40th B-day/Christmas on the Wonder! First-timer's report

[DisneyMama27]

Here's the story: DH turned 40 on 12/27 and 4 months ago we were still trying to decide how to celebrate in style. I have been drooling over the Disney cruises for years and years, but thought DH would probably go for Mexico or even Hawaii instead. After being totally overwhelmed at the options available, and even checking into ABD, he called DCL. Like every Disney CM we have booked a trip with, she walked him through his questions thoroughly and happily. Minutes later, we were booked on the Wonder for Christmas Day and his b-day! A dream come true!

Days later, we made it official and got our passports. We also transferred our reservations to a TA who got us more onboard credit, and was able to confirm rooms for us. We/I spent the next months reading these boards, studying my Passporter like my life depended on it, and making an extensive packing list!

Waiting to sail was the hardest part, but telling our kids was the best part! DS 11, DD9 and DD7 were thrilled and excited - as soon as we reassured DD9 that the ship was safe and Santa would come to the ship.

We couldn't leave well enough alone and complicated the trip a bit. We are DVC members and have wanted to check out Vero Beach for a while, so we decided that this would be a good time for that. Who doesn't want to go to the beach at Christmastime? So we booked the 3 nights before the cruise at VB, and a night at OKW before that. DH decided he wanted a car out there, since we would be going all over the place, but he wanted to get there on the 20th. I teach, and our last school day was the 19th. So he decided the girls and I would fly out on the 20th and he and DS would drive out, leaving the 19th. I know it sounds crazy - looking back, we can't even remember why we worked it out that way! So anyway, that's where my TR will begin...

Day One 12/20
MIL picked us up at 7 am to take us to DFW for our flight. I was really tired...on Thursday night, I had actually pulled a true all-nighter for the first time in years, getting all our suitcases ready to send with the guys. I'd like to say I slept on the plane, but I wasn't that lucky. At least it was a smooth flight, no problems. We were so excited to arrive in sunny Florida, since it had been so cold in Texas. Before the word "pool" could leave my DD's mouth, I realized that I had forgotten to pack her swimsuit. In my all-night packing, I didn't have her suit out -not wanting to go in and wake her, I had thought I would get in later and tuck it into a carry-on. Same story for my own suit. With a groan, I realized I would have to shop before relaxing.

DD and I got on the 1st boat from OKW to DTD, only to discover that there were no suits to be found in her size at DTD anywhere. I couldn't believe it - this is Florida, they should sell swimsuits year round, right? We had to give up, much to DD's dismay. We got back to OKW and got ready for dinner at Olivia's. We love this restaurant, and the bread was as good as ever. DH and I both got fish - they were both a bit dry, but our server was good. She earned her 5yr pin that night, and we got the be the Family of the Night at Olivia's, earning us a balloon bouquet and certificate. Overall, it was all fine. Like I said, I love the bread there and I ate plenty of that to make up for the main dish.

We had considered going to HS to see the Osborne Lights (we were at the World for Christmas last year, but I had hoped to see them again)...when we check our Times Guide, HS was closing in 30min, so that was a no-go. I was almost relieved - I was so tired, and just wanted to relax. SO we stayed in, the kids played and we got a decent night's sleep for once!

Day 2, 12/21
The next morning, we slept in, gradually packed up and left, heading for Vero Beach. We did visit Coronado Springs for lunch first. We have often enjoyed Pepper Market for CS meals, since there is so much variety and you also get drink service. They have always been very friendly there. This time we walked in to a very strong smell of salmon. I like salmon, but this was overpowering! Our service was spotty, and we had to wave over another waitress to get us new drinks when our waitress disappeared. My pizza was good, but DH's fajitas were bland. The drinks were flat, and I guess other guests complained because the servers had to start going to Rix across the hall for sodas. Anyway, not our best meal there. We went to the gift shop there and saw something I don't think I have EVER seen at Disneyworld - sale signs! I was shocked - 40% off t-shirts, mugs, ballcaps. 50% off Christmas items! I did some shopping, OF COURSE, and we high-tailed it out of there.

On to Vero Beach...I'll continue later, and I plan to learn how to use photobucket so I can add some photos!

 

[CapnJackGroupie]

Looking forward to the rest of your TR - you're doing great!!

