ELEVATE! Is that a whale out there? A three-generation cruise to Alaska!UPDATE 8/29

[RGirl]

So, I'm sitting here watching Titanic (haven't seen it in years!), and, although I'm feeling a bit sad that this TR is quickly coming to an end, I thought it was the perfect time for an update!

29. A Pirate’s Life for DD! (Day 5)

When I last left you, DD was enjoying a very late lunch in the stateroom. I enjoyed reading some more while she watched her movie and The Judies rested. Eventually, DD said that she really didn’t want to go to dinner tonight but to the kids club instead. That was fine - she had really had a very late lunch!

At about 4:00, DD and I took showers and got ready for the evening. Tonight was Pirate Night, so we checked the Navigator and figured that we would be able to meet Pirate Stitch if we headed down to Deck 4.

We thought about going down to meet Captain Hook and Smee next, but their line was insane. Instead, we walked over to Preludes (just outside the Walt Disney Theater) to see how long Jack Sparrow’s line was. I figured this was a lost cause, that the line would be insane since Jack was due to arrive in about 5 minutes, but it was not long at all. And who was in line in front of us? Our mother-son friends from Australia! I was slightly disappointed to see that she was not armed with a cocktail, but we had a nice time in line. All the moms were talking about how they wished it was the “real” Jack Sparrow. DD was pretty excited to meet Captain Jack.

She really enjoyed this meet! And then she was ready for the kids club!

Up next: 30. A Grown-Up Meal​

 

[shan23877]

I love all of the unique character meets that Willow got to do! Pirate Stitch and Captain Jack look awesome!

No judging about the dinner skippage. At least once a month Maddie convinces me to let her have popcorn for lunch.

I can't wait to hear about Pirate Night with the Judies! Please tell me one of them donned a bandana!


In unrelated news: I think Bryan may be on board for a June 2013 trip, and today I priced some out. If we rent DVC (I looked at David's rentals), a studio at the BC would be cheaper than CBR!!!!

I think I'm gonna start plotting my ADRs soon-just in case he agrees.

 

[megan511]

Aww I love Pirate Stitch! All the characters on the Wonder are so cute in their costumes.

It seems like Willow really loved the kids club.

Looking forward to hearing more about Pirate Night!

 

[RGirl]

I love all of the unique character meets that Willow got to do! Pirate Stitch and Captain Jack look awesome!

No judging about the dinner skippage. At least once a month Maddie convinces me to let her have popcorn for lunch.

I can't wait to hear about Pirate Night with the Judies! Please tell me one of them donned a bandana!

In unrelated news: I think Bryan may be on board for a June 2013 trip, and today I priced some out. If we rent DVC (I looked at David's rentals), a studio at the BC would be cheaper than CBR!!!!

I think I'm gonna start plotting my ADRs soon-just in case he agrees.

The characters on-board were really fun - I hope we meet more next time!

Friday and Saturday nights at our house are popcorn nights - I usually make something else for Willow in addition to that, but not much!

Oh, renting DVC points is great! I hope you get to do it. Although I wish you were going in August.....

Aww I love Pirate Stitch! All the characters on the Wonder are so cute in their costumes.

It seems like Willow really loved the kids club.

Looking forward to hearing more about Pirate Night!

Yeah, the characters were great!

Willow did think the kids' club was great - she wants to go back!

 

[RGirl]

30. A Grown-Up Meal and a Toy-Filled Show (Day 5)

When I last left you, DD had opted for the kids club over dinner after her momentous meeting with Jack Sparrow. I dropped her off and headed back to the staterooms to collect The Judies. They had just realized that it was dinner time and were getting ready. We were assigned to Parrot Cay tonight, which seemed perfect for Pirate Night.

The Judies tried out their martini trick from last night here. Poor Doulson was totally confused by their order, but he made it happen. I think I ordered a cosmo or some such cocktail - none of the menu specials sounded very appealing to me.

For my appetizer, I had the Caribbean-Style Conch Chowder - with sherry, sweet peppers, onions, tomatoes, thyme, and garnished with diced potatoes and crispy bacon bits. Tasty.

