Memories Earned & Lessons Learned - COMPLETED

[April2012]

Day 16 – Nassou – Monday 30th April 2012

Awoke this morning after having a pretty sleepless night last night!! The boat had been extremely rocky throughout the night and when I got up to go to the loo it felt as though I’d had one too many
Marcus was reading the weather on his phone this morning and discovered that it had been force 9 gales which explained why it had been so rough!
It didn’t help that I had a bad tummy all night after the late meal so I was actually really glad when daylight came.

We ended up getting up at 7.30am and breakfast was brought up to our room as we had left our little cards out the night before with our choices on. We had a continental breakfast of Cereal, Croissants, Pastries, Juice and Coffee.

We went out onto the balcony as it said on the little television that we would be docking in Nassau at about 9am but the weather out was terrible It was windy and was lashing it down and that was forecast all day!

As we arrived in Nassau, it looked lovely but the weather was still really bad so no one really wanted to venture off the ship just yet apart from a few brave souls!

Marcus had registered Kade in the kids club yesterday and seeing as we couldn’t do much this morning, we took him down and dropped him off. We had to carry the little cordless phones around with us while he was there so they could contact us at anytime if they needed to.

Because no one was venturing out just yet, the ship was packed. Marcus & I went to get a coffee then decided to watch ‘John Carter’ in 3D. We had just settled down to watch it when the text went on our phone to say Kade wanted to be collected! We left straight away and when we got there it turned out he was a bit scared as they were sounding the horns for a practice drill which were quite loud to him and it was super busy in there with all the kids so he wanted mummy

Once we collected him we had a browse round the ship before going back to the room for a while. The rain was still quite heavy so there wasn’t much point venturing out just yet.
At 11.45am we went up to get some lunch at Cabana’s. It is buffet style and the choice was so vast. The counters seemed endless and everything we had was superb!
I had King Prawns and salad with Carrot Cake for dessert. Marcus got a pizza, chicken, chips and some red snapper followed by cheesecake (!)
Kade had Crab Claws, prawns and bread etc followed by a chocolate layer cake and ice cream. It was all delightful.

After lunch we went back to the room and as I was so tired from the lack of sleep last night, I had a little nap while Kade and daddy went to watch ‘Chimpanzee’ at the cinema.

On their return at 2.45pm we decided to venture off the ship and have a look round Nassau. We were determined to set foot on Bahamian soil bad weather or no bad weather!
The rain had actually eased quite a lot but it was still very windy and we walked into the town. There were plenty of big named shops around and we had a good browse round but bought nothing in particular.

We walked through the market and found that you got accosted to buy at every turn

We bought Kade a little wooden toy before leaving. On the route back to the ship we just bought some local Bacardi rum cake and a t-shirt for Kade.

As we were coming back we got a good look at the ship. It really is hard to comprehend the size until you are stood next to it!!!

Continued....

 

[April2012]

....Cont

Once back onboard we got a call from someone to say they had managed to sort our dinner reservation times to the earlier slot of 5.45pm which was so much better for us so we were very grateful.
So when it was almost time we went slowly down to the ‘Enchanted Garden’ and got in line to be seated.

The restaurant felt so posh inside and I was instantly regretting not changing into something a little more dressy. Still the restaurant had a mix of people ranging from shorts & tee’s to dressed to the nines!
Our servers were introduced to us and they were lovely and looked after us superbly for the duration of our stay.

Please excuse the quality of these two pic's as Kade wanted to take them!

Racheal our dining room assistant server

Warren our dining room server

I ordered Lobster Ravioli for starter with Fried Scallops for main followed by an ice cream Sundae.

Marcus had Tomato Soup followed by Seabass and Lemon sponge for dessert.

Kade shared my starter, had Salmon for main and a Mickey Ice Cream for dessert.

Even the ketchup came out looking like the boss!!

Marc & I shared a nice bottle of Merlot. It was all fantastic and we really enjoyed it.

After Dinner we went back up to the room briefly, left a tip for Mercedes, who was our mouse keeper, then went out to catch the ‘Villains’ show that was on tonight before catching a quick pic with Lilo & Stitch.

It was very good and we all agreed it was a great show.

We went back to our room and retired to bed at a reasonable hour feeling excited about our day tomorrow at Castaway Cay!

 

[stephensmum]

What! lemon sponge, not cheesecake. Really enjoying reading your families trip report.

 

[April2012]

What! lemon sponge, not cheesecake. Really enjoying reading your families trip report.

