1-26-08 Western -- "Non-Disney" People go cruising

[BabyFavorite]

Great trip report! I've already learned so many little tips for our upcoming vacation in August. (And you write beautifully, too!)

Can't wait for more!

 

[poffles]

Great trip report ... I will remember the fact that 8:00 means 8:00. First cruise in October so I am a sponge to any tidbit I can get that will enhance the trip.

 

[JKMJ441724]

We are now Disneyaholics!

This is a condition which requires 'round the clock care.

By trained professionals.

In Geneva.

Sadly, there is no cure. You can only treat the symptoms - with annual trips to DISNEY!!!

I can't wait to read all about your trip!!

 

[CRSNDSNY]

Can't wait for more! Your boys are adorable!

 

[cnj]

Great trip report! Can't wait for more!

 

[purplepeg]

Great TR so far, can't wait to read more. We were just down the hall in 8510 on the same cruise!

 

[triciap45]

we were on the same sailing! I was looking at the picture from the sail away party and my husband is in the background on deck ten (to the right) with the video camera.....I recognized your boys from the ship...too funny. What a fun cruise. Like your trip report.

 

[ecomerford]

We woke the next morning to clearer skies and calm seas. We headed up to Topsiders for breakfast. It is fairly standard breakfast buffet fare, but pretty much anything you’d want. Luckily the DIS had clued me into the omelet station between the two buffet lines, since otherwise I’d have totally missed it. The Mickey waffles were a big hit with the boys and became a breakfast staple during the trip.

After breakfast DW decided that she wanted to work out. She works out about 5 times a week at home, so this was nothing new. The gym is actually on the very forward end of Deck 9, inside the Vista Spa. I walked in to check it out. At 9AM it was pretty busy – there was actually a “spinning class” in progress – but DW was able to find an open elliptical. I put “spinning class” in quotes because that’s what DCL called it, but they don’t have any/many bikes, so everyone was on either a treadmill or an elliptical.

Overall, the gym is not huge but does the job. I’d estimate 20 aerobic machines, 6-8 nautilus-style weight machines, and 2 weight benches with a full set of free weights. It is, however, one of the best looking gyms I ever seen (in my somewhat limited experience of such places), with an incredible wall-to-wall window overlooking the foredeck.

We had packed walkie-talkies, so we synchronized channels and I headed off to check out the Goofy pool with the boys. It was still pretty early, so I had no problem finding a couple of loungers next to the pool. Like most kids their age, DS5 and DS7 are total waterbabies. The Mickey Pool had the cool slide, but the Goofy Pool was cooler still thanks to the adult-temperature hot tubs, deeper pool, and huge outdoor TV (Playhouse Disney every morning). Personally, I was a little underwhelmed by the pool itself. I’d estimate it was 25’ x 10’ and only 4’ deep. I guess you don’t go on a cruise for the massive pools!

A word of warning here on walkie-talkies. They were nice to have, but by no means essential. I’d say we used them 2-3 times. They would be more useful if you had a large group or different age groups. Anyway, if you do plan on bringing, buy the kind that have privacy codes. These are codes that allow you to lock-out other transmissions on the same channel. We brought some older ones that did not have privacy codes, and it was impossible to find a totally clear channel (I did however get to hear another family coordinate breakfast in fascinating detail). The result is that the darn thing is always going off with “false alarms.”

After burning off her targeted 500 calories and turning a bright shade of red, DW radioed that she was headed back to the room. It was getting close to “Flubber Time” at the Club, so I packed up the boys, cleaned them up, and dropped them off. DW and I laid out by the pool, then picked up the boys and headed to lunch at Topsiders. Lunch is pretty good buffet style food – various salads, cold cuts, fruit, roasted chicken, hand carved pork tenderloin, etc. One of the sit-down restaurants is open for every breakfast and lunch, and apparently their offerings are a little more high-end. We had planned to check them out but were always in poolwear and never really felt like changing. Plus, quite frankly, we had quite enough gourmet food at dinner and didn’t need to be tempted with more at every other meal.

The ship docked in Key West right around noon. DW and I had spent a week in Key West during LBK (Life Before Kids), so we decided to enjoy the practically empty Goofy pool instead. I had booked a spa treatment for DW at 3:15, so she headed out to that and dropped the boys at the Club on the way. Based on DIS tips, I warned her to write “no sales pitch” on here sign-up sheet to avoid the hard sell for pricey spa products at the end of her massage.

