7/22/06 - Trip Report #33 from the Oh-Seven Double-Deuce Double Dip Desperados

[DBinMV]

Well, this report definitely falls into the "better late than never" category...hopefully it will be of use to someone. If you haven't done so already, check out some of the other 07/22/06 cruise reports - especially the ones by Bethipooh and roysbrew. They will probably be more detailed than mine.

Anyway, here's our crew:
Me, DW, DS1 (5), DS2(3)
SIL1, BIL, Nephew(9), Niece(5)
SIL2, MIL, FIL,
Friends: Her, Him, DS (7), DD (4)

Previous DCL experience: Mexican Riviera last summer for us, in-laws have also done Eastern Carribbean, Friends have never been on a Disney Cruise.

Day 0 : OC, CA to Orlando, FL via LAX

We have a 10:15 flight out of LAX - about 50 miles away from the house. Fortunately, it's a Friday during summer, and rush-hour traffic is light. I drop off the the family and SIL2 at the terminal, get parked, and shuttle back. Despite the reports of crowds, the security line is short, and we've got no problem checking in. We meet the rest of our gang at the gate.

This is the boys' first flight, and we're booked on Song by Delta. At first I thought this was going to be a bargain basement flight, but the snack packs were pretty decent and every seat has its own screen with TV programming and/or music. This keeps the boys entertained, until DS2 decides to take a nap. Thanks to roysbrew and HeelMd for the pointers, the odd surprises and snacks keep the boys busy for the first few hours. The last couple hours, I put on "Sky High" on the portable DVD player, and DS1 is entertained until descent. For a first flight, the boys did great. Even my wife did pretty well. (she hates to fly)

We hop off the plane, grab the bags, and check into the Hyatt at MCO. I have to say that this is an AWESOME setup, especially if you have a pretty long flight. It was really nice to just check in without a shuttle or rental car. We had a pretty nice dinner (reasonable price, too!) at McCoy's in the hotel, then it's off to bed, with DCL dreams dancing in our head.

DBinMV

 

[DBinMV]

We all get up pretty early (for us west-coasters) on Saturday, hoping to catch one of the first shuttles from the airport. The Hyatt rooms are very nice and even though we had an adjoining room with SIL1's family, it was quiet. We used the AAA discount to get $20 off the regular rate.

One drawback - breakfast. If you don't do the $$$ room service, choices are slim. Fortunately, the Starbucks in the airport is a short elevator ride away, so it's untoasted bagels (blech..), scones (better), coffee, and OJ for breakfast. Better than nothing, but definitely the second-worst meal of the vacation.

We get our bags out, and get down to the large meeting room that the Hyatt uses for DCL passengers, where they have The Incredibles playing. This keeps all the kids entertained while we have a 30 minute wait for the "Captain Mickey" bus, that comes at around 9:40. The bus ride is easy, and next thing we know, we're in the terminal!!!

Lines for CC and "regular" check-in are the same (about 5 mins), so I get checked in and then go to register the kids. This line is longer, but still no more than 15 minutes. DS1 says he wants an autograph book, so we break the KTTW card in 15 minutes after getting it.

While wandering around the terminal, I run into GoofyDisney, Bethipooh, and Roysbrew. It's good to start putting faces to names.

We take some pics with Minnie in front of the big ship model, then pretty soon, it's time to board!

We get on, and everyone runs to Topsiders for lunch. I go to Rockin' Bar D to change our Palo reservation so that we're not on the same night as Formal night, then drop off the pillow cases for character signatures at Guest Services. I eventually make my way to Topsiders - I forget most of what I ate, except the chilled Mango Orange soup and the kouskous. THAT was some good stuff.

We get the boys changed and off to the pool, where DS2 surprises us by running up to the line for the water slide right off. Of course he loves it, so it's a little bit of a battle when we tell him we're going to the room.

