OUR OHANA's Back-to-back cruises w/ pics, navs, menus ** UPDATED Food pics **10/19

[OurOhana]

To help me (and hopefully others) navigate this trip report a little better, I’ll update the index on this first post as I move along. I’m also doing this more by topic, than by day though I'm trying to do it in some order. But I’m sure I’ll forget something and want to add it later. Because of things I'll likely add late, and since I have a lot of photos for some things, some topics may have more than one post number.

INDEX
**Back-to-Back process and thoughts (Page 3, Post 35)
**Crew (Page 4, Post 50)
**Door magnets (Page 2, Post 22)
**Embarkation (Page 1, Posts 5 and 13)
**Food (Page 3, Posts 42, 44 and 45, Page 4, 48 and 49)
**Kids' Club thoughts and pics (Page 2, Post 17)
**Navigators (Page 3, Posts 32 and 36)
**Parrott Cay Embarkation lunch (Page 1, Post 14; and Page 2, Post 16)
**Swimming Pools (Page 2, Post 29)
**T-shirts (Page 2, Post 21)



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Aloha

On Thursday, we’ll be on the DCL for back-to-back cruises – and we can’t wait. I thought I’d get the report started ahead of time.

OurOhana:
Me
http://i541.photobucket.com/albums/gg400/OurOhana_photo/Day%207/14e95656.jpg
DH
http://i541.photobucket.com/albums/gg400/OurOhana_photo/Day%207/7f044e35.jpg
DD(4)
http://i541.photobucket.com/albums/gg400/OurOhana_photo/Day%206/555e65ca.jpg
DG (My mom, but more important - DD’s grandma)
http://i541.photobucket.com/albums/gg400/OurOhana_photo/photo-1.jpg

First cruise: We went on the Magic Jan. 31-6, and loved it!!!

Second/third cruise: We received the $99 bounce-back offer per person when we booked for our first cruise. So we decided to go on our 3-night cruise (which is the bounce-back deal) and add a 4-night cruise. We leave Sept. 17 and then take the second cruise Sept. 20.

We decided pretty soon after returning from our first Disney cruise that we needed to return. While the economy has been rough, the bounce back offer was huge for us. But the thought of three days just didn’t seem long enough – so we added the other cruise.

Then DH thought – why not bring my mom. Yes, my DH wanted to bring his mother-in-law along. We’re going to be staying in a category 4, but it’s going to be a bit tight in the room (it’s the same category we stayed in the last time.)

So our daughter still doesn’t know about the cruise. We have used our office to pack our bags – and tried to do everything while she was in the bath or sleeping (yes, I encouraged really, really long baths so I could sneak into her room to get her clothes out.) She’s been wondering where her favorite shoes disappeared to. I’ve blamed it on her messy room. :rolleyes:

While DD will be ecstatic when she learns about the cruise- which hopefully won’t happen until Thursday morning – she’s going to be beside herself when she learns grandma is coming. :love: This is a child who was pretty sure for a long time that Cinderella’s godmother was actually Cinderella’s grandmother. It might have something to do with the fact that DD’s grandma gives her everything she wants – I’m just guessing.

So now with DD, who is always entertaining, and my mom, who doesn’t mean to be entertaining but can’t help herself, we’re set for our next big adventure.

We're pretty well packed. After reading the disboards, we purchased some packing cubes from ebags. They helped us save some space. So far, I like them. We've purchases all of our fish extender gifts (we're doing the fish extender exchange on our second cruise - it seemed easier on a four-night.) And we'll be meeting up with the couple and their daughter who we ate with on our January cruise. We met them on that cruise, and became friends. It was nice that we could arrange another cruise together so our daughters, the same age, could see each other again.

I’m hoping we get tons of pictures this time around, we even have an underwater camera now, which has worked well when we went to the pool.

Thanks for reading.

By the way, if anyone has questions ahead of time about cruising, DCL or the Wonder - please let me know. We can try to find the answers while we're on the ship, if possible!

[OurOhana]

I was just sharing this on our meets thread, and thought I should post it here too.

DH's aunt made us the fish extender (though we added iron ons names for each pocket.) Plus, DH made the cute Mickey ears for each end of the rod.

http://i541.photobucket.com/albums/gg400/OurOhana_photo/A%202nd%20Disney%20Cruise/FishExtender.jpg

We didn't do the fish extender exchange on our last cruise. I'm really looking forward to it this time around. We've had fun shopping for the gifts, plus a few homemade items too.

[OurOhana]

The GPS says we'll be at the port at 9:09 am. But we'll still have to make at least one stop, so it won't be quite that early.

I set the alarm for 5:30, but woke up 10 minutes earlier. That's unheard of for me unless I'm really excited about something. And then grandma was do excited she called to ask if shecould come over early to wake up DD. But then on her way over she got lost. I should point outage lives 6 miles from our house and has visited hundreds of times. She was just so excited.

DD still doesn't know for sure where we are going even though we are wearing matching shirts with the Wonder on the back. She said she thinks we are going Mickey Boat but she wants to be surprised.

So DD and DG are in the back seat right now watching a movie DG brought with her. It's a Halloween pooh movie.

I would post pics but i'm using my iPhone to write this and not sure how to add pics without first going to photobucket. Maybe I'll research that while we drive.

[OurOhana]

We got to the port at about 9:10. But because of the construction we can't line up outside of the gate. We still aren't sure where we line up without backing up other traffic. So right now we are driving to get gas so we are set when we get off the ship in a week.

[OurOhana]

Because of the construction at the port, they had us go to a lot and wait. Then a guy in a golf cart told us to follow him to check in. Instead of driving inside to park, we pulled up to where the buses usually drop people off. The porters got our luggage and DD, DG and I walked in and DH drove to park.

Then instead of getting checked in immediately like the last time, I had to wait until about 10:30 to check in. We got boarding pass No 2. And now dd is waiting to get a pic with Mickey. I'll try to upload pics later. It might be when we return - maybe while we wait for the next cruise.

[E&BMom]

Thanks for the updates! Have a great time!! We did a B2B cruise last June and had a blast!!!

[Jennifer in MI]

I just found this!!! And, I see you must have left just about an hour ago!!! I'm SOOOOOO jealous.

We're doing a B2B in January, so I'll be reading about this when you return. I hope you have a wonderful time!!

[OurOhana]

It was a great first cruise. We are now waiting for our life drill, so I thought I'd do a quick post. It was a smooth first sailing - great weather, and fun all around. The disembarkation and embarkation for the second cruise was a breeze. We just met the members of our fish extender exchange. They were so nice. We even got our first gift, a homemade and very cool looking autograph book. Great start to a second cruise. I'll post more when we return.

