Double Dip trip report- June 24, 2006

[dipdotdarlin']

A little background for this cruise. I was lucky enough that I was able to cruise April 1st of this year with my husband and friends from home. This cruise was a college reunion for my college roommate and I. We had not been together for 30 years and decided to go on the cruise since her husband does not like to cruise. Because I had been on the April cruise, I had gotten to know seveal staff persons who were also on this cruise. This made for some fun times.

We decided to fly in on Sat. June 24th, even though I always fly in the day before. I thought we would get into Orlando in plenty of time. My flight was 6am in the morning from Indianapolis to Atlanta. The plane had mechanical difficulties and we had to get off the plane and reload everyone and everything onto a new plane. I got into Atlanta in time to go to the bathroom and board the next flight with my roomie. I was suppose to have a 2 hours layover in Atlanta- it turned into 30 minutes. But I made my flight into Orlando. Upon arriving in Orlando airport, we immediately went to the bottom level of the A side to catch our Disney transfer bus. It took us less than 30 min. to get on the bus and get moving. Since there were only 2 of us, it was easier and cheaper to take the Disney buses.

We were given #19 boarding pass upon entering the terminal. We registered and looked around the terminal. We did online check-in before we arrived making it very easy to register. We each had to sign a waiver because they would be filming onboard during the week. They said they thought it was a promotional video or something. It took about 30 min. before we were allowed to board. They took our embarkation picture and announced that we were college roommates.

We went to Rockin' Bar D to get Palo reservations for brunch, but none were available. They called on Sunday with reservations available on both sea days and we could choose which we preferred. I went looking for Christiaan. He is the asst. cruise director that I had gotten to know on the April cruise. It was his birthday and I had made him a bag of REECE CUPS. He loves them. A lot of cast members wanted his goodie bag and told me it was their birthday too, but they could not tell me what the date was. While "Party" Paul was checking where Christiaan was, Pikey came over. He remembered me from before. He had held and carried my stuff for me on the previous cruise and reminded me that he would do it again this cruise. Paul found out that Christiaan had gone home for a couple of hours for his birthday, but would be back before we sailed.

We ate lunch in Parrot Cay. It was good. We walked around the ship. Then checked out our free upgrade to a navigator's verandah stateroom. We did our emergency drill. Then headed up for the sailaway party. We saw Christiaan and he had been told that I was looking for him and was anxious for his gift. We met up with Musicgirl and the other disers at deck 10. When the sailaway party began, so did the rain. It rained enough to get everyone wet, but not enough to move the party indoors. By the time the ship began moving, it had stopped raining. We waved to all on shore and then headed down to unpack and dress for dinner.

We had early dinner with the LAP rotation. We were at a table of 8 with 2 other couples. ONe was a couple with their 7 year old son and the other was grandparents with their 12 year old granddaughter. Everyone was very complatible. OUr servers were Fabio, from Brazi and Joseph, from the Philippines. Joseph was very quiet and not as personable as Fabio and the others I have had in the past. Dinner was about the same as I remembered.

After dinner, we went to the Welcome Aboard show. WE sat behind, Horace, Georgia and Steven from out dining table. Horase was chosen to help Jeff, the jugglist. It was very funny. After the show, we headed to bed. We had been up since 3am and were a little tired.

 

[dipdotdarlin']

Day 1

Castaway Cay for the first day. Deb, my roomie, and I went to Goofy's Gallery and had fruit, stollen bread and cereal for breakfast while we watched us dock and unload on the island. We immediately noticed that the Flying Dutchman ship was at the island. We gathered our things and went onto the island. People did not line up to get off the ship onto Castaway Cay like my other cruises. We got off about 8:30am and there were not many people off the ship. We went snorkeling since it was not crowded. We saw lots of fish and it was great. Then we headed out shopping or to window shop, before we took the tram to Serenity Bay. We got our floats and headed to the water. I loved looking for shells and watching the crabs in those shells. The tide was going out and you could lay on your float and not move by the end of the day. We ate at Serenity Bay. They had cheeseburgers, hot dogs, veggie burgers, t-bone steaks, grilled chicken and maui maui. The rest was the same as Cookies- just not as much quanity. We had lots of fruit and different salads with our fish and burgers.

