Disneypoor Family Finds "Magic" on 3/17/07 Eastern

[disneypoor]

I'm not too good at these trip reports, but I'm going to give it a try. There were several of us disers on this cruise, and I keep checking every day to see if one of them will post their report so I can just chime in on their thread , but so far I haven't had any luck. I sortof thought I'd let someone else do the majority of the work because, you see, I am still in vacation mode, but I guess I'm just going to have to break down and start writing.

The cast:

Me (Susan), DH (Brian), DD (Brianna 11), and DS (Brandon 8)

This trip really started out as a 4 night cruise on May 27th of this year. We had cruised for the first time last June on the Wonder for the 3 night and fell in love with cruising. We rebooked onboard and were all set for a four night. Well, to make a long story short, I stumbled upon a great price on Expedia's website for a 7 night eastern cruise over spring break. You might be asking how one just stumbles upon something like that. Well, it's because I have vacation planning issues. I do! I really do! I can tell you where we're going for the next couple of years, and they are all booked trips. I need to attend counseling for this, but I've not yet found someone locally who treats my sort of problem. Anyway, Expedia's "deal" was really not a deal at all. It was a glitch in their system, but thanks to my persistence, we got it booked, and Expedia paid for $2000 of our trip.

So, I switched my planning mode from May to March and started reading everything I could about 7 night cruises. Awww! 7 night cruises! I just loved the sound of that.

We flew out of Kansas City on Friday, March 16th. I guess I should tell you that although we got one heck of a deal on the cruise, we got bent over on the airfare if you know what I mean. We had already booked flights on Midwest for the May cruise almost a year in advance. Well, Midwest isn't so nice to you if you decide to change your flights. I convinced DH that we were still saving lots and lots of money though. I think he actually believed me.

We got into Orlando around 10:00 p.m. on Friday and rented a car from Budget and headed to Radisson at the port. Everything went smoothly, and we even found a Wal-Mart to stop in and buy water and beer before the cruise (a tip I got from the DIS ). This saved us a lot of money. A case of water was $35 on the ship. We bought a rolling cooler, a case of water, and some beer for about $50.

We ended up getting to the Radisson pretty late and decided to call it a night. I've read a lot of complaints about the Radisson, but we've stayed there twice now and have enjoyed it both times. This time we got the AAA rate and ended up getting upgraded somehow. We hit the hay and woke up early Saturday morning ready to go see the "Magic" for the first time!

Next installment: Can someone tell me why in the world we brought 9 suitcases/bags?

[Floridagram]

Did you just wheel the soft cooler on as a carry on? Obviously there were no problems. We just need a few sodas for in the room.

[PaDisneyCouple]

Enjoying the start, and ready for more. And will be savoring every detail. We do our first ever 7-night this fall with an Eastern.
Sean

[RoyalVizier]

Originally Posted by disneypoor

There were several of us disers on this cruise, and I keep checking every day to see if one of them will post their report so I can just chime in on their thread , but so far I haven't had any luck.

You beat me to it! I was on your cruise, and I even have reason to believe that we may have been on an excursion together. Did you do the St. John Trunk Bay Beach and Snorkle excursion on St. Thomas day?

Great start to your report... I'll be starting mine shortly (hopefully!) and you can chime in all you want!

[Babs417]

Good job thanks for your time cant wait to hear more your doing real good

[disneypoor]

Originally Posted by RoyalVizier

You beat me to it! I was on your cruise, and I even have reason to believe that we may have been on an excursion together. Did you do the St. John Trunk Bay Beach and Snorkle excursion on St. Thomas day?

Great start to your report... I'll be starting mine shortly (hopefully!) and you can chime in all you want!

Yes, we did do the St. John Trunk Bay Beach and Snorkel tour, so I'm sure we saw each other! Okay, you have me worried! I forgot you were on our cruise, and I am pretty sure I've read a great TR by you before. Maybe I should just stop now while I'm ahead and let you do your thing! Please feel free to chime in on mine at any time!

[disneypoor]

Originally Posted by Floridagram

Did you just wheel the soft cooler on as a carry on? Obviously there were no problems. We just need a few sodas for in the room.

