Hi Everyone! We made it home last night and of course we are all sad that our
Disney Cruise vacation is over. This was our 7th Disney Cruise (we had done two 3 nights, two 7 nights, and now three four nights).
It was nice, but colder than we expected. By the end of the week it had warmed up, but I was wearing my sweater most of the time (but I am always cold inside of the ship, so I tend to feel cold a lot).
Not much has changed since we went 15 months ago. A few things I noticed:
-the first night they had a comic show instead of Hercules. Before they had Hercules the first night and then the comic show. On this cruise it was 1)comic show 2)Hercules 3)Golden Mickeys 4)Disney Dreams.
-at the Golden Mickeys they no longer have Roy Disney in the video part. They now have Whoopi Goldberg. She was good, but I missed seeing Roy Disney in it.
-there were different bikes at CC and we all liked them (nice big seats). We also went on the new bike trail which was fun. We are hoping for even more bike trails because on cooler days it is nice to have things to do other than get in the water at CC.
-the number system when you first get to the port seemed to work well. We had a number 2 and they boarded the 1s and 2s first together.
-there was a new background for the picture they take of your family when you first get on the ship (and they now make that picture larger so you have to pay more for it--of well, we always buy that first picture).
-there was no movie guide in our room telling us what movies are playing, but when I went to the front desk they had them there to pick up. In the past they left the schedule in our room the first night.
-they offered some really cute family picture opportunities where you have a completely white background and everyone sort of lays on the white sheet together in a casual pose. I know it doesn't sound really 'Disney', but the pictures are cute and we thought they would be nice in one of the Christmas Card options.
-they offered a Disney Vacation Club members gathering the morning we were at Nassau. It was at 9:00 and was over by the time they started letting people off the ship. It was nice and they gave all of us red baseball caps. They told us if they "caught" us wearing them during the cruise they would give us a pin. Several of us from the gathering wore our caps on the ship (it was nice to see them) and my family ended up with 3 or 4 pins by the end of the cruise. The kids got a real kick out of that.
-the other thing that changed that is REALLY nice is they are giving 10% off bookings of 3 or 4 night cruises along with the $100 onboard credit. During our past cruises the offer was just $100 onboard credit for rebooking a 3 or 4 night and the 10% off was only for the 7 night cruise (and they get a $200 onboard credit). The onboard credits are still the same for the 3,4 and 7 night cruises, but now all of them get a 10% off discount. I was able to save about $250 off of our four night cruise next March and get $100 onboard credit (AND keep my room--I have a SPR room (5520) booked and wanted to keep it). It was an odd situation for us because the woman onboard who rebooks you had a personal situation arise and had to leave the ship at Nassau, so they just had us filled out quote request forms for booking future cruises and then when I got home there was a message on my answering machine and someone at Disney has already taken care of my request. I wish they would always do it this way. We didn't have to wait and talk to anyone, just fill out a form and drop it in the box. I have until Monday night at 10:00 pm to decide to keep my reservation (and put down a deposit).
Like I said, not much as changed since we went, but there is also something nice about seeing the familiar. It is like being "home" again.
I did wear my Crocs at CC and loved them! BUT I will say none of us went swimming. The water was cooler than we expected and my girls really don't like salt water, so after lunch we went back on the ship and they swam in the pools instead. The Crocs worked great for bike riding and one of my DDs and I went on the beach and relaxed on a lounge chair while my DH and other DD went Kayaking and then sailing. Sand does get in your shoe, but it comes right out and they dry very fast. Next year we are all bringing crocs! But again, I don't know how they would work in the water.
We went to Parrot Cay when we first got on board. This was a 'first' for us. It was nice! No one every told me they have the Strawberry Soup like at the 1900 Park Fare Cinderella Dinner! I almost missed it! I was surprised that most people wanted to go upstairs. It was crowded at all in PC and even by the time we left, it was still no crowded. After lunch, we went up stairs and the girls swam until time for our rooms to open.
The Budget Rental Car pick up and drop off went VERY SMOOTH! We rented a car at Budget at the airport, went to Disney to stay Saturday night. The next day DH dropped us off at port and returned the car at Budget. They brought him back on a shuttle. The day we got off we weren't sure when they would pick us up because it says their office opens at 8:00, BUT they were there by 7:30 when we got off and we just walked up got in the shuttle and were in our rental car within 30 minutes! It was VERY easy.
OH! one more random thought (sorry, I know this report isn't in a good order, I am just trying to remember things that were different or new to us)....the only reasom we went into Nassau was so my DD could get color changing nail polish at Del Sol. It was very easy to find based on the directions from this board......BUT when we went to the airport to leave we stopped at the food court near the Hyatt to have breakfast....what did we see.....a Del Sol Store! They said they just opened 3 weeks ago! So now we can just go there for DD to get her new supply of nail polish! I think they said they were the only Del Sol in Florida, but I would think they would eventually add more of these stores in the future. It is very easy to find in the airport.
Well, that is about all I can think of now.
DJ
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