kellimomo3
Busy mom to 3 prince charmings (maybe someday?)
- Joined
- Feb 16, 2004
- Messages
- 719
These trip reports were so helpful to me that I promised myself that upon our return I would post my own. I am going to do it in two parts. Part One to include our Parks experience and Part Two, our 1/15 cruise. I'll try to make it as detailed as possible in honor of all the wonderful, informative trip reports that helped me plan our trip!! This trip was a Christmas gift to our three sons and keeping the secret for over a yar was hard! I think all the anticipation made the trip even better!!
Cast
myself Kelli
(34)
DH Ron
(42)
DS Griffin
(8)
DS Ryan (6)
DS Jason (4)
Saturday, January 8th---Travel Day
Woke up to snow in Connecticut and got a bit nervous. We had booked limo transportation so I called to make sure they would still come in the storm. They assured me they would. The kids didn't know about the limo so when it pulled in about 12:15, they were psyched!! We got to the airport by 1:00 for our 3:10 Song Airlines flight to find that our flight would be delayed for de-icing. No biggie!! After all we were arriving a whole week before the cruise so an hour was okay. We finally took off about 4:00 and after a smooth flight, arrived in Orlando about 6:45, rented a car from Budget and headed to our hotel. We had booked the Holiday Inn Family Suites/ Nickolodeon Family Suites a year before. Upon check in, I was a bit dissappointed to find that there was a convention there and they had given my requested Jimmy Neutron suite to them!! I had requested it a year before and had been assured that they honor the requests in order and mine was the first. To be fair, they also said that they cannot guarantee it but it should be fine. The man at the desk was very nice. He apoligized and went out of his way to give me some extras to make up for it, game room tokens, stuffed animals, etc. It really was not that big of a deal and I was not going to let it start the vacation off on the wrong foot. We had a rainforest themed room and the boys enjoyed it. DH and I were surprised at how small the room was. We were expecting something a bit bigger. There was no where near enough drawer space for the five of us. I was glad I had taken the advice of these boards and packed a lot in baggies, it helped. Anyway, by the time we unpacked and showered we were all ready to crash!!
Tomorrow, we are off the Sea World....
Sunday, January 9th--Sea World
What a beautiful day!! We have done the parks in January twice before, so we were prepared for cool temps. Boy were we wrong. The temps were already in the 70's!! We arrived at Sea World by about 9:30. We had never been to this park and were very much looking forward to it. I though doing it on our first day would be a good idea since after Disney & Universal, the boys would be looking for more thrills. I definately did the right thing. They really enjoyed the educational aspect of the park. We all were able to pet stingrays and touch and feed the dolphins. The dolphins were my favorite part. I couldn't belive how they came right up to us. I have great pictures of Ryan (my brave one) touching them!! There was no dolphin show while we were there so I was glad we had this dolphin experience!! We explored the park and grabbed a quick lunch in a cafeteria style resteraunt. I can't remeber the name, but they served the kid's meals in little Shamu tubs which were great, the boys played with them all week! We saw the Sea Lion show after lunch, then headed over to ride Journey to Atlantis. This was a GREAT ride. It was over 80 degrees so the water aspect was okay. The only was to describe it is as a water ride that turns into a roller coaster. It was a bit intense for my four year old who prefers not to get splashed but overall a big family hit! At 4:00, we headed over for our scheduled Dinner with Shamu reservation. This dinner is a bit expensive IMO but a good experience none the less. It is a buffet dinner with tables right up against the Shamu pool. The trainer does a little presentation and Shamu does a short show just for you. This was a great photo op and as I am a huge scrapbooker I really liked that! We headed back to the hotel after dinner and hit the pool which by the way is awsome! There are two pools at this resort but only one was open at the time we were there. The whole hotel is being remodeled so there was a lot of construction but we were willing to deal with that inconvience since we got such a great rate, $114 per night for a two bedroom kid's suite!! Everyone was worn out and asleep by about 9:30. Tomorrow, it's off to Universal Studios...
Monday, January 10th
Anther beautiful day!! Bright blue, sunny skies and in the mid eighties!! After enjoying the hotel's free breakfast buffet for all (which is quite good actually) we headed over to Universal Studios. This has always been one of our family's favorite parks and it still is. We rode the new Jimmy Neutron & Shrek rides first which my boys rated very highly, then we headed back to ET, Men in Black (twice) & Jaws. We had lunch at Finnegan's Pub then let the boys cool off in Curious George's water play area. Ron and I relaxed on the bench for over an hour while the boys strippped down to their shorts and got drenched! I love this play area because there is only one way in and out. We could relax knowing that they would have to walk right past us to exit. In past years when we traveled in January the boys had enjoyed playing in this Curious Geaorge area and running around however all the water features were off then as the temps were in the 50's. Using this area on a 80 degree day was a whole new experience for them and they loved it!! This was a highlight! Griffin was too afraid to try the new Mummy coaster. He is a HUGE coaster fan but fears haunted house type rides and this coaster combines both elements so he passed on it. We headed back to the hotel around 3:00 to use the pool. The boys love the hotel pool. It has several water slides and lots of fountains, buttons, etc. He deceided to take to take advantage of the kids eat free and have dinner at the hotel. The buffet was pretty good and only costs about $12 for Ron & I. We played Bingo in the atrium at 7:00. It was a well organized event and my boys were lucky enough to each get chosen to call a game. Poor Jay (4) was practically falling asleep at the table and we went back to our room about 8:30. The boys are used to a 7:00 bed time at home. He was out before his head hit the pillow. My feet were starting to hurt so I can imagine his little legs were tires. We rented a double stroller every day and they all alternated riding until the end of the week when they discovered they could all fit in the double if they crossed their legs. We though we were pretty smart pushing around our triple until we saw a father pushing around four children in a double!! Anyway...it was early bed as we have a big Disney day tomorrow....
Tuesday, January 11th
Yeh! Disney today! We got up and out quick and were at the Magic Kingdom by 9am. We immedialtely headed to Tomorrowland and rode Buzz twice. DS (6) and DS (8) rode Space Mountain with DH. It is one of my DS8's favorite rides but this is the first time for Ryan (DS6). Ryan didn't really like it. Then we all headed over and did Stitch. I was prepared for the scary, dark elements so I told the boys before hand. It's so funny to observe their reactions to rides. My oldest loves the thrills and fast rides but was completely freaked out by Stitch. His little hand was shaking. My other two boys loved it and found it humerous rather than scary. I think it really depends on your kid. Magic Kingdom was not crowded today and we enjoyed riding all our favorites without waits. We had lunch at Cosmic Ray's in Tomorrowland which I highly recommend, not necessarily for the food but the atmosphere. It is not crowded and has a stage show that entertains the little ones. There are actually three counter resteraunts inside so there is something for everyone. The temps were in the eighties under blue, sunny skies!! I can't believe our luck!! This was the first time Jay (DS4) was able to ride Splash Mountain and Thunder Mountain. Remember, he is the one that does not like to get wet..well, it was hot and we all wanted to ride Splash Mountain together for the first time ever so we rushed him on without really telling him it was a water ride. The splash at the end was not so bad, he only got a tiny bit wet and had stopped hating us by the time the ride was over!! We hit some more favorites; Barnstormer, Pirates, Pooh and then headed to MGM Studios around 2:30. This park was also not crowded and we headed straight to Tower of Terror. None of us had rode it before and we were all a bit nervous, but no-one as bad as DS Griffin (8). He was in a full panic by the time we reached the front of the line. He had wanted to ride this since we went two years ago and talked about it all the time so when he started to panic, I really tried to encourage him along. I was getting some looks from others who were probably thinking I was some horrible mother for making my son go on TOT. However, I know Griff and he gets scared of what he does not know. I knew once he rode it, he would love it and I was right. Next we headed over to Rockin' Roller Coaster. Griff was finally tall enough and had waited years to ride this coaster. He has informed all of us that this is his new favorite ride ever!!. We had a great dinner at Hollywood and Vine. We did the Fantasmic Dinner Package and we were glad we did because when we went in the back to get our seats for Fantasmic, they were great. We were only slightly to the left of the stage and in the second row!! The boys loved the show and we were surprised how easy it was to get to our car after it. Disney sure knows how to move the crowds!! We were home and in bed by 9:00pm. Tomorrow, it's off to Islands of Adventure....
