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- Jul 15, 2003
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So here is my late trip report. The players- Myself 43, DH 41, DS 14, DD 6, DM 77, and my DSIS 51.
Pre-trip: We had planned the cruise for a year, going back and forth about the date, the length. Finally settling on Feb 14 Magic, I got down to details. Deciding to fly down the day before, I made reservations for Jetblue flights on 2/13 5:30 PM. Late, so that the kids could go to school and DH and I could stay home and pack, clean, etc. This part worked out well-the return trip wasnt as pleasant-but Ill get to that.
My mom and sister decided to fly down a few days early and go to Epcot and MK. Good for them. They did-and Im glad I didnt. I was under enough stress already.
Ok-Lets talk about luggage and carryon bags.
#1-Listen when people tell you to bring less clothes than you think you need. I didnt wear most of my clothes. At home-I tend to wear the same things over and over. I am a real t-shirt and jeans, khakis, shorts. Think Lands End- kind of gal. I really didnt need or wear the 3 pairs of sweats. Or the two different swimsuit covers. Also shoes! Good Lord, thank you for my blessings-but keep me from shoe stores! I am a Payless Shoes addict! And I packed most of them in my garment bag! I ended up wearing one pair of white casual sandals, white sneakers and a pair of black pumps. So pack less.
#2-Carry on luggage. I didnt need to bring most of what I packed in my carryon. I looked like I emptied the shelves of our Duane Reade! A small bottle of Advil, Tylenol and my Dramamine would have been fine. One pair of hose (I brought 3), etc-Anything I thought I might have needed-I brought three of, all in my carryon bags. Also-I will never bring my laptop on vacation again! (Imagine, a starving Scarlett OHara). I didnt use it, it was a cumbersome annoyance. And ALL of my textbooks and notebooks (I go to college). Next time, I will take the professors advice and make other arrangements. I was exhausted and needed a chiropractor by the time we got to our cabin!!
#3 Do not, in a moment of exhausted tension and surrender, allow your six year old to bring 3 Care Bears and a baby doll, plus coloring books, crayons, stickers, and the odd, naked Barbie doll. Your DD will not be able to carry them-though she will swear to our Creator she can-you will. She will not touch them, once you pack/shove them into her Barbie backpack (which she also needs).
#4 The absolutely best thing I purchased-prior to our trip-were our DS clothes. He is a terrible dresser on his best day. And he is growing like a weed. I did my best-made concessions where I could. And we were both contented. Until formal night-Ill get to that later.
#5-Probably the most important tip of all-laugh. I did this a lot. While we were packing, shopping at Target the morning of our flight, waiting to board, filling out the embarkation forms again, waiting for our cabin to be ready-just laugh. First, it really does lift the mood when everyone is tense, and secondly, people will think youre crazy and leave you alone!-Ok more in a little bit!Our Jetblue flight left a little late. I love Jetblue. They have comfortable, leather seats, in flight Direct TV, free headsets. The airport in Orlando is beautiful. We arrived after 8PM and taking everyones advice, we stayed at the MCO Hyatt. Our room was absolutely lovely with a nice large verandah to smoke on.
I do have a tip here. Leaving JFK in the evening was fine, but we didnt allow any time for dinner. By the time we ate in Orlando, it was close to 10PM. Our six year old had a meltdown (the first of several) and DH carried her to our room. Next time, we are loading up on pasta before we leave and bring tuna sandwiches for the flight.
At check-in, the front desk clerk gave an envelope with luggage tags and info. DCL picking up our luggage in the morning was fabulous!
Happy Limo was on time in the morning of 2/14 and surprised us with a stretch limo! So we were off to Port Canaveral! We made a grocery stop-it was a supermarket-dont know the name.
We arrived at the port at about 12:00 PM and proceeded to check-in. Oh boy. Here I really messed up. I filled out the embarkation forms incorrectly. It pays to read the directions. I thought I knew it all. So check-in took longer than it needed to.
While we checked in-DS and DD watched cartoons, looked at the model of the ship and had their picture taken with Max.
