Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Cruise, Oct 30th,2010 Magical Western NewTR link 4/10

[TinkyCheeks]

Wow! I'm bummed that it's taken me so long to find your TR, but now that I have, I can't stop reading it! You look like such a fun group! I'm definitely sticking around.

 

[dizneeat]

Karin, definitely do the Eastern!!! It is so beautiful and so exotic!!! So far that is the best thing we have ever done!

Karin!! Did you see this? [/COLOR]

Somehow I didn't get notifications for all new posts here yesterday!
Believe me ........ this morning my inbox was overflowing!

Thanks for the thumbs up on the Eastern Caribbean! Now all I need to do is convince Tom, then on the other hand ....... he is EASY to convince when it comes to DCL!

Thanks for the recommendation and thanks for pointing me in the right direction, Ellen! to both of you!

 

[Flossbolna]

Even I am nearly convinced that I need to go on the Eastern Caribbean... I guess I will be watching the September/October 2012 cruises on the Fantasy when they will come out...

 

[podsnel]

very cute Tyler baby pictures, but she still has some of that little boy left in him!

Who would not love to have three so great looking men taking you to dinner! Your family looks beautiful all dressed up and I think your dress went extremely well with the black and white of the tuxes.

Thank-you!! I do love to get them all fancied up- it's one of my favorite things, dressing that way.

i am soooo far behind. Love the three way mud mess and skipping desserts. So much to read and comment on. I have this funny feeling my sides are going ache for days in May.

Yes you will....don't forget to pack the Depends....

The boys are so handsome in their tuxes. I loved the baby pictures reminds me of my sons. They grow up so fast, mine were such cute babies & now they are big hairy men! Treasure these times, they mean so much.

I am treasuring them...although mine already are a little on the hairy side....

I really loved St. John, the park was so beautiful. We didn't get to see much of Grand Cayman because of arriving late, plus it was raining. Our first cruise was eastern & the second was western. The second was our cruise from hell.
My favorite thing on a cruise was to get a boat drink, put my feet on the rail & watch the ocean.

I think that sounds perfect! What happened on that Western? Was it weather? Something else? I know you mentioned before it was bad, but now I've forgotten if you've filled me in.

OMG, those pictures of Tyler are so adorable. I love to see kids photos and how they have grown. And he has gone from so cute to so handsome. I had a little bit of a tear in my eye just looking at them. They grow so fast. Thanks for sharing those with us.

AWW....that's so sweet, Chris! I tear up when I look at them, too. Yesterday we had fun looking at the pictures in the scrapbook I pulled out...well, it was fun for me- Tyler just wanted it to stop!

And as for the service for your dessert. . . . . . what's up with that? I don't get the way they serve when you go to dinner. What always torks us off is that we could be the first in our section to be seated but seems like we are always the last served. Why? Who knows. But it is very frustrating. We have let the Head Waiter know about this and it seems to get better after saying something. But still, I don't think there is any reason it should make you late for a show that you are wanting to see. Better luck at your next dinner.

We didn't have to say anything to our head waiter and it improved....I was VERY impressed. You'll see....

 

[podsnel]

Wow! I'm bummed that it's taken me so long to find your TR, but now that I have, I can't stop reading it! You look like such a fun group! I'm definitely sticking around.

Hi there, welcome, and THANKS! I have to ask- do your 3 stooges have two legs or four?

Somehow I didn't get notifications for all new posts here yesterday!
Believe me ........ this morning my inbox was overflowing!

Thanks for the thumbs up on the Eastern Caribbean! Now all I need to do is convince Tom, then on the other hand ....... he is EASY to convince when it comes to DCL!

Thanks for the recommendation and thanks for pointing me in the right direction, Ellen! to both of you!

That's so funny!! Sorry for clogging up your inbox! I haven't been able to cook for about 3 weeks (my DCS stove has a faulty pressure guage valve, has had it for 4 years, from the factory- this high end range has NEVER cooked properly and now they are repairing it. Although they seem to think I should pay for the labor. I don't think so.). Anyway, it has left me with some free time to write, I guess!

Good luck convincing Tom! But I bet it won't be a problem!

