Magic_Fan_Bruce
20K Crewmate
- Joined
- Jan 7, 2003
- Messages
- 257
Cast: Myself (Bruce-43), DW(Sandy-39), DD(Amanda-11), and DD(Jennifer-8).
Wow, this is part three of my trip report, and Im still on the first day! Ill try not to be so detailed, but its hard to know what people want to see when they read your trip report.
After we set sail from Port Canaveral, it was time to check out the new areas of the ship. I am always impressed with the level of maintenance and condition of everything on the ship. The sea is a harsh environment, and having 2,000 guests every week seems like even the steel surfaces would be worn away by now. But this time, just a few months after dry dock, everything seemed even more clean and bright. I know everything in the ship wasnt replaced, but all the carpets, tile and wood looked new. Cove Café was very nice and had a warm and comfortable feel to it. But were not coffee drinkers, so I cant say if its actually as nice to visit and indulge in their offerings as it seems. We just peeked into The Stack and it looked like it was well suited for hosting teens (but some still hung out in the elevator lobbies during most the cruise). The Promenade Lounge had a slight make-over, and now the little stage is on the opposite wall from where it was, and an additional entrance was added in the area is where the old stage was. This really opens up the area and seems much more functional. But the best new area was by far Diversions. I never really cared for Off Beat (although we had some goods times in there), it was fun to look at the first time you went in, but it just wasnt a warm atmosphere. Now its one of my favorite areas of the ship. I like beer, but I dont drink much (I had two on the entire cruise) but this place is far better than Off Beat and the ESPN Sky Box.
After walking around some and getting the kids checked in to the Lab, it was time to get ready for dinner. Because of our late booking we had 2nd seating for dinner, our rotation was PLAPLAP, which was great because Sandy likes Parrot Cay the most, and we would get it three times for dinner. We would have preferred 1st seating because it is sometimes hard on the girls to eat that late after a big day full of play, but 2nd seating has its advantages so we didnt attempt to change. Our server was Plamen assisted by Gabor (from Hungry) and Jeff (Kenya) was Head Server. Plamen seemed very straight laced and serious, not the all smiles and bubbly type you think of with Disney. But he was very efficient and attentive to our every need. I have had servers in the past that were nice and friendly, but they missed the mark on the actual service part. And, as we learned later Plamen had a very friendly and entertaining side, he was just very serious about his work. We did get the Excellent Speech a few times during the week, but I felt like he was sincerely concerned that our dinning experience was excellent, and if not he would do everything he could to make it so. Our Head Server Jeff made his introduction on the first night and he visited us enough during the week as to not be intrusive, but still available if we should need him. When he wasnt visiting the guests, he was always their assisting his servers. Gabor was very friendly and liked to visit and talk about anything. I dont know if its the official role of the assistant, but ours always seem more carefree and even clownish, which makes for a more Fun dining experience.
With late seating, Topsiders is often a great alternative for those nights when your activities or sleep schedule conflicts with your scheduled dinner. We had every intention of having at least one dinner at Topsiders this trip, but we never did. It seemed that each night our normal dinner had either a menu or event that we didnt want to miss.
A couple of other notes: We didnt do the Unlimited Internet Package, or the Unlimited Soda Package this cruise. We have used these in the past, and liked having them, but we didnt really miss not having them this time. We did bring a 12 pack of Pepsi and a 12 pack of waters with us. The two most helpful things that we packed were the Over the Door Shoe Holders (no shoes ever held in them), and a Chip Clip (Curtain Clip).
Bruce
Wow, this is part three of my trip report, and Im still on the first day! Ill try not to be so detailed, but its hard to know what people want to see when they read your trip report.
After we set sail from Port Canaveral, it was time to check out the new areas of the ship. I am always impressed with the level of maintenance and condition of everything on the ship. The sea is a harsh environment, and having 2,000 guests every week seems like even the steel surfaces would be worn away by now. But this time, just a few months after dry dock, everything seemed even more clean and bright. I know everything in the ship wasnt replaced, but all the carpets, tile and wood looked new. Cove Café was very nice and had a warm and comfortable feel to it. But were not coffee drinkers, so I cant say if its actually as nice to visit and indulge in their offerings as it seems. We just peeked into The Stack and it looked like it was well suited for hosting teens (but some still hung out in the elevator lobbies during most the cruise). The Promenade Lounge had a slight make-over, and now the little stage is on the opposite wall from where it was, and an additional entrance was added in the area is where the old stage was. This really opens up the area and seems much more functional. But the best new area was by far Diversions. I never really cared for Off Beat (although we had some goods times in there), it was fun to look at the first time you went in, but it just wasnt a warm atmosphere. Now its one of my favorite areas of the ship. I like beer, but I dont drink much (I had two on the entire cruise) but this place is far better than Off Beat and the ESPN Sky Box.
After walking around some and getting the kids checked in to the Lab, it was time to get ready for dinner. Because of our late booking we had 2nd seating for dinner, our rotation was PLAPLAP, which was great because Sandy likes Parrot Cay the most, and we would get it three times for dinner. We would have preferred 1st seating because it is sometimes hard on the girls to eat that late after a big day full of play, but 2nd seating has its advantages so we didnt attempt to change. Our server was Plamen assisted by Gabor (from Hungry) and Jeff (Kenya) was Head Server. Plamen seemed very straight laced and serious, not the all smiles and bubbly type you think of with Disney. But he was very efficient and attentive to our every need. I have had servers in the past that were nice and friendly, but they missed the mark on the actual service part. And, as we learned later Plamen had a very friendly and entertaining side, he was just very serious about his work. We did get the Excellent Speech a few times during the week, but I felt like he was sincerely concerned that our dinning experience was excellent, and if not he would do everything he could to make it so. Our Head Server Jeff made his introduction on the first night and he visited us enough during the week as to not be intrusive, but still available if we should need him. When he wasnt visiting the guests, he was always their assisting his servers. Gabor was very friendly and liked to visit and talk about anything. I dont know if its the official role of the assistant, but ours always seem more carefree and even clownish, which makes for a more Fun dining experience.
With late seating, Topsiders is often a great alternative for those nights when your activities or sleep schedule conflicts with your scheduled dinner. We had every intention of having at least one dinner at Topsiders this trip, but we never did. It seemed that each night our normal dinner had either a menu or event that we didnt want to miss.
A couple of other notes: We didnt do the Unlimited Internet Package, or the Unlimited Soda Package this cruise. We have used these in the past, and liked having them, but we didnt really miss not having them this time. We did bring a 12 pack of Pepsi and a 12 pack of waters with us. The two most helpful things that we packed were the Over the Door Shoe Holders (no shoes ever held in them), and a Chip Clip (Curtain Clip).
Bruce
We enjoyed reading your report and thanks for the tips!