Then, it's off to the Dis meet. Wow, what a lot of people! (you can see pics in Bethipooh's trip report). The bag exchange put on by "Bag Lady" Barb - aka Professorandmom - is a HUGE hit. Unfortunately, DS2 has fallen asleep on my shoulder, and DS1 thinks the bag is HIS. Mom2missmouse went WAY overboard - UConn wristbands, honey, chocolate, a sparkle photo globe, stickers, Foxwoods pen, and a stuffed shark. All of these things came in handy at different points in the trip. On top of the bag, iggbees made some very cool buttons, and Bethipooh made some cool room magnets. DS1 really got a kick out those - "Daddy, your friend from the Internet made us decorations!"

Next up - the safety drill. Unfortunately, DS2 is still asleep and doesn't take too kindly to being stuffed into a life jacket. Fortunately, we're in Animator's Palate (Air conditioning!), but we didn't hear a _thing_ courtesy of DS2's screaming that he wants the lifejacket off NOW. (If you were there, my apologies....)

OK, now back to the room - all the bags are there - except for one. Hmmmmm. Oh well, let's get ready for dinner, and hit the Sailaway party beforehand. For some reason, the singer this year just doesn't well, _have it_ like the guy we had in the Pacific, DS2 is still grumpy, and we leave early to regroup in the room.

DS2 is now waking up and hungry, so we go to Lumiere's for dinner without a fuss, where we meet Mario (Philippines) and Lisa (Scotland). Amazingly, Lisa was able to divine each of our names in our group of 15 without asking. Brilliant! Dinner was the high level of quality and service Disney is known for, and we know we're in for a great trip with our dining room team. They didn't even bat an eye when my FIL asked for 2 appetizers and 3 main courses.

The rest of the night is spent reacquainting ourselves with the ship (Ariel-vision is pretty cool at night), and the boys each get a small surprise in Mickey's Mates courtesy of their grandfather.

It's been a full day, and even though it's 7:30 PM Pacific time, we're all ready to finish unpacking and getting to bed. Our last bag did show up after dinner, and our stateroom host, Brian, has the room setup with the shark from our Connecticut bag perched on the bunk.

Tomorrow is Castaway Cay that we've heard so much about, and everyone is thinking about blue waters, or in the case of my FIL, Cookie's BBQ.

DBinMV

 

[DBinMV]

We are in Room 2130, and we're awakened to the who room, um, vibrating, as the ship reverses onto the dock. It's like the whole room is on the "Magic Fingers" machine that they have in the cheap motels. One other disconcerting event - it's POURING! I'm not too discouraged because I know that most tropical storms are pretty short, but it really was coming down.

I decide that I want to get a picture, so I run up to Deck 10 to snap a picture of the Flying Dutchman and Castaway Cay. Unfortunately the pic is fuzzy courtesy of the rain, but here it is.

The good news is that not only does the rain subside, but the island dries out pretty quickly. We finally make our way off the ship, and I stop at the post office to mail a postcard. One problem - it's Sunday! Drat. I guess it'll have to wait. We have the eco-tour at 2:45, so the morning is spent in the water until lunch. My wife says the burgers are good, and I have the ribs - delicious! The hit really was the chocolate chip cookies and the cookie dough soft-serve ice cream. The cookies were warm and kind of melty, and there's nothing like ice cream on a hot day. Perfect.

DW and kids head back to the boat for a nap, and I hang out with the SILs, BIL, and my nephew until it's time for the Eco-tour.

The Eco-tour was a blast!!! I don't want to spoil it, but here are some pics:

SILs on the wave runner​

All of us on the sand bar in the middle of the ocean​

The wind was kicking up, so the ride was pretty fun. My SILs didn't want to go as fast, though. I decided to try to get one more photo of the Dutchman from the Waverunner:

We've got Palo at 6, so a shower is desperately in order at this point. We leave the kids with my in-laws, and up to Palo! We have Maria from Argentina, and she recommends a cocktail (Apple Martinis for our friends, Lemon for me). Delicious! Of course, the meal is fantastic - pizzas, salads, minestrone soup, filet mignon for me, and of course, the souffle'. Maria also brings us some Tiramisu, then the lemon sorbet/champagne apertif at the end. We just spent 3 hours eating. Almost an Al Bundy moment for me (splitting pants), I swear to have nothing but oatmeal and coffee for breakfast on Monday.

