May 20, 2006 - WESTERN 7 day cruise.
Well we are on our trip home to Jacksonville, so I opened my laptop to begin the trip report.
To begin, let me say this was our 5th Disney Cruise. We had done the 7 day Eastern 3 times previously and a 3 night Bahamas, but we had never done the Western. Also, as a travel agent, we have tried several other lines, Carnival & Royal Caribbean within the last year, and so we had some recent experiences with the other products to compare.
Disney is the BEST. The best for families, the best for children. They had the best food we had ever had on ANY cruise - even previous Disney cruises. They had added and changed several items due to customer suggestions, and they really showed. For instance, they added rotissery chicken to the BBQ on Castaway Key - yummmmm.
The ship was so clean. All the common areas were spotless. The public restrooms were clean and dry and there was someone constantly cleaning up.
The added free coke station was a real treat - outside on deck 9 - near Topsiders.. Coke, Sprite, and water and other coke products were there for free. We had read on the DIS board to bring a large mug for our cokes, but we never used it once. The cups up on deck are the same cups they use for coffee at WDW that have the raised plastic lid that does not require a straw. I had to drink a lot of water this cruise because of some medication I was taking, and it was delicious. They never ran out of cups, ice, or beverages. There was someone at the station all the time wiping down all the soda machines and there was never any sticky residue or spills around the drink station.
The mickey pool was out of control. There was "magic made" in the pool every day. I understand with 800 kids on board that there would be some accidents, but it takes 3 hours to drain, clean and refill it. That is entirely too long, and we commented about it in our comment card upon disembarkacation.
They added Phili Cheese Steak sandwiches to the Goofy Galley pool area = and they were delicious.
We had brunch and dinner at Palo - worth every cent!!! We took wine with us - 7 bottles - and we were prepared for the $15 per night corkage fee. We were charged most nights for the corkage - which was fine. We gave a $50 tip to Anne Marie in Palo, which she soooo deserved! Our bill was just over $500 and we had pre-paid gratuities (smart decision - because we didnt have to waste time during the last day going to guest services to get the vouchers for the tips).
We noticed several "happy hour specials" or 2 for 1 specials this time on alcholol, which was a nice change from before. We also noticed that they used spa vouchers and drinks as a magnet to lure adults to do funny things in the shows during Rockin Bar D. I won a mini facial just by dancing crazy. My husband and I played the newlywed game - and we got 2 free drinks. We had a blast. HOLLYWOOD - is the main party guy - and he really makes the cruise very fun.
Christian, the Asst. Cruise Director, was the life of the party too. He was great. There were a lot of different cruise staff that were in charge of the deck parties and the night club action and they made it fun.
Our 19 year old DD went with us, and she knew what to expect, but there was only 20 people there her age. So there was nothing much to do for anyone 18-20 because the drinking age is 21 on the boat. They can go go the bars but cant drink.
The new Aerial TV set near Goofys pool is a great new addition. The screen is so largte and it was fun watching "High School Musical" and "Finding Nemo" and other movies on it.
The pirate show was fantastic - a little too long, but the fireworks were the bomb!!! Only on Disney!!!!
Day 1 - we got up early and got to the port around 10am. We were one of the first ones there. We quickly unloaded, parked, and got checked in. We then went over and registered our DD 8 for the club. I had NOT filled out my Bahamas slip and needed to do so before check in - so I had to spend some time doing that b efore we could check in. Having the Oceaneers checkin at the port was a great addition! Wow, how effecient!!! We even got our beeper right there too!! We got her ID bracelet and her Navigator and were able to go over some of the programs lined up for the week - -while we were waiting in the terminal. This was fun!
The characters in the lobby of the terminal were busy making photos We watched with excitement as they all stood in line for a photo. We waited only about an hour total, and were boarding the ship by around 11:40 am. We went straight to Palo and made both brunch and dinner reservations. No problem.. We got to choose our days and times. It was painless.
Then we went to Parrot Cay for lunch. It was fresh, good tasting and it hit the spot.
Being from FL, and a long-term DISser, we knew to wear our swim suit under our clothes, so we were one of the first in the pool. We had fun while they were uncrowded.
At 1:30 they let us in our rooms. No luggage, but we could see out our category 9 Ocean View room - really a GREAT room!!!
We had 2036 and our only complaint was hearing the Rockin Bar D. But we were out until at least midnight each night anyway, so the bar closed at 1am and it really was NOT a big deal. We always bring ear plugs (you can get them from Walgreens or somewhere like that) and then you sleep like a baby. I didnt even have to wear mine this time.
