Well, reality has hit me, I'm home. The laundry is all done, most of the mail is sorted and I finally have time to check the Disboards! No towel animals here, just dust bunnies and the only made beds are the ones I did. No happy greetings for Whattzup, our steward! And no new cruise plans, yet...
I really want to thank all you guys for the advice and endless hints that made our cruise much more special. We were a large family group and we all had varying opinions and experiences on the cruise.
Our group: Mom [me!] and Dad, DS 18, DD 16, DS 14, DS 12 and DD 10.
Plus 2 girlfriends of DD 16 and my Mom. We all had CAT 5 rooms on Deck 7. Plus joining us at the very last moment, my sister and her DD 11. She got a Cat 11 room on Deck 6 on June 24, probably through persistent whining. She was willing to fly to Orlando and wait at the dock, standby to join us on this cruise. Her only beef, she had to pay full cruise fare. So there were 12 of us all together. We had second seating, LAP rotation and sat at the large table in the center of each dining room.
I'm just going to highlight the more unusual experiences we had either good or bad.
Experience #1
Even though Disney insists that each stateroom has an adult in it for reservations, they didn't blink an eye at guest services when we switched keys for almost our entire group. We even had two rooms with no adults in them and nothing was said. We switched my sister and daughter out of her Cat 11 into one of our verandah Cat 5 and placed the three older teen girls into the interior Cat 11. The teen girls loved it, they are all high school seniors, college bound next year and it gave them a taste of freedom. They slept in every day and loved the dark. We meet the family across the hall from them and they kept a special eye on them for us. It became a running joke, we saw that family more than we saw the girls.
Experience #2
In my opinion, the dining rotation didn't matter in the least. I know that it does matter to some, since many posts are made about it, but no one in our group noticed that we were in Lumiere's for the Tropical night, etc. We chose our Palo reservation for dinner based on time, Sis wanted the sunset time and it was not available on our original choice, so we changed to another day, no big deal. My advice is not to do Palo's brunch and dinner back to back, you won't have the appetite to enjoy it. We joined the children in Animator's Palate for the "show" but all the adults left before the end except me. They thought it was boring.
Experience #3
Palo, do it, it is well worth the extra expense. We first did the brunch on Monday, our server was Carita. She was wonderful, the food was awesome. You cannot believe all the delicious food at the buffet tables and then they take your order for the entree!!! On land this would be at least $40 - $50 brunch. It did seem odd to have Carita take us on a tour of the buffet, but I found myself trying lots of new food that she recommended that I would not have tried on my own. I had the dessert pizza for my entree and it was great, hubby had pancakes, Grandma had the Eggs Benedict [hint, you can order only one!] and Sis was smart and ordered nothing. We loved it so much that on our way out, we made brunch reservations for Thursday requesting Carita. We ate at 10:30 each time, not as crowded as later. I tried the Eggs Julia on Thursday, that's Egg Benedect with smoked salmon instead of ham. It was great.
Our Palo dinner was Wednesday, carefully timed for the sunset, it was overcast and no sunset was to be seen. Our server was Marco, very attractive and very Italian, we had to really listen to his descriptions of the food, but it really added to the atmosphere. He brought us more food than we could consume. My mother had been disappointed with the lamb at a previous meal and was reluctant to order it again so she ordered the filet mignon special [actually we all order the filet.] Then Marco brought her both the rack of lamb and the filet. The Palo lamb was much better. We all ordered the chocolate souffle, it was so good, the best dessert on the cruise. We needed to be rolled out of there, so stuffed. Then we had brunch at 10:30 the next morning, still full from the night before. [Except me, I walked the mile around the ship.]
Experience #4
The spa!! I've cruised before many times and never went to the spa on the different cruise ships. But I had heard so much about the spa from the Disboards that I just had to try it out. We [the grown women in our group] went there on boarding day. We just wanted to make appointments but the staff insisted on the tour. We actually found that interesting and still had many spa slots open except for the surial bath. I got the last appointment and it was still before 2 PM. Us ladies did the Absolute Face and Body and it was so relaxing. It was my first facial and I loved it. I've had massages before and this one compared well. The sales pitch was there but only at the end. I did end up ordering that sport gel and use it on my aching feet every day. My Mom and sister did the spa taster later in the week and it was a good thing. The therapist noticed dark spots on the bottom of Mom's foot, she had stepped on a spiny urchin and needed to go to the ship's MD to have it dug out. $90 and one tetanus shot and she was much better. Hint: avoid the rocks while snorkelling.
