Dining at "Pablo's" -- 1/24/09 first-time DCL family vacation! DAY ONE ADDED!

[BeccaGrace]

Intros first!
Me: Sara -- Disney obsessed, overly emotional and easily amused:)
DH: Joey -- Stress-inducing travel companion, Disney Pin Collector
DD #1: Grace -- Super high-energy; way too smart for her own good! Just decided she "outgrew the Princesses":(
DD #2: Becca -- Sweet, adorable and mommy's little helper:) Loves Enchanted, HSM and Belle:)

Also traveling with --
MIL: Janet -- She booked the cruise for all of us for her 60th birthday (1/26!); Generous and wonderful, she deserves a spectacular vacation!
SIL & BIL: Kim & Jay -- Live in GA so we don't get to see them very much:( (we are in NJ)...we are still all close though and are so excited to travel together!
DNiece: Amelia -- Super cute 3 year old:)

Background!
As I mentioned above, the main purpose of this cruise is to celebrate my MIL's 60th birthday. My dh is also having a birthday on board, so lots of happy celebrations to share! However, we are also celebrating just being on the cruise because we almost had to cancel:( Becca has epilepsy that was well controlled with meds for several years but she has had several bad seizures since November that have led to three hospitalizations (including one that caused us to cancel our Christmas trip to Georgia to see BIL & SIL). Her neurologist just cleared us to travel on Thursday:cheer2: So now we are on full planning mode and really want to give the girls an amazing vacation since they've been through a lot recently and had their Christmas vacation cancelled.

Reasons for doing a trip report:
1) Keeping a record...I didn't do a trip report for our '05 WDW trip and really wish I had...so I don't want to make that mistake again!

2) Info to share...I know I've had a lot of questions while planning about cruising with a special needs child and with children on special diets...the girls are both on a gluten free/casein (dairy) free diet and Becca is a walking pharmacy...so we have an interesting perspective and I plan to document it well so that others with similar issues won't have to hunt for some of the info I hunted for:) So there will be lots of pictures of the girls' food:)

3) My silly DH...I only decided to do a pre-trip report because Joey keeps cracking me up with his comments about the cruise. He's one of those guys that doesn't listen to your hours of info about the vacation until the week before you leave when he suddenly has a million questions. Today's installment is...

"Why do I have to eat at Pablo's?" ..."um, that would be Palo honey"
Joey and Jay are taking their mom to Palo for dinner on her birthday. Originally they were going to rent tuxes but then the boys convinced her they were having hamburgers in the room and it turned into a huge misunderstanding...so now they are back to Palo but just wearing suits:) Better for dh anyway since he's not much of a dress up kind of guy:)

So once I determined that Pablo's was actually Palo, he asked for a menu:) He asked why it was in Mexican and had no desserts. :rotfl:
I explained it was Italian and that the desserts were listed under Dolci:)
"Well if I have to pay extra to eat in a Mexican place, I shouldn't have to learn another language to read the menu"
I would seriously love to be a fly on the wall during that meal...if anyone is at Palo at 8:30 on 1/26 my dh will be the one asking if they have hamburgers and if they can burn them:)

When is the underwear exchange?
As we spent the afternoon packing, I started telling dh about the Dis meet, the door decorations, FE exchanges and the pillowcases that SIL got to have the characters sign...his response? "When's the underwear exchange?" :scratchin Ummm, what? "Well you people are sharing everything else..."

God help me, it's going to be a long trip! But we are going and it's going to be awesome. If you are on the 1/24 Western you will recognize me as the one that is always crying...I cry when I am happy, so it's a good thing:)

[BeccaGrace]

Forgot about...The Exotic Rasul

I booked Joey & I an Exotic Rasul (it really never gets old saying that!) for his birthday. I thought I explained it well, but apparently not because he was very disappointed that he isn't, "Going to sit sipping a Coke in a vat full of mud". I tried telling him that the fun of it is putting all of the products on each other (and enjoying the "alone time") but his new impression is that it's going to be "a lot of work for a birthday present":rolleyes2 Hopefully I'll be able to change his mind:)

[OurOhana]

Sara - I love your pre-TR. It's great. Your daughters are adorable and your husband is a riot. I can't wait to read more.