I know, amazing isn't it?? I actually think it wasn't on the menu! That can be the only excuse

 

[April2012]

Day 17 – Castaway Cay – Tuesday 1st May 2012

Awoke this morning after a much better night last night as it was so much calmer so got a good night sleep.
Breakfast arrived at 7.30am and was the same continental brekkie as yesterday. We ate breakfast then went out onto the balcony just in time to see us docking in at Castaway Cay!
The waters looked so beautiful and clear, just like you imagine a paradise island

The weather was overcast but at least it was dry and warm.
We got showered and dressed and put our swimwear underneath our clothes and headed off the ship to explore CC.

On the way down the first person we saw was Jack Sparrow with only a couple of people in line so we stopped off for a pic.

Marc hadn’t booked any events in advance however it looked as though many of them had been cancelled anyway due to the weather but he thought he might run on ahead to see if he could get us booked on the sting ray excursion so Kade and I slowly wandered down stopping again when we spotted Pluto.

Marcus came and found us not long after saying they were fully booked so we decided to grab some loungers on the beach and had a little dip in the sea, even though it was a tad on the cold side for me!

Later we ventured up to the big water slide they have but the slide plunged into quite deep water and as Kade doesn’t swim properly yet, we had to give it a miss

Instead we lounged around on the beach enjoying a drink and people watching.

I spotted a wedding taking place further up the beach and as I love a good wedding I moved a little closer to watch it for a while.

After a while Kade started to get a little restless and wanted to get back on board so we decided to head back figuring that as CC was so busy it would probably mean the ship would be really quiet so we could take advantage of that for a bit.

We took a slow walk back wandering in and out of the shops and caught the little transport bus back to the ship.

Once back onboard we went back up to Cabana’s and had a buffet lunch which was gorgeous as usual. Kade had some banter going on with a guy called Clive who was serving there and took a real shine to him so tried to get his attention every time he walked by.
All the crewmembers were fantastic and helped make the experience everything it was.

After lunch we had a wander round and it was so much better as everywhere was very quiet.

We ventured up to the main pool area and was pleased to see that although it was still busy(ish) it wasn’t rammed so we donned our cossies and got in the pool.

Continued......

 

[April2012]

Cont......


Kade and Marc went on the ‘Aqua Duct’ water chute several times which they loved whilst I sat round the pool sipping a cold beer.

That's them whizzing down!!

The weather had turned very warm by now even though it was still cloudy.
After we’d had enough here we went back up to our room and discovered some Pirate Headscarves had been left on the bed ready for Pirate night tonight.

Marcus took Kade out for a walk so I took advantage and had some girlie pamper time and got myself ready for the evening.
When they returned they said they had been to play Crazy Golf and met Donald along the way.

Earlier in the day we had seen some guys from the DVC and we had arranged to go to one of the meets tonight to find out more about it so we asked Kade if he wanted to come and sit with us in “boring” meeting, or go and have loads of fun in Oceaneers club! Lol
Needless to say he was swayed to kids club so we dropped him off before making our way down to the DVC meeting. We grabbed a couple of drinks to take in and settled down for the next hour hoping to be tempted by what was on offer.
At the end of the meet we were very impressed by it but when we worked out how much we would initially need to outlay to get the equivalent type of holidays, it seemed an awful lot so we decided against it for now. Maybe in the future, who knows?

At 5.45pm we collected Kade from Oceaneers club and went up for Dinner, which was at The Royal Palace this evening.
It was Pirate night and everyone was dressed in a pirate theme including all the servers, even if it was just a bandanna.

At the table we decided Kade didn’t look piratey enough so I got my eye pencil and attempted a fake moustache and scar on his face although it didn’t look as impressive as I’d thought it was gonna be.

Kade had a Cheeseburger, I had a Jolly Roger Rib Salad and Marcus had Jack Sparrows BBQ Short Ribs on Mash.

I can’t remember what we had for dessert this evening??
Once again our servers superbly looked after us and the whole experience was faultless.

Tonight’s entertainment was the famous ventriloquist ‘Ron Lucas’ which after our meal we headed down to watch. It was a good show and funny although probably the least entertaining for Kade as he started to get a bit restless half way through.

Once the show was done, we went up to Deck 11 to grab a spot ready for tonight’s firework show.
We were in plenty of time and got a spot, which we thought would be ok. 40mins later the place was packed and the build up to the show began.
Now, being amongst the first ones there you would think we would have bagged ourselves some of the best seats in the house to leisurely watch the fireworks wouldn’t you? Wrong!!!! We had actually picked what was probably the most restricted view in the whole place as the fireworks were let off to our right, which had a great big slide blocking our vision. So we could hear the fireworks but not see a blinkin thing

Anyway, firework display over it was time for the pirate show, which was really good and we all enjoyed.

