Video Killed the Trip Report Star: A Little Halloween Magic (Western) Complete!!

[nenner1]

What a great day

It was, absolutely wonderful! Wishing we were back there RIGHT NOW!~!!

What a fun day you had.

But I sure wish you would share some of that weather with us up here in the deep freeze. We are so flippin cold. I would take 80 any day. But we are to warm up a bit this weekend and might hit 30!

So, did you party with the pirates all night then, after the day you guys had???????

Oh I would be so more than happy to share about 30 degrees or so with anyone who needs it right about now! It comes with bonus 100% humidity! W00t!

Well..some of us partied, some of us didn't... You'll have to wait to find out, (but not too long!)

aww man between you and ellen the food is killing my diet LOL. the drinks too lol

It's OK you have Shawn T! LOL And you can keep him!

oh the mayo on the dog... its a mexico thing. E puts it on everything. Corn (eww), steak (double Ewww), hot dogs and hamburgers (triple, quadruple EWWW)

Oh gross! I admit I am biased, I HATE mayo...blech!

I love how Savannah is so camera ready, you can totally see the Dancer in her... watchout.. thats how I was.. Just saying LOL

Ruh roh...look out!

oh and I had to go back to the ol trippy (trip down memory lane), we went to playa mia, not paradise, but im sure they were somewhat alike. lol

OK....it's coming back now. They had the inflatables and stuff right? I remember it seemed very nice!!

Best way to start the day, with an update! I will totally remember to ask for nothing on the hot dogs! My kids would flip if they got mayo on their hot dog!

Yeah, I guess we could have sent them back.... But She was alright just eating the fries. Just a little heads up for anyone going to Nachi!

I have been faithfully following your trip report from the beginning. It has been so entertaining and helpful. I will be going on my first cruise in less than a month. Thank you so much for sharing your trip with all of us.

Well thank you so much for stopping by to read and I am so glad it has helped you plan your cruise!!!

Where did you get the cute dresses for your girls and the top for you that you tie dyed? I love the styles of both of them and thought I would do something similar for our cruise.

The red polka dot dresses are from Gymboree. They were park of the Poppy collection from last summer. The tie dye shirts and dresses I got from Dharma Trading company which is a textile company that I also got the dye from (it was highly recommended on the tie-dye threads and I have to concur that it was fantastic dye!) They have so many styles of shirts and other clothing to choose from, pretty much everything you could imagine! I totally recommend using Dharma for your tie-dyeing supplies, both dye and the dyeable clothing!

It was such a great day! Can't wait to go again!

Ron

I actually did order it plain. Apparently plain is Mexican for extra mayo please.

Ron

LOL!!! And here we thought they might come out with something silly on them like.... ketchup...or *gasp* mustard!

 

[mmmears]

I have enjoyed reading your TRs in the past and I'm soooo glad I found this one! I am all caught up and can't wait for your next update!!! Thanks so much for sharing your trip.

 

[podsnel]

WOW!!! You were busy while I was away!!! I loved reading abouit our day at Nachi- it was like being there all over again. That Treasure Hunt looked like so much fun- what an awesome job those moms did! I remember when everyone was signing up for it, I was wishing my boys were little again so they could participate...not the first or last time I have felt THAT way!!

I wondered how you got Carlos- I had read about him on CC, too- we did not have him, and I don't recall the name of our waiter, but he hustled like nobody's business, since we were all the way to the end almost. I am so impressed Carlos had those sand toys for Sarah!!

Have to go- the boys need to eat early and I'm going out with some friends tonight. I left you a text message about the DISmom trip, so LOOK AT YOUR CELL PHONE!!!

 

[nenner1]

I have enjoyed reading your TRs in the past and I'm soooo glad I found this one! I am all caught up and can't wait for your next update!!! Thanks so much for sharing your trip.

Aww, thanks so much for reading! So glad to have ya back onboard!

WOW!!! You were busy while I was away!!!

Well, I tried to catch ya. I got close. LOL.

I loved reading abouit our day at Nachi- it was like being there all over again. That Treasure Hunt looked like so much fun- what an awesome job those moms did! I remember when everyone was signing up for it, I was wishing my boys were little again so they could participate...not the first or last time I have felt THAT way!!

I know what you mean, I look over at B and I can't believe it.

They really did an awesome job with the Treasure Hunt! I had a blast just watching it (when Sarah would let me)!

I wondered how you got Carlos- I had read about him on CC, too- we did not have him, and I don't recall the name of our waiter, but he hustled like nobody's business, since we were all the way to the end almost. I am so impressed Carlos had those sand toys for Sarah!!