It turns out that my in-laws dropped all the kids off at the club, and sure enough, the second we leave Palo, my DS2 pages us. We get down there, and he's in front of one of the TVs crying. The 3-4s and 5-7s are all in the Lab and it appears to be free time. All the kids see us and say they want to leave - not like last year. Hmmm. One of the counselors says to bring DS2 back the next day for Who Wants to Be a Mouseketeer with a visit by Mickey.

It's been another big day, and I'm kind of looking forward to a day at sea and some time by the pool.....

DBinMV

 

[DBinMV]

The first day at sea is beautiful - we awaken to smooth blue water after a great night's sleep. We have a character breakfast this morning and the boys are excited to see all the characters.

Staying true to my post-Palo promise, DW and I order the cream of wheat (they don't have oatmeal today) and a grapefruit. The boys order pancakes, eggs, and bacon. DW and I get our food pretty quickly, but everyone else at our table is staring at coffee and juice. Finally, it's so much time, that DW and I start eating - and we finish before any else's food even arrives. I'm not sure if it's because everyone else had eggs or pancakes while we had cereal, but that was the only meal hiccup of the trip.

We have a great time at the character breakfast, even it it seems to us like the characters are rushing through and Chip and Dale don't make it over to see us like last time. Mickey came and went so fast that even the pro photographer couldn't get a picture with us, but we did get one with Minnie:

Our servers start making hats for the kids, but pretty soon the whole table is in the act, and DW and I aren't spared.

With kids, character breakfasts are definitely a highlight of the trip.

We all head to the pool, and get seats since it's still before 10. I briefly take DS2 down to the club for Who Wants to Be a Mouseketeer, but even though I stay with him, he says he doesn't want to be there. The counselors appear to be doing a great job of getting the kids primed for an appearance with Mickey, but whatever happened last night still has my DS2 spooked. Oh well. Back to the pool.

I remember that I have a massage at 12:30, and Rebecca from England does a great job of working a bunch of knots out of my back - with her elbows. Oh man - NOW I'm on vacation - I'm feelin' great. I definitely recommend doing this early in the trip - it just gets you into relllaaaaxxxxxx mode.

When I get back, DW has the boys down for what is becoming the customary afternoon nap. Even though they typically don't nap at home, there are so many evening activities that everything just works better with a nap.

Tonight is formal night, and surprisingly, the boys are looking forward to getting on their dress shirts and ties. DW is taking more pictures than an overprotective mom on Prom night, but we're all still having fun. With Palo a very recent memory, I have the grouper, which is excellent.

Everyone in our group goes to the Golden Mickeys, except our friends, whose kids are tired and a little grumpy. The kids really like it, and it's not bad, even if it's my least favorite of the 4 big shows. Then, more pictures, and off to bed. Brian has done a fantastic job again preparing the room - here's a picture of the puppy he made for the boys.

DBinMV

 

[roysbrew]

great report so far, Dave!

 

[GGBacha]

I'm really enjoying your report! We're going on our first cruise in October. I'm especially curious about whether or not my 3.5 year old will actually want to go into the club or not. You've left me hanging on the edge of my keyboard!

 

[DisNeed]

Hi-
We're going on a double dip on 12/9... this thread sure got us excited about it all!!

 

[DBinMV]

I'm really enjoying your report! We're going on our first cruise in October. I'm especially curious about whether or not my 3.5 year old will actually want to go into the club or not. You've left me hanging on the edge of my keyboard!

Sorry I haven't had a chance to finish yet, but I just wanted to say - it depends. As you'll see in one of my future reports, I think my DS2 was unduly influenced by our friend's son, who wasn't really "primed" for the club. I think if your son/daughter is already in preschool, and you can convince them that this is "Cruise school" with fun activities and free time, you'll be good to go.

Thanks for all the encouragement - after some errands I hope to get more written tonight.

DBinMV

 

[Bethipooh4]

Loving the report Dave, gives me incentive to get mine finished...