 

[alldiz]

Count me in....
Kerri

 

[ljm23]

Great start, looking forward to the rest of your story

 

[DisneyMama27]

Thanks! It's my first trippie to write, though we've been on tons of Disney trips. First cruise, first TR!

Day 2, cont.
Ok...Vero Beach. It's a beautiful resort, and the CMs there were very friendly. We checked into our 2BR and went to check it out, discovering that there was NO view from a 1st floor room. I called right away (which we NEVER do) to ask if there was any way we could get a room with an ocean view. At first, she said no although she did check first. Then she called back - one of the managers had heard her on the phone and said he knew of one that had a partial ocean view on the 3rd floor, and he immediately came down to open it up for us, helped us move our luggage up, and brought us new key cards. Like I said, very nice!

The room was great - I love 2BRs! The view from any of the rooms would have had some obstruction from all the foliage, but at least we could see the ocean! We only had about an hour of daylight left at this point, so I ran Marcie down to the gift shop for the Tinkerbell swimsuit so she could get wet for 5 minutes in the ocean! I still didn't have one, so I just waded, while the rest of the family played in the surf and swallowed a lot of saltwater. DH Tom bodysurfed until he was ready to throw up, and at that point they were all ready to give up and hit the pool. I took those few minutes to do a little unpacking before dinner.

We decided to check out the town a bit, hoping for a good local eatery. After driving around way too long (and with a GPS, to boot) we ended up at a KFC/Taco Bell/Pizza Hut - not the seafood we were looking for, but we fed the kids and headed back to the resort. They were beat, so we tucked them in and decided to take a stroll for a little bit (we left a cell phone for them in case of emergency). We ended up at the Green Cabin Room, which was the only thing open. Helen was our barkeep, and she was great! We laughed and joked with her for a while before heading back to go to bed!

Day 3, 12/22
The next day (Monday) we woke up to cold and windy weather, not exactly a gorgeous beach day! We ate breakfast at Shutters and ran some errands, hoping for the day to warm up. We visited the "Treasure Museum" down the road...big dull dud. We drove around the island for a while, then just gave up and went back to hang out at the room. Tom and I napped while the kids vegged with the Disney Channel. What are vacations for?

That night we went back to Shutters, after a talk with the kids about table manners, etc. Our food was really good that night and the restaurant was almost empty. We shivered our way back to the room to watch Christmas Vacation. The season is never complete without at least one viewing!

Day 4, 12/23

The kids were starting to get VERY excited about Christmas, the cruise, etc. Tom took me into Sebastian to Wal-mart (Santa needed some help with some last-minute stocking stuffers) and he took Jake to get a haircut. It warmed up a little bit that day, so we hit the pool for the afternoon - well, we hit the hot tub!

Amazing side-story: Tom wears presc. sunglasses, but as the sun set, he traded them for his regular glasses and set the sunglasses down by the hot tub. When we got ready to leave the hot tub, they were gone! We looked high and low, with no luck. He filled out a Lost & Found form, but we were pretty worried considering we were getting on a ship the next morning! He had noticed another man at the hot tub with sunglasses similar to his, and we were thinking that his wife may have picked them up when she left, but we had no way of knowing where they were. Well, I was ready to knock on every door at the resort, when suddenly the man knocked on OUR door - with my husband's glasses! Pixie dust never came at such a good time!

Anyway, we spent the rest of the evening packing and doing laundry. Wait, did I say WE?

Here's a pic. of our view. It really doesn't do the view or the resort much justice, but it's all I've got right now. I still have to dump the pictures from the other camera!!

More tomorrow - Cruise Time!!

 

[DisneyMama27]

12/24

We woke up excited and ready to get going! The drive to PC on A-1A was pretty, or so I was told. My nose was in my Passporter, trying to glean any last tidbits!

We did stop at Ron Jon's for last minute junk...extra swimsuits for the kids (their summer ones were worn to threads, and there are no swimsuits in N.TX in winter!), souvies, flip flops, etc.

The moment we had been waiting for was here - the Wonder was every bit as impressive as I hoped it would be! We had to pull over and take a picture, of course!

We unloaded all our bags, tagged and ready, and Tom went to park the truck. This was so much easier than I had worried it would be! There was a long line to board, but the line to check in was short. We picked up the kids' wristbands and our pager. Register kids online for the Club/Lab. We did and it saved us a bunch of time! By then, Tom and the kids were too impatient to wait in line for pictures with Goofy, so we got in line to board the ship.

