Well, we sure had an adventure that I can say.
SAT - We ended up in the parking lot at the port on the bus for 3 hours because of a bomb threat and by the time we got to our room and got in about 20 minutes of swimming time, my 5 year old fell dead asleep and I missed the first night's show and dinner! Our luggage didn't make it to the stateroom until almost 9:30, and our shore excursion tickets NEVER showed up. I snuck out of the room to try to tour the ship a bit and to book Tea with Wendy, which was completely full by then. I ended up ordering room service and bucket of beer and hanging out watching TV in the room while my daugher slept.
SUN - My daughter woke up the next morning with a 103 degree fever! Thanks goodness we were upgraded to a Cat4 on Deck 8 because that was closest to the food and the beverage station and I was apparently going to spend more time in the room then I had planned. Around noon I finally got her up to try the pool and couldn't find a chair or anything because it was way too crowded! I then ended up slipping on the pool deck and really hurting my arm. My parents were with me so I took some time to myself on Deck 10 and spent about 20 minutes bawling my eyes out. I booked a facial in the spa and the gal there was so high pressure, trying to get me to buy all sorts of products that I simply hadn't budgeted for, it was really uncomfortable. I also booked a Cabana Massage for Castaway Cay, hoping my daughter would feel better by then. I missed the Golden Mickey Show because my daughter was asleep but I did get her up for Formal Night which was a complete disaster - I should have stayed in the room with her. Went back to the room by 9:30 and just went to bed.
MON - Still 103 degree fever, but now she is complaining she wants to go to the kids area. I refused to take her until the fever was gone and all she did was mope and cry. I am sure she wasn't having any fun at all. I did get a chair at the pool this time and let her swim for a while. After a nap she was re-energized and even though I missed the Hercules show, we did get to go to Animators Palate and she seemed to enjoy that. Back to the room and asleep by 10:00.
TUE - we had a shore excursion in St. Maartens to Orient Beach. Fever down to 101. Day wasn't too bad, actually had a bit of fun on the beach until my father lost his glasses in the ocean, decided to take a walk down the beach, and ended up getting lost for 30 minutes, right at the time the buses were taking us back to the ship. We barely made the last bus - he was so lost! On the way back, our bus almost hit a goat and almost got involved in a head on collision with another vehicle. Of course by then we were all tired and crabby and didn't make any of the shopping. Went to the shore excursion desk and they were kind enough to cancel our shore excursion for St. Thomas. Considering I had a sick kid I wasn't going, even if I had to pay for it! But they let me cancel after a bit of pleading - I think they saw in my eyes I was about to lose it. They even gave me free Children's Motrin (which I used all of!) I took my daughter to see the Pooh movie and I did get to make the Pirates in the Carribean Dinner so I was happy. Still, in bed by 10:00.
WED - FEVER BROKE! Oh boy was I excited. Had to get up and present ourselves to customs, but since we canceled our excursion, we didn't have to go until the last time slot. Since the fever broke, I finally let her go to the Kids Club for a bit and once she was there I could NOT get her to leave. I think so many days of sleeping brought out all of her energy and I know she was tired of mom by then. So we left her and went shopping in St. Thomas. Bought some nice diamonds- good trip! Went back to pick her up and she had no desire to leave - Goofy's sleepover was that night. I got to see the show finally and did make it to my dinner seating. FINALLY, a decent day made even better watching the family who missed the ship trying to get on it after we had already left to dock! How funny! My dad spoke with the Captain who said in 9 years he has only seen that happen 3 times. That and the bomb scare, both were relatively never seen events, and we had both happen on this trip!