 

[DBinMV]

My FIL, 2 SILs, BIL, and I are going on the Checchoben Ruins tour, and have to meet in Rockin’ Bar D at 8:30. DW and the boys are sleeping in, so I knock on everyone’s door at 7:45 for breakfast. Everyone else was smart and got room service – wish I would’ve thought of that. I run up to Topsiders (omelet bar – Alright!), and snap this picture of the port while I’m up there.

After a quick meet in Rockin’ Bar D (Wow, there are a lot of people on this excursion!), we go to the buses. The buses are just like the chartered buses in the states, and it’s a very comfortable hour ride to the site.

At the site, we take a few minutes to look around some small shops and use the restroom, then we go to the excavation site. Our guide is Joel (“Ho-ell”), and while he apologizes for his English, it’s actually quite good. He has a lot of information about the site that might sound a little like school to the kids, but I found it pretty interesting. Again, I don’t want to ruin it, but there is a LOT more to the ruins than big pyramids. If you want details, PM me. I took a TON of pics here, but here is one of the better ones.

We meet back at the small shops, where I find a nice hand-made wooden sugar bowl. I try to bargain with the shopkeeper, but she just walks away. I leave without the sugar bowl, as the price was too high. Oh well..

We get back to the port area by 1:30. The port area is newer and nicer than most of the others I’ve been to – it even has a family pool and swim-up bar area. Unfortunately, these are closed to us due to a recent storm. The shops here are nice, but NOT the place for a deal. Little ceramic turtles that were priced at $1 in Cozumel are $8 here! I do find a bottle of tequila that’s still pretty expensive, but it’s about $20 less than what I can get it for, plus it’s a difficult one to get in the states, so I buy it. Plus the tequila shop lets you have samples before you buy!

I get back to the ship and am now pretty hungry, so I meet up with DW and take the kids to lunch with me while she goes into port to look for deals. After lunch, the kids say they want to go to the pool, and I forget that it’s “nap time”. We stay at the pool until 4, when it’s apparent that the kids are wiped out, so I get them back to the room and they crash. My wife comes back empty-handed other than a couple T-shirts for the boys. She did get this picture, however.

We get ready for dinner, but DS2 won’t wake up. Since it was my mistake that the boys didn’t get their nap on time, I volunteer to stay in the room while everyone else goes to dinner. A quick note here – you can order off the dinner menu for the night, even for room service. Instead, I ordered a turkey sandwich and fruit. Wish I would’ve known. DW is nice enough to bring me some cheesecake from dinner, though. She knows me well…

DS2 wakes up after dinner, so we grab him some pizza and fruit from deck 9. We then gather up with our group for “Twice Charmed”. I really like this show – it’s very original, yet stays true to the Cinderella premise. Franco is just classic.

My DW tells me that night that our friend’s DS says he had a really bad time in the club the night we were at Palo, and that he’s still talking about how he’s never going back. It turns out, he didn’t know what he was “supposed to be doing”, and that during free time, not all of the kids were playing nicely. After talking to the boys, it comes to light that they weren’t too keen on going back after seeing our friend’s son get upset. OK, now we know what we’re dealing with…

It still seems like we’re just getting warmed up, but tomorrow is Cozumel and Day 5. The week is just flying by!

DBinMV

 

[Lqqieee]

I remember seeing you on the ruins tour!!! My husband and I were in Joel's group too! We're the newlywed couple. I remember someone from your group not liking the bugs on the tour, lol!!!!

Small world!!

 

[DBinMV]

I remember seeing you on the ruins tour!!! My husband and I were in Joel's group too! We're the newlywed couple. I remember someone from your group not liking the bugs on the tour, lol!!!!

Small world!!

LOL!!! Yep, that was my SIL. She made the mistake of wearing open-toed shoes. She claims that there was a spider on her from the grass, but her big mistake was walking across an anthill - she got bit on her toes about 5-10 times, with each becoming a flea-bite sized welt.

I remember you too, now! Sorry that we didn't talk while on the excursion.

