Ok, I could write for hours, but will include some our insights, if you have any question ask away:
We arrived to a sunny Port Canaveral about 2:30, we were checked in and at the Buffet at Topsiders by 3pm, Although we lost a gameboy and several games somewhere between the airport and the ship LOL
We spent much of our time by the pools, and my DS4 loved the slide at the Mickey pool. Our Weather was postcard perfect, every day it was hot and sunny, not to hot, but boy did we get some good burns and tans to take home with us.
We really enjoyed the Charles Marshall Band they are incredible the music and their performances, every night we ended up in Rocking D Bar for the show of the night. I even ended up on stage at 80's night, I was one of the Robert Palmer Dancers LOL
Standing on a chair on a moving ship is not easy especially after a few Long Island Ice Teas....
Max Winfrey was terrific we went to the family show with Ds, and then the adult show...
Rich Pupura was Fantastic he is hillarious I was the female half of the engaged couple at the 8:30pm show and couldnt stop laughing especially for the next few days as everyone seemed to recognize me and my fiance...
We saw his show a few times and couldnt stop laughing at every one...
Anyone else love the the woman who seemed to appear at all the shows with her red wine, she was quite a funny woman... We loved her antics, and she was just a passenger...
We saw the all aboard show, about halfway we left my ds was tired and bored, it wasnt that great, but fun anyway.
Skipped the golden mickeys cant remember what we were doing, but I think we went to see Max Winfrey, but did go to the after party at Rocking D bar
Monday Fiance and I did the Spa Rasul bath thing, it was great mud and salts to scrub down and throw at each other, and lots of cool cleansers and stuff, the private sauna was hot as anything and we went againt what they told us and propped the door open a bit, cause it was way too hot, the ship was rocking a bit that afternoon and it was funny to see the water move back and forth on the floor. we saw Twice Charmed I loved it, we didnt take DS as he was quite antsy about any of the shows and found them to be too loud, he went to club most evenings.
Of course we ended up at Rocking D bar, we became groupies to the band
Tuesday we went to Orient Bay beach and loved it, didnt see much nudity, the lunch was ok, my ds got a nasty sliver so I would suggest wearing shoes in the restaraunt area, it was about 3 inches long and took about 3 of us to get it out of his foot.
The weather was fabulous the surf was high but we all loved the waves and the warm water, boy I forgot how bad salt water tastes.
I found St Maarten to be beautiful by the beaches and the dock shopping area, but other than that it is a very depressed area for the most part, I wouldnt vacation there, but loved the beach time.
We had a riot at the Carribbean Pirate party we dressed up in our Pirate costumes and really had a great time, DS didnt like the deck party so went to the kids club early.
we ended up at quiet cove the guys enjoyed the cigar and cognac club that evening we went to bed early, the sun did us all in so we actually didnt go to see the band that night.
Wed- We left DS at the club while we went shopping in St thomas for a few hours, we went downtown and picked up a few things, not much just some tshirts and a bracelet for me, fiance got a really nice watch,
St. Thomas is beautiful, it is fun to see the small streets lined with all the stores, and the drivers are crazy there, taxis were cheap $4 a person but boy did they cram you in. it was hot and sunny we were really burned from the day before and headed back to the ship about noon, I took ds out of the club we went to lunch, and then I took him shopping in the port area, Fiance met us, we found a wonderful ice cream place that made fresh ice cream daily, bought a few more trinkets, key chains etc for ds's dad and some family.
We sent ds to the club after dinner and saw Rich Pupura 8:30 show which is where we ended up on stage LOL it was a riot he is very funny, worth seeing a few times, which we did.
IT was 80's night so we did the Rocking D bar My fiance ended up on stage with his uncle and a few other lucky guys as Bon Jovi, I ended up as one of the Robert Palmer dancers standing on a chair playing a pink guitar
Now that was great fun, again Charles Marshall Band rocked the stage, they are a fantastic group
Thurs- Day at Sea, again a beautiful day, we Beached ourselves by the pool most of the day, and enjoyed more sun again, took ds to quartermasters, he blew $10 in about 20 minutes but got a visit from Pluto while there, so he enjoyed it.
Somehow missed Dreams, cant remember what we did, but saw Rich Pupura again that night at Rocking D bar, and enjoyed most of 70's night DS however wet the bed in Gramma and Papas Stateroom so we went to get him fresh clothes, and settled him in, Fiance and I spent some quality time and then turned in.
