Coffee on the Verandah -The Last Slide, Recap & Souvies 5/29 - Link to Aulani TR 5/31

[eandesmom]

Oh my! Your DVC walking/not-walking scenarios have my head spinning! And I know about the "other drama" for the trip...OY! I'm glad you were able to get your foot in the door this AM, hopefully we will continue to hear the good reports and you'll have your room!

Why yes, yes you do know about the other drama. OY is right. I actually had lunch with my folks, sister and BIL on Monday and the drama continues. It will be VERY interesting to see what they end up doing as right now I think my sister wants one thing, BIL could care less, mom was leaning toward something else but I think can easily be moved to what my sister wants and my Dad......is trying to be as cheap as possible and really isn't considering the trade-offs with it. I really hope my sisters opinion wins on this one, it's the best solution for all IMHO, including the BIL who is less than thrilled to even go, and if they move on it fast enough, an amazingly good deal. I just hope they don't miss the window on it but we will see I guess. I do think all may well be resolved on their end by mid Feb, at least that's kind of the plan.

The big drag from my perspective though is the dates...I think we are going to have to put IoA smack in the middle of things, probably 1/2 which will mean bigger crowds over there. I'll be contacting you on those details for sure as I do think we all agreed on a plan for that and I'd love you to help us pull it all off.

 

[scottny]

We are doing a 4 night on the Dream in December.
That is good about the retainer.
I like the glass you got for the drink while pulling away.
So sorry for your loss. I have read several reports and posts on FB about her. I don’t think I knew her but she sounds like a great woman and friend.
Oh my word the problems with adding on. I would have gone crazy. LOL
Congrats on getting the points you wanted.
Okay that was rollercoaster but glad it worked out.
Nice on the PAP. We got them too but it is our last year for it as we feel confined to Disney and really want to see more.
The trips sound great.
The Golden Mickey’s looked like fun.
Can you go off on your own to Atlantis to see the resort or does it have to an excursion through Disney? I need to start researching for the trip. LOL
Very nice tribute video.
The room you finally got in Nassau was nice and the pool was really nice.
Okay the beach is really nice too.
The dinner at Royal Palace looked really nice.
The meal at Palo looked yummy. LOL.
I couldn’t deal with the dvc part of the big trip so I would tell everyone they are staying in the cabins. LOL. It will be a great trip for all of you.
I am now all caught up.

 

[Flossbolna]

Thanks, I sure hope so and that it truly is a 1:1 ratio like that. I won't relax until it's done but feel a LOT better now that our foot is in the door. I will be mostly relaxed after Monday though as that gets us through the holiday. I knew there weren't many but really had no idea it was as low as 22. Knowing that makes me feel much less guilty about walking and even though I don't "have" to call tomorrow, I plan to as I hate the idea of tying it up for someone else. It's only 3 days/calls so in the big picture not all that bad and I am grateful I don't have to try to be online at 5am again, that is not fun! I actually woke at 4:20, had the alarm set for 4:45 so of course couldn't get back to sleep. I'm sure I will fade earlier than usual tonight.

Kind of funny, in classic Disney booking style my ressie lists my sister as the first adult, not me. I called MS as I've no idea if they will do red eye with us or not and don't want them to to be the ones to have to check in and she said I show as primary on there on their end but "the system likes to mix up the names" when it books and that "adult 1" didn't mean anything. She was pretty cute about it! It's odd though, and I never noticed it before but you would think if -you are adding a child to a ressie it should automatically assume that the child isn't a member (as who puts a minor on a deed?) but no, I had to go through and check it every time.

Eek! Waking up even earlier than necessary and then not being able to go back to sleep!!

Don't worry about the Adult 1 thing. On both of my DVC bookings so far, I have never been the Adult 1. It appears that there system is just rather messed up.

On the child issue: Maybe a child could have inherited the deed? But I think they could still make it standard that the child is not a member and then let you change it manually if necessary.

 

[MeMom]

Kind of funny, in classic Disney booking style my ressie lists my sister as the first adult, not me. I called MS as I've no idea if they will do red eye with us or not and don't want them to to be the ones to have to check in and she said I show as primary on there on their end but "the system likes to mix up the names" when it books and that "adult 1" didn't mean anything. She was pretty cute about it! It's odd though, and I never noticed it before but you would think if -you are adding a child to a ressie it should automatically assume that the child isn't a member (as who puts a minor on a deed?) but no, I had to go through and check it every time.

