#1Orlandomickeyfan
Earning My Ears
- Joined
- Sep 13, 2005
First time cruiser reporting. First thing I would reccommend is to go to the bathroom at an exit prior to the Port. Security lines can take awhile and there are no pottys available outside that we could see or were directed too. Ok, I'll admit it! I cried when I boarded the boat! My family thought I was crazy. With all the Passport info changing since we booked, I was worried something would go wrong and until we entered the boat I didn't believe we were actually on it! Even though we live 1 hr from the port, we never could afford to go. Next thing to remember is camera batteries! Mine quit working in the Port area and had to wait til much later for the gift shops to open to pay $17 for them. Luckily I used my kids disposable camera for some sailaway photos, but couldn't zoom. Saw many dolphins as we pulled out and it was very romantic with hubby as kids played basketball behind us. One thing we didn't realize is that our legs were not ready for all the stairs! I will be doing some stair walking before the next one. Between the drills and dropping off the life jackets and then the kids and going back down for items I forgot to take due to excitement! 
Did some window shopping in Nassau and the kids stayed on the boat. We came back on for lunch and ate outside with a view of Atlantis and blue waters. Enjoyed having hubby to myself. We were saving our money to use at the Castaway Cay the next dy and just enjoyed the ship since we knew we wouldn't have a chance to. Saturday morning I woke up at 5:30 so excited to go to the island I couldn't sleep. At 7 I ran upstairs and outside to find one side of the ship blocked due to strong winds. I went out the other side and felt soft rain but could still see the island. It was a bit cloudy but the sun was coming up. Went back down and a few minutes later the horn sounded and I was about to burst with Happiness as the Captain came on the intercom. He apologized for coming into our cabins over the intercom and then I knew. We weren't going onshore
The winds were just too strong and it wouldn't be safe. I sorta had the feeling after having been upstairs, but had hoped for a clearing of the weather. Needless to say I cried for 45 minutes. My poor hubby who worked overtime to get me the trip for Christmas felt so bad since he couldn't do anything about it. Well, the kids woke up and my sons were sad and my youngest cried too which broke my heart even more. We ended up with a day at Sea and still had fun, but I felt gloomy all day and the boat rocked pretty good. It was really only about 5 hours we had planned to spend on the island as we wanted to come back early and shower for our formal night. So now I regret not doing more in Nassau like a horse and carriage tour. So just prepare yourself that it's not a sure thing when it comes to weather. I would go again in January because it was not so hot, even though we did sweat a bit at Lifejacket time and in the Bahanas-can't imagine standing out there in July! I guess there was just this weird wind and cold front that pushed throught-when we got home our Flag had broken off the house so we know it was bad wind at home too. The kids went to Kid's club as much as I would let them and never beeped us......Enjoyed Palos and got a great phot of us all dressed up. Staff was great, always saw some cleaning and painting or deck getting oiled so I know they are working on cleanliness. Just remember if you go in a busy season, it is hard to get to work in all areas with people using the ship constantly with no days off. Since it was windy and some parts were blocked, they took advantage of getting those areas updated. Lots of cleanliness stations and very pleased overall. Now thae best part was that my hubby is not a Disney fan as he hated the crowds and lines and didn't go to Disney until he was 23. I am proud to report he had fun, loved the ship (Ex-Navy man) and was impressed with everything. He even stood in some short lines to take pics of kids and characters and even wants to go again. Even though he is not fond of the beach, he too was sadden not to visit the island. We were looking forward to a nice quiet walk on the adult beach. I even caught him humming some Disney songs when we got home! I had read about this sea legs thing and didn't believe it. I am here to tell you that I have been off the boat 24hrs now and can still feel a bit dizzy at times. Last night at dinner is was really kicking in. I am timing it! One lady on here said she had it for 3 days! Hope not! I didn't go into detasil on many other things since others do a great job. Just wanted to mention things I hadn't seen on here. Oh yeah, I am glad I took so many of my own photos along with the ones they take because we had to not buy some due to eyes shut or other things and since they run about $!0 each I couldn't buy them all! Spent $100 on their photos..got more of characters since we didn't go to the beach. Also, don't drop any photos in the disgard box until the last day in case you don't get more photo ops like us. I got rid of some thinking I'd have tons from the beach. I did take about 3 rolls of film I did return the $15 scrapbook packet since it had tons of Castaway Cay stickers that I wouldn't use. They were nice about it. Well, gotta go finish unpacking-oh yeah-take one extra piece of baggage to put stuff you get in or your dirty laundry. Also, that packing everything before 11 is hard to do! Good luck on that...I just let the kids sleep in their shirts for the next day-use the Disny provided shampoos and soaps that last morning since your stuff will be gone! 
