8/26/07 Wonder (L&S) If it is worth doing, it is worth overdoing.

[nezy]

That's great. I am really looking forward to that cruise. There is actually a very active discussion, that I admit I can't always keep up with, on the cruise meets board. They are a very nice group of Disers who seem prepared to have a great time!

It will be nice to have some other kids the same age. I know my guys are not into the "teen scene" -whatever that is. They are sports and video games. I guess you will be taking your children out of school too. We are looking forward to 2 days at CC. we have also booked a room atthe Coimfort Suites on Paradise Island so we can go to the Atlantis. It is alot cheaper than doing the excursion.

Anyway, here is the lingk to the Discussion on the Sept 1 cruise:

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1343812&goto=newpost

 

[jns]

Great report
Thanks for sharing

hope you are feeling better soon

 

[PA Princess]

That's great. I am really looking forward to that cruise. There is actually a very active discussion, that I admit I can't always keep up with, on the cruise meets board. They are a very nice group of Disers who seem prepared to have a great time!

It will be nice to have some other kids the same age. I know my guys are not into the "teen scene" -whatever that is. They are sports and video games. I guess you will be taking your children out of school too. We are looking forward to 2 days at CC. we have also booked a room atthe Coimfort Suites on Paradise Island so we can go to the Atlantis. It is alot cheaper than doing the excursion.

Anyway, here is the lingk to the Discussion on the Sept 1 cruise:

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1343812&goto=newpost

I have read some on that thread, but it is a bit overwhelming in its size. I will at least pop in to say hello!

My boys like yours are not real into the teen scene either. We actually homeschool and traveling off season is a perk to that. We also are excited for the 2 days at CC. I still have not decided what we will do in Naussa. We have 4 kids (2 girls ages 7 and 3 in addition to the boys), so we would need to rooms...not sure if I want to go that route or not.

Guess I highjacked this trip report long enough - sorry OP!

 

[DAggiesRWe]

Can we do this again?, Big Bad John, and Can there be too much Disney?

With no port today, and after the exhausting drain the previous day, we all slept in until 8:00. DS11 told us he was going to meet up with some friends on the sports deck for basketball and he was going to grab some cereal for breakfast and would check into the lab. The rest of us got up and headed to Tritons to try out the sit-down breakfast and get a preview of the restaurant for that evening. DS7 let our server know that he was a big bacon fan, and the next thing we know there is a huge plate of bacon sitting in front of him. DW and I made healthier choices, but we did steal a few pieces of bacon .

We took DS7 to the Club and checked that DS11 was in the Lab (he was once again playing the big-screen Wii baseball game). Then DW and I headed to Shutters to check out our pictures (we have been stacking them every day, but have to find our stack every time). We found our pictures from Castaway Cay including some of DS7 that we didn’t know they had taken . We sorted the pictures into “gotta have”, “would like to have” and “shred these so they don’t end up on MySpace” . We bought our package (with a few spares available for final photos) and went to check out the other shopping opportunities onboard.

While wandering around the stores, we came across a photo op with Lilo and Stitch. If you saw our door signs in post #13 you might have noticed that Stitch was Joshua’s (DS11) favorite character, so we debated whether to run up to the Lab to get him, but decided that Stitch would probably be gone before we could get back. We did the next-best thing and got our pictures with him. After that experience, we decided to check out who was doing pictures in the lobby.

But before we could do that we had one other very important job to get out of the way. On our way to the lobby, we passed by the “Book your next cruise” desk and there was nobody waiting so it was the perfect opportunity for us to put down our deposit for the next cruise . We had consulted our calendar and the available dates before we even left home, so we knew we were going to sign up for the 3-night just before Christmas 2008 (nothing like planning ahead). So for the agent at the desk, we had to be one of the easiest sign-ups of the day (no questions, just take our deposit money). YAY, we get to come back again.

As we wrapped up at the booking desk, we noticed that the lobby area was getting rather crowded. They were having a huge autograph blitz, with all the princesses in the lobby, Peter Pan and Wendy near the DVC desk, Alice on the deck 4 balcony and maybe a couple of others we missed. I ran around the lobby snapping pictures of as many of the people as possible for DW’s scrapbooks (since we weren’t looking for autographs or Shutters pictures, I just grabbed a quick snapshot of each one between the groups of kids so it only took a few minutes to catch some nice shots of them all.