Even I am nearly convinced that I need to go on the Eastern Caribbean... I guess I will be watching the September/October 2012 cruises on the Fantasy when they will come out...

I can't wait to go on that cruise- but it has to wait because I've got scheduling problems for a couple of years!

 

[podsnel]

After waking up on Tuesday morning, I kicked myself for once again, forgetting to order COFFEE the night before. I also...was having an issue- which I had been having the whole time, but which became much, much worse today. It was my eyes again, just like when we were in WDW in September. UGH!! They hurt soooo much! My left eye especially. It felt like there was sand in it. But there was nothing I could do, so I guess I just grinned and beared it.

It looked like there were a lot less cranes on GC than there were two years ago!

We went up to Topsiders, and THIS time, I remembered my now tempermental camera. So here are some pics of what we were eating for breakfast most days-

Never liked the eggs, but the shrooms were tasty!

These potatoes were always yum-

And it looks like THIS was the morning I had that yummy croissant sandwich, not yesterday. Wow, I am really slippin!

We never had a problem sitting outside, it was wonderful-

Grand Cayman is a port that you arrive to early in the day- 7:30 am, to be exact, you must tender in and out of, and the last tender is at 4pm. Tendering is no one's idea of a good time, but it is sometimes neccessary, and in this port, it is always the case. Since we did not have an excursion planned on this day, we were in no rush to get on the earlier tenders- we departed somewhere around 10:30, I believe.

Yea- I'm posting it again-

Once we were docked in GC, we headed for one of the taxi drivers holding up signs for the beaches. Our intention was to go to a place called the Reef Club- my friend, Rona, a frequent cruiser, had mentioned this place as a great spot to head to for the day. Unfortunately, we were told by the taxi drivers that they would take us there, but it was very rocky there. Instead, they all suggested Sea Grape- and while I had read about Sea Grape, and it didn't seem all that impressive to me, I also didn't want to be dealing with rocks all day, so Sea Grape it was.

We got in the taxi...and we were their first family to board. Of course, that's bad, because you have to wait for the taxi to fill before it will leave. Another group got on, and we still were waiting in the tin can sweat box of a van- finally, FINALLY we got to leave because we started honking the horn and saying we were all going to get out ( yea- that's right! I was an Ugly American- a SWEATY ugly American, and I wanted to GO!). After that, the beach was just 10 minutes (maybe) away.

We made the big executive decision to splurge on a couple of raft rentals,
and i have to say, that decision is always a good one. The boys were having fun, playing with their Waboba ball-

There was not much to see underwater here-

But the water was beautiful and clear and perfect for just hanging out and relaxing! After a bit, i decided I was ready for a snack, so went up to the bar/restaurant to order a local Cayman favorite, Conch Fritters, and a FABULOUS cocktail, a Cayman Colada (Pina Colada with raspberry puree- sound familiar?)

I have to say, both were really good- they totally hit the spot! That drink was da BOMB!!

Cont'd next post-

 

[JKSWonder]

Do you know if he was a regular Magic server? Or was he new or from the Wonder?

I don't know. After introducing himself the first night, his first name and home country was all I ever learned about him. Other than asking us where we were from, he never interacted with us on any personal level after that. It was odd. The wait staff at our local Chili's is more personable!

Our drink server was very nice, even though I think he was relatively new to the Magic. He and my husband had a discussion about different kinds of beer one night. He let me know if there were certain specialty drink I would or would not enjoy. He brought extra crayons for the kids, made them hats, told them jokes and did magic tricks!

 

[Mysteria]

Wow that water is clear! What is that ball the boys were playing with? Looks like something that you get soaked, throw at each other and see who can leave the biggest bruise.

Looking at the pic of the three ships do you remember what ship it was on the left?

 

[dizneeat]

Good luck convincing Tom! But I bet it won't be a problem!

Problem solved! Sat him down and showed him your photos and he was all for it!
So, if all goes well, we'll cruise on both the Dream and the Fantasy b2b (I still call it b2b even if we have to stay on dry land for a day! ) in 2012!!!

Your photos are wonderful! The beach looks great. Not so sure about the tendering though, but the boats look huge enough. I am not very good with "small" boats on BIG oceans!

Sorry about your eyes! Hope they didn't bother you too much all day!