[SandieT]

I am enjoying your pre trip report. My husband does the same thing. He finally looked at out room location last week because "we were in the same year as our trip". But you can be sure the day before we leave 1000 questions about what we are doing, when we have to be there and why did you plan that, I didn't agree to THAT!!!
I don't dare tell him about the FE. I'll never hear the end of it. I am hoping my daughters and I can quietly participate without his knowledge. Probably not but by the time I tell it will be too late.
I just think my girls will get a kick out of the FE.
Have FUN!
:wave2:

[DutchsMommy]

Great start!! Looking forward to reading more. I am going to try my hardest to find Joey during out Meet and Greet and ask him if he is ready for the underwear exchange! :rotfl2:

[LisaSp]

...your DH is very funny and it sounds like it will be a fantastic cruise for your family!!

[cyndik1111]

underwear exchange:rotfl2: :rotfl2: :rotfl2: :rotfl2: :rotfl2: :rotfl2: :rotfl2:

[BeccaGrace]

So DH is quite happy to know that the underwear exchange comment was well-received. He will turn a lovely shade of red if it's mentioned while onboard:)

We are three days out now and my progress is exactly where it was when I last posted. :crazy2: I have the pile of clothes and the spreadsheet...but only DH's clothes are actually packed (and yes, his undies are in there!).

My schedule for the next few days had a wrench thrown in it. DD needed an MRI before we left and it was supposed to be scheduled for early in the week...well, they forgot to put her on the schedule:( I usually work Wednesdays and Fridays but already couldn't go in Friday since we leave Friday afternoon. And of course the only day they could fit her in was today, so now my work day switched to tomorrow and I get to spend the afternoon in the hospital with Miss Cranky Pants. She usually isn't a grouch unless you tell her she can't eat...which she can't:scared: . I just gave her the last bite of food and sip of juice and now she has to "starve" until the test at 1:00. I don't think this will be pretty since she just asked for more food!

This is why a cruise is good for my kids...they eat alllllllll day. If you ever see them eat, you will think we starve them. They could both eat from morning until night but they eat r-e-a-l-l-y slowly. We don't get to do buffets usually due to their dietary restrictions but when we do it's a several hour affair:) And yet they are the tiniest things, Grace is turning 8 and is barely 40 pounds...we joke that she will be in her booster seat until her junior year of high school! I can't wait to see their faces when they see the food on the boat...especially the fruit since they are fruit fiends:)

Speaking of food, and this is totally off topic :offtopic: ...I was teaching 1st grade CCD yesterday and I was asking the kids about special celebrations and events (of course thinking about the cruise the whole time!) and a little boy in class said that his favorite celebration was eating a plum:) I just thought it was the cutest little answer. Back on topic...see, this is why I am not packed...keep going off on all these tangents!

I also hit Home Depot for Mickey heads...if you are in the Milltown, NJ Home Depot getting ready to paint your room DIS lime green, I'm sorry to say you will only have one remaining swatch to use (I couldn't take ALL of them:rolleyes: ). So my afternoon of the hospital will be spent cutting out Mickey heads for luggage tags, name tags and door decorations. PROGRESS!!!!

I also closed Target down last night and wished I had gotten to the dollar spot sooner! I got some Tinkerbell gifts (I can't remember if I made this up or read it on the DIS but we did it in WDW, Tinkerbell left them a little gift each morning--stuff we bought dirt cheap at home to cut down on expensive souvenirs in the parks!) for the girls and my niece. Amelia loves Toy Story and the girls love Monster's Inc. and they had markers and colored pencils, sticker books, note pads, even ice packs! I also got DH a coloring sheet of his "girlfriend", Mrs. Incredible:)

Oy...this is what I get for trying to multi-task and write the pre-trip report while the girls are getting ready for school:( They were singing Happy Working Song (from Enchanted) while they brushed their teeth and Grace (who doesn't live up to her name) fell off the toilet. Guess I should have bought the Monster's Inc. ice pack!

Off to do some before school first aid. Only 3 more days!!!!!!!