The cast member at check-in had a lot to deal with. He handled it all with ease, and then escorted us to the concierge check in. Here is where things started to get really dicey. My DD had been getting more and more worked up. Imagine-she wakes up for school on 2/13. Spends a day in school where everyone in her first grade class is preparing for a week long vacation (including the teacher, God Bless teachers!) After school, the beg and plead session begins for her paraphernalia. I win some and make some major concessions-which I will later regret (See part I). Then off to the airport, fly to Orlando, baggage, Hyatt-THEN dinner. (See part I, again) By the time we got to the embarkation photo, she was impossible and almost completely out of control. Leave it to say-no embarkation photo. DH is tense, I am extremely disappointed, and everyone else is pretending they dont know us.
OK- A deep breath and they announce our names! The magic begins! DM is hot and tired-we go to our floor and park her and the carry on bags (see part I) in the seating area, near the elevators. We go our separate ways. DH takes DD for a walk. DS disappears with a warning to be back in our cabin by 3PM. The rest of us just sit and laugh. Sigh-my family is a bunch of loud New Yorkers. I love them all.
When DH and DD returned, I left him with my sister and mom, and then Tess (my daughter) and I went in search of the concierge meeting. I found it-forget the name of the lounge. Made ressies for Palo, the spa, Tea with Wendy, signed up the kids in their clubs and relaxed. There were cookies and soda (yes-more sugar) and I loved that I did not have to cope with the ressie rush. We then headed to our staterooms.
DH, DS, DD and myself were in 8034, a cat 3 and Dmom and Dsis were in 8038, a cat 4.
I had never cruised in a suite before and I was astonished at the amount of space! It was like a small apartment. Two full baths, living room, dining area, master bedroom with a WALK IN CLOSET!! (Can you tell-I love storage!) There are two televisions-a blessing.
Since Ive been back, Ive done some checking into other cruise lines suites. They cant compare to DCL. Check it out for yourselves. You wont believe your eyes.
You will read different stories about the concierge services on DCL. We were thrilled. But, to be fair, we are a blue collar family that gets a kick out of hotels with pools! So, we are easily impressed. There were arcade cards for the kids, notes to our daughter with cookies. Every day there was some kind of food gift. They organize all your ressies and shore excursions into an itinerary. I should have posted this in a conspicuous location. (More on this later) Someone called from the concierge everyday to check on us. Room service was fantastic. We could order from the restaurant menu and had a continental breakfast in our room on debarkation day.
As for the DIS meets scheduled for the hotel and sail-away, I became very shy all of a sudden. I really have no explanation for this, other than; I have never arranged to meet people that I met online, before. If I discover another reason for this, Ill let you know.
We all met up and went to Deck 4 (I think) for the muster. Bring your camera! Everyone looks so funny in those life vests. A few of us had some laughs at my DH expense (hes vertically challenged). Then it was off to the sail-away. It rained-so we headed to our stateroom to relax, order coffee from room service and get ready for dinner.
We had main seating for dinner and I appreciated it for one reason-my daughter. There were six of us and we our tablemates were great. Joann and her daughter Marissa, who was the same age as my DD, were so friendly and talkative. We got along wonderfully. May you all be so blessed, to have people such as them at your table. Our servers were Roberto and Irwin. I apologize, but I do not recall what country they are from. I will say that they were fun, accommodating and personable and helpful. Ive been on five cruises and they are the best dining room staff I have ever encountered. The head server was very nice. However, we did not need his services. (Yes, we tipped him the recommended amount). We had the APL rotation, which we loved. The show in Animators Palate was wonderful and we all were enthralled. After dinner, we didnt go to the Welcome Aboard Variety show. Our son headed for the Stack and we checked our daughter into the Oceaneers Club. My husband and I roamed the ship, then went back to the cabin to relax. We were beeped at about 11:00PM. DD was exhausted. Our beds had been turned down, and we went to sleep. DS came in about 2-2:30AM-the same all week long.
I left the verandah door open to listen to the sea, as I fell asleep. Wow! I could get used to this! After our first night, we settled into a routine. There were some family activities that we all enjoyed and then some things we did separately. Bingo was a hit for all of us, though it is expensive. Tess, spent her daytime hours in the Mickey pool or whining to go there. After dinner, she went to the club. I have some significant regrets. The first of which, I had to cancel all of my Palo ressies! Very poor planning on my part. I did so much scheduling that things were getting screwed up! And-here is a biggie-get ready-None of us saw Disney Dreams! Please no egg throwing!