Wednesday, January 12th
Another beautiful day today!! We arrived at the Island of Adventure about 9:15. The crowds were non-existant!. DH rode the Hulk immediately upon arrival. He loves it. I am afraid to try it alone so I may possibly try it on Friday when we meet some friends here. We headed into Suess Landing next. I visually love this part of the park. We rode Cat in the Hat back to back!! One of the boy's favorite coasters is the Flying Unicorn so they rode it 4 times!! Griffin can't wait until he's tall enough for Deuling Dragons, but Dh rode it. We spent some time at our favorite talking fountain, Bob! The boys remebered it from last time and had a blast. We rode Jurassic Park and then lunched at Thunder Falls Terrace so we could watch the final drop while staying dry. After lunch it was really starting to get hot so we headed over to do some of the water rides in Toon Town. DH and Ryan (DS6) did the Ripshaw Falls log flume ride. I got a great picture of them dropping!! We all headed over to Popeye & Bluto's Bilge-Rat Barges. This is a rafting ride and we knew we would get wet but we were SOAKED!! Poor Jay, remember the one who hates getting splashed, was soaked through everything. The boys walked around shirtless for a bit and I bought Jay a dry Spiderman t-shirt. We all rode Spiderman which I think is one of the best rides in Orlando!. We headed back to the hotel to use the pool around 2:30. I put in a couple loads of laundry while Ron took the boys down. I know, you shouldn't have to do laundry on vacation but it was really no big deal and I wanted to arrive at the cruise with all clean clothes! We ate at the hotel again, you can't beat the whole kids eat free thing! We also enjoyed Bingo at 7:00. Went to bed around 9:00, excited for our day at Disney the next day....little did we our plans would change!!
Thursday, January 13th
SO we were suppossed to all head to the Animal Kingdom this morning and then meet our friends from home at the Magic Kingdom this afternoon, but....DS Griffin (8) woke up early not feeling well and promptly threw up! Not only did he throw up but it quickly became evident that he was down for the count. All he wanted to do was climb back in bed. Ron & I flipped a coin to see who would take the other two to Animal Kingdom for the morning and I won the toss. He was a good sport about it and had some business calls to make anyway. I told him I would meet him back at the hotel after lunch and we would re-evaluate. When we got to the Animal Kingdom around 9:30, I was surprised by how crowded it was, then I remembered that this was the begining of the long MLK weekend. We went straight to the Safari and rode it after a 20 minute wait. We saw a lot of animals and Ryan and Jay really enjoyed it! We headed to DinoLand and played for a while. While we were in Tarzan Rocks, DH called to say Griff had woken up, felt better and they were going to take a cab and come meet us. I said bad idea, we were almost done and the boys just wanted to head back to the hotel to swim and have lunch, besides, I didn't want to push Griff into getting up and out so quick and feeling sick again. DH said he was fine and they were coming but my phone rang 20 minutes later saying never mind, Griff was too beat. So, we headed back and I sat with Griff while Ron took the boys to the pool. We were suppossed to meet our friends at MK at 2:00 so I called told them the situation and delayed the time until 3:00. Griff showered, ate a bit and said he was up for it. We told him he could get his own stroller. By the time we got on the tram to MK from the parking lot, he was exhausted. I knew this was not going to work. The reason we were meeting here was to have dinner together and see the Specto parade and Wishes fireworks. I douted he could make it that long. By the time we made our meeting point with our friends, we were 20 minuted late and Griff was passed out in the stroller. The park was very crowded and we were not in the best mood!! After a couple rides, Ron decided he would head back to the hotel with Griff and Jay and I would stay for the nightime stuff with Ryan, our friends were at the same hotel and could bring us back. An hour or so after he left all the kids started to melt down and really just wanted the buffet dinner at the hotel and to swim. We gave up and all headed back. By this time Griff was feeling much better and swam in the pool, had dinner and got a great night's sleep. Tomorrow we would be exploring Universal & Islands of Adventure with our friends who had never been!! The kids were excited to ride the rides with their friends!! Tomorrow would be a new day....
Friday, January 14th
It was a new day alright!! A rainy one!! The first rain we had seen all week so I really can't complain but it was a downpour. We took our time with breakfast then Ron took the kids to use all those game room tokens they won at Bingo and I got some packing done. We revise our plans and decided to meet up with our friends at NBA City in City Walk at 11:00. We put on our rain coats and made the best of it. At least it was raining and warm instead of raining and cold and Griffin was all better!! The kids loved NBA City, so did the adults for that matter! We played games, had the kids pictures taken and super-imposed into pro basketball scenes and had a great lunch. By the time we left at 1:00, the downpour had slowed to a drizzle and we headed over to Universal. We kicked it all off with Jimmy Neutron and were surprised that the park was so crowded considering the rain. We rode Men in Black and ET and I loved watching the kid's faces as they showed off their favorite rides to their friends. Almost rode the Mummy but my frien'd daughter got scared and byt he time we got her settled with the guys, the line was too long. Around 3:00 we headed over to Islands of Adventure. The Hulk was up and running despite the drizzle and there was no wait so I bravely decided to ride with my brave friend!! Big mistake!! I hated it and it threw me for a lop. I didn't feel normal for hours, headache, dizzy, nauseous. I couldn't ride any of the other rides, even Cat in the Hat so I just wathced and stayed with whoever did not want to ride! We headed back to the hotel for dinner and the other family stayed. I knew we had a big day ahead of us tomorrow and wanted to get us organized and well rested. We planned to check out by 9:30 and get to Port Canaveral about 10:30 so I had lots of packing to do tonight. Off to dream land and very much looking forward to a relaxing cruise!!!
Saturday, January 15th Cruise Embarktion Day!!
The excitement level was high this morning!! We got on the road by 9:30 as planned and followed Passporter's easy direction to Port Canaveral. From reading these boards I learned that one of us could return the rental car to Budget while the others checked in so that's what we did. We arrived at the Port just as they started letting cars in so Ron pulled up and dropped us off. The CM was very nice and gave him directions to Budget. I went in to the terminal with all three boys, a little daring I know. We waited in line to check in for about 15 minutes or so. I was able to completely check Ron and and get his KTTW card so he didn't need to go to the desk at all. I think this policy muct be new because I know I read here that you could check someone in and then they go to that CM and show their license to get their KTTW card but that is no longer the case. We immediatley went to get a spot in the boarding line. I let the boys explore the terminal a bit at this point as long as I could see them. I soon noticed a line by the Cafe and realized that was where you could register the kids for the clubs so I called Griffin over to hold our spot in the line and went to join that line. Ron got back while I was in that line so in all I would say it took him about 45 minutes for the whole Budget thing. I registered the boys no problem and they honored my request to have Griffin, who had just turned eight and is in 2nd grade, be in the 5-7's with Ryan. They got their bands, I got our pager and we got back in the boarding line. At this point I felt myself starting to relax. We had booked the REAS package so my Palo and spa ressies were pretty much set and I had the kids registered. I was ready! The line was moving by 12:00 and we headed for Parrot Cay for lunch after our Embarkation photo and being announced. The buffet was awesome! We loved the shrimp!! We explored the ship for a bit. It was hard to get the boys (all 4 of them) to leave the Sports Deck and come see the rest!! I made us appointments for pedicures at the spa on our first at sea day with no problem. Our rooms were ready by 1:30. We had decided to go with two cabins, a category 8 with a category 11 across the hall. We had rooms 5009 & 5010. We had already decided that Ron & I would split up to sleep, we just felt the boys were too little to have a room that was not connecting to ours, besides we were only planning on sleeping there!! Our luggage started to slowly arrive before the lifeboat drill and unpacking two rooms was pain in the butt!! During the drill I noticed it was begining to sprinkle and wondered about the sail away. Well, they moved it inside to the deck 3 atrium. It was hard for the boys to get involved, we had to watch from two floors up as you could not get nead deck 3. Oh well, off to get ready for dinner. We had early seating with the APL rotation. Our servers were Melwin from India and Melanie from England. The dinner was good. I had the roasted chicken and the show was entertaining. The boys kept asking for the time because they wanted to get into the Club. We brought them as soon as we finished eating and I unpacked and organized the rooms while Ron got the lay of the land. I was dissappointed that we had no towlel animal tonight as I had heard so much about them and I feared that our Stateroom Host, Linden might be one of the ones that didn't make them!! We picked up the boys about 10:00 and we all fell asleep quickly with the gentle rocking of the ship...