[BeccaGrace]

Two updates in one day! But am I packed yet? Nooooooooo:rotfl:

How can I pack, Lost is back on tonight!!!!!! And the suitcases are in the basement and it's cold down there! Why am I procrastinating on this? Not good, if I wait much longer Joey will take packing into his own hands and it won't have good results!

The MRI went okay...I'm hoping to get the results before we leave Friday. Our nurse and I had a nice conversation about WDW...talking about Disney makes everything better:)
Unfortunately, I had my Home Depot Mickey paint swatches to cut out and Becca decided to "help" me...she went all Van Gogh on the Mickeys and they all have one ear:( Not sure I'm going to have any time to make cute stuff at this point.

Joey's aunt called tonight...she and my MIL's other sisters have been trying to come up with a birthday gift to give her on the cruise. They kept asking me to get her a stripper and I'm like, "It's a DISNEY cruise!" They suggested finding one in port and I'm like, "Ewww" and "She's going to be with her grandchildren!" They finally realized that the stripper wasn't going to happen, so they are giving her the cabana massage on Castaway Cay that I booked. Which means that I need to find a different gift for us to give her!

I think our dog knows we are leaving...she's alternating between needy and moody, just like the kids:rotfl2: She's staying with my mom and I can't imagine it's going to go well...I have visions of her barking non-stop for an entire week!

I posted on the disability board about realizing we need a last minute med-alert bracelet for Becca and someone had the idea of making on with the id tags you get for pets at Petco...I'm thinking that it's a super cute temporary fix, so I'm going to try to hit Petco either before work, after work or my last few hours of desperate preparation on Friday morning. You are not going to want to see me Friday morning! If only I had more Xanax than what I need for the flights!

Need a Joey story...there was some more confusion about the Exotic Rasul:rolleyes2 Seems Joey didn't realize that the spa was on the boat:confused3 He thought it was outside and surrounded by palm trees. When I told him it was on the ship's spa he said he won't be able to enjoy it with the kids around...ummm, it's in a room, not in the middle of the kid's club!!!! Why am I sensing this isn't going to be as romantic as I was envisioning? We'll probably end up in a mud fight:)

Hope you followed my random, stream-of-conciousness musings tonight:) It's been a loooong day!

Only two more days until I am in FL!!!! That is totally going to get me through work tomorrow!

[AndymanGA]

Not that this has anything to do with your trip report but:offtopic:... several years ago several of my friends and I decided to get another friend a stripper for her birthday. The job of hiring one was placed in my hands because nobody else wanted to do it. So I called around and found one company in Atlanta that had an Elvis stripper and since my friend was a big Elvis friend I said sure why not. The company asked if I wanted a younger or older Elvis. Of course I booked the old cape and sequin wearing, doughnut eating Elvis. One of the best and funniest parties ever. :rotfl2: So does your MIL like Elvis:thumbsup2


Have a great Cruise

[BeccaGrace]

Not that this has anything to do with your trip report but:offtopic:... several years ago several of my friends and I decided to get another friend a stripper for her birthday. The job of hiring one was placed in my hands because nobody else wanted to do it. So I called around and found one company in Atlanta that had an Elvis stripper and since my friend was a big Elvis friend I said sure why not. The company asked if I wanted a younger or older Elvis. Of course I booked the old cape and sequin wearing, doughnut eating Elvis. One of the best and funniest parties ever. :rotfl2: So does your MIL like Elvis:thumbsup2


Have a great Cruise


OMG--too funny that you picked the old one!
Nope, don't think she's an Elvis fan:)

[Palmfam]

I hope all is well with your family and you have a great trip!
I will be following your Trip Report!!


:wave2:

[BeccaGrace]

Thanks Palmfam!!!!

Today is the day and I pray I survive the journey! As much as I love to travel, I am a TERRIFIED traveler:sad2: So I woke up to heart palpitations, a pit in my stomach and an overwhelming sense of fear...what a fun start to a trip! Unfortunately, I only have anxiety meds for the flight itself so this morning will require a great deal of deep breathing! I don't think I'll be able to relax until after we are on the boat.