I'm so glad our fears about Nachi not being able to handle the volume were unfounded. I know some were disappointed with where they were placed on the beach but other than that I did not hear anything negative about the staff. All of the servers were really busting their butts.

Have to go- the boys need to eat early and I'm going out with some friends tonight. I left you a text message about the DISmom trip, so LOOK AT YOUR CELL PHONE!!!

I got it...you just do whatcha do, sista! I'll go with the flow! Do you need to add me to an ADR or will one bonus person be OK just showing up? I was thinking it would be alright, but if you are concerned we'll talk.

 

[nenner1]

As soon as we boarded the Magic after our fun day in Cozumel, we hit the showers.

Back in our room, we discovered the first of what would now be termed as our “daytime” towel animals! Our stateroom host Ryan was really great, and for the remainder of the cruise we would get twice-daily creations! What a special touch! Here, Sarah’s pillow and blanket crafted a butterfly:

The kids room had this guy, he looks remarkably similar to the space shuttle we got on the first day, but due to his horizontal orientation, we deduced that he was, in fact, a shark.

Brendan was the first to get ready and get out, since he was suffering from The Edge withdrawals. I was in the shower in our room, and was called by Ron as soon as I got out to come and look, so of course I came running out in a towel to see….us leaving- and everyone on the nearby Norwegian Dawn waving. They were so very close, you could see right in the ship. It was pretty cool until I realized that if I could see them….most likely they could see me, in my towel! So I retreated behind the privacy curtain to watch the rest of our departure!


Tonight, as you know, was Pirate night so there was no stage show. Instead they featured a move in the Walt Disney Theater. Tonight it was Secretariat, which did not really appeal to us, so instead we relaxed and took our time getting ready for dinner.

When we were all ready, we headed down to first pick up Brendan at the Edge. Here is what was going on down there that night:

Then we headed up to the Atrium. We had apparently just missed Jack Sparrow- after 4 cruises on DCL we *still* have not snagged that picture. I figured we could try to catch him at Castaway Cay, but when we saw the pictures of others with him in Shutters, Ron thought he was not a good likeness at all, so we decided to skip getting a photo with the not-very-Jack-looking-Jack this trip.

Next, we made a stop into Shutters to check out our pics. I can’t say enough about the wonderful staff in Shutters! They were so amazing! Stephanie and Claire were so taken by Sarah, they would carry her around the room and she would point at and name the characters, and then when they showed her a stock photo of the ship, she would sing the horn “Bom Bom Bom Bom Bom Bom Booooommmm!”, and they all thought it was so cute! Of course this would give us an opportunity to look at and discuss our pictures, and for that we were very grateful. We got the VIP treatment every time we walked in, even when it was crazy busy, and it was so impressive. THIS is the Disney service we’ve come to know and love!

And just like that, it was time to chow down! We were back in Animator’s Palate tonight.

The Podsnel family, preparing to pillage and plunder their meal. LMAO at the left side of the table over there. I guess boys will be boys, eh?

As you can see, aside from Savannah, who got most of her getup from the Treasure Hunt at Nachi, we weren’t too gussied up in Pirate Garb, so the bandanas were the perfect accessory!

Even Mickey was in on the deal:

First out was the killer bread: Johnny Cake (which was cornbread squares) with Pigeon Pea Relish. I could have eaten just this all night (and probably should have). The bread was so fresh, warm and crumbly, and the tangy black eyed pea relish was delish (if a bit difficult to “spread” i.e. dribble on top of your bread and get to stay there while you take a bite)!

Our appetizers were quickly out, Blackbeard’s Jumbo Crab Cake and Pirate Pot Stickers for Ron, and the Buccaneer Sun Ripened Pineapple for me:

And a little mid-course entertainment!

Service was moving well tonight. We skipped the soup/salad course, but our entrée’s were out quickly. Nothing new for the kids, Chicken Strips and Minnie’s Mini Burger.

Ron had the Jack Sparrow’s Marinated Beef Short Ribs with Tamarind Barbecue Sauce served with Onion Red Bliss Mashed Potatoes and a Plantain Chip.

I had the Castaway Chicken Breast rubbed with Pirate Island Spice, served with Rice and Beans and Fried Okra on a rich spiced glaze.

Our verdict on the meal… it was just meh. Ron said his ribs were just OK, and I did not care for my chicken at all. I had eaten it before on one of my previous cruises and didn’t like it then either, so I don’t know what possessed me to order it again, but I did. And my opinion didn’t change.

So here is where things went downhill a bit. Service slowed up, Sarah melted down, Savannah nodded out.