Fri- Castaway Cay, after a 5 minute monsoon rainstorm
The sun came out once again, we got great seats on the beach and rented a float, it was great the water was chilly but warmer then Lake Erie gets in the summer so we enjoyed it, there were alot of Jelly fish but they were the non stinging kind, didnt help me much though, I dont like to see critters around me, so I didnt swim much unless on that float 
Fiance and my dad went snorkeling and really enjoyed it, the lunch was great, we ate twice
Bought a couple things in the shop and went back to the ship around 1pm, I took ds to the pool it was great cause it was so quiet, he went to the club after dinner, but we really didnt do much, just packed up our stuff and spent some time in quiet cove, then to bed at about 10pm.
Sat- BooHoo!! we had breakfast at 6:30 and were the first off of the ship got home about 7pm to 30 degree weather, woke up this morning with 3 inches of snow...
A few Thoughts from a first time cruiser:
1. My son was too young, he is 4 if he had been vacationing since very young it might have been different but I found it difficult and frustrating dealing with him all week. He was whiney and the dinners were just too long for small children our servers Wis and Ik were wonderful very friendly and outgoing, loved to mess with my DS, but they were slow we never had a meal in under 2 hrs and it was taxing on my son. and some of the adults
2. Early seating is great in one way but we ate at 5:30 and missed quite a few things on the ship or had to rush about to get from them to dinner I.E the DSU graduation. On the other hand eating at 8:30 and not getting done until 10 isnt appetizing to me either.
3. The menus are ok, the food was good, but the choices limited if you didnt like what was on the main menu, there we really only three other choices, although I eat just about anything, there were some nights that I just didnt enjoy my meal. Desert was awesome every night, but the coffee always came after the desert.
4. the shows in the diningroom are great, we loved all our meal times because of the things that went on in the room.
5. Mickey Pool get gross
Need I say more, it got very yellow at the end of the day, most of us parents laughed that we wouldnt go into that water if we were paid too, so I would sit on the side and read my book while keeping an eye ds, he preferred the goofy pool but it is over his head so we only went when I wanted to get in.
6. Never saw one movie, didnt have time to do much inside the ship during the day, because we are really pool/beach people, we only have summer weather for a few months a year and just enjoyed the outdoors.
7. Get up early and watch the sunrise with a cup of coffee and a camera, the best quiet time I had was getting up and out early before my family and having a smoke, a cup of coffee and usually good conversation with someone else on the ship doing the same thing.
8. Kids Club, oh my did I love this group of CM's My son started in the 5-7 as per CM's at dock he is a big kid, the program ended up to old for him but Monica from 5-7's was incredible she left a wonderful impression on me, my son looked for her at the last night but she was gone, she was fantastic, I didnt talk to the other 5-7 cm's much they were a bit more aloof to say the least, I switched him to 3-4's on the third day
3-4 cm's were incredible, I wish I had gotten Edsons email addy, Jake loved him everytime we went in he had to find Edson, he is a wonderful cm from brazil, my son loved him to death, Vanessa, Kristen, and robyn were very helpful to me also, my son is shy and had a hard time seperating but the 3-4 staff understood and by the time Id get back in the evening Jake was doing great or asleep, I dropped off a few bags of chips one night to thank them and boy did they appreciate that... Again I cant say more about the 3-4 program staff, if you are cruising soon let me know I would love to get an email address for Edson, tell him Jake S. from the 2/18 and his mom said hi and would love to send him an email.
The seas were pretty calm for the most part, it took me a couple days to get used to the movement but we didnt get sick, there were two nights where I had to tie the hangers in our stateroom together We were in a cat 11 room 7565 it was good for the 3 of us, although I would have enjoyed the extra space and the veranda that our family had in their cat 5's, i would have loved sitting outside on the veranda at night
I cant think of anything I left out, but I am sure there are some, if you have any questions let me know, I really enjoyed my cruise and hate the fact that I am freezing my buns off writing lesson plans for my kids tomorrow, back to school for this preschool teacher.
