Ok hear goes nothing......
Well, this was the second Disney cruise for my family (me-29, dh-32, dd-6, dd-3). Our first was also on the Magic and part of a land/sea package so I guess we knew to expect the best in terms of service and comfort, and that is what we got!
We started off by flying into Orlando on the night before and stayed at the Radisson ('FALL' special! - thanks to these boards!). We got in quite late so we basically just slept their and picked up some beer/pop (I guess I should say 'soda' - I'm Canadian!
) in the morning before returning our AVIS rental. We picked up a bottle of rum, rye, and wine at duty free in Niagara falls to get us started!
So it's Saturday and we joined the looong line to board the ship. We were so excited and didn't mind the wait. We registered the girls at the club and went to our room. All seemed fine until that evening when we set sail. Room 2650 is very loud!! I thought it would be a constant hum and didn't think it would bother me, but the vibration was not what I expected. DH and I had a terrible sleep that night so we decided that it wouldn't hurt to ask for a room change, even though there was a little sign at guest services which indicated that the ship was full and room changes were not possible.
Luckily (for us), someone had to cancel (unlucky for them) and room 2604 was empty. We moved there immediately following dinner on the second night and from this point on....we slept like babies! Relief!!! BTW, guest services was so great about this......we even received a phone call to make sure we were settled the next day as well as arcade cards in our 'fish' the following morning (this was great for DH, as he is such a kid at heart!). Oh, and we went back to tip our cabin hostess for that first couple of days since we had a new guy for the remainder of the cruise (Daniel - he was great!)
Hair braiding on the ship: Loved it! I didn't want to have to wait until the islands so I made a point of getting the girls done on the ship asap. I was lucky because I got there when they had one appointment left (it was a cancellation, I think). So I raced over to get dd-6 because the appointment was for right then and there. I just casually mentioned that I had another daughter and figured I could get her done on the island as I realized dd-6 got the last appointment. At that point, 'Paula' said 'I'll squeeze her in next'. I didn't even ask! So that was doubly great....I got both girls done and that eliminated the need to be doing my own pony tails/braids/hair clips for the rest of the cruise (they both got the hair-band style).......and they look so cute in the pictures!
DD's enjoyed the pools on days at sea - even though they were crowded. DD-6 was determined to get her prize at the end of the week so she made sure to attend one main-event each day at the kids club. She came come with a picture frame (and picture with Minnie), pillow case, flubber, t-shirt and her prize (which happened to be a lunch bag and water bottle with Oceaneer's Club logo). DD-3 only went three times. She was uneasy because she was in a different age group but really wanted to do the things that her sister did. Oh well!
We didn't manage to do Palo's but we did get to do the wine tasting, which was fun. Just a nice quiet time for the two of us.
Dinner: Lumiere's is my favorite so I was a little disappointed that our rotation was APLAPLA. I was hoping to do Lumiere's three times, but oh well! The food was really good. Our server (Igusti) always made good recommendations, so I typically went with what he said and was never disappointed. DD-6 really liked Pinocchio's pizza, so that was a common mid-day snack for her! I managed to only gain two pounds!
St. Maarten was nice but I wouldn't rush back. We just took a taxi to Dawn Beach and lounged for the day! We packed PBJ sandwiches so the girls were taken care of. DH ordered a sandwich and fries from the bar there, which pricey. But the beer was cheap! So DH brought a few bottles back on the ship in our soft-sided cooler.
St. Thomas was breath-taking!!! We were lucky to have the 'good view' from our porthole on both island days and when we looked out at the harbour in St. Thomas I couldn't wait to get to Magen's Bay! Now that was a glimpse of heaven!! We stayed there from about 10am until 2:30 and our open-air taxi driver stopped along the way for pictures. DH talked him down in price but after all the stops he made, we decided to give him what he asked for in the first place. I wish we had more time in St. Thomas. Would've been nice to be there until later that evening so that we could've squeezed in some shopping.
Sunscreen: I went through a huge bottle that week! We are not sun-worshippers so I was determined to be sun-free. I guess I did good because when my sister picked us up at the airport she said 'You guys hardly look tanned! You did a good job with the sunscreen!
Castaway Cay: very busy! We didn't manage to get a great spot but nonetheless, we still enjoyed our day there. A few changes since our last trip.
Well, this brings me to the sad end! I could hardly sleep on the last night. After dh and dd's fell asleep I went out a strolled the decks for and hour. In the morning, after the 6am wake-up call, dh and the girls went back to bed as our breakfast was late seating, so I again strolled the deck to say good-bye!
Our journey home was uneventful...with the exception of DD-3 having to get check by security at the gate! When our TA was reserving our return flight, for some reason dd-3 didn't take in the reservation so she had to do a seperate one for her. Well that indicated that she was a solo-flyer and had to go through a mandatory check by about 6 securty officers. It was too funny! She had to put her Barbie suitcase on the table, along with her Minnie Mouse...and they check her, patted her pockets and everything!!! She was laughing, as was everyone else..including the other passengers waiting to board the plane!
I can't wait to do it again!
