A Tale of Two Cruises (long)

[Cindyluwho]

I finally found it in me to write a trip report. Two of them, in fact. Our first cruise with Disney was November 2001 on the magic. It couldn't have been more perfect! We have traveled all over the world and had never experienced anything like the cruise, we really loved it! Our adventure started at the airport where we met another couple with a daughter the same age as ours. They were even dressed alike! And guess where they were going? That's right, the Disney cruise! Our little ones were instant best friends and had a blast together from the beginning. When we got to the terminal and saw the ship, Oh my goodness, it was unbelievable. What a beauty! We were second in line to board the ship, how lucky is that? It just added to the excitement. We made plans to split up, the DDs would go to Palo's and make resies and the moms would head to the Oceaneers Lab to register the kids. Somehow in all of this, I ended up by myself, no idea where the rest of the group had gone. They said "meet for lunch" but none of us had ever been on the cruise before, didn't know where to go........I was kind of panicky, I don't like to be lost it kind of freaks me out. I headed up to the 9th floor and met a wonderful CM, Gonzalo. He asked if he could help and when I told him I'd lost my husband he asked me if I'd like another one. That totally put me at ease, I started laughing and said, "Not quite yet, but check back in a couple of years I may get bored." We had a good laugh and I walked around the corner and there was my hubby and our new friends. When we went to dinner that night I was delighted to find that Gonzalo was the head server in the dining room. He came to our table every night to ask us how we were doing and just to chat. When I told him on the 2nd night that we were disappointed about not getting towel animals he saw to it that we had one every night from then on. Our servers were Clive and Robert. These two were like Jerry Lewis and Dean Martin. Clive is over the top! On a scale of 1-10, he's a 20. Seriously. He was perfect for us, really outgoing, funny - a total crack up. Robert, on the other hand, was the most subdued, straight man I've ever seen. Very formal. The way they played off each other, it was like watching a new comedy routine every night. Our favorite evening entertainment was the shows (of course) and Ben and Dana in the Promenade Lounge. They are truly a wonderful couple. Our only disappointment the whole cruise was not being able to dock at Castaway Cay. We had run into a terrible storm, Friday afternoon the captain warned us that it was going to be a bumpy ride that night and boy howdy was he right. We enlisted the kids in a game of "how far can you walk down the hall without touching one of the walls" the kids loved it! At about 2am we were awakened by dishes crashing above us in Parrot Cay. We rebooked with the couple we'd met while on the ship and kept it as a Christmas surprise for the kids. So we looked forward to our cruise for a whole year and were back on the ship November 16th. Fate dealt us a bad hand this time. Things were a little crazy from the beginning. We traveled with two other couples, the folks we met the year before and some friends from home. Our friends from home had been having some marital problems (to put it mildly) and being on the trip just made it worse. Our dinners were very tense with them arguing. Our servers were wonderful, but we weren't able to get Clive again and we were disappointed but we did get to see him every day. Zoran and Paula were our servers and they did a great job. They could see the tension at the table and really tried to keep things light but it was an uphill battle, to say the least. Ben and Dana were still there singing in the lounge and that was a welcome respite. At 4am Monday, the first person in our party came down with the dreaded Norwalk. The story of the virus on the ship is old history, I don't feel the need to go over it again. I will say that I was disappointed in the way it was handled at first but Disney did come through in the end. It was really hard to have such an amazing vacation the first time and such a lousy one the next. We very much want to rebook with the incentive that Disney has given but how do I tell me friends from home that I can't travel with them because of the way they fight?
Things I learned while on my cruises:
1. if you can't dock at Castaway Cay, the CM's will put together a wonderful day on the boat for you. Games in the lounge, etc.
2. take a shopping class, they're fun and you get really helpful info
3. wear your bathing suit under clothes to St Maarten and take the water taxi, it gives you unlimited trips back and forth to the ship for one price. But be careful of the bracelets, they will come off and the taxi won't give you a new one unless you pay again.
4. on St Thomas you can taxi to Sapphire Beach for much less than the excursion rate, even with the cost of renting chairs, snorkels, etc.
5. over the door shoe holders really are a girls best friend.
6. never travel with people who don't get along
7. take handi wipes, wipe down the plane tray, handrests, etc and WASH, WASH, WASH your hands.
8. we took ecchinachea (sp?) for 7 days before our trip and my husband, daughter and I were the only ones in our group not affected by colds, Norwalk etc. did it help? Who knows, but it can't hurt
9. watch this board for tips, I learned SO much from others on this board, it's amazing!

 

[Dancind]

Oh my. You spent thousands of $$ for a nice vacation and got to listen to your "friends" argue every night. Personally, I don't think you need an excuse not to travel with them again, their behavior was inexcusable. But I'd try not telling them when I book, and if pressed, tell them you'd like a "family vacation" this time. Or, tell them the truth. Diana

 

[jlawall]

Sorry about your second cruise. I guess things happen sometimes. I hope when you cruise next things go smoother. Thanks for the trip tips!

 

[Wishing on a star]

Wow! LOVED your trip report of your first cruise. Just hungry for more details!!!!

And, the second cruise, your friends... Guess that shows you that people can indeed either bring the "Great time" or, the "Bad time" , with them from home, regardless of how the cruise goes, or how wonderful it is!