I'd love to say I was packed but it wouldn't be the truth...I'm MOSTLY packed but we don't have a scale and our suitcases feel WAY over 50 pounds so I need to find myself another suitcase this morning! It stinks because I did an awesome job packing but I certainly don't feel like paying $50 a bag to prove it!

I'm still deluding myself that I have enough time this morning to get my nails done...once reality sets in and I realize I don't, I hope to have enough time to apologize for how scary my feet will look without a pedi:)

Need to go do some actual work stuff before I can get to trip "work"...ugh, I just thought of a few more things that need to get done before we leave. Yep, the anxiety level isn't good today...I really must chill.

My day:

6:00-7:00 -- Work

7:00-8:00 -- Get kids ready for school; pack a bag for my poor friend who is running my CCD class and Brownie & Daisy meetings while we are gone...she is a very good friend! We are going to WDW with their family in November, so I will find a very Disney way to thank her!

8:00-9:00 -- Run to Wal-Mart for fabric to make fish extender:rolleyes2 Yeah, I got the cheapo hanging thing from Target and realize now it's WAY too wide and not suitable for a FE...I really want one...I need to get a grip:); Dollar Store for glow sticks, also need ribbon for the suitcases since I never made the stinkin Mickey luggage tags...oh and some magnets to stick on our door signs (picture very minimalist decorations) :( I feel like a DIS failure...my only excuse is that I was scared to get excited until the doctor cleared us, so I technically only had a week to prep.

9:00-11:00 -- REALLY want a mani-pedi AND a haircut...yes, I realize I am fully delusional...

11:00 -- Pick Becca up from Kindergarten

11:30 -- My mom is coming to pick up the dog and (hopefully) bring another suitcase, otherwise I'll pick one up at Wal Mart at my earlier stop. Re-pack with better weight distribution!

2:00 --I need to go pick up our Daisy troop's girl scout cookie order! Like that's exactly what I need to worry about two hours before we leave for the airport but it's the only time I can do it!

2:45 -- Get Grace from school

I MUST be ready to go before 2:00 because if Joey gets home and we aren't ready to go I will NEVER hear the end of it! When we were driving to Maine in September, I was running late because I was finishing a work project and had pulled an all-nighter. We weren't on a set schedule but wanted to leave by 11:00...well, at 11:05 he shut my computer mid-sentence, threw all my partially packed bags in the car and said "We're going now or we're not going" Well, he got me out of the house but it was a tense start! He is a nervous traveler as well, so this is one time when we aren't a good match...I run around to make sure we're ready and he stews that it should have all been done. So I'd love to have it all sitting at the door ready to go when he gets home at 2:30:)

The car picks us up with MIL at 4:30 and then we are heading to Newark. I am hoping we miss traffic and it's not too bad at the airport because I am nervous going through security with so much medication. My entire carry-on is prescriptions, most of which are liquid and gel-based, so I know they will review it closely.

Oh and I need to do laundry! I really better stop writing and get moving!

Oh, speaking of moving. I twisted my ankle two nights ago and didn't realize I hurt myself until I woke up in the morning)...so I'm limping on top of everything else! And my sweet concerned husband said..."It's just a foot." Thanks honey:)

Can't wait to do the actual trip report...I will take detailed notes all week!!!!! If I don't get to write it during the Super Bowl, I will be in the hospital with Becca from Monday-Thursday the week we get back and will have PLENTY of time to draft it and upload it when we get back.

Have a great week everyone!

[SandieT]

Dollar Store for glow sticks

Be careful with dollar store glow sticks. We have purchased these in the past and they have broken all over my kids and even in their mouth. YUCK!!! I guess it tasted gross but we just rinsed their mouths and looked inside their mouth in the dark. They thought their glow in the dark mouth was really cool.:confused3

[BeccaGrace]

Be careful with dollar store glow sticks. We have purchased these in the past and they have broken all over my kids and even in their mouth. YUCK!!! I guess it tasted gross but we just rinsed their mouths and looked inside their mouth in the dark. They thought their glow in the dark mouth was really cool.:confused3

Oh my goodness!!!! How did it get in their mouths!?!?!? That's definitely a cool for the kids gross for the mom thing! I'll definitely keep an eye on them! Thanks for the warning:)

[BeccaGrace]

I survived the day and we made it to FL!!!!!