The surial bath was... interesting. I think I will post about that another time. Our experience was hilarious and PG13.
Experience #5
The Ports. On Saint Maarten, we chartered a boat through the advice of grlzmon, her cruise reviews are posted. It was the highlight of our whole trip. It was expensive but worth it! All 12 of us went. We had our first experience with the crazy taxi drivers. We were told the Great Bay Marina was within walking distance from the dock the Magic was on. But when we got to the end of the pier there was a lot of construction blocking the walkway and we saw no way to walk around it. So we paid $3 a head to drive 2 minutes to the marina, $36 for two minutes. But once we were on our boat, the Santino with a great pilot Horace, the magic started. He took us through the lagoon to the French side to a reef for snorkeling. Horace pointed out celebrities homes and local sights. The kids sat on the point of the boat and were loving the waves and splashes. The boat had a cover which saved us from the sun. The reef was great, I think it's called Point Creole. We then visited a small locals only beach restaurant. Jumped right off the boat and waded in to the beach. I'm an RN and tried not to think about how everything was cooked and served. I had conch in creole sauce with rice and beans, it was so good. [No one was harmed in any way by the food!] Then Horace took us the long way around the island and our teens just loved it. We bounced and splashed the whole way back to the ship. We docked where the water taxis did so no $36 taxi ride back. If you have a large group, I would highly recommend Aquamania Water Sports and the Santino. We had time for a short shopping trip into Phillipsburg, the teen girls picked up souvenirs for friends. I bought some tropical shirts for that evening that the teen boys refused to wear [luckily they were cheap] and a tropical dress for myself, one you tie around you. Back on the ship, I discovered one size does not fit all [before you laugh, it was too BIG!]
Next stop, Saint Thomas. We found ourselves sunburnt from our day on the water, despite applying sunscreen frequently. We were just too pale to start with! Most of the girls were interested in shopping but a small group of us went on an adventure to Saint John. We followed the directions many have given on Disboards and it was quite easy. Taxi to Red Hook, ferry to Cruz Bay, Saint John and another taxi to whatever beach you choose. We went to Trunk Bay. It was awesome and almost unbelievably beautiful. But at Trunk Bay, the adventure started. I counted our cash and found we didn't have enough to get back!!! It was the per person taxi charges that wiped us out. It was $8/person for the taxi to Red Hook, $3/person for the ferry, the taxi to the beach and the admission to the beach [I've forgotten the amount for the last two]. I was afraid of thievery on the beach so had left the wallet in the safe. I had an American Express card and thought I could get a cash advance on that. Back in Cruz Bay we discovered that July 3rd is a holiday and all the banks were closed. I have never used American Express as a cash card so I didn't have a PIN number to use it at an ATM. No shop would give us a cash advance or cash over a purchase. Running around Cruz Bay, we missed the 2 pm ferry and panic really started setting in, you need to return to the ship by 4PM. We got on the 3 PM ferry and caught the taxi back to the ship, knowing full well we didn't have the complete fare. Luckily we were the last passingers off, so no one had to watch when we gave the driver all the cash we had [we were $5 short.] He was not happy but opted not to wait for the rest, we offered to send one of us up to the room to fetch more cash. During all this I realized many things, I didn't have the Navigator with the ship's agent's phone number, imortant if we had missed the ship. I didn't have my cell phone which did work at Saint Thomas, I could have called my Sis for more money. I should have stuck my ATM card [cause they were open] with the American Express card and I should have carried more cash. So now I'm prepared for the next time!!! One warning about Trunk Bay, it is a nature preserve with no beach chairs or lounges. It was tough to sit on the sand for hours. The sand was very fine and was picked up by the breeze and found its way into our mouths. And once we realized that we had no money for lunch, well it was one time we were actually hungry on the cruise. Luckily I had bottled water with me!
The shoppers had a great time, Mom bought a gorgeous Kabana opal ring.