Sunday, January 16th
Well, I thought I had the better deal sharing the Category 8 with DS Jason (4) but I found out this morning that windows also bring light!! At home all my kids go to bed by 7:30 and wake around 7:00. Griffin and Ryan, who were in the Cat. 11 with DH ,slept until after 9:00am every day of the cruise due to the dark room. Jason & I were already done with breakfast and waiting for them by then! I can't blame him though, the room did get light right on the side where he was sleeping and I did kind of enjoy having our Topsider's breakfast every morning just my and my babe! Jason adored Topsiders! He loved being able to pick what he wanted and eat it without waiting! I knew Ron & I had our Palo brunch at 11:00 this morning so I just had juice and ok, you caught me a delicious Krispy Kreme!! After breakfast we explored a bit and Jason was already clammering to get into the Club. By the time I got him cleaned up and dressed it was 9:00 so I checked him into the Club and checked in on our sleepers!! They were just waking up and getting ready to head to Topsiders. Luckily, I thought to remind DH about our brunch. He had forgotten and would have chowed down! I sat on deck 9 and read my book while he had breakfast with them, then I took them down to the Club. We had our DIS meet in Sessions at 10:00 am. It was so nice to put faces to all the screen names I had gotten to know this past year! Thanks Karen for making such nice name tags! We headed up to our Palo brunch at 11:00 and gourged ourselves! Sasha was our server and we thought he was "excellent"! I can't even remeber what we had. I know we tried the crab legs, pizza and tenderloin and I know we loved it all! After brunch we decided to go explore Key West a little even though it was raining. Ron knew a guy in town for a business meeting and met up with him for a drink while I decided I would rather relax back on the ship. When I got back on board, I checked up on the boys and Griff noticed me and asked to go to Scoops. Over sundaes, he talked about his morning and sounded a bit bored. He said he was the oldest one and wasn't having that much fun. After our treat, I brought him back to the Club and talked to the counselers who agreed with him that he should move to the Lab. I don't know why I had not done this to begin with I guess I was picturing him frolicking with teenagers and they really do keep the 8-9s pretty seperate. As soon as we got him settled in the Lab, I knew it was the right call. Tonight was our dinner in Parrot Cay. We stopped by to get the boys and both Ryan (DS6) and Jay (DS4) begged to stay and eat with their Clubs. So we had a relaxing dinner with Griffin. I tried the grouper which I loved and Ron had the mixed grill. Griffin once agin went with the crust cheese pizza but he got adventurous and tried a crab/shrimp appetizer and caeser salad with it. After dinner, we picked up Ryan, we tried to get Jay too but he wouldn't budge, and headed to the Family Spy Game in Rockin Bar D. We had a lot of fun watching the boys learn to be spies. After the game, we all went up for a soak in the hot tubs. It felt strange that Jay was not with us, but we knew it was his choice. We headed to get Jay and hit the hay around 10:00pm after everyone had a nice bath/shower. You may have noticed that I did not mention seeing the show. If you were hoping to read our thought on the shows you will be dissappointed. We didn't go to any!! I kind of anticipated that. My boys really don't enjoy shows/plays and neither does DH. I tried a couple times to convince one of them to go with me but they really didn't want to. My desire to see the shows was only to see it with them so maybe next time we'll catch a few. Sorry if this is shocking to many but it goes to show that different people get different things out of the cruise experience and we were certainly never bored!!
Monday, January 17, 2005
What a day!! It started out great! Jason and I did our Topsider's thing, meeting up with the boys and DH on the way back. We checked Jay & Ry into the Club and Griff into the Lab and headed up to the Spa for our pedicures. Mine was first at 10:00 so Ron sat out by the adult pool and relaxed until his appointment at 11:00. First off let me say if you are a person who gets pedicures in a spa at home, don't get one on the ship. It was the worst one I have ever had. That being said, I have had a lot of them and I guess if you had never had your toenails painted this one might be fun. When I checked in and got the form, I took the advice from the boards and wrote "no sales pitch please" on the bottom. When I was called in by, I believe her name was Nicloe from Jamaica, I was surprised that the pedicures were done in a chair in the salon with a little foot bath soaker like you might have at home. As soon as Nicole saw the no sales pitch comment so got rather rude, asking me if I had been there before and was badly "pitched". I said no but that I did not need any products and just wanted to relax. Well, she picked and prodded at my toes for a half hour, quickly slathered some creme on and wrapped them, then unwrapped them 5 minutes later and proceeded to wash her instruments and talk to the staff for 15 minutes. During this time, I am thinking isn't there suppossed to be some kind of foot massage with this? My feet were so sore from the week of walking the parks that that is what I was most looking forward to. I also knew that DH was very much looking forward to that part. But alas, Nicole had no more to offer than a quick polish and goodbye. I tipped her 18% because I guess that's how they do it there and I started to wonder if our Couple's Massage on Thursday would also be a dissappointment. I sat out by the pool while DH had his and when he was not back by 12:15, I went to see where he was and discovered that he to had had the lovely Nicole for his pedicure. The difference being that he was sitting in a salon chair while she was rubbing stuff on his face & hands. Come to find out, she was demonstrating all the products my DH should be using for skin care and talked him into spending over $200. I looked right at her and said, "See, this is why I write no sales pitch." and smiled. She gave a little nervous laugh and so did DH not really knowing what I was referring to. When I told him later about how I had heard they sales pitched you, he said he definatley agrees. All through his "relaxing" pedicure she was asking him about the products he uses and then pushed them all on him without telling him any prices. When he saw the receipt he almost went and returned them but he really does need to take better care of his skin so I talked him into keeping them. Moral--watch out for Nicole and prepare your husbands!! Whew...okay so then we went to lunch at Lumiere's and got immediatley beeped by Griffin. The Lab was eating lunch at Animator's Palate and he wanted to join us. I asked him if everything was okay, did something happen and he said no. After lunch we took all the boys to the Mickey pool. It was crowded every at sea day but I never found it unbearably so. We just sat up on Deck 10 and kept an eye on them. About 2:30, Griffin fell and hurt his elbow. He was really crying for a good 20 minutes which is not like him so I decided to take him to the room and put some ice on it. While he was resting in the room his elbow started feeling better, the other boys came back, changed and went to the Club and just about 3:15, Griffin said his tummy really hurt. Five minutes later, he had two back to back episodes of diarherra (?).While he was on the toilet the second time he threw up. I took one look in the bathroom and was completely overwhelmed! I couldn't even begin to clean this up. I had no gloves, no cleaners. I had to call for help. Meanwhile Ron is not back yet from bringing the boys to the club and Griffin is throwing up again. I called Guest Services and they were very nice and said they would send someone right up. I warned them that it was pretty bad and they said no problem. I got Griff in to the tub and cleaned up and Ron came back. We took Griff into the room across the hall while the poor CMs cleaned the bathroom. God was that gross. I kept laughing because they called it a "protein spill". Believe me, it was some spill!! By the time they were done though you could not smell a thing! After Griff continued to throw up a few more times, we brought him down to the Medical Center. The staff there was very nice and I found out that if your visit is related to a stomach bug thing, it is free. They gave him a suppository to stop the vomiting and put him on 24 hour isolation. Andrea from Guest Services was very helpful at this point. She sent down a VCR and movie list, offered to do any laundry that was soiled and gave us free room service. Because the other boys liked the Clubs so much we were able to really keep them away from Griffin and no-one else got the bug!! Bad news, did I forget to mention that tonight was formal night and tomorrow Grand Cayman! As we were carrying a sick child to the Med Center and passing all the people in their formal dress, I felt like crying!! So, it wasn't how I pictured it but at least it passed quickly and no-one else got it. Ron & I worked out a system to alternate being in the cabin with him so we would not go stir crazy. Maybe we could even try it for Grand Cayman tomorrow???
Tuesday, January 18th
Woke up to a partly cloudy 75 degree day and the news that we would not be docking at Grand Cayman due to winds. I was bummed we would not get to see the island but relieved in a way for our family since one of us would have to stay with Griffin all day. I took the boys up to Topsiders and brought some breakfast back for Griff who was feeling much better. The boys did the clubs all day and Ron & I alternated two hours on deck, two hours with Griff. It really was not so bad. I watched Harry Potter and Spiderman 3 times!! At 4:00 we were able to go down to the Medical Center a get him released from isolation. They gave us a form to get him back into the Lab but I figured I would wait until tomorrow just to be sure. Tonight was suppossed to be our romantic Palo dinner but we rescheduled it to Thursday so we were in AP. Only Griff and Jay joined us. Ron got the Prime Rib and I got Fettichini Alfredo which I didn't really like. Jay went to the Club for a bit and Ron, Griffin and I went and played Bingo. The jackpot was up to $4,000! No-one won. We all were sound asleep by 10:00. I must admit, I was holding my breath thinking someone else would start getting ill and I was really looking forward to Cozumel tomorrow!!