My SIL has a business trip after the cruise, so I hopped on her laptop while the rest of the family is sleeping! It's been a busy day but I am wired...good thing too because I still have a bit of work to catch up on before it's officially vacation time!

I got to do everything on my schedule today except the haircut...at least my feet aren't gross anymore! And my mother is a saint...she hand sewed the most precious fish extender this afternoon since Grace lost the bobbin for the sewing machine and I was about to staple the darn thing together....it's so pretty and princessy!!!!

The car service came early and I was accused by Joey of being "the most disorganized organized person he ever met"! We were a bit testy on the way to the airport and I swear the Xanax didn't kick in until we landed. Becca, Joey and MIL slept most of the ride down...Grace was a chatterbox and I tried to watch TV and not think of the plane as a death machine. It was quite mortifying when we landed...my eyes were glued shut and I was clutching Joey and Grace says quite loudly...":It's okay Mommy, we landed and we aren't in the water"...it got a few laughs from the rows around us:)

BIL picked us up in the airport...it was a tight fit with all the luggage and I think we will need to strap the kids to the roof to make it back to the airport next week:)

We are at the Residence Inn Marriott (staying on SIL's rewards points) and it seems very nice. We're in a King suite with the sitting room and kitchenette...very clean...I can see the pool from the room and am so wired that I wish it wasn't closed:)

I'm hoping everyone rises early so I can do a Wal-Mart run or something in the a.m. even though I don't think I forgot anything...but apparently my extended family all packed 5 pairs of shoes each and I only have the flip flops I'm wearing and dress sandals!

I just can't believe we're actually here:) With having to cancel our Georgia trip and all the uncertainty of whether we would have to cancel, I guess I didn't let myself believe it was really going to happen...but it did and I feel SO happy right now!

Can't wait to meet all my fellow DISers tomorrow...I was going to make mickey ear nametags so everyone could spot us but it didn't happen:( That's okay, we're kind of hard to miss!

[BeccaGrace]

We are back and had an AMAZING trip!!!!!!!

I'm going into the hospital with Becca tomorrow for her next round of tests and we will be doing our trip report and trip scrapbook while we are there. I will post a full report when we get back as I won't have internet access (as an aside...as a major internet addict, I honestly enjoyed being unplugged for a week!).

Just a few things to mention...

1) Michelle, Liam, Jason are the best! We had the best dining experience this week and I spent several meals in happy tears at how well DCL handled the girls' GFCF diet.

2) Awesome character interaction...one of the best memories of the trip was Stitch, Grace and Becca scooting down three flights of stairs together like they were the only ones on the trip!

3) I only met a few fellow DISers because I missed both meets BUT...I cannot thank all of the DISers that included us in the fish exchange even though we dropped out. My BIL, SIL and MIL were blown away by the generosity once I explained the FE and vowed to pay it forward on our next cruise...you all made our bare door just gorgeous and the girls were so excited to see all the treats!

4) The weather was absolutely perfect and gorgeous...and I have the sunburn to prove it...we are definitely standing out in snowy NJ!

I can't wait to do the full report before I miss anything but have to go re-pack to leave again! I just can't believe it's over...I'm having PCSD...Post-Cruise Stress Disorder:)

[BeccaGrace]

Oh, and DH loved Pablo's :)

[jay.austin]

I am BIL... I just registered and wanted to thank everyone who filled the fish extender and decorated the door. It made it exciting for Amelia (DNiece) to come back to the room each day. I wish Sara had told us about this before went so we were prepared (she may have, but I don't really listen very well - DH is my brother...) but we will definitely participate next time.

The chocolate souflee (sp?) at Palo's is unbelievable.

[Had2disneycruz]

I am BIL... I just registered and wanted to thank everyone who filled the fish extender and decorated the door. It made it exciting for Amelia (DNiece) to come back to the room each day. I wish Sara had told us about this before went so we were prepared (she may have, but I don't really listen very well - DH is my brother...) but we will definitely participate next time.

