale. They also had lots of activities and contests including a watermellon eating contest for teens, and the crowning of "Miiss" Disney Magic that culminated in a sycronised swimming display. Thank heavens the guys were good sports.

After mouse 20 we headed over to preludes to check out the finals of a silent auction that had been going on for the last 4 days. My son had his eye on a couple of things but as all auctions, everyone waits until the last minute to bid the price up. Needless to say he didn't get anything. but that was ok since we did get the lithograph.

We headed back to the cabin to see how my husband was feeling. He had spent the day on the balcony reading and recouperating. He didn't want to see the show but did say he would meet us for dinner. So my mom, son and I head to the theater for Disney Dreams. One of my favorite shows of the cruise.

Dinner that night was the second formal night, so we headed back to the cabin once again and changed. We had dinner in Parrot Cay. It was captains gala. I have to admit I was pretty tired so I headed back to the cabin after dinner. my mom and DH decdied they wanted to check out the late movie in the buena vista theater.IT was the bucket list. My son decided to check out rockin bar D but before that he stopped by the walt disney theater for the adult show my the magician Mike Super.

Unfortunately I missed two things that I was really looking forward to checking out, the Ballroom dancing under the stars at the goofy pool, and the late night desert buffet. BTW if anyone has pictures of either of these that you would be kind enough to share please pm me, I would like them for our collection at least. I won't post them with the rest on smugmug just add them to our CD. thanks in advance.

[Joan1]

Thank you - I have really enjoyed reading your report and looking at your son's photos

[smeecanada]

After mouse 20 we headed over to preludes to check out the finals of a silent auction that had been going on for the last 4 days. My son had his eye on a couple of things but as all auctions, everyone waits until the last minute to bid the price up. Needless to say he didn't get anything. but that was ok since we did get the lithograph.


Really enjoying your trip report. The EB Repo will be here before I know it and we'll get to experience it ourselves.

What type of items were at the silent auction?

[scottishwee35]

Hi

I would like to saying that I enjoyed read your trip report and lovely photos which bring my memory. Actually these photos are wonderful. I saw myself there at Mexican Party.::yes::

Two interpreters Brian and Jennyer for us as we are deaf family and we missed out one night at Rocking Bar while Joey Fatone was there with Brian.

Oh well, never mind, we had a fabulous times.

Many thanks again.

Scottishwee35

[cmash95]

Hi

I would like to saying that I enjoyed read your trip report and lovely photos which bring my memory. Actually these photos are wonderful. I saw myself there at Mexican Party.::yes::

Two interpreters Brian and Jennyer for us as we are deaf family and we missed out one night at Rocking Bar while Joey Fatone was there with Brian.

Oh well, never mind, we had a fabulous times.

Many thanks again.

Scottishwee35

OMG!! I saw you so many time onboard. actually the interpreters were talking to a friend of ours throughout the cruise, but I did remember seeing your family at several shows. I am so glad you had a great time. my son took some ASL in high school but he gets shy about using it. I try and get him to use some of it just so he doesnt forget it. I wish he would continue to study in college but he is at that stubborn stage where he always knows best.

[ibouncetoo]

day 14

http://figment1986.smugmug.com/gallery/5239805_pYiAf/1/318495223_gfvgp

Unfortunately I missed two things that I was really looking forward to checking out, the Ballroom dancing under the stars at the goofy pool, and the late night desert buffet. BTW if anyone has pictures of either of these that you would be kind enough to share please pm me, I would like them for our collection at least. I won't post them with the rest on smugmug just add them to our CD. thanks in advance.


Chris, Ballrom Under the Stars, basically didn't happen due to the weather. It was moved to one of the adult lounges, but there wasn't much notification of any kind, so only a few people found it I'm told. Also some families were sad it went to the club, because they were looking forward to dancing with the kids in their formalwear. Hope this one does happen for the Eastbounders!

.

[figment1986]

Really enjoying your trip report. The EB Repo will be here before I know it and we'll get to experience it ourselves.

What type of items were at the silent auction?

Since mom(Cmash95) has not chimed in, I might be able to help,

There were some pin collections from different sailings.
2 complete uniforms being sold in one block from 20K leagues under the sea
Some artwork
A big fig with figment and Dreamfinder
A big fig with Mr. Toad in a car
a surfboard with Lilo and Stitch on it

and other random stuff I cannot remember right now, Hope this helps.