If there is anything someone can learn from my experience, it is this. Do not micro-manage your vacation. Just because you are onboard, doesnt mean you have to do everything. We are planning the same Presidents week cruise for 2005. Here are some changes I will make.
#1 We are keeping the children home from school on 2/18/05 and flying out of JFK at about 2PM. Arriving in MCO at around 5PM, will make the transition smoother.
#2 That famous grocery stop. I will not load up on snacks, soda, medicine, Barbie toothpaste etc.. just more to carry around.
#3 If the shore excursion is not specifically for children-Cozumel Mini golf is a good example-then we will either leave the kids on the ship or not go. That is one excursion I regretted. The course is perfection. Paradise in the middle of nothing! But it is boring for a 6 yr old. I am from the school of thought that expecting obedience from a child for three hours, plus walking, and shopping is ridiculous. I wont put her or me through that again.
#4 As I said earlier, do not go nuts with the ressies. We have already decided on one night for Palo, and I will have a massage. Then well go for the surial bath. Thats it. Three reservations to concern myself with. Last year I had ressies for brunch, high tea, dinner in Palo and hair, manicure and pedicure appointments, and couples massage, surial bathway to much and you have to pay 50% is you dont show-this happened to us because I wasnt careful.
#5 My teenage son had a lot of freedom. I have some regret there, too. He basically came and went as he pleased. I would prefer a tighter rein, maybe two-way radios, something to keep in touch. I trust him. But I would rather be sure than be worried.
#6 Formal night pictures-ugh! Tension, tension! The lines are unbelievable! Take the advice of other DISers and either have your pictures taken before dinner, if you have late seating or later in the week. Those backgrounds are around for days!
Oh and one more thing. If you have a late flight out of MCO, get an day room! It was the best! We all had naps and room service!
Thats about it. Happy Sailing, everyone!
Love ya, mean it,
Ursula
Pre-trip: We had planned the cruise for a year, going back and forth about the date, the length. Finally settling on Feb 14 Magic, I got down to details. Deciding to fly down the day before, I made reservations for Jetblue flights on 2/13 5:30 PM. Late, so that the kids could go to school and DH and I could stay home and pack, clean, etc. This part worked out well-the return trip wasnt as pleasant-but Ill get to that.
My mom and sister decided to fly down a few days early and go to Epcot and MK. Good for them. They did-and Im glad I didnt. I was under enough stress already.
Ok-Lets talk about luggage and carryon bags.
#1-Listen when people tell you to bring less clothes than you think you need. I didnt wear most of my clothes. At home-I tend to wear the same things over and over. I am a real t-shirt and jeans, khakis, shorts. Think Lands End- kind of gal. I really didnt need or wear the 3 pairs of sweats. Or the two different swimsuit covers. Also shoes! Good Lord, thank you for my blessings-but keep me from shoe stores! I am a Payless Shoes addict! And I packed most of them in my garment bag! I ended up wearing one pair of white casual sandals, white sneakers and a pair of black pumps. So pack less.
#2-Carry on luggage. I didnt need to bring most of what I packed in my carryon. I looked like I emptied the shelves of our Duane Reade! A small bottle of Advil, Tylenol and my Dramamine would have been fine. One pair of hose (I brought 3), etc-Anything I thought I might have needed-I brought three of, all in my carryon bags. Also-I will never bring my laptop on vacation again! (Imagine, a starving Scarlett OHara). I didnt use it, it was a cumbersome annoyance. And ALL of my textbooks and notebooks (I go to college). Next time, I will take the professors advice and make other arrangements. I was exhausted and needed a chiropractor by the time we got to our cabin!!
#3 Do not, in a moment of exhausted tension and surrender, allow your six year old to bring 3 Care Bears and a baby doll, plus coloring books, crayons, stickers, and the odd, naked Barbie doll. Your DD will not be able to carry them-though she will swear to our Creator she can-you will. She will not touch them, once you pack/shove them into her Barbie backpack (which she also needs).