Wednesday, January 19th
Well, we made it through the night with no-one else falling ill!! Progress!! I am so excited for Cozumel today. The sky is looking a bit ominous but I'm praying for sun. We disembarked about 9:30. This was the first time the boys had been off the ship! They were fascinated that they were in another country and kept wondering how we would communicate. We grabbed a cab and headed for Paradise Beach--total of $15. I had read so many great things about it on these boards and it lived up to it's reputation. The beach was clean and well stocked with umbrellas and beach chairs. No-one hasseled us or tried to sell their wares. We setteled in and the boys started making their castles just as it started raining. DH and I sat under the umbrella and you know what, I don't think the boys even noticed it was raining. After about a half hour the blue skies moved in and it was a beautiful day! I relaxed and the boys all played on the trampoline and used the kayaks for $5 each. We had a great lunch for around $45 for all five of us. I got a chance to meet the owner, Tom who I had read so much about here. We each got a nice t-shirt and headed back to the ship after a great beach day around 3:00. The boys were excited to get back to the Club/Lab. We told them tonight was Pirate Night so we would get them for dinner. They all freaked out,NO..No..No!! They had been out of the clubs all day, could they please eat with their friends?? After some discussion, Ron & I agreed. After all, it is their vacation too. I must say, I was a bit dissappointed but we enjoyed the night nonetheless. We had our pictures taken in the Atrium with Mickey and at dinner with our pirate hankerchiefs on. Hey, I bought the 10 picture package at Shutters and we missed a lot of photo ops, I was starting to get nervous! Besides, I am a HUGE scrapbooker and would be writing all about the fact that we hardly saw the kids so what better way to prove it than by all the pictures of Ron and I! At 9:45 we grabbed the kids for the Pirate Deck Party. It was very crowded but we had a nice spot on Deck 10. A little after 10:15, they all started getting cranky and tired. Jay actually fell asleep in Ron's arms (all 45 pounds of him!) and Ry and Griff kept saying they were tired and just wanted to go to bed! So we missed the fireworks and went back to the cabin. Jason slept in the dark cat. 11 so he could get a good night sleep with Dad & Ry while Griffin came in with me. Once again, it wasn't quite what I thought but hey I'm a little tired myself!!
Thursday, January 20th
Jason being in the Category 11 made for a nice sleep in this morning. We all went to breakfast about 9:00 and then the boys headed to the clubs. We grabbed our books and relaxed by the adult pool. Today was the seafood buffet so we grabbed a light lunch and headed to our 1:00 Couple's massage in the Spa. It was heavenly!! I can't remember the names of the two girls who did it but it was one of the best massages I've ever had! So I guess the on-board spa is not that bad. There was no sales pitch for product but they did talk us into using the Rainforest room after our massage. I thought it was okay but I wouldn't do it again. I don't know I guess it could be a nice place to relax on a rainy day but I prefer the sun and fresh air. I made all the boys come to dinner with us tonight and I got everyone ready by 5:00 so we could do all the backdropped photos we missed. They complained a bit but when they realized I wasn't budging on this one, they cooperated. We got some great shots!! We even managed to get a 6x8 with Mickey which is quite a feat considering that Jay is afraid of the characters. I am holding him but at least he's in the picture!! Tonight was the Captain's Gala and Ron & I were doing the "double dip". We had an appetizer with the kids (okay, we had lobster tail) and then brought them to the clubs and headed up to Palo for our 7:00 reservation. Once again, we had Sasha. I can't say enough about him. He is a great server! We each got the filet, tried a few appetizers and a funky salad. I am not a huge chololate fan, but I loved the chocolate souflee. It is a must! In the middle of dinner, we got beeped by the Club to call them. I thought this was odd, since we had told them we were going to Palo and they usually try to not beep you in there. I was a bit nervous. When I called the woman apoligized and said she just noticed the note that we were dining at Palo. They just wanted to make us aware that Jay had had an incident of pushing and fighting with another child. I wasn't quite sure what they wanted me to do. I asked if we should come get him and they said, oh no we just wanted you to know. Come to find out later the child he was fighting with was his brother Ryan which explains a lot!! After dinner, we headed back to the cabin to check out our "romantic turndown". It was beautiful, tons of rose petals and towel animal swans! I took a great picture of it but the party was over before it began as we got beeped yet again. This time Ryan was ready to be picked up. We knew the kids would get a kick out of the roses and towel swans so we left it for them. Linden, our stateroom host, really had redeemed himself since the no towel animal on the first night issue. Griffin didn't want to leave the Lab as they were making flubber so he stayed until about 11:00. We all went to bed dreaming of Castaway Cay!!
Friday, January 21
Say it isn't so!! We were up at Topsider's having breakfast the first time the Captain tried to dock. The funny think was you could tell we were pulling away but it seemed to take forever before he came over the loudspeaker to tell us what was going on. Apparently, the currents were very strong and pulling us into the dock. He said we would try again in an hour. That was one long hour!! The weather was beautiful and the seas so calm it was hard to fatham that we wouldn't dock. The second attempt had us so close, you could see the chairs on the beach! We actually were so sure he would dock that we went down to deck one to get in line, but alas it was not meant to be. When I saw the kid's dissappointed faces, I realized I could not let this get us down. I pointed out to them that it would be a good reason to cruise again and that the captain was only trying to be safe. We would make the best of it and enjoy this our fourth day at sea!! As I walked them back to the club, past all the screaming people, I realized even more how important this perspective would be. I was not going to let these setbacks ruin the family vacation we had waited and saved for for over a year! It turned out to be another relaxing day on deck nine. The boys chose to have their final dinner in the club. We handed out our tips with a bit extra for all. Also, I had handmade thank you cards for the couselers in the clubs. I let each boy chose the two counselers that had made the biggest impression on them and they got a card with a Wallmart giftcard inside. Let me just say that they were so grateful!! They talked to us more that night then the whole cruise!! Griffin gave his to Dario & Lucien. Ryan to Joel & Rufaro and Jason to Duane & Arnel. The boys were sad to leave and I was sad to pack. We had everything out by 11:00 and set a wake up call for 6:30 am!!
Saturday, January 22nd
I don't want to leave!! We have an early flight home scheduled at 11:20 so I headed right down to the atrium to get in line for disembakation while Ron and the boys went to get muffins. We were off teh ship by 7:45, got our luggage, breezed through customs and were met by our FL Tours driver out front by 8:00. We were at the airport by 9:00!! We mae the 11:20 flight, no problem. Thank god we hadn't booked a leter flight because come to find out we were the last flight into Hartford due to a huge blizzard. The limo met us at the airport in Hartford just as the first flakes were falling and as we got home and unpacked we were covered with a foot and a half of snow!! Quite a change in climate, we all got colds!!
Final Thoughts
Whew....that took a lot of time!! I promised myself that I would do a trip report because I know how helpful they are and I am almost done!!
Things I strongly reccommend:[/B]
* Over the door shoe hanger for bathroom door. I used it for all the sunscreen, cameras, etc.
* Unlimited Internet package--we used this everyday. Not only was it helpful for DH to be in touch with his office but I could touch base with family. I also was able to post live reports here!! Especially helpful to find out about weather at home and potential airport problems on Friday. I printed our boarding passes for our trip home on Friday night!
* Brunch and dinner at Palo was truely exceptional.
* Having something personal to give the kid's club counselers on the last day. They work so hard!
* White noise sound machines, they kept away all the outside noise!!
* Couples Massages!!
* Rebooking on board. The $200 per stateroom credit is great! It also makes it easier to leave, knowing you'll be back!
* The first day you arrive the drink of the day is the Bon Voyage but they have them available every day. I got one every day!!
* Paradise Beach in Cozumel
* Extension cords
* If you need transportation to/from the port go FL Tours!
* The Perfect Gift!! Shirley's sand pails were amazing. The boys especially loved the message in a bottle. They threw them over board somewhere off the coast of Cuba I think.
Things to stay away from:
* Pedicures in the Spa
* The guest services desk on a morning the ship was unable to dock in Castaway Cay!
* Bingo (too expensive!)
Well folks, that's all for now.