Helen.
Well, this was the second Disney cruise for my family (me-29, dh-32, dd-6, dd-3). Our first was also on the Magic and part of a land/sea package so I guess we knew to expect the best in terms of service and comfort, and that is what we got!
We started off by flying into Orlando on the night before and stayed at the Radisson ('FALL' special! - thanks to these boards!). We got in quite late so we basically just slept their and picked up some beer/pop (I guess I should say 'soda' - I'm Canadian!
) in the morning before returning our AVIS rental. We picked up a bottle of rum, rye, and wine at duty free in Niagara falls to get us started!So it's Saturday and we joined the looong line to board the ship. We were so excited and didn't mind the wait. We registered the girls at the club and went to our room. All seemed fine until that evening when we set sail. Room 2650 is very loud!! I thought it would be a constant hum and didn't think it would bother me, but the vibration was not what I expected. DH and I had a terrible sleep that night so we decided that it wouldn't hurt to ask for a room change, even though there was a little sign at guest services which indicated that the ship was full and room changes were not possible.
Luckily (for us), someone had to cancel (unlucky for them) and room 2604 was empty. We moved there immediately following dinner on the second night and from this point on....we slept like babies! Relief!!! BTW, guest services was so great about this......we even received a phone call to make sure we were settled the next day as well as arcade cards in our 'fish' the following morning (this was great for DH, as he is such a kid at heart!). Oh, and we went back to tip our cabin hostess for that first couple of days since we had a new guy for the remainder of the cruise (Daniel - he was great!)
Hair braiding on the ship: Loved it! I didn't want to have to wait until the islands so I made a point of getting the girls done on the ship asap. I was lucky because I got there when they had one appointment left (it was a cancellation, I think). So I raced over to get dd-6 because the appointment was for right then and there. I just casually mentioned that I had another daughter and figured I could get her done on the island as I realized dd-6 got the last appointment. At that point, 'Paula' said 'I'll squeeze her in next'. I didn't even ask! So that was doubly great....I got both girls done and that eliminated the need to be doing my own pony tails/braids/hair clips for the rest of the cruise (they both got the hair-band style).......and they look so cute in the pictures!
DD's enjoyed the pools on days at sea - even though they were crowded. DD-6 was determined to get her prize at the end of the week so she made sure to attend one main-event each day at the kids club. She came come with a picture frame (and picture with Minnie), pillow case, flubber, t-shirt and her prize (which happened to be a lunch bag and water bottle with Oceaneer's Club logo). DD-3 only went three times. She was uneasy because she was in a different age group but really wanted to do the things that her sister did. Oh well!
We didn't manage to do Palo's but we did get to do the wine tasting, which was fun. Just a nice quiet time for the two of us.
Dinner: Lumiere's is my favorite so I was a little disappointed that our rotation was APLAPLA. I was hoping to do Lumiere's three times, but oh well! The food was really good. Our server (Igusti) always made good recommendations, so I typically went with what he said and was never disappointed. DD-6 really liked Pinocchio's pizza, so that was a common mid-day snack for her! I managed to only gain two pounds!
St. Maarten was nice but I wouldn't rush back. We just took a taxi to Dawn Beach and lounged for the day! We packed PBJ sandwiches so the girls were taken care of. DH ordered a sandwich and fries from the bar there, which pricey. But the beer was cheap! So DH brought a few bottles back on the ship in our soft-sided cooler.
St. Thomas was breath-taking!!! We were lucky to have the 'good view' from our porthole on both island days and when we looked out at the harbour in St. Thomas I couldn't wait to get to Magen's Bay! Now that was a glimpse of heaven!! We stayed there from about 10am until 2:30 and our open-air taxi driver stopped along the way for pictures. DH talked him down in price but after all the stops he made, we decided to give him what he asked for in the first place. I wish we had more time in St. Thomas. Would've been nice to be there until later that evening so that we could've squeezed in some shopping.
Sunscreen: I went through a huge bottle that week! We are not sun-worshippers so I was determined to be sun-free. I guess I did good because when my sister picked us up at the airport she said 'You guys hardly look tanned! You did a good job with the sunscreen!
Castaway Cay: very busy! We didn't manage to get a great spot but nonetheless, we still enjoyed our day there. A few changes since our last trip.
Well, this brings me to the sad end! I could hardly sleep on the last night. After dh and dd's fell asleep I went out a strolled the decks for and hour. In the morning, after the 6am wake-up call, dh and the girls went back to bed as our breakfast was late seating, so I again strolled the deck to say good-bye!
Our journey home was uneventful...with the exception of DD-3 having to get check by security at the gate! When our TA was reserving our return flight, for some reason dd-3 didn't take in the reservation so she had to do a seperate one for her. Well that indicated that she was a solo-flyer and had to go through a mandatory check by about 6 securty officers. It was too funny! She had to put her Barbie suitcase on the table, along with her Minnie Mouse...and they check her, patted her pockets and everything!!! She was laughing, as was everyone else..including the other passengers waiting to board the plane!
I can't wait to do it again!
Helen.