We headed back about 3pm to clean up and get ready for dinner. We had Animators Palette tonight. The menu had a new dessert of peanut butter chocolate pie. It was great!!!! After dinner, we changed and went to the Mike Super show. He was SUPER!!! After that, onto Rockin' Bar D for Magic "scavenger hunt" Quest. WE teamed up with the dis group. Lorie was our runner. She was great and we had so many that we won the game. They gave all of us Mickey metals for winning and we had to sing a song. Next was 60's night with dancing and Elvis impersoninations. We laughed a lot and had so much fun. Little did we know what awaited us.

 

[dipdotdarlin']

Day 2

Day at Sea- We woke up at 3am within minutes of each other. We were sick. Deb was the worst, she was throwing up about once every hour. I was just sitting several times. We went to the Health Center and they gave me Imodium. They gave Deb a shot for anti-nausea. It worked- we felt much better. BUT, we were now isolated in our stateroom so we would not make anyone else sick. It was a virus that we caught onboard,even though we washed up a lot. The doctor, room service, VCR and movies, laundry service and meds were all free since it was a virus caught onboard. We were really tired and slept most of the day, between watching parts of movies and Golden Mickeys on TV. They sent us anything from the dining room we wanted to eat or from room service. They also sent us a food snack every afternoon from that day on. Needless to say, this was a boring day for you to read about, but restful for us.

 

[dipdotdarlin']

Day 3

Costa Maya- We were still in isolation, but they would allow us to leave the ship. In other words, we were not suppose to make any ship guests sick, but could make the townspeople sick. We definitely got off the ship. The fresh air made us feel better. We felt fine. Certain foods just did not sound good to eat. We had planned to go with the disers to Majahaul beach, but just got off and walked around the port area. A tram took us into the port shopping area. We walked around a large salt water pool looking at the shops. I did not like the shops as well as the Eastern ones in St. Maarten and St. Thomas. After looking around, we did not want to go back to our isolation. So we stopped at Mommasitas for a diet coke and quesdellias. They were good and anything that sounded good to our stomachs, we ate. I bought a Mommasitas shirt and payed for our meal. Then it started raining, so we walked under the eves of the shopping center until it let up. We walked back in the rain- no trams running now. We got damp, but not soaked. Back to isolation and a video marathon. We ordered sandwiches from room service. We were suppose to have Palo souffles at our table in the dining room that evening. So when our head waiter called, we asked that our 2 souffles be sent to our room. When they were delivered, they brought all 7 souffles for the whole table. So we took a picture for everyone to see the next night and ate more than one each. We were going to sneak out to see Twice Charmed, but fell asleep before busting out.

 

[dipdotdarlin']