[OurOhana]

We just left and we had a battle of the horns with RCCL freedom of the seas. Hopefully someone will post video, I didn't have mine ready. And then as we were leaving people were lined up on the shore. It was cooler to leave Sunday for this reason alone. A couple of the bars/restaurants played Disney songs as we went by. It was just a cool thing to watch. I guess it was too cold when we left in January because I don't remember that.

Ok I should shut down the iPhone and get ready for
dinner. More later with pics

[Sccrmnky2005]

I loved reading your Jan trip report and can't wait to read you back to back cruise next!! Your daughter is so beautiful! Love the picture that shutters captured of her she looks so happy!

[TotallyAngelic]

I really enjoyed your Jan report so am looking forward to this one. Hope you had a wonderful time.

[OurOhana]

Wow. What a wonderful trip. We had a great time. The four-night cruise was the best cruise, best service we've had to date. It was really magical. We have tons of pics (people, places and food) and copies of all of the navigators and dinner menus. I tried to save copies of most everything, just like I did the last time. I forgot to take pics of the food before we had already eaten it. But we tried to get as much as possible. I'll start posting tonight or this weekend.

I loved reading your Jan trip report and can't wait to read you back to back cruise next!! Your daughter is so beautiful! Love the picture that shutters captured of her she looks so happy!

Thank you. Thank you. My daughter was thrilled on the first cruise, and was ecstatic the second and third cruise. Wait til you see the pics of her in the Cinderella dress her grandma bought for her. She clearly thought she was a princess.

I really enjoyed your Jan report so am looking forward to this one. Hope you had a wonderful time.

Thank you very much. We really did have a great time. I'm looking forward to doing the trip report too, because it helped us relive our cruise. It sort of extended it a little for us. Hope it does it this time again.

[OurOhana]

Well, laundry is halfway done, daughter is in bed, husband and I are wishing we could pick up the phone and get room service delivered. Yeah, I know, it's not happening, but we can dream. :laughing:

I'm hoping to let the photos tell the story more than words this time around. So here goes:

On the way to the Mickey Boat
http://i541.photobucket.com/albums/gg400/OurOhana_photo/2nd%20Cruise%20-%20Family%20pics/IMG_00031.jpg

http://i541.photobucket.com/albums/gg400/OurOhana_photo/2nd%20Cruise%20-%20Family%20pics/IMG_00041.jpg

http://i541.photobucket.com/albums/gg400/OurOhana_photo/2nd%20Cruise%20-%20Family%20pics/IMG_0011.jpg

And in the port (We had to wait to check in until about 10:30, which was later than the last time. They seemed to be running a bit behind. No big deal, we were about to get on the Mickey Boat)
http://i541.photobucket.com/albums/gg400/OurOhana_photo/2nd%20Cruise%20-%20Family%20pics/IMG_0018.jpg

http://i541.photobucket.com/albums/gg400/OurOhana_photo/2nd%20Cruise%20-%20Family%20pics/IMG_0016.jpg

[OurOhana]

I actually took these pics on the second cruise - but the food was the exact same. yum!

http://i541.photobucket.com/albums/gg400/OurOhana_photo/2nd%20cruise%20-%20Breakfasts%20and%20Lunches/IMG_0009.jpg

http://i541.photobucket.com/albums/gg400/OurOhana_photo/2nd%20cruise%20-%20Breakfasts%20and%20Lunches/IMG_0008.jpg

http://i541.photobucket.com/albums/gg400/OurOhana_photo/2nd%20cruise%20-%20Breakfasts%20and%20Lunches/IMG_0007.jpg

http://i541.photobucket.com/albums/gg400/OurOhana_photo/2nd%20cruise%20-%20Breakfasts%20and%20Lunches/IMG_0006.jpg

http://i541.photobucket.com/albums/gg400/OurOhana_photo/2nd%20cruise%20-%20Breakfasts%20and%20Lunches/IMG_0005.jpg

http://i541.photobucket.com/albums/gg400/OurOhana_photo/2nd%20cruise%20-%20Breakfasts%20and%20Lunches/IMG_0004.jpg

http://i541.photobucket.com/albums/gg400/OurOhana_photo/2nd%20cruise%20-%20Breakfasts%20and%20Lunches/IMG_0018.jpg

http://i541.photobucket.com/albums/gg400/OurOhana_photo/2nd%20cruise%20-%20Breakfasts%20and%20Lunches/IMG_0017.jpg

http://i541.photobucket.com/albums/gg400/OurOhana_photo/2nd%20cruise%20-%20Breakfasts%20and%20Lunches/IMG_0015.jpg

http://i541.photobucket.com/albums/gg400/OurOhana_photo/2nd%20cruise%20-%20Breakfasts%20and%20Lunches/IMG_0011.jpg

http://i541.photobucket.com/albums/gg400/OurOhana_photo/2nd%20cruise%20-%20Breakfasts%20and%20Lunches/IMG_0012.jpg

http://i541.photobucket.com/albums/gg400/OurOhana_photo/2nd%20cruise%20-%20Breakfasts%20and%20Lunches/IMG_0013.jpg

[Kay1]

Those are the best Parrot Cay photos I've seen. What are some of those hot dishes?

[OurOhana]

Those are the best Parrot Cay photos I've seen. What are some of those hot dishes?

Thank you!

It was a really good buffet, better than I remember from the Magic in January, but it could have just been my memory. I tried to take a lot of other food pics along the way, but I know I forgot too often. So I think I overcompensated a bit at other times :)

Here's what I remember:

Hot items - Cajun roasted potatoes, yellow rice dish, stir fried veggies, sweet and sour pork, steamship beef round (about 75 pounds, they said) bow tie pasta, a baked or roasted chicken

Salad items - lettuce, pasta salad, cole slaw, potato salad, marinated tomatoes, olives, shredded carrots, cucumbers, cottage cheese, croutons.

Kids - Spaghetti and meatballs, mac and cheese, mini corn dogs

Other - breads, assorted soups, tons of fresh fruit and all kinds of desserts.

Ice cream station - I think vanilla and chocolate ice cream, along with caramel and chocolate sauce, marshmallows, sprinkles and whipped cream topping.

[OurOhana]

Our daughter couldn't wait to get to the club that first day. We could visit at any time, but she couldn't stay in there without us until after 6 p.m. Here are some pictures from before it got busy that first day. As Magic visitors can see, it looked a little different, but the overall setup was the same.

Overall impression: We loved the club on the Magic, but had heard mixed reviews about the Wonder. We'd heard that the counselors weren't good about engaging the children and often stood near the front while kids did their own things. We didn't see that at all. The counselors were always engaged, as we arrived and as we picked her up. They chased her around, did face-painting, dancing along with Lilo and Stitch, dressed up as Peter Pan. Anything the kids were doing, we saw counselors doing with them. Not to say our DD and other kids didn't just work by themselves on the computers or watch movies quietly, but there were always options. I highly recommend parents consider the club for at least part of the dinner time. We found the dinners could go long, so sometimes our daughter chose the club for the entire dinner. Other times she came and ate her dinner with us, but then my DH took her to the club when she was done with her dinner.