I must say I am very impressed with the characters, especially Alice who stayed in character even when we saw her walking (skipping, actually) around the ship. Belle and Ariel were also great at staying in character (Belle seemed to know about every book that she saw someone reading and Ariel would ask people about everyday objects). I am sure these people have other jobs on the ship, which makes it that much more impressive.

After wrapping up with the characters, we headed to the gift shop to get the autograph of one of the most important people on the ship, Captain John. I tried to get him to sign a title transfer to give me the Wonder , but he convinced me that even if he gave me the ship I still couldn’t afford to fill the gas tank . I see his point, and DW and I settle for his autograph on some of the ship’s stationery for the scrapbook .

After running around all morning, the energy level is starting to wane and breakfast is a distant memory, so we head up to Pluto’s for chicken sandwiches and fries. We carry these back to our room for lunch and a nap only to discover that DS11 has checked out of the lab and is watching TMNT (again) . He asks why we didn’t bring him anything (because you aren’t supposed to be here? ). We send him to get his own.

My notes at this point list something that we had been noticing throughout the trip. As DW and I sat on the verandah eating lunch, we would watch the clouds in the distance and seemed to keep seeing Disney characters. Now I’m not talking hidden Mickey if you stare real hard, but full blown scenes (like Dumbo swinging on his momma’s trunk , or Pooh floating up to the Honey tree ). We decided that it was either the fact that we were starting to go into Disney overload, or Disney Cruise Line has truly found a way to control the weather

DS returns with his burger and fries, while DW and I lay on the bed to let our food settle. Before we know it, we are soon dozing (well DW is snoring, but I am still somewhat aware of the movie). As the movie ended, I vaguely remember hearing DS11 say “am I the only one awake?” and then he left (presumably for the lab). At least he remembered to turn off the TV. I finally give into the gentle rocking and let myself sleep.

 

[Sleeping*Beauty]

After running around all morning, the energy level is starting to wane and breakfast is a distant memory, so we head up to Pluto’s for chicken sandwiches and fries. We carry these back to our room for lunch and a nap only to discover that DS11 has checked out of the lab and is watching TMNT (again) . He asks why we didn’t bring him anything (because you aren’t supposed to be here? ). We send him to get his own.

I loved this part!!

 

[Dopey'sMAMA]

I'm just wondering if DW is going to post some of her scrapbook pages for us to see? I'm lovin the TR

 

[jns]

I'm just wondering if DW is going to post some of her scrapbook pages for us to see? I'm lovin the TR

yes I was going to ask the same thing

 

[DAggiesRWe]

I'm just wondering if DW is going to post some of her scrapbook pages for us to see? I'm lovin the TR

I discussed this with DW last night, and we are going to take some pictures of her favorite pages (she filled two books with this trip, if we ever do a 15-nighter, I will go broke buying the supplies ). I will post these as soon as we get the photos done.

 

[nezy]

Jackie
I see You are from donegal-the pride of all!
I have some relations in Donegal-last names of Haughey, Keeney, Timoney.

My dear friend once live in Mt. charles-I believe-her brother is still there and her family go "home" each year-Campbell's. Also know some Meehans who moved back too.

 

[DAggiesRWe]

I forgot to mention earlier that our towel animal on Pirate Night was a monkey hanging from a hangar on the divider curtain. I liked this one, and put him in the closet for the night. At some point during the morning, Semi (our room attendant) had pulled him back out, but added the parrot we had purchased at the Pirate Museum in Nassau and hung this back on the divider curtain.

We wake from our refreshing nap, and DW starts packing as I pull out the thank-you notes . We turn the TV to the disembarkation channel and watch Christiaan give a surprisingly entertaining discussion of the paperwork and procedures we will be going through the next morning (it takes a special person to make government paperwork and procedures sound fun ). We are keeping an eye on the clock because the Oceaneer’s graduation is coming up, and we definitely don’t want to miss it.

Just as we are getting ready to head to the Walt Disney Theater, DS11 shows up and says he doesn’t want to do the graduation . After some prodding, we discover that he missed the practice earlier in the day because he was in the room watching TV and is afraid that he won't know what is going on and will embarass himself. We tell him he is still going to have to come with us to see the ceremony, and on the way there he starts getting teary-eyed as he confesses that he really does want to participate in the show. When we get to the theater, we ask one of the yellow-shirts (CMs that work in the club and lab) and they tell him he is more than welcome to participate and not to worry and they show us where to sign him in .