The chocolate souflee (sp?) at Palo's is unbelievable.

Sorry but I'm new here and have to ask....what is a Fish Extender? Glad you enjoyed your cruise!

[jay.austin]

So outside the door to your stateroom they have a Fish on the wall that can be used to deliver things to you (one of the people in the spa sent us some info and put it there) so I guess you can say it is a mailbox. The people on this message board tend to hang things from the fish (thus the name "fish extender") that have pockets in them. Then all the people you are in on it that are going on the same cruise leave little gifts in your fish extender throughout the week and put things on the door.

I cannot post links yet but if you search the tubes for "fish extender" a link to a flickr site with a photo will be one of the search results (using google).

[BeccaGrace]

Okay, so you would think after a week in the hospital with DD I would have drafted a pretty impressive trip report, right? Well, I got through one day of the trip:) Here it is!

Embarkation Day!

I woke early freezing on the couch of our room at the Residence Inn. Why was I freezing on the couch when we had a plush king size bed in the other room you ask? Because Becca locked me out of the bedroom and when I finally finished my pre-trip report and staggered to the door at 1am, it wouldn't open. I am sure that less sound sleepers heard me loudly mutter multiple expletives that night but my family apparently didn't...except dh, who told me the next morning, “Yeah, I heard that, I thought I was dreaming.” Even better, he saw I wasn't in bed and thought I chose to sleep on the couch with my jeans as a pillow by choice. Yep, my neck really prefers mushed up denim to squishy hotel pillows:thumbsup2

By this point it was around 5:30 and I tried to nap a little longer in bed but my excited, noisy kids weren't having any of that. The same light sleepers that heard me cursing during the night likely also heard my frequent exclamation of "Be quiet or they're going to kick us out" in the early hours of the morning.

We went to breakfast in the hotel…lots of choices, eggs, pancakes, waffles, etc.; the eggs were made with water (and they were very nice when I asked if they contained any dairy) so girls had scrambled eggs, fresh fruit and orange juice…Grace likes the orange juice back home better and does not care that the oranges come from Florida and we were actually in Florida.

The rest of family finally got up in their room…we filled out trip documents, repacked (it's amazing how trashed the room got just spending the night), left winter stuff in car…last minute run to supermarket for birthday cards, batteries, boring stuff:)

We got on the first shuttle to ship at 10am…almost missed it because the whole family wasn't in the lobby when the driver came in but we made it!…I started crying as we pulled up to the terminal and saw the boat (i.e. crying moment #1), we got through security in port around 10:30. We saw signs re: check-ins beginning at 11 but they called us right up…we were the first non-Castaway Club people to check in and got the coveted #2 boarding pass! I was quite excited and may have screamed slightly because Grace mentioned I was embarassing her:) We were done with pictures, kids club registration and settled in our seats in the terminal before 11.

While we were waiting the girls colored…Becca was tired and grouchy, Grace was starving…This was the only really bad food time we had on the trip. I messed up and put all our gfcf snacks in our luggage, and there was NOTHING in terminal they could eat…Totally desperate, I let them have Coke (we usually don't do corn syrup or artificial colors/flavors)...they were thrilled with it:) We also got pictures with Minnie. I was looking around for DISers but it seemed like everyone was wearing green!

They called number two--it was a little crowded and pushy and I got in tense travel mode for a minute but then we went through mouse ears (crying moment #2) and all was right in my warped little world…We stood in line for pics, annoying dh in process ("Can’t we skip this?")…and then they announce The Austin Family (crying moment #3--all before noon!). I dragged us all right to Parrot Cay for lunch. The girls had veggies and chicken…I inhaled some strawberry soup and pretended I was at 1900 Park Fare. I wanted to go confirm we had main dining and that they had the girls medical info with dietary restrictions…dh was testy and said “Well you aren’t going to calm down until you go, so go” I also asked if he wanted me to change 8:30 pm Palo ressie to see if anything earlier and he said no (this will come into play later--oooh, foreshadowing!) I ran to Rockin Bar D, there was no wait, and I was able to confirm we were main dining and yes they knew no gluten and dairy. I got back to Parrot Cay and dh asked if I was going to check re: dining and was shocked I was back already! As we left lunch they were turning people away from Parrot Cay because it was full (although it didn't seem it from the inside!).

