For my trip report, I have decided to post our highlights, lowlights and general tips. This was our first Disney cruise. Here is the cast:
Me Cindy
DH Alan
DD9 Courtney
Twin DDs5 Abby and Lucy
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HIGHLIGHTS AND FAVORITE MEMORIES
=============================
1. Unsolicited love and gratitude from your children priceless!!
On Friday morning, as I am waking up the girls, I tell Courtney that we will be going on a banana boat ride this morning at Castaway Cay. She was SO excited. She looked at me and said, I love you Mom. Thank you so much for bringing us on this cruise. Then, my 5 year-old twins give me hugs and told me thanks.
2. Palo brunch and dinner FABULOUS!! This restaurant definitely lives up to the hype. We had brunch our first day at sea and dinner on Wednesday night.
3. After our first dinner at Animators Palate, Lucy looked at me and said, This was the best dinner party ever!
4. Nightly Dinners. This was a highlight of the trip. The food was wonderful. Our servers were Kumar and Jonathon and they were fabulous especially to the kids. I thought the food was very good all week. If I dont have to shop for meals, cook meals, serve meals, and clean up after meals then that is a true vacation for me. I didnt even have to cut up my kids food. The servers did this also. I was especially pleased with how well my 5-year-old twins sat through dinner each night. The dinners usually lasted 1.5 hours, and they did very well lasting that long.
5. Castaway Cay. This day was a home run. The weather was perfect. The girls had a great time. There is nothing better than sitting at the beach, drinking a tropical drink, and watching your children playing and having fun.
6. St. Marteen Golden Eagle Catamaran Excursion. This was a lot of fun. The kids loved it! On the ride out, the kids sat on the front and each time a big wave would hit, they would get soaked. I do wish we would have had longer to swim though.
7. Afternoon nap at the pool. On Wednesday we were in St. Thomas. We went out shopping that morning. That afternoon, the girls went to the club and Alan and I went to the adult pool. The sky became very overcast and cloudy so the temperature was very comfortable. Alan and I took a one-hour nap by the pool. I know this sounds silly to list as a highlight, but that nap felt so great. As a busy mom, a great nap by the pool in the Caribbean is pretty terrific! The adult pool is very nice. I wish we could have spent more time there.
8. The weather. I know Disney does not control the weather, but I have to list it as a highlight. I was very concerned about traveling during hurricane season. The weather could not have been any better!
9. Family Karoke. Courtney and her cousin got up and sang Cheetah Girls. My twins wanted to sing also. Thats great except they wouldnt be able to read the words on the TV screen, as they are only 5. They sang Hakuna Matata from Lion King. I know that I am prejudiced since I am their mom, but they were pretty adorable up there singing.
10. Sail Away Party. This was a lot of fun. I think I enjoyed it so much because I just kept thinking Wow, this moment is finally here, and we are on this cruise.
11. The characters. My five-year olds loved all of the characters. We spent a lot of time standing in line to see characters, which can become tiresome. However, how can you not just soak up their excitement each and every time they get to hug a character. Their excitement and enthusiasm becomes contagious, and it is such a joy to see them so happy.
12. If you ask my daughters about one of their favorite things, they would say Chocolate Krispy Kreme donuts each morning!
13. Pirate Night. This night was fun, and most everyone got into the spirit and dressed up. I saw 2 people who dressed like Jack Sparrow who I thought looked pretty fabulous. Even though we spent a lot of time standing in character lines for my twins, the Jack Sparrow line was one we were lucky enough to avoid since they are too young to be interested.
14. Towel Animals. The girls loved running into the room each night to see their towel animal that was made by our cabin steward. Isnt it great how the littlest things can bring such delight to a child?
15. Character Breakfast. This is basically the same type of character breakfast you get in the parks. The girls ate nothing because they were so fixated on waiting for their turn to get a picture with the characters. The girls loved it especially our servers making them a Minnie bow out of a napkin and putting it on their head.
16. Lucy lost her first tooth.
17. Abby loved dancing on the stage by the Goofy pool. She got to where she preferred this to swimming. If there was no music, she just made up her own and danced her heart out.
18. Afternoon movies at the Goofy pool.
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LOWLIGHTS
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1. Getting children in and out of the clubs. This process was very slow. I appreciate how thorough they are and the security measures they take, but it was very slow signing the girls into the clubs and then getting them signed out.