The atrium on the Wonder was GORGEOUS! I love Christmas decorations, and these were just beautiful!

Even the fruit was festive!

My crew was HUNGRY, so we headed to BBB. Wish we would have gone to Parrot Cay, since I heard it was less crowded, but the BBB was good too! It was just a challenge finding a table! The kids were itching to get in the pool, so by now we could go to the room and get them changed. The kids went NUTS over the rooms!
The kids room:

Our room next door:

We had two verandah rooms, 7080 and 7082, adjoining. The rooms were bigger than I expected, and the verandahs were safer! DD9 was afraid at first, and insisted she would be enjoying her room INside only - took about 10 minutes before she was draped over the railing, enjoying the view!

Our luggage was beginning to arrive (we had a lot, so it came in several batches throughout the afternoon!) so I unpacked a few things and then we trekked back to the pool. This was by far the most crowded time on the whole cruise, so we of course started losing people. Found them all, but this was where I started worrying about not using our cell phones! I did not want to spend my vacation worrying, so it was time for a drink - don't know what it was called, but it hit the spot!

I met up with some folks from our cruise meet, and then it was about time to get ready for the safety muster. The girls wanted to wash the chlorine out of their hair, so we got to the Sailaway Party a little late. DD7 was the only one who wanted to dance, so I took her down toward the dance floor. The rest stayed on Deck 10 to watch. After the party, the kids grumbled about being hungry again. We had 2nd seating,so I told them to go get some snacks while we were waiting to leave the port. I wanted to watch us sail out! They came back with hot dogs and chicken tenders, thrilled beyond belief that they could get their own food, and it was FREE! The sun had set, the wind picked up, and the skies were cloudy and gray, but we stayed at the rail and watched the ship cruise out of the port. Hearing the horn blow gave me chills!

The kids could not stand it any longer - they HAD to go to the Lab/Club! We had walked by to scope it out earlier and the CMs had assured my DD9 that she could accompany her sis to the Club or go to the Lab. She ended up spending nearly all her time in the Club, and no one gave her a hard time about it. I have to say, my kids thoroughly enjoyed the Lab and Club, and we usually had to go get them for meals, etc. My only frustration was that if they took them somewhere, I had to go there to check them out/in, etc. I understood this, but it was a pain sometimes. Next time they will be old enough to check themselves in/out, I suppose, and make that part of it easier.

While the kids enjoyed their stuff, Tom and I went to the Golden Mickeys show. This was about when I noticed the ship really moving. I never got sick, but it did make me feel a bit tipsy! Tom really was tipsy - he had grabbed a diet Coke and rum while I took the kids to the lab, and the bartender had made it about half and half! He added more diet Coke at the drink station, and again at Preludes...but when I reached over to take a sip while Cruise Director Peter was talking, I almost sprayed it on the couple sitting in front of me, it was SO strong - and I just thought it was Diet Coke!

Anyway, the ship was doing a lot of swaying. We were fine, but I was praying the kids would be fine too. DD9 tends to get motion sick, so I had brought a ton of non-drowsy Dramamine. (Never used one, thank God!) The Golden Mickeys were terrific - I love Disney's shows, and I was sorry the kids had missed it. Tom and I went a little nuts in the gift shops that first night...it WAS CHristmas Eve! Now we had to go get those kids before dinner at Tritons!

Sorry, folks, we did not get super dressed up on this cruise. We didn't wear shorts and t-shirts, but we took "Cruise Casual" to heart. Luckily our table mates did the same! They were a delightful family of 3, with a son the same age as ours! The boys hit it off and started talking 5th grade boy language. The girls attacked their menus every night like they were SATs. We LOVED our drink server, Sanja - she was so sweet with my girls, and cut up their fruit every night, made them ketchup Mickeys, and remembered what they liked to eat and drink (DD7 ate mac and cheese EVERY night, with fruit, fries and milk - which Sanja remembered, every night!) I liked the elegant atmosphere of Tritons, but DH didn't think it was themed enough. DS11 was just excited to get to choose from the adult menus. Side note: we have used DDP many times, so my kids are used to it. DS kept asking that first night, "What can I get?" because he just couldn't believe the answer: anything you want!

