Thin line tween Love and Hate WDW/Halloween TR Western Oct 24-Nov 6 updated 9/27

[Fastpaks]

The first day at sea would bring my family, and many others, the character breakfast. As we walked into the breakfast at Parrot Cay, we were greated by a man in a white suit named, Wira.. He took us to a table to be seated and then our head server and assistant server ( the same ones we have had so far) came out to us to explain breakfast and the process. We were told that the characters would be by and that we would see them at some point so not to worry. Not long after, we were asked about our drinks and then given time to look at the menu. I can tell you that in many ways, I would have just rather skipped breakfast. It is really the least enjoyable meal on the ship. Its a bit of a shame, because later in the week we would find out not all breakfasts are bad. The head server took our order I think some english muffins, pancakes, eggs... your normal fare.

Then the characters came out. The first was

Chip and Dale

Etc,etc
You get the idea. We got our food during this time. The English muffins and something else didn't make it to our table and considering the dinner service we had before, I just understood that this is the way dinning was going to be. Before we had a chance to say hello, he asked us if we were the Boul Family. To my wife and I surprise, we told him that was correct. He then told us that he was aware of our situation from the night before and offered his sincere apology. I told him, “That there were 2 mishaps and that is ok now.”

He then said,”one night of bad service is one thing. But two nights is completely unacceptable. In fact, if one really is.” Wira went on to explain that he would get a smaller table for our service later on and that he will be taking care of us. I asked him who he was, and he explained that he was a head server and in charge of those under him. (btw the servers we had were not in his “section”) We then asked about my wife's allergies and to tell him what had happened so far.

It was sorta weird as we wanted to get out day started, but your couldn't help but enjoy his company. Wira came off very warm, sincere, and genuine. We didn't plan on talking to him as long as we did. After spending about 30 minutes with him, he asked us if there is anything that we could want just ask. I looked at my wife and her back at me and we both agreed there was nothing. We had explained to him that my wife order her meal for the tonights dinner service last night, and that we were pretty sure there was nothing more to think of.

I could tell my wife really wanted to get started with our day and so did my kid. He was DYING to get to the pool. As we said “goodbye”, I remembered one thing I saw on the boards or on All Ears about the CM being from another country. My wife's family is from the Medditeran. That said, do to a lot of things I'm not willing to go into, she hasn't had any of her home foods in a long time. I remember a CM say that overtime, some times Cms can get some of this food and bring it to your room for room service. When I mentioned this to Wira, he questioned us about what type of foods is she a fan of. “Stuffed Grape Leaves” I said off the top of my head. He then asked us about some other types of food, Stuffed cabbage, Chicken Curie, Kifta, to name a few. Wira told us that sometimes requests can be made like that. He said that he wasn't sure about it, but that he would look into it, and at the worst may be he could talk someone into something.

We thanked him again. He reassured us things would be different VERY different when we return in the evening. My wife and I left him, after we said our 'goodbyes' again. My wife said one thing to me. She said, “I really hope he doesn't try making those grape leaves. My mom makes the best ones and hers are homemade. I just don't really want anyone except those. If they did make them, and they are ot as good, I would feel horrible about it.” I told her it was just a request and like Wira had said, it may not even happen.

We split up. She headed to explore the ship and I took DS to the pool like I had promised

Next: You Just Don't See That Everyday

 

[JKSWonder]

Hey, we were on this cruise with you! I've been lurking and reading your report, but I haven't posted until now.

While we didn't have your level of problems with dinner service, we had some issues. Not really with the food itself so much but with our servers. Having read other peoples reports from our cruise and others, I gather we just were kind of unlucky.

Our drink server was fine, but our main server wasn't so great. He seemed annoyed all the time. He was bothered by the fact that I ordered for my children (my daughter (then 9) is ridiculously shy, my son (then 4, though very tall and seemingly older than his age), has pervasive development delay with his most significant issue being his delay in speech. I think he also was unhappy that I didn't take his food recommendations, even though I explained many times that none of us ate seafood.