2. Disembarkement. I was amazed at how un-Disney like this process was. There was a HUGE line inside the ship just to get off. Then, once inside the terminal, it was each man for themselves to get porters. However, our porter managed to break us into a line with the U.S. Customs guy that he said wouldnt search your luggage. Sure enough, we whizzed right on through (extra tip$$ for the porter!)
3. Topsiders I was generally not impressed with the food here.
4. Goofy Pool. This pool is too small. Disney needs a better pool to appeal to older kids and teens.
5. We had the APL early dining which meant our dinner was at 5:30. I always felt rushed to get the kids ready for dinner especially if we wanted to take pictures first. Also, formal night at Parrot Cay was not good. This menu is really not conducive to formal wear as who really wants to eat ribs in a formal gown?
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GENERAL TIPS
============
1. A nap for the children the day of Pirate Night is a must! We did a morning excursion, and then put the twins down for a nap that afternoon. They never would have made it through pirate night without that nap since Pirate Night didnt start until 9:50 PM
2. Things I took but didnt need include the over-the-door shoe holder, sweaters for the kids, seasickness medicine, and sharpies. When I took my items to guest services to leave for autographs, the CM told me that they had plenty and didnt need the sharpies. The girls never complained about being cold and needing a sweater. The only place that I felt cold was Palo so I would recommend that ladies take a sweater there.
3. Fruit at Goofys Galley is a great place to get a nutritious snack for the kids while they are at the pool. They have plenty of fruit.
4. If possible, I recommend going with another family who have kids the same age as yours. We went with my husbands sister and her family. They have a daughter the same age as our oldest daughter. They had a lot of fun being able to hang out with each other. Plus, it was nice for Alan and I to have other adults to talk to. The four of us had brunch together, and it was wonderful.
5. Split a Shutters picture package with another family.
6. Get in line EARLY for the more popular characters; watch the video monitor in the Atrium for times.
7. Get to the terminal early. This is a common tip, but it was nice to get there right at 10 AM. We got a #2 boarding card, and we checked in quickly and easily. Plus, we were able to get seats for the kids to watch cartoons while we waited to board. The terminal fills up quickly and the seats get taken quickly as well. The time waiting to board flies by. Also, we were seated right away for lunch after boarding.
8. Pack your kids swimsuits in a carry-on so they can swim after you board. You cant check into your room for several hours, so they might as well swim! We were able to take video and pictures of the girls in the Mickey pool as well as going down the Mickey slide. It was great being able to cross those off my must have pictures list right away.
9. Mickey Wake Up Calls. My girls loved this. I would set a wake up call. Then after the first call, I would set another a few minutes later and then a third a few minutes after that. This way each daughter got a turn picking up the phone. This avoided the fight of who gets to answer the Mickey call because everyone got a turn.
10. Try to keep realistic expectations. Vacationing with kids is not always peaches and cream. There will be meltdowns, whining, complaining, etc.
11. Before, we left I told Alan that I wanted to create a file that where we would put all of our airline, hotel, rental car, maps, directions, cruise documents, passports, and birth certificates into. He looked at me like I had totally lost it. I bought an accordion-style folder for all paperwork. We called it our Penske file (based on the Seinfeld episode). When I checked in at the terminal, the CM who waited on me complimented me on how organized I was (of course, I made sure to tell Alan this). I also used this file to bring home a Navigator from each day and to keep other mementos that I wanted to keep.
12. Dont take the Disney shuttle from the Orlando airport (if you fly) if you have more than 2 people. It is $59/person. Although it is very convenient, it was MUCH cheaper for us to rent one-way cars (Orlando to Port Canaveral; Port Canaveral to Orlando) and pay tips for luggage handling. The Budget rental car building is only minutes away from the port (and hotels), and they run shuttles every 10-15 minutes on the Saturday morning you disembark. The drive from Orlando Airport to the port (and hotels) is very easy and direct, so no worries about getting lost. Plus, our flight was much later on Saturday evening, so we had a car to drive around instead of waiting 5 hours in the airport.
13. Get in line for the shows (at the Walt Disney Theatre) early. It fills-up quickly, and large parties will not be seated together unless you get there early.
14. They vacated, drained, and cleaned the Mickey Pool (kids pool) several times during the day (Im not sure I want to know exactly WHY ). Be sure to have a Plan B for when this happens.
Well, that's it. I would be glad to answer any questions.