Sailaway party is one of our favorites. Then we went up on deck to wave to everyone at the restaurant as we sailed out of the channel. It is so exciting!!!
Our dinner rotation was PLAPLAP, which was fine. We planned Palo for our 2nd night at animators since they dont do the color change thing on the 2nd time you go there.. We had a table for 4 this time, so it was only our famly. It was a nice treat - we had always shared before - but this was a nice family time.
Our servers were ZAN, pronounced John and Claudio. Zan warmed up to us and ended up being the best - Claudio is kind of new, but he was on top of his game. He had our drinks there when we sat down. They remembered how we liked our meat prepared. They brought extra dishes of things they thought we might like, and we enjoyed them very much.
We ordered at least 2-4 appetizers each and at least 2-3 entrees each every night. We like variety and we love the food. Zan was very accommodating and he really turned out to be fun.
Day 2- Key West. It was SOOOOOOOOO hot. We are from FL, and we melted. We were miserably hot. Do you think we were hot? YES. We did the 2 for 1 coupons mentioned on the DIS board and saved - THANKS!!! We did the conch tour. Very hot. We saw the island, but were quite miserable. We got off on a couple of spote and walked around. We had a piece of key lime pie at the Kay Lime Pie Factory - it was marvelous. We went back to the boat and cooled off in the pool. We went back out after dinner to walk around. We got to stay until 1am because the kitchen recently got a 98 (highest rating ever) on their food inspection. So they were rewarded. It was nice. There was no sunset because it was cloudy. Key West at night is like a pretend Bourbon street. It was still very hot, so we went back to the ship.
The Ship is soooooooooooooo pretty at night all lit up walking back to the ship - it is just so beautiful.
I would easily skip Key West . . . And do the alternate Western with 2 Castaway Key stops.
Day 3 = at Sea. Our FAVORITE days. We love the Eastern because you get 2 days in a row at sea. We love to relax and watch the clouds go by. It is nice!!
This was our PALO brunch it was really great. We luckily got Anne Marie and she took great care of us. The food was marvelous - other than the king crab legs, which were too watery. Might have been over cooked????? The rest was great.
We did the stem to stern wine tasting and were disappointed. We had done it several times before and we were really disappointed. No pins at the end and the wines were cheap and not very tasty. The presentation was long and boring. If you have never done a wine tasting before - you should do it for once, but we wont do it again.
This was Formal night. And we enjoyed dressing up. We were in Animators Palate - and it was wonderful. We saw one guy in shorts and his wife and kids were all dressed up. He was joking about it by saying that he read the dress code in the literature but figured it was a cruise - "how dressed up could you get on a cruise???" He felt really out of place - and looked it too. Looks like she needs to take a few lessons in "husband control."
Anyway, we had pictures made and had a great time. Since this was our 5th, we let our DD 8 check herself in and out of the club. She thought she was a BIG girl. I would not recommend this unless you are a veteran cruiser. Its very easy to get lost and turned around backward. Our DD didnt get lost once. I kept going the wrong way down the hall to our cabin. It was funny.
Day 4 - Grand Cayman. (The great Crocodile) translated. .
We booked our own Captain Marvins stingray adventure - thanks to the DISsers who said it was nice - and it WAS. The busses over to the boat were AIR CONDITIONED. VERY NICE!!
The boat was nice and our captain was great too. We went to snorkel first, then over to the reef, then to the sting rays. I get sea sick whcn I snorkel, so I was miserable. At the first stop, we saw an EEL and it freaked my husband and daughter out! We saw a shark - small one - that they were feedingl. We pet several sting rays - they are so soft. Got back to the town area and had lunch at Breezes - an upstairs restaurant. Beers were $5 and the prices were in Cayman. We only had a limited amount of cash and we had left our Credit Card on board - dummy!!!. We were able to eat several conch appetizers, fried calimari,and conch chowder and beverages for just about $60. We walked back to the port. We quickly tendered and got back on the ship.
Well tendering is not really quick - It takes a while to load up the boats, then they move pretty slowly going to and from the pier. Then it takes forever to unload once you get there. It is very safe but it takes a long time.
Got back and went in the pool and got cleaned up for dinner. Several nights I showered at the Vista Spa. It is a great shower, changing location and it is free. I like it because they have shampoo, conditioner, and shower gel there and you dont have to bring anything. The area is so nice. I just wore my flip flops and brought clean clothes to change into.
