Flew into Orlando day before. Rented a car for one day from Avis. Drove to Port Canaveral and ate a late lunch at Kelsey's Pizzaria next to the Radisson where we spent the night. Forgot to pack the girls (3 & 7 ) lifejackets. Went and bought cheap inflatable type. Found out later that we didn't need them. They are provided on castaway Cay. Day of embarkation I ran across the street and grabbed a quick lite breakfast from McDonald's while wife and kids got ready. Caught the Avis shuttle to the port. Check in was a breeze. Prior to the cruise we started corresponding with another family with two daughters. ( 7 & 15 ) that we had met on the Dis boards. We met them in the atrium on board and had lunch at Parrot Cay. This was really nice for the 7 year olds because they became pen pals prior to the cruise and would be spending time together in the kids club. After lunch we went to our room and our luggage was already there. We unpacked and checked out the ship. The 4:00 pm boat drill came quick. Then off to the sailaway party. We watched from Deck 10. Also saw two other cruise ships leave port. At 6:30 we went to Hercules the Museical. The show was great. We had seen the lead character earlier in the day. He was our station leader in the boat drill. We were able to sit with our new friends at the show. Between the show and dinner we shopped on board. Dinner this first night was at Animators Palate. We were anticipating meeting new peoople as tablemates. We were disappointed to find out we were dining alone. Disappointment soon faded as the meal was great. Our server was Iketut from Bali and Assist. Server was Irena from Germany. They were great every night. I had the Caesar Salad, Pan-fried veal chop in a parmesan & herb crust and New York style cheesecake (my weakness ) Side note: my wife had the lobster & shrimp wrapper as an appetizer and really loved it. The next day we were in port at Nassau. Really did not enjoy going shopping in town. Approached about every 10 feet and asked if we wanted to buy something, taxi, tour, etc. I lost count the number of times I said " No thank you." Went back to ship and kids went to kids club. Just snacked for lunch. Chicken wrap up on Deck 9. Whole family went to matinee of Treasure Planet. We really enjoyed this movie. I can't understand why it has flopped at the box office. After the movie I went to the Bingo. Fun, but I didn't win anything. Dinner tonight was at Parrot Cay. I had the glazed chicken wings with pomegranate barbeque sauce, cream of sweet onion soup, mixed grill-Roasted beef tenderloin, shrimp, lamb chop, & grilled sausage, and finished it off with Kentucky Bourbon Pecan Pie. Next day we were docked at Freeport. Kids went to the kids club and my wife & I went on the snorkeling excursion. Neither of us had ever been snorkeling before and we had a blast. note: most of the excursions are in the same area. After snorkeling we had one and a half hours before our ride back so we walked down to Lucayan beach, and shopped at the market. Much nicer than our experience at Nassau. This afternoon we went to Santa Clause II. My seven year old was able to go sit with her friend. Afterward we took naps( 3 yr old needed to catch up ) Dinner tonight was Triton's. I started with Deep fried camembert, then chilled vichyssoise soup ( the only thing I ate that I didn't care for ) Garlic roasted beef tenderloin and finished with creme Brulee. I stayed up late and saw the movie "signs" Pretty good.
