yazee1
<font color=teal>It sounds like we broke the ship!
- Joined
- Jan 26, 2005
It's Tuesday night, and I think my legs have finally gotten the message that we are no longer on the ship. Our family (dh and I, four year old daughter, 7 and 10 year old sons) had a fabulous time. It was our first Disney cruise. Thanks to this board and our Passporter, we were ready for it. Of course, there are things you can't plan for such as illness, traffic, weather, bad luck, etc. Luckily, we didn't encounter those things. Here's a run down of our trip, at least the parts I remember. There was so much! May you all love your cruise as much as we loved ours.
Arrangements made beforehand:
~Declined Disney's travel insurance and found better and cheaper insurance on www.insuremytrip.com (learned that here)
~Decided to drive instead of fly - with 2 adults and 3 kids we saved over a $1,000 with this decision.
~wrote our names with Marvie markers on anything that could get seperated from us at some point.
~Booked a room at the Radisson at Cape Canaveral for Friday night. - Cost $119.00 but we could keep the car there for free (70.00 to park at port). (learned that in the Passporter)
~Called the Radisson a month before the trip to reserve a spot on the 10:00am shuttle to the port.
~Booked Stingray City directly through Cpt. Marvin's in Grand Cayman and a dune buggy tour through www.travelnotes.cc for Cozumel. (learned that here)
~Stocked up on small bills for tips and quarters for laundry
~Studied our Passporter's Guide
~Spent lots of time on this board reading
~Ordered Trip-tick from AAA.
~Thought long and hard about how little or how much to book or reserve ahead of time, whether the photo ops with characters were important to us if it meant spending time in line and having one more thing to remember
~Discussed whether making it to our dinner seating was as important as enjoying whatever we were doing in port. (read stories about family mayhem and ******* over making it to dinner)
~Discussed, as a couple, our expectations for the cruise and what kind of situations might arise and how we could handle them. (learned a lot about what could happen from reading this board)
~Talked up the Club and the Lab, let the kids watch the DCL dvd a lot
~Prepared daughter for hair braiding. Explained that the braider will have to pull on her head and it might hurt a little.
The trip to Florida
Thursday, April 7 - Friday, April 8 ~ We left New Jersey around 6:30pm. No rush hour traffic. About 1 am, Dh wanted to stop for the night and finish the drive early Friday morning. I convinced him that we should go straight through in order to have more time to relax at the Radisson and do any last minute shopping. That turned out to be a good plan. Our room was ready early so he took a shower and a nap while I took the kids shopping, got a little lunch and a manicure. When I got back, he took the kids to the pool (lovely pool with a waterfall) while I refreshed. We had plenty of time to have a nice dinner and shop at Ron Jon's Surf Shop before going to bed.
Saturday, April 9 - We ate at the breakfast buffet in the hotel to save time. The servers there are peppy! It helps set the mood for the day since most of their Saturday morning guests are setting out on a cruise. In line at the omelette station, I started talking with a lady who turned out, later, to be one of our tablemates.
After breakfast, dh brought the luggage to the lobby. Standing outside on the portico were several people with luggage, so Dh told me to find out what the shuttle procedure was. I went out there and asked a man with a clipboard where we should queue up. Turns out he was waiting for us! We were slotted for the first van. No wait for us, off we went.
We arrived at the port a few minutes before 10am. Not many people had arrived. When it was time to open the gates, a luggage handler questioned me about our collapsible wheeled cooler but accepted my answer about it being a carry-on piece of luggage.
Checking in. No line. At check-in we got a surprise. We now had adjoining rooms with verandas on deck 6 instead of connecting (but not adjoining) oceanview rooms on deck 2. We took our happy selves to the embarkment line. With an hour wait ahead of us, we sent the kids off to watch cartoons. Dh and I chatted with a Disboard couple behind us in line, discussed what night we wanted to have dinner and brunch at Palos based on the dinner rotation printed on our Key to the World cards.
Once onboard, we headed straight for Rocking Bar D to make our Palos reservations. When you walked in there were different lines for each day of the week. Knowing our dinner rotation and planning around it before getting to this line made the process stress-free. I stood in the Tuesday line for dinner and dh stood in the Thurday line for brunch. Mission accomplished, we went to lunch at the Parrot's Cove.