My son is very structured in his routine, so it was a lot for him to sit nicely in restaurants every night. He did well considering. It would have been easier if the server was a bit more flexible. For instance, my son wanted chicken noodle soup one night (available all over the ship), but our server said no because it wasn't on the menu that night. Based upon what others have said about their servers going above and beyond, I think he could have done this for the kid and just didn't want to. At the very least, I wish he would have stopped trying to force my children to talk to him after I explained that they were shy and not very chatty....it only made them anxious.

Next cruise, I think I will need to explain to our server the situation right off the bat. Maybe it will help, maybe it won't. Or maybe I will be lucky next time and get the fantastic servers everyone else seemed to be blessed with!

Your son is adorable and I wish I would have met you and your wife. I wish I was able to meet more people from our cruise meet..... if only my kids had not kept me hopping the whole time!

 

[Fastpaks]

Hey, we were on this cruise with you! I've been lurking and reading your report, but I haven't posted until now.

While we didn't have your level of problems with dinner service, we had some issues. Not really with the food itself so much but with our servers. Having read other peoples reports from our cruise and others, I gather we just were kind of unlucky.

Our drink server was fine, but our main server wasn't so great. He seemed annoyed all the time. He was bothered by the fact that I ordered for my children (my daughter (then 9) is ridiculously shy, my son (then 4, though very tall and seemingly older than his age), has pervasive development delay with his most significant issue being his delay in speech. I think he also was unhappy that I didn't take his food recommendations, even though I explained many times that none of us ate seafood.

My son is very structured in his routine, so it was a lot for him to sit nicely in restaurants every night. He did well considering. It would have been easier if the server was a bit more flexible. For instance, my son wanted chicken noodle soup one night (available all over the ship), but our server said no because it wasn't on the menu that night. Based upon what others have said about their servers going above and beyond, I think he could have done this for the kid and just didn't want to. At the very least, I wish he would have stopped trying to force my children to talk to him after I explained that they were shy and not very chatty....it only made them anxious.

Next cruise, I think I will need to explain to our server the situation right off the bat. Maybe it will help, maybe it won't. Or maybe I will be lucky next time and get the fantastic servers everyone else seemed to be blessed with!

Your son is adorable and I wish I would have met you and your wife. I wish I was able to meet more people from our cruise meet..... if only my kids had not kept me hopping the whole time!

Welcome back to our cruise! hehe. I think I saw you walking around two times the entire week. To this day, I have told my extended family about how odd it was to see certain folks in the beginning of the week and then not see them from mid week and on. Vica versa. It would have been a great to meet your family. Like my son says regaurding a future trip, "Something to look forward and check off the next trip!"

I don't think that your experience wasn't the norm at that time. I neglected to tell about the conversation I had with the Chef as he was trying to calm me down. He had explained that the ship at the time had a %40 new people on the ship and they were there to train for the Dream. Although he was quite polite, you could tell that this was not the first time that he had heard of the service Hiccups. Now that I know how things are going to go, I won't hesitate to check with someone about any corrections.

 

[Fastpaks]

WE made our way down the hall where the “younger” passengers where enjoying a couple song games.

We decided we wanted to explore the ship, so we set out for Deck 7. On Halloween it was the place where the “scavenger Trick or treat” had ended. We made our way up the elevators but we weren't going to use this one.

There was no deck chairs like I had heard in previous TR. (only two that you will see in the picture below) This could have been because it was a full ship and they could have been on the top decks. I really don't know. The views though were breath taken.

The view of the steps leading here

A view through the window on the door

After our family time here, my wife wanted to explore more and my son wanted to see Toy Story 3. So I took him to the threatre only to find out that Toy Story was full. I'm pretty sure every kid and every parent where in there. Lol. So we decided on the Mickey pool instead. I went to the top deck while DS went swimming. It was the only place where you could grab a seat. I told him where I would be and then watched him go crazy on the slide for a while.

I was feeling a bit sleepy and thought that a nap would be appropriate. This turned out to be a little more harder than it seemed at first I was a little paranoid about DS. Eventually, I realized he would be ok . You almost forgot that it was hot out because there was a nice gentle breeze on the top deck. Before too long, I actually did fall asleep for about 20 mins. I woke up to see something you just don't see everyday. Cuba.

