My family arrived in WDW on Thursday, 12/5. We wanted to spend some time seeing Christmas decorations and also do MVMCP on Friday, and hoped to be well rested before we embarked on our 2nd cruise with DCL. Along for the trip was my SIL, age 44, DH - 38, me (can't admit to being as old as I am), and 2 daughters, 12 and 7. Missing was my MIL who is in a wheelchair. When we booked the cruise over a year ago, she was planning on coming, but 1 week before departure, her doctor felt that it was not in her best interests to be cruising. SIL, who was coming to help with MIL, still came. I grinned and held my tongue many a time, but I was with my girls on the cruise so I was happy!
My girls knew all about the 2 days at WDW, but then they thought we were going to a beach for a few days afterwards. I kept the secret for over a year, and other members of the family almost let it slip a few times, but luckily I was able to deflect questions successfully. The plan was to tell the girls as we came over the bridge to Port Canaveral, and to get their reactions on video. I succeeded!
As we drove over the bridge in the minivan we rented from Avis, I was in front passenger seat, oohing and aahing over the size of the river we were going over, SIL was in middle seat, and my girls were in back seats, eldest with headphones on, not hearing a word I was saying, while youngest picked out the Magic immediately. I told her to poke her sister (she was happy to do this
) and tell her that Mom was talking to her. Once the headphones were removed, and sullen older daughter was now paying attention (she was not so thrilled with going to "just a beach", she wanted to stay at WDW), I remarked at the nice scenery, all the boats we could see, and did they remember our cruise last year on the Magic which was just in front of the bridge? Of course they did, and the youngest one said that she wished we could go again, the older one agreed. I then told them that we were really going on the cruise, not the beach. They were quiet for a moment, older daughter's jaw dropped, mouth hung open, younger daughter asked me if I was joking, I said that I was not.
They both stared at the boat as we turned onto the ramp off the highway, repeatedly asking me if this was a joke, were we really doing this, is this real, when did I do this, was their Aunt coming with, did Dad know about this, and again, was this real or a joke? I repeatedly told them it was real, and the the eldest asked if we were going to have Adrian and Zoltan again (our previous servers). I told her that I had requested them, we would check when we arrived if they were still there. This was followed by the "Thank you Moms". Until we actually got up to the checkpoint, they were still in denial, but once they saw me give the papers to the security guards, they knew it was truly real.
I received some back-breaking hugs when we got out of the van. It was not easy keeping the secret for a year, but I was so glad that I did. Their faces when they received the news are recorded on video, and I will cherish that memory forever.
Ok now, on with the rest of the day!
We arrived at the port around 11:15. DH and SIL went to return the van, I took care of the luggage. I was a bit worried about them finding the way, but I had printed out directions from Dave from Marietta's site, and hoped that with SIL along, they could find the way to the Avis drop-off.
I had to check in at the Non-Us Citizen line, as I am a Canadian citizen. My girls were checked in with me at the same time, I was glad I did not have to go to another line to take care of that. On another thread, I believe it was Ismac's, they mentioned receiving a letter about the virus. I did not receive a letter, don't know why. No mention was even made of not getting on if one is ill. We weren't ill though, so no harm done, we were healthy and ready to go!
Then we waited, and waited, and waited. First, we waited in line, and while doing so, Pluto came up and stood behind me and thus scared me. My girls thought this was hilarious. The people around us thought this was hilarious. I was not amused.
I was busy doing important things, like waiting and searching for my DH and SIL. Everyone was heading onto the boat, and they were nowhere to be found. Eventually, no one was in line anymore, they were all on the boat, and still no DH nor SIL.
They finally arrived about an hour later. They said they had to wait at the Avis counter. Oh, and the car needed gas, so they needed to find a gas station and then they had to find the Avis place again. In other words, they got lost! This is why I am always the navigator, and each of the SIL's spouses navigates on their vacations, too. My husband's family apparently lacks the gene that handles directions.
I should have known better!