A word here about the graduation ceremony: It may seem cheesy, and your kids may not want to participate (especially if they are a little bit older), but don’t let them miss it (and don’t miss it yourself). They put together an incredible video presentation showing what the kids did in the Club and Lab. In addition to that the kids get a free (my favorite word ) T-Shirt and a mortar board (complete with mouse ears) that they get to keep. Both boys thought it was really cool getting to be up on stage in front of everyone, and we thought it was fun seeing them up there too.

After the ceremony, DW and I stopped by the Lab, and DS11 said he wanted to have dinner with that group rather than coming with us. Over at the Club, DS7 said the same thing. So DW and I grab our thank you cards and tip receipts for the serving team and head off to Triton’s for dinner. I don’t really remember what we had, but I do remember that I was disappointed in the crème brulee for dessert (it wasn’t as creamy as I like it). We present Romy and Mariana with their thank-you cards, and the head server comes along with a group to sing “Happy Birthday” and present me with my cake (my birthday is actually the next day, but we are celebrating tonight) . After they move to the next birthday victim, Romy and Mariana come back to give us hugs and say how much they liked their cards .

With dinner done, we head back to the room to continue packing (one of the down-sides to the Land/Sea package was that we spent a large amount of the vacation either packing or unpacking our luggage. We put our champagne on ice and grabbed the thank-you packages we had done for the CMs at the Oceaneer’s Club and Lab. We checked DS11 out of the Lab for the last time and gave his pal, Perry, a big bag of Hershey’s Kissables (the Hershey version of M&Ms). Over to the Club and DS7 gives his card and the Kissables to his favorite guy, Mark, who is so pleased that he brings out the Club’s raccoon for a final appearance and even lets DS7 hold him.

We stop by the room so that we can all share my birthday cake. The boys seemed to like it, but I was kind of disappointed in it (spoiled by the chocolate soufflé at Palo I guess ) plus I was hoping the Happy Birthday topper was made of chocolate, but it turns out it was plastic

While the boys were finishing their cake, we did some more packing and left out the card for Semi (I used the same poem I had done for Jeff). Then it was off to the show. Up next Disney Dreams

 

[jns]

I discussed this with DW last night, and we are going to take some pictures of her favorite pages (she filled two books with this trip, if we ever do a 15-nighter, I will go broke buying the supplies ). I will post these as soon as we get the photos done.

Looking forward to seeing them all
still have't started mine from our Oct cruise yet

Jackie
I see You are from donegal-the pride of all!
I have some relations in Donegal-last names of Haughey, Keeney, Timoney.

My dear friend once live in Mt. charles-I believe-her brother is still there and her family go "home" each year-Campbell's. Also know some Meehans who moved back too.

Hi Nezy
know quite a few people with them Names too all good Irish names
we are about an Hour north of mount charles

 

[Sallyc]

Love your report (and Pics!) Can't wait for our trip in 2 weeks!

 

[RLccweems]

I am so enjoying your trip report! Also, I can't wait to see your dw scrapbook pages. I love all the pictures as well!




lettie

 

[Dopey'sMAMA]

I was hoping the Happy Birthday topper was made of chocolate, but it turns out it was plastic

Wow! They use to be made of chocolate

 

[manntra]

Thanks for the graduation picture. I was a bad Aunt and didn't go! You had such great servers! I think ours were pretty new and they were not very interactive or engaging during service. We had great tablemates though and have kept in touch. Thanks for all the great pictures and looking forward to the scrapbook pics!

 

[DAggiesRWe]

Now it was time for our favorite show of all, Disney Dreams. I splurged for refreshments for all of us, and was determined to close out the cruise on a high note with the family . We got our good seats in the middle and munched our munchies waiting for the show to start. Without going too deep into things, I thought this show did a better job of tying the Disney movie themes and songs together with a good storyline. I read somewhere that Disney Dreams actually won the award for Best Cruise Line Stage Show of 2006, and it was easy to see why. The geek in me was further amazed by the fact that they put on the first performance of this show a mere two hours after the Oceaneer’s Graduation, which meant all the sets, props, etc. were completed in that short time period. I won’t spoil the ending, but make sure you stay all the way to the end of the show because there is definitely a lot of pixie dust and Disney magic in this show .

After we shuffled out of the theater, I took the boys up to the arcade and got them each a $25 game card. We had a blast playing the various games (although I was a little disappointed because I would have expected some newer games to be onboard and these were definitely showing some age). They did have a couple of different Star Wars games , so the boys were completely happy to monopolize those until their cards were empty (they even let me play a couple of games) . While we were doing that, DW was going to the shops to pick up some surprises for the boys.

