08 DEC 2007 - 7 Day Eastern Magic Part 4

[TheTXTaylors5]

Hello All! We made it home safely last night after a couple of days at the Beach Club.

I am on my FIFTH load of laundry. I even did laundry at SSR before the cruise. But, everything we brought needs to be washed from being onboard and wrinkled. My poor washer and dryer.

I picked up our DISdog from the boarder today. He was wagging his tail so hard his butt kept swinging back and forth. It was cute. They wanted to keep him. He behaved himself which was a relief.

Bill downloaded our pictures onto the computer last night. I am working on deleting the blurry ones and organizing them into folders. I will post some photos soon. Also, I am working on a trip report and will post soon.

We had a couple of "Magical" Moments at the parks. I know Beth and her family got Dream Fastpasses. Did anyone else win anything? Will and Emily won free stuffed animals at AK (Crush and Squirt), free cotton candy at MK and a free McFlurry at Epcot. Emily got another special Tinker Bell pin. Non-official wishes, we were able to ride in the front of the monorail twice, the kids were given special cards from the skipper on one of the boats going from SSR to DTD, Emily was on camera as Boo for the Monsters, Inc. show and Bill was an invisible man, Emily, Will and Cole were all picked to speak with Crush at Turtle Talk with Crush. We highly recommend going to the parks the first week in December. We had little to no wait on most rides. It was GREAT!!!!! Also, it was our first time attending MVMCP. We plan to attend again. The fireworks and parade were the best we have ever seen. To those new to DCL, the fireworks display on Pirate Night was pretty short compared to their normal display. I think with the crazy weather, we were lucky to get the fireworks at all. Okay, I am getting wordy. I need to save something for my trip report.

Did anyone else re-book while onboard? We know of Stacey and saw Brack and Annette at the desk. As of right now, we are sailing in November 2009 in the Walt Suite. Yes, you read that right (Walt Suite!). I think Bill felt bad about transferring our other September cruise in the Suite to the DVC Members cruise in a Cat. 4. So, he went down on his own and inquired about a 2009 cruise with Suites available. However, if DCL comes out with 2010 dates including Europe, we will probably change our cruise for one of those. We were right next to the Roy Suite on this cruise and got to speak with the people in there and they said it WAS worth the expense. However, they said the night it was really wavy the room creaked a lot because of all the wood. Our room steward let us take a peak at the Walt Suite on disembarkation day. He let us hang around until the people left. It is amazing and so spacious. We didn't get offboard until after 9 am. It was nice to relax a little before going back to "reality" on land. It was weird, we went to Epcot for lunch that day and remembered we had to actually pay for lunch. Being on the cruise spoils you on ordering whatever you want.

Someone mentioned not getting to the Grand Floridian for a gingerbread man. You didn't miss out. They didn't have any gingerbread men only gingerbread cookies shaped like snowflakes and some other candies. The kids were looking forward to a gingerbread man from the real-life gingerbread house. So, I asked the woman behind the counter if they had any gingerbread men. She looked at me like I had two heads. She was in a gingerbread house for goodness sakes!

As someone stated earlier, there have been a lot of people sick from this cruise with our family included. DS7 has been sick since the last night of the cruise. DD5 now has a cold. Luckily, DS2 is fine now. But, did have a cold the days leading up to the cruise. We pumped him full of Triaminic and he made it through the cruise without any incidents. We apologize to anyone near us during the first showing of Enchantment in the Walt Disney Theatre. The boat was rocking so hard back there that DD5 actually got sick in the theatre. She cleared a few rows. I felt so bad for her. She looked over to me and said, "Mommy I don't feel so well." Before I could get her up to leave she was sick. That was a crazy night at sea! We didn't make it to dinner that night either. We went back to the room and I gave her some Bonine, water and sent her to bed. She was fine the next morning.

I just received our mail from the mailman. We had a whole one of those bins full. I assume a lot of it is junk. Happily (okay, maybe not happily), we paid all our bills due on or around December 15th online before the cruise. So, that is one less thing to worry about.

I can't believe we are home and the cruise is over. Someone else is in OUR stateroom. Now, we have the September cruise to anticipate. We are heading down to Disney World in February for Valentine's Day to get our Disney "fix". Gotta love DVC! We may try and fly for that one. We already have reservations at Le Cellier for Valentine's Dinner. I can't wait! We haven't been out for dinner on Valentine's Day IN YEARS!!!! (Note to Julie and Emi, enjoy your time now with your loved one pre-kids!)