They had Brooklynn listed as the lead name on one of our rooms once when I had to call about something.

What we have seen in the way of system glitches is that our request for connecting rooms often disappears. Even if I stated it originally and they say it is clearly noted, and I check close to trip time again, we have still gotten to the desk and had rooms not together. We always politely ask what they can do to help us out, and thankfully, so far, at least, we have always gotten the connecting rooms. I'd like to jump into the computer, though, and see exactly where it is along the way that the request vanishes.

Hope you get all of your ducks in a row with your trip so you can get to that relaxing part.

 

[merbobear]

O.M.G. I am so excited I found this TR. I started reading it a couple months ago and was trucking right along, and then firefox crashed and all of my tabs disappeared and I couldn't remember the title of the TR or your username to find it again ....but just now I was browsing the TR board and the word "Verandah" resonated with me for some reason, so I clicked...and here it is!

Now I just need to find what post I had left off on, but for now I am subscribing so I won't lose this thread yet again!

 

[englishrose47]

Just checking in Cynthia !!I finally caught up on the sleep I missed with my nightmare ER visit with 1 of my individualsI have started my 2013 Free Trips etc ptr !!! I can't rember if I told you!!

 

[momof2TNboys]

Hello! I sat down last night and read your whole TR! I love it. I have DVC and I really want to do a laid back trip. Can't wait to hear more! BTW, I think we will be at Aulani at the same time. We are going 5/25-6/1.

 

[eandesmom]

They had Brooklynn listed as the lead name on one of our rooms once when I had to call about something.

I have read of the funniest things along those lines, mixing up last names within the party, all kinds of things.

What we have seen in the way of system glitches is that our request for connecting rooms often disappears. Even if I stated it originally and they say it is clearly noted, and I check close to trip time again, we have still gotten to the desk and had rooms not together. We always politely ask what they can do to help us out, and thankfully, so far, at least, we have always gotten the connecting rooms. I'd like to jump into the computer, though, and see exactly where it is along the way that the request vanishes.

Oh my goodness, that would be upsetting at check in, how wonderful they've been able to do it. I've only done connecting twice. We were told the only time the actually guarantee it is if the parents would be separated. It did get us an upgrade though as that was the only way they could fufill it at WL.

Gremlins eating requests and mixing up details, it's a bit nutty! And yet on the flipside I did find today that the new My Disney Experience actually updated immediately on my modified reservation, almost in real time. Surprised the heck out of me.

Hope you get all of your ducks in a row with your trip so you can get to that relaxing part.

Thanks! Me too. It is very possible I didn't need to go through all this but the not knowing till it was too late was too much for me to take. That said at least today's call to slide it a day was about as painless and fast as anything could have been. So far I have 2 nights of the 6 I want, tomorrow will be 4 and then done with it all on Tuesday if it all continues to go according to plan. Then the real fun can begin.

O.M.G. I am so excited I found this TR. I started reading it a couple months ago and was trucking right along, and then firefox crashed and all of my tabs disappeared and I couldn't remember the title of the TR or your username to find it again ....but just now I was browsing the TR board and the word "Verandah" resonated with me for some reason, so I clicked...and here it is!

Now I just need to find what post I had left off on, but for now I am subscribing so I won't lose this thread yet again!

back! I've had that happen and it is so frustrating! Heck, I've unsubscribed to my own TR/PTR's on accident before.

Just checking in Cynthia !!I finally caught up on the sleep I missed with my nightmare ER visit with 1 of my individualsI have started my 2013 Free Trips etc ptr !!! I can't rember if I told you!!

Hi Rosie! You did, I think I subbed...I'll have to check I hope your individual is ok and you are caught up on sleep too.

Hello! I sat down last night and read your whole TR! I love it. I have DVC and I really want to do a laid back trip. Can't wait to hear more! BTW, I think we will be at Aulani at the same time. We are going 5/25-6/1.

Hi and it was such a wonderful laid back trip, truly the most relaxing family trip ever. We will definitely overlap at Aulani, we are there 5/22-28. So excited!

 

[englishrose47]

Thanks Cynthia, I am finally all sleeped UP!!! I am working a 13 hour shift right now , but at least get out at 10p instead of midnight !!!!! Tomorrow is Kyle's birthday and I am off and Judy is taking it off. So should be a fun day !!!