I went to the rainforest and enjoyed the steam rooms and stone chairs one day - it was heavenly.
Day 5 Cozumel. Woke up to mostly cloudy weather and it looked a lot like rain. We decided to put our DD8 into the club so she would have more fun and we went out in town just to do some shopping. Normally we go to Playa Mia and have a wonderful beach day, but today was not a beach day. We were walking through town and found a little side shopping area and walked up and bargained for a $20 Mexican blanket. Then we got a wonderful hand painted plate from a vendor. He painted the Disney Magic on the plate with mostly his fingers!! Then he wrote our names on the plate - he was fun to talk to and we had fun watching him make our plate. It was $25, but we only paid $20. We found a little mexican dress for $12 and we found several Coronas that were ice cold for $2. We met up with some really cool people and talked them into going to Rastas with us.
We jumped into a cab which we had negotiated for $8 round trip per person to the "other side of the island" which is really just at the end of the island on the point - our corner It took 20 minutes to get out there, and his cab was a van that was air conditioned! We told him we would like to come back in 2 hours, and he decided to wait for us. So we went into Rastas and he sat down with the vendors and waited for us. We bought him a coke and took it to him. He was nice. Rastas is like that Corona commercial where all you see is the beautiful blue coean. They have a place on both sides of the street and it is very very pretty. They have excellent food and the beer is ice cold! My DD19 got a Marguarita and loved it. We had shrimp quesadillas, beef tacos, chips & pico de gallo, and steak fajitas. It was absolutely marvelous. We made a bunch of pictures and we ate and drank a LOT. Our bill was just over $100 for 5 of us. We had 22 beers!!! And all that food!!! We were having a blast. Hey werent driving and we were on vacation!!
We got back to the pier and went to Carlos & Charlies and Senior Frogs for tee-shirts. We went upstairs in the mall to the Tequilla store and did several shots of several different flavors of Tequilla. We ended up getting mango flavored bottle for $24 for a liter. It was good.
We got back on the ship and went to the Captains Welcome Back party for past guests. MORE alochol. Wow - I couldnt drink any more. The appetizers were great and the fruity drinks were good - but I needed water, and they brought me several cups. I was so thirsty. Then I went for my mini-facial. It was so relaxing and I almost fell asleep. She didnt try to sell me anything - which was a pleasant surprise - but remember, I sell Mary Kay and use every product, so my face is in pretty good condition anyway!!
That night was Pirates in the Caribbean. The show was fun, but lasted about 15 minutes too long. Once the Mickey part started and the fireworks started, it was a blast. We noticed several kids fell asleep before the finale - and missed it- it should be shorter. The poor cast membesr up there on stage dancing around for all that time - they were sweating so bad.
Off to bed -
Day 5 "AT SEA"
Wow - another wonderful restful day - We started with Character Breakfast. Which was fun and just as good as you get at the parks for about $25 each!!! Then it was off to the seafood buffet. We had been told there were crab legs on the buffet, but there werent . . . there were only crab claws. Too watery.. They had sushi, which was really great. Fresh, and nice. All smoked salmon and shrimp - nothing raw. It was still good.
Then rest up and save room for Palo that night. It was our 21 anniversary and we had a wonderful dinner. Dinner was $10 each and there were 5 of us. I tipped Anne Marie $50 for the table - which she deserved. We requested her after we had her for brunch. We had had her before on another cruise and remembered how great she was. We found out she was married to our head server Zan. It was funny to talk to both of them about the other.
Dinner at Palo was fantastic. We got several appetizers, 2 pizzas to share, salads, and several entrees a piece. We made a picture of the table with all our entrees on it. We had lobster - it was lobster night in the main dining room =we also had beef tenderloin, lamb and veal. And of course the chocolate soufle with chocolate AND vanilla sauce. Yummmmmmmmmmmmmm
We walked out on deck and saw a group of people looking out over the side. There was a helicopter circling the ship with their spot lights on us. The people in the crowd said they had been circling for ½ hour or so. They had seen them stop and drop someone on the ship, so I immediately began thinking it was a medical evacuation. The person they dropped was probably a stabilizer and would be the one who eventually put the patient in the basket to load her up to the helicopter.