I did it!! Please remember that everything here is one family's experience. We had a lot go wrong on this cruise and still had the time of our lives. Your vacation is what you make it so make it the best. As you can see we have re-booked for next year. We are going to try the Western again, hopefully with more luck!! Thanks to all who made our trip a sucess!!!
Kelli
Cast
myself Kelli
(34)DH Ron
(42)DS Griffin
(8)DS Ryan
(6)DS Jason
(4)Part One
Saturday, January 8th---Travel Day
Woke up to snow in Connecticut and got a bit nervous. We had booked limo transportation so I called to make sure they would still come in the storm. They assured me they would. The kids didn't know about the limo so when it pulled in about 12:15, they were psyched!! We got to the airport by 1:00 for our 3:10 Song Airlines flight to find that our flight would be delayed for de-icing. No biggie!! After all we were arriving a whole week before the cruise so an hour was okay. We finally took off about 4:00 and after a smooth flight, arrived in Orlando about 6:45, rented a car from Budget and headed to our hotel. We had booked the Holiday Inn Family Suites/ Nickolodeon Family Suites a year before. Upon check in, I was a bit dissappointed to find that there was a convention there and they had given my requested Jimmy Neutron suite to them!! I had requested it a year before and had been assured that they honor the requests in order and mine was the first. To be fair, they also said that they cannot guarantee it but it should be fine. The man at the desk was very nice. He apoligized and went out of his way to give me some extras to make up for it, game room tokens, stuffed animals, etc. It really was not that big of a deal and I was not going to let it start the vacation off on the wrong foot. We had a rainforest themed room and the boys enjoyed it. DH and I were surprised at how small the room was. We were expecting something a bit bigger. There was no where near enough drawer space for the five of us. I was glad I had taken the advice of these boards and packed a lot in baggies, it helped. Anyway, by the time we unpacked and showered we were all ready to crash!!
Tomorrow, we are off the Sea World....
Sunday, January 9th--Sea World
What a beautiful day!! We have done the parks in January twice before, so we were prepared for cool temps. Boy were we wrong. The temps were already in the 70's!! We arrived at Sea World by about 9:30. We had never been to this park and were very much looking forward to it. I though doing it on our first day would be a good idea since after Disney & Universal, the boys would be looking for more thrills. I definately did the right thing. They really enjoyed the educational aspect of the park. We all were able to pet stingrays and touch and feed the dolphins. The dolphins were my favorite part. I couldn't belive how they came right up to us. I have great pictures of Ryan (my brave one) touching them!! There was no dolphin show while we were there so I was glad we had this dolphin experience!! We explored the park and grabbed a quick lunch in a cafeteria style resteraunt. I can't remeber the name, but they served the kid's meals in little Shamu tubs which were great, the boys played with them all week! We saw the Sea Lion show after lunch, then headed over to ride Journey to Atlantis. This was a GREAT ride. It was over 80 degrees so the water aspect was okay. The only was to describe it is as a water ride that turns into a roller coaster. It was a bit intense for my four year old who prefers not to get splashed but overall a big family hit! At 4:00, we headed over for our scheduled Dinner with Shamu reservation. This dinner is a bit expensive IMO but a good experience none the less. It is a buffet dinner with tables right up against the Shamu pool. The trainer does a little presentation and Shamu does a short show just for you. This was a great photo op and as I am a huge scrapbooker I really liked that! We headed back to the hotel after dinner and hit the pool which by the way is awsome! There are two pools at this resort but only one was open at the time we were there. The whole hotel is being remodeled so there was a lot of construction but we were willing to deal with that inconvience since we got such a great rate, $114 per night for a two bedroom kid's suite!! Everyone was worn out and asleep by about 9:30. Tomorrow, it's off to Universal Studios...
Monday, January 10th
Anther beautiful day!! Bright blue, sunny skies and in the mid eighties!! After enjoying the hotel's free breakfast buffet for all (which is quite good actually) we headed over to Universal Studios. This has always been one of our family's favorite parks and it still is. We rode the new Jimmy Neutron & Shrek rides first which my boys rated very highly, then we headed back to ET, Men in Black (twice) & Jaws. We had lunch at Finnegan's Pub then let the boys cool off in Curious George's water play area. Ron and I relaxed on the bench for over an hour while the boys strippped down to their shorts and got drenched! I love this play area because there is only one way in and out. We could relax knowing that they would have to walk right past us to exit. In past years when we traveled in January the boys had enjoyed playing in this Curious Geaorge area and running around however all the water features were off then as the temps were in the 50's. Using this area on a 80 degree day was a whole new experience for them and they loved it!! This was a highlight! Griffin was too afraid to try the new Mummy coaster. He is a HUGE coaster fan but fears haunted house type rides and this coaster combines both elements so he passed on it. We headed back to the hotel around 3:00 to use the pool. The boys love the hotel pool. It has several water slides and lots of fountains, buttons, etc. He deceided to take to take advantage of the kids eat free and have dinner at the hotel. The buffet was pretty good and only costs about $12 for Ron & I. We played Bingo in the atrium at 7:00. It was a well organized event and my boys were lucky enough to each get chosen to call a game. Poor Jay (4) was practically falling asleep at the table and we went back to our room about 8:30. The boys are used to a 7:00 bed time at home. He was out before his head hit the pillow. My feet were starting to hurt so I can imagine his little legs were tires. We rented a double stroller every day and they all alternated riding until the end of the week when they discovered they could all fit in the double if they crossed their legs. We though we were pretty smart pushing around our triple until we saw a father pushing around four children in a double!! Anyway...it was early bed as we have a big Disney day tomorrow....
Tuesday, January 11th
Yeh! Disney today! We got up and out quick and were at the Magic Kingdom by 9am. We immedialtely headed to Tomorrowland and rode Buzz twice. DS (6) and DS (8) rode Space Mountain with DH. It is one of my DS8's favorite rides but this is the first time for Ryan (DS6). Ryan didn't really like it. Then we all headed over and did Stitch. I was prepared for the scary, dark elements so I told the boys before hand. It's so funny to observe their reactions to rides. My oldest loves the thrills and fast rides but was completely freaked out by Stitch. His little hand was shaking. My other two boys loved it and found it humerous rather than scary. I think it really depends on your kid. Magic Kingdom was not crowded today and we enjoyed riding all our favorites without waits. We had lunch at Cosmic Ray's in Tomorrowland which I highly recommend, not necessarily for the food but the atmosphere. It is not crowded and has a stage show that entertains the little ones. There are actually three counter resteraunts inside so there is something for everyone. The temps were in the eighties under blue, sunny skies!! I can't believe our luck!! This was the first time Jay (DS4) was able to ride Splash Mountain and Thunder Mountain. Remember, he is the one that does not like to get wet..well, it was hot and we all wanted to ride Splash Mountain together for the first time ever so we rushed him on without really telling him it was a water ride. The splash at the end was not so bad, he only got a tiny bit wet and had stopped hating us by the time the ride was over!! We hit some more favorites; Barnstormer, Pirates, Pooh and then headed to MGM Studios around 2:30. This park was also not crowded and we headed straight to Tower of Terror. None of us had rode it before and we were all a bit nervous, but no-one as bad as DS Griffin (8). He was in a full panic by the time we reached the front of the line. He had wanted to ride this since we went two years ago and talked about it all the time so when he started to panic, I really tried to encourage him along. I was getting some looks from others who were probably thinking I was some horrible mother for making my son go on TOT. However, I know Griff and he gets scared of what he does not know. I knew once he rode it, he would love it and I was right. Next we headed over to Rockin' Roller Coaster. Griff was finally tall enough and had waited years to ride this coaster. He has informed all of us that this is his new favorite ride ever!!. We had a great dinner at Hollywood and Vine. We did the Fantasmic Dinner Package and we were glad we did because when we went in the back to get our seats for Fantasmic, they were great. We were only slightly to the left of the stage and in the second row!! The boys loved the show and we were surprised how easy it was to get to our car after it. Disney sure knows how to move the crowds!! We were home and in bed by 9:00pm. Tomorrow, it's off to Islands of Adventure....
