Day 2 started very early, too excited to sleep well. Watched the sun come up outside our porthole and then went up on deck to watch us dock in Nassau. It's hard to believe that the captain can dock that huge ship so easily! Walked around a bit on deck and grabbed some breakfast from Beach Blanket Buffet. I was wondering if I would catch a Bush sighting but never saw them. Heard that they went golfing for the day. Since we went to Atlantis last trip, the kids wanted to spend the day on the boat and after the craziness of Christmas, we happily agreed! Really just relaxed, read books, ate way too much and generally, just hung out - heaven! Noticed that they were braiding hair on the boat but they were booked for the whole day. Caught the 1:30 (?) show of Island Magic which we missed last time. It's cute for younger kids or for real character fans, ours were a bit bored. Then 3:00 Who Wants to be a Mouseketeer. A young kid almost won the cruise! He missed the last question. Fun. The emcee was Mark Baratelli. He was really funny with the contestants and made the show a lot of fun. No mention of the DISers, though. After that we got ready for the evening and caught the John Ferrentimo Magic and Comedy show. We laughed so hard during that show! He's very clever. Caught dueling pianos again.
Next, dinner at AP. What a great room and show. Again, we ate very late. The kids were exhausted, not much fun. Our servers forgot to bring my youngest daughter's dinner. Of course this was right before the big parade of waiters with the colored outfits on. So we all sat there and didn't eat until after that was all over and we let them know that she didn't have her meal. They were sorry and we did enjoy our meals. Food was very good as was the wine. Kids were losing it around dessert time, so we quickly inhaled dessert and left.
Kids too tired for the deck party. No Bush sightings today.
Day 3: Castaway Cay day.
Never bothered with breakfast (still full from night before) and wanted to give the kids a little more time to sleep. Got off the boat around 9:00 and walked all the way to the end of the family beach (across from the climbing structure - great spot). While we were walking, the Bushes (Finally!) passed us on golf carts. They were in a secluded part of the beach most of the day. We were able to grab a hammock and several lounge chairs in a great spot and then headed right to the hair braiding. (We did see Barbara Bush walking down the beach at this point!) I'm glad we went right away because there were several girls waiting for us and it got very crowded later in the day. Braids looked so cute. $2.00 for each braid - we paid $44 for one daughter and $56 for the other (very long, thick hair) + tip. Kind of pricey, but they do last for a few weeks. Kids played in the water most of the morning (too cool for most adults) and we headed over to Cookie's BBQ around 11:30. Grabbed lunch and sat down right next to the Bushes. They were off in a corner with lots of security around them. Nobody bothered them but everyone stared a lot. You've never seen so many people cleaning up around that area! I guess everyone wanted a peak. They did pose for a couple of pictures and then were on their way after a few ice cream cones.
Back to the beach for a while and then we tried the kayaks. The current was very strong and we are not experienced kayakers so we had some trouble with them. Kids panicking, parents yelling, you can imagine the fun we had! At one point, we were out so far that the lifeguard came out and pulled us in a little way (relief overrode our embarassment at that point). We were able to paddle the rest of the way in. Not the best experience for us but probably fun for people who are even a little bit coordinated! Shopping is more our sport, so shopped at She Sells a bit for sweatshirts and other fun stuff and then headed back to the ship around 2:30 to get ready for our night at Palo's!
Kids swam in the pool for a bit. Husband went to talk to Colleen about rebooking next years trip while kids and I explored around a bit. Got some great pictures of Castaway Cay as we were pulling out. After booking, husband took kids to Quartermasters for a while while I got ready. Checked kids into Oceaneers Lab for the first time. Very easy registration and they made them feel welcome. Thankfully they were in the same age group. Promised to pick them up in time for Disney Dreams.
Got to Palo's a little early (6:15) and the Bush family was all right there near the elevator. They hadn't gone in yet and were posing for pictures. We didn't want to impose, so we refrained from taking our own pictures, although we wanted to! Once they were all seated (finally saw the twins for the first time), we were able to go in. Everyone received complimentary champagne because of the delay and everything was lovely. The food was great, service was terrific and we had such a nice meal. The young couple next to us were on their honeymoon and they had just come out of quarantine from the first night (evidentally, they got sick and had to stay in their room until the afternoon of the third day!). Our waiter, can't remember his name - sorry, arranged for them an autograph from G. Bush! They were happy with that but I still felt bad for them, at least they were on their honeymoon and maybe didn't mind the quarantine??? As the Bushes were leaving, George Sr. made a comment that he hoped he didn't mess up everyone's kid-free meal!
Grabbed the kids from the club (loved it - wanted to come back later to make flubber) to catch Disney Dreams. We were finally on the Bush rotation so they were at our show. Everyone stood and applauded when they came in (of course I was in the bathroom with my youngest during this time - those darn soda mugs! - and missed it). They had two whole rows blocked off right in the middle/front. Lots of people weren't happy about that! Anyhow, Disney Dreams was better than I remember. I think everyone was really on their game because of all the excitement. What a magical show.
