6/5/08 3 Night Wonder Trip Report- with Navigators, 20 tips, and 100+ photos!!!
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Mickeyhugger
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Hey Andrew are you going to join us for Thanksgiving 09?
Great trip report
Rob,Priscilla& Rachel
Great trip report
Rob,Priscilla& Rachel
Us3
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Great report as always TCD! I can't wait to take a Disney Cruise...but we're waiting for our two youngest dd's to get a bit older. So we'll be going back to FW for a while! 
The door magnets are a really cool touch. I bet everyone was wondering how your girls met so many Disney channel stars! (and lets not forget the dad of the year award that came along with that, hahaha)
Thanks for all of the tips and suggestions. Can't wait to read more!
The door magnets are a really cool touch. I bet everyone was wondering how your girls met so many Disney channel stars! (and lets not forget the dad of the year award that came along with that, hahaha)
Thanks for all of the tips and suggestions. Can't wait to read more!
sandybobandy
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Waiting for more.....fun!!
DisneyMommy1022
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- 518
I love your TR!! Cant wait for more!
Our2Girls&Disney
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- 985
I am really enjoying your TR. Your girls are beautiful. Keep writing, I need more.
2disneycruzrs
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You're report is great fun and your family seems like just a great group! We want to hear more!!
Tri-circle-D
<font color=peach>Throwing some love to TCD<br><fo
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Great TR , you have a beautiful family!
This is a great trip report!
Waiting for more.....fun!!
Yet another fabulous trip report, TCD!! Perhaps you should consider writing for a travel magazine?
WOW! I have to say that I am overwhelmed by this response! Thank you all for the encouragement.
I shall press on.And- a special shout out to my friends from the camping boards- there is no friendlier group of people anywhere on the Disboards!
TCD
Tri-circle-D
<font color=peach>Throwing some love to TCD<br><fo
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Hey Guys!
Thanks for dropping by my TR!
To the other readers, Rob, Priscilla and Rachel sailed with us on our Thanksgiving Magic 2005 cruise. We had a great bunch of Disboard folks on that cruise, and we sure had a lot of fun. Rachel is just a little older than my twin DD's, and she and one of my DD's ended up hanging out a lot on the cruise. Our families met up through the Disboards.
Libby mentioned Rachel on our cruise. She missed having a wing man.
As I stated earlier, there was no meets thread for this cruise
. That seems to be the case with a lot of the three night cruises. It is a shame really, as having some Disboard friends to hang out with on the cruise can really enhance the fun!Rob and Priscilla- I hope you all are doing well. I actually did get a quote on the Thanksgiving '09 cruise while on this one, and almost put down the deposit, but did not. Our oldest DD graduates High School in June '09, and will be in college by the time Thanksgiving rolls around. Too much uncertainty about that. Plus, I really think we will try another three night cruise next summer. As you will see from the rest of this report, it was a great cruise, and fit in with our schedules really well.
TCD
Tri-circle-D
<font color=peach>Throwing some love to TCD<br><fo
- Joined
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- 4,937
Great report as always TCD! I can't wait to take a Disney Cruise...but we're waiting for our two youngest dd's to get a bit older. So we'll be going back to FW for a while!
The door magnets are a really cool touch. I bet everyone was wondering how your girls met so many Disney channel stars! (and lets not forget the dad of the year award that came along with that, hahaha)
Thanks for all of the tips and suggestions. Can't wait to read more!
Hey Sonya- Thanks for stopping by. BTW, that award was Dad of the century. That actually wore off pretty quick. So now I am back to just plain old Dad. At least until next year.
Seriously, if there is anyway that you can swing it, take your DD's on a Disney Cruise. It is really something that they will never forget.
TCD
Tri-circle-D
<font color=peach>Throwing some love to TCD<br><fo
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OK- Before moving on to Nassau, I forgot to post copies of the photos taken by the ship's photographers at our Thursday night dinner at Parrot Cay. I will share some thoughts about the photo department later in this report, but until then, here are the photos:
TCD
TCD
Tri-circle-D
<font color=peach>Throwing some love to TCD<br><fo
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Nassau
We have been to Nassau a lot. Before we started our family, Mrs. TCD and I took several cruises, and before our twins came along, we took a couple of cruises with our oldest DD. We have also taken a few three night cruises without the kids, but not in a while. I don't even know how many times we have been to Nassau, but we have been there plenty.