The helicopter never landed, but he got very close, up in the crews pool area, he hovered for at leat 5-10 minutes. We were stopped, but still floating along. The coordination of the whole thing was incredible. They closed the whole front of the ship off on deck 10 - so we couldnt see anything, but we could hear the chopper. I am a travel agent, and I have been told that repatriation from a life flight helicopter costs $20,000 or $30,000. This is only ONE of the reasons why you buy trip insurance from your travel agent or from the cruise line if you book directly. It covers you - just in case!!! We heard it was a girl - but that is all they would say - for confidentially reasons = but they did say it was only the patient that left the ship - not her family. They were left behind. I said a prayer for her as I watched the helicopter speed toward Miami. The crew member who stayed around to talk with us said that we almost stopped in Miami to let her off, but it became to critical forher and they had to life flight her off.
Too much excitement and food- off to bed.
Day 6 Castaway Key -
Woke up to partly cloudy skies. We had breakfast at Parrot Cay and went out on the island. As we were walking out we had a few raindrops for about 2 minutes, but the rest of the day was rain free.
Castaway was beautiful and was as clean as it was the first time we went 5 years ago. The food was marvelous and the beach side service was outstanding.. They had free sodas on the island and you could use your beer mug on the island - which was a change from last time. The sun came out right after lunch and it got hot. The water was really cold and it took a minute to get "in" but it was refreshing once you got in. We left the beach area around 3pm and headed back to the ship. We walked - didnt wait for the tram - and it was a very easy walk. We went straight for the Mickey pool - and it was closed AGAIN. Someone had made some magic in the pool again. Every day on our cruise was an accident. They said it was rare to have to drain it every day, but I guess we just got lucky. Since it takes 3 hours to drain, clean and refill, we went to Quiet Cove and or DD8 went to Goofy. We sat in the hot tub and relaxed for a while then went in for a shower.
We got ready for dinner and began to pack. We stuffed everything into the suitcases and went off for our final dinner. We had pre-paid gratuities, so it was easy to put the vouchers in the envelopes and present them to our servers. Our head server, Fitz was the best one wed ever had. He was funny, helpful, and was very present all the time. We found out that he was only a Head Server for 2 months whle someone was on break. When that person comes back, he is a regular server. We tipped them and they were grateful.
Our DD was in the talent show at 7:30 and she sang. It was fun to see the different kids doing things. It was a fast, fun show. Good job, Disney.
After supper our DD8 checked herself into the club and we went to shutters to get our formal pictures. We then went down to the room to seal up our bags and put them out. We got everything loaded and out the door for pick up by the 11:00pm deadline. Then we went up to Diversions for the funny Pub night. This was a really fun night & we think Disney should do more things like this.
Diversions is the old improv and dueling painos bar. It was mostly empty during our entire cruise - they could use it for such better use - they just havent figured it out yet. We commented about it in our comment card. The only place to go really, is Rockin Bar D. Sessions is the paino bar, but its the same old stuff. It would be nice to have a trio in there vs just a piano. Or to make it a sing-a-long piano bar. Those are a lot of fun!!!
Disembarkation - Since we were late dining, we got to have 8am breakfast. We had touble getting up, we were Soooo tired. We ate AGAIN - I swear I am going to quit eating, and headed off the boad. We quickly went through customs and right to our truck. It was fast and effecient. The luggage was very near each other and all in the same area by stateroom.
Final thoughts - I met someone in the spa that was sun burned. I asked her what sunscreen she was wearing and she said NONE. HELLO, Caribbean, in May, you need sunscreen. We used SPF 30 all week and only burned in the areas were we missed. So apply early and reapply often. Better safe than sorry!!
The trip was truly magical. The staff was so friendly, to food was extra delicious and the ship was super clean. Our stateroom was large and well appointed. The new life jackets are so comfortable. The beds were nice and comfortable, and even the pull down bead was comfy for our DD 8 . They were really selling the Disney Vacation Club. There were several presentations and at least 2 or 3 sales men on board that were constantly closing people on the sale. We met Captain Tom several times. He was very accessible and we got pictures with him.
They did the welcome back reception at the Quiet Cove pool area and it was very nice - it was the first time they had done that. It was much nicer than being in Rockin Bar D.
We noticed every cast member asked us how we were enjoying our cruise. Over and over and over. And they were sincerely interested in our answer. Our server kept saying that he didnt want any unpleasant surprises and wanted to make sure we were 100% happy. We were!
Well thats about it & we are almost home!!! Once I get home, Ill get on the internet and post this. For now, its on my hard drive on my laptop.