Next day was Castaway Cay. The day was too short. Spent time at family beach then kids went to scuttles cove and my wife and I went to serenity bay. I did some snorkeling here and in the snorkeling lagoon later. My wife found a hammock and was in heaven. We collected the kids and barely got lunch before it closed at 2:00 pm. Went back to family beach until time to board. Went to Discover the Magic show- all the kids show what they did in kids club the last 3 days. At 6:30 we went to Disney Dreams which we really enjoyed. Tonight we were back at AP with the "Best of" menu. I had the artichoke and garlic dip;fried seafood platter with calamari, coconut shrimp, and mussels; romaine salad with artichoke chips; filet mignon of beef and lasagna roll; and finished with celebration cake. Then my wife finished our packing while I took the girls to see characters in the atrium. Debarkation day we ate breakfast in AP at 8:00 am ( another perk to late seating at dinner-we didn't have to eat breakfast at 6:45) After getting our rental car we went to the beach for a couple of hours just collecting shells and getting our feet wet. Then we headed for Disney World. We checked in at the Dolphin ( $99/night post cruise deal-pretty sweet) We all took much needed naps. Woke up and went to quick dinner at the Dolphin Fountain. HAHA. Very slow service. We were meeting our new friends at Mickey's very merry Christmas party at 7:00 pm. We didn't judge our time too well. By the time we got through Disney's transit system (bus) to MVMCP it started raining. Luckily we had our ponchos. Then we had to get through security. We didn't make it to our meeting place until 7:40 so needless to say we didn't meet. The rain never let up but we had a lot of fun. We rode all the rides and our favorites twice. Hardly any lines. Got back to our room about 1:00 am. The next day we went to Epcot. They had Christmas storytelling in World Showcase. We were able to catch a few. We ate lunch at Le Celliar in Canada. Very good. Before our trip the girls made snowflake ornaments out of wire and beads. At Epcot they would give them out to the CMs from the different countries and wish them Happy Holidays. This was a lot of fun. The CMs were surprised that someone had thought of them and really appreciated the gift. We started this on the cruise. Irena, our assistant server, was one of two Germans working on the Wonder. She had told us she was a little homesick. When we gave her the ornament she almost cried. We have out about 35 of these ornaments and it was a neat way to interact with the CMs. Sat. morning- time to pack up and head out. Drove to Downtown Disney. Ate lunch at Rainforest Cafe (one of the highlights of our trip according to the kids.) Then the kids spent their Disney dollars. Left at 3:30 to head to airport and fly home. Well that was our vacation. I hope that this report wasn't too long and boring and that you got some helpful information.
Next day was Castaway Cay. The day was too short. Spent time at family beach then kids went to scuttles cove and my wife and I went to serenity bay. I did some snorkeling here and in the snorkeling lagoon later. My wife found a hammock and was in heaven. We collected the kids and barely got lunch before it closed at 2:00 pm. Went back to family beach until time to board. Went to Discover the Magic show- all the kids show what they did in kids club the last 3 days. At 6:30 we went to Disney Dreams which we really enjoyed. Tonight we were back at AP with the "Best of" menu. I had the artichoke and garlic dip;fried seafood platter with calamari, coconut shrimp, and mussels; romaine salad with artichoke chips; filet mignon of beef and lasagna roll; and finished with celebration cake. Then my wife finished our packing while I took the girls to see characters in the atrium. Debarkation day we ate breakfast in AP at 8:00 am ( another perk to late seating at dinner-we didn't have to eat breakfast at 6:45) After getting our rental car we went to the beach for a couple of hours just collecting shells and getting our feet wet. Then we headed for Disney World. We checked in at the Dolphin ( $99/night post cruise deal-pretty sweet) We all took much needed naps. Woke up and went to quick dinner at the Dolphin Fountain. HAHA. Very slow service. We were meeting our new friends at Mickey's very merry Christmas party at 7:00 pm. We didn't judge our time too well. By the time we got through Disney's transit system (bus) to MVMCP it started raining. Luckily we had our ponchos. Then we had to get through security. We didn't make it to our meeting place until 7:40 so needless to say we didn't meet. The rain never let up but we had a lot of fun. We rode all the rides and our favorites twice. Hardly any lines. Got back to our room about 1:00 am. The next day we went to Epcot. They had Christmas storytelling in World Showcase. We were able to catch a few. We ate lunch at Le Celliar in Canada. Very good. Before our trip the girls made snowflake ornaments out of wire and beads. At Epcot they would give them out to the CMs from the different countries and wish them Happy Holidays. This was a lot of fun. The CMs were surprised that someone had thought of them and really appreciated the gift. We started this on the cruise. Irena, our assistant server, was one of two Germans working on the Wonder. She had told us she was a little homesick. When we gave her the ornament she almost cried. We have out about 35 of these ornaments and it was a neat way to interact with the CMs. Sat. morning- time to pack up and head out. Drove to Downtown Disney. Ate lunch at Rainforest Cafe (one of the highlights of our trip according to the kids.) Then the kids spent their Disney dollars. Left at 3:30 to head to airport and fly home. Well that was our vacation. I hope that this report wasn't too long and boring and that you got some helpful information.