Day 4

Cozumel- We were allowed to go on our Fury Catamaran Snorkel and Beach Party excursion. We ate some fruit in our room for breakfast and headed out. Pikey was in charge of the excursion, so he carried all of my stuff to the tender for me. He is so funny. The tenders were easy to get on and off of and transported a lot of people. When we got off the tender the catamaran was waiting. So were 2 others. We had probably 250 people total on the 3 catamarans or it seemed that way. They took our picture upon boarding. The employees were so nice and happy to see us. The island was hit hard during Huricanne Wilma. They said it stayed over Cozumel for 64 hours. That was evident- there were few hotels operational. Most hotels were just shells and you could see through them. The private homes were mostly boarded up and had sand on their roofs (even the 3 story homes had sand on their roofs). The trees were all dead, except for newly planted ones. It was very sad. Even the pier was not operational. We went snorkeling in a small area and saw more flippers than fish. The passporter book rated this high, but that was before the hurricane. Then we went to a private beach where they had kayaks, floats, volleyball for everyone. You could rent ATVs or ride horses. They sold grilled cheeseburgers and either macorni or potato salad for $8 per plate. We split one and that was plenty for us. We stayed at the beach for an hour before heading back. If you go on an excursion and want to shop, bring some dry clothes to change into at the bathrooms at the pier. It was a little uncomfortable walking in wet suits and clothes. Thank goodness, I was almost dry. WE went down the main drag until we found Del Sol for our free color changing rings. We each bought a color changing shirt (in the sun, it colors/inside it stays black and white) and put them together so we could get a free color changing tote bag. We headed back to the tender pier, passing McDonalds and Senor Frogs. Upon returning to the stateroom, we had a message telling us we were out of isolation. So we headed to Animators Palette for dinner. Horace,and Georgia (our tablemates) informed us that the grandfather at our table had also gotten sick when Deb and I did. They were there for dinner the 3rd night, but were absent the following nights. We figured that they ended up in the health center and were in isolation. It was Pirate night. Christiaan met me in the atrium for pictures with his elaborate Pirate costume. They turned out great. He had to dance the whole Pirate party on deck, since he was going on leave the next week. The show was fun and the fireworks great. Off to bed now.

 

[dipdotdarlin']

Day 5

2nd day at sea- We went to Palo to brunch. The stollen bread with strawberry jam and whipped cream is to die for. The warm stickey buns and raspberries were right up there too. I am not a seafood lover, so I did not have any of that. We got a half sausage and half cheese tomato pizza. It is the best ever. I am not usually a sausage lover, but there is just a little spicey and can't be beat. You can tell which half I ate. Our server was concerned since we did not order a breakfast or lunch entree. Our stomachs did not hold much since we had been sick. We did eat a lot of desserts or at least, tried a lot of them. If you love chocolate, the pot (little dish) of chocolate is heavenly. We left very full, but our waiter did not think we had eaten enough. We changed and walked around until it was time for the movie Cars. It was fantastic. Even the adults loved it. The credits are not to be missed, so when you see it, stay seated and watch it to the bitter end. Dinner was the Captain's Gala and lobster. Since I don't like seafood, I ordered a new entree to the menu. It was fettucine with parmesian crusted chicken, grilled peppers and mushrooms with a little cheddar cheese sauce. It was the best meal I have had on Disney. Yummy. The warm chocolate lava cakes for dessert are my favorite, but they were not warm enough that night and were just ok. After dinner we went to the Disney Dreams show. Christiaan met me in the atrium in his white uniform for a picture with me all dressed up. Reece cups can do wonders. It was 70s night in the bar, so we changed and headed there after the Dreams show. Lynn, the ventrioloquist was the pre-adult show. She was fantastic. Her fast thinking wit is amazing. The 70s part was funny with the Village people, John Travolta and Gloria Gaynor. Be careful when you are dancing after the pre-show, you may be choosen for one of the above impersonations. We were so tired, but made it to midnight before heading to bed.

 

[dipdotdarlin']