I had the shrimp cocktail starter, and some salad that was OK. (Sorry no food pics!) I really wish I could remember my entree, but I have been trying ALL week and I just can't. (If anyone remembers the choices, tell me please!!) Obviously it wasn't horrible or wonderful, but I enjoyed my food a lot that night. I don't like the little hard rolls they serve before dinner, but I have come to expect those from "French" places, so I just saved my carbs for dinner/dessert! I DO remember the dessert -they were all awesome! I ordered the Creme Brulee, but the Crepes Suzette were also very good. Our server Savio brought us out some "surprises" which turned out to be the desserts we did not order, so we got to sample a bit!

Oh - DS got the Escargot appetizer, and liked it! He is pretty adventurous, and hates eating off the "kid menu." He also got the duck, which he liked a lot. He convinced me to try a snail, and it was better than I expected - if I imagined it was a very garlicky shrimp, I could get it down just fine!

All in all, dinner was good. We went to Shutters and got "suckered" into our first package - they are expensive, but I am so glad we got them! I think we were pretty wiped out by then. I think we finished unpacking and got ready for bed - oh yes, Mama had to wait up for Santa! DH enjoyed the verandah at night. It was a little dark and rough for me that night, so I stayed indoors. I did get up and take one of the meclazine pills around 3 am, just as a preventative.

Our rooms steward, Lito, was amazing! He had come by that afternoon and introduced himself. When we came back from dinner, the extra bed was pulled down in the kids' room, although they had plenty of space, and we had a box of chocolates in each room, and some darling towel animals, of course. I LOVE turndown service, BTW - where do I sign up for that at home?

More tomorrow...Christmas Day at last!

On Deck 10 before the actual Sailaway!

I will add more photos to this post tomorrow - they are still uploading on Photobucket! Thanks for your patience!

 

[adrianna_sarah]

Reading about the fun of others is almost like having the fun myself. Do continue!

 

[TammyNC]

Can't wait to hear and see more.

 

[jedijill]

Love the report! Keep it coming!

Jill in CO

 

[DisneyMama27]

Here's our beautiful ship!

Marcie enjoying her verandah!

Here's a shot of the VERY busy Mickey pool!

More later...pics and report. I have to take a break from this computer!

 

[jenseib]

What a wonderful trip. (my sis's b-day is the 27th as well, but she turned 36)
I'm turning 40 in Feb. and I think I got DH convinced to take one in early March to celebrate it. I just love reading trip reports. And love looking at pictures. It makes me so excited. Can't wait to hear more.

 

[DisneyMama27]

Sorry for the delay...I am back to school (I teach 2nd grade) and have a bit less time on the internet these days!

Back to Christmas Day... for the first time in years, I woke before my kids! (Yes, last year at WDW the kids woke up at 3AM!!) We had the two rooms - one for the kids, one for the parents - win/win! We made sure the kids' curtains were completely closed, but DH wanted to leave ours open so he could see the moonlight on the ocean. Problem was, the sun came shining right in bright and early! Didn't take long for the kids' sixth-sense to tell them it was Christmas morning and in they ran, ready to see what Santa brought them.

20 minutes, too much candy and a pile of wrapping paper later, and Christmas was over! We had bought iPod Nanos for each of them, and I had spent hours loading them with music (after first wrapping them and then realizing how NOT fun that would be to get ipods with no music) - they were an even bigger hit than I expected! We could hardly get them to put down them down to get dressed for breakfast. I regret not taking a photo of DD7 standing in her pjs on the verandah singing along with Miley Cyrus at the top of her lungs!

By now we were pulling into Nassau. Our favorite quote of the cruise came from DD7 - "Mom, Dad, look - there's an island with a lighthouse on it, just floating right by!"

We got dressed and went downstairs to see Santa! There was a line, but we waited anyway - just as we approached, Santa was given a break by Santa Goofy - even better! We got our photos and gifts (Pixar calendars), then headed to Deck 9 for breakfast at Beach Blanket. DS wanted to eat out on the deck. After getting all settled, we realized it was a mistake - it was windy out there! We toughed it out anyway. The food was okay - fruit was terrific, and the biscuits and gravy were pretty good. I love scrambled eggs, and these were not even close. There was plenty to fill me up, though - I was too full for the omelet station!

