me, hubby and the 2 boys, 9 and 7 drove from West Palm Beach to the port. followed the directions provided, but was somewhat confused, it said to look for terminal 8, we only saw 5 after we drove past 5 looking for 8 we turned back, went into 5 past the carnival fantasy, found terminal 8. we got there oh about 1230 or so. we got on the line a dcl attendant checked our ids and told us to pull up in front of the terminal, the very nice porter, took our bags and told us they were having a nice lunch buffet in parrot cay. me and the kids walked to the front of the terminal, waited for hubby to come back from parking the car $24 for the 3 day cruise we went on. check in was a breeze, no lines no waiting. when we got through the mickey sillouhette the line was a bit long, but that is only because you had to pass the bomb sniffing doggie and thru the x ray machines. so yes i was happy about the security prior to boarding. as soon as we stepped on the ship there was captain mickey atop the stairs waving to the kids they were thrilled, their first cruise, we were again told to go to the parrot cay restaurant for buffet lunch. this was fine since we were hungry. nice buffet, hot and cold items, nice large shrimp, which we all had to get some of!!! yum!!!. food was great. by the time we finished eating it was after 130pm. our room was ready, we headed down there to 2075 and were greeted by our state room attendant, gregory, very nice person, did a great job with our room, and very interesting towel creatures were left to the delight of my boys at which on saturday night gregory left the boys a certificate and instructions on how the towels were made. we dropped off our carry on luggage and went up to the oceaneers lab to register the kids. after that we went up to deck 9 so the kids could check out the mickey pool and slide. it was pretty busy by that time so the kids went into the pool some, and also went into the goofy pool. me and hubby sat back and relaxed and watched the kids having fun in the water. My older son quite excited to the fact that he could get free food and ice cream up there!!! we purchased two refill soda mugs for the kids which they made great use of. after the swim we went back to the room so kids could change clothes. then back up to deck 9 for the party. man it was soooo crowed by this time, they had a show going on up there and mickey and minnie, a band, music singing the works. by that time it was 5pm and we were taking off. I loved the ships horn!!! kids were so amazed and excited. hubby and i sat sipping our drinks in the shade listening to the music while the kids watched the show. 6 pm time for dinner. we ate at tritons. very beautiful restaurant. our head waiter was sid, he came around a few times each night to check if everything was ok, and on the second and third night he knew without looking which table we were to sit. Our server was christine from austrailia. she was excellent, could explain all the food on the menu and what was in it. our assistant server was marcello from argentina, he was funny and joked around with the kids. friday night we had dinner at animators pallet, this is definetly a disney restaurant, i have never seen anything like it ever. our last night dinner was a parrot cay. all the food was wonderful, service was wonderful, but my older son could not understand the servers follow us each night, he wanted to know how they go from restaurant to restaurant so fast and if they were robots or something !!! ha !!! I tried to explain how it worked but he just couldnt understand. So christine and marcello let him believe they were robots. thursday night we went to see hurcules the musical
it was excellent, the kids loved it and had them laughing, friday night they had who wants to be a mousketeer, we opted out of that show for other goings on around the ship, saturday we went to the matinee of disney dreams, it started at 315 pm, so after we got back from castaway cay we swam in the pool a bit and then changed, and went to the show, it was wonderful, brought tears to my eyes. we opted for the matinee, as it gave us free time after dinner ( we had first seating) to do some things before turing in for the night. Nassau was ok, i have been there before, we walked down the street looking at the shops and then went to the straw market, the kids enjoyed all the things in there and bought a few things. we also took a horse and carraige ride, it was a bit on the pricey side, the guy wanted $10 person plus a tip!! the whole time on there, and it was short, i kept thinking how hot it was and about that poor horse pulling all the weight. I know the kids liked it, but for me, I dont think I would do that again. Saturday we were up bright and early, we had breakfast in our room and waited to get off the ship for castaway cay. We were one of the first few people off the ship, which I highly reccommend doing because the choice of lounge chairs is yours. we chose a spot on the family beach near the jungle jim thing in the water. I rented tubes for the kids, they used it a bit and I rented snorkeling gear for all of us, this was pretty much a mistake on my part because i made the reservation for the castaway cay package, which is the floats, the snorkeling gear and the bikes, well, the kids did not want to go bike riding they were perfectly happy playing in the water and making sand castles and picking up rocks and shells. Hubby and the boys went snorkeling, without me, because ( my one and only complaint, and its a big one!!!), is that there are no lockers available for your stuff on castaway cay, we brought our video camera and still cameras with us since there were no lockers there, mom (me) sat on the lounge chair keeping guard of our belongings while dad and the kids went snorkeling. by the time the were done, the beach was filling up so much that it was almost lunch time. we went to cookies bbq and got something to eat, again we must have timed it right, no lines no waiting. but after a little while it started to get crowed. I decided i wanted to go over to have my hair braided, i had about three people ahead of me on line, and all the seats were filled, doing this braiding takes a long time, and they had some beach chairs out in the hot sun, which was where you were supposed to wait until they called you, well, it took so long, that i said forget it, and left. we only put the kids in the oceaneers like two times, my older boy liked some of the programs, but i did not have any problem pulling him away, my younger son age 7 hated it altogether, he was bored, infact he fell into a deep sleep on friday night when they had movie time at the club. poor little guy. well, mom and dad have to have some adult time ya know. we went to the how well do you know your mate(partner)show. it was cute, not as funny as i had hoped but it was good. all in all everything was first rate. i was very pleased. my main gripe was the no lockers at castaway cay. the cabin while very nice and clean, had a very small toilet area, we had the double bathroom thing, but i am kinda a full figured gal and getting in and out of the toilet room was troublesome for me. Once i got past the door i was ok inside the bathroom. both hubby and myself were amazed at the cleanliness of the place, with 2700 passengers and over 900 crew the place was spotless with all the chrome, glass, wood and brass, you could eat off the floor in there. i was impressed, they say cleanliness is next to godliness and on the wonder we were in heaven. We had a great time and we will be making plans to go again next year, maybe by that time momma can lose a few pounds. one interesting thing i noticed, unfortunately by then it was too late, they have the internet cafe on board, and for $4.95 you and your family can make a movie and have it emailed to your family members at home. If I would have seen it sooner I would have done it, I know grandma would have loved that. Oh well, there is only a next time. If anyone has any questions I would do my best to answer them, and if anyone who reads this knows why there are no lockers at castaway cay, please let me know.