[cmash95]

for those of you waiting with baited breath for the last installment, I promise not to leave everyone hanging. I am just waiting on my dear SON to finish uploading the pictures onto smugmug. I keep telling him that if he doesn't do it soon, the EB repo will be starting!!!!. I am one who likes to finish what they started. so this report will have an ending I promise.

[figment1986]

For those waiting, I, the son who is letting his laptop cool before uploading Day 15/Disembarkment, have some videos on Youtube from the last night in
Rockin' Bar D: Pub Night
http://youtube.com/watch?v=JtVUJTrxHKU - Consider Yourself
http://youtube.com/watch?v=cfsr4-DFRPw - Knees Up Mother Brown
http://youtube.com/watch?v=6HGbzhTP2MA - My Bonie Lies Over The Ocean
http://youtube.com/watch?v=fBRoTDH_ido - The Beer Song (slight glitch at the end.. don't know why it happened.. might fix it later)

[sejejoemmiev]

Day 10

http://figment1986.smugmug.com/gallery/5195811_eUyDH/1/315186513_QoE2i

DH had the ancient petryoglyphs booked. The petrolyphs was listed as having a medium level of activity. I should have double checked when I booked because the level was up to active and he couldn't climb the 500 steps. Now Disney sent a rep along for all their excursions in case something happened. She took his name and cabin number and stayed behind with him until the rest of the group came back down. He told her he wasn't short of breath or anything like that but that his legs were hurting him so he wanted to take a break.

When we got back to the room,there was a note that had been pushed under the door informing my dh that if according to the activity level and the fact that the discription said he would be doing alot of climbing, it was not disney's responsibility if something happened. I know disney had to cover their buts so he wouldn't sue so we sort of just let the whole thing slide. He did however tell me he had a good time and enjoyed what petroglyphs he saw.



We have this booked for our upcoming EB Panama trip. My DS age 10 will be joining us. Does your DH think this will be an enjoyable excursion for our son? Were any children in your DH's excursion group? I would love to hear any additional info on this excursion. You are the first person I have come across on these boards who went. I have been looking for info/details on this excursion to see if we will enjoy it. We were originally booked as a family for the Shopping and cliff Divers tour but cancelled it after the many negative reviews. I want to make sure we booked a good one in it's place. 500 steps..... :scared: :scared: Were most people able to do this without a problem? That sounds like alot! Thanks!

[smeecanada]

We have this booked for our upcoming EB Panama trip. My DS age 10 will be joining us. Does your DH think this will be an enjoyable excursion for our son? Were any children in your DH's excursion group? I would love to hear any additional info on this excursion. You are the first person I have come across on these boards who went. Excess deleted..

Check with Laura (eeyorelover) on our EB Repo. I'm pretty sure that is the excursion Laura and her DH did, when they were on the WB Repo. You can also check her blog - link in the Pirate Zone.

[cmash95]

We have this booked for our upcoming EB Panama trip. My DS age 10 will be joining us. Does your DH think this will be an enjoyable excursion for our son? Were any children in your DH's excursion group? I would love to hear any additional info on this excursion. You are the first person I have come across on these boards who went. I have been looking for info/details on this excursion to see if we will enjoy it. We were originally booked as a family for the Shopping and cliff Divers tour but cancelled it after the many negative reviews. I want to make sure we booked a good one in it's place. 500 steps..... :scared: :scared: Were most people able to do this without a problem? That sounds like alot! Thanks!

according to my DH there were kids on his excursion and they did ok but it's a long climb, not only is it 500 steps but it's uphill as well. He couldn't make it because his knees and legs were hurting too much and he walks alot. HE doesn't however, climb steps alot adn that is what got to him. People that I know that did this did get to the top but they were very tired at the end. The city tour we booked was not the shopping excursion, it was the other one, to be honest I enjoyed our city tour, but then I like those kind of excursions, but most people on the ship were dissappointed with the acapulco excursions. I heard that since the ship in in acapulco such a short time on the way back that they scheduled a special cliff diver show just for the magic passengers. We were lucky to have an entire day there.

[cmash95]

Day 15 and beyond

http://figment1986.smugmug.com/gallery/5316607_YyeFp/1/324627737_wNBuD

Can't beleive I have finally gotten to day 15!!! actually a pretty quiet day. Some last minute shopping for me, Picture taking for my son, and laundry and packing for DH and my mom. now the best packer in my family is DH. He can get the most clothes in the smallest suitcases. our packing was a bit complicated because DH was heading back to tampa the next day, but my son and I were headed for three days at DLR.

ducky williams was holding one last autograph session during the morning so my son headed down to get our lithograph autographed. Poor ducky I am sure his hands were pooped by the end of the cruise.