After breakfast, we went down to deck 2 to disembark. Side note: I did a lot of research here on the disboards about Nassau excursions, and decided to save my money. It sounded like the only thing worth doing might be Atlantis, and it was pretty pricey. So we decided to "wing it" and check it out ourselves before committing to any activities. Boy, was I glad! I'm sure Nassau is a lovelier place than the parts we saw. Being the day after Junkanoo (a Bahamian holiday that apparently is celebrated all night) ALL the shops were closed. There was a lovely woman in the "welcome building" (not sure what to call it, but you have to go through it to get into Nassau) who had some jewelry and other items made from seashells. We bought an ornament carved from a conch shell to add to our vacation-ornament collection. That ended up being the only thing we bought there. We strolled into town, trying to politely decline all the offers for taxis, tours, hair braiding, etc. They were pretty pushy, but we just said "No thank you" and kept moving.

Proof that we were there:

We walked into town a little bit, but after seeing that there really wasn't anything open, we decided to head back to the ship. We were stopped by several men trying to sell us an adventure. One almost had us until we realized what he was really offering was a 2-hour tour with him just telling us about "historic Nassau" and Atlantis. Not sure we would even get inside Atlantis (he was pretty sketchy when we asked questions), we declined and went back to the Wonder. The kids couldn't wait to get to the clubs, so Tom and I decided to check out EVERY deck of the ship - it was quite a walk, but totally cool to learn our way around better. We had lunch at Beach Blanket - inside this time. It was a bit disappointing - there were crab claws, but the first one I opened was mealy and mushy - Tom said this was not that unusual, but it weirded me out too much to eat any more. There were other things on the buffet that were good - a really yummy cheesesteak sandwich I remember. Dessert buffet was good. There was a stir-fry station, but again I managed to fill up enough to not need it. It did look yummy though!

After lunch, we wandered the ship some more - the adult area (Route 66) looked really fun. Each room is themed really well - the Cadillac Lounge looks just like the inside of a Cadillac; Wavebands looked like a lot of fun, and DH loved Diversions - it was like a really classy sports bar with board/group games all around the room for kids/adults to play with (kids are only allowed in during the day, BTW), and of course, several TVs for the sports fans. We checked back into the room and saw the folder with info about future cruises. We sat on our verandah for a while and talked about the idea of rebooking - and we had hardly been on the ship for 24 hours! We walked upstairs to talk to Kylie, the rebooking agent. She was on a break for another 20 minutes, so we sat and waited for her, looking at possible dates in the folder. Note: Kylie is AWESOME - she was patient, answered our questions (even the ones I asked that DH had already asked), and looked up tons of dates/stateroom options, etc. for us. She worked with us for over an hour, and we rebooked a 7 day for 10/2010 - a long ways away, but cheaper than the 4 day we were on!

BY this time, the kids were ready for some time with their new gifts, so we picked them up and hung out in the room - watching movies, playing, napping (ok, that was me) and then we ordered room service. What started out as me wanting a simple cheese & cracker plate turned into a burger, hot dog, pizza, fruit bowl, case of water, and cookies! Of course, it was only 4 and we had over 4 hours before dinner. I managed another mini-nap before it was time to get dressed for the show.

I played the "it's Christmas" card and coerced everyone to get dressed up that night. I also insisted that the kids come with us to the show that night - it was Toy Story and I knew they would like it! We are huge Toy Story fans, and we were not disappointed! The sets and costumes were wonderful, and the performers were very talented. Of course, the kids then discovered the shops!

After the show, we shuffled through the crowds to Animator's Palate for dinner. Since the line was long to get in, we just waited it out in Shutters. We had received a message on our room phone that we had won something in the raffle the first night, so I asked about that and found we had won a photo package - a bunch of 8x10 stock photos (pics of characters, the ship, etc - awesome for scrapbooks!) and 2 8x10s of our own choice! What a great surprise!

By now, AP had no line, so we went right in to our table (the 1st night our Cruise Director Peter assured us all that it was okay to be a few minutes "late" to dinner - we weren't at Disneyworld and they wouldn't give away our table if we were late! ). We were a little disappointed to hear that there would not be a "show" that night for dinner, but OK.

Our tablemates told us that they had walked to Atlantis to check it out. They were not impressed, feeling like they were constantly pushed into casinos. We felt relieved that we had stayed and enjoyed the Wonder!

Dinner was good - DH was disappointed with his overcooked steak, but he is pretty picky about steak. Our server would have brought him a new one, I'm sure, but he didn't want to wait for it, and he wasn't that hungry.
I had lobster, and thought it was great. I enjoyed all the food that night, but I mostly nibbled at each course!

