two4ruff
<font color=006633>Mother of All Hockey Moms<br><f
- Joined
- Jan 17, 2002
The Family: Me (mom 35), Dad (36) and two sons (7 & 10)
DISCLAIMER: Before you read on, please note who we are reflects on our experience! We are not world travelers, we are not gourmets, we are not used to being catered to, we are not Disney fanatics, and this was our first cruise and we were looking for a familly vacation. We spent 4 days at a very crowded WDW before the cruise and were looking forward to relaxing on board. If you can relate, this trip report may be of interest to you!
Its amazing after 2 weeks how everything is begining to blend together! So forgive my writing style as I may tend to jump around a bit! I cannot keep the timeline straight so I will cover topics of interest instead. Here we go:
PORT/CHECK-IN: We arrived around 11:00 and were on board by 12:20, maybe 24 families in front of us. Check in was smooth and the terminal was very bright and clean. We had rented a car from Avis and took avantage of their free shuttle. We used some of the tips we have learned from this site and headed for lunch and then let the boys swim in the pools.
STATEROOM: We were in 5522, a secret porthole room (thanks again to this board!). We were surprised that all our "stuff" fit and had room to spare. The only time the room seemed small was the last evening with all the suitcases and clothes out and trying to get it all together! The split bath was great for our family but the hairdyers are a little weak. Our hostess was Jeryll and she did a great job - towel animals, the works! She even showed my youngest some of her secrets.
Now the negative side...this was an adjoining room. I was hopeful this would not be a problem but we were cursed with the loudest, unhappiest family living next door. There were loud arguements each morning and evening between the kids, the parents and then both. We were unfortuanately able to hear every word, mainly due to their volume. One evening it was obvious the arguement had turned physical. We called guest services for advice and security was sent. Seconds after we hung up, their door slammed and they left. This same scenario happened 3 times! I'm sure security thought we were nuts - each time they arrived, the neighbors were gone! This was the biggest downside to our trip, but we were determined not to let it ruin our trip. Disney did everything they could under the circumstances.
FOOD: OK, another disclaimer...I am under the belief that all food tastes better when someone else is cooking! But I was surprised at just how good it was! We had great servers, Alexandar and Juliano from Croatia. My boys loved them and by the end of the week they had many inside jokes running between them. My older son ate off the adult menu and my less adventerous younger son stuck to the kids menu. We enjoyed all our meals with only one dish earning a thumbs down, the banana flambe'. It tasted as though too much rum had not burned off. Never thought I would complain about too much rum! We had a table to ourselves and had the LAP rotation, not our first choice, but it turned out fine. Early seating worked great for us since we were usually wiped out by 9:00.
For breakfast, we did either room service or the buffet as none of us are big breakfast eaters. We did do our character breakfast which the boys enjoyed. Lunch varied from buffets to the fast food. We always found something and never went hungry. The fresh fruit bars on board and at Castaway were great. My youngest ate his wieght in grapes that week.
SEASICKNESS: This is the one thing that terrified me about cruising. I tend to get motion sickness even in a car. We came prepared with Meclizine which I started taking two days before, in hopes to have the sleepiness side effect wear off. As other posts have reported, we had very rough seas and high winds that week - up to 20 foot swells. I stuck to the Meclizine routine and sipped ginger ale. I honestly NEVER felt sick. I did feel the boat moving (no way not too) and it seemed to move in a circular motion. The roughest spot to me was Parrot Cay. I was pleasantly surprised, the boys never even felt quesy and we ate regularly and got lots of fresh air. Whew!
KIDS CLUBS: Niether of our kids have ever been to day care and I was concerned that they would not fit into the club routine. We had no expectations and followed the boys lead. My older son loved the lab. He meet another boy from England and they read their navigators and planned what activities they wanted to do. We did allow him to check himself out, but we did not allow him to wander the ship. He enjoyed the late night activities and the new found freedom that we allowed him to come back when he wanted to. Our younger son only chose a few activities to attend. He is quite shy and prefered to stick with mom and dad, which was just fine.