The Judies both had the Pirates Golden “Pot Stickers” - Oriental pork dumplings deep fried and served with a tamarind-ginger soy sauce and pickled vegetables. They liked them a lot.

Judy 1 and I both chose Jack Sparrow’s Barbecue Marinated Beef Short Ribs - rubbed beef short ribs with tamarind-barbecue sauce served with onion red bliss mashed potatoes and plantain chip. We thought this was yummy!

Judy 2 had the Castaway Chicken Breast - rubbed with Pirate Island spice, rice and beans, and fried okra on rich spiced glaze. And I didn’t get a picture!

None of the desserts was very non-gluten-friendly, but I was good with that because it meant Mickey Bar for me!

The Judies both ordered the Walk the Triple Layered Chocolate Gangplank Cake. I think they enjoyed it.

At some point, there was a pirate parade featuring servers and guests, but none of my pics really came out.

When we had finished dinner, we noticed that I had not yet received a text from the kids club, so we decided to walk on down to Route 66 and the Cadillac Lounge. The three of us enjoyed a little Rosa Regale here. Yum! I tried to get some pictures for y’all. Sorry - they didn’t turn out that great.

This was a lovely way to spend the evening. (I still look forward to hanging out here by myself with a glass of champagne and my kindle one day. )

At 8:00, I left to pick up DD for Toy Story: The Musical, which was starting at 8:30. I had promised DD that she could wear jammies to the show (DD LOVES jammies - more than anyone I have ever known ), so we went back to the stateroom so that she could change. We discovered that Clive had left us and The Judies a hanging monkey.

We also noticed that he had replaced DD’s regular white sheets with princess sheets. She was thrilled!

We made our way to the Walt Disney Theater. We stopped at Preludes for treats - some chocolate-covered popcorn and possibly a glass of wine for Mommy.

DD was thrilled to be at the show in her jammies!

DD and I really enjoyed this show - they did a live-action version of the first Toy Story pretty accurately despite the shorter time. The songs were fun, and the performers all did great jobs.

When the show ended, I let DD decide whether we would do the pirate party, which was at 10:00. She was just far too tired and wanted to go back to the stateroom. She was fast asleep by 10:00.

The ship was REALLY rocking tonight. Both Judy 2 and I were always really aware of movement - not in a bad way, just aware of it - but tonight there was no missing it!

Tonight I also had a message in my “fish” (the hanger on the outside of the door) from the cruise booking desk. They had given me the prices on the two cruises about which I had inquired. I kept looking at the prices and wondering whether they were the total price or per person…….

Next up: 31. Some Shopping and Some Walking (Day 6)​

 

[amandaw]

Love your updates!

Pirate Stitch is too cute!! And real or not.....it's always nice to see Cpt. Jack! When we met him on Castaway Cay, there were quite a few ladies in line without any children.

Sounds like another nice dinner! And the Toy Story musical sounds really cute. I love that you let Willow wear her jammies to the show. And how about those Princess sheets? How awesome is that?!? I bet Willow was over the moon excited with those.

I liked it & had a few laugh out loud moments. I wanted more behind the scenes Bravo stuff though. I needed more Housewives dirt!

YES!! I wanted to know much more about the Housewives....especially stuff from the reunion shows.

I would never have considered it if this friend hadn't said it was good. I trust her opinion! My brother has all the Game of Thrones book and gave me the first one to read. He says they are really great. I'll let you know how it is when I get to reading it!

I may give in & try the Fifty Shades of Gray books. Yesterday, my friend Jana was telling me that they're really ok, that there is a story to them.

Definitely let me know what you think if you start Game of Thrones. Do you watch the show on HBO? It's fantastic!!

OMG, Anthony loves IHOP! He always wants to go there.

Him & Reid would get along fabulously!!! In fact, while I was spending the night at my friend's house last night scrapbooking.....him & Ed went out for dinner at IHOP.

When that happened in the movie I busted out laughing. And vampires are not sensitive, they are mean! They are VAMPIRES!

Exactly!! I want my vampires like the ones in True Blood!