Food looks yummy - drink =

 

[kid-at-heart]

Yum, yum the breakfast buffet looks really good. Look at your plate, full of healthy stuff. Me, I would have had a plate full of bacon and more bacon, and some potatoes and mushrooms, plenty of mushrooms. Oh, and the watermelon also.

 

[nenner1]

Oh my gosh, I have a whole lot here to comment on!!!

Sea Day- your time at the pool looks wonderful. Couldn't have been a lovelier day. The Italian buffet at Topsiders loooks good too, did you know I did not step foot into Topsiders the entire cruise!?!?! Strange!!!

I don't see Brendan in your Edge pics from that morning...he was in there somewhere (probably with his face buried in a computer). You know what's funny, in the dodgeball pic I said to Ron "Oh look! There he is!" Uh, nope....that was Tyler. Now I am recognizing your kids as my own! HA!

When you guys were at the martini tasting, we were right down the hall at the beer tasting. (I *knew* we picked the wrong one but Ron wanted beer, so.....) LOL! And we must have missed you by minutes up at the pool, we were up there for a short time after brunch but it must have been right when you guys went to eat.

The room of naughty mud nookie for three...wow, you only see this on Disney folks. And they say DCL is just for kids, pshaw! What do they know!?!?! Although we better keep it quiet or the swingers will start bringing their group cruises over from the Carny ships....

You all look so lovely on formal night! Dinner that night was wonderful, I agree.....and I am SO sorry you had to wait for (and never got) dessert. I think that night it may have been the kitchen as we had to wait a ridiculous amount of time too, and we couldn't split because that was Brendan's birthday celebration (Which we LOST the video of....UGH! ) I wish we could have made A&S's adult performance, I bet they were hilarious!!!!

Cayman, Sea Grape looks like a really nice beach, can't get over how clear that water is, looks like you guys were swimming in a pool!! The food looks tasty and the call-it-whatever-you-want-colava...yummmeh!

And I have to comment on your Tyler mini TR. Look out mama, you are in for some trouble with that one, the girls will be all over him (if not already! ) That is what I could not believe when I first saw ya'll, how much the boys (but especially Tyler) had grown up. Sigh. If only we could keep 'em little ones forever.... (er...ahh...babies or preschool age, we can skip this terrible twos stage!)

Can't wait for more! I need to catch up again!!

 

[podsnel]

After some of my fritters, I went back into the water-

Tyler said, "I'm done. Let's go back to the ship." Ummm...sorry, bud- we're still not done- you're going to have to live without Edge for a few more hours!

He got over it. A good use of a raft excursion- floating and reading-

A BETTER use of a raft excursion- floating, reading and DRINKING-

It was starting to get cloudy...in a baaaaad way-

So we just didn't look over that way anymore!

My view from the raft-

Hmmm...starting to get a little darker....

And the boys decide to have some snacks-

As soon as they were done, it began to rain- so we packed it up and jumped in one of the MANY taxis waiting to transport passengers back to their cruise ships. Our driver was AWESOME- he was funny and entertaining, and he gave a little tour while he drove. Total opposite of the cranky wench who drove us out to the beach, we all thought.

When we arrived back in town, we walked over to the rum Cake factory to buy some souvenirs (and taste some samples!), and then stopped to pick up tshirts for all the men at a shop near the dock. I thought I took photos, but I guess not- I know my eye was making me CRAZEEEEE at this point, so i must have just been muddling though. Sorry about that! We did suggest going to Margaritaville for a Rita and a dip in the pool, but the boys CLEARLY wanted to go back to Edge. So we went to our Tender- and can I just say, THANK-YOU, THANK-YOU DISNEY CRUISE LINE!!!! For sending so many tenders, so frequently. Those other ships, most especially Norwegian Dawn, I believe, had loooooooooong lines of people who had been waiting for EVER to get back to their ship- it did NOT look like they were too happy about it AT ALL!