Castaway Cay
I really enjoyed watching us dock while I did my walk around the Promenade deck. It was amazing how that huge ship was turned around and docked. Does the ship aways dock aft first? It was great since our rooms were aft that we didn't have to walk far. It was hot on the island, mid 90s. Cloudy at first which helped us sunburned folks, but the sun eventually emerged to really heat up the place. We ended up at a great spot with lounges and an umbrella. Another family was there first but came back and moved to be with the rest of their group and we moved in. We did the banana boats, some of the pedal boats and the kayaks. Luckily the water was smooth, so the banana boat was not too bouncy. I found it hard to hang on. It was just too hot to appreciate the food at the BBQ, sweat was just dripping off me, hubby finished his lunch and headed back to the ship, he was just too hot. The frozen yogurt melted before you could eat it. We were with the kids so we didn't make it to the adult beach. No Konk Coolers either!!
We found a dirty diaper at the water's edge, since there are only fellow Disney cruisers on the island, I was truly grossed out by the laziness and disregard for the health of others that that represented. Enuff said.
Experience #6
Opinions of our children about the cruise experience
DD, 16 and her 2 girlfriends, Loved it. Spent every available moment in Common Grounds. If there was a dance, they were there. Made lots of friends, enjoyed the counselors at CG.
DD, 10, Loved it. She did spend some time in the kid's club with her cousin and enjoyed it. She did some of the arts and crafts at the club. She enjoyed all the shows with us and was my bingo helper. She also loved the TV [we don't have cable and we watch minimal TV at home so it's a treat for her!]
DS, 12, Loved it. He's our water guy, was in the pool several times a day and enjoyed all the beach activities. Did spend a few hours at the kid's club, usually late at night, loved the computer games. Massive user of his KTTW card for smoothies and arcade cards.
DS, 14, it was good but not great. Enjoyed the ports more than the ship. Thought the first two days at seas were too long. Thought there were too many rugrats [his words] especially in the pools. He was grossed out by the condition of the pool water, it was gray most of the time with unidentified floating objects iin it [his words] Woudn't go to Common Grounds cause sister and friends were there. Massive user of the arcade. Did like the food and the ESPN 24/7.
DS, 18, it was OK. He came only because we made him. He's asocial, the only one to really use the verandah, he sat and listened to his music and did puzzles. Used the Internet Cafe and the arcade. He's a vegan and felt the veggie food was always eggplant.
Odds and Ends
Guest services made change for me quite willingly, including a $10 roll of quarters for laundry. I did 3 loads of wash. Since the washers are front loaders they can be jammed full. Use cold water and you can put everything in the load. Since I have a big family and lots of laundry, I was astonished by people doing wash with only a few items, why bother? [Mostly get out of my way!!] The laundry was quite crowded Thursday, the last day at sea, I finally did my wash about 11PM, they don't close the laundries at night. Don't trust the timers on the washer, they run slow. And of course the timers on the dryer are fast.
The teen girls loved the over the door shoe organizer, they actually used it for shoes!! [They each brought at least 4 pairs of flipflops.] I appreciated the alarm clock for the Saint Thomas immigration check. We never felt a need for a cooler, we didn't bring any beverages on board. We also never purchased the mugs, we drank soda only at mealtime. We brought our own snorkel gear but forgot to bring it on Castaway Cay and Saint John, so that was a waste! And you cannot bring enough sunscreen and sunburn lotion.
We loved the wine tasting and also ordered the premium wine package, we really enjoyed the wine. I also liked the after dinner drinks, the multilayered ones. Just bought one of the wines at the wine tasting today at Costco.
We used Happy Limo and fit 10 in a stretch limo, the teens loved it. It was a little tight for all of us but a special treat and cheaper than the shuttle for a group.
We saved $250 each booking our own airfare, that's $2500 for all of us, that more than covered what we charged on the ship.
I have mixed feelings about the verandah, I think I would have been just as happy with an ocean view. It was just too hot to spend alot of time out there though some in our group really enjoyed it.
Didn't do too much room service, only one breakfast. Sis and Mom used room service to lure the 10 and 11 year old girls awake each morning.
You are all right, the chicken tenders are awesome. I didn't try them til late in the cruise and they became our favorite late afternoon snack. Just 2 stories up the stairs, order and ask for another plate for a lid and run back down the stairs, love being aft.
Barb, forward = fun and aft = eat, saved me many steps.
Ladies, if you can bring a sister or a girlfriend with you. I love my hubby but he's just not a spa person or a shopper or a dancer. My sister and my Mom added so much to my enjoyment of the cruise. My sister would show up with all the Navigator highlighted, more stuff than you could possibly do. We called her the cruise director. What are we doing today, we would ask and she would tell us. Sometime I went with her and sometimes I just relaxed.