The rest of the day was a blur. We registered the kids (4,7 and 10) for the Club and the Lab. A tiny whiff of trouble wafted through the room. Our 7 year old didn't like the looks of the Club but he warily agreed to give it a try. By then it was almost time for the drill. Quick trip to the room to drop off bags and ooh and ah over our rooms. Dh and I oohed and ahhed over the upgraded onboard credit that came with our upgraded rooms. Our 75.00 per room credit had doubled. The drill was painlessl since no one was incredibly late. Our first dinner was at Animators. I was a little anxious about whether we'd have tablemates and if we would all like each other. The other family was a mother(who I had met at earlier that day), about my age, her aunt, and her daughter (same age as my daughter). DCL picked well. They were delightful company. Our serving team was Prudence, from Jamaica and with the Magic the past 7 years, and Elisa from Australia. These ladies gave our table flawless service. If you don't care for something that comes with the entree ask for something diffent. I learned, here on Disboard, that you could do this. Green beans were not on the menu, but I asked anyway since it's about the only greenie I like. Prudence brought my dinner with green beans.
The embarkment party was a crowded, noisy raucious event but our Disboard group agreed to meet on deck 10 and I didn't want to miss that. Most were having a good time at the party (including our kids thanks to Turk's family's supply of bubbles), but if I had a dollar for every kid I saw having a meltdown at the party (or at dinner and other places on the ship), I'd be rich. This is another thing to be prepared for if this is your first cruise with your little ones. It's quite overwhelming!
Sunday Character Breakfast and Key West
I got up early to use the gym. At 6:30, when it opened, there were three others with me. By the time I got off the treadmill at 7:10, there was a short line of people waiting for machines. Character breakfast is a great photo/autograph opportunity with breakfast thrown in. It's hard to eat because when the character shows up you have about 20 seconds to pose for the camera and get an autograph. We didn't bring an autograph book but our assistant server, what a sweetheart, she made sure the kids got an autographed photo that she gave them on the last night of the cruise.
The plan was to have breakfast as a family but the kids would go to the club/lab afterward so my husband and I could enjoy a little shopping in Key West. We did get to experience Key West but not until later in the afternoon. When it came time to drop our 4 year old off, she was uncharacteristacly hysterical about us leaving, so we took her to lunch with us onboard and back to the room for a little nap. After the nap, she was much more amicable to going to the club. Sometimes, you just have to roll with it. Off to Key West for a couple hours of strolling the shops and enjoying some time alone before returning for dinner. Our tablemates were already at the table when we arrived and the little girl had arranged that our son was to sit next to her. So cute! We watched the sunset from our veranda. My son said it looked like the sun melted into the ocean. Sounds about right. I can't remember what we did that night. I know we were all pretty tired. Middle ds didn't seem too thrilled with the club experience that day. I didn't really pick up on it, but the next day he made his displeasure known. At some point, we registered for internet service. 89.00 for the week. We never had a problem finding an open station. The connection speed wasn't too bad.
Monday At Sea
Believe it or not, it was already time to do some laundry. Early, I took most of our dirty clothes to the laundrette (1.00 per load to wash, dry, buy soap or softener. Change machine on site), but Dh wanted me to send his shirts out. By now we had met our room host, Richie, and decided he was highly competent. Since he said it was okay to bag and tag the outgoing laundry with the provided laundry bag and leave it in the room, I did just that. I was anxious that the shirts would still be there when we came back later in the day, but they were gone.
After breakfast at Lumiere's, the boys went to the lab and my daughter wanted to try out the pool. Oh, goodness, I was thinking, it's going to be hot, crowded, slippery and loud. It was, but I gave it a go. The deck was tricky to navigate with so many kids running this way and that. Be warned, these kids (and some of their parents) are focused on where they are going and will run into you and over you and your small children. Try not to take offense or feel put out becuase it's probably going to be your kids or you doing the same thing to someone else later. A deck chair right next to the Mickey pool opened up soon after we arrived. My daughter played in the water while I secured that chair before heading over to the shopping kiosk to get a book. I was waiting to pay when three teenagers ran through, knocking my book to the floor and just about sending me sprawling as well. Not funny. Thank goodness my little daughter wasn't by my side or anyone else's little child. My tablemate and her daughter had arrived at the pool and at the same time the chair next to me became available. We had a fine time chatting, eating cookies and drinking diet soda while the girls played. My daughter was ready for a nap afterward. So, instead of dh and I taking the bridge tour together, I went first, then he went. Afterward, he went to the beer tasting. He was ready for a nap after that and I was able to go to bingo while dh and daughter slept. Bingo was fun even though I didn't win. The Bingo hostess, Cass, keeps things lively. Sometime before dinner dh and I took a walk all around the ship. We found the cozy sun deck on deck 7 and made a mental note to come back when we wanted some quiet and sun. (never happened) Also, at some point before dinner, we were paged by our middle son to get him out of the club. He was not liking it! Too noisy and daycare like. He wanted less structure and more time on the computer. No problem, After dinner, we took him to the the Lab and the staff welcomed him there. Ahhh, much better.