Me Cindy
DH Alan
DD9 Courtney
Twin DDs5 Abby and Lucy
=============================
HIGHLIGHTS AND FAVORITE MEMORIES
=============================
1. Unsolicited love and gratitude from your children priceless!!
On Friday morning, as I am waking up the girls, I tell Courtney that we will be going on a banana boat ride this morning at Castaway Cay. She was SO excited. She looked at me and said, I love you Mom. Thank you so much for bringing us on this cruise. Then, my 5 year-old twins give me hugs and told me thanks.
2. Palo brunch and dinner FABULOUS!! This restaurant definitely lives up to the hype. We had brunch our first day at sea and dinner on Wednesday night.
3. After our first dinner at Animators Palate, Lucy looked at me and said, This was the best dinner party ever!
4. Nightly Dinners. This was a highlight of the trip. The food was wonderful. Our servers were Kumar and Jonathon and they were fabulous especially to the kids. I thought the food was very good all week. If I dont have to shop for meals, cook meals, serve meals, and clean up after meals then that is a true vacation for me. I didnt even have to cut up my kids food. The servers did this also. I was especially pleased with how well my 5-year-old twins sat through dinner each night. The dinners usually lasted 1.5 hours, and they did very well lasting that long.
5. Castaway Cay. This day was a home run. The weather was perfect. The girls had a great time. There is nothing better than sitting at the beach, drinking a tropical drink, and watching your children playing and having fun.
6. St. Marteen Golden Eagle Catamaran Excursion. This was a lot of fun. The kids loved it! On the ride out, the kids sat on the front and each time a big wave would hit, they would get soaked. I do wish we would have had longer to swim though.
7. Afternoon nap at the pool. On Wednesday we were in St. Thomas. We went out shopping that morning. That afternoon, the girls went to the club and Alan and I went to the adult pool. The sky became very overcast and cloudy so the temperature was very comfortable. Alan and I took a one-hour nap by the pool. I know this sounds silly to list as a highlight, but that nap felt so great. As a busy mom, a great nap by the pool in the Caribbean is pretty terrific! The adult pool is very nice. I wish we could have spent more time there.
8. The weather. I know Disney does not control the weather, but I have to list it as a highlight. I was very concerned about traveling during hurricane season. The weather could not have been any better!
9. Family Karoke. Courtney and her cousin got up and sang Cheetah Girls. My twins wanted to sing also. Thats great except they wouldnt be able to read the words on the TV screen, as they are only 5. They sang Hakuna Matata from Lion King. I know that I am prejudiced since I am their mom, but they were pretty adorable up there singing.
10. Sail Away Party. This was a lot of fun. I think I enjoyed it so much because I just kept thinking Wow, this moment is finally here, and we are on this cruise.
11. The characters. My five-year olds loved all of the characters. We spent a lot of time standing in line to see characters, which can become tiresome. However, how can you not just soak up their excitement each and every time they get to hug a character. Their excitement and enthusiasm becomes contagious, and it is such a joy to see them so happy.
12. If you ask my daughters about one of their favorite things, they would say Chocolate Krispy Kreme donuts each morning!
13. Pirate Night. This night was fun, and most everyone got into the spirit and dressed up. I saw 2 people who dressed like Jack Sparrow who I thought looked pretty fabulous. Even though we spent a lot of time standing in character lines for my twins, the Jack Sparrow line was one we were lucky enough to avoid since they are too young to be interested.
14. Towel Animals. The girls loved running into the room each night to see their towel animal that was made by our cabin steward. Isnt it great how the littlest things can bring such delight to a child?
15. Character Breakfast. This is basically the same type of character breakfast you get in the parks. The girls ate nothing because they were so fixated on waiting for their turn to get a picture with the characters. The girls loved it especially our servers making them a Minnie bow out of a napkin and putting it on their head.
16. Lucy lost her first tooth.
17. Abby loved dancing on the stage by the Goofy pool. She got to where she preferred this to swimming. If there was no music, she just made up her own and danced her heart out.
18. Afternoon movies at the Goofy pool.
===========
LOWLIGHTS
===========
1. Getting children in and out of the clubs. This process was very slow. I appreciate how thorough they are and the security measures they take, but it was very slow signing the girls into the clubs and then getting them signed out.
2. Disembarkement. I was amazed at how un-Disney like this process was. There was a HUGE line inside the ship just to get off. Then, once inside the terminal, it was each man for themselves to get porters. However, our porter managed to break us into a line with the U.S. Customs guy that he said wouldnt search your luggage. Sure enough, we whizzed right on through (extra tip$$ for the porter!)