These were the moments I only wished I had a telescopic lens. I have heard that the beaches of Cuba are some of the most beautiful in the Caribbean. It seemed a little like a dream. Only a few months of ago, I was working crazy long hours, only to now in the middle of the Gulf of Mexico and Cuba is right there.

Lunch was at Topsiders, where I had some sliced turkey, Neockie(sp?) and a boloneese sauce and some pasta and meat sauce. It wasn't bad for buffet food. Nothing to write home about but not bad iether.

 

[Fastpaks]

After eating lunch, we headed off to explore more of the ship. On deck four we would see we weren't the only ones out at sea. Not sure if this is another cruise ship or a commercial liner.

Then a mean game of Shuffleboard broke out.

As you can see he plays fair on the “right” line.

The view off the side of the ship.

We walked around the front of the ship

Once on the other side of the ship, we opened the door to run into Belle.

DS insisted on some pics with his friends

P

I insisted that he was a little too young for this... but he just laughed. Oh boi!

Then it was time for a little fun with photography

Next: Dinner 180*

 

[Fastpaks]

Dinner for day3 was in Parrot Cay. The family made our way to PC, had a short wait, and then got a little line where we were stopped at the front. A man says, “you are Jon, we know about you. Wait right here.” That was a little different I thought.

It was a short wait until Wira greeted us with a smile, and said to my wife,”I have overwritten your entire meal tonight.” You should have seen the look are her face. She wasn't too happy. He then explained and showed us a new smaller table. He looked at my wife and again as she was seating and said,”I have a surprise for you.”

She leaned to me and said,” I really that is has nothing to do with the food we discussed with him this morning.” He gave us our menus and then took our drink order. He left and then another man name Dennis showed up and asked what we would like to drink. Lol Different. Within about a minute drinks were served and we ordered some appetizers. Wira took our order, but Dennis was also a head server. Our assisant server was ???? we never really saw one and the one... I'm getting ahead myself.

I ordered Belle's Scallops

My wife ordered a salad only to be told not happening. Wira had changed her appetizer. We ordered our entrees and DS ordered a hamburge as his entree and a mac and cheese as an appetizer. We all laughed about it but he did get both.

I was enjoying my food when a square plate that Wira was holding was brought to our table. Grape leaves with 2 dipping sauces. One is a yougart and the other is a tomatoe based. You can't see it but there is a tomatoe next to the sauces that was made into a rose.

So how were they? My wife said she didn't want them made because she didn't want to break the chefs heart when she was to tell them they weren't as good as her mom. She would tell the Wira, Dennis, and the chef later they were better than her moms. RAVED about them!!

Wira then told her I'm not done yet. A couple minutes later he brought her a plate if chicken curry.

Once again excellent!

I got a rack of lamb and beef wellington.

YUM

Chef Christian came out and my wife thanked him. We told him the story of being worried about the grape leaves and was elated that she loved them. She joked that they were so good that she needed his mothers recipe because she like them so much.

By a huge contrast, Dinner was to die for this evening. I was now able to comepletely relax as I knew we were in great hands. My wife ordered dinner for the falling night and we made our way out Parrot Cay to enjoy our evening.

Next:Hurricane

 

[Fastpaks]

We got out of dinner really late. After dinner my wife wasn't feeling her best, so she headed back to the stateroom. I took DS to the Oceaneers club with the hopes of going to see a show. That never happened. I wanted to check on my current charges at guest services. There I met a cast member Clint or Cliff. What started off as a normal check your balance conversation, turned into a 2 hour conversation. Where he started, how he got to Disney, life on board, hurricanes, etc. He told me that he came from Princess Cruise Lines and while there he went to Hawaii. I joked with him about the seas there and he said no question, the Caribbean was a bathtub compared to the Pacific Ocean. He told me about a trip where their ship was headed to HI, only to to not stop but one port the entire trip. I asked how passengers were about it and he smiled and said, “not much different that any other line.” He explained that they were due in for one port only to have weather cause the first port to be skipped. The ship was supposed to go by a valconoe that was erupting but you could see it from sea only to have the engine on the ship fail on them. The Captian compensated for this by choosing to a different route back and to ensure the ship would make it back in time at the home port. The next port had a L shape port and was not the easiest to back into, you guessed it, they didn't make it. People demanded things from the PCL and him since he was in guest relations. There wasn't anything he could do. Sometimes things really do happen.