Check-in area: (They don't let any child out of this area until they check their wrist band, have a Key to the World card from the parent or other person who has permission to check them out and here the password. They were very good about this.)
http://i541.photobucket.com/albums/gg400/OurOhana_photo/2nd%20cruise%20-%20Kids%20Club/IMG_0037.jpg

Main area:
http://i541.photobucket.com/albums/gg400/OurOhana_photo/2nd%20cruise%20-%20Kids%20Club/IMG_0034.jpg

http://i541.photobucket.com/albums/gg400/OurOhana_photo/2nd%20cruise%20-%20Kids%20Club/IMG_0031.jpg

http://i541.photobucket.com/albums/gg400/OurOhana_photo/2nd%20cruise%20-%20Kids%20Club/IMG_0033.jpg

http://i541.photobucket.com/albums/gg400/OurOhana_photo/2nd%20cruise%20-%20Kids%20Club/IMG_0032.jpg

The computer-area: (though I forgot to actually take pics of the computers, go figure)
http://i541.photobucket.com/albums/gg400/OurOhana_photo/2nd%20cruise%20-%20Kids%20Club/IMG_0035.jpg

http://i541.photobucket.com/albums/gg400/OurOhana_photo/2nd%20cruise%20-%20Kids%20Club/IMG_0036.jpg

Hand-washing area (which they are sticklers about making sure all kids wash their hands the minute they walk in)
http://i541.photobucket.com/albums/gg400/OurOhana_photo/2nd%20cruise%20-%20Kids%20Club/IMG_0026.jpg

Water-fountain
http://i541.photobucket.com/albums/gg400/OurOhana_photo/2nd%20cruise%20-%20Kids%20Club/IMG_0030.jpg

Kids-sized bathroom:
http://i541.photobucket.com/albums/gg400/OurOhana_photo/2nd%20cruise%20-%20Kids%20Club/IMG_0027.jpg

http://i541.photobucket.com/albums/gg400/OurOhana_photo/2nd%20cruise%20-%20Kids%20Club/IMG_0028.jpg

http://i541.photobucket.com/albums/gg400/OurOhana_photo/2nd%20cruise%20-%20Kids%20Club/IMG_0029.jpg

[Kay1]

Thanks for your mouthwatering reply. Can't wait for more of your report.

:thumbsup2

[SmallWorld71]

Really enjoying your report! We haven't cruised yet, but look forward to our 1st one next summer. Our DD will be in the Club so it was nice to see some pics that I hadn't seen yet. The Parrot Cay pics were great too. Yum!popcorn::

[jensen]

Can't wait to hear more!

[OurOhana]

We loved seeing all of the T-shirts we've seen on the Disboards of people heading out on the Magic and Wonder. We decided to give it a try. We made two shirts for each of us. The blue shirt was for our first cruise, and the red was for our second cruise. We wore them on the first day of each cruise. The crew especially seemed to like seeing our names on the front of the shirts so they could call us by name.

To make the shirts, we explored the disboards for great graphics and then added words in google's Pacassa, which is free. We bought the shirts for just a few dollars each at an arts and crafts store, and then bought iron on transfers for dark colors. It was pretty easy to do, though a little time-consuming.

Here's what we had on the blue shirts:
http://i541.photobucket.com/albums/gg400/OurOhana_photo/2nd%20cruise%20-%20T-shirts%20and%20Magnets/palkashirt1.jpg

http://i541.photobucket.com/albums/gg400/OurOhana_photo/2nd%20cruise%20-%20T-shirts%20and%20Magnets/IMG_0020.jpg

You saw the front of the shirts in a previous post, but it's hard to see the name tags. We used the same tags with each of our names for both shirts:

http://i541.photobucket.com/albums/gg400/OurOhana_photo/2nd%20cruise%20-%20T-shirts%20and%20Magnets/nametagkelli.jpg

Here's the red shirt graphic:
http://i541.photobucket.com/albums/gg400/OurOhana_photo/2nd%20cruise%20-%20T-shirts%20and%20Magnets/Palkashirt2.jpg

http://i541.photobucket.com/albums/gg400/OurOhana_photo/2nd%20cruise%20-%20T-shirts%20and%20Magnets/IMG_0024.jpg

http://i541.photobucket.com/albums/gg400/OurOhana_photo/2nd%20cruise%20-%20T-shirts%20and%20Magnets/IMG_0026.jpg

[OurOhana]

And we love door magnets - They certainly make it easy to find your room! We let our daughter decorate our door, though we added some to the top of the door.

http://i541.photobucket.com/albums/gg400/OurOhana_photo/2nd%20cruise%20-%20T-shirts%20and%20Magnets/IMG_0238.jpg

Below are some of the magnets we made. (We got the pictures from the disboards from the really creative people here and then added words or made changes in Picassa or our photo editor, Adobe PhotoShop Elements.) Also included in the photo above are some of the magnets our fish-extender exchange group made for us. We got great gifts and that was so much fun to do - it'll be a separate post later with pics of other gifts.


Here are just a few of our magnets:
http://i541.photobucket.com/albums/gg400/OurOhana_photo/2nd%20cruise%20-%20T-shirts%20and%20Magnets/4deckchairslilodaisymickminn1.jpg

http://i541.photobucket.com/albums/gg400/OurOhana_photo/2nd%20cruise%20-%20T-shirts%20and%20Magnets/Sailaway.jpg

http://i541.photobucket.com/albums/gg400/OurOhana_photo/2nd%20cruise%20-%20T-shirts%20and%20Magnets/ParasailingonCC1.jpg

http://i541.photobucket.com/albums/gg400/OurOhana_photo/2nd%20cruise%20-%20T-shirts%20and%20Magnets/malia.jpg

http://i541.photobucket.com/albums/gg400/OurOhana_photo/2nd%20cruise%20-%20T-shirts%20and%20Magnets/sleeping-beauty.jpg

http://i541.photobucket.com/albums/gg400/OurOhana_photo/2nd%20cruise%20-%20T-shirts%20and%20Magnets/DisneyCruiseLine1001.jpg

http://i541.photobucket.com/albums/gg400/OurOhana_photo/2nd%20cruise%20-%20T-shirts%20and%20Magnets/Copyofdinningdonald.jpg

[OurOhana]

Thanks for your mouthwatering reply. Can't wait for more of your report.

:thumbsup2

You're welcome!

Really enjoying your report! We haven't cruised yet, but look forward to our 1st one next summer. Our DD will be in the Club so it was nice to see some pics that I hadn't seen yet. The Parrot Cay pics were great too. Yum!popcorn::

Your DD will love the club, I'm sure. I'll post navigators later (once I scan them in) to show you some of the great activities they had on our trip. Our DD had a blast.

