Blair Family - 1st Cruise - Magic April 22-29, 2006

[KrisannB]

Hello - we are back from our wonderful cruise and I will be making entries in this thread about our experience over the next couple of days. Hope you enjoy!


Cruisers: Krisann (me), DH - Ashley, DD - Ashlyn and DS - Aaron

Background info: We only booked this trip right about a month before our sail date so it was kinda a last minute thing. My hubby is in Iraq and we used this cruise as a way to enjoy time he had off as a family.

On Thursday before the cruise my husband's commercial flight got cancelled and he was stranded in Kuwait for almost a day. He finally got home the Friday before we left - I am glad I had not read the boards before I booked our cruise because I would have made plans to fly down on Friday and we would have had a mess!!! Luckily he arrived around 4 pm (just in time for the roller skating birthday party for my kid's).

After the party we went home and loaded the car and then drove 2.5 hours to Nashville to spend the night before our 7 am flight the next morning. We got checked into the hotel around 10 pm and I finally got everything settled and in bed around 1 am - then back up at 4:30. We got up - left for the airport and had a wonderful flight to Orland - landing about 12:30 pm.

At the Orlando airport I could not figure out where we were supposed to go exactly to catch the Disney bus. We finally figured it out. I am really really glad we did the Disney transportation as for us it made life really simple. We waited about 20 minutes in line for a bus and then we were on our way.

Next post: Arriving at the Disney Magic . . .

 

[Verandah Man]

Looking forward to reading more of your TR!!!

 

[Mharring33]

Hey Krisann, it was really nice to meet you on the ship. I'm so glad your hubby was able to arrive in time. I'm in the process of writing my own trip notes. As soon as I'm finished I'll post some of them to share as well.

Looking forward to reading your future posts.

Take care,

Mitch

 

[snelsonbrown]

Hey Krisann - so glad to hear from you sweetie - hope the cruise was everything you had looked forward to. Let us hear how it went.
Hugsssssssss
Shirley

 

[BuzzBoyMom]

Can't wait to hear more! I always love to hear about the families of the men and women who keep our country safe. Thanks to you and your DH. Glad to hear you had a wonderful time.

 

[tjeagle]

You've left me on pins and needles!

 

[KrisannB]

I have to say reading all the posts about how you need to be to port early really had me worried because our plane did not land until 12:30 so I knew it would be close to 2 pm when we got to port. I was worried for nothing.

Yes I am sure it would have been nice to have had an extra hour to get settled but it was not the end of the world. We went right into the terminal, through the check in line and off to get our picture taken - then on board.

Oh I thought it was wonderful walking on the ship - I had seen that chandeliar on TV but it was wonderful in person!

We had no problem finding our stateroom, 7512. We had some pixie dust sent our way and got a room upgrade from category 11 to a category 8 the Wed. before we left (more about that when I give a room report).


Some of our luggage was already there so we took it inside, and the bed was filled with wonderful goodies! I booked the RES package so we had a basket for us and I ordered each of my children a bag filled with goodies from Shirley - and they were beautiful! Everyone was so excited with their items.

After we looked around the room and then headed to the buffett with only 10 minutes to spare before it closed. It was first meal of many meals that were wonderful.

Next Post: Sail Away Party and the first night of activities . . . .

 

[E&BMom]

Can't wait to hear the rest !!!!!!!

 

[curlybop]

I love trip reports! Can't wait for the rest.

 

[sirena]

More, more!

 

[YesGrumpy]

Keep it coming - love to hear of everyone's adventure!

 

[KrisannB]

I booked the romance package as a whim because we were in need of some little extra touches on the cruise as a couple. I was not dissapointed!

First was the call that came from Disney to schedule our Palo dinner - so no need to worry about not getting a ressie and having to be on a waitlist! So that was a nice thing with the RES package.

The basket waiting for us was really nice - the robes are a nice size (I am plus size and it fits me with no problems!) and I wore mine througout the cruise - my hubby did not wear his at all though. Also in the basket was chocolates and a photo album.

Our dinner at Palo's was wonderful and DID include a bottle of Premium wine. We did tip the server an additional amount (the $10 charge pp was included in the RES package).

RainForest Pass - this was really nice even though we did not use it everyday - next cruise I will make myself go for 30 minutes a day - I wish I had done that this time! It was definately a wonderful relaxing place to go to!

We waited and had our breakfast on Thursday morning before CC and ordered plenty so all four of us could eat and not just hubby and I. This worked great and after breakfast off we went to CC.

I totally forgot about our romantic turndown so the kids were with us when we came into the room. It was a very nice treat.

I thought it was very much worth the money and will probably do it again – the only reservation is if the welcome basket is still the 2 robes but maybe a call to Disney to see if they can sub it with something if it is still the same gifts when we cruise again.

 

[jillane88]

Keep the report coming! I can't wait to hear the rest. We leave in 5 days for the Western and want to hear all about it.

 

[sirena]

I asked in another thread and no one replied, what can you use/do with the rainforest pass?

 

[dlf246]

I asked in another thread and no one replied, what can you use/do with the rainforest pass?

Since we used a few months ago, I'll answer for you:
They put a sticker on the back of your KTTW card and you can go to the raindforest "room" anytime (except late Friday night) to use the stone chairs that are warmed, your choice of showers/rooms that have special things to use (shampoo, condit, etc.). I believe it was 75 or 85$ for the week if you don't have the RES package.

DW only used twice on our week, so next time we plan to just pay per diem. If we did not have many kid obligations, we would both get a weekly pass!

 

[UMTerp]

Hi KrisannB - I'm enjoying your report! I just had to post to say I have a DD (8) named Ashlyn too! Not too many out there! Hello from another Ashlyn's mom!

UMTerp

 

[NurseChell]

Awesome reports! Cant wait to read more. I'm sailing on the May 20th Magic. The more I read, the more excited I get

 

[eeyoregon]

I am so glad to hear you made it on baord safe and sound! Also glad to hear you had as good of a time as we did...only wish we could have met! Guess we will have to do it again!

 

[cookiebrito]

I got my monies worth out of my rainforest pass. My DH visited the spa many times. It's a great way to relax after a long day at port.

 

[MrsJobba1]

Thanks for the report - looking forward to the next installment!