I then asked him about the hurricane and the trip back on the Trans Atlantic run. He told me they were well aware that there were two hurricanes at sea and that it may be a rough run. Interestingly, he said that the captain had about a ½ hour window to miss them both. Which they did. It was fun talking to him about the interesting things that go on a ship. I live by a rule that everyone has a name and a story. Its always good times to hear them.

I finished the night by listening to the end of the show in the main theatre. There were two guys cracking jokes and a lot of fun to listen to the end of their show. At the end I checked on my wife, changed, and headed out to the adult pool to jst sorta hang out.

It was empty. So calming too. As I was in the water, I noticed the tilt in the boat for the first time. I would watch small 1 inch waves go from one side of the pool to the other. Before too long, my wife found me and asked me why I was here. I showed her the waves and she understood. Very Soothing. After about 30 mins, I got out, gathered my son, and headed off to bed.

This never got old when coming back to the stateroom.

Next: arrrrrrrr

 

[JoyaDelMar]

Just finished reading your PTR and TR from start to finish - what a great vacation (even with all the ups and downs)! The story from WDW at the MK gift shop was absolutely heartwarming. I'm so glad your family was able to experience some old-fashioned Disney Magic!

We're on an upcoming Western so I look forward to hearing any new updates you have!

 

[girl_barrie]

Hey!!! I just popped on to your TR & have really enjoyed it.

It's been since June since you have posted - are you & your adorable family OK???
PLEASE post the rest!!

 

[Fastpaks]

Just finished reading your PTR and TR from start to finish - what a great vacation (even with all the ups and downs)! The story from WDW at the MK gift shop was absolutely heartwarming. I'm so glad your family was able to experience some old-fashioned Disney Magic!

We're on an upcoming Western so I look forward to hearing any new updates you have!

You are going to have a great time. EVERYDAY, I think about being on the ship just relaxing and having a good time. Thank you for the compliments. I can tell you that the story ends in only a Disney way. It changed my opinion of the company.

Hey!!! I just popped on to your TR & have really enjoyed it.

It's been since June since you have posted - are you & your adorable family OK???
PLEASE post the rest!!

It has been since June and I'm truly sorry I haven't. A couple things have happened including a ton of unnecessary stress from my job. At one point, I was certain I would be cancelling future cruises. In addition, about the worst thing that could happen to a trip report did. I couldn't find the photos that I had for the rest of the trip. It seemed that some of the pictures that was supposed to be transferred to my HD, never made it. I had entire days just wiped. Recently, I found the thumb drive I put everything on and will start uploading today. Hopefully, that means I can get something out soonish.

 

[Wadekind]

keep it coming

 

[sica1799]

OMG!! I absolutely fell in love with your report! We are going on our first cruise, so I am trying to prepare myself by reading all kinds of fun TR. I love your story. We are west coasters and we took our sons to DLand for the first time last year. I KNOW the feeling you felt in your heart to "give" magic to your child(ren). BTW our sons are both in the first grade and very similar when it comes to the shy factor. He is ADORABLE!! He has awesome eyelashes that remind me of my sons as well I would love to hear the end of your report. I hope all is well with you and your family!

 

[Fastpaks]

Waking up on Day 4 was a bit more relaxed. We all slept in until about 9am. Got dressed and then heading for a late breakfast. One of the things that NEVER got old on the Magic was sailing into a different location.

Since my wife couldn't swim and neither could my son, this would rule out any stingray adventures. We knew as a family that we wanted to see Margaritaville in Grand Cayman and the rest was whatever happened. Sorta. The original plan was to go to 7 mile beach and just chill out and enjoy the beach. There was no excursion to be on, so we headed down to the Theater to obtain our tickets for the tender ferry. When we got there, I think there was a group of 15 in front of us and we were told to go ahead and follow them on down to deck 2.