Nassau gets a bad rap on the Disboards. From what I have read, the criticism is unfair. A lot of the folks who don't like Nassau have only been on three or four night cruises, and do not have the perspective of what a cruise port town is like in the Caribbean. I honestly have to say that Nassau is a typical Caribbean cruise port town (I know it is technically not in the Caribbean, but let's not split hairs here).
Seasoned cruisers will tell you to not expect much when you enter one of these port towns. Invariably, you will run into folks wanting to braid your hair, take you on a taxi ride, sell you Cuban cigars, or hand you a flier from a store. These folks are generally polite, but can be a little pushy. It is the same in every port. That is what you will find when you get to Nassau, although I will admit that there might be a few more of these folks. Don't sweat it.
On this cruise, since we were only going to have two full days, we decided to forgo excursions on Nassau. Why pay to go someplace when you can spend your day aboard one of the most beautiful cruise ships afloat? Two of the DD's did want to at least get off the ship and walk around, so that is what we planned to do.
A suggestion for you that worked well with our family: decide the night before what the general plan is for the next morning. If you have teenagers, then you know that they can sleep late- really late. On a three day cruise that is not a real wise use of time. Let them sleep at home! There is too much to do on a cruise.
I generally get up pretty early at home, but did not wake up until about 6:30 on Friday morning. The ship was still moving, but since we had inside cabins, I did not know how close we were to docking, or even if the sun was up yet. There is a channel on the cabin TV that shows the view from the bridge, but I did not want to wake Mrs. TCD, so I took a quick shower, and headed up to deck 9 for some coffee.
I got up there at just about 7, and was surprised by the bright daylight! I don't think the sun comes up that early where we live (on the West coast of Florida), but out at sea, and this far to the East, it was fully up and shining by 7. It has been a long time since we cruised in the summer, so usually the sun isn't up when I first hit the deck.
Anyway, I get that first cup of coffee, and head up to Deck 10 to take a look around. I can see Nassau just off in the distance, and we are heading there rather fast. It is fun to watch the ship approach a port, and I recommend that you try it some time.
Since it was obviously going to be a little while before we hit land, I decided to take a walk around the top decks to have a look around. Also, I have never stepped foot in the spa on either of our previous cruises, and I planned to at least take a look around on this one. This was my chance to do that.
Here are some photos from my early walk around the ship:
Here is a shot of a worker putting the cushions on the lounge chairs around the adult pool. These looked pretty new, and these types of wooden chairs with cloth cushions were definitely not used on our previous DCL cruises. I am not sure whose idea this was, but I have to say that I find it a little impractical, and possibly a little on the gross side, unless they wash the cushions every day (which I doubt they do);
Here is a shot of the "new" furniture around the Cove Cafe (this is on the other side of the pool from where the above photo was taken):
This drink menu was floating in the pool, and came to rest on the deck at the pool entry. I thought it might make a neat photo:
The spa entrance is just forward of the adult pool, so I wandered in here. It was sometime before 8, and I was surprised to find quite a few people on the treadmills and other equipment. I thought I was crazy to get up early on vacation, but at least I wasn't running on a piece of equipment, watching TV, while there is a great track on deck 4, and a priceless view of the ocean. Hey, but that's the beauty of a cruise-to each his own!
While in the spa, I peaked in the Rain Forest room. I don't recall ever seeing photos of this area here on the Disboards. It certainly would not be appropriate to take photos when it is in use, but no one was in there, so what the heck.
Here is what it looks like walking in:
Pretty fancy, ain't it?
These are what they call mosaic heated benches:
This is the entry into a large sauna room:
Here are some shots inside that sauna room (it was hot in there!):
I don't know what to think about all of this. I wonder what it is like when the place is full of people. Hot and humid for sure. I was amused at how many signs there were in there saying "bathing suits required." There must be a problem with folks "losing" their suits?
I can see that it would be fun to hang out in the spa, if that is your thing. But it isn't mine, and I doubt that I will ever be back in this part of the ship.
Let me give you another tip:
Tip #12. Don't sleep in on your cruise! Especially a three day cruise. Sunrises are beautiful at sea, and there are no crowds early in the morning. You can sleep at home!