THU - we had the character breakfast in the morning and got out about 10:15ish. I decided to cancel my 11:00 Cabana Massage for the next day (too much money spent in St. Thomas!) and the gal in the spa wouldn't LET ME! Now granted, it was close, but it still WAS 24 hours notice. She said she would try to rebook it and if she could she wouldn't charge me but otherwise I needed to show up or be charged. She said she would call to let me know. I was pissed, I don't think I will ever go back to the spa again personally. Other than that, Thursday was pretty good - my daughter wanted to swim and we got a lot of that in, even though by then, some of the parents and kids were getting just plain cranky and tired. In fact, the parents were acting worse than the kids most of the time! I did have to yell at a few of the kids who were just plain bullies. I think by that time people were getting tired but I saw a few of the older boys kick, punch and hit the younger kids in the pool, and a lot of adults just complaining for complaning's sake. I think people were getting too spoiled. I got to see the show that night and I did get to go to the Piano Bar and see the Comedian in the Rockin D Bar as well as do the 70's Dance Party. There is a crewmember named Travis from South Africa who is such a stitch! Spend some time with him if you can, he is darling! I ended up picking up my daughter from the kids area at about 12:30 and she was wide awake and having a blast! Best day of the cruise!
FRI - woke up early to get a good seat at Castaway Cay. It was definitely COLD, but I learned later that most of the recent cruises hadn't even been able to stop at all due to bad weather. I showed up for my Cabana Massage but they had booked someone during my time and neglected to inform me. Left the Island early, it was too cold and I didn't want to risk any more illness! My daughter was in the Graduation ceremony from the Kids Club and of course, she wouldn't leave afterwards. I ended up picking her up at 10:00 hoping to catch the farewell show in the atrium, but she was out cold.
I know I am missing some stuff here because I also got to see the Pacifier (which was AWFUL!), I lost my drivers license at some point and my mother lost her birth certificate, but I sort of stopped keeping count after a while!
All that being said - we booked another trip for next year! The lady who took care of our room knew my daughter was sick and bent over backwards to give her a great time, even though she barely left the room for days. She took really great care of me too, knowing I was going through hell with my daughter being so sick! Our servers in the dining room were so thoughtful and helpful and accomodating. The activites coordinators (Especially Travis-you HAVE to meet him, he is amazing!) were always there helping to get you involved, and the counselors for the kids were fantastic!
Next year we are doing the Western Side and I personally can't wait! My finacee and I are even considering getting married on the ship (he couldn't make it this year... ) Let's hope for no bomb scares, no fevers, and definitely, no spa appointments!
SAT - We ended up in the parking lot at the port on the bus for 3 hours because of a bomb threat and by the time we got to our room and got in about 20 minutes of swimming time, my 5 year old fell dead asleep and I missed the first night's show and dinner! Our luggage didn't make it to the stateroom until almost 9:30, and our shore excursion tickets NEVER showed up. I snuck out of the room to try to tour the ship a bit and to book Tea with Wendy, which was completely full by then. I ended up ordering room service and bucket of beer and hanging out watching TV in the room while my daugher slept.
SUN - My daughter woke up the next morning with a 103 degree fever! Thanks goodness we were upgraded to a Cat4 on Deck 8 because that was closest to the food and the beverage station and I was apparently going to spend more time in the room then I had planned. Around noon I finally got her up to try the pool and couldn't find a chair or anything because it was way too crowded! I then ended up slipping on the pool deck and really hurting my arm. My parents were with me so I took some time to myself on Deck 10 and spent about 20 minutes bawling my eyes out. I booked a facial in the spa and the gal there was so high pressure, trying to get me to buy all sorts of products that I simply hadn't budgeted for, it was really uncomfortable. I also booked a Cabana Massage for Castaway Cay, hoping my daughter would feel better by then. I missed the Golden Mickey Show because my daughter was asleep but I did get her up for Formal Night which was a complete disaster - I should have stayed in the room with her. Went back to the room by 9:30 and just went to bed.
MON - Still 103 degree fever, but now she is complaining she wants to go to the kids area. I refused to take her until the fever was gone and all she did was mope and cry. I am sure she wasn't having any fun at all. I did get a chair at the pool this time and let her swim for a while. After a nap she was re-energized and even though I missed the Hercules show, we did get to go to Animators Palate and she seemed to enjoy that. Back to the room and asleep by 10:00.