- Jennifer

 

[TheTXTaylors5]

I got a survey link sent to me today via email from Disney. When I filled out my comment card, I checked the "you may contact me by email" and provided my address. The survey was basically the same as the onboard one except more opportunites to add your own comments.

We filled out the paper survery and dropped it into the bin on our way off the ship. However, we weren't very happy with a few things this cruise. If this was our first Disney cruise, we probably wouldn't be back. But, we know how things "can be". We had the WORST service at our Palo dinner. Our server apologized and even gave Bill his martini for free (making me wish I had ordered one too ). Also, the food at our Palo dinner was not up to it's "normal" standard. They have a new chef. Our Palo Brunch with fellow DISers was great! Our dining room servers on our first cruise were expectional, maybe spoiling us on any other servers. This time, we had to ordered our drinks every night. On our last cruise, after the first night our drinks were waiting at our table. We even saw our old server who was on the Wonder last year up at Pluto's Doghouse one day. He recognized me, I had recommended some fellow DISers on another thread to him and he treated them sooooooooooooo well. Makes me wish I had requested him on the Magic. But, I didn't know he changed ships. There was NEVER any pepperoni pizza made on deck 9. We ALWAYS had to wait. Then one time, they told Bill they weren't making any more pepperoni pizza (pretty much tough luck). However, if they really wanted to keep with the "Disney spirit" they could have asked him what he wanted and made the pizza for him. I totally understand they are not paid very much money, but the service should not reflect that too. On a positive note, our room steward WAS THE BEST! We gave him rave reviews on the survey and an extra tip. He was great and always friendly when we encountered him. I have about a years worth of H2O toiletries stocked up from him. Also, Guest Services were always very helpful. But, the service/food aspects of the cruise really needs to improve to justify the cost compared to other cruise lines. Just our opinion. Overall the cruise was great, but not "exceptional". We are hoping the next cruise is better.

- Jennifer

 

[TheTXTaylors5]

Stacey: We are sorry to hear about your DH's BIL. Please give your DH our best. We enjoyed chatting with y'all. Emily and "her dog" have been inseparable since he was put into our stocking. She named him "Sugar Cube" and has been sleeping with him EVERY night. Thank you for coordinating the Secret Mickey. It was fun. I even had NonDis people ask me how to get involved once they saw the sign on our stateroom door. It was a BIG hit!

Merryl: I hope your DH is feeling better. I am sure the kids missed you. You looked like you were having fun on the cruise and actually relaxed on vacation. So, that is what it is like cruising without kids.

Judy: Please thank your husband for taking our picture at Serenity Bay. They came out great! We have so many pictures of us taken by others with our heads cut off or at MK people NEVER get the castle and us in the same picture. It was nice seeing you onboard and at the shower.

Angie (MrsMork): Thank you for taking care of Emi's (and Randy's) photo package. It was great finally meeting you at the Meet 'N Greet. I hope your family enjoyed their time onboard too.

Angie (CinderellyinTX): Thank you for putting up with us at dinner. I hope the kids didn't talk y'all ears off too much. It was great sharing the dining experience with you. Sorry, we weren't at every dinner (and especially the last night). Emily has been asking for "Her Friend Hannah". Maybe, after the holidays we can get together at Gatti-Town again? That was fun!

Julie: It was great meeting you. I am sure your sunburn has turned into a tan by now. I know you have decided to give DCL a break for right now. I hope you will return in the future. We had only cruise one other time with DCL and found they DO need to spice things up, how about they start with THE MENU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Except they changed the menu at Palo, the one menu that DIDN'T need changing. We were so bummed when we were handed our menus for our Palo dinner. They didn't have my filet mignon or Bill's spaghetti capone. So, I ordered the tenderloin. I didn't like it at all. So, our server got me the lobster ravioli which was yummy. Even though it wasn't on the menu, the chef made Bill spaghetti capone. Now, if they do away with the chocolate souffle there will be a mutiny.

Wendy: Thank you for all your coordinating and planning from Emi's shower, the Brunch to the lanyards. All your hard work was truly appreciated. I have my curry ketchup sitting in the fridge right now waiting on some yummy frites. Also, thank you for getting the kids' their Disneyland Paris pins. Hopefully one day, we will get to Disneyland Paris. Maybe, you and Jasmine will still be in Brussels and you can come over and have some fun too! We can't wait for the DVC Member cruise in September. I'll need to hop on over to that board to see what's going on. I am sure we will chat with you throughout this upcoming year leading up to the cruise.