#4 The absolutely best thing I purchased-prior to our trip-were our DS clothes. He is a terrible dresser on his best day. And he is growing like a weed. I did my best-made concessions where I could. And we were both contented. Until formal night-Ill get to that later.
#5-Probably the most important tip of all-laugh. I did this a lot. While we were packing, shopping at Target the morning of our flight, waiting to board, filling out the embarkation forms again, waiting for our cabin to be ready-just laugh. First, it really does lift the mood when everyone is tense, and secondly, people will think youre crazy and leave you alone!-Ok more in a little bit!Our Jetblue flight left a little late. I love Jetblue. They have comfortable, leather seats, in flight Direct TV, free headsets. The airport in Orlando is beautiful. We arrived after 8PM and taking everyones advice, we stayed at the MCO Hyatt. Our room was absolutely lovely with a nice large verandah to smoke on.
I do have a tip here. Leaving JFK in the evening was fine, but we didnt allow any time for dinner. By the time we ate in Orlando, it was close to 10PM. Our six year old had a meltdown (the first of several) and DH carried her to our room. Next time, we are loading up on pasta before we leave and bring tuna sandwiches for the flight.
At check-in, the front desk clerk gave an envelope with luggage tags and info. DCL picking up our luggage in the morning was fabulous!
Happy Limo was on time in the morning of 2/14 and surprised us with a stretch limo! So we were off to Port Canaveral! We made a grocery stop-it was a supermarket-dont know the name.
We arrived at the port at about 12:00 PM and proceeded to check-in. Oh boy. Here I really messed up. I filled out the embarkation forms incorrectly. It pays to read the directions. I thought I knew it all. So check-in took longer than it needed to.
While we checked in-DS and DD watched cartoons, looked at the model of the ship and had their picture taken with Max.
The cast member at check-in had a lot to deal with. He handled it all with ease, and then escorted us to the concierge check in. Here is where things started to get really dicey. My DD had been getting more and more worked up. Imagine-she wakes up for school on 2/13. Spends a day in school where everyone in her first grade class is preparing for a week long vacation (including the teacher, God Bless teachers!) After school, the beg and plead session begins for her paraphernalia. I win some and make some major concessions-which I will later regret (See part I). Then off to the airport, fly to Orlando, baggage, Hyatt-THEN dinner. (See part I, again) By the time we got to the embarkation photo, she was impossible and almost completely out of control. Leave it to say-no embarkation photo. DH is tense, I am extremely disappointed, and everyone else is pretending they dont know us.
OK- A deep breath and they announce our names! The magic begins! DM is hot and tired-we go to our floor and park her and the carry on bags (see part I) in the seating area, near the elevators. We go our separate ways. DH takes DD for a walk. DS disappears with a warning to be back in our cabin by 3PM. The rest of us just sit and laugh. Sigh-my family is a bunch of loud New Yorkers. I love them all.
When DH and DD returned, I left him with my sister and mom, and then Tess (my daughter) and I went in search of the concierge meeting. I found it-forget the name of the lounge. Made ressies for Palo, the spa, Tea with Wendy, signed up the kids in their clubs and relaxed. There were cookies and soda (yes-more sugar) and I loved that I did not have to cope with the ressie rush. We then headed to our staterooms.
DH, DS, DD and myself were in 8034, a cat 3 and Dmom and Dsis were in 8038, a cat 4.
I had never cruised in a suite before and I was astonished at the amount of space! It was like a small apartment. Two full baths, living room, dining area, master bedroom with a WALK IN CLOSET!! (Can you tell-I love storage!) There are two televisions-a blessing.
Since Ive been back, Ive done some checking into other cruise lines suites. They cant compare to DCL. Check it out for yourselves. You wont believe your eyes.
You will read different stories about the concierge services on DCL. We were thrilled. But, to be fair, we are a blue collar family that gets a kick out of hotels with pools! So, we are easily impressed. There were arcade cards for the kids, notes to our daughter with cookies. Every day there was some kind of food gift. They organize all your ressies and shore excursions into an itinerary. I should have posted this in a conspicuous location. (More on this later) Someone called from the concierge everyday to check on us. Room service was fantastic. We could order from the restaurant menu and had a continental breakfast in our room on debarkation day.