We arrived to a sunny Port Canaveral about 2:30, we were checked in and at the Buffet at Topsiders by 3pm, Although we lost a gameboy and several games somewhere between the airport and the ship LOL
We spent much of our time by the pools, and my DS4 loved the slide at the Mickey pool. Our Weather was postcard perfect, every day it was hot and sunny, not to hot, but boy did we get some good burns and tans to take home with us.
We really enjoyed the Charles Marshall Band they are incredible the music and their performances, every night we ended up in Rocking D Bar for the show of the night. I even ended up on stage at 80's night, I was one of the Robert Palmer Dancers LOL
Standing on a chair on a moving ship is not easy especially after a few Long Island Ice Teas....
Max Winfrey was terrific we went to the family show with Ds, and then the adult show...
Rich Pupura was Fantastic he is hillarious I was the female half of the engaged couple at the 8:30pm show and couldnt stop laughing especially for the next few days as everyone seemed to recognize me and my fiance...
We saw his show a few times and couldnt stop laughing at every one...
Anyone else love the the woman who seemed to appear at all the shows with her red wine, she was quite a funny woman... We loved her antics, and she was just a passenger...
We saw the all aboard show, about halfway we left my ds was tired and bored, it wasnt that great, but fun anyway.
Skipped the golden mickeys cant remember what we were doing, but I think we went to see Max Winfrey, but did go to the after party at Rocking D bar
Monday Fiance and I did the Spa Rasul bath thing, it was great mud and salts to scrub down and throw at each other, and lots of cool cleansers and stuff, the private sauna was hot as anything and we went againt what they told us and propped the door open a bit, cause it was way too hot, the ship was rocking a bit that afternoon and it was funny to see the water move back and forth on the floor. we saw Twice Charmed I loved it, we didnt take DS as he was quite antsy about any of the shows and found them to be too loud, he went to club most evenings.
Of course we ended up at Rocking D bar, we became groupies to the band
Tuesday we went to Orient Bay beach and loved it, didnt see much nudity, the lunch was ok, my ds got a nasty sliver so I would suggest wearing shoes in the restaraunt area, it was about 3 inches long and took about 3 of us to get it out of his foot.
The weather was fabulous the surf was high but we all loved the waves and the warm water, boy I forgot how bad salt water tastes.
I found St Maarten to be beautiful by the beaches and the dock shopping area, but other than that it is a very depressed area for the most part, I wouldnt vacation there, but loved the beach time.
We had a riot at the Carribbean Pirate party we dressed up in our Pirate costumes and really had a great time, DS didnt like the deck party so went to the kids club early.
we ended up at quiet cove the guys enjoyed the cigar and cognac club that evening we went to bed early, the sun did us all in so we actually didnt go to see the band that night.
Wed- We left DS at the club while we went shopping in St thomas for a few hours, we went downtown and picked up a few things, not much just some tshirts and a bracelet for me, fiance got a really nice watch,
St. Thomas is beautiful, it is fun to see the small streets lined with all the stores, and the drivers are crazy there, taxis were cheap $4 a person but boy did they cram you in. it was hot and sunny we were really burned from the day before and headed back to the ship about noon, I took ds out of the club we went to lunch, and then I took him shopping in the port area, Fiance met us, we found a wonderful ice cream place that made fresh ice cream daily, bought a few more trinkets, key chains etc for ds's dad and some family.
We sent ds to the club after dinner and saw Rich Pupura 8:30 show which is where we ended up on stage LOL it was a riot he is very funny, worth seeing a few times, which we did.
IT was 80's night so we did the Rocking D bar My fiance ended up on stage with his uncle and a few other lucky guys as Bon Jovi, I ended up as one of the Robert Palmer dancers standing on a chair playing a pink guitar
Now that was great fun, again Charles Marshall Band rocked the stage, they are a fantastic groupThurs- Day at Sea, again a beautiful day, we Beached ourselves by the pool most of the day, and enjoyed more sun again, took ds to quartermasters, he blew $10 in about 20 minutes but got a visit from Pluto while there, so he enjoyed it.
Somehow missed Dreams, cant remember what we did, but saw Rich Pupura again that night at Rocking D bar, and enjoyed most of 70's night DS however wet the bed in Gramma and Papas Stateroom so we went to get him fresh clothes, and settled him in, Fiance and I spent some quality time and then turned in.