Can't wait to hear more!

Thank you for visiting our trip report!!

[camarks1234]

great report! We were with you on the 9/17 cruise and I even remember seeing you in your shirts at the port!

looking forward to reading more. I really should get on and do mine! :D

[pmama]

subbing, can't wait to read more!:goodvibes

[OurOhana]

great report! We were with you on the 9/17 cruise and I even remember seeing you in your shirts at the port!

looking forward to reading more. I really should get on and do mine! :D

Thank you! You should do a report. While it's nice reading them of other cruises, I'd love to see TRs for the cruises we were on. It's just nice to see things from different perspectives - and see some of the things we never even knew were happening.

[OurOhana]

subbing, can't wait to read more!:goodvibes

Thank you! I promise to start scanning in navs and menus tomorrow so I can add even more before I have to go back to work Monday. Or at least I'll already have the scanning done so it'll be simpler to update during the work week.

[DMMarla07860]

great so far, can't wait to read more. Will get me more excited for my next 3 day cruise in December:thumbsup2

[OurOhana]

So while my mom and I stayed in the room to unpack (I think it's close to impossible not to completely unpack at the beginning of the cruise. It would be hard living out of suitcases in such a small room.) DH took DD to the pool. She couldn't use the Mickey slide the last time, because she was too short. Actually, they told her that after she'd already gone down it a couple times. But this time, not a problem. A growth spurt did the trick, thankfully.

http://i541.photobucket.com/albums/gg400/OurOhana_photo/2nd%20cruise%20-%20Pools/IMG_0038.jpg

http://i541.photobucket.com/albums/gg400/OurOhana_photo/2nd%20cruise%20-%20Pools/IMG_0039.jpg

http://i541.photobucket.com/albums/gg400/OurOhana_photo/2nd%20cruise%20-%20Pools/IMG_0046.jpg

http://i541.photobucket.com/albums/gg400/OurOhana_photo/2nd%20cruise%20-%20Pools/IMG_0045.jpg

She went into the toddler area briefly. We're not really big on letting her hang out there. I tell her it's for little ones who can't go in her big-girl pool. Plus, while she would never purposely hurt another child, I would worry she'd run around and topple someone over. But here are pics of what the toddler area looks like:

http://i541.photobucket.com/albums/gg400/OurOhana_photo/2nd%20cruise%20-%20Pools/IMG_0040.jpg

http://i541.photobucket.com/albums/gg400/OurOhana_photo/2nd%20cruise%20-%20Pools/IMG_0042.jpg

While I'm doing this somewhat by topic, I'm also trying to do it in some order. Later in our trip, we did some nighttime swimming, and I'll post pics of that as well. I highly recommend it. We all had fun, and we didn't to worry about the heat or sun.

[OurOhana]

great so far, can't wait to read more. Will get me more excited for my next 3 day cruise in December:thumbsup2

OK, Now I'm jealous. Not just of the December cruise, but from your signature, I can see you have many more planned. :thumbsup2 It's just a reminder to me to play the lottery :rotfl:

[laura_happy]

this is great! the pictures are wonderful and so helpful for me, a soon to be first-time cruiser in February. Thanks! :thumbsup2

[OurOhana]

Obviously everyone got the disboards memo that staying on the ship on Nassau day was a good idea, because we had quite a few people on board with us.

In the morning, we started with room service, as we did all but one day, I believe. Usually, we just got coffee, juice and milk. Plus, I always got a croisant, while everyone else in the family usually had an English muffin. It was just enough to keep us content for breakfast.

DD went to the club and the rest of us went to Triton's for breakfast. It was a better experience for us than it was when we went to Lumineer's for breakfast one day on the Magic. I'll include the few breakfast pics I remembered to take later on with the food posts.

Here are the navigator's for the 3-night. I'll post the 4-night navigator in a separate post.

http://i541.photobucket.com/albums/gg400/OurOhana_photo/2nd%20cruise%20-%20Navigators/IMG.jpg

http://i541.photobucket.com/albums/gg400/OurOhana_photo/2nd%20cruise%20-%20Navigators/IMG_0001.jpg

http://i541.photobucket.com/albums/gg400/OurOhana_photo/2nd%20cruise%20-%20Navigators/IMG_0002.jpg

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http://i541.photobucket.com/albums/gg400/OurOhana_photo/2nd%20cruise%20-%20Navigators/IMG_0004.jpg

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http://i541.photobucket.com/albums/gg400/OurOhana_photo/2nd%20cruise%20-%20Navigators/IMG_0006.jpg

http://i541.photobucket.com/albums/gg400/OurOhana_photo/2nd%20cruise%20-%20Navigators/IMG_0007.jpg

http://i541.photobucket.com/albums/gg400/OurOhana_photo/2nd%20cruise%20-%20Navigators/IMG_0008.jpg

http://i541.photobucket.com/albums/gg400/OurOhana_photo/2nd%20cruise%20-%20Navigators/IMG_0009.jpg

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http://i541.photobucket.com/albums/gg400/OurOhana_photo/2nd%20cruise%20-%20Navigators/IMG_0011.jpg

A few things I'd suggest - I would definitely do the shows. We did all of the shows the first trip, and skipped them the second cruise. Of course, doing dinner and a show on the cruise means a good 2 1/2 hours or more are taken up. More if you count the little bit of down time between them. Essentially, we were tied up from 5:45 p.m. for first seating through about 9:15 or 9:30. After that, it was pretty much bed time for us some night because our daughter is still used to an early bed time.

The last cruise we were on was during a cold chill. So we missed the sailing away party. I didn't want to miss it again. So after the safety drill, we headed up stairs.
TIP - Even if it looks busy, look around to see if there is room in the pool area. We found that many people had seats on the outside, but there were areas we could sit down at the edge of the pool (which they cover for the party) It made it easy to jump up and dance, and sit down when we were tired. It was a really neat sailaway part. I'd recommend going if you can.

On the last day of the cruise, after Castaway Cay, we were just hot and tired. We came back from the beach, used the showers outside and near the hottubs and then jumped in the goofy pool. It felt so good after walking around the beach for a while. We were with another couple and their child that we met on the January cruise. We all decided to skip dinner that night and let the girls eat outside on Deck 9. We all ate there. That allowed us to go to the 6:15 or 6:30 show, which we again loved. We were all able to go to bed a little earlier that night.

Next up: Back-to-back process

[thatgrrl]

Hey! Our daughters (and us) were doing computers together the first day -- 9/17 -- in the kids club.

We were in our own matching shirts.