It finished with a disco party and we tried our best to get Kade up on the dance floor for a boogie but he was having none of it so we gave in and retreated to our room.
Mercedes has left a really cool Monkey towel hanging up for us and some yummy chocolate pirate coins on the bed. Arrghh!

 

[PJB71]

Hi

Just read your TR from start to finish & all I can say is WOW

What a shame you couldn't see the fireworks , the Dream looks amazing , keep dropping the hint to my DH

Can't wait for the next instalment & your little boy is soon cute

 

[April2012]

Hi

Just read your TR from start to finish & all I can say is WOW

What a shame you couldn't see the fireworks , the Dream looks amazing , keep dropping the hint to my DH

Can't wait for the next instalment & your little boy is soon cute

Thanks Paula!! I'm coming to the end now just 3 days left, but have so much enjoyed doing it

Thanks again for reading!

 

[April2012]

Day 18 – Day At Sea – Wednesday 2nd May 2012

Had a lie in until breakfast arrived this morning at 8.30am.
Once we were up and dressed we went down to the main deck hall and got in a line to meet Tinkerbell. She was so small and very sweet.

We had a wander round then decided to go and have a game of Bingo.
Now we are not avid bingo players by any means. I think I played once or twice years ago but Marc claims he has only ever been to bingo twice in his life and on both occasions he won so he was feeling lucky.
We bought an electronic pad and some ‘poke and fold’ ones for $50.
It was a bit livelier than any other bingo halls I’d ever visited with them encouraging you to join in at every opportunity and dance around

Anyway the first game was won by a lady in the front row and she had to get up and do a little dance. When it came to the second game, you can imagine my surprise when the last number on Marc’s card was called!!
He’d only bloomin gone and won!! He jumped up so fast and let out a loud whoop, which I found hilariously funny, but what was even funnier was there were 4 more hollers from around the room too.
They had to share the prize money 5 ways
It still meant he’d won $37 though and kept his bingo-winning streak intact!
The third game was won then the Jackpot was won by the first woman in the front row again!!! She was sure having a lucky day!!

Once we finished here we went for lunch at Cabana’s and as usual had a delightful feast.

After a wander around, Kade was beginning to get a bit bored so we suggested Oceaneers club again which he was happy to do so we dropped him off and decided to get some chill out time so went and found ourselves a couple of empty loungers on one of the decks and relaxed. The sun was really hot today! It was beautiful. Sunny, warm and calm….perfect!!

Later we went down to collect Kade but he had made some friends and didn’t want to come away so we went back to the room and got showered and dressed ready for this evening.

There was an envelope left on the bed with a letter explaining about the gratuities. It turns out you put the suggested gratuity into the relevant envelope and either give it to the cm’s personally or take it to the main reception desk.
We had already been leaving our stateroom host tips as didn’t realize it was done this way but still gave her the full amount anyway and decided to leave this on the bed for her to collect this evening with a little thank you note.
We put the cash in the individual envelopes for our restaurant servers and kept them to one side to take up this evening.

Later we went to collect Kade from OC and came back up to the room to get him changed before heading out for our evening meal which was to be held in the royal Palace again this evening.

We took them up with us and Kade was so excited to be giving them something that he ended up presenting them to them at the beginning of the evening

The meal was just gorgeous! I had marinated tofu with eggplant and courgette.

Marcus had double Lamb Chops on Mash and Kade had roasted fish and veg.

We shared a bottle of Merlot again and dessert was Vanilla Crème Brulee for me, Mango Cheesecake for guess who?, and a Mickey Ice Cream for Kade.

The service had been so excellent throughout our whole stay that we gave them a little extra with their envelopes and said our goodbyes.
We went down to sit in the main hall to listen to the live band while drinking some more wine

After passing some time we went on to watch the last show of our fabulous cruise, ‘Believe’.
We all really enjoyed this show as it incorporated a little bit of a lot of films.

We all climbed into bed feeling very happy but sad that the end of our wonderful holiday was soon to be in sight!

 

[Shazzie B]

Fantastic trip report, thanks so much for sharing; and yes they are addictive - you made me late to bed on Thursday night!