Going back to the first day at the Beach Club, DS11 found The Game of Life – Pirates of the Caribbean edition, and had been begging us for it the whole trip. DS7 didn’t really have a particular item he wanted, but DW did get him a pirate pistol that makes a realistic sound and shines a light in the shape of a skull and crossbones along with a Stitch plush that spoke several phrases (both of which drove me nuts on the drive home). DW also picked up a bunch of other mementos and stuff for her scrapbooking. The best part was when the boys and I finished at the arcade and returned to the room, their gifts were all arranged on their beds. They had a blast with these while I helped pack the last of our checkout luggage (we had one rolling bag for our carry-off and one big gift bag). We put the bags in the hall hoping we weren’t too late and DW and I took our last two thank-you cards and a bag of kisses and hugs up to the Cove Café.

Gede had my scotch ready and Christina made the one item that DW hadn’t yet tried from their menu. We gave them their gifts, took pictures, and shared a laugh over the Magical Moment gift. Christina said she sneaked down to the room and had Semi let her in so she could set up the gift, and almost had a heart attack when DS11 came out of the bathroom while she was in the room (good thing he closed the door). They told us that it is rare that they have guests who take the time to talk with them and that we made the cruise as much fun for them as they did for us. While we were sitting there talking, Gede started playing around with different bottles and playing with the machine. Next thing we know, he presents DW with a six-layer coffee concoction that he had just made up. She pronounced it fantastic and asks what he put in it. He doesn't even remember.

All too soon, it was time for us to say our final goodbyes so we could go enjoy our bottle of champagne (Gede ran out to the bar and came back with two glasses for us to use while Christina made up a nice cheese and cracker plate to take with us) .

We returned to the room and found both boys sound asleep, so we went to the verandah and set up our special celebration. I would like to thank the families on either side of us for leaving their verandah lights off (as we did), and would like to thank Captain John for keeping the boat heading east-northeast . As I sat there, I realized that I was now officially 43 years old . It is hard to put into words just how I felt at that moment in the middle of the Atlantic, sitting on our balcony beside the woman I love , listening to the gentle spray of the wake breaking below us, smelling the fresh salt air on the gentle breeze, sipping on my favorite beverage while watching the full moon reflect off the ocean . This memory will be forever burned into my mind as one of the happiest in my life. As we finished the last of the champagne, my wife held my face, said “happy birthday” and gently kissed me…(fade to black as romantic theme music builds to a crescendo).

Sorry, the rest of the evening is something that DW and I are not going to share, especially not on a family board .

 

[DAggiesRWe]

You asked for them, so here are a few select pages from the two scrapbooks that DW put together. I am sorry for the perspective, but I am not a professional photographer and the flash on the camera caused too much glare for the direct shots.

See, I told you at the beginning that she would find a way to use those pictures. She even found a way to use a couple of shots that were taken by mistake .

Some of the Typhoon Lagoon shots.

The picture in the lower right was from the information packet about the Beach Club that our TA sent us, and the photo of the sundae was from another pamphlet we found in our room.

The boat in the upper right has flashing LEDs when you press the button. I took the photos, but DW assembled the photomosaic of the ship model at the bottom.

See the note from Mickey Mouse. When we got on board, we turned in four pillowcases, a set of 24 markers, one of our Thank You cards, and a bag of Hershey Kisses and Hugs. Our last night, we got back the pillowcases signed by Mickey and Friends, the Princesses, AND a couple that you normally don't get along with this personal note from Mickey . I guess chocolate attracts Disney Characters. Photo of the pillowcase will come in a future post. Also note the Mickey bottlecap at the bottom of the page. DW picked up a whole set of these caps at one of the shops, and I think they are cool. If I bottled my own beer, I think it would be fun to use these as actual caps to see the reaction to "Mickey Beer" .

Captain John, various maneuvering photos, and the highly coveted Boarding Pass #2 .

More to come

 

[manntra]

Wow these look great....hmm......Can I send you my pictures and your wife can scrapbook them for me too? I was really good about the scrapbook thing for a few trips but the last trip (the cruise) they are still sitting in various envelopes.

 

[RLccweems]

Very nice pages....

 

[Dopey'sMAMA]

WOW! I'm so jealous Those pages are amazing, I have just started scraping...I hope I can put some together that looks that good.