minniesota
<font color=purple>Land is a good thing, too<br><f
- Joined
- Jun 26, 2002
- Messages
- 1,690
Our 1/24 Eastern Magic Cruise - and we're off!
Cruisers: DH, 49; Me; DD,12;DS,10
Friday, Jan. 23
We left on a flight out of Minneapolis-St. Paul about 3:30 and arrived at MCO at 7:30 p.m. Got our luggage with no problems and made our way to the Hyatt where I had secured a room for $25 on Hotwire. We had a bit of a hike to our room but it was very quiet and generous in size. I had packed what we needed in our small suitcase so everything was readily available. We were all hungry so made our way to McCoys, one of the Hyatts restaurants. Had a delicious dinner and a couple glasses of wine. We toasted the beginning of our very first cruise.
When we checked in I told the front desk clerk that we were on the Disney Cruise. He handed me a letter explaining what to do with luggage, etc. We were renting a car in the morning and he said we could still put our luggage in the hallway and Hyatt would take care of getting it on the DCL bus. We met another Dis family in the lobby and shared our excitement - giving the kids a chance to interact a bit. We were all in bed by about 10:30 dreaming of the Magic!
Dh got up early and retrieved coffee, juice and donuts from Krispy Creme. We had our luggage out in the hallway by 8 a.m. and did express checkout from the room. We made our way to the Budget counter to get our car. I was able to rent a full-size for $18.95 plus tax. etc. bringing our bill to $25.92. By this time, DH was thinking I was pretty saavy. A room and car rental in Orlando for $50! We wanted the car so we could stop and buy wine, soda, etc. And we really wanted to be on our own schedule. If we woke up and felt like gettting on the road, we wouldnt have to wait for a car service or bus. And if we wanted to sleep in , we could do that too. Worked for us. We had a bit of a wait at the Budget counter and DH was getting pretty annoyed. Someone was holding up the line and they really didnt have enough staff. I guess thats why its called Budget?!!
Finally got our car, and without our luggage, we had tons of room. The drive was an easy one - we stopped at a Publix the exit before Cocoa Beach (you could see it off to the right) and bought wine, soda, water, treats for the kids and sunglasses for DD. We got back to the Beeline and we were at the exit for Budget in a few minutes. There was quite a crowd at Budget (it was about 10:30) and we soon wished that DH would have dropped us at the terminal which was our original plan. But since we didnt have to deal with our luggage, we thought wed all stay together. The shuttle took forever to return and we were all feeling a little stressed by the time we got to the terminal. I guess thats why they call in Budget!!! The security lines were pretty long - took us about 15-20 minutes and then we waited in the check-in lines for another 20-25 minutes.
That was the bad news. The good news was that we met up with our new friends, Tinkerbell4s family, another Disboard family that we got to know online in the month before our cruise. It was so fun to meet them at long last and the kids seemed to gel right away. We had made a late request to be seated together for dinner (they were on main seating; we had late) and we were thrilled that our KTTW cards reflected that we were in fact sitting together at main seating. We had the APL rotation which wasnt what I expected but whatever we had was fine by me at that point. I really encourage people to get to know others on the Cruise Meets thread before you cruise. It was great for the kids and our new friends really made our cruise the great time that it was!
We got in yet another line for the gangway and the doors opened a little after noon. We were introduced, had our picture taken and met up with our friends in the lobby. This part of the cruise is kind of a blur now. Tinkerbell4 and I went to Rockin Bar D to get Palo ressies - brunch and dinner; then to the spa for facial/massage ressies. We got the times we wanted so I guess the rush/wait/rush was worth it. It helps to have some idea of when you want your Palo ressies. Have a couple of scenarios in mind and then when you get you KTTW card, your dining rotation is on there. While standing in line to enter the ship, you can finalize your decisions.
We met our DHs and kids at Topsiders and got a plateful of shrimp and I had to try the cold Mango soup. Delicious! I also had a Bahama Mama - and finally felt the first wave of relaxation come over me. We talked more with our new friends until the kids could no longer wait to see our staterooms! We told our friends wed meet them at the Castaway party and made our way to Deck 7 - connecting rooms 7600 and 7602, just a few steps from the aft stairway/elevators. Loved this location! We were greeted by a Welcome sign made by Penny, a fellow cruiser who made signs for all our threads families. Very generous and thoughtful!
I had ordered baskets from Shirley - one for each of the kids and one for DH. He got the beers around the world basket, a collection of 8 import beers along with salsa and chips, salty snacks, etc. The kids loved the baskets and made their treats last most of the week!
Our rooms looked great and we were immediately pleased that we had decided on verandahs! The kids staked out their beds in their room and we started unpacking suitcases. We found the elastic straps (like bungee cords) and used them to keep our door open. The kids door was held open with ribbon from the baskets. When we wanted privacy, we would take the elastic straps off our door and close it with the deadbolt lock extended. If the kids needed us during the night, they just had to push our door open. Worked great.