Wednesday, January 12th
Another beautiful day today!! We arrived at the Island of Adventure about 9:15. The crowds were non-existant!. DH rode the Hulk immediately upon arrival. He loves it. I am afraid to try it alone so I may possibly try it on Friday when we meet some friends here. We headed into Suess Landing next. I visually love this part of the park. We rode Cat in the Hat back to back!! One of the boy's favorite coasters is the Flying Unicorn so they rode it 4 times!! Griffin can't wait until he's tall enough for Deuling Dragons, but Dh rode it. We spent some time at our favorite talking fountain, Bob! The boys remebered it from last time and had a blast. We rode Jurassic Park and then lunched at Thunder Falls Terrace so we could watch the final drop while staying dry. After lunch it was really starting to get hot so we headed over to do some of the water rides in Toon Town. DH and Ryan (DS6) did the Ripshaw Falls log flume ride. I got a great picture of them dropping!! We all headed over to Popeye & Bluto's Bilge-Rat Barges. This is a rafting ride and we knew we would get wet but we were SOAKED!! Poor Jay, remember the one who hates getting splashed, was soaked through everything. The boys walked around shirtless for a bit and I bought Jay a dry Spiderman t-shirt. We all rode Spiderman which I think is one of the best rides in Orlando!. We headed back to the hotel to use the pool around 2:30. I put in a couple loads of laundry while Ron took the boys down. I know, you shouldn't have to do laundry on vacation but it was really no big deal and I wanted to arrive at the cruise with all clean clothes! We ate at the hotel again, you can't beat the whole kids eat free thing! We also enjoyed Bingo at 7:00. Went to bed around 9:00, excited for our day at Disney the next day....little did we our plans would change!!
Thursday, January 13th
SO we were suppossed to all head to the Animal Kingdom this morning and then meet our friends from home at the Magic Kingdom this afternoon, but....DS Griffin (8) woke up early not feeling well and promptly threw up! Not only did he throw up but it quickly became evident that he was down for the count. All he wanted to do was climb back in bed. Ron & I flipped a coin to see who would take the other two to Animal Kingdom for the morning and I won the toss. He was a good sport about it and had some business calls to make anyway. I told him I would meet him back at the hotel after lunch and we would re-evaluate. When we got to the Animal Kingdom around 9:30, I was surprised by how crowded it was, then I remembered that this was the begining of the long MLK weekend. We went straight to the Safari and rode it after a 20 minute wait. We saw a lot of animals and Ryan and Jay really enjoyed it! We headed to DinoLand and played for a while. While we were in Tarzan Rocks, DH called to say Griff had woken up, felt better and they were going to take a cab and come meet us. I said bad idea, we were almost done and the boys just wanted to head back to the hotel to swim and have lunch, besides, I didn't want to push Griff into getting up and out so quick and feeling sick again. DH said he was fine and they were coming but my phone rang 20 minutes later saying never mind, Griff was too beat. So, we headed back and I sat with Griff while Ron took the boys to the pool. We were suppossed to meet our friends at MK at 2:00 so I called told them the situation and delayed the time until 3:00. Griff showered, ate a bit and said he was up for it. We told him he could get his own stroller. By the time we got on the tram to MK from the parking lot, he was exhausted. I knew this was not going to work. The reason we were meeting here was to have dinner together and see the Specto parade and Wishes fireworks. I douted he could make it that long. By the time we made our meeting point with our friends, we were 20 minuted late and Griff was passed out in the stroller. The park was very crowded and we were not in the best mood!! After a couple rides, Ron decided he would head back to the hotel with Griff and Jay and I would stay for the nightime stuff with Ryan, our friends were at the same hotel and could bring us back. An hour or so after he left all the kids started to melt down and really just wanted the buffet dinner at the hotel and to swim. We gave up and all headed back. By this time Griff was feeling much better and swam in the pool, had dinner and got a great night's sleep. Tomorrow we would be exploring Universal & Islands of Adventure with our friends who had never been!! The kids were excited to ride the rides with their friends!! Tomorrow would be a new day....
Friday, January 14th
It was a new day alright!! A rainy one!! The first rain we had seen all week so I really can't complain but it was a downpour. We took our time with breakfast then Ron took the kids to use all those game room tokens they won at Bingo and I got some packing done. We revise our plans and decided to meet up with our friends at NBA City in City Walk at 11:00. We put on our rain coats and made the best of it. At least it was raining and warm instead of raining and cold and Griffin was all better!! The kids loved NBA City, so did the adults for that matter! We played games, had the kids pictures taken and super-imposed into pro basketball scenes and had a great lunch. By the time we left at 1:00, the downpour had slowed to a drizzle and we headed over to Universal. We kicked it all off with Jimmy Neutron and were surprised that the park was so crowded considering the rain. We rode Men in Black and ET and I loved watching the kid's faces as they showed off their favorite rides to their friends. Almost rode the Mummy but my frien'd daughter got scared and byt he time we got her settled with the guys, the line was too long. Around 3:00 we headed over to Islands of Adventure. The Hulk was up and running despite the drizzle and there was no wait so I bravely decided to ride with my brave friend!! Big mistake!! I hated it and it threw me for a lop. I didn't feel normal for hours, headache, dizzy, nauseous. I couldn't ride any of the other rides, even Cat in the Hat so I just wathced and stayed with whoever did not want to ride! We headed back to the hotel for dinner and the other family stayed. I knew we had a big day ahead of us tomorrow and wanted to get us organized and well rested. We planned to check out by 9:30 and get to Port Canaveral about 10:30 so I had lots of packing to do tonight. Off to dream land and very much looking forward to a relaxing cruise!!!
Part Two
Saturday, January 15th Cruise Embarktion Day!!
The excitement level was high this morning!! We got on the road by 9:30 as planned and followed Passporter's easy direction to Port Canaveral. From reading these boards I learned that one of us could return the rental car to Budget while the others checked in so that's what we did. We arrived at the Port just as they started letting cars in so Ron pulled up and dropped us off. The CM was very nice and gave him directions to Budget. I went in to the terminal with all three boys, a little daring I know. We waited in line to check in for about 15 minutes or so. I was able to completely check Ron and and get his KTTW card so he didn't need to go to the desk at all. I think this policy muct be new because I know I read here that you could check someone in and then they go to that CM and show their license to get their KTTW card but that is no longer the case. We immediatley went to get a spot in the boarding line. I let the boys explore the terminal a bit at this point as long as I could see them. I soon noticed a line by the Cafe and realized that was where you could register the kids for the clubs so I called Griffin over to hold our spot in the line and went to join that line. Ron got back while I was in that line so in all I would say it took him about 45 minutes for the whole Budget thing. I registered the boys no problem and they honored my request to have Griffin, who had just turned eight and is in 2nd grade, be in the 5-7's with Ryan. They got their bands, I got our pager and we got back in the boarding line. At this point I felt myself starting to relax. We had booked the REAS package so my Palo and spa ressies were pretty much set and I had the kids registered. I was ready! The line was moving by 12:00 and we headed for Parrot Cay for lunch after our Embarkation photo and being announced. The buffet was awesome! We loved the shrimp!! We explored the ship for a bit. It was hard to get the boys (all 4 of them) to leave the Sports Deck and come see the rest!! I made us appointments for pedicures at the spa on our first at sea day with no problem. Our rooms were ready by 1:30. We had decided to go with two cabins, a category 8 with a category 11 across the hall. We had rooms 5009 & 5010. We had already decided that Ron & I would split up to sleep, we just felt the boys were too little to have a room that was not connecting to ours, besides we were only planning on sleeping there!! Our luggage started to slowly arrive before the lifeboat drill and unpacking two rooms was pain in the butt!! During the drill I noticed it was begining to sprinkle and wondered about the sail away. Well, they moved it inside to the deck 3 atrium. It was hard for the boys to get involved, we had to watch from two floors up as you could not get nead deck 3. Oh well, off to get ready for dinner. We had early seating with the APL rotation. Our servers were Melwin from India and Melanie from England. The dinner was good. I had the roasted chicken and the show was entertaining. The boys kept asking for the time because they wanted to get into the Club. We brought them as soon as we finished eating and I unpacked and organized the rooms while Ron got the lay of the land. I was dissappointed that we had no towlel animal tonight as I had heard so much about them and I feared that our Stateroom Host, Linden might be one of the ones that didn't make them!! We picked up the boys about 10:00 and we all fell asleep quickly with the gentle rocking of the ship...