Well we are on our trip home to Jacksonville, so I opened my laptop to begin the trip report.
To begin, let me say this was our 5th Disney Cruise. We had done the 7 day Eastern 3 times previously and a 3 night Bahamas, but we had never done the Western. Also, as a travel agent, we have tried several other lines, Carnival & Royal Caribbean within the last year, and so we had some recent experiences with the other products to compare.
Disney is the BEST. The best for families, the best for children. They had the best food we had ever had on ANY cruise - even previous Disney cruises. They had added and changed several items due to customer suggestions, and they really showed. For instance, they added rotissery chicken to the BBQ on Castaway Key - yummmmm.
The ship was so clean. All the common areas were spotless. The public restrooms were clean and dry and there was someone constantly cleaning up.
The added free coke station was a real treat - outside on deck 9 - near Topsiders.. Coke, Sprite, and water and other coke products were there for free. We had read on the DIS board to bring a large mug for our cokes, but we never used it once. The cups up on deck are the same cups they use for coffee at WDW that have the raised plastic lid that does not require a straw. I had to drink a lot of water this cruise because of some medication I was taking, and it was delicious. They never ran out of cups, ice, or beverages. There was someone at the station all the time wiping down all the soda machines and there was never any sticky residue or spills around the drink station.
The mickey pool was out of control. There was "magic made" in the pool every day. I understand with 800 kids on board that there would be some accidents, but it takes 3 hours to drain, clean and refill it. That is entirely too long, and we commented about it in our comment card upon disembarkacation.
They added Phili Cheese Steak sandwiches to the Goofy Galley pool area = and they were delicious.
We had brunch and dinner at Palo - worth every cent!!! We took wine with us - 7 bottles - and we were prepared for the $15 per night corkage fee. We were charged most nights for the corkage - which was fine. We gave a $50 tip to Anne Marie in Palo, which she soooo deserved! Our bill was just over $500 and we had pre-paid gratuities (smart decision - because we didnt have to waste time during the last day going to guest services to get the vouchers for the tips).
We noticed several "happy hour specials" or 2 for 1 specials this time on alcholol, which was a nice change from before. We also noticed that they used spa vouchers and drinks as a magnet to lure adults to do funny things in the shows during Rockin Bar D. I won a mini facial just by dancing crazy. My husband and I played the newlywed game - and we got 2 free drinks. We had a blast. HOLLYWOOD - is the main party guy - and he really makes the cruise very fun.
Christian, the Asst. Cruise Director, was the life of the party too. He was great. There were a lot of different cruise staff that were in charge of the deck parties and the night club action and they made it fun.
Our 19 year old DD went with us, and she knew what to expect, but there was only 20 people there her age. So there was nothing much to do for anyone 18-20 because the drinking age is 21 on the boat. They can go go the bars but cant drink.
The new Aerial TV set near Goofys pool is a great new addition. The screen is so largte and it was fun watching "High School Musical" and "Finding Nemo" and other movies on it.
The pirate show was fantastic - a little too long, but the fireworks were the bomb!!! Only on Disney!!!!
Day 1 - we got up early and got to the port around 10am. We were one of the first ones there. We quickly unloaded, parked, and got checked in. We then went over and registered our DD 8 for the club. I had NOT filled out my Bahamas slip and needed to do so before check in - so I had to spend some time doing that b efore we could check in. Having the Oceaneers checkin at the port was a great addition! Wow, how effecient!!! We even got our beeper right there too!! We got her ID bracelet and her Navigator and were able to go over some of the programs lined up for the week - -while we were waiting in the terminal. This was fun!
The characters in the lobby of the terminal were busy making photos We watched with excitement as they all stood in line for a photo. We waited only about an hour total, and were boarding the ship by around 11:40 am. We went straight to Palo and made both brunch and dinner reservations. No problem.. We got to choose our days and times. It was painless.
Then we went to Parrot Cay for lunch. It was fresh, good tasting and it hit the spot.
Being from FL, and a long-term DISser, we knew to wear our swim suit under our clothes, so we were one of the first in the pool. We had fun while they were uncrowded.
At 1:30 they let us in our rooms. No luggage, but we could see out our category 9 Ocean View room - really a GREAT room!!!
We had 2036 and our only complaint was hearing the Rockin Bar D. But we were out until at least midnight each night anyway, so the bar closed at 1am and it really was NOT a big deal. We always bring ear plugs (you can get them from Walgreens or somewhere like that) and then you sleep like a baby. I didnt even have to wear mine this time.