I am definitely the geeky one. I'll never forget when Anthony & I were talking Star Wars & Chad looked at us & said, "wait, Darth Vader kills Obi Wan?" I about slapped him. It was almost as bad as when I was helping him with a history test & he said, "the US lost WWII right?" See why he needed my help?

Those are hilarious!!

In unrelated news: I think Bryan may be on board for a June 2013 trip, and today I priced some out. If we rent DVC (I looked at David's rentals), a studio at the BC would be cheaper than CBR!!!!

I think I'm gonna start plotting my ADRs soon-just in case he agrees.

WOOT WOOT!!!

That's so exciting! I would definitely start plotting ADRs. You can never be too prepared for a possible Disney trip.

 

[shan23877]

Fun update! Sounds like another great dinner. Poor Doulson wasn't sure about the Judies' martini plot huh?

Yay for a show in jammies!! Maddie is also pj obsessed. She pretty much changes into them as soon as she walks into the house.

Love the princess sheets! Mads has the exact same ones! Her pillow case is dark pink though.

How was the show? Did Willow love it?

I'm excited to hear about the cruise offers!

 

[megan511]

Your dinner looks good!

I love those princess sheets! What a sweet surprise.

Jammies are the best! Toy Story sounds cute. That is a favorite in our house.

Sounds like a fun day!

Definitely let me know what you think if you start Game of Thrones. Do you watch the show on HBO? It's fantastic!!

We don't get HBO so I haven't watched it yet. I m tempted to get it because Chad wants to watch it too.​

Him & Reid would get along fabulously!!! In fact, while I was spending the night at my friend's house last night scrapbooking.....him & Ed went out for dinner at IHOP.

I think they would! I had to help at church yesterday so Chad told Anthony he would take him to IHOP. But Anthony said he couldn't go without me.

Exactly!! I want my vampires like the ones in True Blood!

Yes!

That's so exciting! I would definitely start plotting ADRs. You can never be too prepared for a possible Disney trip.

 

[pas130]

Definitely let me know what you think if you start Game of Thrones. Do you watch the show on HBO? It's fantastic!!

LOVE Game of thrones...one of the nurses at work was watching it...and in 2 nights I watched Season 1 & 2!!!! LOVED IT!!!

I think I'm kinda caught up Roni!!!

~at least you watched Titantic AFTER the cruise


I LOVE THE PRINCESS SHEETS FOR WILLOW!!!!!!

 

[HermanTriplets+1]

I cannot watch Titanic. That scene with the iceberg people and the door freaked me out. I don't think there's any other movie that freaks me out like that. And that was way before I ever thought of cruising!

 

[amandaw]

LOVE Game of thrones...one of the nurses at work was watching it...and in 2 nights I watched Season 1 & 2!!!! LOVED IT!!!

It's such a great show, right? I can't wait for Season 3 to start....but I have to wait until April!

 

[pas130]

It's such a great show, right? I can't wait for Season 3 to start....but I have to wait until April!

I Know..... I have never watched a show wishing for people to get killed

 

[amandaw]

I Know..... I have never watched a show wishing for people to get killed

Me, too!! Unfortunately, most of the times, the ones killed are the ones I like. I really do think I'm going to download the books soon to start reading them.

 

[RGirl]

Sorry for the absence, folks! Things are very busy for the reasons I mentioned previously. I'm glad to see that some of you are hanging in there with me!

I will post an update tonight, but I want to try to catch up on some of YOUR TRs first. I am very close to done with this TR, and I hope you will all help me put together plans for our NEXT trip in a soon-to-be-named PTR!

 

[RGirl]

31. Some Shopping and Some Walking (Day 6)

DD and I got up incredibly late today! I think it was about 9:00. The Judies were already up! I think vacation had finally settled in for us . . . and, of course, it was almost over.

Judy 2 was kind enough to run up to the Beach Blanket and get some breakfast for DD while I got ready. I then ran up to get my own breakfast, and then The Judies headed to Triton’s. Surprised????

We were in Ketchikan today. (It apparently rains almost every day of the year in Ketchikan, so it is not surprising that we actually saw rain today.) View from our verandah.