[OurOhana]

Argh. It was the first day back at work, and instead I wanted to be sitting on deck 4 feeling the breeze all day. But that won't happen again for a while. So instead, I'll just enjoy the memories while I wright this report.

this is great! the pictures are wonderful and so helpful for me, a soon to be first-time cruiser in February. Thanks! :thumbsup2

Thank you. I'm glad you're enjoying it. I really loved reading TRs before our first cruise to give me an idea of what to expect, so I'm glad mine is being helpful. Don't hesitate to ask if you have questions.

Hey! Our daughters (and us) were doing computers together the first day -- 9/17 -- in the kids club.

We were in our own matching shirts.

I remember! How did you enjoy your cruise? Did your daughter have a blast, I hope?

[OurOhana]

I've posted part of this on another thread comparing 3, 4 and 7 night cruises and pros and cons of Back-to-back cruises. Plus, I've added some stuff.

So the last night of the cruise, we got a note in our room and a call to let us know to meet at Guest Services at 9:15 a.m. the next day to get off the ship.
http://i541.photobucket.com/albums/gg400/OurOhana_photo/2nd%20cruise%20-%20back-toback%20cruises/IMG_0037.jpg

There was only one couple aside from us doing back-to-backs. We had to wait a little while to get off because for some reason they were a little slower clearing the boat. A lot of people seemed to be sitting around waiting for something. Not sure what. The DCL folks seemed surprised by the delay. Not a big deal. We got off sometime after 9:30 a.m., I’d say.
A DCL crew member walked with us through customs and back up to the port area. They told us we’d be checked on in a little bit. But then I think they forgot us until the other couple asked about getting checked on (they already begun checking others on at this point.) As soon as they asked, DCL checked us in, took our pics and walked us back on board.
Some of the doors were locked down, I guess for testing, so we couldn’t get back into our room right away. We went to Cove Café, as we were told to do on our note. They said kids could go there as well until others started to board the boat. But some crew members were enjoying the area, and the guy working there didn’t seem to get the memo that we were supposed to come there. He said our daughter wasn’t supposed to be there, and he didn’t want to give us a couple glasses of water (instead, wanted to sell us drinks.) We explained we were doing back-to-backs, so he gave us the glasses of water. And then we decided to head out so our daughter wouldn’t disturb anyone. Plus, we had heard by then that the test they were doing with the doors was over, so we figured we could get in our room.
A CM had to open the main door to our walkway, so then we were good to go. At about 11:45 we headed down to Parrot Cay for lunch. We were the first ones in there, and it was really nice.
And because we were Back-to-Back cruisers (at least that’s what they told us) we had special gifts every day in our room.

We came back to a nice fruit bowl the first day:
http://i541.photobucket.com/albums/gg400/OurOhana_photo/2nd%20cruise%20-%20back-toback%20cruises/IMG_0022-1.jpg

ookies another day (though I forgot to take a pic before we ate them. We took them into a movie with us.)

A cheese platter:
http://i541.photobucket.com/albums/gg400/OurOhana_photo/2nd%20cruise%20-%20back-toback%20cruises/IMG_0187.jpg

And finally a chocolate, dessert platter:
http://i541.photobucket.com/albums/gg400/OurOhana_photo/2nd%20cruise%20-%20back-toback%20cruises/IMG_0288.jpg

It was just very thoughtful, and helped make our trip even more special.

Also, the last night of the 3-night cruise, we took our tips to the dining staff. We had only gone in one day. (we did Palo another day, and the CC day we went to an early show instead of early dining so we could get to bed earlier. We just had dinner out on deck 9 while our daughter swam and played with one of her friends.) So anyway, the head server seemed very worried that we hadn’t returned since the first night. He said he could come eat breakfast at anytime the next morning, so we wouldn’t have to get up so early. And when I asked if we could select our rotation and asked what our options were, he said, “What would you like.” And then he gave us that rotation (Tritons, Animator’s Palate, Animator’s Palate and Parrot Cay.) He was great the rest of the trip as well, and I’ll mention him quite a bit in the dining part of this report.
If we had wanted to add or change a Palo reservation, we could have done that the last night of the cruise too. We wanted to cancel ours, since we had already gone on the first one. It was easy to change.

Pros of Back-to-Back
--You really get to know the crew, and they are some wonderful people. We enjoyed getting to know each of them better.
--DCL was very nice about giving us little treats. Not sure if they do it every time, but we loved it.
--Since you can see each show twice, you can also choose to do other things. So we saw the shows on our first cruise, and then on the second cruise we spent time swimming at night, going to other activities and just overall enjoying relaxing times.
--Two stops at Castaway Cay, which we loved!

Cons
--Two life jacket drills
--You kind of lose a good portion of one day because all of the services are shut down as people are leaving the boat.

[OurOhana]

We spent time the first cruise doing the shows, but there wasn't a ton of time for a lot of activities in two short days away.

So this one we saw two movies - Up and G-Force, both in 3-D. We also saw a couple of shows - the Match your Mate show (sort of the Newlyweds game - It was really cute. We also went to a trivia show called Mickey Mania, where families and the audience answer questions. And we did the galley tour (I have pics to post separately.) And the final day, my mom and I went to the spa. Since we didn't feel like we had to see the shows again, we also spent one evening swimming at night. It was really fun.

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[LC30]

Kelli, Hello! I loved that you posted the navigators on here :thumbsup2 I'm glad you guys had a good experience with Oceaneers for DD because we had an ok experience with it for DS. He didn't like it as much although the CMs seemed engaged when we first dropped him off, we were disappointed to see that he was on his own and not looking too happy when we picked him up both times. The only saving grace was he got to be a mousesketeer with Mickey and he got to do si do with Snow White. I'm still working on my trip report too. Work has been crazy since I got back. ARGH! I'm with you....sitting on the beach in CC with a drink in hand would be so much better.

[OurOhana]

Kelli, Hello! I loved that you posted the navigators on here :thumbsup2 I'm glad you guys had a good experience with Oceaneers for DD because we had an ok experience with it for DS. He didn't like it as much although the CMs seemed engaged when we first dropped him off, we were disappointed to see that he was on his own and not looking too happy when we picked him up both times. The only saving grace was he got to be a mousesketeer with Mickey and he got to do si do with Snow White. I'm still working on my trip report too. Work has been crazy since I got back. ARGH! I'm with you....sitting on the beach in CC with a drink in hand would be so much better.

Hi Linda. Yes, CC would be much better than work. And we had beautiful weather here today, it made me think of the Bahamas all the more.

I'm sorry to hear you weren't happy with the club. I've heard similar comments before about CMs engaging children. DD is pretty outgoing, so it's not usually much of an issue for us. And in general, she wasn't in there as much this time as last, probably partly because the weather was nicer than time and we could swim more. I wish I had known your DS wasn't having as much fun, I would have made sure to have DD in there the same time so they could have played together.

I'm looking forward to reading your report. :surfweb: Thanks for visiting mine. :)

[caribear]

Sounds like you had a wonderful trip!! Thanks for sharing your trip report with us!