Leslie
I really want to thank all you guys for the advice and endless hints that made our cruise much more special. We were a large family group and we all had varying opinions and experiences on the cruise.
Our group: Mom [me!] and Dad, DS 18, DD 16, DS 14, DS 12 and DD 10.
Plus 2 girlfriends of DD 16 and my Mom. We all had CAT 5 rooms on Deck 7. Plus joining us at the very last moment, my sister and her DD 11. She got a Cat 11 room on Deck 6 on June 24, probably through persistent whining. She was willing to fly to Orlando and wait at the dock, standby to join us on this cruise. Her only beef, she had to pay full cruise fare. So there were 12 of us all together. We had second seating, LAP rotation and sat at the large table in the center of each dining room.
I'm just going to highlight the more unusual experiences we had either good or bad.
Experience #1
Even though Disney insists that each stateroom has an adult in it for reservations, they didn't blink an eye at guest services when we switched keys for almost our entire group. We even had two rooms with no adults in them and nothing was said. We switched my sister and daughter out of her Cat 11 into one of our verandah Cat 5 and placed the three older teen girls into the interior Cat 11. The teen girls loved it, they are all high school seniors, college bound next year and it gave them a taste of freedom. They slept in every day and loved the dark. We meet the family across the hall from them and they kept a special eye on them for us. It became a running joke, we saw that family more than we saw the girls.
Experience #2
In my opinion, the dining rotation didn't matter in the least. I know that it does matter to some, since many posts are made about it, but no one in our group noticed that we were in Lumiere's for the Tropical night, etc. We chose our Palo reservation for dinner based on time, Sis wanted the sunset time and it was not available on our original choice, so we changed to another day, no big deal. My advice is not to do Palo's brunch and dinner back to back, you won't have the appetite to enjoy it. We joined the children in Animator's Palate for the "show" but all the adults left before the end except me. They thought it was boring.
Experience #3
Palo, do it, it is well worth the extra expense. We first did the brunch on Monday, our server was Carita. She was wonderful, the food was awesome. You cannot believe all the delicious food at the buffet tables and then they take your order for the entree!!! On land this would be at least $40 - $50 brunch. It did seem odd to have Carita take us on a tour of the buffet, but I found myself trying lots of new food that she recommended that I would not have tried on my own. I had the dessert pizza for my entree and it was great, hubby had pancakes, Grandma had the Eggs Benedict [hint, you can order only one!] and Sis was smart and ordered nothing. We loved it so much that on our way out, we made brunch reservations for Thursday requesting Carita. We ate at 10:30 each time, not as crowded as later. I tried the Eggs Julia on Thursday, that's Egg Benedect with smoked salmon instead of ham. It was great.
Our Palo dinner was Wednesday, carefully timed for the sunset, it was overcast and no sunset was to be seen. Our server was Marco, very attractive and very Italian, we had to really listen to his descriptions of the food, but it really added to the atmosphere. He brought us more food than we could consume. My mother had been disappointed with the lamb at a previous meal and was reluctant to order it again so she ordered the filet mignon special [actually we all order the filet.] Then Marco brought her both the rack of lamb and the filet. The Palo lamb was much better. We all ordered the chocolate souffle, it was so good, the best dessert on the cruise. We needed to be rolled out of there, so stuffed. Then we had brunch at 10:30 the next morning, still full from the night before. [Except me, I walked the mile around the ship.]
Experience #4
The spa!! I've cruised before many times and never went to the spa on the different cruise ships. But I had heard so much about the spa from the Disboards that I just had to try it out. We [the grown women in our group] went there on boarding day. We just wanted to make appointments but the staff insisted on the tour. We actually found that interesting and still had many spa slots open except for the surial bath. I got the last appointment and it was still before 2 PM. Us ladies did the Absolute Face and Body and it was so relaxing. It was my first facial and I loved it. I've had massages before and this one compared well. The sales pitch was there but only at the end. I did end up ordering that sport gel and use it on my aching feet every day. My Mom and sister did the spa taster later in the week and it was a good thing. The therapist noticed dark spots on the bottom of Mom's foot, she had stepped on a spiny urchin and needed to go to the ship's MD to have it dug out. $90 and one tetanus shot and she was much better. Hint: avoid the rocks while snorkelling.