it was excellent, the kids loved it and had them laughing, friday night they had who wants to be a mousketeer, we opted out of that show for other goings on around the ship, saturday we went to the matinee of disney dreams, it started at 315 pm, so after we got back from castaway cay we swam in the pool a bit and then changed, and went to the show, it was wonderful, brought tears to my eyes. we opted for the matinee, as it gave us free time after dinner ( we had first seating) to do some things before turing in for the night. Nassau was ok, i have been there before, we walked down the street looking at the shops and then went to the straw market, the kids enjoyed all the things in there and bought a few things. we also took a horse and carraige ride, it was a bit on the pricey side, the guy wanted $10 person plus a tip!! the whole time on there, and it was short, i kept thinking how hot it was and about that poor horse pulling all the weight. I know the kids liked it, but for me, I dont think I would do that again. Saturday we were up bright and early, we had breakfast in our room and waited to get off the ship for castaway cay. We were one of the first few people off the ship, which I highly reccommend doing because the choice of lounge chairs is yours. we chose a spot on the family beach near the jungle jim thing in the water. I rented tubes for the kids, they used it a bit and I rented snorkeling gear for all of us, this was pretty much a mistake on my part because i made the reservation for the castaway cay package, which is the floats, the snorkeling gear and the bikes, well, the kids did not want to go bike riding they were perfectly happy playing in the water and making sand castles and picking up rocks and shells. Hubby and the boys went snorkeling, without me, because ( my one and only complaint, and its a big one!!!), is that there are no lockers available for your stuff on castaway cay, we brought our video camera and still cameras with us since there were no lockers there, mom (me) sat on the lounge chair keeping guard of our belongings while dad and the kids went snorkeling. by the time the were done, the beach was filling up so much that it was almost lunch time. we went to cookies bbq and got something to eat, again we must have timed it right, no lines no waiting. but after a little while it started to get crowed. I decided i wanted to go over to have my hair braided, i had about three people ahead of me on line, and all the seats were filled, doing this braiding takes a long time, and they had some beach chairs out in the hot sun, which was where you were supposed to wait until they called you, well, it took so long, that i said forget it, and left. we only put the kids in the oceaneers like two times, my older boy liked some of the programs, but i did not have any problem pulling him away, my younger son age 7 hated it altogether, he was bored, infact he fell into a deep sleep on friday night when they had movie time at the club. poor little guy. well, mom and dad have to have some adult time ya know. we went to the how well do you know your mate(partner)show. it was cute, not as funny as i had hoped but it was good. all in all everything was first rate. i was very pleased. my main gripe was the no lockers at castaway cay. the cabin while very nice and clean, had a very small toilet area, we had the double bathroom thing, but i am kinda a full figured gal and getting in and out of the toilet room was troublesome for me. Once i got past the door i was ok inside the bathroom. both hubby and myself were amazed at the cleanliness of the place, with 2700 passengers and over 900 crew the place was spotless with all the chrome, glass, wood and brass, you could eat off the floor in there. i was impressed, they say cleanliness is next to godliness and on the wonder we were in heaven. We had a great time and we will be making plans to go again next year, maybe by that time momma can lose a few pounds. one interesting thing i noticed, unfortunately by then it was too late, they have the internet cafe on board, and for $4.95 you and your family can make a movie and have it emailed to your family members at home. If I would have seen it sooner I would have done it, I know grandma would have loved that. Oh well, there is only a next time. If anyone has any questions I would do my best to answer them, and if anyone who reads this knows why there are no lockers at castaway cay, please let me know.