When the music started blasting for the dining room parade and limbo, none of the kids so much as lifted an eyebrow. Brendan was finally plodded out of his chair by Mahendra and Savannah had to be shaken awake by Passayu. But once they were up, they were UP!

Savannah did make it through the limbo before the music stopped but Brendan never made it around the corner. Either we just had a really popular limbo, or….they shortened it. A lot. That’s OK though. Thanks to Ellen for letting me slide by their table to take pictures! They had the best table location in all of the restaurants!

**Continued in next post**

 

[nenner1]

Speaking of melting down, Sarah did temporarily perk up finally, with the arrival of dessert:

And she isn’t the only one who enjoys Mickey Bars!!!

Check out these pirates! Arrr! (Joanie and Sam)

I’m pretty sure I had a Walk The Plank Chocolate Cake, though I have no pictures to prove it. It would be outside of my character to have passed on dessert, although stranger things have happened!

Sarah was pretty well over it, and when you have late seating you do have to move to get up to the party. So we left promptly after dessert and made a stop back at the room. Sarah was so beside herself at this point, I decided to stay with her and get her to bed, while Ron and the kids headed up to the Pirate Party.

The kids had a Dinosaur!

And the reincarnated swan/lobster/scorpion in the corner got new eyes (the old ones were quite tasty!)

And across the hall in our room, we also had this cool brontosaur, or maybe it's the Loch-ness monster. What was her name, Old Nessie?:

Ron and the kids headed up to deck 9, arriving fashionably late. The midship areas of decks 9 and 10 were a madhouse and for the actual party they were stuck next to the forward stack. It did not provide a very good vantage point for the party but it was very cool when the characters left and passed right by them up the staircase.

The party is still exactly the same as it has always been, no changes at all to the cast, characters, music or storyline. But seeing Mickey zip over the crowd and the fireworks erupt at sea is always thrilling!

After the party, when most folks were ravaging the buffet, Savannah joined Ellen for some fun dancing on deck!

Even Brendan joins in!

I love this pic, I’m sure Ellen will too!!! LOL!

After the party, Brendan was back to the Edge, and Ron and Savannah headed up to finish the last 2 floors of FE deliveries!

We were really looking forward to the next day- at sea-with no reservations, no appointments, and nothing on the schedule but relaxation and spontaneous fun!

Up next: Splashfest

 

[dvc4life]

Fun update! Looked like a good time was had by all.

And the photo of Ellen jammin down, well, it just looks like she is having a blast! Go Ellen, Go Ellen!

 

[livingis2me]

Another great update!

 

[anewmac]

thats awesome about the VIP treatment in Shutters, much more relaxing then having lil boys keep saying can we go now, can we go now, are you done yet, are you done yet?? and that was just from E lol

well if its any consolation the food looked good.

Mickey bars looks awesome! Sarah looks like shes devouring it lol.

OMG LOVe that pic of Ellen, she's so into it!!!

oh and the Mickey shirts the girls are wearing are too cute!!!!

 

[podsnel]

Oh. My. GAWD.

Well, yea, I was VERY into it- I usually am, I guess that's how I roll, 150% effort, 2% talent.

I can't believe what a GREAT cabin steward you guys had!! Ours was sweet, and by the end of the day we always had a towel animal, but you reminded me that he usually got around to making up our cabin at 4 or 5:00....we'd go back during the day to get something (on sea days) and the room was still a mess. I think we must have been at the end of his rotation or something. Last time, I took a photo of our steward, she was awesome- and she was the next group down from us this time, Iwould be so envious of her tidy rooms whil;e I walked down the hall to my unmadeup cabin. This cruise, I can't even tell you the name of ours. Maybe he was new or something, and I also don't know if his english was not that great or if he was just on the shy side. There were other things, too, but he did always smile when we saw him, and that was nice.

I did have fun dancing with Savannah- she was so cute!

 

[Jennifer48]

What awesome CM in Shutters! I seriously DCL CMs. I think they are so much better than WDW CMs IMO. I love how you took a family photo with them

for Ellen & Savannah dancing!

 

[nenner1]

Fun update! Looked like a good time was had by all.

And the photo of Ellen jammin down, well, it just looks like she is having a blast! Go Ellen, Go Ellen!

I really am sad I missed it!!!

Another great update!

Thanks for the editing help!

thats awesome about the VIP treatment in Shutters, much more relaxing then having lil boys keep saying can we go now, can we go now, are you done yet, are you done yet?? and that was just from E lol

HA!

well if its any consolation the food looked good.

Well..it wasn't BAD...it was just a poor selection for me and I don't know why but I did it again the next night!

Mickey bars looks awesome! Sarah looks like shes devouring it lol.

OMG LOVe that pic of Ellen, she's so into it!!!