3. Topsiders I was generally not impressed with the food here.
4. Goofy Pool. This pool is too small. Disney needs a better pool to appeal to older kids and teens.
5. We had the APL early dining which meant our dinner was at 5:30. I always felt rushed to get the kids ready for dinner especially if we wanted to take pictures first. Also, formal night at Parrot Cay was not good. This menu is really not conducive to formal wear as who really wants to eat ribs in a formal gown?
============
GENERAL TIPS
============
1. A nap for the children the day of Pirate Night is a must! We did a morning excursion, and then put the twins down for a nap that afternoon. They never would have made it through pirate night without that nap since Pirate Night didnt start until 9:50 PM
2. Things I took but didnt need include the over-the-door shoe holder, sweaters for the kids, seasickness medicine, and sharpies. When I took my items to guest services to leave for autographs, the CM told me that they had plenty and didnt need the sharpies. The girls never complained about being cold and needing a sweater. The only place that I felt cold was Palo so I would recommend that ladies take a sweater there.
3. Fruit at Goofys Galley is a great place to get a nutritious snack for the kids while they are at the pool. They have plenty of fruit.
4. If possible, I recommend going with another family who have kids the same age as yours. We went with my husbands sister and her family. They have a daughter the same age as our oldest daughter. They had a lot of fun being able to hang out with each other. Plus, it was nice for Alan and I to have other adults to talk to. The four of us had brunch together, and it was wonderful.
5. Split a Shutters picture package with another family.
6. Get in line EARLY for the more popular characters; watch the video monitor in the Atrium for times.
7. Get to the terminal early. This is a common tip, but it was nice to get there right at 10 AM. We got a #2 boarding card, and we checked in quickly and easily. Plus, we were able to get seats for the kids to watch cartoons while we waited to board. The terminal fills up quickly and the seats get taken quickly as well. The time waiting to board flies by. Also, we were seated right away for lunch after boarding.
8. Pack your kids swimsuits in a carry-on so they can swim after you board. You cant check into your room for several hours, so they might as well swim! We were able to take video and pictures of the girls in the Mickey pool as well as going down the Mickey slide. It was great being able to cross those off my must have pictures list right away.
9. Mickey Wake Up Calls. My girls loved this. I would set a wake up call. Then after the first call, I would set another a few minutes later and then a third a few minutes after that. This way each daughter got a turn picking up the phone. This avoided the fight of who gets to answer the Mickey call because everyone got a turn.
10. Try to keep realistic expectations. Vacationing with kids is not always peaches and cream. There will be meltdowns, whining, complaining, etc.
11. Before, we left I told Alan that I wanted to create a file that where we would put all of our airline, hotel, rental car, maps, directions, cruise documents, passports, and birth certificates into. He looked at me like I had totally lost it. I bought an accordion-style folder for all paperwork. We called it our Penske file (based on the Seinfeld episode). When I checked in at the terminal, the CM who waited on me complimented me on how organized I was (of course, I made sure to tell Alan this). I also used this file to bring home a Navigator from each day and to keep other mementos that I wanted to keep.
12. Dont take the Disney shuttle from the Orlando airport (if you fly) if you have more than 2 people. It is $59/person. Although it is very convenient, it was MUCH cheaper for us to rent one-way cars (Orlando to Port Canaveral; Port Canaveral to Orlando) and pay tips for luggage handling. The Budget rental car building is only minutes away from the port (and hotels), and they run shuttles every 10-15 minutes on the Saturday morning you disembark. The drive from Orlando Airport to the port (and hotels) is very easy and direct, so no worries about getting lost. Plus, our flight was much later on Saturday evening, so we had a car to drive around instead of waiting 5 hours in the airport.
13. Get in line for the shows (at the Walt Disney Theatre) early. It fills-up quickly, and large parties will not be seated together unless you get there early.
14. They vacated, drained, and cleaned the Mickey Pool (kids pool) several times during the day (Im not sure I want to know exactly WHY ). Be sure to have a Plan B for when this happens.
Well, that's it. I would be glad to answer any questions.
when all the others were in the Goofy Pool which is a whole different story (see my trip report, 
) She is 8 and the slide just didn't hold her attention. She would rather swim in "deeper" water, as she puts it 