Day 6

Castaway Cay- 2nd time around- We did not get off the ship today until 9:30am. There were more people out on the beach this day, so we shopped all the special merchadise for this cruise and headed to Serenity Bay. We got our floats and headed to the water. Lorie (musicgirl) was floating too. We enjoyed talking to her since we all are teachers. We ate at Serenity Bay again. They had the same burgers and dogs along with t-bone steaks again, jerk chicken, and salmon burgers. Oh, I forgot, lobster tails too. The jerk chicken was very good. I snitched a few cookies for a ziploc to take home to my husband and friends. I figured it was the least I could do, since I had gotten to go twice in 3 months. About 2pm, we headed to the family beach to snorkel. It was not too crowded, but the water was not as clear since so many had snorkeled before us. We did not see as many fish as the first day, but there were still quite a few. Afterwards, we took lots of pictures of the ship, the FLying Dutchman. Disney had moved it to the lagoon. You could see it better there. IT was fun seeing it. I can't wait to see the movie with it now. We were in Lumieres. Horace and Georgia had seen the grandparents and granddaughter heading to the health center. Seems one passed it to the other and then onto the last one. Poor guys, they were basically sick the whole cruise and in isolation. We had another new menu item that was very good. It was chicken with mushroom stuffing in a puff pastry. It was called Chicken Wellington, I think. After dinner, we packed and missed the Farewell Show. Horace and Georgia said that Steven had seen Deb and I pictured on the side screens. Maybe we will make the promotional video and become famous- Doubtful!!!! We went to the Diversions Pub for the adult staff skit. It was so funny. We laughed and laughed. WE headed to bed after that since breakfast was at 7am.

 

[dipdotdarlin']

Day 7

Last day- We got up early and headed for breakfast. The grandparents did not even make it to this breakfast. I am so sorry they were sick the whole time. Even though we did get sick too. It did not ruin our trip. After breakfast, we headed off the ship and to the Disney buses. The bad thing about the buses, instead of renting a car, is that you go straight to the airport. My
flight was 2pm and Debs was 4pm. With a rental car, we could have gone to Downtown Disney or somewhere to pass the time. This way we passed the time at the airport. It was not too bad. We went to all of the shops. I bought a cool Ron Jon shirt at their shop. We passed the time talking. We were not hungary with our big breakfast, so had a cookie for a snack. My flight home was uneventful- thank goodness!!! It was good to be home, but I loved the cruise.

Final thoughts- I loved going to Castaway Cay 2 days. Everyone seemed more relaxed and not as much in a hurry to do things there. I did not like the Western ports of call. I did not enjoy going shopping, etc. in Mexico. If you are a party person, you may like going to the bars,etc. But I much prefer the Eastern ports of call. St. Thomas. St. John, and ST. Maarten are much cleaner and nicer. I also enjoy the extra day at sea on the Eastern itenierary. I liked the menus better now than even in April. I like that the Rockin' Bar D is now non-smoking. I can go and enjoy myself without smelling like smoke. The adults shows are so much fun.

 

[nluvwithmickey]

Thank you so much for your detailed cruise report. Me and Dsis are headed on the magic in 3 more weeks and we are looking forward to spending time doing girl stuff.....basically, shopping and lying in the sun!


I would like to know more about the Del Sol shop in Cozumel. Is it far from the port? We have an excursion booked on that day but I would love to pick up some shirts and stuff over there. How are the prices?

We are also planning on taking the DCL transfers from MCO, can you tell me what time you took the bus from MCO to PC? We were not able to snatch any brunch reservations either, so I was hoping to get one once we board the ship. I am glas to see that even though you weren'T able to get a reservation right away you were able to get one later on by being on a waiting list. How soon did you get the call after being put on the waitlist?

Sorry for so many questions! If you would like to, you can PM me the answers. TIA!

 

[teriandcb]

Hi! Enjoyed reading your trip report but sorry to hear you got sick. At least you made the best of it. By the way, I'm from Anderson, IN too----it's a small world after all! We're sailing on the Magic in December 06 for our fifth time and I'm anxious to see what changes have occurred in the past two years.

 

[tjeagle]

Ahh...early Friday morning...a steaming cup of coffee...day off from work...kids still in bed....and a GREAT trip report....HEAVEN!