Sailaway party is one of our favorites. Then we went up on deck to wave to everyone at the restaurant as we sailed out of the channel. It is so exciting!!!
Our dinner rotation was PLAPLAP, which was fine. We planned Palo for our 2nd night at animators since they dont do the color change thing on the 2nd time you go there.. We had a table for 4 this time, so it was only our famly. It was a nice treat - we had always shared before - but this was a nice family time.
Our servers were ZAN, pronounced John and Claudio. Zan warmed up to us and ended up being the best - Claudio is kind of new, but he was on top of his game. He had our drinks there when we sat down. They remembered how we liked our meat prepared. They brought extra dishes of things they thought we might like, and we enjoyed them very much.
We ordered at least 2-4 appetizers each and at least 2-3 entrees each every night. We like variety and we love the food. Zan was very accommodating and he really turned out to be fun.
Day 2- Key West. It was SOOOOOOOOO hot. We are from FL, and we melted. We were miserably hot. Do you think we were hot? YES. We did the 2 for 1 coupons mentioned on the DIS board and saved - THANKS!!! We did the conch tour. Very hot. We saw the island, but were quite miserable. We got off on a couple of spote and walked around. We had a piece of key lime pie at the Kay Lime Pie Factory - it was marvelous. We went back to the boat and cooled off in the pool. We went back out after dinner to walk around. We got to stay until 1am because the kitchen recently got a 98 (highest rating ever) on their food inspection. So they were rewarded. It was nice. There was no sunset because it was cloudy. Key West at night is like a pretend Bourbon street. It was still very hot, so we went back to the ship.
The Ship is soooooooooooooo pretty at night all lit up walking back to the ship - it is just so beautiful.
I would easily skip Key West . . . And do the alternate Western with 2 Castaway Key stops.
Day 3 = at Sea. Our FAVORITE days. We love the Eastern because you get 2 days in a row at sea. We love to relax and watch the clouds go by. It is nice!!
This was our PALO brunch it was really great. We luckily got Anne Marie and she took great care of us. The food was marvelous - other than the king crab legs, which were too watery. Might have been over cooked????? The rest was great.
We did the stem to stern wine tasting and were disappointed. We had done it several times before and we were really disappointed. No pins at the end and the wines were cheap and not very tasty. The presentation was long and boring. If you have never done a wine tasting before - you should do it for once, but we wont do it again.
This was Formal night. And we enjoyed dressing up. We were in Animators Palate - and it was wonderful. We saw one guy in shorts and his wife and kids were all dressed up. He was joking about it by saying that he read the dress code in the literature but figured it was a cruise - "how dressed up could you get on a cruise???" He felt really out of place - and looked it too. Looks like she needs to take a few lessons in "husband control."
Anyway, we had pictures made and had a great time. Since this was our 5th, we let our DD 8 check herself in and out of the club. She thought she was a BIG girl. I would not recommend this unless you are a veteran cruiser. Its very easy to get lost and turned around backward. Our DD didnt get lost once. I kept going the wrong way down the hall to our cabin. It was funny.
Day 4 - Grand Cayman. (The great Crocodile) translated. .
We booked our own Captain Marvins stingray adventure - thanks to the DISsers who said it was nice - and it WAS. The busses over to the boat were AIR CONDITIONED. VERY NICE!!
The boat was nice and our captain was great too. We went to snorkel first, then over to the reef, then to the sting rays. I get sea sick whcn I snorkel, so I was miserable. At the first stop, we saw an EEL and it freaked my husband and daughter out! We saw a shark - small one - that they were feedingl. We pet several sting rays - they are so soft. Got back to the town area and had lunch at Breezes - an upstairs restaurant. Beers were $5 and the prices were in Cayman. We only had a limited amount of cash and we had left our Credit Card on board - dummy!!!. We were able to eat several conch appetizers, fried calimari,and conch chowder and beverages for just about $60. We walked back to the port. We quickly tendered and got back on the ship.
Well tendering is not really quick - It takes a while to load up the boats, then they move pretty slowly going to and from the pier. Then it takes forever to unload once you get there. It is very safe but it takes a long time.
Got back and went in the pool and got cleaned up for dinner. Several nights I showered at the Vista Spa. It is a great shower, changing location and it is free. I like it because they have shampoo, conditioner, and shower gel there and you dont have to bring anything. The area is so nice. I just wore my flip flops and brought clean clothes to change into.