We were on the Wonder when my DD was 3 and had a bad experience with Oceaneers. No interaction with my DD from the CM's...and they even "lost" her at one point. I went to pick her up one evening and they could not find her. They kept saying "Oh, I think I know who you are talking about." We kept looking everywhere.....my heart was beating so fast and I was begining to cry....finally after about 15 minutes they found her asleep behind the TV set in the first room!! We never brought her back after that and she didn't want to go back either. Since then we have been on Princess and RCCL and she loves their clubs. I think it was the fact that there were so many kids and not enough CM's to engage the children.

[LC30]

Hi Linda. Yes, CC would be much better than work. And we had beautiful weather here today, it made me think of the Bahamas all the more.

I'm sorry to hear you weren't happy with the club. I've heard similar comments before about CMs engaging children. DD is pretty outgoing, so it's not usually much of an issue for us. And in general, she wasn't in there as much this time as last, probably partly because the weather was nicer than time and we could swim more. I wish I had known your DS wasn't having as much fun, I would have made sure to have DD in there the same time so they could have played together.

I'm looking forward to reading your report. :surfweb: Thanks for visiting mine. :)

Thanks. I know. It would have been great for them to play in there together. But it was fine overall, we only left him there 2x - for palo dinner and brunch. The rest of the cruise was just one big party for him.

This is my way of keeping up with you. Since you were one of the first trip reports I read to help me with our first Disney cruise back in May. Tell Bryan and Pauline, I said "hello"

[mrsmg]

[SIZE="2"[/SIZE]To help me (and hopefully others) navigate this trip report a little better, I’ll update the index on this first post as I move along. I’m also doing this more by topic, than by day though I'm trying to do it in some order. But I’m sure I’ll forget something and want to add it later. Because of things I'll likely add late, and since I have a lot of photos for some things, some topics may have more than one post number.

INDEX
**Back-to-Back process and thoughts (Page 3, Post 35)
**Door magnets (Page 2, Post 22)
**Embarkation (Page 1, Posts 5 and 13)
**Kids' Club thoughts and pics (Page 2, Post 17)
**Navigators (Page 3, Posts 32 and 36)
**Parrott Cay Embarkation lunch (Page 1, Post 14; and Page 2, Post 16)
**Swimming Pools (Page 2, Post 29)
**T-shirts (Page 2, Post 21)



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Aloha

On Thursday, we’ll be on the DCL for back-to-back cruises – and we can’t wait. I thought I’d get the report started ahead of time.

OurOhana:
Me
http://i541.photobucket.com/albums/gg400/OurOhana_photo/Day%207/14e95656.jpg
DH
http://i541.photobucket.com/albums/gg400/OurOhana_photo/Day%207/7f044e35.jpg
DD(4)
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DG (My mom, but more important - DD’s grandma)
http://i541.photobucket.com/albums/gg400/OurOhana_photo/photo-1.jpg

First cruise: We went on the Magic Jan. 31-6, and loved it!!!

Second/third cruise: We received the $99 bounce-back offer per person when we booked for our first cruise. So we decided to go on our 3-night cruise (which is the bounce-back deal) and add a 4-night cruise. We leave Sept. 17 and then take the second cruise Sept. 20.

We decided pretty soon after returning from our first Disney cruise that we needed to return. While the economy has been rough, the bounce back offer was huge for us. But the thought of three days just didn’t seem long enough – so we added the other cruise.

Then DH thought – why not bring my mom. Yes, my DH wanted to bring his mother-in-law along. We’re going to be staying in a category 4, but it’s going to be a bit tight in the room (it’s the same category we stayed in the last time.)

So our daughter still doesn’t know about the cruise. We have used our office to pack our bags – and tried to do everything while she was in the bath or sleeping (yes, I encouraged really, really long baths so I could sneak into her room to get her clothes out.) She’s been wondering where her favorite shoes disappeared to. I’ve blamed it on her messy room. :rolleyes:

While DD will be ecstatic when she learns about the cruise- which hopefully won’t happen until Thursday morning – she’s going to be beside herself when she learns grandma is coming. :love: This is a child who was pretty sure for a long time that Cinderella’s godmother was actually Cinderella’s grandmother. It might have something to do with the fact that DD’s grandma gives her everything she wants – I’m just guessing.

So now with DD, who is always entertaining, and my mom, who doesn’t mean to be entertaining but can’t help herself, we’re set for our next big adventure.

We're pretty well packed. After reading the disboards, we purchased some packing cubes from ebags. They helped us save some space. So far, I like them. We've purchases all of our fish extender gifts (we're doing the fish extender exchange on our second cruise - it seemed easier on a four-night.) And we'll be meeting up with the couple and their daughter who we ate with on our January cruise. We met them on that cruise, and became friends. It was nice that we could arrange another cruise together so our daughters, the same age, could see each other again.

I’m hoping we get tons of pictures this time around, we even have an underwater camera now, which has worked well when we went to the pool.

Thanks for reading.

By the way, if anyone has questions ahead of time about cruising, DCL or the Wonder - please let me know. We can try to find the answers while we're on the ship, if possible!

I have always wanted to do back to back cruises. My question is, do they allow you to keep the same room for both cruises and do you have to leave the ship while they "tidy up" for the next cruise?:)

[OurOhana]

Sounds like you had a wonderful trip!! Thanks for sharing your trip report with us!

We were on the Wonder when my DD was 3 and had a bad experience with Oceaneers. No interaction with my DD from the CM's...and they even "lost" her at one point. I went to pick her up one evening and they could not find her. They kept saying "Oh, I think I know who you are talking about." We kept looking everywhere.....my heart was beating so fast and I was begining to cry....finally after about 15 minutes they found her asleep behind the TV set in the first room!! We never brought her back after that and she didn't want to go back either. Since then we have been on Princess and RCCL and she loves their clubs. I think it was the fact that there were so many kids and not enough CM's to engage the children.

I'm sorry to hear about that. I hope you talked to management while you were on the cruise, or wrote to someone when you got off. While I think DCL is good for kids in a larger group setting, they definitely don't seem to be a lot about smaller ratios. That being said, I did see the counselors interact with my child and others a lot while I was in there. But I've heard stories similar to yours and LC30's quite a bit.

[SIZE="2"[/SIZE]

I have always wanted to do back to back cruises. My question is, do they allow you to keep the same room for both cruises and do you have to leave the ship while they "tidy up" for the next cruise?:)

Hi there. We were able to keep the same room. At least, that's how we arranged it. I don't know that you could do that for sure if you're in in a gty room or whatever they call them where they guarantee you a type of room, but not a specific one. For us, it was perfect since we didn't have to pack up in between.

We did leave the ship for about an hour. They escorted us off, and then we just had to wait for everyone to be cleared and they checked us back in and let us on right away. We were off between about 9:30 and 10:30. We saw people arriving for the next cruise and starting to check in.