The mandatory boat drill at 4:00 was not that bad. People just need to LISTEN and follow directions. There were a lot od dazed and confused looking people up on Deck 4, our assembly station. And some seemed angry about the whole thing. DH and I joked that we sure hoped we didnt have a real emergency with some of these folks - things would get ugly!
After the drill, I sent DH and the kids off to sign up at the clubs and told them to meet me on Deck 9 for the castaway party. We were still missing our large duffIe bag filled with all of our shoes and snorkle gear. I finished unpacking and was ready to head up to Deck 9,hoping the duffle would show up in time for dinner. It was then I realized my wallet was missing. The wallet containing both picture ids, two credit cards and a fair amount of cash. Panic mode set in as I ransacked the place and no wallet. We brought the two-way radios but had not started using them yet. In fact, we never used them. By now, the party had started and I had visions of my family setting sail alone, so I headed up to Deck 9. The place was packed. I was surprised at how many people were there. Up until that time, it seemed we were the only ones on Deck 7. I had no idea where to begin looking -we had not established a meeting place. I was a bit more than stressed by now. Too many people, loud music, lost family, lost wallet. I finally spotted my daughter on Deck 10, opposite from where I was standing. Flew up and over ready to strangle my DH for not being on Deck 9 in some unknown location! And then when I told him about my wallet, he calmly tells me he locked it in the safe! The death stare must have been severe because he disappeared and quickly returned with a drink. The party was fun but chilly! The apologystrawberry dacquiri tasted good, the music was upbeat and after the whistle sounded its when you wish upon a star, we were off on our first cruising adventure!
We went back to our cabins and got ready for dinner at 6 - Animators Palate. Our shoe bag showed up so we were appropriately dressed. We met our servers Herbert from the Philappines and Okim from Indonesia. John from England was our head server and while he was nice, we have no idea why that position is on the tipping list. Id much rather give more to our servers - the ones who worked! I thought the Animators Palate menu was pretty good. Ordered the lobster and shrimp warpper appetizer, caesar salad and maple-glazed salmon. Everything was wonderful. Other winners at our table included the butternut squash soup and the pan-fried veal chop. Desserts included Boston creame pie (so-so), double fudge chocolate cake (yum ) and NY cheesecake which di d not meet DDs high standards!
After dinner, we explored the ship a bit and then attended the Welcome Aboard Variety Show featuring comedian and ventriloquist Michael Harrison and comedian/juggler Jeff Harris. The show also featured music and dancers and the kids really enjoyed the acts. I thought Michael Harrison was pretty hilarious. Of course I had two glasses of wine at dinner on top of that apology strawberry dacquiri, so who knows. No, he was funny! I was pretty tired and headed to bed by 10 - I knew Id be up early to enjoy our first day at sea.
Cruisers: DH, 49; Me; DD,12;DS,10
Friday, Jan. 23
We left on a flight out of Minneapolis-St. Paul about 3:30 and arrived at MCO at 7:30 p.m. Got our luggage with no problems and made our way to the Hyatt where I had secured a room for $25 on Hotwire. We had a bit of a hike to our room but it was very quiet and generous in size. I had packed what we needed in our small suitcase so everything was readily available. We were all hungry so made our way to McCoys, one of the Hyatts restaurants. Had a delicious dinner and a couple glasses of wine. We toasted the beginning of our very first cruise.
When we checked in I told the front desk clerk that we were on the Disney Cruise. He handed me a letter explaining what to do with luggage, etc. We were renting a car in the morning and he said we could still put our luggage in the hallway and Hyatt would take care of getting it on the DCL bus. We met another Dis family in the lobby and shared our excitement - giving the kids a chance to interact a bit. We were all in bed by about 10:30 dreaming of the Magic!
Dh got up early and retrieved coffee, juice and donuts from Krispy Creme. We had our luggage out in the hallway by 8 a.m. and did express checkout from the room. We made our way to the Budget counter to get our car. I was able to rent a full-size for $18.95 plus tax. etc. bringing our bill to $25.92. By this time, DH was thinking I was pretty saavy. A room and car rental in Orlando for $50! We wanted the car so we could stop and buy wine, soda, etc. And we really wanted to be on our own schedule. If we woke up and felt like gettting on the road, we wouldnt have to wait for a car service or bus. And if we wanted to sleep in , we could do that too. Worked for us. We had a bit of a wait at the Budget counter and DH was getting pretty annoyed. Someone was holding up the line and they really didnt have enough staff. I guess thats why its called Budget?!!
Finally got our car, and without our luggage, we had tons of room. The drive was an easy one - we stopped at a Publix the exit before Cocoa Beach (you could see it off to the right) and bought wine, soda, water, treats for the kids and sunglasses for DD. We got back to the Beeline and we were at the exit for Budget in a few minutes. There was quite a crowd at Budget (it was about 10:30) and we soon wished that DH would have dropped us at the terminal which was our original plan. But since we didnt have to deal with our luggage, we thought wed all stay together. The shuttle took forever to return and we were all feeling a little stressed by the time we got to the terminal. I guess thats why they call in Budget!!! The security lines were pretty long - took us about 15-20 minutes and then we waited in the check-in lines for another 20-25 minutes.