Kade is gorgeous, and I'm really impressed with his food choices, he's certainly a fish lover. Talking of food my DH is a cheesecake fanatic too, just wondering how many I need to buy to persuade him that a cruise home would be the perfect end to our next holiday, only concern is my DS is 19 now & DD 17 so I'm not sure if it would appeal to them.

Perhaps I'll wait a couple of years until we only need to pay for two people

Can't wait for the rest

 

[micksn]

Thank you for sharing! I've enjoyed reading about all your restaurants and your fabulous surprise!

 

[April2012]

Fantastic trip report, thanks so much for sharing; and yes they are addictive - you made me late to bed on Thursday night!

Kade is gorgeous, and I'm really impressed with his food choices, he's certainly a fish lover. Talking of food my DH is a cheesecake fanatic too, just wondering how many I need to buy to persuade him that a cruise home would be the perfect end to our next holiday, only concern is my DS is 19 now & DD 17 so I'm not sure if it would appeal to them.

Perhaps I'll wait a couple of years until we only need to pay for two people

Can't wait for the rest

You sound like me! Marcus is forever saying are you coming to bed or not as I have my head stuck in the laptop!

Thank you, I think he's beautiful too but I guess I'm biased

I think your two would still love a cruise as there is something for everyone although like you say it might be worth waiting a while to benefit the old bank account. Maybe it would be easier to persuade your DH then too

Thanks again x

Thank you for sharing! I've enjoyed reading about all your restaurants and your fabulous surprise!

Thank you so much for following. I'm glad you've enjoyed

 

[joolz1910]

Just read your trip report - thanks for sharing. Your photos are fab.

 

[April2012]

Just read your trip report - thanks for sharing. Your photos are fab.

Thanks Juliette, appreciate you reading it x

 

[April2012]

Day 19 – Disembark & All Star Movies – Thursday 3rd May 2012

There was no room service this morning so Marcus went down for breakfast at Cabana’s.
We got washed, dressed and packed up for 8.30am ready to disembark the Dream.
The weather was lovely again today with not a cloud in the sky which made us want to leave even less!

Arriving back to port

We made our way down to the main deck and couldn’t help feeling a pang of sadness as we filtered through with the rest of the guests, saying our goodbyes as we went.
Check out was fairly straightforward as a guy was waiting to help with bags, which was a relief seeing as we had an extra case with us.
He seemed to get us into a fast lane and before we knew it we were at the Magical Express.
Marcus tipped the guy and we boarded our coach.
We were staying at All Star Movies tonight, as our flight home wasn’t until tomorrow.
The journey seemed to take forever this time, as our stop was the very last one so two and a half hours later, we finally arrived at ASM.

Once we arrived we checked in and followed the chap who took our bags to the room.
On the way we passed some giant Toy Story characters as to get to our block you had to walk through what was designed as a giant ‘Andy’s room’, which was pretty cool.

We were shown our room that was basic but fine for our overnight stay.

We left our cases unpacked and went for a look round the resort and to get some lunch from the food hall.

We got some sandwiches, coffees, juice and cookies. It felt strange actually having to pay for it this time as our DDP was all finished lol but we noticed that the re-fillable mugs were the same ones so made a mental note to bring them in later. Hee hee, cheeky I know!

The cm’s were really nice in here and were playing hula-hoop in the middle of the hall. They were giving little gifts out for anyone who could do it. Kade had a go but didn’t have a clue and it fell straight down He still got a Mickey straw though!
We ate our lunch outside then went across to the park but it was boiling so we didn’t stay long before going to the arcade for a bit of shelter.
The machines here don’t give out money but tickets instead. Then you go to the counter and choose some toys in exchange for the tickets.
We won a few tickets so Kade chose some little bits and we left to go back to our room for a bit.

We decided that we would head out to Downtown Disney for something to eat this evening so set out to catch the transport bus.
It was a bit of a difference to the ones we were used to at Saratoga, as these were packed and was a much longer journey.
Once we arrived we went for a bite to eat in Wolfgang Puck.

I had Pizza, Marc had Meatloaf wrapped in bacon and Kade had Spaghetti.

All full up we headed outside and got a glass of wine, a beer and a lolly for Kade and went for a wander round before settling to watch a DJ doing some games and competitions for a bit on the music stand/stage.

After a while we left to catch the bus back to ASM.
We were not far from the front of the line but when the bus pulled in, everyone started to queue jump much to Marc’s annoyance!
By the time we’d boarded there were only standing left so still feeling slightly annoyed, Marc said we’d get off and wait for the next.
Within minutes the next bus arrived and we jumped on and sat down on a half full bus feeling quietly smug we’d made the right choice.
We were just saying what a good call it was waiting for the next one when we pulled in at the next stop, which was absolutely rammed with a large tour group heading for our stop!! A huge crowd of teens swamped the bus all standing!
I was impressed by how polite they were though as when they realised Kade was there, they took care not to swear in front of him.

