Let me start out by saying this was our family's first cruise. We did our research here on the DISboards, so we felt that we were as prepared as we were going to get. (Yay over the door shoe rack, whoever thought of that is a genius
) Our group consisted of 2 cabins with myself, my husband and our 2 boys ages 6 and 4 in an inside stateroom 7035 and my mother in cabin 7136 a handicapped accessible verandah room.
We stayed the night at the Hyatt MCO the night before we set sail. It was nice to have the pool to try and tire out the kiddos after the long flight.
The transfer on the Magical Express was smooth, even with the electric scooter. We were able to board as soon as we arrived at the port with no wait at about 1pm. Our room was ready right at 1:30 and our bags arrived really quickly.
Our inside stateroom, while small, had all the great Disney touches that everyone talks about. While we might have run into each other walking around it suited our needs as a place to sleep. Our room steward Laurel was amazing. Took the time to know everybody's name and frequently called out to us as we were walking away from our room to tell us to have a good day/night. The room was always cleaned up and straightened upon our arrival (no easy task with 2 small boys!). Our 2 boys had no problems sleeping in the pull down bunk and took turns having the top bunk. We all enjoyed returning to the room at night to see what kind of critter he made with the towels. The chocolates were a nice touch too. The only things we would change about the room are the closets aren't a standard depth so the hangers don't fit well, they tend to clump up and make it impossible to slide open the door without fiddling with them. Also, the desk area was a waste of space. There is no chair to put in the "chair hole" so in our opinion that space would be better utilized by adding more drawers. We had just enough space in the drawers to put our clothing but more would be nice.
My mother's room was very spacious and generally equipped well for a disabled person. Her room steward Calvin was great. He was very friendly and took time to talk with her each day. He also asked me to show him how her electric scooter worked in case she needed assistance with it. She spent quite a bit of time in her room and found it to be just fine for her needs. There were a few things that could be changed to make it even more accessible, the cabin door was very awkward for someone in a wheelchair or on a scooter to open while moving through. An electric door opener would really make it so that someone that is able to be independent could use the room without having to ask for help all the time. Also the door to the verandah was very heavy and she was totally unable to use that door by herself. I'm sure that really can't be changed but it was a drawback to the room.
Dining rooms and servers:
Our dining rotation was APLLAPL, 2nd seating. Due to my mothers mobility issues our tables were generally in an area with easy access. This was a lucky thing for us because it ended up putting us in a very nice position to see all of the action during shows. Our server was Oppie from Indonesia and his assistant was Jasmina from Croatia. I cannot say enough good things about these 2. Jasmina was wonderful and quickly learned what each person in our group liked to drink. She made sure there were kids cups of water waiting at the table when we sat down each night and after she got to know what each kid liked to drink she would have them magically appear from the servers station. She is such a sweet person and we really enjoyed chatting with her. Oppie is the best. He always greeted us warmly, had good recommendations for us about each menu. He brought the kids meals quickly so they could participate in Dine and Play. After the first 2 nights of our boys trying a few things from the menu only to decide they didn't like them Oppie was able to bring them plain pasta with butter each night. This solved our picky eater dilemma and made our dinners much more pleasant. He had magic tricks to keep the boys entertained and ensured our youngest was safe when he fell asleep at the table (twice!). The most memorable thing about him was how happy he was to retrieve my mothers scooter at the end of the meal. He would try and take the longest route possible to get the maximum ride time. If anyone was in our dining rotation...you probably saw him fly by your table at some point.
Food and dining room impressions:
First night was Animators Palate, it was show night. We enjoyed watching the room change and especially liked when sorcerer Mickey came through. We thought the food was good, can't remember what we ate though.
Second night was Parrot Cay. The food in this restaurant was just okay. We also had our character breakfast this morning, the breakfast was just so-so. Pancakes were awful and the rest was just adequate. The character experience was good for the kids though so we did enjoy ourselves.
Third night was Lumierres. We were both a little skeptical about eating at this restaurant because it seems a bit "fancy" but we all managed to find something we liked.
We did have lunch at Topsiders a few times and while we were able find something we liked we weren't terribly impressed by the options also the tables are a bit close together for wheelchair access so it was a bit awkward for my mother. The view is great and on embarkation day we saw a sea turtle from the window.
We had lunch at Lumieres one day and we all really liked what we ordered. My husband especially liked the meatloaf there.
Since we can't remember much else about the dining rooms we'll move on.