I went to the rainforest and enjoyed the steam rooms and stone chairs one day - it was heavenly.
Day 5 Cozumel. Woke up to mostly cloudy weather and it looked a lot like rain. We decided to put our DD8 into the club so she would have more fun and we went out in town just to do some shopping. Normally we go to Playa Mia and have a wonderful beach day, but today was not a beach day. We were walking through town and found a little side shopping area and walked up and bargained for a $20 Mexican blanket. Then we got a wonderful hand painted plate from a vendor. He painted the Disney Magic on the plate with mostly his fingers!! Then he wrote our names on the plate - he was fun to talk to and we had fun watching him make our plate. It was $25, but we only paid $20. We found a little mexican dress for $12 and we found several Coronas that were ice cold for $2. We met up with some really cool people and talked them into going to Rastas with us.
We jumped into a cab which we had negotiated for $8 round trip per person to the "other side of the island" which is really just at the end of the island on the point - our corner It took 20 minutes to get out there, and his cab was a van that was air conditioned! We told him we would like to come back in 2 hours, and he decided to wait for us. So we went into Rastas and he sat down with the vendors and waited for us. We bought him a coke and took it to him. He was nice. Rastas is like that Corona commercial where all you see is the beautiful blue coean. They have a place on both sides of the street and it is very very pretty. They have excellent food and the beer is ice cold! My DD19 got a Marguarita and loved it. We had shrimp quesadillas, beef tacos, chips & pico de gallo, and steak fajitas. It was absolutely marvelous. We made a bunch of pictures and we ate and drank a LOT. Our bill was just over $100 for 5 of us. We had 22 beers!!! And all that food!!! We were having a blast. Hey werent driving and we were on vacation!!
We got back to the pier and went to Carlos & Charlies and Senior Frogs for tee-shirts. We went upstairs in the mall to the Tequilla store and did several shots of several different flavors of Tequilla. We ended up getting mango flavored bottle for $24 for a liter. It was good.
We got back on the ship and went to the Captains Welcome Back party for past guests. MORE alochol. Wow - I couldnt drink any more. The appetizers were great and the fruity drinks were good - but I needed water, and they brought me several cups. I was so thirsty. Then I went for my mini-facial. It was so relaxing and I almost fell asleep. She didnt try to sell me anything - which was a pleasant surprise - but remember, I sell Mary Kay and use every product, so my face is in pretty good condition anyway!!
That night was Pirates in the Caribbean. The show was fun, but lasted about 15 minutes too long. Once the Mickey part started and the fireworks started, it was a blast. We noticed several kids fell asleep before the finale - and missed it- it should be shorter. The poor cast membesr up there on stage dancing around for all that time - they were sweating so bad.
Off to bed -
Day 5 "AT SEA"
Wow - another wonderful restful day - We started with Character Breakfast. Which was fun and just as good as you get at the parks for about $25 each!!! Then it was off to the seafood buffet. We had been told there were crab legs on the buffet, but there werent . . . there were only crab claws. Too watery.. They had sushi, which was really great. Fresh, and nice. All smoked salmon and shrimp - nothing raw. It was still good.
Then rest up and save room for Palo that night. It was our 21 anniversary and we had a wonderful dinner. Dinner was $10 each and there were 5 of us. I tipped Anne Marie $50 for the table - which she deserved. We requested her after we had her for brunch. We had had her before on another cruise and remembered how great she was. We found out she was married to our head server Zan. It was funny to talk to both of them about the other.
Dinner at Palo was fantastic. We got several appetizers, 2 pizzas to share, salads, and several entrees a piece. We made a picture of the table with all our entrees on it. We had lobster - it was lobster night in the main dining room =we also had beef tenderloin, lamb and veal. And of course the chocolate soufle with chocolate AND vanilla sauce. Yummmmmmmmmmmmmm
We walked out on deck and saw a group of people looking out over the side. There was a helicopter circling the ship with their spot lights on us. The people in the crowd said they had been circling for ½ hour or so. They had seen them stop and drop someone on the ship, so I immediately began thinking it was a medical evacuation. The person they dropped was probably a stabilizer and would be the one who eventually put the patient in the basket to load her up to the helicopter.