Kids went back to make flubber while we packed (how convenient was that?) and then we all slept like the dead until morning. Getting off was a piece of cake and we went on the the Dolphin at WDW for one night to ease our transition home.
So all in all, it was a fantastic trip. Sorry this report was so long, but I'm still in gushing mode! The Bushes really didn't impact our trip too much. It was fun to have them around this time but I hope that they don't decide to come back again next year! They get to feel special all the time, we only get to feel that special when we cruise with DCL. Thanks to everyone for their tips and hints, they really helped! See you next December!
Next, dinner at AP. What a great room and show. Again, we ate very late. The kids were exhausted, not much fun. Our servers forgot to bring my youngest daughter's dinner. Of course this was right before the big parade of waiters with the colored outfits on. So we all sat there and didn't eat until after that was all over and we let them know that she didn't have her meal. They were sorry and we did enjoy our meals. Food was very good as was the wine. Kids were losing it around dessert time, so we quickly inhaled dessert and left.
Kids too tired for the deck party. No Bush sightings today.
Day 3: Castaway Cay day.
Never bothered with breakfast (still full from night before) and wanted to give the kids a little more time to sleep. Got off the boat around 9:00 and walked all the way to the end of the family beach (across from the climbing structure - great spot). While we were walking, the Bushes (Finally!) passed us on golf carts. They were in a secluded part of the beach most of the day. We were able to grab a hammock and several lounge chairs in a great spot and then headed right to the hair braiding. (We did see Barbara Bush walking down the beach at this point!) I'm glad we went right away because there were several girls waiting for us and it got very crowded later in the day. Braids looked so cute. $2.00 for each braid - we paid $44 for one daughter and $56 for the other (very long, thick hair) + tip. Kind of pricey, but they do last for a few weeks. Kids played in the water most of the morning (too cool for most adults) and we headed over to Cookie's BBQ around 11:30. Grabbed lunch and sat down right next to the Bushes. They were off in a corner with lots of security around them. Nobody bothered them but everyone stared a lot. You've never seen so many people cleaning up around that area! I guess everyone wanted a peak. They did pose for a couple of pictures and then were on their way after a few ice cream cones.
Back to the beach for a while and then we tried the kayaks. The current was very strong and we are not experienced kayakers so we had some trouble with them. Kids panicking, parents yelling, you can imagine the fun we had! At one point, we were out so far that the lifeguard came out and pulled us in a little way (relief overrode our embarassment at that point). We were able to paddle the rest of the way in. Not the best experience for us but probably fun for people who are even a little bit coordinated! Shopping is more our sport, so shopped at She Sells a bit for sweatshirts and other fun stuff and then headed back to the ship around 2:30 to get ready for our night at Palo's!
Kids swam in the pool for a bit. Husband went to talk to Colleen about rebooking next years trip while kids and I explored around a bit. Got some great pictures of Castaway Cay as we were pulling out. After booking, husband took kids to Quartermasters for a while while I got ready. Checked kids into Oceaneers Lab for the first time. Very easy registration and they made them feel welcome. Thankfully they were in the same age group. Promised to pick them up in time for Disney Dreams.
Got to Palo's a little early (6:15) and the Bush family was all right there near the elevator. They hadn't gone in yet and were posing for pictures. We didn't want to impose, so we refrained from taking our own pictures, although we wanted to! Once they were all seated (finally saw the twins for the first time), we were able to go in. Everyone received complimentary champagne because of the delay and everything was lovely. The food was great, service was terrific and we had such a nice meal. The young couple next to us were on their honeymoon and they had just come out of quarantine from the first night (evidentally, they got sick and had to stay in their room until the afternoon of the third day!). Our waiter, can't remember his name - sorry, arranged for them an autograph from G. Bush! They were happy with that but I still felt bad for them, at least they were on their honeymoon and maybe didn't mind the quarantine??? As the Bushes were leaving, George Sr. made a comment that he hoped he didn't mess up everyone's kid-free meal!
Grabbed the kids from the club (loved it - wanted to come back later to make flubber) to catch Disney Dreams. We were finally on the Bush rotation so they were at our show. Everyone stood and applauded when they came in (of course I was in the bathroom with my youngest during this time - those darn soda mugs! - and missed it). They had two whole rows blocked off right in the middle/front. Lots of people weren't happy about that! Anyhow, Disney Dreams was better than I remember. I think everyone was really on their game because of all the excitement. What a magical show.
Kids went back to make flubber while we packed (how convenient was that?) and then we all slept like the dead until morning. Getting off was a piece of cake and we went on the the Dolphin at WDW for one night to ease our transition home.
So all in all, it was a fantastic trip. Sorry this report was so long, but I'm still in gushing mode! The Bushes really didn't impact our trip too much. It was fun to have them around this time but I hope that they don't decide to come back again next year! They get to feel special all the time, we only get to feel that special when we cruise with DCL. Thanks to everyone for their tips and hints, they really helped! See you next December!