Kids clubs:
Our boys spent a LOT of time in the kids clubs. They bounced between the club and the lab and had a great time at each location. The CM's in these areas are fantastic at what they do. Apparently our oldest made a funny noise that was quickly picked up by all the CM's and now they will never forget him. The activities they offer were great, the kids loved everything from the play structure, to the computer lab and art area. When we would pick them up (at midnight or there abouts) we would have to pry them out of there. Usually they were laying down watching a movie or snuggled with a CM having a story.
Lounges, entertainment and shows:
We made it to 1.5 shows in the Walt Disney theater. Our boys couldn't sit still through Twice Charmed so we went back to the stateroom to wait for dinner that night. We saw all of Dreams and I loved loved loved it. I was singing along to the songs and just really enjoyed the message. We caught a few acts in the Rockin D bar and we enjoyed them.
Overall impression of the ship:
Maybe because this was our first cruise we didn't notice but we didn't think the ship looked bad at all. There were a few rust spots on deck 9 but I would guess that's to be expected on a ship in saltwater. We really liked all the special touches on the ship, the chandelier in the lobby, the random places to sit and have a quiet moment.
Ports and excursions:
We disembarked as a family in Key West with no real plan other than to work our way to the southern most point for a photo. We enjoyed an ice cream cone/slice of key lime pie dunked in chocolate then started to walk. The weather took our kiddos off guard and they didn't have a good time. It was a little hot for us mushrooms from Seattle. After getting our picture we caught the closest cab we could back to the ship. We did get some good pictures of the Ernest Hemingway house and a few other landmarks like mile post 0. When we got back onboard we took advantage of the fairly empty pools and cooled off a bit.
In Grand Cayman my husband had a planned excursion, the 2 tank SCUBA dive at "the wall". The boys and I decided to stay onboard and once again we took advantage of a nearly empty deck 9...the boys must have done the Mickey slide 40 times. When they got tired of swimming they wanted to go the club so I obliged and then claimed a chair on deck 4 for some reading. The pirate ship blasting its cannon scared the you know what out of me...wasn't expecting that at all. My husband really enjoyed his dives and got some great photos while he was at it. He did think the people wearing wetsuits in 80 degree water looked a little silly but he's warm blooded so he never gets cold.
In Cozumel we gave the kids the option of coming with us or staying in the clubs...guess which they picked! Apparently disembarking=a long hot walk to them! So the husband and I walked down the strip to the tequila store in hopes of finding a tequila that we had in Cabo with no luck. The rest of the stuff to see seemed like tourist trap kind of stuff and we've been there, done that in Cabo so we decided to be safe and return to the ship for lunch. Had a quick lunch at Topsiders and then checked on the kiddos. They were still content in the club so we went and saw Tangled at the Buena Vista...we both liked it (even if it IS a girl movie).
Castaway Cay:
What an awesome place! We hopped on a tram and I got off at the first stop to get a few things at the shop while the rest of our crew headed off to Pelican Plunge. I needed to get a pair of kids sunglasses since one of our pairs went MIA, as well as some sand castle building supplies. Our kids were most excited about doing this while on the island. I also stopped at the 1st aid building to get some pepto for hubby...he had a terrible stomach ache. I managed to find the family amid the crowd, they had found a few chairs under an umbrella! The kids had a blast on the water slides and just swimming around the lagoon. It was so nice to not have any waves to worry about! They built some sandcastles and generally got covered in sand...good times! After a bit we had lunch at Cookies Too...husband skipped it because his stomach was still bothering him. We asked the kids after lunch if they wanted to come with us to find a geocache that is on the island, guess where they wanted to go instead...the kids club!! We dropped the boys off and headed out on our search. As we were walking the bike trail my husband started to get stomach cramps pretty badly. We took it slow and made sure to have him drink lots of water. When we got to the observation tower we decided it wasn't worth it to keep going...his stomach was pretty bad by this point, the Pepto wasn't helping at all. We walked over to Serenity Bay and caught the tram back to Pelican Point, from there we got the tram that goes back to the ship. I hopped off to get the kids from the club and hubby went back to our room as quick as he could. After some rest in the cool room he got to feeling better. We figure it was too much rich food and the heat that got him. We were a little disappointed that we didn't find the cache but with any kind of luck we'll be back at Castaway Cay again! I was also a little bummed that I missed the post office being open.
Overall we had the best time on this trip. None of us wanted to leave when it was time to go, and a few tears were shed. We were already talking about our return trip while we were walking through the terminal.
) Our group consisted of 2 cabins with myself, my husband and our 2 boys ages 6 and 4 in an inside stateroom 7035 and my mother in cabin 7136 a handicapped accessible verandah room. We stayed the night at the Hyatt MCO the night before we set sail. It was nice to have the pool to try and tire out the kiddos after the long flight.