I did manage to take in the soundwaves game at the goofy pool and then grab some lunch at topsiders. It was the seafood buffet. My son did the last college buffet at parrot cay. He had become pretty good buddies with drew, the pubmaster on this cruise, and terry. Disney had been testing the college social ideas on this cruise. I think the lunches were pretty successful but not so sure about the evening gatherings. The kids sort of stopped by and said hello but didn't stay. I think that's because they had things planned with their families. We did run into several of them each evening at rockin bar d.

That nights show "remember the magic" really hit home that we were leaving the next day and by the end of it, there were several teary eyed people sitting around me.

dinner that night was " till we meet again" one last time to say goodbye to our servers and of course time to hand out those wonderful little envelopes. I have to admit I wish they didn't have the envelopes and just do auto tipping on to the room account. That would save the lines at guest services on the last day. We also had the added situation that we had an extra assistant server assigned to our table. Of course I forgot about this at the time I was filling out our tip forms. I just added cash to the envelope and told them both the cash was for giovanni( our extra server.) oh on a side note. Calvin our room steward and levent, adrian, and giovanni, all got extra tips. gaspare got the recommended amount just because he really didn't do that much for us personally. and I didn't tip ciao( he was the head waiter who stopped by and said hi every night. the one i met earlier on the cruise on deck.)

Dinner that night was in luminiers, and we got out just in time for "till we mieet again." I must admit a very nice way for the cruise staff to say farewell. Then off to pub night!!. I have been on several cruises and all have had some version of pub night, I must admit that this was the best one I have been to and I truly enjoyed the disney rendition of " if I were not upon the sea." all i can say is trent truly looked adorable in a tutu!!! I headed back to the cabin in order to get a little sleep. We had to be out of our cabin by 8:30 the next morning . DH was already sound asleep when I got in.

The next morning the phone rang way too early, MY DH decided on the last morning he wanted to try the wake up call. So I got an earful of mickey waking me up. a quick shower and change of clothes and I was ready to head to luminiers for breakfast. Needless to say it did take a bit longer for my son to get it all together. I am still not too sure what time he got in, While everyone else was getting ready, I called guest services to order a wheelchair because I have trouble standing for long periods of time and had been warned that customs can take forever in LA. Debarkation is different in los angeles than port canaveral. In la you are given stickers and you disembark based on your sticker color. but I am getting ahead of myself a little bit.

DH and son caught up with my mom and myself in the atrium, we were a bit early for breakfast so we had to wait a few minutes for the restaurant to open. While we were waiting, we ran into ducky williams and his group. We had a chance to chat for a bit. He is a really nice guy and he told me he truly loves these"working " vacations. He says he is still surprised at how much people love his work.

They finally let us into the restaurant and found our old table just as it was at the beginning of the cruise, Back in the corner of the restaurant. I must admit it had been nice sitting at a table so close to the middle of the room, instead being stuck in some corner. It was nice to have one last time to say goodbye to our servers. I assured them all they would be dearly missed. We finished breakfast just in time for our color to be called and then it was time to get into a very longgg line to disembark and head through customs. It was a bit sad leaving that ship one last time. I think it took about and hour to get from the gangway to customs, to luggage. my DH had done onboard check in so he didn't have to get his luggage in the terminal, but the rest of us had to get our luggage. for some reason there was a glitch with northwest airlines so my mom had to get her luggage and take it with her to the airport. anyway DH and my mom got her luggage and then headed towards the bus for their trip to LAX. My son and I grabbed a porter and got our luggage, then headed for passenger pick up area. I had arranged for a car service to come pick us up and take us to DLR. The car arrived and my son and the driver loaded the luggage. We headed out to our next adventure,,, three glorious days at the " happiest place on earth!!"

That brings us to the end of the cruise. when i have a moment, I will do one more post with some final thoughts. until then, if you have any questions feel free to post them or even pm me and i will see what I can do.

[Joy2theWorld]

How did you transport your litho if you don't mind me asking? I'm just wondering if they gave you a tube or if I should maybe take one along...just in case we get one too :)

[cmash95]

the litho on the boat was in an envelope and we just laid it flat in a suitcase, it doesnt fold up well, so i wouldn't try to do it. the one that i won was framed and they shipped it to me. Because this was a special auction, shipping was included in the price of the litho oh and if you are on the EB repo,you will recieve one for sure.