DBinMV

 

[DBinMV]

This morning, my DW brings to my attention that Brian has been doing double-duty on our cabin, turning down the bed in the afternoon for the boys' afternoon nap. We go to breakfast, come back - bed made and bunks put away. Come back after lunch, bed turned down. Come back after dinner, bunks setup, towel animal and choclates on a re-made and turned down bed. Yes, we're pretty spoiled.

We've been eating breakfast and lunch at Lumiere's whenever possible, as our group really likes the seated dining experience. Maria Consuela (Chile, if I remember correctly) is our assistant server a few days in a row, and just spoils the kids - making sure the kids have juice and chocolate milk. She even goes up to topsiders for doughnuts without being asked because she thinks the kids would prefer doughnuts to the pastries. Bethipooh is right, though - I got hooked on the chocolate danish, too! I finally discover why the kids haven't been finishing their pancakes, though - they're a little dry or dense compared to what we're used to. Oh well, it's not as though there aren't plenty of other breads and sugars available at breakfast!

OK, on to Cozumel. Contrary to a rumor that we'd be the first to dock on the rebuilt pier, we still have to tender in, but there's little wait and the water is smooth - and BLUE. WOW. I don't think even the water in Castaway Cay was this clear.

We walk across the street to a shopping area where there is a Hard Rock Cafe, but the shops here are more willing to deal than those in Costa Maya. This is probably due to the fact that there are multiple places selling the same stuff. It's also more crowded as there are 2 Carnival ships in port at the same time, so we're sure to keep a good hold on the kids. We take a "quick spin" (according to my DW, my watch said was 2 hours) around the major shopping plaza, then head down the street where there are more shops. At this point, the boys are bored and others in are group have excursions to get to, so we split up. DW and MIL stay behind to shop, our friends, my boys, and I tender back to ship.

One nice thing about port days is that the pool is never crowded, so the boys are back to the pool. I run into roysbrew there and talk to her and her husband for a bit - really nice folks. What do cruise people do before the Internet?

The boys and I get lunch from Pinnochio's, and I actually remember to get them back to the room for a nap, because tonight is Pirate Night. They missed it last cruise, and I just know they'll have a blast. Plus, I don't want to miss dinner again.

I'm watching a movie in the room when DW gets back. I decide at this point that I'd like to walk around the ship some and just get a nice view of Cozumel. One of the places I go to is "secret deck 7" where I run into a nice family from Hamilton Bay, Ontario, Canada. Turns out, she's the sister of Franco from Twice Charmed! We talk about Canada, the show, and a little bit of hockey, then they leave and I get a pic of the resort area of Cozumel.

Pirate Night Dinner is in Animator's Palate for us, and I'm hoping our friends will get to see the black/white to color transormation since we were in Palo the night we were supposed to be in AP. Unfortunately, they don't have the light effects on. But dinner is great, starting with the Rusty Anchor cocktail, and ending with the banana-caramel ice cream dessert! I know what you're thinking - Yes, I DO remember the main course (lamb, also very good), but well, it's vacation!

The entertainment for pirate night is great. The boys are boogeying with the characters, and somehow watching fireworks off the ship at open sea is just awe-inspiring.

FIL makes sure he high-tails it over to the Turkey leg line after the fireworks, then gets some desserts. The rest of us get ham, fruit, and just a few less desserts. One note - if you miss the banana-caramel dessert at dinner, they have a TON of it on Deck 9 after the Pirate Night fireworks. Of course, I had to be sure it really was the same...

It's now pretty late, plus we have to set the clock an hour ahead tonight, so it's off to bed. I feel a little sorry for anybody who has the Thursday character breakfast, because I know there's no way my family would have made it. When we get back, Brian made a huge sea turtle out of one of the blankets - another nice surprise for a great day.

DBinMV

 

[Disney? Again?]

Loving the trip report, its like being there again!

This is a great place to say thank you for our State bag!

My husband got possession of the Club 33 pen -- what a cool keepsake! I have been to Disneyland many times, but never got in to Club 33, so we really appreciate that. And the Disneyland shot glass was perfect -- I think it's great that it says "The place where magic begins", it's like a double meaning since we got it from you on the Magic. Thanks again, and it was great to meet you!