I think the kids went back to the clubs after dinner, and we had some more time alone! By now we were "at sea" again and it was eerie but beautiful to watch the ocean in the dark from our verandah!

Family Photo with Goofy

The awesome Gingerbread House on deck 4.

Atlantis, from the ship. Didn't go this time, but maybe another time...

Nassau from the Wonder

I will add more later!Thanks for reading!

 

[nzdisneymom]

I am enjoying your report - sounds like a fabulous way to celebrate a 40th birthday!

 

[DisneyZell]

Nice report. we have never been on the Wonder, so it's kind of fun to read about your trip and the names of the various rooms, etc. that are just slightly different on the sister ship. Keep it up!

 

[engle]

This makes me so ready to go....too bad I have 11 more months!!! Can't wait...nice review!!

 

[jenseib]

Can't wait for more. Did they have a pirate night on the x-mas cruise? Is that why you didn't have the AP show?

 

[DisneyMama27]

Can't wait for more. Did they have a pirate night on the x-mas cruise? Is that why you didn't have the AP show?

Actually, they did have pirate night on the next night, and did the show the same night. I don't know why they didn't do it on Christmas night - Pirate night was already busy enough!


Sorry it's been too long! I tried to write one night and then lost it all to technical difficulties! So here we go again!

Dec.26 Sea Day!
After a wonderful Christmas day, I hoped to sleep in... But it was wonderful to wake up in the middle of the ocean - ahhh, this is the life! By now, we were used to the ship's movement and we all were enjoying it!

We got up slowly, got ready and decided to try Parrot Cay's breakfast today - good choice! It was pretty much the same food as BBB, but the atmosphere was nicer, more calm, and the layout less crowded. I had a yummy bacon pastry thing, a bunch of fruit, and I honestly don't remember what else. There was an omelet station, but you had to tell your server if you wanted something besides ham and cheese. DH did not like the cheese they used, but he is picky and does not like American cheese. Everything was great, IMHO.

The kids were dying to see Bedtime Stories, premiering in the Walt Disney Theater. We had some time before it started, so we walked a mile (3 laps?) on Deck 4, with the kids plugged in to their iPods. Then we grabbed our FREE drinks from Deck 9 before heading back to Deck 4 for the movie(drinks and snacks are SOLD right by the theater, so keep to the LEFT as you enter if your kids think they HAVE to have candy to watch a movie!). BTW, the only time we used the elevator was when we boarded the ship. We trekked up and down those stairs constantly, easing our guilt over the calories we were consuming!!

Bedtime Stories was a great movie, and the theater was comfortable, with reclining seats and cupholders! We knew from our Navigator that the Club would be making FLubber just 15 min. after the movie, so we took the kids back up to grab a quickie lunch (hot dog) before checking them in. Let me say, I usually do not force feed my kids, but we had a spa reservation and I KNEW KNEW KNEW that they would realize they were hungry and page us as soon as we got relaxed at the spa! So yes, I made them eat! We also told them not to page us for a while unless it was an emergency! We didn't need to worry - they loved the clubs!

DH and I had scheduled the Exotic Rasul after reading some reviews online. I will spare the details, but tell you that it was fun and relaxing, and we would do it again! =) Afterward, we checked out the gym, and decided to go change into workout clothes and come back. The fitness room was state of the art, with a great view of the ocean! We had a good workout, and I decided I wanted to swim. I should have just gone to the adult pool, but I went to the clubs first to see if the kids wanted to swim, which OF COURSE they did! By the time we got up to the Goofy pool, the crew was stacking the lounge chairs, the sun was starting to set, and it was getting windy and cold. I went to the hot tub for a FEW minutes, while the kids got in a quick swim. Just wasn't working out, so we dripped back to the cabin - very cold now - and started getting ready for Pirate Night.

I had found a Jack Sparrow costume for DS for 50% off after Halloween, so he was excited to wear it - hat w/dreadlocks and all! DH and I got carried away the first night at Mickey's Mates and bought hats and eyepatches for the rest of us - we were so cute, and it was fun to dress up, although we were not nearly as dressed as some of the guests we saw!