 

[dipdotdarlin']

nluvwithmickey- we got to the Orlando airport at 10:40am. We went immediately to the bottom level of the A side and asked the Disney people where and what to do. They directed us to the cruise line buses. We got in line and gave them our documents, which included the ticket for the transfers. Then we got in line for the next bus. They loaded the bus and we were out of there in half an hour. I usually fly in the day before and I will do that next time too. There is too much stress and things that can go wrong flying in the day of the cruise. You can stay at a hotel near the airport and take their shuttle to and from the airport. Then catch the transfers the day of the cruise. The first bus leaves around 9:30-9:45am from the airport. Then you get to the terminal by 10:30am and are one of the first to board the ship.
As far as Del Sol, they have a map on ship of all the shops and their location. You can go to a shopping seminar or view it on tv. It tells you lots about all of the stores. If you attend the shopping presentation, they give away stuff. This includes frisbees, etc. from Del Sol. The Del Sol store is about 6 blocks from the tender pier. When you get off the tender and are looking at the main drag, Senor Frogs will be in front of you and the dock behind you. Head to the left, that way the stores will be on your right and the water on your left. Keep walking until you see Del Sol. They will give you a free ring if you ask just for coming in. They will give you a free tote bag with the purchase of 2 shirts ($25 each) and 2 free tote bags if you buy 3 shirts.
We did not get to Rockin' Bar D to get Palo brunch reservations until about 1:30pm. We were on the top or near the top of the waiting list. They called Sunday while we were at dinner and I called back late. They had both sea days available for me to choose from and different times to choose from. SO even if you don't get reservations when you get on, put your name on the waiting list and you will probably definitely get in
One more thing, do the tour of the spa. I was too cheap to book anything,but they have free seminars on the sea days. We wanted to go to both, but our illness took away one and Palo brunch the other. But my next cruise, I want to do some of the free seminars. Teri

 

[dipdotdarlin']

teriandcb- Is your name Teri too? That is mine on my birth certificate. Where do you live and work in Anderson? Both my husband and I teach school in Anderson. We love to go on the Disney cruises. We have been 5 now. We want to go on spring break 2008. Teri

 

[rrgreennc]

It sounds like the Del Sol store in Cozumel is not very different from the one in the Orlando airport. When we were in the airport on 6/16/06, they were giving away a tote bag free with ANY purchase. And the prices sounds very comparable.

 

[nluvwithmickey]

Thank you so much Dipdotdarlin'!

We are indeed arriving the night before our cruise but we are using the transfers FROM the airport and not the resort because they leave too late. If they do indeed start arounf 9:30-9:45 you can be sure we will be on that bus!

As for the Del Sol shops, I had no idea there were some at MCO! After all these trips, I never noticed! Thanks for the speedy answers!

Now if only these cruise docs could arrive.....

 

[Babs417]

I thought the DelSol store in the airport was nicer.

 

[dipdotdarlin']

They have Del Sol stores everywhere now. The one is Cozumel had a lot more shirts and a better selection than the airport did. The shirts usually say where you bought them. So the ones in Cozumel say "Cozumel". I am not sure what the ones in the airport say- probably Orlando. We enjoyed the walk to the store in Cozumel to look at everything. I did not buy anything else there. I am not into Mexican stuff. I do love Mexican vanilla to cook and bake with, but I have plenty of it already at home. Teri

 

[teriandcb]

teriandcb- Is your name Teri too? That is mine on my birth certificate. Where do you live and work in Anderson? Both my husband and I teach school in Anderson. We love to go on the Disney cruises. We have been 5 now. We want to go on spring break 2008. Teri

Yes, my name is Teri too--you don't see a lot of people with that spelling! I'm a Pediatrician in Anderson and we live near Forest Hills Elementary although my girls (16yo and 13yo) go to Liberty Christian. We"ll probably try and go again in 2008 too---are they offering any good rebooking deals on the ship?

 

[dipdotdarlin']

Teri- I teach at East Side Middle School and my husband teaches and coaches tennis at Highland. I have friends that teach and send their kids to Liberty- Lisa Huff, Marlene Shaffer, etc. I go to East Side Church of God.

 

[HeelMD]

Thanks for the trip report. We're heading out for the double dip in 10 days. Sorry you were under the weather for part of it.