We wheeled the cooler right onto the ship. They didn't even ask to look inside. We had put bottled water and some beer in it for DH. We drank all of the water but ended up throwing out most of the beer. DH didn't think it tasted as good as the tap stuff onboard.

[disneypoor]

First of all, in reading the beginning of my TR over again, I can't believe that I said we got bent over on airfare! Who says that sort of thing? I'll tell you who--my DH! Sometimes things go from my brain to the keyboard and I don't have any control over it!

Saturday, March 17th: We see the Magic!

This was the day I had been waiting for! We had seen the Wonder and couldn't wait to see the Magic! We woke up pretty early, got ready, headed for the rental car and realized that we needed to put the DCL luggage tags on our luggage. I forgot to mention that we almost had to get rid of a kid in order to fit our luggage in our midsize car from Budget, so putting the luggage tags on was quite a chore! Plus, we also had a cooler, a case of water, and a case of beer to deal with! You could barely see the children in the back seat of the car. We got the luggage tags on and loaded up. Afterall, I just HAD to be the first one at the port because I knew I was going to buy an upgrade.

My DH and DS wanted to grab something to eat at McDonald's. They ran in to get something while DD and myself waited in the car. We were too excited to eat. When DH and DS came out, DS opened someone else's car door and started to get in. If you could have seen the look on this guy's face--priceless! Of course, DS was totally embarassed while the rest of us were about to wet our pants. I know--we're sick people but we found that to be quite hilarious. And, before I get flamed, we would have gone after the car IF it had taken off with DS!

So, after our stop at Mickey D's, we went to check out Ron Jon Surf Shop. I knew better than to go there. We did it last year and it only ended up costing us money. Well, we gave in again this year. Yes, it did end up costing us again. DD and DS beg and we finally cave! We are slow learners. After paying for our loot, we decide to drive by the port (because it's like 9:00 in the morning and maybe they'll open early today) just to get some pictures. Remember--I WILL be the first one at the port!

We get some GREAT pictures of the Magic and our excitement starts to really show! We definitely had to look like total tourists! There were people leaving the ship and we were stopped blocking traffic so we could take pictures. DH was getting impatient with me because he was getting looks and probably hand gestures from other adults. I didn't care because I had to have these pictures for my scrapbook that I would probably never end up doing.

We drive around a little more and I decide it is time to get to the port. DH was going to drop DD and me off with the luggage , and he was going to take DS and return the car to Budget. Everything was looking good! There was another family arriving at about the same time we were. Oh, no you don't! I'm going to fight for that upgrade, so watch out!
DD and I get all nine bags along with the filled cooler out and somehow manage to get them up on the sidewalk. I'm confident that I will be sipping a drink on a verandah tonight. Afterall, I am the first one here!

A man finally comes out and takes our luggage. I'm wondering what he is thinking about the number of bags we have. I tip him and move on. I practically make DD run with me to the doors of the port. We go through security, get on the escalator, and ride to the top. Oh, yes! How much is it going to cost me? I'm sleeping on the verandah tonight! I get a #2 boarding card and feel real good! But, wait! What's that? What do you mean there are no upgrades available? You do know that I'm the first one in the port, right? Well, I get put on a wait list and will get called if something becomes available.

DH and DS arrive, and we're all checked in and ready to wait. I get the kids signed in to the kid's clubs and all is well. We ended up meeting some other DISers at the port. Hi, everyone! It sortof stinks to be back in reality, huh? DD had made two great friends via email before the cruise. They meet and end up spending a lot of time together on the cruise. This was wonderful for DD.

We are travelling with another family from our hometown, and they arrive as well. They finally started calling passengers with boarding card #2, and we head to the Mickey Ears! We stop for a picture with our best St. Patrick's gear on and head for the atrium. I don't know what it is--but I just love having our name announced on the ship! It just makes you feel so important!

We headed to Parrot Cay for lunch and then to the pools. My kids already had their suits on, but I have to say, it was quite cold! It didn't stop the kids from getting in the pools though. They went back and forth from the pool to the hot tub, to the basketball court, to the ice-cream stand, and then started the rotation all over again. DH and I just sort of hung out and people watched until our room was ready.