Isn't it hilarious! Love it!

oh and the Mickey shirts the girls are wearing are too cute!!!!

Thanks, they were literally done last minute, very late the night before we left. When I printed Sarah's I realized I was out of color ink, so I printed Sav's in B&W and it came out pertty good, but when I tried to re print SArah's in B&W, then I was out of black ink! So that's why Sarah's looks almost pink, it was supposed to be red.

Oh. My. GAWD.

Well, yea, I was VERY into it- I usually am, I guess that's how I roll, 150% effort, 2% talent.

Oh IDK about that. I'd put your talent up at around 75% at least!!!

I can't believe what a GREAT cabin steward you guys had!! Ours was sweet, and by the end of the day we always had a towel animal, but you reminded me that he usually got around to making up our cabin at 4 or 5:00....we'd go back during the day to get something (on sea days) and the room was still a mess. I think we must have been at the end of his rotation or something. Last time, I took a photo of our steward, she was awesome- and she was the next group down from us this time, Iwould be so envious of her tidy rooms whil;e I walked down the hall to my unmadeup cabin. This cruise, I can't even tell you the name of ours. Maybe he was new or something, and I also don't know if his english was not that great or if he was just on the shy side. There were other things, too, but he did always smile when we saw him, and that was nice.

That's a bummer that your steward was so ...well..unremarkable. It took Ryan a couple of days to hit his stride. I think the staff was really thrown off the first couple of days , I guess that inspection we had might have done it, IDK. But once he was on, he was rollin'! It was so cute, for some reason when Sarah saw him she would meow like a cat! It was hilarious! Totally cracked us up, and him too. No idea why she did that, he didn't look like a cat! But it was funny!!!

I did have fun dancing with Savannah- she was so cute!

Savannah had a blast with you too. She wants to do it again sometime!

What awesome CM in Shutters! I seriously DCL CMs. I think they are so much better than WDW CMs IMO. I love how you took a family photo with them

Oh they were absolutely wonderful!!! Can't say enough, practically my entire comment card gushed about them.

And the picture wasn't our idea, it was theirs!! Don't remember if it was Stephanie or Claire but one of them took what appeared to be their personal camera out from behind the counter (it was a Point & Shoot, not the usual Big Mama pro cameras they use, which is why I think it belonged to one of them personally) and a third CM in there took the picture, and I gave him our camera too since we were already posing! Isn't that just the best? They wanted a picture to remember US

for Ellen & Savannah dancing!

I really, REALLY should have bit the bullet and brought Sarah up there kicking and screaming. Eventually she would have gotten into it, or fallen asleep. If we would have had the stroller with us, I wouldn't have hesitated for a second.

 

[mmmears]

Great update. I'm looking forward to more!

 

[tinkerbelltwins]

Love the picture of Savannah putting the gifts into our FE! The girls loved to race to the door to see if any pixie dust had appeared under the Fish! Jen, could you email me a copy of that photo? I'd love to put it in my scrapbook!

 

[JKSWonder]

Our cabin guy was nice, but that was sort of it. I think he was new. He always said hello, but not much else. We did get one towel animal every day.

More than once, he was still in our room making it up when we returned to it. Waiting to get in didn't really bother me much, but once we were in the hall forever, he knew we were there waiting to get in and he kept leaving our room to do stuff down the hall. It was frustrating.

We had a bed rail for the bottom bunk for Michael, and our cabin steward kept tightly making up the bed and then putting the bed rail over the tucked in blankets, so that it was completely impossible to lift the blankets up for the kid to get under them....I can't imagine how our steward thought anyone could get into that bed. We had to undo the rail each night and then put it back up when the kid was in. Now, Michael is tall skinny little guy, but there is no way he could have gotten into that bed as is unless we flattened him like a pancake first!

 

[nenner1]

Great update. I'm looking forward to more!

Thanks so much!

Love the picture of Savannah putting the gifts into our FE! The girls loved to race to the door to see if any pixie dust had appeared under the Fish! Jen, could you email me a copy of that photo? I'd love to put it in my scrapbook!

I actually have two and they are on their way to you!!

Our cabin guy was nice, but that was sort of it. I think he was new. He always said hello, but not much else. We did get one towel animal every day.

More than once, he was still in our room making it up when we returned to it. Waiting to get in didn't really bother me much, but once we were in the hall forever, he knew we were there waiting to get in and he kept leaving our room to do stuff down the hall. It was frustrating.

Yeah that is frustrating!!! So very strange that he would just leave you standing out there knowing you wanted to get in.