The transfer on the Magical Express was smooth, even with the electric scooter. We were able to board as soon as we arrived at the port with no wait at about 1pm. Our room was ready right at 1:30 and our bags arrived really quickly.
Our inside stateroom, while small, had all the great Disney touches that everyone talks about. While we might have run into each other walking around it suited our needs as a place to sleep. Our room steward Laurel was amazing. Took the time to know everybody's name and frequently called out to us as we were walking away from our room to tell us to have a good day/night. The room was always cleaned up and straightened upon our arrival (no easy task with 2 small boys!). Our 2 boys had no problems sleeping in the pull down bunk and took turns having the top bunk. We all enjoyed returning to the room at night to see what kind of critter he made with the towels. The chocolates were a nice touch too. The only things we would change about the room are the closets aren't a standard depth so the hangers don't fit well, they tend to clump up and make it impossible to slide open the door without fiddling with them. Also, the desk area was a waste of space. There is no chair to put in the "chair hole" so in our opinion that space would be better utilized by adding more drawers. We had just enough space in the drawers to put our clothing but more would be nice.
My mother's room was very spacious and generally equipped well for a disabled person. Her room steward Calvin was great. He was very friendly and took time to talk with her each day. He also asked me to show him how her electric scooter worked in case she needed assistance with it. She spent quite a bit of time in her room and found it to be just fine for her needs. There were a few things that could be changed to make it even more accessible, the cabin door was very awkward for someone in a wheelchair or on a scooter to open while moving through. An electric door opener would really make it so that someone that is able to be independent could use the room without having to ask for help all the time. Also the door to the verandah was very heavy and she was totally unable to use that door by herself. I'm sure that really can't be changed but it was a drawback to the room.
Dining rooms and servers:
Our dining rotation was APLLAPL, 2nd seating. Due to my mothers mobility issues our tables were generally in an area with easy access. This was a lucky thing for us because it ended up putting us in a very nice position to see all of the action during shows. Our server was Oppie from Indonesia and his assistant was Jasmina from Croatia. I cannot say enough good things about these 2. Jasmina was wonderful and quickly learned what each person in our group liked to drink. She made sure there were kids cups of water waiting at the table when we sat down each night and after she got to know what each kid liked to drink she would have them magically appear from the servers station. She is such a sweet person and we really enjoyed chatting with her. Oppie is the best. He always greeted us warmly, had good recommendations for us about each menu. He brought the kids meals quickly so they could participate in Dine and Play. After the first 2 nights of our boys trying a few things from the menu only to decide they didn't like them Oppie was able to bring them plain pasta with butter each night. This solved our picky eater dilemma and made our dinners much more pleasant. He had magic tricks to keep the boys entertained and ensured our youngest was safe when he fell asleep at the table (twice!). The most memorable thing about him was how happy he was to retrieve my mothers scooter at the end of the meal. He would try and take the longest route possible to get the maximum ride time. If anyone was in our dining rotation...you probably saw him fly by your table at some point.
Food and dining room impressions:
First night was Animators Palate, it was show night. We enjoyed watching the room change and especially liked when sorcerer Mickey came through. We thought the food was good, can't remember what we ate though.
Second night was Parrot Cay. The food in this restaurant was just okay. We also had our character breakfast this morning, the breakfast was just so-so. Pancakes were awful and the rest was just adequate. The character experience was good for the kids though so we did enjoy ourselves.
Third night was Lumierres. We were both a little skeptical about eating at this restaurant because it seems a bit "fancy" but we all managed to find something we liked.
We did have lunch at Topsiders a few times and while we were able find something we liked we weren't terribly impressed by the options also the tables are a bit close together for wheelchair access so it was a bit awkward for my mother. The view is great and on embarkation day we saw a sea turtle from the window.
We had lunch at Lumieres one day and we all really liked what we ordered. My husband especially liked the meatloaf there.
Since we can't remember much else about the dining rooms we'll move on.
Kids clubs:
Our boys spent a LOT of time in the kids clubs. They bounced between the club and the lab and had a great time at each location. The CM's in these areas are fantastic at what they do. Apparently our oldest made a funny noise that was quickly picked up by all the CM's and now they will never forget him. The activities they offer were great, the kids loved everything from the play structure, to the computer lab and art area. When we would pick them up (at midnight or there abouts) we would have to pry them out of there. Usually they were laying down watching a movie or snuggled with a CM having a story.
Lounges, entertainment and shows:
We made it to 1.5 shows in the Walt Disney theater. Our boys couldn't sit still through Twice Charmed so we went back to the stateroom to wait for dinner that night. We saw all of Dreams and I loved loved loved it. I was singing along to the songs and just really enjoyed the message. We caught a few acts in the Rockin D bar and we enjoyed them.