Anyway, after exiting the spa, I see that we will be docking in Nassau soon. I go down to the cabins to see if anyone wants to come up top to watch. A couple of the DD's come back up with me, and Mrs. TCD and the other DD say that they will be up in just a bit so we can all eat breakfast together.
As we approach Nassau, we see this tiny spit of land and what appears to be a small lighthouse (which is actually not so small, it is just that the ship is so big) :
That is Paradise Island, and the Atlantis resort there off in the distance.
This is an area that juts out from the bridge area of the ship. This photo was taken from deck 10. The ship's officers come out here while docking the ship. I believe that they are actually able to control the entire ship with the controls shown here:
As we approach Nassau, the ship's officers come out to dock the ship:
This is a fascinating thing to watch.
Here we are making our approach into the channel. There is already a Carnival ship in port (and a Royal Caribbean ship pulled in right after us):
As soon as we are docked, Mrs. TCD arrives, and we all go through the breakfast buffet at Beach Blanket Buffet. I don't think we have ever had breakfast in one of the restaurants, although that is an option. They have so much to choose from on the buffet, that I can't imagine what you would want in the restaurant that you couldn't find here. Plus, you can eat outside!
We took our trays out back, and enjoyed the nice early morning weather, although there were some dark clouds approaching:
That is the Atlantis resort again in the background of this photo.
A few minutes after this photo was taken, it actually did start to rain! It rained pretty hard for maybe two minutes, and then stopped. We didn't have any more rain for the rest of the cruise. Also, although it was hot, there was a really nice breeze all day at Nassau, and it was not that humid.
At breakfast, we finalized our morning plans. I would walk into town with two of the DD's, and Mrs. TCD and the other DD would stay back to hang out and relax a bit on the ship.
One more thing. As we were eating breakfast, our Cruise Director, Clayton, announced over the PA system that the ship had been cleared by customs, and that folks could go ashore. He also stated that today was a National Holiday in the Bahamas, and that folks should take that into account when traveling about the island. That was kind of a mysterious announcement, and we would find out later what he meant.
Next, our adventures on Nassau!
TCD
We have been to Nassau a lot. Before we started our family, Mrs. TCD and I took several cruises, and before our twins came along, we took a couple of cruises with our oldest DD. We have also taken a few three night cruises without the kids, but not in a while. I don't even know how many times we have been to Nassau, but we have been there plenty.
Nassau gets a bad rap on the Disboards. From what I have read, the criticism is unfair. A lot of the folks who don't like Nassau have only been on three or four night cruises, and do not have the perspective of what a cruise port town is like in the Caribbean. I honestly have to say that Nassau is a typical Caribbean cruise port town (I know it is technically not in the Caribbean, but let's not split hairs here).
Seasoned cruisers will tell you to not expect much when you enter one of these port towns. Invariably, you will run into folks wanting to braid your hair, take you on a taxi ride, sell you Cuban cigars, or hand you a flier from a store. These folks are generally polite, but can be a little pushy. It is the same in every port. That is what you will find when you get to Nassau, although I will admit that there might be a few more of these folks. Don't sweat it.
On this cruise, since we were only going to have two full days, we decided to forgo excursions on Nassau. Why pay to go someplace when you can spend your day aboard one of the most beautiful cruise ships afloat? Two of the DD's did want to at least get off the ship and walk around, so that is what we planned to do.
A suggestion for you that worked well with our family: decide the night before what the general plan is for the next morning. If you have teenagers, then you know that they can sleep late- really late. On a three day cruise that is not a real wise use of time. Let them sleep at home! There is too much to do on a cruise.
I generally get up pretty early at home, but did not wake up until about 6:30 on Friday morning. The ship was still moving, but since we had inside cabins, I did not know how close we were to docking, or even if the sun was up yet. There is a channel on the cabin TV that shows the view from the bridge, but I did not want to wake Mrs. TCD, so I took a quick shower, and headed up to deck 9 for some coffee.
I got up there at just about 7, and was surprised by the bright daylight! I don't think the sun comes up that early where we live (on the West coast of Florida), but out at sea, and this far to the East, it was fully up and shining by 7. It has been a long time since we cruised in the summer, so usually the sun isn't up when I first hit the deck.
Anyway, I get that first cup of coffee, and head up to Deck 10 to take a look around. I can see Nassau just off in the distance, and we are heading there rather fast. It is fun to watch the ship approach a port, and I recommend that you try it some time.