We did see a few "out of control" kids. But in all honesty, I see the same behavior at the malls or even at WDW. I see it as a parent issue, not a Disney problem. Some parents are just as rude as their kids. I understand people are on vacation and want some time to themselves. But if you aren't concerned how your kids are behaving away from you, please don't take a "family vacation". I hate for the well behaved kids getting a bad rap for the behavior of a few ornery kids and parents who let them get away with it. Sorry, enough said.
ENTERTAINMENT: We tended not to plan out our days and play it by ear. We enjoyed all the shows and game shows we saw. We also took in a few movies, including the Rookie. Character greetings were numerous and the boys finished out their autograph books. My youngest and I took in bingo, but didn't win a cent! (had fun though) My youngest also enjoyed learning the finer skills of playing shuffleboard and ping pong in strong winds. They both are hockey crazy and participated in the NHL Challenge on board. The wind and the waves didn't stop them from playing ball hockey until they drug the nets away!
FELLOW DIS-MEMBERS!: Wenebre had generously set up a meet for all us on Sunday. It was fun putting faces to all the names at last. We exchanged postcards (and a few pins) and enjoyed seeing familiar faces throughout the week. ( I believe there were 9 of us)
ISLANDS: My boys have never been to the ocean so we had only planned to do "beach" days on our own. They had been practicing snokling in the pool and were looking forward to testing out their skills. We had planned to go to Orient beach on St Martin, but had been warned it could be miserable in bad weather. After a little shopping (tropical shirts, trinkets and some guavaberry rum) we headed to Great Bay Beach. I was afraid to travel far and get stuck in bad weather. It turned out just fine, the rain never came, and the boys enjoyed playing in the waves.
We loved St Thomas! We took a taxi to Coki Beach and stayed all day. A mid morning rain shower scared some folks away, but it was short and we were treated to beautiful skies the rest of the day. The snorkling was great and fish were plentiful. The locals we met that day were very friendly and not as pushy to sell to us and in St Martin. Our taxi driver returned when promised and we bought a few postcards and returned to ship.
After the week of waves, I was a little afraid we would be able to dock. Thank goodness, we had the best weather of the week that day! Castaway Cay, I couldn't get over the colors of the water! We hit the snorkle trail early and my youngest, not a strong swimmer, was able to do the entire course. Great for kids, no stong waves or currents and they can learn to use the equipment and enjoy the view. Getting off the boat was an experience though...even with several announcements not to, people lined up all the way to deck 5. Stairs didn't slow them down, as strollers, even wheelchairs jockeyed for position. Seems there could be a better way to do this, but not sure what it would be! We had no problem finding a chair on the family beach after snorkling and spent our time floating on rafts and searching the sand for little shells to admire. Cookies was great, as food always taste great in the fresh air! Took alot of great pictures and headed back to ship around 3 for the kids rehersal (after taking advantage of the 2 for 1 Konk Koolers...) All around the kids favorite day, they would have spent all week there.
MISC: I used the laundry rooms on Thursday, found them to be crowded in the morning, but returned to find them deserted in the afternoon. Brought my own detergent tablets and got the job done.
-Spent a little money at Shutters but could have easily spent a fortune. Purchased our formal night pictures, but resisted temptation on the others. Turned out I got just as many nice photos from our own cameras.
-I packed way too much. We did dress up for formal night, dark suits and dress. After theme nights, for dining all the boys need was a couple button shirts and khakis. We lived in shorts the rest of the time.
-Favorite memory? Late night walks around deck, even in the wind. The boys would say Castway Cay was their favorite.
I realize there is a lot of unaccounted for time here, but I can assure you, we were never bored, never hungry and never wanting it to end! Was everything perfect?? No, of course not. But I have yet to find a perfect anything. We had looked forward to this trip for months and were determined not to let the waves or the bad behavior of a few spoil our time together.
We are now looking forward to a return to the Magic next May for the western itinerary. We discovered this cruise to be a great fit for our families needs.
My advice? We enjoyed it for what it was - a wonderful time in a wonderful place, shared with the people we wanted to be with. Could of done without the neighbors and the waves, but maybe that was just part of the adventure!