Formal night - so much for all my well-made plans. Forgot to pack the boys new dress shoes! They wore suits and ties and their sandals. I got to try escargot at dinner. If you don't know this by now, you can order anything and as much as you want from the menu. I'm not big on desert but I regularly ordered two appetizers. Anything new to us, we had to try. I think this was the night of the Golden Mickies. We all enjoyed that show. I liked seeing all the dressed up children. So cute.
By now, we were certain we lucked out with getting our room host Richie. He was cheerful, even playful and extremely competent . Anything we asked, he did. Dh asked him to keep the cooler iced, and he did. If he was in the hall near our room and saw us coming he'd opened the door for us. Of course, the kids got a kick out of the towel animals, and something they looked forward to each night was discovering what Richie did with their stuffed toys. One night, they were tucked in. One night the poodle was wearing my hair clips. Another night the towel animal was wearing my daughter's cotton slip and posed to look like she was reading a magazine.
Tuesday - Grand Cayman during the day - Palos at Night
Our Grand Cayman excursion was the Stringray City trip I booked independently through Captain Marvin's(less expensive and smaller group than booking with DCL). The tour met at 10 am, so I wanted to take the earliest tended possible. As it turned out, taking an early tender meant very little waiting. If I hadn't read about the tender process on this board, I might have been annoyed or a little anxious about what to expect given the tender time was 9:30. What was interesting about the island was that you could see the island was nowhere near recovered from last fall's hurricanes. One of the families on our tour told us how they had arrived at their hotel to find it wasn't inhabitable and that unbeknown to them they were being accommodated elsewhere. That must have been a nasty shock. There were three stops including Stingray City. It's been a long time since I've had the opportunity to snorkel. I was so excited. Dh and I took turns staying with our daughter on the boat while the other one snorkelled. During the second stop, one of the ladies said said she didn't want to get back in the water and volunteered to watch our daughter. Dh was disappointed that the boys didn't "dig" the stingray experience as much as he did, but I would have been surprised if they had. They'd never snorkeled or been in the open ocean before. There's a videographer who records the excursion and sells the tape or dvd (to which island music is added) at the end of the trip. It's fifty bucks for the vhs and sixty-five for the dvd (shipping included).
We got back on the ship too late for lunch so we ordered room service. I was surprised how quickly the food came. Very nice, big tip for that. Dd and I had an appointment for hair braiding that afternoon. Someone on the boat told me to give my daughter a bowl of ice cream from Scoops to keep her busy and distracted while the lady braided her hair. It worked like a charm.
Fast forward....Palos night! Maybe, I don't get out enough, but this was the best meal I ever had! The food, the service, the relaxing atmosphere (not to mention not having to pay a babysitter). Dh ordered a bottle of wine. I don't drink wine, so there was half a bottle left at the end of the meal. Milan recorked it so dh could enjoy the rest of it during our regular dinner rotation. Speaking of Milan, I can see why people ask for him as their server. Up to that night I felt the deserts were hit or miss. On this night I had a desert so wonderful we booked another cruise so I could have it again. (only a slight exageration) It was the chocolate souffle. I'm going to order two next time.
Wednesday - Cozumel
I had booked a dune buggy tour through travelnotes.cc. It was to start at 10:30, so I was anxious about getting off the boat as soon as possible. We got in line before the door opened. By the time the doors opened, the line to disembark was up to at least deck three. As expected, as soon as we hit the streets of Cozumel there were crowds of tour/taxi peddlers types asking us if we needed a car/a ride/a tour guide, etc. Finding our meeting place was slightly harrowing because areas we needed to walk through were blocked off due to construction. I described this trip on the following thread. http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=771614
We missed our dinner rotation(Pirate's Night) because the tour ran long.
Topsider's was fine but I was bummed about missing Pirate night. Everyone, guests and cruisemates alike were very excited about it. Dh and I went back into Cozumel to buy some souvenirs and gifts. I wasn't in the shopping mode but we bought a couple blankets and some duty-free stuff. Dh got a couple "special" cigars for a friend. He was so worn out from the day, he fell asleep in his clothes, glasses still on, pager and camera attached to his belt. I put the kids to bed and went up to deck 9 for the Pirate party. Another loud, crowded but fun party. I just wanted to see the fireworks. They were just okay. The buffet looked good but I wasn't hungry. If there was one square foot of space to stand or sit still and just people watch, I would have stayed.