Did some window shopping in Nassau and the kids stayed on the boat. We came back on for lunch and ate outside with a view of Atlantis and blue waters. Enjoyed having hubby to myself. We were saving our money to use at the Castaway Cay the next dy and just enjoyed the ship since we knew we wouldn't have a chance to. Saturday morning I woke up at 5:30 so excited to go to the island I couldn't sleep. At 7 I ran upstairs and outside to find one side of the ship blocked due to strong winds. I went out the other side and felt soft rain but could still see the island. It was a bit cloudy but the sun was coming up. Went back down and a few minutes later the horn sounded and I was about to burst with Happiness as the Captain came on the intercom. He apologized for coming into our cabins over the intercom and then I knew. We weren't going onshore
The winds were just too strong and it wouldn't be safe. I sorta had the feeling after having been upstairs, but had hoped for a clearing of the weather. Needless to say I cried for 45 minutes. My poor hubby who worked overtime to get me the trip for Christmas felt so bad since he couldn't do anything about it. Well, the kids woke up and my sons were sad and my youngest cried too which broke my heart even more. We ended up with a day at Sea and still had fun, but I felt gloomy all day and the boat rocked pretty good. It was really only about 5 hours we had planned to spend on the island as we wanted to come back early and shower for our formal night. So now I regret not doing more in Nassau like a horse and carriage tour. So just prepare yourself that it's not a sure thing when it comes to weather. I would go again in January because it was not so hot, even though we did sweat a bit at Lifejacket time and in the Bahanas-can't imagine standing out there in July! I guess there was just this weird wind and cold front that pushed throught-when we got home our Flag had broken off the house so we know it was bad wind at home too. The kids went to Kid's club as much as I would let them and never beeped us......Enjoyed Palos and got a great phot of us all dressed up. Staff was great, always saw some cleaning and painting or deck getting oiled so I know they are working on cleanliness. Just remember if you go in a busy season, it is hard to get to work in all areas with people using the ship constantly with no days off. Since it was windy and some parts were blocked, they took advantage of getting those areas updated. Lots of cleanliness stations and very pleased overall. Now thae best part was that my hubby is not a Disney fan as he hated the crowds and lines and didn't go to Disney until he was 23. I am proud to report he had fun, loved the ship (Ex-Navy man) and was impressed with everything. He even stood in some short lines to take pics of kids and characters and even wants to go again. Even though he is not fond of the beach, he too was sadden not to visit the island. We were looking forward to a nice quiet walk on the adult beach. I even caught him humming some Disney songs when we got home! I had read about this sea legs thing and didn't believe it. I am here to tell you that I have been off the boat 24hrs now and can still feel a bit dizzy at times. Last night at dinner is was really kicking in. I am timing it! One lady on here said she had it for 3 days! Hope not! I didn't go into detasil on many other things since others do a great job. Just wanted to mention things I hadn't seen on here. Oh yeah, I am glad I took so many of my own photos along with the ones they take because we had to not buy some due to eyes shut or other things and since they run about $!0 each I couldn't buy them all! Spent $100 on their photos..got more of characters since we didn't go to the beach. Also, don't drop any photos in the disgard box until the last day in case you don't get more photo ops like us. I got rid of some thinking I'd have tons from the beach. I did take about 3 rolls of film I did return the $15 scrapbook packet since it had tons of Castaway Cay stickers that I wouldn't use. They were nice about it. Well, gotta go finish unpacking-oh yeah-take one extra piece of baggage to put stuff you get in or your dirty laundry. Also, that packing everything before 11 is hard to do! Good luck on that...I just let the kids sleep in their shirts for the next day-use the Disny provided shampoos and soaps that last morning since your stuff will be gone! 
(Don't know if this guy is laying on the floor laughing or crying). You can only guess what I was doing. Okay, I wasn't kicking my feet...but almost. 