Overall impression of the ship:
Maybe because this was our first cruise we didn't notice but we didn't think the ship looked bad at all. There were a few rust spots on deck 9 but I would guess that's to be expected on a ship in saltwater. We really liked all the special touches on the ship, the chandelier in the lobby, the random places to sit and have a quiet moment.
Ports and excursions:
We disembarked as a family in Key West with no real plan other than to work our way to the southern most point for a photo. We enjoyed an ice cream cone/slice of key lime pie dunked in chocolate then started to walk. The weather took our kiddos off guard and they didn't have a good time. It was a little hot for us mushrooms from Seattle. After getting our picture we caught the closest cab we could back to the ship. We did get some good pictures of the Ernest Hemingway house and a few other landmarks like mile post 0. When we got back onboard we took advantage of the fairly empty pools and cooled off a bit.
In Grand Cayman my husband had a planned excursion, the 2 tank SCUBA dive at "the wall". The boys and I decided to stay onboard and once again we took advantage of a nearly empty deck 9...the boys must have done the Mickey slide 40 times. When they got tired of swimming they wanted to go the club so I obliged and then claimed a chair on deck 4 for some reading. The pirate ship blasting its cannon scared the you know what out of me...wasn't expecting that at all. My husband really enjoyed his dives and got some great photos while he was at it. He did think the people wearing wetsuits in 80 degree water looked a little silly but he's warm blooded so he never gets cold.
In Cozumel we gave the kids the option of coming with us or staying in the clubs...guess which they picked! Apparently disembarking=a long hot walk to them! So the husband and I walked down the strip to the tequila store in hopes of finding a tequila that we had in Cabo with no luck. The rest of the stuff to see seemed like tourist trap kind of stuff and we've been there, done that in Cabo so we decided to be safe and return to the ship for lunch. Had a quick lunch at Topsiders and then checked on the kiddos. They were still content in the club so we went and saw Tangled at the Buena Vista...we both liked it (even if it IS a girl movie).
Castaway Cay:
What an awesome place! We hopped on a tram and I got off at the first stop to get a few things at the shop while the rest of our crew headed off to Pelican Plunge. I needed to get a pair of kids sunglasses since one of our pairs went MIA, as well as some sand castle building supplies. Our kids were most excited about doing this while on the island. I also stopped at the 1st aid building to get some pepto for hubby...he had a terrible stomach ache. I managed to find the family amid the crowd, they had found a few chairs under an umbrella! The kids had a blast on the water slides and just swimming around the lagoon. It was so nice to not have any waves to worry about! They built some sandcastles and generally got covered in sand...good times! After a bit we had lunch at Cookies Too...husband skipped it because his stomach was still bothering him. We asked the kids after lunch if they wanted to come with us to find a geocache that is on the island, guess where they wanted to go instead...the kids club!! We dropped the boys off and headed out on our search. As we were walking the bike trail my husband started to get stomach cramps pretty badly. We took it slow and made sure to have him drink lots of water. When we got to the observation tower we decided it wasn't worth it to keep going...his stomach was pretty bad by this point, the Pepto wasn't helping at all. We walked over to Serenity Bay and caught the tram back to Pelican Point, from there we got the tram that goes back to the ship. I hopped off to get the kids from the club and hubby went back to our room as quick as he could. After some rest in the cool room he got to feeling better. We figure it was too much rich food and the heat that got him. We were a little disappointed that we didn't find the cache but with any kind of luck we'll be back at Castaway Cay again! I was also a little bummed that I missed the post office being open.
Overall we had the best time on this trip. None of us wanted to leave when it was time to go, and a few tears were shed. We were already talking about our return trip while we were walking through the terminal.
I was able to get a machine after a very short wait. I came back to the room when I thought machine would be almost done and sat on the bench and chatted with another passenger. Pretty soon we noticed that there were an awful lot of employees congregating outside the stateroom next door. Turns out one of the washing machines was leaking and had filled the stateroom next to it with about an inch of water. 
I saw them taking everything out of the room, including the bed. Some passengers from down the hall came by and said they could feel the water in their floors as well, one mentioned linoleum in the bathroom and being able to feel it squish underneath. Is there any linoleum on the ship? Anyway long story short bring your patience and your money! It cost me $1 for the soap and $1 for some bleach alternative, $2 to wash, another $4 to dry (it took 2 dry cycles!) and $1 for the dryer sheets. So almost $10 for 1 load of laundry. I had enough bleach stuff for a 2nd load if I had needed it and 1 extra dryer sheet. Also I could have done a much larger load if I had known they hold up to 16 or 18 (can't remember which) pounds of clothes.