After lunch we took the girls to the Mickey pool, which they loved. Grace is typically terrified of water slides but actually went down the Mickey slide! Becca, who is normally shy and reserved, is like a different kid in the pool, she bopped all over the place and would play with groups of kids (even if she wouldn’t talk to them!)

I’m not big on sitting around and was itching to explore the ship, so I left the kids with the rest of the family and went over to the spa to reserve a facial for MIL’s birthday from us. At the spa, I met Andrea who was going to do her facial and promised to spoil her…I also met Peter, who was doing SIL and BIL’s metabolic thingy (sorry to bust out the scientific terminology!) He gave me a tour of the rainforest room (which I loved but never got back to all week, which was probably my only regret) and the gym (which I didn’t really plan on visiting or returning to :rotfl: ) I will say the gym was gorgeous and I would definitely use it if I was presently in a more health-conscious state of mind, which I unfortunately am not but am heading towards after seeing myself in all the pictures!

Joey and I went to check if rooms were ready. We had staterooms 2638 and 2640 and were very pleased with them. On the nights we had rough seas I could feel the motion of the boat but I’ve been seasick in the past and had no issues at all this trip and neither did anyone else in our party. The only review I had seen of our rooms said that they were quite noisy. The only noise we ever experienced was docking on the last day and it was at the same time as our 6:00 wake up call, so I didn’t consider it a problem. The location was awesome…1 or 2 flights of stairs to the main restaurants, aft elevator was close and brought us right to sodas, Topsiders and the Mickey Pool on 9:00. It was also very convenient for getting off and on in port.

I was supposed to decorate the room to surprise MIL but all decorations were in checked luggage:rolleyes: Loved the room, met Derrick, saw we had 5:45 dinner and realized that with unpacking, safety check, deck party and dinner there would be no time to hit our DIS meet. DH was still a bit stressed with the running around and I assured him the entire trip would not be like this.

There was a note in our staterooms that mentioned we had a $100 credit on our accounts. The running joke of the week is that MIL and DH kept asking me why we had the credit and I told them it was for booking with Dreams Unlimited and then a day later they would ask again. I should have started making up stories about it:)

The luggage came a piece at a time from between 2-3:30. Based on reviews I was worried that there wouldn’t be enough storage space but we had plenty…I hung dresses/suits and also put the suitcases in closet, Joey’s clothes went in the steamer chest, the girls clothes in left desk drawers, my clothes in right desk drawers and misc. stuff in drawers in front of shower and we still had room to spare.

We did our safety drill in Animator’s, they had table cloths over the tables which appeared to already be set for dinner. It was kind of an odd scene and I found it hard to hear because each grouping of people had a CM talking into a megaphone. It was quick though and we headed back to the room to get ready for deck party.

We went up to 9 but the girls didn’t want to be on the dance floor (they aren't much for crowds and noise). So we went up to deck 10 port side (like my seafaring lingo?!?!?!). I hadn't planned on drinking but saw what BIL had and got my first tropical drink in a souvenir DCL plastic glass…I have no idea what it was but it was good! It had a mango colored layer and then a white layer (coconutty?) and then the server put in a shot of something clear (can you tell I don’t drink much?!?!? At least I didn’t before this week!)…she said she was worried she made it too strong and if I decided it was too strong she would make me another one…that was one thing I noticed all week, I’ve heard people say that bars and places water drinks down or don’t use much alcohol because it’s cheaper not to but on DCL the liquor was always flowing VERY generously!

Sorry for going off on an alcohol-induced tangent. We got the sparkly shaky things (yes, that’s a technical term) and danced like fools. Our track record for getting on the jumbo tv stunk this week…we didn’t make it up there once:( When the ship's whistle blew and we had crying moment #4. I won’t name names, but I was not the only person in my party to cry for that.