I worry about everything, especially anything that can frighten my wife. I have seen where if she doesn't want to do something, she becomes like a stubborn horse that doesn't want to move. So when we got here I was a a bit nervous for her especially knowing she was about to "walk the plank"

As we were crossing the "plank" looking down

This greeted the family

She doesn't seem to upset (whew)

The view to the back

The motor roared and away we went. The Carnival ship was "moored" near ours and I got this as we were passing right next to it.

I was excited because all my life I have wanted to go to another country. The Caymans here we come!!

Once at the dock, there were signs a plenty to let you know you weren't in Kansas anymore.

And cell phones for rent?

Next: Its was only $20

 

[podsnel]

Hi stranger!

I see you haven't been sleeping much (writing TRs in the wee hours!). Anyway- I am so glad they took such good care of Amy on the ship- I just love that story! I really think that they must have been SO excited to cook something else for a change, especially something that they love so much themselves.

Still fun to relive our cruise with you!

Ellen

 

[Fastpaks]

OMG!! I absolutely fell in love with your report! We are going on our first cruise, so I am trying to prepare myself by reading all kinds of fun TR. I love your story. We are west coasters and we took our sons to DLand for the first time last year. I KNOW the feeling you felt in your heart to "give" magic to your child(ren). BTW our sons are both in the first grade and very similar when it comes to the shy factor. He is ADORABLE!! He has awesome eyelashes that remind me of my sons as well I would love to hear the end of your report. I hope all is well with you and your family!

I get like that too. We are about to go our send DCL cruise next month on the Dream! I have been scanning all the TRs and reading up on what people have done. 35 days and counting !!!!

Thanks for the compliment. He used to not like his eyelashes believe it or not. So much so that he tried to pluck them out!! Since then he has come to his senses, especially now that the ladies notice him.. I notice in your signature you are leaving in a few shorts days for the wonder. You all will have a great time!! have fun!

Hi stranger!

I see you haven't been sleeping much (writing TRs in the wee hours!). Anyway- I am so glad they took such good care of Amy on the ship- I just love that story! I really think that they must have been SO excited to cook something else for a change, especially something that they love so much themselves.

Still fun to relive our cruise with you!

Ellen

If it isn't the Queen of Partytown!!!

I don't sleep at night! I work 2nds so this is my evening!! and YES I'm finally finishing now that I have some time!! DCL really did come through. Though there would be one small mishap at the dinner on Grand Cayman. LOL.. to be honest, at that point all we could do was laugh. I was thinking the same thing about the staff. Chef Mat did tell me later though that the grape leaves were very time consuming to roll.. BUT boy was she a happy camper.

My only wish if I could do something different would be just go to 7 mile like you did but instead... well that's my next post ... soonish lol

 

[Fastpaks]

The morning in Grand Cayman was a refreshing to say the least. We walked off the tender into a little line that led to to a "opening of sorts" where those that were on cruise ships would gather. A couple little make shift stores selling the most basic items and taxi drivers holding signs offering rides if you wish. Our wish was to go to 7 mile, when I approached one driver and inquired about his services. He told me that he was a tour driver of the island. The tour would cost $20 a person. I asked him if he would stop at 7-mile and he said he could. I looked at my wife and asked her, to which she was pretty laid back and said sure.

We were led to the taxi/small buss where some other folks were on. A couple families from NCL and a DCL family would accompany us on this trip. After a few..... 20 minutes, the buss driver would show up and begin the tour. Folks were not happy about this, as they were told that they would go "shortly" and the driver was clearly waiting to fill the cab.

The driver was kind and very knowledgeable and if its your thing to do a tour its a good value. That said, by the end of the trip, I found out my family could careless about the tour. They [my family] just wanted to have fun!

First stop was the governors house.

The driver then explained that a house in the US that would retail for about 150k would be about 400k in GC such as this 2000sqft home.

We went by a few gas stations that I tried to get pictures from just so I could see how the $$ sign there is which resembles more of a hurricane if I recall correctly. He told us that our our dollar is about .80 cents to them. This is important because it is expensive for things on this island. The other interesting thing the driver mentioned was that water is a premium on the island. People still get water from their house from gutters like this one that feed in to a reservoir.