Once onboard, we first went to reserve a seat at Palo's for the Champagne Brunch, then went to check to see who our servers were. We had Adrian and Zoltan again, although this Zoltan was a different one than last time, but the same Adrian! My girls were thrilled, as they both had crushes on Adrian after our last cruise. Then, my girls wanted to eat immediately. Off to Topsiders we went, where we encountered servers giving us whatever we pointed to at the buffet instead of reaching for it ourselves. My eldest exclaimed that this was even better than the last cruise, because now we did not have to do anything at all! Ah, the good life!
After filling up (by the way, the fresh fruit was excellent! the berries were huge and sweet, I could not get enough of them, but I knew I would be regretting it the next day if I continued enjoying them, so I left the fruit section under protest), we went to the room. We had the same room as before, 6036, with SIL next to us in 6038. I noticed the room had some more wear and tear than last time, but that is to be expected I suppose.
Then off to the deck to find the other DISers. SIL thought I was crazy for meeting people I did not know, did not like having to wait for me to do this, so I pretty much just said, "Hello" and left. I don't think anyone even remembered who I was, but then I did not see anyone the rest of the cruise, either! I would have liked to stick around and get to know the group, they seemed like a fun bunch, but SIL and DH were sitting at a table waving for me to go back, so I left the fun behind! Oh well, maybe next time.
At 4:30, we headed to the front of the ship to watch the preparations for sailing. From where we stood, we could see garbage bins filled with mattresses. SIL was happy to see that we were going to be sleeping on brand new mattresses! Suddenly, there was action! First to leave was the Carnival, then the Holland America, then finally us! We started pulling away from the dock, sailed down the channel, caught up with the Zaandam (must say, the Magic is a much nicer looking ship!), and we would have passed them if we weren't such a nice group of people! They were taking their own sweet time escaping the port's waters, while our ship was filled with people ready to go.
Then, the horn. SIL was surprised to hear the horn, and thought it was a nice touch. I was upset that I had turned off the video camera just before it blew. Good thing I have it on last year's video! Youngest DD then decided that she was cold and wanted to go back to the cabin, so I took her back. Shortly after, DH and eldest DD come down to tell me they saw dolphins as we left the channel and entered the ocean. Oy! I had been wanting to see dolphins ever since I can remember, and I missed it! I placed my hopes in seeing them again later in the cruise. Surely I would get lucky?
Ok, this is really getting long. Take a potty break, and I will start another post. Just a warning, it might be long too. You might want to grab some munchies on your way back!
My girls knew all about the 2 days at WDW, but then they thought we were going to a beach for a few days afterwards. I kept the secret for over a year, and other members of the family almost let it slip a few times, but luckily I was able to deflect questions successfully. The plan was to tell the girls as we came over the bridge to Port Canaveral, and to get their reactions on video. I succeeded!
As we drove over the bridge in the minivan we rented from Avis, I was in front passenger seat, oohing and aahing over the size of the river we were going over, SIL was in middle seat, and my girls were in back seats, eldest with headphones on, not hearing a word I was saying, while youngest picked out the Magic immediately. I told her to poke her sister (she was happy to do this
) and tell her that Mom was talking to her. Once the headphones were removed, and sullen older daughter was now paying attention (she was not so thrilled with going to "just a beach", she wanted to stay at WDW), I remarked at the nice scenery, all the boats we could see, and did they remember our cruise last year on the Magic which was just in front of the bridge? Of course they did, and the youngest one said that she wished we could go again, the older one agreed. I then told them that we were really going on the cruise, not the beach. They were quiet for a moment, older daughter's jaw dropped, mouth hung open, younger daughter asked me if I was joking, I said that I was not. They both stared at the boat as we turned onto the ramp off the highway, repeatedly asking me if this was a joke, were we really doing this, is this real, when did I do this, was their Aunt coming with, did Dad know about this, and again, was this real or a joke? I repeatedly told them it was real, and the the eldest asked if we were going to have Adrian and Zoltan again (our previous servers). I told her that I had requested them, we would check when we arrived if they were still there. This was followed by the "Thank you Moms". Until we actually got up to the checkpoint, they were still in denial, but once they saw me give the papers to the security guards, they knew it was truly real.