The surial bath was... interesting. I think I will post about that another time. Our experience was hilarious and PG13.
Experience #5
The Ports. On Saint Maarten, we chartered a boat through the advice of grlzmon, her cruise reviews are posted. It was the highlight of our whole trip. It was expensive but worth it! All 12 of us went. We had our first experience with the crazy taxi drivers. We were told the Great Bay Marina was within walking distance from the dock the Magic was on. But when we got to the end of the pier there was a lot of construction blocking the walkway and we saw no way to walk around it. So we paid $3 a head to drive 2 minutes to the marina, $36 for two minutes. But once we were on our boat, the Santino with a great pilot Horace, the magic started. He took us through the lagoon to the French side to a reef for snorkeling. Horace pointed out celebrities homes and local sights. The kids sat on the point of the boat and were loving the waves and splashes. The boat had a cover which saved us from the sun. The reef was great, I think it's called Point Creole. We then visited a small locals only beach restaurant. Jumped right off the boat and waded in to the beach. I'm an RN and tried not to think about how everything was cooked and served. I had conch in creole sauce with rice and beans, it was so good. [No one was harmed in any way by the food!] Then Horace took us the long way around the island and our teens just loved it. We bounced and splashed the whole way back to the ship. We docked where the water taxis did so no $36 taxi ride back. If you have a large group, I would highly recommend Aquamania Water Sports and the Santino. We had time for a short shopping trip into Phillipsburg, the teen girls picked up souvenirs for friends. I bought some tropical shirts for that evening that the teen boys refused to wear [luckily they were cheap] and a tropical dress for myself, one you tie around you. Back on the ship, I discovered one size does not fit all [before you laugh, it was too BIG!]
Next stop, Saint Thomas. We found ourselves sunburnt from our day on the water, despite applying sunscreen frequently. We were just too pale to start with! Most of the girls were interested in shopping but a small group of us went on an adventure to Saint John. We followed the directions many have given on Disboards and it was quite easy. Taxi to Red Hook, ferry to Cruz Bay, Saint John and another taxi to whatever beach you choose. We went to Trunk Bay. It was awesome and almost unbelievably beautiful. But at Trunk Bay, the adventure started. I counted our cash and found we didn't have enough to get back!!! It was the per person taxi charges that wiped us out. It was $8/person for the taxi to Red Hook, $3/person for the ferry, the taxi to the beach and the admission to the beach [I've forgotten the amount for the last two]. I was afraid of thievery on the beach so had left the wallet in the safe. I had an American Express card and thought I could get a cash advance on that. Back in Cruz Bay we discovered that July 3rd is a holiday and all the banks were closed. I have never used American Express as a cash card so I didn't have a PIN number to use it at an ATM. No shop would give us a cash advance or cash over a purchase. Running around Cruz Bay, we missed the 2 pm ferry and panic really started setting in, you need to return to the ship by 4PM. We got on the 3 PM ferry and caught the taxi back to the ship, knowing full well we didn't have the complete fare. Luckily we were the last passingers off, so no one had to watch when we gave the driver all the cash we had [we were $5 short.] He was not happy but opted not to wait for the rest, we offered to send one of us up to the room to fetch more cash. During all this I realized many things, I didn't have the Navigator with the ship's agent's phone number, imortant if we had missed the ship. I didn't have my cell phone which did work at Saint Thomas, I could have called my Sis for more money. I should have stuck my ATM card [cause they were open] with the American Express card and I should have carried more cash. So now I'm prepared for the next time!!! One warning about Trunk Bay, it is a nature preserve with no beach chairs or lounges. It was tough to sit on the sand for hours. The sand was very fine and was picked up by the breeze and found its way into our mouths. And once we realized that we had no money for lunch, well it was one time we were actually hungry on the cruise. Luckily I had bottled water with me!
The shoppers had a great time, Mom bought a gorgeous Kabana opal ring.
Castaway Cay
I really enjoyed watching us dock while I did my walk around the Promenade deck. It was amazing how that huge ship was turned around and docked. Does the ship aways dock aft first? It was great since our rooms were aft that we didn't have to walk far. It was hot on the island, mid 90s. Cloudy at first which helped us sunburned folks, but the sun eventually emerged to really heat up the place. We ended up at a great spot with lounges and an umbrella. Another family was there first but came back and moved to be with the rest of their group and we moved in. We did the banana boats, some of the pedal boats and the kayaks. Luckily the water was smooth, so the banana boat was not too bouncy. I found it hard to hang on. It was just too hot to appreciate the food at the BBQ, sweat was just dripping off me, hubby finished his lunch and headed back to the ship, he was just too hot. The frozen yogurt melted before you could eat it. We were with the kids so we didn't make it to the adult beach. No Konk Coolers either!!