See ya next year!
Jill
PS And don't forget the sunscreen!!
DISCLAIMER: Before you read on, please note who we are reflects on our experience! We are not world travelers, we are not gourmets, we are not used to being catered to, we are not Disney fanatics, and this was our first cruise and we were looking for a familly vacation. We spent 4 days at a very crowded WDW before the cruise and were looking forward to relaxing on board. If you can relate, this trip report may be of interest to you!
Its amazing after 2 weeks how everything is begining to blend together! So forgive my writing style as I may tend to jump around a bit! I cannot keep the timeline straight so I will cover topics of interest instead. Here we go:
PORT/CHECK-IN: We arrived around 11:00 and were on board by 12:20, maybe 24 families in front of us. Check in was smooth and the terminal was very bright and clean. We had rented a car from Avis and took avantage of their free shuttle. We used some of the tips we have learned from this site and headed for lunch and then let the boys swim in the pools.
STATEROOM: We were in 5522, a secret porthole room (thanks again to this board!). We were surprised that all our "stuff" fit and had room to spare. The only time the room seemed small was the last evening with all the suitcases and clothes out and trying to get it all together! The split bath was great for our family but the hairdyers are a little weak. Our hostess was Jeryll and she did a great job - towel animals, the works! She even showed my youngest some of her secrets.
Now the negative side...this was an adjoining room. I was hopeful this would not be a problem but we were cursed with the loudest, unhappiest family living next door. There were loud arguements each morning and evening between the kids, the parents and then both. We were unfortuanately able to hear every word, mainly due to their volume. One evening it was obvious the arguement had turned physical. We called guest services for advice and security was sent. Seconds after we hung up, their door slammed and they left. This same scenario happened 3 times! I'm sure security thought we were nuts - each time they arrived, the neighbors were gone! This was the biggest downside to our trip, but we were determined not to let it ruin our trip. Disney did everything they could under the circumstances.
FOOD: OK, another disclaimer...I am under the belief that all food tastes better when someone else is cooking! But I was surprised at just how good it was! We had great servers, Alexandar and Juliano from Croatia. My boys loved them and by the end of the week they had many inside jokes running between them. My older son ate off the adult menu and my less adventerous younger son stuck to the kids menu. We enjoyed all our meals with only one dish earning a thumbs down, the banana flambe'. It tasted as though too much rum had not burned off. Never thought I would complain about too much rum! We had a table to ourselves and had the LAP rotation, not our first choice, but it turned out fine. Early seating worked great for us since we were usually wiped out by 9:00.
For breakfast, we did either room service or the buffet as none of us are big breakfast eaters. We did do our character breakfast which the boys enjoyed. Lunch varied from buffets to the fast food. We always found something and never went hungry. The fresh fruit bars on board and at Castaway were great. My youngest ate his wieght in grapes that week.
SEASICKNESS: This is the one thing that terrified me about cruising. I tend to get motion sickness even in a car. We came prepared with Meclizine which I started taking two days before, in hopes to have the sleepiness side effect wear off. As other posts have reported, we had very rough seas and high winds that week - up to 20 foot swells. I stuck to the Meclizine routine and sipped ginger ale. I honestly NEVER felt sick. I did feel the boat moving (no way not too) and it seemed to move in a circular motion. The roughest spot to me was Parrot Cay. I was pleasantly surprised, the boys never even felt quesy and we ate regularly and got lots of fresh air. Whew!
KIDS CLUBS: Niether of our kids have ever been to day care and I was concerned that they would not fit into the club routine. We had no expectations and followed the boys lead. My older son loved the lab. He meet another boy from England and they read their navigators and planned what activities they wanted to do. We did allow him to check himself out, but we did not allow him to wander the ship. He enjoyed the late night activities and the new found freedom that we allowed him to come back when he wanted to. Our younger son only chose a few activities to attend. He is quite shy and prefered to stick with mom and dad, which was just fine.