Emi: I laughed when I read Stacey's post about Randy at the Auction. That was the only Auction we attended. We wanted to see what all the hype was about Ducky Williams. Randy was calmly sitting in his chair in his tux. When he tried to sneak out, the Auctioneer pointed it out and we all wished him "Good Luck" and cheered. He turned three shades of red. It was cute. I hope you enjoyed your time onboard. We wish you and Randy all the best. The both of you were smiling every time we saw you. Keep on smiling. . . many more happy years are ahead.

Brack and Annette: If you are ever in town visiting your son, please look us up. I know Annette was having fun with Cole. He is a ham. Thank you for taking the picture at Emi's Shower (and Dennis). It was greatly appreciated.

Stefanie: Thank you for the shoes and pants for Cole. Your boys are soooooooooooooo cute! If you are ever "in town" call me, we can do lunch. I'll PM you my number.

Beth (& Jim), Marsha, Jason & Wendy ( & Family): We enjoyed having Palo Brunch with you all. It was an amazing spread. We now understand why everyone raves about it. Yummy! Yummy! Yummy!

Beth: NO MORE TENT CAMPING IN DECEMBER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'm glad you started getting your voice back during the cruise. We never made it down to Jim's "secret spot" on CC. We'll remember it for next time.

Jenn: I hope had a nice cruise. Thanks for chatting with us. The SeaU Graduation for the kids had me teared up. You know that means the cruise is close to an end. I am glad your daughter had fun in the clubs. We couldn't get our kids out of the clubs. Cole even cooperated and let us enjoy our Palo dinner and brunch without being paged. I couldn't remember, was it your husband or Merryl's that lost his glasses overboard. My glasses broke the day before we were scheduled to leave for our cruise last year. Thank goodness for Lensecrafters. I can't imagine how much someone would pay on the islands though.

Krisann: I hope your DH is feeling better. Did you ever find out what was wrong with him? Thank you for the kids' cards for the lanyards.

Robby and Tina: We will hang our Incredibles ornament on our soon to be purchased Christmas tree and think of you guys. Just like Emi and Randy, every time we encountered y'all you were smiling. Thank you for stopping to chat with us every time you saw us. How was the Rasul? We plan to try it next time. We did the CC couples cabana massage this time. It was nice. But, we want to try something different next time.

Joanne: We enjoyed eating lunch with you and your family on CC. It was nice chatting with you all. BTW: I love your hair color. You have the Irish skin color to carry off red. Your kiddos are adorable. Liam is going to be a heartbreaker and Bridget reminded me of a brunette Heidi (the mountain/goat girl). Even though we had just met y'all this cruise, we talked as if we had known each other for years. It was great!

It was nice seeing all these friendly faces onboard. I'm glad we got to know you all. Hopefully, in the future we can all cruise again together. It was fun!

Okay, the kids are back to their old antics. I have to remind them that Christmas is one week from today. It is not too late to call Santa.

Everyone have a great evening!

Take Care,
Jennifer (and Family)

 

[MrsMork]

There was NEVER any pepperoni pizza made on deck 9. We ALWAYS had to wait.
- Jennifer

Sorry. We probably ate it.

We had William as our server and he is exceptional. He got an employee of the year award of some sort. Another cm told us about it. William was a bit embarrased when we congratulated him, but he said his mom was very proud and he looked very handsome in the picture she got of him. Josette was our assistant server and she too was super.

 

[pfishgirl]

DH just got off the phone with his Mom.. His BIL is out of surgery and in recovery.. He is doing well.. They were able to get it all out but he will still need Kemo and medications... Thank Goodness.. it was NOT the type of Cancer they were originally told it was.. The do expect him to recovery completely

Thank You all for the well wishes, prayers, thoughts and blessings..

I worked all day even though my mind was in Colorado and we were very busy.. People are still looking for Rudolph but we have been long sold out.. I was told that you can get one online..

 

[JoiseyMom]

Merryl: I hope your DH is feeling better. I am sure the kids missed you. You looked like you were having fun on the cruise and actually relaxed on vacation. So, that is what it is like cruising without kids.