The helicopter never landed, but he got very close, up in the crews pool area, he hovered for at leat 5-10 minutes. We were stopped, but still floating along. The coordination of the whole thing was incredible. They closed the whole front of the ship off on deck 10 - so we couldnt see anything, but we could hear the chopper. I am a travel agent, and I have been told that repatriation from a life flight helicopter costs $20,000 or $30,000. This is only ONE of the reasons why you buy trip insurance from your travel agent or from the cruise line if you book directly. It covers you - just in case!!! We heard it was a girl - but that is all they would say - for confidentially reasons = but they did say it was only the patient that left the ship - not her family. They were left behind. I said a prayer for her as I watched the helicopter speed toward Miami. The crew member who stayed around to talk with us said that we almost stopped in Miami to let her off, but it became to critical forher and they had to life flight her off.
Too much excitement and food- off to bed.
Day 6 Castaway Key -
Woke up to partly cloudy skies. We had breakfast at Parrot Cay and went out on the island. As we were walking out we had a few raindrops for about 2 minutes, but the rest of the day was rain free.
Castaway was beautiful and was as clean as it was the first time we went 5 years ago. The food was marvelous and the beach side service was outstanding.. They had free sodas on the island and you could use your beer mug on the island - which was a change from last time. The sun came out right after lunch and it got hot. The water was really cold and it took a minute to get "in" but it was refreshing once you got in. We left the beach area around 3pm and headed back to the ship. We walked - didnt wait for the tram - and it was a very easy walk. We went straight for the Mickey pool - and it was closed AGAIN. Someone had made some magic in the pool again. Every day on our cruise was an accident. They said it was rare to have to drain it every day, but I guess we just got lucky. Since it takes 3 hours to drain, clean and refill, we went to Quiet Cove and or DD8 went to Goofy. We sat in the hot tub and relaxed for a while then went in for a shower.
We got ready for dinner and began to pack. We stuffed everything into the suitcases and went off for our final dinner. We had pre-paid gratuities, so it was easy to put the vouchers in the envelopes and present them to our servers. Our head server, Fitz was the best one wed ever had. He was funny, helpful, and was very present all the time. We found out that he was only a Head Server for 2 months whle someone was on break. When that person comes back, he is a regular server. We tipped them and they were grateful.
Our DD was in the talent show at 7:30 and she sang. It was fun to see the different kids doing things. It was a fast, fun show. Good job, Disney.
After supper our DD8 checked herself into the club and we went to shutters to get our formal pictures. We then went down to the room to seal up our bags and put them out. We got everything loaded and out the door for pick up by the 11:00pm deadline. Then we went up to Diversions for the funny Pub night. This was a really fun night & we think Disney should do more things like this.
Diversions is the old improv and dueling painos bar. It was mostly empty during our entire cruise - they could use it for such better use - they just havent figured it out yet. We commented about it in our comment card. The only place to go really, is Rockin Bar D. Sessions is the paino bar, but its the same old stuff. It would be nice to have a trio in there vs just a piano. Or to make it a sing-a-long piano bar. Those are a lot of fun!!!
Disembarkation - Since we were late dining, we got to have 8am breakfast. We had touble getting up, we were Soooo tired. We ate AGAIN - I swear I am going to quit eating, and headed off the boad. We quickly went through customs and right to our truck. It was fast and effecient. The luggage was very near each other and all in the same area by stateroom.
Final thoughts - I met someone in the spa that was sun burned. I asked her what sunscreen she was wearing and she said NONE. HELLO, Caribbean, in May, you need sunscreen. We used SPF 30 all week and only burned in the areas were we missed. So apply early and reapply often. Better safe than sorry!!
The trip was truly magical. The staff was so friendly, to food was extra delicious and the ship was super clean. Our stateroom was large and well appointed. The new life jackets are so comfortable. The beds were nice and comfortable, and even the pull down bead was comfy for our DD 8 . They were really selling the Disney Vacation Club. There were several presentations and at least 2 or 3 sales men on board that were constantly closing people on the sale. We met Captain Tom several times. He was very accessible and we got pictures with him.
They did the welcome back reception at the Quiet Cove pool area and it was very nice - it was the first time they had done that. It was much nicer than being in Rockin Bar D.
We noticed every cast member asked us how we were enjoying our cruise. Over and over and over. And they were sincerely interested in our answer. Our server kept saying that he didnt want any unpleasant surprises and wanted to make sure we were 100% happy. We were!
Well thats about it & we are almost home!!! Once I get home, Ill get on the internet and post this. For now, its on my hard drive on my laptop.
I hear it could still be a couple days before my world stops swaying. 