We had a cat. 9, room 2026. It was wonderful! I was afraid we'd be disappointed because we had sailed with a cat. 6 last time, but we have decided that we think we like the 9 better. We headed for the lifeboat drill at 4:00. We were stationed in the Walt Disney Theater, and we were quite happy about this. It was downright cold, even for us Kansans!

After the drill, we headed back up to get ready for the sail away party. We went up on deck 10 to watch for dolphins. We didn't spot any this time, but it wasn't for lack of trying. We stood there and stood there and stood there some more. For some reason, none of the ships were taking off. We ended up leaving late, and I never questioned it. However, when we got back home, I found out that because of the east coast weather, there were a lot of people that were late to the ship and some that didn't even make it.

We barely had time to get cleaned up and ready for the show. We had 8:15 dining and our rotation was PLAPLAP. Tonight's show was at 6:15 and was the Welcome Aboard show. We really enjoyed it! Afterwards, our ton of luggage started arriving and I started unpacking before dinner. I cannot believe how much stuff you can cram in those staterooms! Every single piece of clothing and all 200 pairs of shoes fit!

We head to dinner at Parrot Cay and meet our servers. Our head server was Gabor from Hungary, and our assistant was Evan "Rambo" from Brazil. Let me tell you--these two are WONDERFUL! It was such a welcome change from our first cruise! The thing we were most disappointed in the first time around was the service. Well, this time it was over the top! Gabor and Evan really worked hard to get to know us and were wonderful with the kids! We dined with another DIS family and got to know them throughout the cruise as well. Hi, Stacie!

After dinner, we went to Shutter's so I could buy a picture package. I hadn't done this on our first cruise, and I really wanted to try to get some good pictures this time. Today was St. Patrick's Day, and I had planned out exactly what we were wearing so that we'd match. We did the lifestyle portraits and got the best family picture we've ever taken! Just so you know, I started with the 5 8X10's package for $84.95 but soon upgraded.

We headed back to the room to find a towel animal, but I can't remember which one we had on this night for some reason. Our stateroom host was Jonathan from the Phillipines. He was also wonderful! He kept our cooler stocked with ice every single day, and he talked to the kids quite a bit. We ended up going to bed around 10:00. The seas were pretty rough, but I got rocked to sleep like a baby!

Next up: I think I might get sick!!!!!

[ColoradoMom!!]

Sick?? Oh Noooooooo. Lovin your report, keep it coming!

[LovableGluttons]

Oh wow! You got bent over airfare? LOLOL

No, don't apologize!

You write trip reports the way I like! Keep it coming!

You're fantastic!!!

and give Royal Vizier a nudge would you? He's slow!

[Minniespal]

Excellent

[RoyalVizier]

Originally Posted by disneypoor

What's that? What do you mean there are no upgrades available? You do know that I'm the first one in the port, right? Well, I get put on a wait list and will get called if something becomes available.

Sorry that you didn't get the verandah that you were hoping for, but at least it sounds like you were really happy with your room.

Originally Posted by disneypoor

We had 8:15 dining and our rotation was PLAPLAP.

Wow. Exact same dining rotation and exact same St. Thomas excursion. I wonder how many times we ran into each other and didn't even know it!

Here... I figured out how to tell exactly how close we were on the St. Thomas excursion. After you arrived at St. John and boarded the open air bus, on the way to Trunk Bay did you have to back up to look for someones liscense that had flown out?

Originally Posted by LovableGluttons

and give Royal Vizier a nudge would you? He's slow!

At least you have this one to tide y'all over!

[disneypoor]

No, no one's license flew out from our bus. I will tell you though, that I met a Lees Summit family that are also DISer's (Hi!) on the bus on the way there and we got to talking. Well, someone behind me shhhhshd (?) me so they could hear the driver. Oops! Were you on that bus? We were in the next to the last seat at the back.

[disneypoor]

Thanks for the nice replies everyone! My head just might explode today. I'll work on this TR later on today and try to get the next installment finished. I can't believe how much I've written and I'm only on the first day! I'll try not to include EVERY detail in the future.

[MN Dis Fans]

Disneypoor - I'm enjoying your report. Much better than anything I could write!

I hear you on the luggage thing! There were 6x of us (+7x large bags) in a mini-van, plus a carry on each! I don't know how I managed to get it all in.