OUR OHANA's Back-to-back cruises w/ pics, navs, menus ** UPDATED Food pics **10/19

[OurOhana]

To help me (and hopefully others) navigate this trip report a little better, I’ll update the index on this first post as I move along. I’m also doing this more by topic, than by day though I'm trying to do it in some order. But I’m sure I’ll forget something and want to add it later. Because of things I'll likely add late, and since I have a lot of photos for some things, some topics may have more than one post number.

INDEX
**Back-to-Back process and thoughts (Page 3, Post 35)
**Crew (Page 4, Post 50)
**Door magnets (Page 2, Post 22)
**Embarkation (Page 1, Posts 5 and 13)
**Food (Page 3, Posts 42, 44 and 45, Page 4, 48 and 49)
**Kids' Club thoughts and pics (Page 2, Post 17)
**Navigators (Page 3, Posts 32 and 36)
**Parrott Cay Embarkation lunch (Page 1, Post 14; and Page 2, Post 16)
**Swimming Pools (Page 2, Post 29)
**T-shirts (Page 2, Post 21)



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Aloha

On Thursday, we’ll be on the DCL for back-to-back cruises – and we can’t wait. I thought I’d get the report started ahead of time.

OurOhana:
Me

DH

DD(4)

DG (My mom, but more important - DD’s grandma)

First cruise: We went on the Magic Jan. 31-6, and loved it!!!

Second/third cruise: We received the $99 bounce-back offer per person when we booked for our first cruise. So we decided to go on our 3-night cruise (which is the bounce-back deal) and add a 4-night cruise. We leave Sept. 17 and then take the second cruise Sept. 20.

We decided pretty soon after returning from our first Disney cruise that we needed to return. While the economy has been rough, the bounce back offer was huge for us. But the thought of three days just didn’t seem long enough – so we added the other cruise.

Then DH thought – why not bring my mom. Yes, my DH wanted to bring his mother-in-law along. We’re going to be staying in a category 4, but it’s going to be a bit tight in the room (it’s the same category we stayed in the last time.)

So our daughter still doesn’t know about the cruise. We have used our office to pack our bags – and tried to do everything while she was in the bath or sleeping (yes, I encouraged really, really long baths so I could sneak into her room to get her clothes out.) She’s been wondering where her favorite shoes disappeared to. I’ve blamed it on her messy room.

While DD will be ecstatic when she learns about the cruise- which hopefully won’t happen until Thursday morning – she’s going to be beside herself when she learns grandma is coming. This is a child who was pretty sure for a long time that Cinderella’s godmother was actually Cinderella’s grandmother. It might have something to do with the fact that DD’s grandma gives her everything she wants – I’m just guessing.

So now with DD, who is always entertaining, and my mom, who doesn’t mean to be entertaining but can’t help herself, we’re set for our next big adventure.

We're pretty well packed. After reading the disboards, we purchased some packing cubes from ebags. They helped us save some space. So far, I like them. We've purchases all of our fish extender gifts (we're doing the fish extender exchange on our second cruise - it seemed easier on a four-night.) And we'll be meeting up with the couple and their daughter who we ate with on our January cruise. We met them on that cruise, and became friends. It was nice that we could arrange another cruise together so our daughters, the same age, could see each other again.

I’m hoping we get tons of pictures this time around, we even have an underwater camera now, which has worked well when we went to the pool.

Thanks for reading.

By the way, if anyone has questions ahead of time about cruising, DCL or the Wonder - please let me know. We can try to find the answers while we're on the ship, if possible!

 

[OurOhana]

I was just sharing this on our meets thread, and thought I should post it here too.

DH's aunt made us the fish extender (though we added iron ons names for each pocket.) Plus, DH made the cute Mickey ears for each end of the rod.

We didn't do the fish extender exchange on our last cruise. I'm really looking forward to it this time around. We've had fun shopping for the gifts, plus a few homemade items too.

 

[OurOhana]

The GPS says we'll be at the port at 9:09 am. But we'll still have to make at least one stop, so it won't be quite that early.

I set the alarm for 5:30, but woke up 10 minutes earlier. That's unheard of for me unless I'm really excited about something. And then grandma was do excited she called to ask if shecould come over early to wake up DD. But then on her way over she got lost. I should point outage lives 6 miles from our house and has visited hundreds of times. She was just so excited.

DD still doesn't know for sure where we are going even though we are wearing matching shirts with the Wonder on the back. She said she thinks we are going Mickey Boat but she wants to be surprised.

So DD and DG are in the back seat right now watching a movie DG brought with her. It's a Halloween pooh movie.

I would post pics but i'm using my iPhone to write this and not sure how to add pics without first going to photobucket. Maybe I'll research that while we drive.

 

[OurOhana]

We got to the port at about 9:10. But because of the construction we can't line up outside of the gate. We still aren't sure where we line up without backing up other traffic. So right now we are driving to get gas so we are set when we get off the ship in a week.

 

[OurOhana]

Because of the construction at the port, they had us go to a lot and wait. Then a guy in a golf cart told us to follow him to check in. Instead of driving inside to park, we pulled up to where the buses usually drop people off. The porters got our luggage and DD, DG and I walked in and DH drove to park.

Then instead of getting checked in immediately like the last time, I had to wait until about 10:30 to check in. We got boarding pass No 2. And now dd is waiting to get a pic with Mickey. I'll try to upload pics later. It might be when we return - maybe while we wait for the next cruise.

 

[E&BMom]

Thanks for the updates! Have a great time!! We did a B2B cruise last June and had a blast!!!

 

[Jennifer in MI]

I just found this!!! And, I see you must have left just about an hour ago!!! I'm SOOOOOO jealous.