TUE - we had a shore excursion in St. Maartens to Orient Beach. Fever down to 101. Day wasn't too bad, actually had a bit of fun on the beach until my father lost his glasses in the ocean, decided to take a walk down the beach, and ended up getting lost for 30 minutes, right at the time the buses were taking us back to the ship. We barely made the last bus - he was so lost! On the way back, our bus almost hit a goat and almost got involved in a head on collision with another vehicle. Of course by then we were all tired and crabby and didn't make any of the shopping. Went to the shore excursion desk and they were kind enough to cancel our shore excursion for St. Thomas. Considering I had a sick kid I wasn't going, even if I had to pay for it! But they let me cancel after a bit of pleading - I think they saw in my eyes I was about to lose it. They even gave me free Children's Motrin (which I used all of!) I took my daughter to see the Pooh movie and I did get to make the Pirates in the Carribean Dinner so I was happy. Still, in bed by 10:00.
WED - FEVER BROKE! Oh boy was I excited. Had to get up and present ourselves to customs, but since we canceled our excursion, we didn't have to go until the last time slot. Since the fever broke, I finally let her go to the Kids Club for a bit and once she was there I could NOT get her to leave. I think so many days of sleeping brought out all of her energy and I know she was tired of mom by then. So we left her and went shopping in St. Thomas. Bought some nice diamonds- good trip! Went back to pick her up and she had no desire to leave - Goofy's sleepover was that night. I got to see the show finally and did make it to my dinner seating. FINALLY, a decent day made even better watching the family who missed the ship trying to get on it after we had already left to dock! How funny! My dad spoke with the Captain who said in 9 years he has only seen that happen 3 times. That and the bomb scare, both were relatively never seen events, and we had both happen on this trip!
THU - we had the character breakfast in the morning and got out about 10:15ish. I decided to cancel my 11:00 Cabana Massage for the next day (too much money spent in St. Thomas!) and the gal in the spa wouldn't LET ME! Now granted, it was close, but it still WAS 24 hours notice. She said she would try to rebook it and if she could she wouldn't charge me but otherwise I needed to show up or be charged. She said she would call to let me know. I was pissed, I don't think I will ever go back to the spa again personally. Other than that, Thursday was pretty good - my daughter wanted to swim and we got a lot of that in, even though by then, some of the parents and kids were getting just plain cranky and tired. In fact, the parents were acting worse than the kids most of the time! I did have to yell at a few of the kids who were just plain bullies. I think by that time people were getting tired but I saw a few of the older boys kick, punch and hit the younger kids in the pool, and a lot of adults just complaining for complaning's sake. I think people were getting too spoiled. I got to see the show that night and I did get to go to the Piano Bar and see the Comedian in the Rockin D Bar as well as do the 70's Dance Party. There is a crewmember named Travis from South Africa who is such a stitch! Spend some time with him if you can, he is darling! I ended up picking up my daughter from the kids area at about 12:30 and she was wide awake and having a blast! Best day of the cruise!
FRI - woke up early to get a good seat at Castaway Cay. It was definitely COLD, but I learned later that most of the recent cruises hadn't even been able to stop at all due to bad weather. I showed up for my Cabana Massage but they had booked someone during my time and neglected to inform me. Left the Island early, it was too cold and I didn't want to risk any more illness! My daughter was in the Graduation ceremony from the Kids Club and of course, she wouldn't leave afterwards. I ended up picking her up at 10:00 hoping to catch the farewell show in the atrium, but she was out cold.
I know I am missing some stuff here because I also got to see the Pacifier (which was AWFUL!), I lost my drivers license at some point and my mother lost her birth certificate, but I sort of stopped keeping count after a while!
All that being said - we booked another trip for next year! The lady who took care of our room knew my daughter was sick and bent over backwards to give her a great time, even though she barely left the room for days. She took really great care of me too, knowing I was going through hell with my daughter being so sick! Our servers in the dining room were so thoughtful and helpful and accomodating. The activites coordinators (Especially Travis-you HAVE to meet him, he is amazing!) were always there helping to get you involved, and the counselors for the kids were fantastic!
Next year we are doing the Western Side and I personally can't wait! My finacee and I are even considering getting married on the ship (he couldn't make it this year... ) Let's hope for no bomb scares, no fevers, and definitely, no spa appointments!