 

[KatMark]

Cynthia, I am slowly catching up on all my subscribed threads.

Your brunch at Palo looks absolutely lovely (where the heck are all the people? ). I really like the look of Jeff's plate and his desserts.

Hmmm...wonder where Kendall was since you knew where Evan was and Eric was still in the room.

 

[emma212010]

Ok, I'm all caught up!

Wow! Atlantis looks beautiful! I agree- there doesn't seem to be much to do on that island. I would have loved to relax on the beach and play some volleyball! But of course, if I was a young boy I probably would have been bored to tears!!

Oooh, K's dress was so pretty on formal night! Great pictures of you all!

Your brunch looked delicious!

 

[Chilly]

I love love love Palo Brunch. So does DH. I always find it very empty as well. Maybe people don't realise if you can't book online to book when you board.

 

[eandesmom]

Thanks Cynthia, I am finally all sleeped UP!!! I am working a 13 hour shift right now , but at least get out at 10p instead of midnight !!!!! Tomorrow is Kyle's birthday and I am off and Judy is taking it off. So should be a fun day !!!

I hope Kyle had a magical birthday!!!

Cynthia, I am slowly catching up on all my subscribed threads.

Your brunch at Palo looks absolutely lovely (where the heck are all the people? ). I really like the look of Jeff's plate and his desserts.

Pastry overload! He was quite happy with his choices. I have no idea where all the people are.

Hmmm...wonder where Kendall was since you knew where Evan was and Eric was still in the room.

Good question!

Ok, I'm all caught up!

Wow! Atlantis looks beautiful! I agree- there doesn't seem to be much to do on that island. I would have loved to relax on the beach and play some volleyball! But of course, if I was a young boy I probably would have been bored to tears!!

That's exactly it. K was fine while playing vball, and would have continued to be I'm sure had she hooked up with anyone her age. The boys were bored silly. However, had it been the first outing of the trip they'd probably have enjoyed it more and done more, it just paled in comparison to the fun they'd already had and what they figured was back on the ship

Oooh, K's dress was so pretty on formal night! Great pictures of you all!

Your brunch looked delicious!

It's a darling dress, isn't it! Thank you, we enjoyed it and it was nice to get a picture of all of us, they are rare!

I love love love Palo Brunch. So does DH. I always find it very empty as well. Maybe people don't realise if you can't book online to book when you board.

You would think they'd open up more spots for before boarding then, I'd think they'd want it full! Love Palo brunch, as much or maybe even more than dinner!

 

[englishrose47]

The Birthday Boy is having a GREAT Day, his mom took him to pick out the dirtbike jacket he wanted which he is proudly wearing , Gram gave him money, candy and a word book, of course the money was the bestNot sure what he is saving for as it changes daily !!!it's a bike one day, skates the next and so it goes !!! We are off to Olive Garden for supper tonight , his choice !!!!! Cake is made and has blue frosting I am just relaxing for the rest of the day and Judy is letting me which is nothing short of a miracleEarly day tomorrow !!so bed at a reasonable hour !!!

 

[MEK]

So what's the latest on your DVC reservation? Did I miss it?

 

[eandesmom]

The Birthday Boy is having a GREAT Day, his mom took him to pick out the dirtbike jacket he wanted which he is proudly wearing , Gram gave him money, candy and a word book, of course the money was the bestNot sure what he is saving for as it changes daily !!!it's a bike one day, skates the next and so it goes !!! We are off to Olive Garden for supper tonight , his choice !!!!! Cake is made and has blue frosting I am just relaxing for the rest of the day and Judy is letting me which is nothing short of a miracleEarly day tomorrow !!so bed at a reasonable hour !!!

How fun! I'm glad he is having such a great day, sounds like you are too!!!!

So what's the latest on your DVC reservation? Did I miss it?

Maybe I didn't do an actual update on it but I have mentioned it in replies I think. I started "walking" on the 26th. I then walked it a day yesterday and another day today. As it stands right now, I could have waited till today to start and probably have been fine but things have come and gone so quickly it was really hard to know and I didn't want to be locked out of my start date. There was a point today where it booked up to be 11m+1 booked out but the +1 has opened back up.