Sunday, January 16th
Well, I thought I had the better deal sharing the Category 8 with DS Jason (4) but I found out this morning that windows also bring light!! At home all my kids go to bed by 7:30 and wake around 7:00. Griffin and Ryan, who were in the Cat. 11 with DH ,slept until after 9:00am every day of the cruise due to the dark room. Jason & I were already done with breakfast and waiting for them by then! I can't blame him though, the room did get light right on the side where he was sleeping and I did kind of enjoy having our Topsider's breakfast every morning just my and my babe! Jason adored Topsiders! He loved being able to pick what he wanted and eat it without waiting! I knew Ron & I had our Palo brunch at 11:00 this morning so I just had juice and ok, you caught me a delicious Krispy Kreme!! After breakfast we explored a bit and Jason was already clammering to get into the Club. By the time I got him cleaned up and dressed it was 9:00 so I checked him into the Club and checked in on our sleepers!! They were just waking up and getting ready to head to Topsiders. Luckily, I thought to remind DH about our brunch. He had forgotten and would have chowed down! I sat on deck 9 and read my book while he had breakfast with them, then I took them down to the Club. We had our DIS meet in Sessions at 10:00 am. It was so nice to put faces to all the screen names I had gotten to know this past year! Thanks Karen for making such nice name tags! We headed up to our Palo brunch at 11:00 and gourged ourselves! Sasha was our server and we thought he was "excellent"! I can't even remeber what we had. I know we tried the crab legs, pizza and tenderloin and I know we loved it all! After brunch we decided to go explore Key West a little even though it was raining. Ron knew a guy in town for a business meeting and met up with him for a drink while I decided I would rather relax back on the ship. When I got back on board, I checked up on the boys and Griff noticed me and asked to go to Scoops. Over sundaes, he talked about his morning and sounded a bit bored. He said he was the oldest one and wasn't having that much fun. After our treat, I brought him back to the Club and talked to the counselers who agreed with him that he should move to the Lab. I don't know why I had not done this to begin with I guess I was picturing him frolicking with teenagers and they really do keep the 8-9s pretty seperate. As soon as we got him settled in the Lab, I knew it was the right call. Tonight was our dinner in Parrot Cay. We stopped by to get the boys and both Ryan (DS6) and Jay (DS4) begged to stay and eat with their Clubs. So we had a relaxing dinner with Griffin. I tried the grouper which I loved and Ron had the mixed grill. Griffin once agin went with the crust cheese pizza but he got adventurous and tried a crab/shrimp appetizer and caeser salad with it. After dinner, we picked up Ryan, we tried to get Jay too but he wouldn't budge, and headed to the Family Spy Game in Rockin Bar D. We had a lot of fun watching the boys learn to be spies. After the game, we all went up for a soak in the hot tubs. It felt strange that Jay was not with us, but we knew it was his choice. We headed to get Jay and hit the hay around 10:00pm after everyone had a nice bath/shower. You may have noticed that I did not mention seeing the show. If you were hoping to read our thought on the shows you will be dissappointed. We didn't go to any!! I kind of anticipated that. My boys really don't enjoy shows/plays and neither does DH. I tried a couple times to convince one of them to go with me but they really didn't want to. My desire to see the shows was only to see it with them so maybe next time we'll catch a few. Sorry if this is shocking to many but it goes to show that different people get different things out of the cruise experience and we were certainly never bored!!
Monday, January 17, 2005
What a day!! It started out great! Jason and I did our Topsider's thing, meeting up with the boys and DH on the way back. We checked Jay & Ry into the Club and Griff into the Lab and headed up to the Spa for our pedicures. Mine was first at 10:00 so Ron sat out by the adult pool and relaxed until his appointment at 11:00. First off let me say if you are a person who gets pedicures in a spa at home, don't get one on the ship. It was the worst one I have ever had. That being said, I have had a lot of them and I guess if you had never had your toenails painted this one might be fun. When I checked in and got the form, I took the advice from the boards and wrote "no sales pitch please" on the bottom. When I was called in by, I believe her name was Nicloe from Jamaica, I was surprised that the pedicures were done in a chair in the salon with a little foot bath soaker like you might have at home. As soon as Nicole saw the no sales pitch comment so got rather rude, asking me if I had been there before and was badly "pitched". I said no but that I did not need any products and just wanted to relax. Well, she picked and prodded at my toes for a half hour, quickly slathered some creme on and wrapped them, then unwrapped them 5 minutes later and proceeded to wash her instruments and talk to the staff for 15 minutes. During this time, I am thinking isn't there suppossed to be some kind of foot massage with this? My feet were so sore from the week of walking the parks that that is what I was most looking forward to. I also knew that DH was very much looking forward to that part. But alas, Nicole had no more to offer than a quick polish and goodbye. I tipped her 18% because I guess that's how they do it there and I started to wonder if our Couple's Massage on Thursday would also be a dissappointment. I sat out by the pool while DH had his and when he was not back by 12:15, I went to see where he was and discovered that he to had had the lovely Nicole for his pedicure. The difference being that he was sitting in a salon chair while she was rubbing stuff on his face & hands. Come to find out, she was demonstrating all the products my DH should be using for skin care and talked him into spending over $200. I looked right at her and said, "See, this is why I write no sales pitch." and smiled. She gave a little nervous laugh and so did DH not really knowing what I was referring to. When I told him later about how I had heard they sales pitched you, he said he definatley agrees. All through his "relaxing" pedicure she was asking him about the products he uses and then pushed them all on him without telling him any prices. When he saw the receipt he almost went and returned them but he really does need to take better care of his skin so I talked him into keeping them. Moral--watch out for Nicole and prepare your husbands!! Whew...okay so then we went to lunch at Lumiere's and got immediatley beeped by Griffin. The Lab was eating lunch at Animator's Palate and he wanted to join us. I asked him if everything was okay, did something happen and he said no. After lunch we took all the boys to the Mickey pool. It was crowded every at sea day but I never found it unbearably so. We just sat up on Deck 10 and kept an eye on them. About 2:30, Griffin fell and hurt his elbow. He was really crying for a good 20 minutes which is not like him so I decided to take him to the room and put some ice on it. While he was resting in the room his elbow started feeling better, the other boys came back, changed and went to the Club and just about 3:15, Griffin said his tummy really hurt. Five minutes later, he had two back to back episodes of diarherra (?).While he was on the toilet the second time he threw up. I took one look in the bathroom and was completely overwhelmed! I couldn't even begin to clean this up. I had no gloves, no cleaners. I had to call for help. Meanwhile Ron is not back yet from bringing the boys to the club and Griffin is throwing up again. I called Guest Services and they were very nice and said they would send someone right up. I warned them that it was pretty bad and they said no problem. I got Griff in to the tub and cleaned up and Ron came back. We took Griff into the room across the hall while the poor CMs cleaned the bathroom. God was that gross. I kept laughing because they called it a "protein spill". Believe me, it was some spill!! By the time they were done though you could not smell a thing! After Griff continued to throw up a few more times, we brought him down to the Medical Center. The staff there was very nice and I found out that if your visit is related to a stomach bug thing, it is free. They gave him a suppository to stop the vomiting and put him on 24 hour isolation. Andrea from Guest Services was very helpful at this point. She sent down a VCR and movie list, offered to do any laundry that was soiled and gave us free room service. Because the other boys liked the Clubs so much we were able to really keep them away from Griffin and no-one else got the bug!! Bad news, did I forget to mention that tonight was formal night and tomorrow Grand Cayman! As we were carrying a sick child to the Med Center and passing all the people in their formal dress, I felt like crying!! So, it wasn't how I pictured it but at least it passed quickly and no-one else got it. Ron & I worked out a system to alternate being in the cabin with him so we would not go stir crazy. Maybe we could even try it for Grand Cayman tomorrow???
Tuesday, January 18th
Woke up to a partly cloudy 75 degree day and the news that we would not be docking at Grand Cayman due to winds. I was bummed we would not get to see the island but relieved in a way for our family since one of us would have to stay with Griffin all day. I took the boys up to Topsiders and brought some breakfast back for Griff who was feeling much better. The boys did the clubs all day and Ron & I alternated two hours on deck, two hours with Griff. It really was not so bad. I watched Harry Potter and Spiderman 3 times!! At 4:00 we were able to go down to the Medical Center a get him released from isolation. They gave us a form to get him back into the Lab but I figured I would wait until tomorrow just to be sure. Tonight was suppossed to be our romantic Palo dinner but we rescheduled it to Thursday so we were in AP. Only Griff and Jay joined us. Ron got the Prime Rib and I got Fettichini Alfredo which I didn't really like. Jay went to the Club for a bit and Ron, Griffin and I went and played Bingo. The jackpot was up to $4,000! No-one won. We all were sound asleep by 10:00. I must admit, I was holding my breath thinking someone else would start getting ill and I was really looking forward to Cozumel tomorrow!!