Thursday-At Sea-Palos brunch, Bingo, Disney Dream at Night
It was a great day but a full one. We let the kids pick the breakfast location since dh and I had brunch reservations at Palo's and weren't going to eat breakfast. They picked Topsiders because the cereal selection included Mud and Bugs, something they would never be allowed to have at home. After breakfast we took the littler two to age group location and oldest ds checked himself in. By now, dh and I were reconciled to the idea that our oldest son was happiest in the Lab. Breakfast was the last we saw of him until bedtime. (Given the choice, he probably would have skipped Cozumel and Grand Cayman to stay in the Lab.) No chocolate souffle at brunch, but the waiter, Salvatore, did offer to ask the chef to make me one. I declined that offer. Salvatore's brother is a waiter there, too. I can tell they are very popular with the guests at Palo's. We tried a little of everything, even caviar, but I would have been just as happy eating the Alaskan King crab legs (served cut open) all afternoon. It's been a long time since I've had such perfectly prepared and tasty crab legs. After brunch, check my email, shop, buy bingo pack. Bingo seem to be on everyone's lips. The jackpot was over 3500 dollars after the morning session. Younger ds wanted to play too, so when I went to get his sister out of the club for her nap, I got him too. DD insisted she was hungry even though I know she at the club. She wanted french fries. I ran up to deck 9 and picked up chicken tenders, french fries, soda, cookies and ice cream and brought it back to the room for both of them. It doesn't take much to delight my children. Just some junk food and movies. Preferably at the same time. Something they rarely get at home. We didn't win anything at bingo, but I felt like I had already won a lottery of sorts getting room and onboard credit upgrades. The most annoying girls were sitting behind us. They were loud and shrill and screamed everytime a number was called. It was obvious everyone around them was irritated. Interestingly enough they never cheered when someone actually won. Not much else happened that night. It was semiformal night. We were in Lumiere's. It struck me for the millionth time how unique a DC is when I watched the little children from our table and the one next to ours get down from the table and start playing by the window and between our tables and fool and tease with the waiters. Is there any other place in the world where kids are encouraged by the wait staff to do this? Can you imagine it any fine restaurant? I think Prudence was having as much fun as them. As for the show that night, I think it was Disney Dreams. Dh and I weren't as into it as the kids. I left after about five minutes to go do the laundry. It was hopping. This was also the night of the dessert buffet. The food art was beautiful. I met a fascinating father and daughter from California. I enjoyed their company more than the desert.
Friday - Castaway Cay
I purposely didn't plan a thing for this day except to be ready to hit the beach as soon as possible. Good thing, the open water excursions were cancelled due to choppy seas. We brought our own floats and snorkeling gear. We also brought walkie talkies so dh could go snorkeling or I could go shopping and not lose track of each other. We were able to live out this day just the way we wanted to. The kids played by the water. Dh and I sipped cold drinks and alternately read, talked and watched the kids. Eventually dh went off to snorkel. Dd and I got some barbecue together and shopped a little before I took her to the Scavenger's Cove (?). There was a brief little rain (couldn't even call it a shower or storm) during this time. Dh came back from snorkeling early. He said there wasn't much to see. More hurricane damage I guess. The water was cold, too and that side of island was windy. The rest of us ate, then the boys went back to playing. We left at three o'clock so the kids could shower and go to the club for the "rehearsal" before the "show". At five o'clock, we parents went to the theatre to watch the Club/lab kids "graduate". It's really cute. They wear Mickey ear mortarboards and their Club tee shirts and file on stage to the accompaniment of music. I think their were about 300 kids on stage. There's a slide show of the kids. Very cute. Our daughter took off her cap and her club tee shirt while she was on stage. She had a shirt on underneath but it's not the way a parent wants their daughter to behave..taking her clothes off on a stage.
Dinner was kind of sad but everyone acted as cheerful as possible. I won't go into what Friday night turned into weatherwise. Everyone knows about the storm. Honestly, the kids and I slept through most of it. Dh told me about the slamming closet doors later. I was kind of wondering Saturday morning how our toothbrushes wound up on the floor.
Saturday
Disembarking wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. After breakfast we joined the others who were already lining up for disembarkment. Once the doors opened, about 15 minutes later, it was probably another 20 minutes before we reached the immigration agent. As soon as we hit the bottom of the escalator, we saw a porter shouting, "Who needs help with their luggage". I waved him over as I shouted, "We do". Dh pointed out our suitcases, he loaded up his cart and got us through the line, out of there and at the curb in minutes.
And that's how it ended. We took the shuttle back to our car and we drove home.
Sometime during that week we managed to take a few pictures, meet a lot of great people and have the most perfect vacation we've ever had. And we booked another cruise.
Dh's best part - The dune buggy trip
My favorite part - Not sure I can pick just one! Palos, seeing my family, especially my husband, enjoy themselves so much.
Oldest Ds - The Lab!!!