Jenn: I hope had a nice cruise. Thanks for chatting with us. The SeaU Graduation for the kids had me teared up. You know that means the cruise is close to an end. I am glad your daughter had fun in the clubs. We couldn't get our kids out of the clubs. Cole even cooperated and let us enjoy our Palo dinner and brunch without being paged. I couldn't remember, was it your husband or Merryl's that lost his glasses overboard. My glasses broke the day before we were scheduled to leave for our cruise last year. Thank goodness for Lensecrafters. I can't imagine how much someone would pay on the islands though.
Jennifer (and Family)

Dh says the house stopped moving!! So thanks, he is feeling better . He is now willing to go on the EB we booked. We also booked August 2009 for vacation. I wish we could go another time, there was a week in Nov, that my kids had 3 1/2 days and 2 off days. They didn't do that this year. If they do it again, I will book for November!! We did relax and have fun. It was nice not having to worry about being paged.

And it was my DH that lost his glasses. We got him new ones in St. Thomas. I contacted our insurance, but they want written confirmation from Disney, so I am waiting to hear back from them.

The exam and glasses were 409.00. Almost as much as the cruise!! The person on the phone said depending onthe claim, they will reimburse only 300.00! It is considered baggage . I think we will submit it to our eye plan to get more back if we have too. We will see how it plays out. Too bad we had already maxed out our health spending account!

It was great meeting you and your entire family! We also had a bad beverage server during dining. Your table was near ours, but I don't think we had the same servers though. Glad you guys are home safe and sound.

 

[WIFamily]

Dh says the house stopped moving!! So thanks, he is feeling better . He is now willing to go on the EB we booked. We also booked August 2009 for vacation. I wish we could go another time, there was a week in Nov, that my kids had 3 1/2 days and 2 off days. They didn't do that this year. If they do it again, I will book for November!! We did relax and have fun. It was nice not having to worry about being paged.

And it was my DH that lost his glasses. We got him new ones in St. Thomas. I contacted our insurance, but they want written confirmation from Disney, so I am waiting to hear back from them.

The exam and glasses were 409.00. Almost as much as the cruise!! The person on the phone said depending onthe claim, they will reimburse only 300.00! It is considered baggage . I think we will submit it to our eye plan to get more back if we have too. We will see how it plays out. Too bad we had already maxed out our health spending account!

It was great meeting you and your entire family! We also had a bad beverage server during dining. Your table was near ours, but I don't think we had the same servers though. Glad you guys are home safe and sound.

Sorry to hear about the glasses, that was my wife's biggest fear when standing on our veranda or next to a railing.

Our assistant server wasn't the greatest either, certainly less than what I was expecting. However, I told my wife that she must be new, and the next night my wife asked, and it turns out that this was her second cruise. So we were a lot more understanding after that. Our server was great, going on his second year with Disney, he knew how to keep the kids entertained with magic tricks, paper airplanes, napkin folding, and other tricks. It was a lot of fun meeting them all.

It was also a blast meeting you all, and seeing the little green DIS lanyards all around the ship. Hope to meet you all again soon... Cindy and I are going to start looking at pictures now. We have just over 1000 to look through!

 

[JsMom2]

Jennifer,
That is awesome news about the Walt Suite!! When you do a suite, you really do a suite, don't you? Even though you can't get the 10% discount, you'll still get the OBC, and can get additional discounts by transferring to a TA.

 

[JsMom2]

Oh and did I mention I added on more DVC points while I was onboard? So I got the incentives, and the model of the Magic!

I've already called Member Services to transfer our ABD ressie to them, so I can pay points for half and cash for half!

Just one more work day before NATO closes for the Christmas break!

 

[BethC1952]

Hi, everybody!

Just letting you know that I'm finally home! We got home late last night. Actually, I'm back in my office. I rushed in early this morning for an 8:30 meeting that my boss never called to tell me was cancelled, so I guess it's back to the real world!

The remainder of our vacation was great, even though it got REALLY chilly in FL Monday night and Tuesday morning!

I'll have to go back and catch up on all the posts once I clear the 622 emails waiting for my attention!

It was great meeting everyone. I'll be posting some pictures within the next day or so, depending on how long it takes me to get caught up on all the other stuff I have to do!

Beth

 

[AmberDaClown]

Did anyone else notice that we pulled back to the dock at St. Thomas after getting about 15 feet away and one more couple boarded? We watched the whole thing from the starboard balcony.