[aan1701]

Just wondering if you sum up the bad? Just wondering if it goes with my bad from this cruise as well.

[calmom]

You have some great photos on the smugmug site. I noticed you had a picture of someone videotaping the canal crossing and you labeled it that someone was taping it for promotional purposes. I wonder why they would have the PC crossing for promotional unless they are planning on having it be a more constant sailing once the new ships come??

[figment1986]

You have some great photos on the smugmug site. I noticed you had a picture of someone videotaping the canal crossing and you labeled it that someone was taping it for promotional purposes. I wonder why they would have the PC crossing for promotional unless they are planning on having it be a more constant sailing once the new ships come??

It was a Disney CM with a nice nice camera, I usually assume its for future use as Promotional and such, especially since we don't know what routes they plan on doing in the future.

I don't remember seeing this being used anywhere though.

[JLSE50]

day 12

http://figment1986.smugmug.com/gallery/5231309_NGBQJ/1/317782175_LmAqY

Puerto varllarta...
I stayed on the ship, while my mom and son got off and did some exploring close to port. DH had the Historic towns and tequila tour.
.........


I added a comment on photo 79 as per reguest.

Jan :earsgirl:

[JLSE50]

day 12

http://figment1986.smugmug.com/gallery/5231309_NGBQJ/1/317782175_LmAqY

Puerto varllarta...
I stayed on the ship, while my mom and son got off and did some exploring close to port. DH had the Historic towns and tequila tour.
............
After the show my Son and I decided to check out the new show in studio sea. " a pirate's life for me." on our way we encountered none other than the infamous captain jack sparrow. He seemed familiar to me somehow,,,, and when I jokingly told him we met several times before, he shocked me by telling me that we had indeed met at WDW and proceeded to ask about my daugther. It seems that he worked at WDW before working on the ship. I told you there was something familiar about him!!!
.......

Jack's parents were on the cruise and would love to have a copy of the pictures of you with him. Do you mind if I pass them on?

Jan :earsgirl:

[JLSE50]

day 13

http://figment1986.smugmug.com/gallery/5236874_53Mti/1/318246471_yTUR7

Sorry this took so long, was waiting for my son to upload his photos. Lunch today was tex mex. which included a taco bar. Both my mom and DH were feeling pretty bad because they caught the colds my son and I had earler. We didn't have anything scheduled in Cabo so we just hung out on the boat.

After lunch we stumbled upon the characters rehearsing for Mouse20. I hadn't seen prince caspian yet so I decided to take in a movie while mom and DH were taking naps. DH ended up spending the entire day in bed or resting on the verandah. He even skipped dinner ( of course it was pirate night so he missed the party as well.)

My son and I decided to dress a bit for dinner and then met my mom for the magician, Mike Super. After the show we stopped by Studio Sea for a second run at "a Pirate's life for me." It was just as much fun the second time as the first. Also capt. Jack kept poppin in and out in between meets and greets. (We think the character break room was near by, so he would pop in before and after his breaks.) The kids loved when he did and of course the crew staff never did see him.

Show over, time for dinner in annimator's palate complete with souveneir menu and bandana. I have to give bigtime cudo's to our servers because they managed to get us out of the diningroom in plenty of time for the deck party. Unfortunately when you are on the latest dinner rotation, there was little room left on deck to watch. I did manage to find a spot on deck 10 towards the back. It wasn't a great spot for the show but awsome one for the fireworks. I can see why this party is a big hit and so popular. I would suggest to disney that they stock their buffet better. They ran out about 45 minutes into the party. and the turkey legs were all gone in about 20 minutes.

I hung out on deck for a bit while my son finished out the evening in his favorite spot, rockin bar D. the crowd was treated to a surprise as joey and alfonso joined in krazy kareoke.

Why is Brush number 6 Walt's favorite? (photo 39)

Jan :earsgirl:

[JLSE50]

day 14

http://figment1986.smugmug.com/gallery/5239805_pYiAf/1/318495223_gfvgp


Sea day, very busy. It started out with the debarkation talk at 10:30. Then my son and I went to the last performance for desparate shipmates at noon while my mom met my DH at topsiders for lunch. IT was steakhouse day.

I am not going to give away anything about desparate shipmates because i don't want to spoil it for anyone who is on the EB because it was alot of fun. I will say that inspector salty trawler had alot of help figureing it out. and there were alot of laughs along the way.