Wednesday, January 19th
Well, we made it through the night with no-one else falling ill!! Progress!! I am so excited for Cozumel today. The sky is looking a bit ominous but I'm praying for sun. We disembarked about 9:30. This was the first time the boys had been off the ship! They were fascinated that they were in another country and kept wondering how we would communicate. We grabbed a cab and headed for Paradise Beach--total of $15. I had read so many great things about it on these boards and it lived up to it's reputation. The beach was clean and well stocked with umbrellas and beach chairs. No-one hasseled us or tried to sell their wares. We setteled in and the boys started making their castles just as it started raining. DH and I sat under the umbrella and you know what, I don't think the boys even noticed it was raining. After about a half hour the blue skies moved in and it was a beautiful day! I relaxed and the boys all played on the trampoline and used the kayaks for $5 each. We had a great lunch for around $45 for all five of us. I got a chance to meet the owner, Tom who I had read so much about here. We each got a nice t-shirt and headed back to the ship after a great beach day around 3:00. The boys were excited to get back to the Club/Lab. We told them tonight was Pirate Night so we would get them for dinner. They all freaked out,NO..No..No!! They had been out of the clubs all day, could they please eat with their friends?? After some discussion, Ron & I agreed. After all, it is their vacation too. I must say, I was a bit dissappointed but we enjoyed the night nonetheless. We had our pictures taken in the Atrium with Mickey and at dinner with our pirate hankerchiefs on. Hey, I bought the 10 picture package at Shutters and we missed a lot of photo ops, I was starting to get nervous! Besides, I am a HUGE scrapbooker and would be writing all about the fact that we hardly saw the kids so what better way to prove it than by all the pictures of Ron and I! At 9:45 we grabbed the kids for the Pirate Deck Party. It was very crowded but we had a nice spot on Deck 10. A little after 10:15, they all started getting cranky and tired. Jay actually fell asleep in Ron's arms (all 45 pounds of him!) and Ry and Griff kept saying they were tired and just wanted to go to bed! So we missed the fireworks and went back to the cabin. Jason slept in the dark cat. 11 so he could get a good night sleep with Dad & Ry while Griffin came in with me. Once again, it wasn't quite what I thought but hey I'm a little tired myself!!
Thursday, January 20th
Jason being in the Category 11 made for a nice sleep in this morning. We all went to breakfast about 9:00 and then the boys headed to the clubs. We grabbed our books and relaxed by the adult pool. Today was the seafood buffet so we grabbed a light lunch and headed to our 1:00 Couple's massage in the Spa. It was heavenly!! I can't remember the names of the two girls who did it but it was one of the best massages I've ever had! So I guess the on-board spa is not that bad. There was no sales pitch for product but they did talk us into using the Rainforest room after our massage. I thought it was okay but I wouldn't do it again. I don't know I guess it could be a nice place to relax on a rainy day but I prefer the sun and fresh air. I made all the boys come to dinner with us tonight and I got everyone ready by 5:00 so we could do all the backdropped photos we missed. They complained a bit but when they realized I wasn't budging on this one, they cooperated. We got some great shots!! We even managed to get a 6x8 with Mickey which is quite a feat considering that Jay is afraid of the characters. I am holding him but at least he's in the picture!! Tonight was the Captain's Gala and Ron & I were doing the "double dip". We had an appetizer with the kids (okay, we had lobster tail) and then brought them to the clubs and headed up to Palo for our 7:00 reservation. Once again, we had Sasha. I can't say enough about him. He is a great server! We each got the filet, tried a few appetizers and a funky salad. I am not a huge chololate fan, but I loved the chocolate souflee. It is a must! In the middle of dinner, we got beeped by the Club to call them. I thought this was odd, since we had told them we were going to Palo and they usually try to not beep you in there. I was a bit nervous. When I called the woman apoligized and said she just noticed the note that we were dining at Palo. They just wanted to make us aware that Jay had had an incident of pushing and fighting with another child. I wasn't quite sure what they wanted me to do. I asked if we should come get him and they said, oh no we just wanted you to know. Come to find out later the child he was fighting with was his brother Ryan which explains a lot!! After dinner, we headed back to the cabin to check out our "romantic turndown". It was beautiful, tons of rose petals and towel animal swans! I took a great picture of it but the party was over before it began as we got beeped yet again. This time Ryan was ready to be picked up. We knew the kids would get a kick out of the roses and towel swans so we left it for them. Linden, our stateroom host, really had redeemed himself since the no towel animal on the first night issue. Griffin didn't want to leave the Lab as they were making flubber so he stayed until about 11:00. We all went to bed dreaming of Castaway Cay!!
Friday, January 21
Say it isn't so!! We were up at Topsider's having breakfast the first time the Captain tried to dock. The funny think was you could tell we were pulling away but it seemed to take forever before he came over the loudspeaker to tell us what was going on. Apparently, the currents were very strong and pulling us into the dock. He said we would try again in an hour. That was one long hour!! The weather was beautiful and the seas so calm it was hard to fatham that we wouldn't dock. The second attempt had us so close, you could see the chairs on the beach! We actually were so sure he would dock that we went down to deck one to get in line, but alas it was not meant to be. When I saw the kid's dissappointed faces, I realized I could not let this get us down. I pointed out to them that it would be a good reason to cruise again and that the captain was only trying to be safe. We would make the best of it and enjoy this our fourth day at sea!! As I walked them back to the club, past all the screaming people, I realized even more how important this perspective would be. I was not going to let these setbacks ruin the family vacation we had waited and saved for for over a year! It turned out to be another relaxing day on deck nine. The boys chose to have their final dinner in the club. We handed out our tips with a bit extra for all. Also, I had handmade thank you cards for the couselers in the clubs. I let each boy chose the two counselers that had made the biggest impression on them and they got a card with a Wallmart giftcard inside. Let me just say that they were so grateful!! They talked to us more that night then the whole cruise!! Griffin gave his to Dario & Lucien. Ryan to Joel & Rufaro and Jason to Duane & Arnel. The boys were sad to leave and I was sad to pack. We had everything out by 11:00 and set a wake up call for 6:30 am!!
Saturday, January 22nd
I don't want to leave!! We have an early flight home scheduled at 11:20 so I headed right down to the atrium to get in line for disembakation while Ron and the boys went to get muffins. We were off teh ship by 7:45, got our luggage, breezed through customs and were met by our FL Tours driver out front by 8:00. We were at the airport by 9:00!! We mae the 11:20 flight, no problem. Thank god we hadn't booked a leter flight because come to find out we were the last flight into Hartford due to a huge blizzard. The limo met us at the airport in Hartford just as the first flakes were falling and as we got home and unpacked we were covered with a foot and a half of snow!! Quite a change in climate, we all got colds!!
Final Thoughts
Whew....that took a lot of time!! I promised myself that I would do a trip report because I know how helpful they are and I am almost done!!
Things I strongly reccommend:[/B]
* Over the door shoe hanger for bathroom door. I used it for all the sunscreen, cameras, etc.
* Unlimited Internet package--we used this everyday. Not only was it helpful for DH to be in touch with his office but I could touch base with family. I also was able to post live reports here!! Especially helpful to find out about weather at home and potential airport problems on Friday. I printed our boarding passes for our trip home on Friday night!
* Brunch and dinner at Palo was truely exceptional.
* Having something personal to give the kid's club counselers on the last day. They work so hard!
* White noise sound machines, they kept away all the outside noise!!
* Couples Massages!!
* Rebooking on board. The $200 per stateroom credit is great! It also makes it easier to leave, knowing you'll be back!
* The first day you arrive the drink of the day is the Bon Voyage but they have them available every day. I got one every day!!
* Paradise Beach in Cozumel
* Extension cords
* If you need transportation to/from the port go FL Tours!
* The Perfect Gift!! Shirley's sand pails were amazing. The boys especially loved the message in a bottle. They threw them over board somewhere off the coast of Cuba I think.
Things to stay away from:
* Pedicures in the Spa
* The guest services desk on a morning the ship was unable to dock in Castaway Cay!
* Bingo (too expensive!)
Well folks, that's all for now.
I did it!! Please remember that everything here is one family's experience. We had a lot go wrong on this cruise and still had the time of our lives. Your vacation is what you make it so make it the best. As you can see we have re-booked for next year. We are going to try the Western again, hopefully with more luck!! Thanks to all who made our trip a sucess!!!Kelli
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