We did see a few "out of control" kids. But in all honesty, I see the same behavior at the malls or even at WDW. I see it as a parent issue, not a Disney problem. Some parents are just as rude as their kids. I understand people are on vacation and want some time to themselves. But if you aren't concerned how your kids are behaving away from you, please don't take a "family vacation". I hate for the well behaved kids getting a bad rap for the behavior of a few ornery kids and parents who let them get away with it. Sorry, enough said.
ENTERTAINMENT: We tended not to plan out our days and play it by ear. We enjoyed all the shows and game shows we saw. We also took in a few movies, including the Rookie. Character greetings were numerous and the boys finished out their autograph books. My youngest and I took in bingo, but didn't win a cent! (had fun though) My youngest also enjoyed learning the finer skills of playing shuffleboard and ping pong in strong winds. They both are hockey crazy and participated in the NHL Challenge on board. The wind and the waves didn't stop them from playing ball hockey until they drug the nets away!
FELLOW DIS-MEMBERS!: Wenebre had generously set up a meet for all us on Sunday. It was fun putting faces to all the names at last. We exchanged postcards (and a few pins) and enjoyed seeing familiar faces throughout the week. ( I believe there were 9 of us)
ISLANDS: My boys have never been to the ocean so we had only planned to do "beach" days on our own. They had been practicing snokling in the pool and were looking forward to testing out their skills. We had planned to go to Orient beach on St Martin, but had been warned it could be miserable in bad weather. After a little shopping (tropical shirts, trinkets and some guavaberry rum) we headed to Great Bay Beach. I was afraid to travel far and get stuck in bad weather. It turned out just fine, the rain never came, and the boys enjoyed playing in the waves.
We loved St Thomas! We took a taxi to Coki Beach and stayed all day. A mid morning rain shower scared some folks away, but it was short and we were treated to beautiful skies the rest of the day. The snorkling was great and fish were plentiful. The locals we met that day were very friendly and not as pushy to sell to us and in St Martin. Our taxi driver returned when promised and we bought a few postcards and returned to ship.
After the week of waves, I was a little afraid we would be able to dock. Thank goodness, we had the best weather of the week that day! Castaway Cay, I couldn't get over the colors of the water! We hit the snorkle trail early and my youngest, not a strong swimmer, was able to do the entire course. Great for kids, no stong waves or currents and they can learn to use the equipment and enjoy the view. Getting off the boat was an experience though...even with several announcements not to, people lined up all the way to deck 5. Stairs didn't slow them down, as strollers, even wheelchairs jockeyed for position. Seems there could be a better way to do this, but not sure what it would be! We had no problem finding a chair on the family beach after snorkling and spent our time floating on rafts and searching the sand for little shells to admire. Cookies was great, as food always taste great in the fresh air! Took alot of great pictures and headed back to ship around 3 for the kids rehersal (after taking advantage of the 2 for 1 Konk Koolers...) All around the kids favorite day, they would have spent all week there.
MISC: I used the laundry rooms on Thursday, found them to be crowded in the morning, but returned to find them deserted in the afternoon. Brought my own detergent tablets and got the job done.
-Spent a little money at Shutters but could have easily spent a fortune. Purchased our formal night pictures, but resisted temptation on the others. Turned out I got just as many nice photos from our own cameras.
-I packed way too much. We did dress up for formal night, dark suits and dress. After theme nights, for dining all the boys need was a couple button shirts and khakis. We lived in shorts the rest of the time.
-Favorite memory? Late night walks around deck, even in the wind. The boys would say Castway Cay was their favorite.
I realize there is a lot of unaccounted for time here, but I can assure you, we were never bored, never hungry and never wanting it to end! Was everything perfect?? No, of course not. But I have yet to find a perfect anything. We had looked forward to this trip for months and were determined not to let the waves or the bad behavior of a few spoil our time together.
We are now looking forward to a return to the Magic next May for the western itinerary. We discovered this cruise to be a great fit for our families needs.
My advice? We enjoyed it for what it was - a wonderful time in a wonderful place, shared with the people we wanted to be with. Could of done without the neighbors and the waves, but maybe that was just part of the adventure!
See ya next year!
Jill
PS And don't forget the sunscreen!!