All in all, it had been a relaxing day at the beach- did I like our last visit to GC better than this one? ABSOLUTELY- last time, we did the Eco Outrage Tour and had a private boat take us to Sting Ray City, Snorkeling on the Reef, lunch at Kaibo Beach Club, Tubing, went to a beach with loads of Sea Stars, and then finished with more tubing. It was EXCELLENT. It rained, ALOT, on the excursion, and THAT was BRUTAL (not so fun getting pelted with heavy rain on the way out to StingRay City when the boat is FLYING to get you there fast!), but it was still incredible. But we wanted to try something different this time (and save $500!), and so we were very happy at the end of our day. Back in the cabin-

I think I delivered my FE gifts....and hung out on the balcony while we pulled out to sea. We took a trip up to the pool and stopped in at Cove Cafe- where I had a delicious specialty coffee along with some great conversation with non-Dissers who REALLY loved their DVC (always my favorite topic! ). Then it was back to the cabin to shower and get ready for tonight's dinner & show- Villians Tonight!

 

[podsnel]

I don't know. After introducing himself the first night, his first name and home country was all I ever learned about him. Other than asking us where we were from, he never interacted with us on any personal level after that. It was odd. The wait staff at our local Chili's is more personable!

Our drink server was very nice, even though I think he was relatively new to the Magic. He and my husband had a discussion about different kinds of beer one night. He let me know if there were certain specialty drink I would or would not enjoy. He brought extra crayons for the kids, made them hats, told them jokes and did magic tricks!

It sounds like the asst should have switched with the other server! I'm glad he at least was wonderful- our last servers were like him- remebered all the drinks (after the first night, like you had known them for years!), made recommendations as to what was best liked on the menu, had puzzles, etc, for us to solve during the meal, told jokes, cut up the kids' meats....it was AMAZING. It really made it hard to go back to just...nice!

Wow that water is clear! What is that ball the boys were playing with? Looks like something that you get soaked, throw at each other and see who can leave the biggest bruise.

Looking at the pic of the three ships do you remember what ship it was on the left?

A waboba is this really cool ball for water play- it does not sink, it floats on the water, but it has weight, so you can REALLy throw it. It provides HOURS of entertainment-http://www.waboba.com/. I got mine on Amazon. No bruises, so far, though!

The ship on the left was a Carnival Ship, but I don't know which one, sorry. I did recognize the Norwegian Dawn because she was docked in NYC for years- we even went on a 2 night cruise with some friends on her once. We had a blast. But it was two nights.

Problem solved! Sat him down and showed him your photos and he was all for it!
So, if all goes well, we'll cruise on both the Dream and the Fantasy b2b (I still call it b2b even if we have to stay on dry land for a day! ) in 2012!!!

Your photos are wonderful! The beach looks great. Not so sure about the tendering though, but the boats look huge enough. I am not very good with "small" boats on BIG oceans!

Sorry about your eyes! Hope they didn't bother you too much all day!

Food looks yummy - drink =

WOW...I feel so POWERFUL!!! What ELSE can I show you pictures of and talk you into??

The tenders aren't what I would call small- they have two decks. ANd it's a quick ride- 10 minutes or so. It's really only bad if the water is very rough-

Yum, yum the breakfast buffet looks really good. Look at your plate, full of healthy stuff. Me, I would have had a plate full of bacon and more bacon, and some potatoes and mushrooms, plenty of mushrooms. Oh, and the watermelon also.

I'm more of a sausage girl- hmmm...that sounds a little perverse... than a bacon girl and I PROMISE I ate plenty of sausage on other days! I actually ate a TON of mushrooms on other mornings- just this morning I had that sandwich, so I skipped it. The shrooms were yummy- as well as the broiled or grilled tomatoes they put out every day.

 

[podsnel]

Oh my gosh, I have a whole lot here to comment on!!!

Sea Day- your time at the pool looks wonderful. Couldn't have been a lovelier day. The Italian buffet at Topsiders loooks good too, did you know I did not step foot into Topsiders the entire cruise!?!?! Strange!!!

What the heck did ya eat???

I don't see Brendan in your Edge pics from that morning...he was in there somewhere (probably with his face buried in a computer). You know what's funny, in the dodgeball pic I said to Ron "Oh look! There he is!" Uh, nope....that was Tyler. Now I am recognizing your kids as my own! HA!

That totally made me ! He was at the computer, by the way. I remember seeing him in there, I probably said hello.