On return to our room we went to fill our refillable mugs with water and all settled in for the night watching Wall-e on TV.

When it came to bedding down for the night, we couldn’t stop laughing as there was something green and crusty dried onto my pillow!! Ewwwww!!!

 

[April2012]

Day 20 – Going Home – Friday 4th May 2012

Our very last day had finally arrived!!
After saying goodbye to Downtown Disney once already we decided that once we were checked out we may as well head down there to waste some time before the Magical Express collected us.

At 11am we took the cases down and checked out before leaving our luggage with the baggage handlers.
The bus to DTD was very busy again! Gone were the days of half empty buses dropping us at our destination lol.

It was another very hot day again but DT seemed less busy than usual. We had a wander round before getting some lunch at Earl Of Sandwich.
I opted for a Chicken Salad. Kade had a Turkey Sandwich and Marc had a Steak & Cheese Sandwich.

Next we decided to treat ourselves to one last gift each so had a browse round some stores.
I spotted a cute Tinkerbell Charm Box shaped like a mirror in ‘Art Of Disney’ so got that.
Kade couldn’t settle on anything in particular in the toy/gift shop but soon changed his mind when we went in a Disney Sports type shop. At the back of the store was ‘Ridemakerz’ which has lots of remote control cars that you can custom make.
He had a lot of fun playing with the demo cars while Marc was instantly interested and started chatting to one of the guys there.

In the end we ended up leaving with a ‘Lightning McQueen’ car!! Boys and cars :roll eyes:

After popping in one more store and purchasing some mints and a Mickey bottle opener we began making our way to the exit for the last time.

As we were nearing the exit I took a piccy of a sign that said ‘Wonderful World Of Memories’ which kind of summed up what we thought of Disney.

We left the resort to the song from Toy Story ‘You got a friend in me’ and I was glad I was wearing my Sunnies as started feeling a bit emotional

We waited for the bus and this was set to be the worst journey yet!!
The bus was quite busy when we boarded but it did a stop at Blizzard Beach and a hoard of teens got on so there was literally not a square inch of room left on the bus. They were all in very high spirits and were singing and shouting the whole way back. It was a VERY long journey (45mins in total) and lets just say we were more than glad to be getting off!
Once we were off we had no time to do much else, as it was almost time to be collected so we got our luggage and waited at our stop until the coach arrived.

It wasn’t long before it was drawing in and the coach driver loaded our luggage for us.
The trip to the airport was very entertaining as our driver was really funny and kept us all amused with playing a cd then have us guess which song was from what ride. That and a lot of jokes too made it more interesting than usual Lol

Once we arrived at the airport we went through security which wasn’t too bad and it seemed no time at all until we were boarding our VA flight homeward bound to the UK.

In the airport. Do we want to go home? NOOOOOO!!

As the plane taxied down the runway we waved goodbye to Orlando and I felt sad but knew for sure we would be ‘seeing it again real soon’


A GREAT BIG Thanks:

Thank you to everyone who has taken the time to read, comment and follow my report. It has been a total joy to re-live our holiday and it’s so nice that people have taken the time to come along too.

Here’s to the next holiday, Cheers!!!

 

[tigger17]

really enjoyed your trip report kade is so cute lets hope you get a new holiday booked soon!!!

 

[queendisney]

I know what you mean about getting emotional when leaving...Our last night is alway spent in MK watching Wishes and I ALWAYS have a cry and I am always grateful its dark so nobody can see me sob

Our last day is also spent in DTD doing the last minute shop and wondering if we can possibly ram it in the already very overpacked suitcase.

I have enjoyed every one of your days, its been a jolly good read and thank you for taking the time to write and share it with us.

 

[Fantasia Sam]

What a fun Trippy... I love reading first timer trip reports and this was so fun to read, of course I was supposed to be doing the ironing but your TR was so much more important.

Loved your restaurant picks and really enjoyed your cruise report what a shame the weather wasn't so good in the Bahamas.

Will you go back to Saratoga Springs? What would you do differently next time? When is next time?

Thanks again for sharing and for someone who is no David Bailey I thought your pics were fab!

 

[stephensmum]

Really enjoyed reading, feel quite sad it's over, so you'l just have to book another one. Thanks for taking the time.