My son and i didn't get a chance to go to topsiders because we headed up to deck 9 and the goofy pool for the finals of the boatbuilding contest. The ship was traveling through some pretty choppy water so the pool was more of a wave pool that swimming. It was also pretty chilly that afternoon but the kids at the pool didn't seem to mind. There were four catagories that you could enter and the winner of each catagory won a tour of the bridge. Lots of creative families on board I must say. They also had a guest judge to help out, miss daisy duck was there. I have to admit I hope they do this competition on the regular 7 day cruises. While I didn't participate, i could see kids and parents working all week on their boats, It's a shame that everyone couldnt win.

We went from the boat building directly to Mouse 2 O. a crazy deck party with perfprmances bymickey, minnie, stitch, lilo, goofy, max, and chip and dale. They also had lots of activities and contests including a watermellon eating contest for teens, and the crowning of "Miiss" Disney Magic that culminated in a sycronised swimming display. Thank heavens the guys were good sports.

After mouse 20 we headed over to preludes to check out the finals of a silent auction that had been going on for the last 4 days. My son had his eye on a couple of things but as all auctions, everyone waits until the last minute to bid the price up. Needless to say he didn't get anything. but that was ok since we did get the lithograph.

We headed back to the cabin to see how my husband was feeling. He had spent the day on the balcony reading and recouperating. He didn't want to see the show but did say he would meet us for dinner. So my mom, son and I head to the theater for Disney Dreams. One of my favorite shows of the cruise.

Dinner that night was the second formal night, so we headed back to the cabin once again and changed. We had dinner in Parrot Cay. It was captains gala. I have to admit I was pretty tired so I headed back to the cabin after dinner. my mom and DH decdied they wanted to check out the late movie in the buena vista theater.IT was the bucket list. My son decided to check out rockin bar D but before that he stopped by the walt disney theater for the adult show my the magician Mike Super.

Unfortunately I missed two things that I was really looking forward to checking out, the Ballroom dancing under the stars at the goofy pool, and the late night desert buffet. BTW if anyone has pictures of either of these that you would be kind enough to share please pm me, I would like them for our collection at least. I won't post them with the rest on smugmug just add them to our CD. thanks in advance.

I posted a question on photo 132.

***************

MOUSE 2 O--BOAT BUILDING: What a great idea! Any activity that had families working together for a week on a project results in everyone being a winner! :banana: Not everyone got to go on a Bridge Tour, but they got some intense time together on something that was fun, but not critical--what could be better!!

We had no idea all this was going on. Wish we had known. :sad1:

Jan :earsgirl:

[figment1986]

I added a comment on photo 79 as per reguest.

Jan :earsgirl:

Thank you!

Jack's parents were on the cruise and would love to have a copy of the pictures of you with him. Do you mind if I pass them on?

Jan :earsgirl:

Sure, you may pass on the links, you can click above the photos for a direct link as well (I think i enabled that for guests)

Why is Brush number 6 Walt's favorite? (photo 39)

Jan :earsgirl:

That was something I heard on the 2nd ship tour i took, I don't remember the name of the tour, will have to look it up.

I posted a question on photo 132.
...
Jan :earsgirl:

I answered it in smugmug, but I believe that it was correct.

[JLSE50]

Sure, you may pass on the links, you can click above the photos for a direct link as well (I think i enabled that for guests)



THANK YOU. They will be thrilled.
Thanks for sharing your photos!
Jan :earsgirl:

[JoiseyMom]

It only bothered me during dinner. I know he was working but I am one of those people who believes that anyone, no matter who they are should be able to eat in peace. Also he was with his friends and family. There were times he was out in the atrum or on deck and I saw him talking to people. We even spoke to him a couple of times. I just have a thing about dinner time being kept for ones self.


Mr. Williams was on our Cruise this past December, and he said in his lecture that he was told to always have paper with him and never say know if someone asks for a picture. He was also in our dining, and I did get a picture one evening, but I will say it was after dessert..the line for him was long, and I did wait a long time for my picture. I was also lucky enough to see him in the lounge before dinner and he was sketching, and I was able to get a second one. Now my kids each have one.

Now I just have to find him on the EB so I can get one for my DH!! The man is so wonderful and talented. We saw him all over the ship and he was posing with people too for pictures.

[cmash95]

I love ducky williams and I understand that he was on a "working " vacation I just don't think that dinner is the proper time to ask for pictures. It not only bothers the diners but clogs up the isles and disturbs the diners around him as well. also the servers were having problems getting food to diners. I don't have a problem with setting up a table outside the diningroom and have him doing drawings before dinner, just don't expect it in the diningroom.