Fri- Castaway Cay, after a 5 minute monsoon rainstorm
The sun came out once again, we got great seats on the beach and rented a float, it was great the water was chilly but warmer then Lake Erie gets in the summer so we enjoyed it, there were alot of Jelly fish but they were the non stinging kind, didnt help me much though, I dont like to see critters around me, so I didnt swim much unless on that float Fiance and my dad went snorkeling and really enjoyed it, the lunch was great, we ate twice Bought a couple things in the shop and went back to the ship around 1pm, I took ds to the pool it was great cause it was so quiet, he went to the club after dinner, but we really didnt do much, just packed up our stuff and spent some time in quiet cove, then to bed at about 10pm.
Sat- BooHoo!! we had breakfast at 6:30 and were the first off of the ship got home about 7pm to 30 degree weather, woke up this morning with 3 inches of snow...
A few Thoughts from a first time cruiser:
1. My son was too young, he is 4 if he had been vacationing since very young it might have been different but I found it difficult and frustrating dealing with him all week. He was whiney and the dinners were just too long for small children our servers Wis and Ik were wonderful very friendly and outgoing, loved to mess with my DS, but they were slow we never had a meal in under 2 hrs and it was taxing on my son. and some of the adults
2. Early seating is great in one way but we ate at 5:30 and missed quite a few things on the ship or had to rush about to get from them to dinner I.E the DSU graduation. On the other hand eating at 8:30 and not getting done until 10 isnt appetizing to me either.
3. The menus are ok, the food was good, but the choices limited if you didnt like what was on the main menu, there we really only three other choices, although I eat just about anything, there were some nights that I just didnt enjoy my meal. Desert was awesome every night, but the coffee always came after the desert.
4. the shows in the diningroom are great, we loved all our meal times because of the things that went on in the room.
5. Mickey Pool get gross
Need I say more, it got very yellow at the end of the day, most of us parents laughed that we wouldnt go into that water if we were paid too, so I would sit on the side and read my book while keeping an eye ds, he preferred the goofy pool but it is over his head so we only went when I wanted to get in.6. Never saw one movie, didnt have time to do much inside the ship during the day, because we are really pool/beach people, we only have summer weather for a few months a year and just enjoyed the outdoors.
7. Get up early and watch the sunrise with a cup of coffee and a camera, the best quiet time I had was getting up and out early before my family and having a smoke, a cup of coffee and usually good conversation with someone else on the ship doing the same thing.
8. Kids Club, oh my did I love this group of CM's My son started in the 5-7 as per CM's at dock he is a big kid, the program ended up to old for him but Monica from 5-7's was incredible she left a wonderful impression on me, my son looked for her at the last night but she was gone, she was fantastic, I didnt talk to the other 5-7 cm's much they were a bit more aloof to say the least, I switched him to 3-4's on the third day
3-4 cm's were incredible, I wish I had gotten Edsons email addy, Jake loved him everytime we went in he had to find Edson, he is a wonderful cm from brazil, my son loved him to death, Vanessa, Kristen, and robyn were very helpful to me also, my son is shy and had a hard time seperating but the 3-4 staff understood and by the time Id get back in the evening Jake was doing great or asleep, I dropped off a few bags of chips one night to thank them and boy did they appreciate that... Again I cant say more about the 3-4 program staff, if you are cruising soon let me know I would love to get an email address for Edson, tell him Jake S. from the 2/18 and his mom said hi and would love to send him an email.
The seas were pretty calm for the most part, it took me a couple days to get used to the movement but we didnt get sick, there were two nights where I had to tie the hangers in our stateroom together We were in a cat 11 room 7565 it was good for the 3 of us, although I would have enjoyed the extra space and the veranda that our family had in their cat 5's, i would have loved sitting outside on the veranda at night
I cant think of anything I left out, but I am sure there are some, if you have any questions let me know, I really enjoyed my cruise and hate the fact that I am freezing my buns off writing lesson plans for my kids tomorrow, back to school for this preschool teacher.
and drop DS off at his dads house 
Wow, I didn't see any kids doing that, thankfully. I'm surprised they didn't make some sort of announcement or put something in the navigator to leave the jellyfish alone, though I did hear the captain announce they wouldn't hurt you. They often say something about sea shells, to play but leave them on the beach, etc. I know at my beach near home it always bothers me to see kids throw rocks at sea gulls and I always tell them to stop even if their parents don't.