We had a bed rail for the bottom bunk for Michael, and our cabin steward kept tightly making up the bed and then putting the bed rail over the tucked in blankets, so that it was completely impossible to lift the blankets up for the kid to get under them....I can't imagine how our steward thought anyone could get into that bed. We had to undo the rail each night and then put it back up when the kid was in. Now, Michael is tall skinny little guy, but there is no way he could have gotten into that bed as is unless we flattened him like a pancake first!

That is hilarious! But you know what I think ours might have done the same thing, we always had to totally rip the blankets up (and it was so hard to do!) And even then Sarah had just a tiny pocket to slide in!

That bedrail was so annoying during the day, Ryan would tuck it on the side of the big bed there, underneath it but not totally, I was always sitting on top of it or tripping over it. I am a clutz though, so it was probably more me than anything else!

 

[nenner1]

Good morning! It’s a Sea Day and we have absolutely nothing planned! Woo hoo!

As per our typical routine, Ron and the older kids are up earlier and head to breakfast, today to Topsiders. Sarah and I sleep in, and our meal is catered in!

Today is mostly overcast. There was a big weather system in the Caribbean wreaking lots of havoc. In fact a frigid cold front had just come down through Florida, so we would be moving right through all of that inclement weather as the day progressed.

So far, though, nice enough to head up to the pools! Brendan headed to – where else – the Edge and Ron and I and the girls headed topside. First stop: Mickey Pool!

There were intermittent periods of sunshine and then clouds. The temperature was still warm, and not too breezy. The pools were not too terribly packed.

Here comes the sun!!!

Cuba, as seen from the other side of the boat.

Ice cream break!!!

 

[nenner1]

And we decided to head to the Goofy pool area. We saw the hair braider sitting idle and asked about getting Sarah a few braids. We weren’t really sure if she would sit still long enough but thought we’d give it a shot. Of course the braider said they were already booked full, but obviously somebody hadn’t shown for their appointment since the chairs were empty. We asked could we just get a couple of braids, not a whole head or anything and she looked around (as if the appointment holders were about to magically appear) and said yes.

Not only did Sarah not freak out, she actually fell asleep in the chair!!!

The three braids cost $8 (plus tip). Pretty reasonable. The girls show off their new do’s:

Time for a midday snack: Pizza!

Afterwards we headed back to the room to get the grils cleaned up and dressed. Savannah was meeting her buddy from the meet thread, Adriane at the Buena Vista Theater for a showing of Toy Story 3D, and we were hoping to drop Sarah off at Flounder’s early and get some adult time in.

Back in both rooms, our daytime towel animals. The dinosaurs had been recreated as Elephants!

Savannah headed off to the movie, and we took Sarah down to Flounder’s. Unfortunately for the first time ever, they were booked solid and could not squeeze her in prior to her 2:00 appointment. We had not encountered this on our last cruise, and even earlier in the week we had no problem popping her in for extra time but it wasn’t to be today. So we took her back up on deck for some lunch: chicken strips!

Cloudy again!

And then….Sarah melted down. She was so beside herself we could not even take her to Flounder’s when her time slot did come up. We stopped by and tried, but she was screaming so obnoxiously the staff did not seem inclined to want to take her in that upset so we left and tried to take her elsewhere to calm her down.

We walked around the ship aimlessly, watched some of the art auction from afar, checked out the promenade on deck 4, tried to get her to take a nap.

And bring on the rain!

Finally, with about 45 minutes left of her appointment, we took her back to Flounder’s to try again, and this time, although still upset, she was not flailing around uncontrollably so one of the CM’s scooped her up and took her in, ignoring the protests.

We did not even stop to watch her in the 2-way mirror to see if she calmed down. We jumped back in our swimsuits and headed up to the Quiet Cove for a half hour or so of relaxation.

The rain had stopped but it was still gloomy out, so there weren’t many folks out at the pool. We did run into Joanie and Sam and spent a while in the hot tub chatting and getting a much needed break. It was very nice (if short lived).

Even if the afternoon didn’t quite go as planned, there was still nowhere else in the world I’d rather spend a rainy Thursday!!

Up Next: Rock Lobstah!

 

[JKSWonder]

Can't believe Sarah fell asleep in the chair while they were doing that to her head! Priceless. Her "do" came out quite nice too!

Love that black and white (with some pink!) shot of Savannah eating ice cream. Really cute effect.

 

[livingis2me]

Oh man I sure could use a sea day, with Brendan away at the Edge. Very frustrated with him today as he used my laptop today without permission and spilled a cup of Kool Aid all over it. No more laptop.

I'm so glad you updated today. It was nice to take my mind off of being so upset with B for a few minutes. Oh what I wouldn't do to go back to that day right about now...

Ron