As for the DIS meets scheduled for the hotel and sail-away, I became very shy all of a sudden. I really have no explanation for this, other than; I have never arranged to meet people that I met online, before. If I discover another reason for this, Ill let you know.
We all met up and went to Deck 4 (I think) for the muster. Bring your camera! Everyone looks so funny in those life vests. A few of us had some laughs at my DH expense (hes vertically challenged). Then it was off to the sail-away. It rained-so we headed to our stateroom to relax, order coffee from room service and get ready for dinner.
We had main seating for dinner and I appreciated it for one reason-my daughter. There were six of us and we our tablemates were great. Joann and her daughter Marissa, who was the same age as my DD, were so friendly and talkative. We got along wonderfully. May you all be so blessed, to have people such as them at your table. Our servers were Roberto and Irwin. I apologize, but I do not recall what country they are from. I will say that they were fun, accommodating and personable and helpful. Ive been on five cruises and they are the best dining room staff I have ever encountered. The head server was very nice. However, we did not need his services. (Yes, we tipped him the recommended amount). We had the APL rotation, which we loved. The show in Animators Palate was wonderful and we all were enthralled. After dinner, we didnt go to the Welcome Aboard Variety show. Our son headed for the Stack and we checked our daughter into the Oceaneers Club. My husband and I roamed the ship, then went back to the cabin to relax. We were beeped at about 11:00PM. DD was exhausted. Our beds had been turned down, and we went to sleep. DS came in about 2-2:30AM-the same all week long.
I left the verandah door open to listen to the sea, as I fell asleep. Wow! I could get used to this! After our first night, we settled into a routine. There were some family activities that we all enjoyed and then some things we did separately. Bingo was a hit for all of us, though it is expensive. Tess, spent her daytime hours in the Mickey pool or whining to go there. After dinner, she went to the club. I have some significant regrets. The first of which, I had to cancel all of my Palo ressies! Very poor planning on my part. I did so much scheduling that things were getting screwed up! And-here is a biggie-get ready-None of us saw Disney Dreams! Please no egg throwing!
If there is anything someone can learn from my experience, it is this. Do not micro-manage your vacation. Just because you are onboard, doesnt mean you have to do everything. We are planning the same Presidents week cruise for 2005. Here are some changes I will make.
#1 We are keeping the children home from school on 2/18/05 and flying out of JFK at about 2PM. Arriving in MCO at around 5PM, will make the transition smoother.
#2 That famous grocery stop. I will not load up on snacks, soda, medicine, Barbie toothpaste etc.. just more to carry around.
#3 If the shore excursion is not specifically for children-Cozumel Mini golf is a good example-then we will either leave the kids on the ship or not go. That is one excursion I regretted. The course is perfection. Paradise in the middle of nothing! But it is boring for a 6 yr old. I am from the school of thought that expecting obedience from a child for three hours, plus walking, and shopping is ridiculous. I wont put her or me through that again.
#4 As I said earlier, do not go nuts with the ressies. We have already decided on one night for Palo, and I will have a massage. Then well go for the surial bath. Thats it. Three reservations to concern myself with. Last year I had ressies for brunch, high tea, dinner in Palo and hair, manicure and pedicure appointments, and couples massage, surial bathway to much and you have to pay 50% is you dont show-this happened to us because I wasnt careful.
#5 My teenage son had a lot of freedom. I have some regret there, too. He basically came and went as he pleased. I would prefer a tighter rein, maybe two-way radios, something to keep in touch. I trust him. But I would rather be sure than be worried.
#6 Formal night pictures-ugh! Tension, tension! The lines are unbelievable! Take the advice of other DISers and either have your pictures taken before dinner, if you have late seating or later in the week. Those backgrounds are around for days!
Oh and one more thing. If you have a late flight out of MCO, get an day room! It was the best! We all had naps and room service!
Thats about it. Happy Sailing, everyone!
Love ya, mean it,
Ursula