Happy Anniversary to you and the DW, hope she's feeling better by now!

 

[carol31j]

Thanks for sharing. The pictures are fabulous too.

My husband and I had gone with the whole family including grandkids. It was fun, and we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. I think it brought out the kid in all of us.

 

[disneymum2]

Great Pictures - you have good eye

 

[DBinMV]

With the time change and our late night festivities, we all sleep in, so much so that we only get to Lumiere's for breakfast 10 minutes before it closes. Since we have a large group, we're the last ones to leave. Having learned our lesson with the pancakes, our group sticks to eggs, oatmeal, Mickey waffles, etc. I have to say, the Eggs Benedict is (are?) fantastic. Given the rest of my meals for today, I should have just stuck with fruit and cereal, though.

The SILs watch the kids while the rest of us catch the 10AM Pirates II. What a great flick, and the perfect activity for a sea day. After the movie, we're all kind of full from our late breakfast, so we go the pool. We'll have a "light" lunch. It's pizza for the boys and a pannini from Goofy's Galley for DW and me. Hey, those are pretty good! Just for good measure, I also grab a brat from Pluto's. The kids help themselves to soft-serve ice cream from Scoops for dessert, and of course, we all ate more than we originally intended.

We stay at the pool until 3, and then it's naptime. While the boys sleep, DW and I start doing laundry. It sounds crazy to me, but DW convinces me that coming home and just putting clothes away is a lot nicer than coming home and doing piles of laundry. It isn't until Saturday afternoon that I see the wisdom of this.

After a couple loads and a few hours of nap, we all get ready for semi-formal night. Tonight, it's the in-laws turn to go to Palo, so we have all the kids. Last night they added a "server in training" to our table - Nadege from France. She is a little quiet, but works very dilligently to make sure no one ever needs a refill, replace the odd dropped piece of silver, etc. This frees Lisa up a a little to work with Mario to serve the food and help the kids with cutting, since the adults are outnumbered tonight. Again, our serving team takes really great care of us.

After dinner, DW decides she really wants to take pictures - especially since my MIL says she wants a picture of all the grand kids. So we traipse all over the ship, hunting down every professional photographer we can find, plus taking a bunch of our own pictures on deck, by the stack, etc. Fortunately, most of the pro shots turn out well, because most of ours don't. The kids are real troopers - keeping their smiles for every shot.

We spend so much time taking pictures, we forget about the show - our favorite - Disney Dreams. We run to the theater and get there just as cruise director Rachel is finishing the intro. The kids really get into this show, and it's fun to watch it through their eyes. Again, without ruining it, the end is pretty amazing.

After the show, I settle DW and the kids to bed - but my FIL, my 2 SILs, my BIL, and I are off to the 11PM Dessert Buffet! We only have a 10 minute wait, and then I'm in confectionary heaven. Cheesecakes, creampuffs, different pastries, and a chocolate fountain. I don't know who invented the chocolate fountain, but they should have won a nobel prize, or at least been sainted.

Anyway, I go for the dulce de leche, some chocolate covered cream puffs, a small slice of blueberry cheesecake, and some pineapple, marshmallows, and strawberries for the aforementioned chocolate river of plenty. When I get there, some nice folks ask me if I'd like a "Chocolate Martini" for $3.50. Now, I didn't know you put those 2 words together for any price, so I HAVE to try it. DELICIOUS. Of course, being a buffet, it would be rude for me not to go have seconds - I go back for some more pineapple and marshmallows covered in chocolate goodness. I think you get the idea - I really enjoyed the dessert buffet.

With a full stomach and my new-found knowledge that there IS such a thing as a chocolate martini, I float back to the room on my sugar high, knowing I've done my part to help Disney get volume discounts on chocolate for future cruises.

DBinMV

 

[DBinMV]

Great Pictures - you have good eye

Thanks! That's really nice of you to say. My wife is the scrapbooker - I think she gets most of the good ones.