Hope that helps. And thank you for reading!

[OurOhana]

I didn't get copies of any of the breakfast or lunches, but I did remember a few pictures (not a lot for these, unfortunately.)

First up, the sit down breakfast in Triton's: (In general, I love my carbs, but I can't say the pancakes or waffles were all that great. The omlets were pretty good. I had a couple on this trip.)
http://i541.photobucket.com/albums/gg400/OurOhana_photo/2nd%20cruise%20-%20Breakfasts%20and%20Lunches/IMG_0247.jpg

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And then I did remember to get one of the last Parrot Cay brunches. It was similar to when we embarked, but something different. The biggest change was they had sushi. I thought it was pretty good.

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Next up: Dinner menus and pics

[OurOhana]

Our servers on the Wonder were really great. Witt, the head server, was fantastic. We even wrote a long note to Disney the last night to comment on how much he went out of his way for us.

Because we missed two of the dinners on the first cruise, he was worried that we weren't happy with the food. Our memory from our first DCL cruise was that the food wasn't great, but we remembered we thought the beef meals were pretty good, and we knew we could ask for no sauces or double entrees if we wanted.

Witt offered to get us anything from any of the menus if we weren't happy with a menu. So there are times we didn't have much on the menu. I'll explain as I post.

I apologize ahead of time that I forgot to get pictures that night of the entrees. Not sure what I was thinking, other than about eating :rotfl2: I did a bit better other nights :thumbsup2

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I got the shrimp appetizer (and as you can see,) the shrimp were a decent size. The sauce was maybe mayo-based. They also served that sauce on the buffets, or something pretty similar.
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DH got the mushroom tart. He thought it was OK
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My mom and I got the onion soup
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I ordered the lamb, and asked for the lobster mac and cheese for my mom and I to share. Both meals were good.

DH got the lamb and tenderloin. My mom also got the tenderloin. DH didn't like the sauce on the beef, but no complaints from my mom.

I know we got dessert, but when I asked at the guest services desk for copies of the menus, they forgot to give us the dessert menus. No big deal, they were great about making us copies in the first place. But now I don't remember what we ate. I remembered thinking it was pretty good.


Overall, it was a good meal and the service was great.

[OurOhana]

And here's the next night. Now, on this night, the entrees really didn't sound great to us. Witt, our server, got us ribeyes from the Parrot Cay dining room. Again, I can't say enough how nice he was.

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My mom and I got the tart, very good
http://i541.photobucket.com/albums/gg400/OurOhana_photo/2nd%20cruise%20-%20Menus%20and%20food%20pics/IMG_0042-1.jpg

DH got the risotto:
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Mom and I tried the squash soup, but it wasn't great
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DH asked for just a salad with blue cheese dressing, which they were happy to provide
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We all got steaks from the Parrot Cay menu (This is one without the sauce, which is what DH wanted. I got sauce on mine.) It was a good tasting steak.
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DESSERT
When it came to dessert time, our server, Savio from India, went above and beyond. Every night he brought out extra desserts for us to try. We never asked for any of them. But I'm glad he did, because some of those were great and i wouldn't have thought to try them.

Since I wasn't sure what I'd like, if any of them, I decided to go safe and just ask for some chocolate ice cream with chocolate sauce. My mom had asked for ice cream the night before, and had asked for nuts that night.
http://i541.photobucket.com/albums/gg400/OurOhana_photo/2nd%20cruise%20-%20Menus%20and%20food%20pics/IMG_0052.jpg

Without even being asked for nuts this night, he ran to another restaurant to get some
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DH asked Savio to pick something for him, so Savio brought him the apple crumble, which was really really good. (And I'm not even much into those.) The apples were firm, not mushy at all.
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They also gave us the trio desserts, strawberry sable, cranberry orange cheesecake and chocolate cake
http://i541.photobucket.com/albums/gg400/OurOhana_photo/2nd%20cruise%20-%20Menus%20and%20food%20pics/IMG_0053.jpg

Our DD had come with us to dinner that night. (We had to drag her there most nights for at least a little bit to eat. She would rather be in the club. So after she had her dinner, DH took her to the club after she was done. When Savio realized she was gone, he brought us a little something to take back to the room for her later (So sweet and thoughful.)
http://i541.photobucket.com/albums/gg400/OurOhana_photo/2nd%20cruise%20-%20Menus%20and%20food%20pics/IMG_0056.jpg

[TotallyAngelic]

The food looks delicious! I really like the little sampler of desserts so you can try all three! The apple crumble looks particularly yummy!

[OurOhana]

The food looks delicious! I really like the little sampler of desserts so you can try all three! The apple crumble looks particularly yummy!

It really was pretty tasty. And I agree, the sampler made it really easy to try a few things without getting stuffed. (Of course, it didn't help that we ate all of the other desserts too:rotfl2: )

[OurOhana]

Sorry for the delayed update. Things have been a bit busy at work. But I'm back, and updating. Hope to finish the report soon.

http://i541.photobucket.com/albums/gg400/OurOhana_photo/2nd%20cruise%20-%20Menus%20and%20food%20pics/IMG_0038.jpg

http://i541.photobucket.com/albums/gg400/OurOhana_photo/2nd%20cruise%20-%20Menus%20and%20food%20pics/IMG_0039.jpg

Asaparagus soup - I really liked it
http://i541.photobucket.com/albums/gg400/OurOhana_photo/2nd%20cruise%20-%20Menus%20and%20food%20pics/IMG_0333.jpg

Chicken appetizer - Really tasty
http://i541.photobucket.com/albums/gg400/OurOhana_photo/2nd%20cruise%20-%20Menus%20and%20food%20pics/IMG_0334.jpg

West Indies Romaine Salad - DH had it, but he can't remember his thoughts (which means it wasn't bad)
http://i541.photobucket.com/albums/gg400/OurOhana_photo/2nd%20cruise%20-%20Menus%20and%20food%20pics/IMG_0335.jpg

Our favorite ribeye
http://i541.photobucket.com/albums/gg400/OurOhana_photo/2nd%20cruise%20-%20Menus%20and%20food%20pics/IMG_0336.jpg

And the desserts (again a great variety from our server)
http://i541.photobucket.com/albums/gg400/OurOhana_photo/2nd%20cruise%20-%20Menus%20and%20food%20pics/IMG_0342.jpg

http://i541.photobucket.com/albums/gg400/OurOhana_photo/2nd%20cruise%20-%20Menus%20and%20food%20pics/IMG_0346.jpg

http://i541.photobucket.com/albums/gg400/OurOhana_photo/2nd%20cruise%20-%20Menus%20and%20food%20pics/IMG_0347.jpg

http://i541.photobucket.com/albums/gg400/OurOhana_photo/2nd%20cruise%20-%20Menus%20and%20food%20pics/IMG_0349.jpg

http://i541.photobucket.com/albums/gg400/OurOhana_photo/2nd%20cruise%20-%20Menus%20and%20food%20pics/IMG_0348.jpg