Middle Ds- The dune buggy, playing Worm World (?) in the lab
Dd's favorite - Not sure, she's only four
Arrangements made beforehand:
~Declined Disney's travel insurance and found better and cheaper insurance on www.insuremytrip.com (learned that here)
~Decided to drive instead of fly - with 2 adults and 3 kids we saved over a $1,000 with this decision.
~wrote our names with Marvie markers on anything that could get seperated from us at some point.
~Booked a room at the Radisson at Cape Canaveral for Friday night. - Cost $119.00 but we could keep the car there for free (70.00 to park at port). (learned that in the Passporter)
~Called the Radisson a month before the trip to reserve a spot on the 10:00am shuttle to the port.
~Booked Stingray City directly through Cpt. Marvin's in Grand Cayman and a dune buggy tour through www.travelnotes.cc for Cozumel. (learned that here)
~Stocked up on small bills for tips and quarters for laundry
~Studied our Passporter's Guide
~Spent lots of time on this board reading
~Ordered Trip-tick from AAA.
~Thought long and hard about how little or how much to book or reserve ahead of time, whether the photo ops with characters were important to us if it meant spending time in line and having one more thing to remember
~Discussed whether making it to our dinner seating was as important as enjoying whatever we were doing in port. (read stories about family mayhem and ******* over making it to dinner)
~Discussed, as a couple, our expectations for the cruise and what kind of situations might arise and how we could handle them. (learned a lot about what could happen from reading this board)
~Talked up the Club and the Lab, let the kids watch the DCL dvd a lot
~Prepared daughter for hair braiding. Explained that the braider will have to pull on her head and it might hurt a little.
The trip to Florida
Thursday, April 7 - Friday, April 8 ~ We left New Jersey around 6:30pm. No rush hour traffic. About 1 am, Dh wanted to stop for the night and finish the drive early Friday morning. I convinced him that we should go straight through in order to have more time to relax at the Radisson and do any last minute shopping. That turned out to be a good plan. Our room was ready early so he took a shower and a nap while I took the kids shopping, got a little lunch and a manicure. When I got back, he took the kids to the pool (lovely pool with a waterfall) while I refreshed. We had plenty of time to have a nice dinner and shop at Ron Jon's Surf Shop before going to bed.
Saturday, April 9 - We ate at the breakfast buffet in the hotel to save time. The servers there are peppy! It helps set the mood for the day since most of their Saturday morning guests are setting out on a cruise. In line at the omelette station, I started talking with a lady who turned out, later, to be one of our tablemates.
After breakfast, dh brought the luggage to the lobby. Standing outside on the portico were several people with luggage, so Dh told me to find out what the shuttle procedure was. I went out there and asked a man with a clipboard where we should queue up. Turns out he was waiting for us! We were slotted for the first van. No wait for us, off we went.
We arrived at the port a few minutes before 10am. Not many people had arrived. When it was time to open the gates, a luggage handler questioned me about our collapsible wheeled cooler but accepted my answer about it being a carry-on piece of luggage.
Checking in. No line. At check-in we got a surprise. We now had adjoining rooms with verandas on deck 6 instead of connecting (but not adjoining) oceanview rooms on deck 2. We took our happy selves to the embarkment line. With an hour wait ahead of us, we sent the kids off to watch cartoons. Dh and I chatted with a Disboard couple behind us in line, discussed what night we wanted to have dinner and brunch at Palos based on the dinner rotation printed on our Key to the World cards.
Once onboard, we headed straight for Rocking Bar D to make our Palos reservations. When you walked in there were different lines for each day of the week. Knowing our dinner rotation and planning around it before getting to this line made the process stress-free. I stood in the Tuesday line for dinner and dh stood in the Thurday line for brunch. Mission accomplished, we went to lunch at the Parrot's Cove.
The rest of the day was a blur. We registered the kids (4,7 and 10) for the Club and the Lab. A tiny whiff of trouble wafted through the room. Our 7 year old didn't like the looks of the Club but he warily agreed to give it a try. By then it was almost time for the drill. Quick trip to the room to drop off bags and ooh and ah over our rooms. Dh and I oohed and ahhed over the upgraded onboard credit that came with our upgraded rooms. Our 75.00 per room credit had doubled. The drill was painlessl since no one was incredibly late. Our first dinner was at Animators. I was a little anxious about whether we'd have tablemates and if we would all like each other. The other family was a mother(who I had met at earlier that day), about my age, her aunt, and her daughter (same age as my daughter). DCL picked well. They were delightful company. Our serving team was Prudence, from Jamaica and with the Magic the past 7 years, and Elisa from Australia. These ladies gave our table flawless service. If you don't care for something that comes with the entree ask for something diffent. I learned, here on Disboard, that you could do this. Green beans were not on the menu, but I asked anyway since it's about the only greenie I like. Prudence brought my dinner with green beans.