That was the bad news. The good news was that we met up with our new friends, Tinkerbell4s family, another Disboard family that we got to know online in the month before our cruise. It was so fun to meet them at long last and the kids seemed to gel right away. We had made a late request to be seated together for dinner (they were on main seating; we had late) and we were thrilled that our KTTW cards reflected that we were in fact sitting together at main seating. We had the APL rotation which wasnt what I expected but whatever we had was fine by me at that point. I really encourage people to get to know others on the Cruise Meets thread before you cruise. It was great for the kids and our new friends really made our cruise the great time that it was!
We got in yet another line for the gangway and the doors opened a little after noon. We were introduced, had our picture taken and met up with our friends in the lobby. This part of the cruise is kind of a blur now. Tinkerbell4 and I went to Rockin Bar D to get Palo ressies - brunch and dinner; then to the spa for facial/massage ressies. We got the times we wanted so I guess the rush/wait/rush was worth it. It helps to have some idea of when you want your Palo ressies. Have a couple of scenarios in mind and then when you get you KTTW card, your dining rotation is on there. While standing in line to enter the ship, you can finalize your decisions.
We met our DHs and kids at Topsiders and got a plateful of shrimp and I had to try the cold Mango soup. Delicious! I also had a Bahama Mama - and finally felt the first wave of relaxation come over me. We talked more with our new friends until the kids could no longer wait to see our staterooms! We told our friends wed meet them at the Castaway party and made our way to Deck 7 - connecting rooms 7600 and 7602, just a few steps from the aft stairway/elevators. Loved this location! We were greeted by a Welcome sign made by Penny, a fellow cruiser who made signs for all our threads families. Very generous and thoughtful!
I had ordered baskets from Shirley - one for each of the kids and one for DH. He got the beers around the world basket, a collection of 8 import beers along with salsa and chips, salty snacks, etc. The kids loved the baskets and made their treats last most of the week!
Our rooms looked great and we were immediately pleased that we had decided on verandahs! The kids staked out their beds in their room and we started unpacking suitcases. We found the elastic straps (like bungee cords) and used them to keep our door open. The kids door was held open with ribbon from the baskets. When we wanted privacy, we would take the elastic straps off our door and close it with the deadbolt lock extended. If the kids needed us during the night, they just had to push our door open. Worked great.
The mandatory boat drill at 4:00 was not that bad. People just need to LISTEN and follow directions. There were a lot od dazed and confused looking people up on Deck 4, our assembly station. And some seemed angry about the whole thing. DH and I joked that we sure hoped we didnt have a real emergency with some of these folks - things would get ugly!
After the drill, I sent DH and the kids off to sign up at the clubs and told them to meet me on Deck 9 for the castaway party. We were still missing our large duffIe bag filled with all of our shoes and snorkle gear. I finished unpacking and was ready to head up to Deck 9,hoping the duffle would show up in time for dinner. It was then I realized my wallet was missing. The wallet containing both picture ids, two credit cards and a fair amount of cash. Panic mode set in as I ransacked the place and no wallet. We brought the two-way radios but had not started using them yet. In fact, we never used them. By now, the party had started and I had visions of my family setting sail alone, so I headed up to Deck 9. The place was packed. I was surprised at how many people were there. Up until that time, it seemed we were the only ones on Deck 7. I had no idea where to begin looking -we had not established a meeting place. I was a bit more than stressed by now. Too many people, loud music, lost family, lost wallet. I finally spotted my daughter on Deck 10, opposite from where I was standing. Flew up and over ready to strangle my DH for not being on Deck 9 in some unknown location! And then when I told him about my wallet, he calmly tells me he locked it in the safe! The death stare must have been severe because he disappeared and quickly returned with a drink. The party was fun but chilly! The apologystrawberry dacquiri tasted good, the music was upbeat and after the whistle sounded its when you wish upon a star, we were off on our first cruising adventure!
We went back to our cabins and got ready for dinner at 6 - Animators Palate. Our shoe bag showed up so we were appropriately dressed. We met our servers Herbert from the Philappines and Okim from Indonesia. John from England was our head server and while he was nice, we have no idea why that position is on the tipping list. Id much rather give more to our servers - the ones who worked! I thought the Animators Palate menu was pretty good. Ordered the lobster and shrimp warpper appetizer, caesar salad and maple-glazed salmon. Everything was wonderful. Other winners at our table included the butternut squash soup and the pan-fried veal chop. Desserts included Boston creame pie (so-so), double fudge chocolate cake (yum ) and NY cheesecake which di d not meet DDs high standards!
After dinner, we explored the ship a bit and then attended the Welcome Aboard Variety Show featuring comedian and ventriloquist Michael Harrison and comedian/juggler Jeff Harris. The show also featured music and dancers and the kids really enjoyed the acts. I thought Michael Harrison was pretty hilarious. Of course I had two glasses of wine at dinner on top of that apology strawberry dacquiri, so who knows. No, he was funny! I was pretty tired and headed to bed by 10 - I knew Id be up early to enjoy our first day at sea.
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