 

[plutojudy]

Did anyone else notice that we pulled back to the dock at St. Thomas after getting about 15 feet away and one more couple boarded? We watched the whole thing from our starboard balcony.

Yes, for two people who were in no hurry.

 

[plutojudy]

Our server and assistant server were terrific. If they are still onboard for our
1-3-09 cruise we will request them. We have our server's email to keep in touch.
Our room steward left a lot to be desired.
Sorry, we also ate the pepperoni pizza.

 

[plutojudy]

DCL is on the GOLD LIST. 721 World's Best Places To Stay. January 2008 CONDE NAST TRAVELER gives DCL a rating of 83.9. Which is better than most other lines mentioned.

 

[TheTXTaylors5]

Sorry. We probably ate it.

We had William as our server and he is exceptional. He got an employee of the year award of some sort. Another cm told us about it. William was a bit embarrased when we congratulated him, but he said his mom was very proud and he looked very handsome in the picture she got of him. Josette was our assistant server and she too was super.

We know the service CAN be better. So, that is maybe why we were a little disappointed.

- Jennifer

 

[TheTXTaylors5]

Sorry, we also ate the pepperoni pizza.

- Jennifer

 

[pfishgirl]

DH is guilty too.. he always grabbed a slice or two of pepperoni pizza for a "snack" around 5:30 ish, since our dinner was at 8:30 and we were starved by then.. I like plain..

I think DCL should offer Popcorn for a snack by the pools Although, I'd eat it all day long..

I think for the next 4 DCLs we have booked.. I am going to "request" 8pm and see if we get it


JoiseyMom... I wasn't able to find any of the e ticket pins We didn't have a ton of time but I looked all around MK and didnt see any.. but it was also after 8pm when we got there.. and at Epcot, I hardly saw any CM wearing landyards at all..

 

[TheTXTaylors5]

Oh and did I mention I added on more DVC points while I was onboard? So I got the incentives, and the model of the Magic!

I've already called Member Services to transfer our ABD ressie to them, so I can pay points for half and cash for half!

Just one more work day before NATO closes for the Christmas break!

Congratulations for your add on. For the DVC Member cruise we used points for the kids and paid cash for Bill and I. We didn't want to use all our points for the next two years. It worked out great. We still have enough 2008 points to book a few days around the DVC Member cruise. I guess we need to get working on that before everything is booked up.

Have a great Christmas vacation. When does NATO reopen? Just when Jasmine gets back to school, it is time for Winter Break. Did she have to do any work while away? I know they are very leniant. I was away for most of the month of September one year and didn't have to make up any work, just the tests.

We finally have a Christmas tree. Bill came home last night with a 7' pre-lit fake tree. It will work for this year. We told the kids they could put it in their playroom next year. Usually, we like to go to a tree farm and cut down our tree. Next year, we can continue the tradition. Now, I need to find some of that pine stray to make the house smell Christmassy. I need to do some holiday baking today. Usually, Bill brings some goodies to work for his employees. Emily can't wait to be my helper. For now, I'm off to feed the kids some lunch and then tidy the house more. The suitcases have all been emptied and laundry from the trip is complete. But, I need to start working on our laundry from this week so far. Back to reality. Have a great day all!

- Jennifer

 

[BethC1952]

I finally cleared the emails and started working through the mountain of paperwork piled on my desk, so I have a minute to catch up here!

I wonder where Beth is right now? I have never traveled on a train but we do have one that runs in front of our house once a day and it is very loud. Is it loud when you are in the train?
We are one day closer!

When you posted this, I think I was somewhere in southern Virginia. It isn't really any louder in the train than it is on the ship, unless the people behind you are as noisy and obnoxious as the people behind us were! And my poor DS and his family had the same noisy obnoxious people behind them on the trip home! What are the chances of that?

As far as I know there were no pictures taken at the Meet and Greet.....at least not while we were there.

I'm not sure, but I think I may have taken one or two. I'll check when I get home! If I did, I'll post them later on tonight.

Merryl: "Dopey" made it safely home in his mailing tube. We carried him with us on the plane. Shannan was thrilled when she saw it! She ran right to the computer and did some research about Ducky. She now wants to be a Disney artist.

An interesting observation...this is the first time I got seasick on a cruise, and the first time that I didn't have any trouble with "rocking" after I got back on land. I wonder if there's any connection? I think I'll have to book another cruise to do further research on this subject.

Beth

 

[AmberDaClown]

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