The embarkment party was a crowded, noisy raucious event but our Disboard group agreed to meet on deck 10 and I didn't want to miss that. Most were having a good time at the party (including our kids thanks to Turk's family's supply of bubbles), but if I had a dollar for every kid I saw having a meltdown at the party (or at dinner and other places on the ship), I'd be rich. This is another thing to be prepared for if this is your first cruise with your little ones. It's quite overwhelming!
Sunday Character Breakfast and Key West
I got up early to use the gym. At 6:30, when it opened, there were three others with me. By the time I got off the treadmill at 7:10, there was a short line of people waiting for machines. Character breakfast is a great photo/autograph opportunity with breakfast thrown in. It's hard to eat because when the character shows up you have about 20 seconds to pose for the camera and get an autograph. We didn't bring an autograph book but our assistant server, what a sweetheart, she made sure the kids got an autographed photo that she gave them on the last night of the cruise.
The plan was to have breakfast as a family but the kids would go to the club/lab afterward so my husband and I could enjoy a little shopping in Key West. We did get to experience Key West but not until later in the afternoon. When it came time to drop our 4 year old off, she was uncharacteristacly hysterical about us leaving, so we took her to lunch with us onboard and back to the room for a little nap. After the nap, she was much more amicable to going to the club. Sometimes, you just have to roll with it. Off to Key West for a couple hours of strolling the shops and enjoying some time alone before returning for dinner. Our tablemates were already at the table when we arrived and the little girl had arranged that our son was to sit next to her. So cute! We watched the sunset from our veranda. My son said it looked like the sun melted into the ocean. Sounds about right. I can't remember what we did that night. I know we were all pretty tired. Middle ds didn't seem too thrilled with the club experience that day. I didn't really pick up on it, but the next day he made his displeasure known. At some point, we registered for internet service. 89.00 for the week. We never had a problem finding an open station. The connection speed wasn't too bad.
Monday At Sea
Believe it or not, it was already time to do some laundry. Early, I took most of our dirty clothes to the laundrette (1.00 per load to wash, dry, buy soap or softener. Change machine on site), but Dh wanted me to send his shirts out. By now we had met our room host, Richie, and decided he was highly competent. Since he said it was okay to bag and tag the outgoing laundry with the provided laundry bag and leave it in the room, I did just that. I was anxious that the shirts would still be there when we came back later in the day, but they were gone.
After breakfast at Lumiere's, the boys went to the lab and my daughter wanted to try out the pool. Oh, goodness, I was thinking, it's going to be hot, crowded, slippery and loud. It was, but I gave it a go. The deck was tricky to navigate with so many kids running this way and that. Be warned, these kids (and some of their parents) are focused on where they are going and will run into you and over you and your small children. Try not to take offense or feel put out becuase it's probably going to be your kids or you doing the same thing to someone else later. A deck chair right next to the Mickey pool opened up soon after we arrived. My daughter played in the water while I secured that chair before heading over to the shopping kiosk to get a book. I was waiting to pay when three teenagers ran through, knocking my book to the floor and just about sending me sprawling as well. Not funny. Thank goodness my little daughter wasn't by my side or anyone else's little child. My tablemate and her daughter had arrived at the pool and at the same time the chair next to me became available. We had a fine time chatting, eating cookies and drinking diet soda while the girls played. My daughter was ready for a nap afterward. So, instead of dh and I taking the bridge tour together, I went first, then he went. Afterward, he went to the beer tasting. He was ready for a nap after that and I was able to go to bingo while dh and daughter slept. Bingo was fun even though I didn't win. The Bingo hostess, Cass, keeps things lively. Sometime before dinner dh and I took a walk all around the ship. We found the cozy sun deck on deck 7 and made a mental note to come back when we wanted some quiet and sun. (never happened) Also, at some point before dinner, we were paged by our middle son to get him out of the club. He was not liking it! Too noisy and daycare like. He wanted less structure and more time on the computer. No problem, After dinner, we took him to the the Lab and the staff welcomed him there. Ahhh, much better.
Formal night - so much for all my well-made plans. Forgot to pack the boys new dress shoes! They wore suits and ties and their sandals. I got to try escargot at dinner. If you don't know this by now, you can order anything and as much as you want from the menu. I'm not big on desert but I regularly ordered two appetizers. Anything new to us, we had to try. I think this was the night of the Golden Mickies. We all enjoyed that show. I liked seeing all the dressed up children. So cute.