My planned excitement for the afternoon was Chip It Golf at 4:00 in the Atrium Lobby. As I said, the ship was pretty empty, so there was only one other guy waiting when I got there. Our host was Sheika (pronounced shake-ah) from Wales. Basically, we spent the next 10 minutes trying to recruit anyone who passed by. Eventually we had four golfing guys and two women that had never swung a club (heretofore Woman A and Woman B). I love to play golf, but I’m not what you’d call “good” … even mediocre may be a stretch. Combine that with the fact that I was chipping a Velcro-covered whiffle ball off a piece of green carpet and the results were not good. Luckily I was not alone. Predictably, Woman A won round one (and a DCL ballcap with a huge “WINNER” across the front), Woman B won round two (and a Disney golf towel). It was actually a bunch of fun with good-natured cheering and ribbing all around.

I met back up with the family, and we headed up to Deck 10 to check out the sunset. Here are the boys on deck. As you can see, they were doing face painting at the Club.

The boys had made some friends at the Club and wanted to meet up for Goofy’s PJ party at 7:15. Obviously that wouldn’t work with our 8:00 seating, so we ordered room service for the kids. While we were at it, we also added a Stem to Stern Cheese Platter and pepperoni pizza, you know, “for the kids.” After all the DIS-raving, I was a little disappointed in the cheese platter (or maybe DW took the good stuff before I got to it). Having a few bottles of wine in the room was definitely a plus for such occasions.

These little “afternoon snacks” became the norm and were the unexpected consequence of the later dinner seating. When good food is so easily available, it’s hard to resist trying a little of everything. Goofy’s Galley became the favorite for DW and I. The roasted duck and sweet chutney panini was DELICIOUS (panini offerings changed every day). Even the pizzas at Mickey’s were pretty darn good. I’m pretty sure we would have eaten quite a bit less if we’d had the earlier seating, and maybe my pants would be fitting better right now… of course, then we’d have missed that panini. Also, many of the family activities were 7-9PM and were done after our dinner. Next time I’ll try to reserve sooner, so we can get an earlier seating.

Anyway, back to our day. We got the boys in their PJs and dropped them at the Club. DW and I headed to Sessions Bar for a little adult time before dinner. It is a piano/wine/martini bar: a nice quiet (and dimly lit) spot for a drink and conversation. Tim was our piano man, playing classics from Nat King Cole to Sinatra.

Dinner was at Parrot Cay. It was actually a nice meal with just DW and I. We sampled a few different things and had a nice conversation with our servers. I think I had braised short ribs that absolutely melted off the bone. Yum. The wine we brought was called Big *** Zin, which gave Ivan a chuckle.

Without the boys, dinner was at a more relaxed pace, so we didn’t make it back to the Club until 10PM. Everyone was pretty pooped, so it was off to bed.

UP NEXT: A day at sea.

 

[scoutsmom99]

Fabulous reporting! I can't wait to read more

 

[fairfax]

Subscribing! Great pictures. Looking forward to reading more!

 

[RLccweems]

I can't wait to read more....

 

[CRSNDSNY]

I can't wait to read more....

Excellent!

 

[LisaSp]

...we were on the Feb 2 Eastern Magic and DH developed a crush on Sheika at the Golden Mickeys after party! She was very sweet and cute.

 

[Timster]

Love your report. Really getting jazzed for our 7 night Western in May. Our last cruise in '06 we had a great assistant server named Ranzil. Is this your Ranzil?

Looking forward to more.

 

[poffles]

Enjoying your report ...

 

[ecomerford]

Love your report. Really getting jazzed for our 7 night Western in May. Our last cruise in '06 we had a great assistant server named Ranzil. Is this your Ranzil?
Looking forward to more.

Tim,

That's our Ranzil. I'll be including a photo from Formal Night in the next post. As I said, he's now a promoted to Server. He's now engaged to another crew member from Peru and they are heading back to his town in India in a few months to check it out.

 

[kalel29]

Your steward, Ike, do you have a pic of him? Our steward was also named Ike and he did an awesome job. Myself and the wife always laugh when we think of him because we wouldn't be gone 10 min, and when we would get back to our room..everything was clean and organized. He reminded us of the butler from "Mr. Deeds".

 

[DizzneyDAnn]

 

[lillylynnb]

Cant wait to read more!!!

 

[lvstitch]

Great report...more please