When you guys were at the martini tasting, we were right down the hall at the beer tasting. (I *knew* we picked the wrong one but Ron wanted beer, so.....) LOL! And we must have missed you by minutes up at the pool, we were up there for a short time after brunch but it must have been right when you guys went to eat.

It's like we're living in parallell universes ....

The room of naughty mud nookie for three...wow, you only see this on Disney folks. And they say DCL is just for kids, pshaw! What do they know!?!?! Although we better keep it quiet or the swingers will start bringing their group cruises over from the Carny ships....

So THAT's where all our friends were!! No wonder we couldn't find a third! REALLY????

You all look so lovely on formal night! Dinner that night was wonderful, I agree.....and I am SO sorry you had to wait for (and never got) dessert. I think that night it may have been the kitchen as we had to wait a ridiculous amount of time too, and we couldn't split because that was Brendan's birthday celebration (Which we LOST the video of....UGH! ) I wish we could have made A&S's adult performance, I bet they were hilarious!!!!

They were funny, of course. I wonder what was up in the kitchen? So sorry about Brendan's video!! And also for not realizing it was his birthday!!

Cayman, Sea Grape looks like a really nice beach, can't get over how clear that water is, looks like you guys were swimming in a pool!! The food looks tasty and the call-it-whatever-you-want-colava...yummmeh!

It was a good day- I like Cozumel a whole lot better than GC, though...

And I have to comment on your Tyler mini TR. Look out mama, you are in for some trouble with that one, the girls will be all over him (if not already! ) That is what I could not believe when I first saw ya'll, how much the boys (but especially Tyler) had grown up. Sigh. If only we could keep 'em little ones forever.... (er...ahh...babies or preschool age, we can skip this terrible twos stage!)

I remember you saying that. The girls do seem to like Tyler- but he is too shy to make a move. I have seen them crowd around him in giggle fits both at school and at the pool- but he doesn't make any moves and is kind of oblivious.

OMG- Terrible Twos...and even more Terrible Threes....maybe I'm glad they're old!

Can't wait for more! I need to catch up again!!

I have been sitting in my kitchen ALL DAY waiting for the gas company (and first the stove repair). I did catch up on a bunch of PTA stuff, though, so I guess that's good. But I need to GET OUTTA HERE!!!!!

 

[manntra]

Okayyyyyyyyyy I am back!!!
Your first day gave me hives....seriously....what a weirdo limo driver and then I just KNEW your poor laptop was still on board I would have been in hysterics if that was my macbook That really was a black cloud...followed you all the way from BCV poor Timmy ....cool x-ray though!!!
Oh the food on the ship..... I remember having practically an entire plate of those crab claws....just sayin'
Looks like you had such a nice mix of awesome Disers Everyone sounds so nice
Key West looks like a blast!!! How is it that I have never been there Oooh I loveeeee conch fritters!!!
That is an AWESOME cheese plate!! What a fun idea.....and incorporating two of my favorite things.....wine and cheese!!!
The food at Palo looks just a-m-a-z-i-n-g!!!!!!! When I was on the Wonder it was just my younger niece and I so of course I didn't go by myself We had some great tablemates and I still keep in touch with some of them after 3 years
Great, great, great photos of your formal night.....love your dress and all of your boys look handsome!!
Okay so now I REALLY want to go on another cruise. RIGHT NOW!!!
Not going to happen this year though I think....I have a trip in May and then October....so maybe the following year but then again you never know.... That would be SO AWESOME if they really did dock one of the ships in NY...no flight Speaking of flight.....that was a nice flight of tinis you had!!!

ETA: I KNEW you were going to finish posting before I did!!! I meant to tell you I have that same Olympus waterproof camera...mine is pretty old too but is still holding up good.....love it for the pool/lake and especially beautiful crystal water like you were in!!