Best wishes,

DBinMV

 

[DBinMV]

My husband got possession of the Club 33 pen -- what a cool keepsake! I have been to Disneyland many times, but never got in to Club 33, so we really appreciate that. And the Disneyland shot glass was perfect -- I think it's great that it says "The place where magic begins", it's like a double meaning since we got it from you on the Magic. Thanks again, and it was great to meet you!

Happy Anniversary to you and the DW, hope she's feeling better by now!

I'm glad you enjoyed it....The Club 33 pen was more difficult to get than I anticipated (I'm not a member, either), but I figured _something_ from there would be perfect for a bag exchange with a bunch of Dis-ers. I'm glad Iceman didn't end up with it. Drop me a PM if there's something else you'd like from DL.

DW is on the mend, thanks. I never realized vacations were so exhausting.

Nice meeting you, too. Thanks for all your work on the roster. See you around Disboards...

DBinMV

 

[DBinMV]

OK, Sorry that it’s been a few days – work has been a bit busy, lately.

We wake up Friday morning to the “Magic Fingers” stateroom, as the Magic reverses onto the Castaway Cay dock. It’s just as well – it’s our last day, and we’re going to make the most of it.

We go to Topsiders for breakfast – I once again hit the omelet bar, but also grab a doughnut. It’s not until I bite into, or try to at least, that I discover that it’s still frozen! Nothing a little dunking in hot coffee won’t fix…

We make our way off the ship, and Castaway Cay looks a lot nicer this morning than it did the last time:

We head to the beach again and splash around a bit. The water is really nice. Our friends and my niece decided that they’d prefer the Mickey pool – my BIL says it was very empty.

Now for the big challenge – our friends, my DW, and I have 12:30 parasailing – the kids HAVE to go to Scuttle’s Cove while we’re there. We tell the kids – “you’re going, if you don’t fuss about it, we’ll get you a surprise.” Of course, there’s a little bit of a fuss, but the 5-7s are building sandcastles, and the 3-4s are learning about the colors of the wind. We get them settled (whew!) and it’s off to Marge’s Barges.

It’s a bit windier today, and they have to do “a test” to be sure that we’ll be OK – they say that they’ll take us, but everyone has to go tandem. It seems like a reasonable compromise, but $150 per couple for 7 or 8 minutes in the air seems a bit steep. We figure it’s the last day of vacation, so what the heck.

Our friends our first, and they go higher than I expect. I wonder how DW is going to do with this? It turns out I shouldn’t have worried about the height – it was the “dip” that freaked her out. After the waverunner eco-tour on the first day, I told my wife how our guide told us that the surrounding waters have lots of sharks. Well, before they get you all the way up in parasailing, they “dip” you in the ocean first. My wife is thinking that her legs now look like shark bait and she isn’t comfortable with that AT ALL. Fortunately, the “dip” only lasts about 30 seconds, and we’re up in the air.

I wish I had brought the camera with me instead of leaving it with our friends in the boat to get the above picture. The view of the island is fantastic from up there. It’s very quiet, and DW and I are just amazed. I’m still not sure it was worth $150, but I’m glad we did it.

The reel us in, and do the last 2 groups, one of which includes a boy who just had his eight birthday, and this excursion is his birthday present! Gutsy kid.

While the last group is up, we notice some dark clouds to the north of the island, and I see 3 funnels descending. One of the crew mentions that they are waterspouts, and that we’re pretty lucky to see them. I’m thinking that the only thing that differentiates a water spout from a tornado is what it lands on (yep, I grew up in the Midwest).

While all this is going on, DW hasn’t taken too kindly to the choppier waters, and her breakfast is now “Oatmeal in the Caribbean”. Fortunately, the last group has been reeled in, they sit my wife towards the back of the boat, and we go about as fast as the boat will carry us back into the harbor. Just as we get in, I notice that two of the funnels have disappeared, but there is one touching down. This literally was the last picture in my camera, otherwise I would have taken more.