We found a dirty diaper at the water's edge, since there are only fellow Disney cruisers on the island, I was truly grossed out by the laziness and disregard for the health of others that that represented. Enuff said.
Experience #6
Opinions of our children about the cruise experience
DD, 16 and her 2 girlfriends, Loved it. Spent every available moment in Common Grounds. If there was a dance, they were there. Made lots of friends, enjoyed the counselors at CG.
DD, 10, Loved it. She did spend some time in the kid's club with her cousin and enjoyed it. She did some of the arts and crafts at the club. She enjoyed all the shows with us and was my bingo helper. She also loved the TV [we don't have cable and we watch minimal TV at home so it's a treat for her!]
DS, 12, Loved it. He's our water guy, was in the pool several times a day and enjoyed all the beach activities. Did spend a few hours at the kid's club, usually late at night, loved the computer games. Massive user of his KTTW card for smoothies and arcade cards.
DS, 14, it was good but not great. Enjoyed the ports more than the ship. Thought the first two days at seas were too long. Thought there were too many rugrats [his words] especially in the pools. He was grossed out by the condition of the pool water, it was gray most of the time with unidentified floating objects iin it [his words] Woudn't go to Common Grounds cause sister and friends were there. Massive user of the arcade. Did like the food and the ESPN 24/7.
DS, 18, it was OK. He came only because we made him. He's asocial, the only one to really use the verandah, he sat and listened to his music and did puzzles. Used the Internet Cafe and the arcade. He's a vegan and felt the veggie food was always eggplant.
Odds and Ends
Guest services made change for me quite willingly, including a $10 roll of quarters for laundry. I did 3 loads of wash. Since the washers are front loaders they can be jammed full. Use cold water and you can put everything in the load. Since I have a big family and lots of laundry, I was astonished by people doing wash with only a few items, why bother? [Mostly get out of my way!!] The laundry was quite crowded Thursday, the last day at sea, I finally did my wash about 11PM, they don't close the laundries at night. Don't trust the timers on the washer, they run slow. And of course the timers on the dryer are fast.
The teen girls loved the over the door shoe organizer, they actually used it for shoes!! [They each brought at least 4 pairs of flipflops.] I appreciated the alarm clock for the Saint Thomas immigration check. We never felt a need for a cooler, we didn't bring any beverages on board. We also never purchased the mugs, we drank soda only at mealtime. We brought our own snorkel gear but forgot to bring it on Castaway Cay and Saint John, so that was a waste! And you cannot bring enough sunscreen and sunburn lotion.
We loved the wine tasting and also ordered the premium wine package, we really enjoyed the wine. I also liked the after dinner drinks, the multilayered ones. Just bought one of the wines at the wine tasting today at Costco.
We used Happy Limo and fit 10 in a stretch limo, the teens loved it. It was a little tight for all of us but a special treat and cheaper than the shuttle for a group.
We saved $250 each booking our own airfare, that's $2500 for all of us, that more than covered what we charged on the ship.
I have mixed feelings about the verandah, I think I would have been just as happy with an ocean view. It was just too hot to spend alot of time out there though some in our group really enjoyed it.
Didn't do too much room service, only one breakfast. Sis and Mom used room service to lure the 10 and 11 year old girls awake each morning.
You are all right, the chicken tenders are awesome. I didn't try them til late in the cruise and they became our favorite late afternoon snack. Just 2 stories up the stairs, order and ask for another plate for a lid and run back down the stairs, love being aft.
Barb, forward = fun and aft = eat, saved me many steps.
Ladies, if you can bring a sister or a girlfriend with you. I love my hubby but he's just not a spa person or a shopper or a dancer. My sister and my Mom added so much to my enjoyment of the cruise. My sister would show up with all the Navigator highlighted, more stuff than you could possibly do. We called her the cruise director. What are we doing today, we would ask and she would tell us. Sometime I went with her and sometimes I just relaxed.
Leslie