I received some back-breaking hugs when we got out of the van. It was not easy keeping the secret for a year, but I was so glad that I did. Their faces when they received the news are recorded on video, and I will cherish that memory forever.
Ok now, on with the rest of the day!
We arrived at the port around 11:15. DH and SIL went to return the van, I took care of the luggage. I was a bit worried about them finding the way, but I had printed out directions from Dave from Marietta's site, and hoped that with SIL along, they could find the way to the Avis drop-off.
I had to check in at the Non-Us Citizen line, as I am a Canadian citizen. My girls were checked in with me at the same time, I was glad I did not have to go to another line to take care of that. On another thread, I believe it was Ismac's, they mentioned receiving a letter about the virus. I did not receive a letter, don't know why. No mention was even made of not getting on if one is ill. We weren't ill though, so no harm done, we were healthy and ready to go!
Then we waited, and waited, and waited. First, we waited in line, and while doing so, Pluto came up and stood behind me and thus scared me. My girls thought this was hilarious. The people around us thought this was hilarious. I was not amused.
I was busy doing important things, like waiting and searching for my DH and SIL. Everyone was heading onto the boat, and they were nowhere to be found. Eventually, no one was in line anymore, they were all on the boat, and still no DH nor SIL.They finally arrived about an hour later. They said they had to wait at the Avis counter. Oh, and the car needed gas, so they needed to find a gas station and then they had to find the Avis place again. In other words, they got lost! This is why I am always the navigator, and each of the SIL's spouses navigates on their vacations, too. My husband's family apparently lacks the gene that handles directions.
I should have known better! Once onboard, we first went to reserve a seat at Palo's for the Champagne Brunch, then went to check to see who our servers were. We had Adrian and Zoltan again, although this Zoltan was a different one than last time, but the same Adrian! My girls were thrilled, as they both had crushes on Adrian after our last cruise. Then, my girls wanted to eat immediately. Off to Topsiders we went, where we encountered servers giving us whatever we pointed to at the buffet instead of reaching for it ourselves. My eldest exclaimed that this was even better than the last cruise, because now we did not have to do anything at all! Ah, the good life!
After filling up (by the way, the fresh fruit was excellent! the berries were huge and sweet, I could not get enough of them, but I knew I would be regretting it the next day if I continued enjoying them, so I left the fruit section under protest), we went to the room. We had the same room as before, 6036, with SIL next to us in 6038. I noticed the room had some more wear and tear than last time, but that is to be expected I suppose.
Then off to the deck to find the other DISers. SIL thought I was crazy for meeting people I did not know, did not like having to wait for me to do this, so I pretty much just said, "Hello" and left. I don't think anyone even remembered who I was, but then I did not see anyone the rest of the cruise, either! I would have liked to stick around and get to know the group, they seemed like a fun bunch, but SIL and DH were sitting at a table waving for me to go back, so I left the fun behind! Oh well, maybe next time.
At 4:30, we headed to the front of the ship to watch the preparations for sailing. From where we stood, we could see garbage bins filled with mattresses. SIL was happy to see that we were going to be sleeping on brand new mattresses! Suddenly, there was action! First to leave was the Carnival, then the Holland America, then finally us! We started pulling away from the dock, sailed down the channel, caught up with the Zaandam (must say, the Magic is a much nicer looking ship!), and we would have passed them if we weren't such a nice group of people! They were taking their own sweet time escaping the port's waters, while our ship was filled with people ready to go.
Then, the horn. SIL was surprised to hear the horn, and thought it was a nice touch. I was upset that I had turned off the video camera just before it blew. Good thing I have it on last year's video! Youngest DD then decided that she was cold and wanted to go back to the cabin, so I took her back. Shortly after, DH and eldest DD come down to tell me they saw dolphins as we left the channel and entered the ocean. Oy! I had been wanting to see dolphins ever since I can remember, and I missed it! I placed my hopes in seeing them again later in the cruise. Surely I would get lucky?
Ok, this is really getting long. Take a potty break, and I will start another post. Just a warning, it might be long too. You might want to grab some munchies on your way back!