Since it was obviously going to be a little while before we hit land, I decided to take a walk around the top decks to have a look around. Also, I have never stepped foot in the spa on either of our previous cruises, and I planned to at least take a look around on this one. This was my chance to do that.
Here are some photos from my early walk around the ship:
Here is a shot of a worker putting the cushions on the lounge chairs around the adult pool. These looked pretty new, and these types of wooden chairs with cloth cushions were definitely not used on our previous DCL cruises. I am not sure whose idea this was, but I have to say that I find it a little impractical, and possibly a little on the gross side, unless they wash the cushions every day (which I doubt they do);
Here is a shot of the "new" furniture around the Cove Cafe (this is on the other side of the pool from where the above photo was taken):
This drink menu was floating in the pool, and came to rest on the deck at the pool entry. I thought it might make a neat photo:
The spa entrance is just forward of the adult pool, so I wandered in here. It was sometime before 8, and I was surprised to find quite a few people on the treadmills and other equipment. I thought I was crazy to get up early on vacation, but at least I wasn't running on a piece of equipment, watching TV, while there is a great track on deck 4, and a priceless view of the ocean. Hey, but that's the beauty of a cruise-to each his own!
While in the spa, I peaked in the Rain Forest room. I don't recall ever seeing photos of this area here on the Disboards. It certainly would not be appropriate to take photos when it is in use, but no one was in there, so what the heck.
Here is what it looks like walking in:
Pretty fancy, ain't it?
These are what they call mosaic heated benches:
This is the entry into a large sauna room:
Here are some shots inside that sauna room (it was hot in there!):
I don't know what to think about all of this. I wonder what it is like when the place is full of people. Hot and humid for sure. I was amused at how many signs there were in there saying "bathing suits required." There must be a problem with folks "losing" their suits?
I can see that it would be fun to hang out in the spa, if that is your thing. But it isn't mine, and I doubt that I will ever be back in this part of the ship.
Let me give you another tip:
Tip #12. Don't sleep in on your cruise! Especially a three day cruise. Sunrises are beautiful at sea, and there are no crowds early in the morning. You can sleep at home!
Anyway, after exiting the spa, I see that we will be docking in Nassau soon. I go down to the cabins to see if anyone wants to come up top to watch. A couple of the DD's come back up with me, and Mrs. TCD and the other DD say that they will be up in just a bit so we can all eat breakfast together.
As we approach Nassau, we see this tiny spit of land and what appears to be a small lighthouse (which is actually not so small, it is just that the ship is so big) :
That is Paradise Island, and the Atlantis resort there off in the distance.
This is an area that juts out from the bridge area of the ship. This photo was taken from deck 10. The ship's officers come out here while docking the ship. I believe that they are actually able to control the entire ship with the controls shown here:
As we approach Nassau, the ship's officers come out to dock the ship:
This is a fascinating thing to watch.
Here we are making our approach into the channel. There is already a Carnival ship in port (and a Royal Caribbean ship pulled in right after us):
As soon as we are docked, Mrs. TCD arrives, and we all go through the breakfast buffet at Beach Blanket Buffet. I don't think we have ever had breakfast in one of the restaurants, although that is an option. They have so much to choose from on the buffet, that I can't imagine what you would want in the restaurant that you couldn't find here. Plus, you can eat outside!
We took our trays out back, and enjoyed the nice early morning weather, although there were some dark clouds approaching:
That is the Atlantis resort again in the background of this photo.
A few minutes after this photo was taken, it actually did start to rain! It rained pretty hard for maybe two minutes, and then stopped. We didn't have any more rain for the rest of the cruise. Also, although it was hot, there was a really nice breeze all day at Nassau, and it was not that humid.
At breakfast, we finalized our morning plans. I would walk into town with two of the DD's, and Mrs. TCD and the other DD would stay back to hang out and relax a bit on the ship.
One more thing. As we were eating breakfast, our Cruise Director, Clayton, announced over the PA system that the ship had been cleared by customs, and that folks could go ashore. He also stated that today was a National Holiday in the Bahamas, and that folks should take that into account when traveling about the island. That was kind of a mysterious announcement, and we would find out later what he meant.
Next, our adventures on Nassau!
TCD
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