BethC1952
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Apr 29, 2001
- Messages
- 3,949
Our trip began on 12/2 at WDW in Florida. You can read the early chapters of our adventure on the Trip Reports Board.
The Original Cast:
Me -- BethC1952, age classified (figure it out for yourselves!), AKA Grandma, experienced WDW visitor (25+ visits since 1978)
DH -- Jim, 52, AKA Grandpa, experienced WDW visitor (25+ visits since 1978)
The Kids:
DS -- Jimmy, age 28 AKA as Daddy, experienced WDW visitor, 23+ visits between 1978 and 1984
DDIL -- Lori, age 23, AKA Mommy, absolute WDW newbie and very skeptical--I'll go because it's a family trip, but I'm not going to have a good time.
DGD -- Shannan, age 3 1/2, absolute newbie, has seen my collection of WDW pictures (over 4000), and knows all there is to know about WDW.
Aunt Janet's Gang
Aunt Janet (Grandpa's sister), age 40 something, absolute WDW newbie, another "I'm going because it's for the kids but I'll hate every minute of it" type.
Uncle Nick (Aunt Janet's husband), age 6 years older than Aunt Janet, yet another "I'm going because it's for the kids but I'll hate every minute of it" type, coupled with "how am I ever going to pay for all of this?"
Andrew, 13 1/2, son of Uncle Nick and Aunt Janet, WDW newbie
Megan, 9 1/2, daughter of Uncle Nick and Aunt Janet, WDW newbie, doesn't care about WDW, wants to go on the cruise, will only tolerate WDW if there's a hot tub.
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The Cruise Begins!
Its our tradition to start our cruise departure day with a late breakfast at Boatwrights (which is actually a good way to start any day), and then do some last minute shopping in the hotel gift shop while we wait for the bus to take us to Port Canaveral to start the next phase of our adventure. This time was no different, and we left Boatwrights stuffed till we couldnt move. We waited in the lobby for the cruise bus, and tried to stay out of the way of all of the families entering and leaving the hotel. When it was time to board the bus, we discovered that we were first on line!
The ride to the Port was completely uneventful, and actually seemed much quicker than usual. We entered the security screening area, and there life became a bit more interesting. Shannan decided to touch the wall of the metal detector (she wanted to see how it works) which, of course, set off an alarm. After they determined that she wasnt carrying any dangerous metal items they let her through, and the rest of us followed. So far, so gooduntil they pulled my carryon out of the machine and asked me to open it. They would like to see my computer, please. OK, no problem. This poor computer is old, but still works, but its held together with duct tape in a few strategic places and caused some suspicion. Will you turn it on for us, please? Id love to do that for these nice gentlemen, but the battery no longer holds a charge so the computer has to be plugged in to work. They had to make some special notations on the passenger manifest that I was bringing an untested computer aboard, and told me that someone from the crew would come to my room to see the computer in operation. No problem, it works just fine when its plugged in, in spite of its rather odd appearance. We proceeded to the gate where you put your Key To The World Card into machine. All of us came through fineuntil Lori. No matter what she did, her key wouldnt register! She headed off to a little room and they made her a new key, and this time she got through. We got our pictures taken and boarded the ship. The Kids were first, and we had been able to keep from them the fact that they would be announced. Aunt Janets Gang was next, and they were announced. We gave them our name and they announced us as The other part of the XXX family, which made quite a few people chuckle.
We found our way to our staterooms, got settled, had a very windy (this would become a trend) lunch at Beach Blanket Buffet, and headed off to do all the things necessary to life on boardsign the kids up for the clubs and attend the safety drill, then head upstairs to the sailaway celebration. Our first show was Hercules, and I still enjoy it as much as always. Our dinner rotation had us in Parrot Cay that night, and we met our serves, Dewa from Indonesia (he told us later that hes from Bali), our assistant server, Vijay from India and the head server Wera. I dont remember if hes from Indonesia or China, but they were all fabulous. This was certainly the best service weve had so far. They were all wonderful with the kids, making sure that they enjoyed their dining experiences as much as the adults did.
A brisk walk around the deck and the night came to an end. I had been up late the night before, and I admit to needing my beauty rest. I also wanted to get off the ship in Nassau to do some quick sight-seeing and shopping and be back by lunchtime.