By now, we were certain we lucked out with getting our room host Richie. He was cheerful, even playful and extremely competent . Anything we asked, he did. Dh asked him to keep the cooler iced, and he did. If he was in the hall near our room and saw us coming he'd opened the door for us. Of course, the kids got a kick out of the towel animals, and something they looked forward to each night was discovering what Richie did with their stuffed toys. One night, they were tucked in. One night the poodle was wearing my hair clips. Another night the towel animal was wearing my daughter's cotton slip and posed to look like she was reading a magazine.
Tuesday - Grand Cayman during the day - Palos at Night
Our Grand Cayman excursion was the Stringray City trip I booked independently through Captain Marvin's(less expensive and smaller group than booking with DCL). The tour met at 10 am, so I wanted to take the earliest tended possible. As it turned out, taking an early tender meant very little waiting. If I hadn't read about the tender process on this board, I might have been annoyed or a little anxious about what to expect given the tender time was 9:30. What was interesting about the island was that you could see the island was nowhere near recovered from last fall's hurricanes. One of the families on our tour told us how they had arrived at their hotel to find it wasn't inhabitable and that unbeknown to them they were being accommodated elsewhere. That must have been a nasty shock. There were three stops including Stingray City. It's been a long time since I've had the opportunity to snorkel. I was so excited. Dh and I took turns staying with our daughter on the boat while the other one snorkelled. During the second stop, one of the ladies said said she didn't want to get back in the water and volunteered to watch our daughter. Dh was disappointed that the boys didn't "dig" the stingray experience as much as he did, but I would have been surprised if they had. They'd never snorkeled or been in the open ocean before. There's a videographer who records the excursion and sells the tape or dvd (to which island music is added) at the end of the trip. It's fifty bucks for the vhs and sixty-five for the dvd (shipping included).
We got back on the ship too late for lunch so we ordered room service. I was surprised how quickly the food came. Very nice, big tip for that. Dd and I had an appointment for hair braiding that afternoon. Someone on the boat told me to give my daughter a bowl of ice cream from Scoops to keep her busy and distracted while the lady braided her hair. It worked like a charm.
Fast forward....Palos night! Maybe, I don't get out enough, but this was the best meal I ever had! The food, the service, the relaxing atmosphere (not to mention not having to pay a babysitter). Dh ordered a bottle of wine. I don't drink wine, so there was half a bottle left at the end of the meal. Milan recorked it so dh could enjoy the rest of it during our regular dinner rotation. Speaking of Milan, I can see why people ask for him as their server. Up to that night I felt the deserts were hit or miss. On this night I had a desert so wonderful we booked another cruise so I could have it again. (only a slight exageration) It was the chocolate souffle. I'm going to order two next time.
Wednesday - Cozumel
I had booked a dune buggy tour through travelnotes.cc. It was to start at 10:30, so I was anxious about getting off the boat as soon as possible. We got in line before the door opened. By the time the doors opened, the line to disembark was up to at least deck three. As expected, as soon as we hit the streets of Cozumel there were crowds of tour/taxi peddlers types asking us if we needed a car/a ride/a tour guide, etc. Finding our meeting place was slightly harrowing because areas we needed to walk through were blocked off due to construction. I described this trip on the following thread. http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=771614
We missed our dinner rotation(Pirate's Night) because the tour ran long.
Topsider's was fine but I was bummed about missing Pirate night. Everyone, guests and cruisemates alike were very excited about it. Dh and I went back into Cozumel to buy some souvenirs and gifts. I wasn't in the shopping mode but we bought a couple blankets and some duty-free stuff. Dh got a couple "special" cigars for a friend. He was so worn out from the day, he fell asleep in his clothes, glasses still on, pager and camera attached to his belt. I put the kids to bed and went up to deck 9 for the Pirate party. Another loud, crowded but fun party. I just wanted to see the fireworks. They were just okay. The buffet looked good but I wasn't hungry. If there was one square foot of space to stand or sit still and just people watch, I would have stayed. Thursday-At Sea-Palos brunch, Bingo, Disney Dream at Night