We did not have an excursion planned here, and, as I recall, the ship was not going to be docked here all that late. DD did have two friends at home who were turning five and having parties right after we got back (actually, the weekend after we got back - one of the friends only invited DD and delayed her party in order to have DD there. ), so this was our last chance to find some birthday presents in Alaska. DD, however, had no interest in going shopping, which was odd. She chose the Kids’ Club.

I waited in the stateroom for The Judies, and then Judy 2 and I headed off the ship. Judy 1 was going to find a nice spot to sit and knit. Judy 2 and I found one of the many touristy stores right near the ship and ducked inside out of the rain. We quickly got the same presents for all three girls (yes, I bought the same things for DD too - seemed like, after actually going to Alaska, she should probably have some souvenirs too ) - decorative pillows with the word “Alaska” and a different raised soft animal on it (moose, seal, and, hmm, maybe there was another moose - one pink and one blue), a necklace (one moose, one bear, and one whale), and a weird plastic squishy thing with sea animals floating in it.

Once Judy 2 and I had deposited the gifts back in the stateroom, we really felt like a walk and decided to head to the walkway on Deck 4. (Deck 4 has an outdoor walkway that goes all the way around the ship for those folks who like to jog at sea.) This was fantastic - 4 loops equaled a mile, and we wished that we had come down here every day. At the ends of the ship, the walkway goes inside briefly into some interesting areas. Some pics:

Some additional shots of our view:

After our mile, Judy 2 and I decided to go looking for Judy 1. We found some semi-Hidden Mickeys along the way.

(BTW, those first two actually count on the HM hunt in the book. )

And let me apologize for the lack of photos in this update and the reduced numbers in some of the updates to follow. By this point in the trip, I was starting to feel my usual sadness that the trip would soon be over, and that always results in me taking fewer pictures. I vow to do better next time!

Up next: 32. A Little Fish and a Brave Princess (Day 6)​

 

[amandaw]

Sounds like y'all had a really nice, relaxed day! Those are some neat pictures of ship - stuff you wouldn't think you would get to see on the ship.

I hate when it starts getting close to the end of a trip - you just can't help but to start getting sad.

But, I'm already looking forward to your new PTR!

Hope all is going well!

 

[LittleGirlGrey]

YAY! New post!

Hope you guys are doing okay! I can't WAIT for your next PTR and the suprise place you're going! Hazaa!

I miss that weather so much. I cannot WAIT to move back!!!

Can't wait for more to come. And your gifts sound great!

 

[RGirl]

Sounds like y'all had a really nice, relaxed day! Those are some neat pictures of ship - stuff you wouldn't think you would get to see on the ship.

I hate when it starts getting close to the end of a trip - you just can't help but to start getting sad.

But, I'm already looking forward to your new PTR!

Hope all is going well!

I am the worst! I totally get The Gloomies for a day or two before the trip ends. It's such a waste of a good time! I did realize, however, on this trip that one week just isn't long enough. It takes me at least 5 days to realize that I'm on vacation and loosen up.

YAY! New post!

Hope you guys are doing okay! I can't WAIT for your next PTR and the suprise place you're going! Hazaa!

I miss that weather so much. I cannot WAIT to move back!!!

Can't wait for more to come. And your gifts sound great!

When is your trip?????? Soon, right?

I am SO glad that I have the PTR to look forward to because it is going to be so sad to say good-bye to this TR. I sure hope y'all will join me in a PTR. And I hope YOU will write a TR!

 

[shan23877]

Sounds like a nice relaxing day! Yay for shopping!

That kids' club must have been amazing if a little girl chose it over shopping.

I'm the opposite at the end of a trip--I go into "must document EVERYTHING" mode. It's as though I think I'll really want 47 photos of a trash can to remember a vacation by.

 

[RGirl]

Sounds like a nice relaxing day! Yay for shopping!

That kids' club must have been amazing if a little girl chose it over shopping.

I'm the opposite at the end of a trip--I go into "must document EVERYTHING" mode. It's as though I think I'll really want 47 photos of a trash can to remember a vacation by.

That is hilarious!!! I am going to have to channel you on my next trip so that I don't end up with 5 pictures for the entire last day!