We had dinner at Animator's Palate again that night, and this time we were going to see the show! Dinner was great - not as "themed" as I expected. The drinks we tried each night were always yummy! I had the alfredo penne pasta, which was very good, but not the best I ever had. I was full enough to just nibble at dessert. The show was neat, but not as spectacular as I had expected. I don't mean to sound negative - the food was all very good, and I enjoyed all the restaurants so much!

Right after dinner was the pirate party - that is the downside of late dinner. You are too stuffed to enjoy the buffet at the pirate party! First was the show, which the kids all enjoyed, esp. Stitch. DD7 had insisted we stand all the way at the front, so we had a great view! It was a cold night, so we were all ready for Mickey to join the party and then for the fireworks! I LOVED that - I am a big firework fan anyway, but to see them at sea was incredible! We walked by the buffet and it looked awesome, but we couldn't even imagine eating.

The kids were dying to see Bolt, so while everyone else was stuffing their faces at the buffet, we went down to the Buena Vista Theater. They handed us our 3-D glasses, and we found seats with just a few minutes to spare. Here's what I had not read about this theater - the seats were horrible! They do not recline, there are no cupholders, and there is very little legroom! Maybe it was just us and the fact that it was late at night, but it was really hard to sit through the movie, which was really very cute. I squirmed and fidgeted, and DH had to leave - his back is not great, so he was miserable. When we finally finished the movie, I couldn't wait to get in my cozy bed and be rocked to sleep by the sea!

More later - thanks for reading!! I'm not sure my writing is very good this late at night!

 

[adrianna_sarah]

Ah, to be once again rocked to sleep by the ocean. Could anything be more heavenly?

 

[DisneyMama27]

So we woke this morning, docked in paradise! Castaway Cay right outside our verandah! A bright, beautiful perfect day!

Here's the Christmas tree:

We had reservations at 9 am for Castaway Ray's Stingray Adventure. I had read advice that this was better early due to sand being stirred up, but it was sure feeling early! We sang Happy Birthday to Daddy and gave him his presents, then hurried off to breakfast at Parrot Cay. We were all ready to enjoy the gorgeous island, so it wasn't hard to get everyone ready. We loaded up our bags with snorkels & masks, clothing changes (didn't use), sunscreen (DID use), cameras and, I don't know, someone must have slipped some bricks in there somehow because I suddenly felt like a pack mule!

Not much of a crowd yet, but we had a LONG walk to Ray's. The challenge was pushing the family past everything they wanted to stop and look at (or take pics of), but we were running a teensy bit late! The CMs at Castaway Ray's were great - a naturalist (I think that was her title)explained all about stingrays, which would have been very educational if my kids had been listening instead of playing in the sand!! I guess it wasn't fair to take them to the beach and make them go to "school" first!!

After getting our snorkels and masks on and spraying on sunscreen, we tiptoed into the icy cold water, despite the CMs urgings to just "jump in". We were divided into groups of about 10 for the "encounter" and each station had a cast member with a horse-shoe shaped PVC contraption that the stingrays could swim up into to eat. They are trained to eat when they see a Mickey-shaped "plate" on the track, so we held the food between our fingers, held it on the plate and pressed it down to the bottom of the track. The stingrays are safe, in that their barbs are trimmed (they are like fingernails), but DD9 was still a little skittish around them. She tried to feed one, but jumped back at the last minute! The kids were all impressed with Megatron, a ginormous female that barely fit in the track, her wingspan was so huge! After the feeding, we were encouraged to go out and snorkel with the rays. The water was pretty chilly, but DS, DH and I braved it. After a couple gulps of seawater I got the hang of the snorkel and managed a few pictures with the waterproof camera (sorry to tease - that camera is still sitting on my kitchen counter ). My 11yo Jake impressed me, toughing out the cold water and enjoying the rays. The girls stayed safely on the beach, playing in the sand. Oh well....

The rays were fun, but we were ready for some more island fun, so we hauled our stuff down toward the family beach. Closer to the snorkel rentals, the beach was a lot more crowded, so we stayed farther out where it was less crowded - the kids had plenty of beach to play on, and we found some chairs and an umbrella where we could leave our things.

OK, here's some good ones...

DH enjoying his Konk Kooler

I love this one!

While the rest of the photos download to photobucket, I'll tell more about our day...in a new post!

 

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I love your report!! We leave for our first cruise April 4th, so I am taking in all I can to learn about what to expect.