[OurOhana]

http://i541.photobucket.com/albums/gg400/OurOhana_photo/2nd%20cruise%20-%20Menus%20and%20food%20pics/IMG_0028.jpg
http://i541.photobucket.com/albums/gg400/OurOhana_photo/2nd%20cruise%20-%20Menus%20and%20food%20pics/IMG_0030.jpg

http://i541.photobucket.com/albums/gg400/OurOhana_photo/2nd%20cruise%20-%20Menus%20and%20food%20pics/IMG_0032.jpg
http://i541.photobucket.com/albums/gg400/OurOhana_photo/2nd%20cruise%20-%20Menus%20and%20food%20pics/IMG_0031.jpg


I think this was the conch chowder (but it wasn't great for us)
http://i541.photobucket.com/albums/gg400/OurOhana_photo/2nd%20cruise%20-%20Menus%20and%20food%20pics/IMG_0190.jpg

This was the potstickers. They were kind of bready. Not great.
http://i541.photobucket.com/albums/gg400/OurOhana_photo/2nd%20cruise%20-%20Menus%20and%20food%20pics/IMG_0191.jpg

The salad was nice (fresh, as usual)
http://i541.photobucket.com/albums/gg400/OurOhana_photo/2nd%20cruise%20-%20Menus%20and%20food%20pics/IMG_0188.jpg

We love our dressings:
http://i541.photobucket.com/albums/gg400/OurOhana_photo/2nd%20cruise%20-%20Menus%20and%20food%20pics/IMG_0192.jpg

My mom got the mahi mahi, which she liked
http://i541.photobucket.com/albums/gg400/OurOhana_photo/2nd%20cruise%20-%20Menus%20and%20food%20pics/IMG_0195.jpg

DH got the ribeye as usual, no sauce
http://i541.photobucket.com/albums/gg400/OurOhana_photo/2nd%20cruise%20-%20Menus%20and%20food%20pics/IMG_0194.jpg

And I had the sirloin of beef, which was really good
http://i541.photobucket.com/albums/gg400/OurOhana_photo/2nd%20cruise%20-%20Menus%20and%20food%20pics/IMG_0193.jpg

And desserts:
http://i541.photobucket.com/albums/gg400/OurOhana_photo/2nd%20cruise%20-%20Menus%20and%20food%20pics/IMG_0200.jpg

http://i541.photobucket.com/albums/gg400/OurOhana_photo/2nd%20cruise%20-%20Menus%20and%20food%20pics/IMG_0203.jpg

http://i541.photobucket.com/albums/gg400/OurOhana_photo/2nd%20cruise%20-%20Menus%20and%20food%20pics/IMG_0204.jpg

[OurOhana]

We really had the best dining crew. As we've noted, they went above and beyond. I'd highly recommend them to anyone.

At the top of the list is head server Witt from Thailand. His favorite line was "if you have any problems call 1-800-Witt." We never had a problem. He was great.
http://i541.photobucket.com/albums/gg400/OurOhana_photo/2nd%20cruise%20-%20Crew/IMG_0206.jpg

Savio was the server. He's from India
http://i541.photobucket.com/albums/gg400/OurOhana_photo/2nd%20cruise%20-%20Crew/IMG_0210.jpg

And Veronica was the assistant server. She's from Brazil.
http://i541.photobucket.com/albums/gg400/OurOhana_photo/2nd%20cruise%20-%20Crew/IMG_0208.jpg

http://i541.photobucket.com/albums/gg400/OurOhana_photo/2nd%20cruise%20-%20Crew/IMG_0209.jpg

We had Witt for both cruises, but Savio and Veronica were new for the second cruise. We had only been in the dining room one night for the 3-night cruise, so we didn't get to know the servers there well. Mark was the server, and he was nice. I can't remember the name of the assistant server, but she had little to no personality. (We had her for a breakfast)

We were really happy with our dining staff and the room server. They were all great, and in addition to nice comments on the card, we also wrote a letter.

[CRSNDSNY]

Great report! Just found it and love the details!

We will be surprising out kids this December with a cruise - they are 2 and 4. How did your daughter react when she realized for certain that it was a Disney Cruise surprise?

[OurOhana]

We will be surprising out kids this December with a cruise - they are 2 and 4. How did your daughter react when she realized for certain that it was a Disney Cruise surprise?

That's so cool. You all will have so much fun.

This is going to sound horrible when I say this, but I don't think our daughter understands just how cool it all is. Don't get me wrong - she LOVES it. I just think she thinks it's something we could do anytime we want. We were in Cocoa Beach last weekend and saw both the Magic and Wonder. She asked if we could go on the "Mickey Boat," and we said we didn't have tickets. She asked if we could get tickets next time so we could go on again. Oh, if only it was that simple (or the tickets were that cheap) :)

[CRSNDSNY]

Ha ha! Yes, I think it is hard for them to understand.

In trying to get my son potty trained, we tell him that if he goes on potty he can go on Mickey Boat. So he'll say, "pee potty! Mickey Boat!" No luck, though.
Our daughter asks nearly every single day if we could LIVE on Mickey Boat. She is seriously as obsessed with Disney Cruise Line as I am....possibly even worse. So I think she will have some understanding when she finally sees the ship at the Port.

Luckily we are getting in on Friday night and then driving down to the Sheraton at Port Canaveral. I don't think they'll see the ship from there and possible be sleeping during our drive. We're going to tell them we're going to the beach or something. Then the next morning when we are driving to the Port we'll let them see it for themselves. I think there is going to be a lot of screaming in our car at that point!

[Melcatfish]

That's so cool. You all will have so much fun.

This is going to sound horrible when I say this, but I don't think our daughter understands just how cool it all is. Don't get me wrong - she LOVES it. I just think she thinks it's something we could do anytime we want. We were in Cocoa Beach last weekend and saw both the Magic and Wonder. She asked if we could go on the "Mickey Boat," and we said we didn't have tickets. She asked if we could get tickets next time so we could go on again. Oh, if only it was that simple (or the tickets were that cheap) :)

My daughter is the same. She is 4 and we are booked for July 30th 8 night Magic cruise. We went last summer on a revised Eastern that became a western and she LOVED it but at that age she doesn't quite get that it is EXPENSIVE and we can't just go on Mickeys Boat anytime we like. The other day she found 27p that must have fallen out of our pockets in her bedroom (that is around 40 cents in US money) and she gave it to me and asked if NOW do we have enough pennies to go back on Mickeys Special Boat?!

I am loving your trip report and photos, I find reading trip reports and living vicariously through other peoples trips is the best way to pass time between cruises!

Mel
x