It was a great day but a full one. We let the kids pick the breakfast location since dh and I had brunch reservations at Palo's and weren't going to eat breakfast. They picked Topsiders because the cereal selection included Mud and Bugs, something they would never be allowed to have at home. After breakfast we took the littler two to age group location and oldest ds checked himself in. By now, dh and I were reconciled to the idea that our oldest son was happiest in the Lab. Breakfast was the last we saw of him until bedtime. (Given the choice, he probably would have skipped Cozumel and Grand Cayman to stay in the Lab.) No chocolate souffle at brunch, but the waiter, Salvatore, did offer to ask the chef to make me one. I declined that offer. Salvatore's brother is a waiter there, too. I can tell they are very popular with the guests at Palo's. We tried a little of everything, even caviar, but I would have been just as happy eating the Alaskan King crab legs (served cut open) all afternoon. It's been a long time since I've had such perfectly prepared and tasty crab legs. After brunch, check my email, shop, buy bingo pack. Bingo seem to be on everyone's lips. The jackpot was over 3500 dollars after the morning session. Younger ds wanted to play too, so when I went to get his sister out of the club for her nap, I got him too. DD insisted she was hungry even though I know she at the club. She wanted french fries. I ran up to deck 9 and picked up chicken tenders, french fries, soda, cookies and ice cream and brought it back to the room for both of them. It doesn't take much to delight my children. Just some junk food and movies. Preferably at the same time. Something they rarely get at home. We didn't win anything at bingo, but I felt like I had already won a lottery of sorts getting room and onboard credit upgrades. The most annoying girls were sitting behind us. They were loud and shrill and screamed everytime a number was called. It was obvious everyone around them was irritated. Interestingly enough they never cheered when someone actually won. Not much else happened that night. It was semiformal night. We were in Lumiere's. It struck me for the millionth time how unique a DC is when I watched the little children from our table and the one next to ours get down from the table and start playing by the window and between our tables and fool and tease with the waiters. Is there any other place in the world where kids are encouraged by the wait staff to do this? Can you imagine it any fine restaurant? I think Prudence was having as much fun as them. As for the show that night, I think it was Disney Dreams. Dh and I weren't as into it as the kids. I left after about five minutes to go do the laundry. It was hopping. This was also the night of the dessert buffet. The food art was beautiful. I met a fascinating father and daughter from California. I enjoyed their company more than the desert.
Friday - Castaway Cay
I purposely didn't plan a thing for this day except to be ready to hit the beach as soon as possible. Good thing, the open water excursions were cancelled due to choppy seas. We brought our own floats and snorkeling gear. We also brought walkie talkies so dh could go snorkeling or I could go shopping and not lose track of each other. We were able to live out this day just the way we wanted to. The kids played by the water. Dh and I sipped cold drinks and alternately read, talked and watched the kids. Eventually dh went off to snorkel. Dd and I got some barbecue together and shopped a little before I took her to the Scavenger's Cove (?). There was a brief little rain (couldn't even call it a shower or storm) during this time. Dh came back from snorkeling early. He said there wasn't much to see. More hurricane damage I guess. The water was cold, too and that side of island was windy. The rest of us ate, then the boys went back to playing. We left at three o'clock so the kids could shower and go to the club for the "rehearsal" before the "show". At five o'clock, we parents went to the theatre to watch the Club/lab kids "graduate". It's really cute. They wear Mickey ear mortarboards and their Club tee shirts and file on stage to the accompaniment of music. I think their were about 300 kids on stage. There's a slide show of the kids. Very cute. Our daughter took off her cap and her club tee shirt while she was on stage. She had a shirt on underneath but it's not the way a parent wants their daughter to behave..taking her clothes off on a stage.
Dinner was kind of sad but everyone acted as cheerful as possible. I won't go into what Friday night turned into weatherwise. Everyone knows about the storm. Honestly, the kids and I slept through most of it. Dh told me about the slamming closet doors later. I was kind of wondering Saturday morning how our toothbrushes wound up on the floor. Saturday
Disembarking wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. After breakfast we joined the others who were already lining up for disembarkment. Once the doors opened, about 15 minutes later, it was probably another 20 minutes before we reached the immigration agent. As soon as we hit the bottom of the escalator, we saw a porter shouting, "Who needs help with their luggage". I waved him over as I shouted, "We do". Dh pointed out our suitcases, he loaded up his cart and got us through the line, out of there and at the curb in minutes.
And that's how it ended. We took the shuttle back to our car and we drove home.
Sometime during that week we managed to take a few pictures, meet a lot of great people and have the most perfect vacation we've ever had. And we booked another cruise.
Dh's best part - The dune buggy trip
My favorite part - Not sure I can pick just one! Palos, seeing my family, especially my husband, enjoy themselves so much.
Oldest Ds - The Lab!!!
Middle Ds- The dune buggy, playing Worm World (?) in the lab
Dd's favorite - Not sure, she's only four
I'd say you remembered a lot! I'm glad you had such a Magical experience. The memories and friendships are the kind that can last a lifetime! Our kids were 4, 10 & 13 on our first cruise and we haven't missed a year since. They are now 9,15, and 18 and don't ever want a different vacation! 
I hope your next is as enjoyable as this one was. We worried before oour second cruise that maybe we had built it up too much in our minds - but not so! We have never been disappointed. 