We snuck out early from the party to go have a few minutes of downtime before dinner. Then we headed for Lumiere’s. (We did get LAPPLAP for dining with a 5:45 seating…only downside was Formal Night in Parrot Cay and Pirate Night in Lumiere’s…not the most ideal settings for the themes but they ended up totally working and we had the BEST dining team!) Liam and Jason were awesome all week and Michelle took amazing care of the girls and getting meals for their GFCF (gluten/casein (dairy) free diet). I failed in my plan to get pictures of all their food and actually got pictures of none of it unfortunately. But I can describe it! It won’t do it justice though and they ate like princesses all week. In fact, we are having adjustment issues at home from eating so well. We went to Outback for dinner the other night and Grace was expecting them to make her a GFCF dessert and couldn't understand why they couldn't when "they made it for me every night on the cruise." And Becca cracked me up in the hospital because they sent the wrong meal and when they brought up her meal she asked me, "Is this room service?" and I said that it was just like the cruise and she said, "But they don't cut my meat for me." No, mommy has to cut the meat again. I thoroughly enjoyed my week of no meat cutting:) And it's weird but I still think about Liam, Jason and Michelle everyday, they were very good to us and we looked forward to seeing them every night.

Since it was the first night and we had not pre-ordered dinner, it took a while to get Grace and Becca's food. It made for a long dinner but it was relaxing and nice…the girls started with fruit and then had roast chicken, broccoli and French fries cooked in fresh oil (which I didn’t even have to mention…they are clearly informed about cross contamination issues, which I appreciated). For dessert they had soy ice cream (vanilla) and fresh fruit. For the ice cream they do use Rice Dream…for those that care about the dietary aspects of my trip report…Rice Dream soymilk does contain trace amounts of gluten (yes, I know it says gluten free on the label but testing has shown a minute amount, which for some may trigger issues) However, their ice cream has a clean record and we feel okay using it – your decision may vary based on your situation. I will say that Grace is a walking gluten meter and will get a tiny red rash around her mouth if she ingests it and the only issue we ever had this trip was in Cozumel and was not with a DCL served meal…oh, except for our two dairy issues, which I will touch on later.

Okay, I’m getting sidetracked with all these food & drink-based tangents…dinner was great (except for my funky rutabaga fries, which must be an acquired taste!)

We were all zonked and did not attend the ‘All Aboard! Let the Magic Begin!” show. In fact, we didn’t attend anything and crashed by 9:00.

PS—Our first towel animal was an adorable stingray! We also had our first fish extender gifts and the family went wild!

So that's the first day...who knows how long it will take me to draft the rest but I didn't want to leave everyone totally hanging! I need to go do my taxes now but will also try to post first day pics tomorrow!

Jay--Did I miss anything from the first day that you can think of?

[jay.austin]

No though I don't remember any of the frantic running around you referred to.

It was rum in the drink. It was some kind of Mango Pina Colada I think.

[lindaso]

Enjoying your trip report so far. I do remember you stopping me in the hallway and I drew a complete blank when you asked me about the meet. :confused3

From your description of day 1, we were near each other a lot!! I was the first one in the Castaway Club line at check in, had boarding pass 2, at the Mickey Pool, in AP for safety drill, port side deck 10 for sailaway. Weird.

Looking forward to reading the rest.

[Chernabog66]

1) Michelle, Liam, Jason are the best! We had the best dining experience this week and I spent several meals in happy tears at how well DCL handled the girls' GFCF diet.


You know, I've been thinking about Michelle a lot these last few days. She's from the Melbourne area of Australia and that's where all these awful fires have been lately. Anyone know how to get ahold of these folks and pass on regards?:confused3

[BeccaGrace]

No though I don't remember any of the frantic running around you referred to.

It was rum in the drink. It was some kind of Mango Pina Colada I think.

That's why I am the fake travel agent...I do all frantic running so the rest of you didn't have to and so you never knew it was happening:)

[OurOhana]

I miss having my daughter's hot dog cut up for her, and her fruit and her milk delivered. OK, I miss all of us being served. It looks like you guys had a blast. Can't wait to hear more.

[jay.austin]

I will say the one of the best ideas Sara had on the first day was to put the kids bathing suits on before we got there. It was great that they were able to jump right in the pool and it gave them something to do while we waited for the departure &c.