Not long after this we arrived at the Rum shop. Rum is dirt cheap. EXCEPT the rum is shipped back on to the ship. Disney doesn't except anything alcohol being shipped back to the ship.

In the back of the shop was a little party deck that was empty. I could get how the water was just so Aqua. Then the same water was sent to a water salt conversion plant right next store for processing of fresh water.

After about 20 minutes of hanging out, we were led to the back to the buss and onto to Hell.

My wife the little devil

I debated on putting up a photograph of the Hell phenomena but figure there isn't much to see there, so why spoil the one thing to see. lol. The stop is literally 2 shops, a post office and the "hell spot". Takes all of about 15 minutes to see everything.

After this we were off to the Turtle Farm where we stopped and were told we would be for about 30 minutes. At this point, folks were getting restless and many of us were a little tired of the tour. That and there was some sort of "catch" about the Turtle Farm area. I think the driver was a little surprised when no one wanted to get off the buss. When some of us made the suggestion to go to 7-mile, I think he was a little taken a back to going there instead. But he did take us there.

As we were pulling out of the Turtle Farm area, he had to maneuver the buss between 2 other buses. I drive for a living and I can tell you, I would NEVER try what this guy did. But to his credit, he drove between them with less than 2 inches to spare on both sides. Once we got to the beach, rather than being a stop for a said amount of time, we found out that he was going to drop us off. Which meant we were need to find another ride back. I was a little annoyed of that and I think others on the buss were too. So again no one got off the buss, and we finished the tour a little irritated at this point.

We drove by the Conch house, which is exactly what folks think and very unique.

Then he took us through the outer part of the island answering our questions. At some point, my family tuned him out when we saw this guys just hanging out.

About a hour later, we finished the tour at the docks where we were picked up at. Like I said, if you like tours this is your thing, if you don't then don't bother. Head to 7-mile. I think we wished we would have. But you live and you learn.

Next:Fun ...wasting away!!

 

[LindaBabe]

SO sorry you guys got taken for a ride! Wish I'd known you BEFORE this trip report.

Other readers : If you're looking for Grand cayman advice - walk 2 blocks to the local bus depot. Tell the dispatcher you want 7 mile beach - it will cost you about 2 bucks a head and the driver will tell you where to get off. The busses operate on a rough schedule, so you'll be able to get back the same way.

 

[heaven2dc]

I just found your TR and read through the entire PTR and then completely missed the first few days of your trip because I missed the links! I was on the day when you were at Animal Kingdom when I thought "Hey! what happened to the first part of your trip?!!" then backtracked and found the links.

I'm on day 1 where you start your journey but wanted to quickly say hi and thanks for sharing! The PTR was a blast reading and now I can wait to read the rest (and remind myself to not forget to look for the links to click on or I'll miss a day!).

On a side note, I also am so glad you took this trip with your family. Back in 1994 we had traveled from Oregon to Florida (my hubby and our five kids) in a van that kept breaking down every 300-400 miles in the heat of August. We got to see some wonderful country (Grand Canyon as an example) and had memories to cherish for years to come. We had planned to take the kids to WDW and a few other attractions and see if we wanted to stay in Florida permanently or travel up to WV to see if we wanted to move there near his family. Well our van literally died in front of the first hotel we stopped at in Kissimmee so we put the plans on the back burner to go to WDW and enrolled the kids in school. The day after Thanksgiving my husband suffered another heart attack and was airlifted to Orlando (this would be his 3rd before he reached 41 years of age). He was in ICU for 3 weeks when he decided he wanted to check himself out of the hospital to spend Christmas with the kids (he was to be airlifted to Jacksonville after January 1st to remain there for a heart transplant). Sadly, 3 days after he came home ("home" was the hotel room we had been staying at since August), he collapsed and died on 12/18/94. He never got to fulfill his dream of going to WDW (he had never been there and neither had our kids or myself) and he died at the age of 40. This was a huge awakening for me and our kids to take life slowly and enjoy each moment and each other.

 

[LuvEeyore]

Love your trip report. Hope to hear more!!

 

[dizzi]

please tell me more about the conch house..

are they real conchs