Needless to say, the waterspout was short-lived, although I heard that they cleared the beaches. We go to get the kids from kids club – guess who now doesn’t want to leave? It took them until the last day of the trip to figure out that the club can be a lot of fun. First impressions are everything I guess. Anyway, we’re all hungry for lunch, so it’s off to Cookie’s where my FIL has a table. It’s already 2, so we eat “light”, except for my FIL, of course.

We then look at the shops – hoping to see find some stuff to remember the trip. I get my wife a lime green hoodie, my FIL a T-Shirt that says “Cookie’s BBQ – Paradise Found”, and a Bahamas mug with the Magic on it for me. Total - $69.90. 10 cents more, and I can get a Pirates watch for $10, so I buy a postcard and the watch.

Postcard! I had completely forgotten about the postcard I was going to send on the first day, and it’s now 3:30, with the post office closing at 4. So I run back to the room, then back to the post office – fortunately, the line isn’t too long as everyone is outside getting pics with Captain Hook and Mr. Smee.

While I was at the PO, DW got the boys down for a nap and we do a last load of laundry before dinner. Then I go to the presentation on how to disembark on Saturday morning while DW starts packing.

Dinner – I’m looking forward to this! I normally don’t eat lobster, but what would a cruise be without lobster? Well, on this particular night, it was the wrong choice. It might have just been overcooked, but it was tough and a little chewy. Bummer. But it’s not going to spoil the night, because it’s Baked Alaska night, too! Even though I order a different dessert, Mario makes sure we all have at least a little bit of the Baked Alaska, and we give our tip envelopes. I kind of hate this part, because you know you’re going to miss these hard-working folks, but there’s not a lot you can do about it.

Left to right: Mario, Lisa, Nadege​

The kids want to look around the shops a bit before the “Remember the Magic” show. They each get a small surprise for not fussing at the club from earlier, and we go to get seats for the show.

This year we get to see a Marionette show, a ventriloquist, and of course, the musical part of Remember the Magic. The Marionette, while impressive, doesn’t do much for the kids – we’re sitting too far away. The ventriloquist is hilarious! She’s using real people as the “dummies” - the 10 year old boy "dummy" turned beet red a few times. I wish I had taken time to see her full show earlier in the week. Lastly, we get the traditional “Remember the Magic” musical numbers, which the kids love. Disney knows we’re all about to enter post-cruise depression, and they’re trying to ease us into it.

Show’s over, time to go to bed, right?? WRONG. I had forgotten to apply my Disney Visa points to the cruise, plus I still have to pack so that I can get my bag out by 11. We get back to the room, and there’s a DIS sign waiting for us! Cool. The instructions say to sign and pass it on – so I sign it, and take a picture:

The kids say that they’re thirsty, so I go out to 1) Go to guest services to apply our Disney points 2) Drop off the Dis sign for the next Dis-er 3) get the kids a drink. Oh yeah, my DW says that my in-laws are talking about a cruise in ’08 for their 40th anniversary, check and see what they’ve got. It’s now 9:45, and I still have to have my bag out by 11. So much for my resolution to have a "calm" last night of the trip....

OK, first stop – Guest Services – there’s a long line, so I go to drop off the Dis sign. I find Mom2MissMouse’s room, and I’m at the back of the ship, so I go to Deck 9 and get drinks. I bring the drinks back to the room, then it’s back to Guest Services – still a long line, so I wait. I get out of there at 10:20 and run upstairs to book for ’08 – I’m third in line, and the guy at the counter is having trouble understanding that if he goes to the Mediterranean, he’s going to have to fly home from Barcelona, not Orlando. The people just need to make a quick change to their itinerary, then it’s my turn. The 2008 schedule aren’t out yet, so I put a deposit for us for 2007 with the promise we can move it after the 2008 schedule is out. It's now 10:50.

Run back downstairs, get everything packed – they’ve already started clearning bags from our hallway, and I’m finished at 10:59. Whew! Turns out people were putting bags out until midnight, but I didn't want to get stuck carrying anything more than I had to tomorrow.

Everyone else is already asleep. We have to wake up early tomorrow for a 7AM breakfast, and then it’ll be a long ride home. It’s been a heck of a trip, and we’re not done, yet.

DBinMV