We're doing a B2B in January, so I'll be reading about this when you return. I hope you have a wonderful time!!

 

[OurOhana]

It was a great first cruise. We are now waiting for our life drill, so I thought I'd do a quick post. It was a smooth first sailing - great weather, and fun all around. The disembarkation and embarkation for the second cruise was a breeze. We just met the members of our fish extender exchange. They were so nice. We even got our first gift, a homemade and very cool looking autograph book. Great start to a second cruise. I'll post more when we return.

 

[OurOhana]

We just left and we had a battle of the horns with RCCL freedom of the seas. Hopefully someone will post video, I didn't have mine ready. And then as we were leaving people were lined up on the shore. It was cooler to leave Sunday for this reason alone. A couple of the bars/restaurants played Disney songs as we went by. It was just a cool thing to watch. I guess it was too cold when we left in January because I don't remember that.

Ok I should shut down the iPhone and get ready for
dinner. More later with pics

 

[Sccrmnky2005]

I loved reading your Jan trip report and can't wait to read you back to back cruise next!! Your daughter is so beautiful! Love the picture that shutters captured of her she looks so happy!

 

[TotallyAngelic]

I really enjoyed your Jan report so am looking forward to this one. Hope you had a wonderful time.

 

[OurOhana]

Wow. What a wonderful trip. We had a great time. The four-night cruise was the best cruise, best service we've had to date. It was really magical. We have tons of pics (people, places and food) and copies of all of the navigators and dinner menus. I tried to save copies of most everything, just like I did the last time. I forgot to take pics of the food before we had already eaten it. But we tried to get as much as possible. I'll start posting tonight or this weekend.

I loved reading your Jan trip report and can't wait to read you back to back cruise next!! Your daughter is so beautiful! Love the picture that shutters captured of her she looks so happy!

Thank you. Thank you. My daughter was thrilled on the first cruise, and was ecstatic the second and third cruise. Wait til you see the pics of her in the Cinderella dress her grandma bought for her. She clearly thought she was a princess.

I really enjoyed your Jan report so am looking forward to this one. Hope you had a wonderful time.

Thank you very much. We really did have a great time. I'm looking forward to doing the trip report too, because it helped us relive our cruise. It sort of extended it a little for us. Hope it does it this time again.

 

[OurOhana]

Well, laundry is halfway done, daughter is in bed, husband and I are wishing we could pick up the phone and get room service delivered. Yeah, I know, it's not happening, but we can dream.

I'm hoping to let the photos tell the story more than words this time around. So here goes:

On the way to the Mickey Boat

And in the port (We had to wait to check in until about 10:30, which was later than the last time. They seemed to be running a bit behind. No big deal, we were about to get on the Mickey Boat)

 

[OurOhana]

I actually took these pics on the second cruise - but the food was the exact same. yum!

 

[Kay1]

Those are the best Parrot Cay photos I've seen. What are some of those hot dishes?

 

[OurOhana]

Those are the best Parrot Cay photos I've seen. What are some of those hot dishes?

Thank you!

It was a really good buffet, better than I remember from the Magic in January, but it could have just been my memory. I tried to take a lot of other food pics along the way, but I know I forgot too often. So I think I overcompensated a bit at other times

Here's what I remember:

Hot items - Cajun roasted potatoes, yellow rice dish, stir fried veggies, sweet and sour pork, steamship beef round (about 75 pounds, they said) bow tie pasta, a baked or roasted chicken

Salad items - lettuce, pasta salad, cole slaw, potato salad, marinated tomatoes, olives, shredded carrots, cucumbers, cottage cheese, croutons.

Kids - Spaghetti and meatballs, mac and cheese, mini corn dogs

Other - breads, assorted soups, tons of fresh fruit and all kinds of desserts.

Ice cream station - I think vanilla and chocolate ice cream, along with caramel and chocolate sauce, marshmallows, sprinkles and whipped cream topping.

 

[OurOhana]

Our daughter couldn't wait to get to the club that first day. We could visit at any time, but she couldn't stay in there without us until after 6 p.m. Here are some pictures from before it got busy that first day. As Magic visitors can see, it looked a little different, but the overall setup was the same.

Overall impression: We loved the club on the Magic, but had heard mixed reviews about the Wonder. We'd heard that the counselors weren't good about engaging the children and often stood near the front while kids did their own things. We didn't see that at all. The counselors were always engaged, as we arrived and as we picked her up. They chased her around, did face-painting, dancing along with Lilo and Stitch, dressed up as Peter Pan. Anything the kids were doing, we saw counselors doing with them. Not to say our DD and other kids didn't just work by themselves on the computers or watch movies quietly, but there were always options. I highly recommend parents consider the club for at least part of the dinner time. We found the dinners could go long, so sometimes our daughter chose the club for the entire dinner. Other times she came and ate her dinner with us, but then my DH took her to the club when she was done with her dinner.

Check-in area: (They don't let any child out of this area until they check their wrist band, have a Key to the World card from the parent or other person who has permission to check them out and here the password. They were very good about this.)

Main area:

The computer-area: (though I forgot to actually take pics of the computers, go figure)

Hand-washing area (which they are sticklers about making sure all kids wash their hands the minute they walk in)

Water-fountain

Kids-sized bathroom:

 

[Kay1]

Thanks for your mouthwatering reply. Can't wait for more of your report.

 

[SmallWorld71]

Really enjoying your report! We haven't cruised yet, but look forward to our 1st one next summer. Our DD will be in the Club so it was nice to see some pics that I hadn't seen yet. The Parrot Cay pics were great too. Yum!

 

[jensen]

Can't wait to hear more!