It will be interesting to see where it is at the end of the day/1st thing tomorrow as if that +1 is booked, and I'd have waited to make the ressie tomorrow (my actual 11m day) I'd have been locked out.

So, right now my ressie is for 12/28-1/2. Tomorrow I will call and drop the 28th, add the 2nd and 3rd and be done with it. On 2/4 I'll book the THV part but that hasn't sold out for a single night yet so I'm not remotely worried about that one.

GV's are gone all the way through NYE!

 

[eandesmom]

After a lovely brunch we headed back to the stateroom. Our plan for the afternoon was a big fat nothing! Which in my world and Jeff’s, on a cruise ship = lounge by the pool. However we did want to check on the kids. "Just Evan" had apparently gone to breakfast. He must have left right after we did as Cabana’s only served it till 11:30. He arrived back at the room right after we did. Which meant 2 out of 3 were accounted for. The 3rd...we didn't know, she hadn't alerted the boys and had been out cold when we’ had left for brunch (those late nights will do you in!). Given that we’ had made her a spa appointment this understandably made us nervous. She hadn't taken a wave phone with her and we didn't know if she’d read the note on the door with the info, or not. All we could do was hope for the best. It was about 1pm and we consulted with the kids. Their plan was similar to ours, lots of pool time, though in their case that included Funnel Vision, maybe checking out the Avengers (again) which was playing in the main theater and checking out the mid-ship detective agency. Before all that though, they had a mission. FE delivery! We had made a gift for each day and now was the perfect time to send them out and do today's deliveries. While they went off, we set to change for our afternoon plans. Still, no Kendall.

We got changed and then made ourselves a drink for the pool, Jeff using one of the refillable mugs and I’ am pretty sure I was using my fabulous new Tervis! As we got ready to leave, the kids came back and we agreed to meet in the room no later than 6 (knowing we’'d likely see them once or twice as we walked by the main pool) to head to the family comedy show. Other than that, we were cutting them loose for the day. We decided to head ot the spa first, hoping she was there.

Nope.

Hmmn...what to do.

Spa said they’d give her about 15 minutes.

Ok.

We headed out to the adult area to try and find loungers. It is set up very differently on the Dream, pool is on one deck but the loungers above it and we were a bit unclear as to what was adult only and what wasn't. The good news is that the adult pool is literally right outside the entrance to the spa. The bad news is...the adult pool is literally outside the entrance to the spa and fitness center, which means a lot of non-adult traffic passes through there as there is no other way on deck to get back there. There are few loungers right near the pool, those that are close are off to the side and actually in a covered area. And in some cases/times, taken up by live music. So you have to go up a deck. I had just gotten back from my now 3rd trip to the spa desk, this time basically cancelling with the generous offer of the spa that if we found her and there was an opening, they’d slide her in with no penalty charge but if we couldn't reschedule, we would be charged. Just as I was walking out who should appear? Kendall! She had gotten totally lost trying to find the spa. Jeff took her back in, at that point I think I was annoyed with both of them at this point, him for giving her more evening freedom than I was comfortable with without any kind of curfew and for not waking her when we left to at least remind her to take the wave phone) and her for not at least leaving a note to indicate she’d gotten the message and would be there. Either way, she was a good 20 minutes late and as a result, they couldn't do both mani and pedi. She opted for the pedi...her soccer tootsies needed some love more than her hands I guess.

Finally, at 2, Jeff and I settled down.

Looking across

To the side

Down

A pretty full pool! It is not very large that is for sure. I'm not sure but it may be smaller than the one on the Wonder even though the ship holds 1,000 more passengers! As you can see it’s only 2/3 pool and the other 1/3 is a funky bar area, where you can sit and drink. On both sides of it kids are passing through to get back and forth on the deck so not all that "adult" if you ask me. I think the hot tubs were on the sides, also covered up by the upper deck and seemingly smaller, you can see one of them behind the musician. I did like the location of them better on the Wonder as well but that really had no bearing on why we didn't go in them, we just didn't for whatever reason, most likely as it's not something I tend to want to do when it is warm out. Which it was. It was also something else.

It was WINDY!

If you weren't leaning back...neither was your chair. Or towel!

There was some lovely music

After about an hour of fighting with the wind and our chairs we moved to try to find a more sheltered spot, which still had sun (not covered in the shade on the pool deck).

This was better, though further away from the music and not nearly as interesting for people watching or looking to see if our kids walked by.