I just love talking DVC too.....I really thought my neighbor was going to buy ...Sue-- the one that went with me in May well....she just left her husband after 24 years and moved in with some guy over an hour away....I haven't talked to her since Her (soon to be ex-husband I guess) is soooooooo nice and this guy...I mean who knows all I have heard is that they went to school together way back when and connected on Facebook


Tracy

 

[Wicket's Mom]

On sailing day we were supposed to leave port at noon, but didn't sail until 7. They wouldn't tell us why so late, but we saw the reason on Dan Rather. Drugs were attached to the hull & DEA boys & local law were down at the waterline trying to remove them. The trip went downhill from there.
Drunk teens were everywhere, all of the time, just terrible behavior. The room next to ours had 4 college guys in there & the walls were paper thin. We knew where to find all the easy girls because of their talking. They banged on our door very late at night. Got no help from any of the crew.
We were late to Grand Cayman due to rescuing folks stuck on a cataran around 5am. So instead of 6 hours we got 2 to see anything. Of course it rained there.
On our last night there was a storm, so of course dining room was rockin' & rollin'. This was due to a light load because of burning fuel to make up for lost time. Alas, too sick to eat my lobster & filet & I'm one that can do the tea cups at MK.
I could go on, but it does give one a good story to tell after all these years. The really bad part was the education that my kids got on that trip!

Doris

 

[MEK]

Okay so now I REALLY want to go on another cruise. RIGHT NOW!!!
Not going to happen this year though I think....I have a trip in May and then October....so maybe the following year but then again you never know.... That would be SO AWESOME if they really did dock one of the ships in NY...no flight Speaking of flight.....that was a nice flight of tinis you had!!!

Ditto! All this talk of cruises makes me really want to go, but like you I have a trip planned for May and two in the fall. I was thinking about changing my Nov fall trip (Denny & I) to a Jan cruise. But now the soccer moms think they want to go to HH in October instead of Disney. If that happens, I definitely need to go back to Disney in November and wait for the cruise.

.I really thought my neighbor was going to buy ...Sue-- the one that went with me in May well....she just left her husband after 24 years and moved in with some guy over an hour away....I haven't talked to her since Her (soon to be ex-husband I guess) is soooooooo nice and this guy...I mean who knows all I have heard is that they went to school together way back when and connected on Facebook


Tracy

What the.....? Seriously! Wowsa!


OK - hijack over - Ellen - loved the new update. Yummy breakfast and that Cayman Colada - I'd be all over that. The water looks so beautiful! What a great way to spend the afternoon. Imagine those boys wanting to go back to the ship. Sheesh!

 

[papertraveller]

Love the shots of Grand Cayman. We're still undecided about whether to do more than just walk around in town. The water at the beach looks lovely though ... did you rent chairs and an umbrella? And do you recall what you paid for the taxi?

Thanks - keep those updates coming!

 

[anewmac]

OMG- darn holidays made me miss almost all of your cruise.. AHHHHH so much to comment on let me see if I can remember half of it.....

1st Merry Xmas, Happy Hannaka and Kwanza... and Happy New Year!

I love that you post porn.. food porn that is.. glad you left out the naughty nasty rasul rrarwwww LOL

loved your palo hat, food looked to die for

Key west how fun to do that kidfree!

So your coffee ... you never Dr'ed it up? lol

Tini Tasting (and for Jen- Beer tasting) THATS my girls!!! humm Cognic (sp? LOL) tasting that would be fun I never saw that on ours.

Im disapointed in your Grand Cayman time.. Here I raved about our Bootleg tour and you go and spend time on a beautiful beach... LOL

Formal night, love your dress and red shoes- HAWT MOMMA! the pics of your boys (all 3) are too handsom. T & T are gonna give you a run for your money, gonna be swatting them lil hoochie girls away from them!!!

Im so upset you didnt get dessert most nights cuz the service was so slow.. thats like a cruise NO NO.. bad servers! bab bad servers lol.

OH ya poor Timmys finger... poor guy, poor you for the expense (does trip insurance not cover that?) P would have been all over using that finger to point with etc.. just to "get away" with things

Well glad to know where the laptop is.. NOW to find out if you get it back.

**ok im sure i missed some post to comment.. but Im now caught up you can continue.. not that it stopped you.. I see you didnt miss me at all. huh.. whatever LOL.

(Jen Ill do you tmrw... I mean Ill catch up on yours tmrw.. Oy ve thats as bad as Naughty nasty muddy buddys for 3)

 

[rentayenta]

Hey Ellen, thanks for the directions! Heading to yoga soon but I will be back to catch up tonight after the kids are in bed.