Marissa, our room hostess, had turned down our bed and left us a pair of lovely towel swans. Her service, too, was way beyond what we had hoped for.
The Original Cast:
Me -- BethC1952, age classified (figure it out for yourselves!), AKA Grandma, experienced WDW visitor (25+ visits since 1978)
DH -- Jim, 52, AKA Grandpa, experienced WDW visitor (25+ visits since 1978)
The Kids:
DS -- Jimmy, age 28 AKA as Daddy, experienced WDW visitor, 23+ visits between 1978 and 1984
DDIL -- Lori, age 23, AKA Mommy, absolute WDW newbie and very skeptical--I'll go because it's a family trip, but I'm not going to have a good time.
DGD -- Shannan, age 3 1/2, absolute newbie, has seen my collection of WDW pictures (over 4000), and knows all there is to know about WDW.
Aunt Janet's Gang
Aunt Janet (Grandpa's sister), age 40 something, absolute WDW newbie, another "I'm going because it's for the kids but I'll hate every minute of it" type.
Uncle Nick (Aunt Janet's husband), age 6 years older than Aunt Janet, yet another "I'm going because it's for the kids but I'll hate every minute of it" type, coupled with "how am I ever going to pay for all of this?"
Andrew, 13 1/2, son of Uncle Nick and Aunt Janet, WDW newbie
Megan, 9 1/2, daughter of Uncle Nick and Aunt Janet, WDW newbie, doesn't care about WDW, wants to go on the cruise, will only tolerate WDW if there's a hot tub.
----------------------------------------------
The Cruise Begins!
Its our tradition to start our cruise departure day with a late breakfast at Boatwrights (which is actually a good way to start any day), and then do some last minute shopping in the hotel gift shop while we wait for the bus to take us to Port Canaveral to start the next phase of our adventure. This time was no different, and we left Boatwrights stuffed till we couldnt move. We waited in the lobby for the cruise bus, and tried to stay out of the way of all of the families entering and leaving the hotel. When it was time to board the bus, we discovered that we were first on line!
The ride to the Port was completely uneventful, and actually seemed much quicker than usual. We entered the security screening area, and there life became a bit more interesting. Shannan decided to touch the wall of the metal detector (she wanted to see how it works) which, of course, set off an alarm. After they determined that she wasnt carrying any dangerous metal items they let her through, and the rest of us followed. So far, so gooduntil they pulled my carryon out of the machine and asked me to open it. They would like to see my computer, please. OK, no problem. This poor computer is old, but still works, but its held together with duct tape in a few strategic places and caused some suspicion. Will you turn it on for us, please? Id love to do that for these nice gentlemen, but the battery no longer holds a charge so the computer has to be plugged in to work. They had to make some special notations on the passenger manifest that I was bringing an untested computer aboard, and told me that someone from the crew would come to my room to see the computer in operation. No problem, it works just fine when its plugged in, in spite of its rather odd appearance. We proceeded to the gate where you put your Key To The World Card into machine. All of us came through fineuntil Lori. No matter what she did, her key wouldnt register! She headed off to a little room and they made her a new key, and this time she got through. We got our pictures taken and boarded the ship. The Kids were first, and we had been able to keep from them the fact that they would be announced. Aunt Janets Gang was next, and they were announced. We gave them our name and they announced us as The other part of the XXX family, which made quite a few people chuckle.
We found our way to our staterooms, got settled, had a very windy (this would become a trend) lunch at Beach Blanket Buffet, and headed off to do all the things necessary to life on boardsign the kids up for the clubs and attend the safety drill, then head upstairs to the sailaway celebration. Our first show was Hercules, and I still enjoy it as much as always. Our dinner rotation had us in Parrot Cay that night, and we met our serves, Dewa from Indonesia (he told us later that hes from Bali), our assistant server, Vijay from India and the head server Wera. I dont remember if hes from Indonesia or China, but they were all fabulous. This was certainly the best service weve had so far. They were all wonderful with the kids, making sure that they enjoyed their dining experiences as much as the adults did.
A brisk walk around the deck and the night came to an end. I had been up late the night before, and I admit to needing my beauty rest. I also wanted to get off the ship in Nassau to do some quick sight-seeing and shopping and be back by lunchtime.
Marissa, our room hostess, had turned down our bed and left us a pair of lovely towel swans. Her service, too, was way beyond what we had hoped for.