We attempted a bad self portrait

And then read and dozed for a bit. At some point Jeff went and refilled our drinks and we decided to stroll around. Turns out we were missing an entire adult area that was "really" adult and it had MUCH nicer loungers. Meaning it dead ended and kids couldn't really get back there. Across and up from where we had started (and also behind a smoking area). It only took us 2 hours to find it. DOH!

So, we moved! Again!

And then strolled around

CM Pool

More of the adult deck

Leave it to us to find the cool places towards the end of the day. It had been right behind the bar we could see where we first started out. Oh well.

Where IS everyone. Oh yeah, must be time for first seating people to get ready. At this point I am guessing it was around 5 or so. I think I left Jeff on deck, the wind unfortunately really had impacted my ability to totally relax (and nap lol) we’d been relatively idle for about 3 hours which may be my upper limit, and I am guessing that 2 other things were going on. 1, I may have finished whatever I was reading and 2, I had some things I wanted to do that were far better done alone. Those things were:

1. Swing by the DVC desk for the days swag. I’d gotten a note to stop by for a pin and I fully intended to collect it!

2. I also wanted to see our Shutters pictures so far, when it wasn’t crowded, to at least know where our “book” was and see what was in there so far (which was embarkation, royal palace and the family photo shoot) to get an idea of if I liked any or not. I had pre-purchased a 10 credit package (which they no longer sell) and that would get me 5 8x10’s. The main package they sell on board is for 20 credits (10 8x10’s) and I just doubted that we’d end up with 10 pictures I’d want on a 4 night cruise.

3. Check on our stateroom bill to date and apply all the gift cards I needed to use up to it so it’d be out of the way when there wasn’t a line at the desk.

4. Get a re-booking quote. Actually I think I had gotten the quote the day before and maybe stopped by and did the re-booking? Not sure.
Jeff and I met back at the room to change and get ready for the evening.

We’d had a lovely, huge brunch on the later side of things but dinner was still a bit away. What to do? Room service of course!

I present to you the infamous DCL fruit and cheese plate (wine provided by us lol), we hang onto 2 glasses after night one and put a coaster over them so mousekeeping doesn't take them away.

As you can see by the feet in the 2nd picture, the kids were back at the room. I honestly cannot recall if it was all 3, or just the 2. We had touched base with all of them 1-2 times during the day. Our plan had been to go to the family comedy show together. We had really enjoyed the adult version. However, the kids had zero interest in that, the line for the aquaduck drops when first seating starts so they were ALL over that. Okay...fine, be that way! Instead we settled in, Jeff on the verandah I think and I packed up all our FE goodies for the next day’s delivery. That complete, Jeff and I decided to try something new before we met back up with everyone for dinner.

What would it be?

Pirates at Sea

 

[EastYorkDisneyFan]

Just popping in to let you know the pool at the front of the Dream and Fantasy is actually part of the Teen club and not the CM pool like it was on the Magic and Wonder.

 

[dizneeat]

Great update, Cynthia.

I really had to when you wrote about your quest to find the best adult areas, as the same exact thing happened to us, only that it took until the last part of a back to back to find them.

Acccording to our CM friends on board, the area that you thought was the CM pool is actually the teen's pool area.
On the Wonder it was the CM pool and when we saw the one on the DREAM we were pretty impressed with the stylish chairs and all, so we mentioned it to Ana and she laughed and told us that this was a teens area.

Your boys ARE right, the time of the first show/first dinner seating IS the time to hit the Aquaduck. We rode it 6 times in the summer, with NO line at all. It is also the time to hit the adult pool. We were the only people in there around that time and it was fun to have the pool and hot tub to ourselves.

 

[Flossbolna]

Sorry that you weren't able to totally relax! Still sounds like a pretty good day to me! To be honest, sea days sound so nice to me, for me they are one of the things that attract me to cruising. More so than going to specific destinations. I just feel being in a port for a day would never really get me a feeling of the place I visited, so why bother. That's why after the upcoming cruise I have the feeling that if I like it the next one might be a transatlantic...

I think the adult area you found later on is an area that on the Fantasy got a water feature that looks very interesting.

Stupid question: if you aren't sitting directly at a bar, are there servers coming around bringing you drinks or do you have to get up and get them yourself? I kind of like the idea of being totally lazy!!!