Dr. Jones and the Spitting Camel - Link to Alaska Cruise TR 9/18

[Charleston Princess]

Welcome home, Cynthia! I thoroughly enjoyed all of your pictures on Facebook this past week! What a gorgeous vacation!

 

[DisMomAmy]

Welcome Home!! I can't wait to hear about Hawaii!!

Have fun on your next trip - it's right around the corner!!

 

[eandesmom]

Welcome home, Cynthia! I thoroughly enjoyed all of your pictures on Facebook this past week! What a gorgeous vacation!

Thanks Jackie! I really fell in love with the Big Island. We lived on that lanai! I miss it, as I have my coffee at my desk...not on that lanai.

It was so funny, the boys wanted to know our favorite part and while there were a ton of wonderful things, that really was it. Having coffee on the lanai, breakfast on the lanai, chips and salsa and drinks in the afternoon on the lanai and just looking at that ocean, listening to music and reading.

I'd never get tired of that view, that's for sure.

Perfection.

Welcome Home!! I can't wait to hear about Hawaii!!

Have fun on your next trip - it's right around the corner!!

It is right around the corner! I'm not even unpacking, just repacking and tweaking. LOL! Loaded my rewards card last night.

 

[KatMark]

Welcome home. I wanted to follow your pics on FB, but you left before I could send you a PM to become friends on FB.

 

[eandesmom]

Welcome home. I wanted to follow your pics on FB, but you left before I could send you a PM to become friends on FB.

I'll pm you my info if you want to become friends, pics are still up! And I'll probably be adding to them I imagine, it's a tiny snapshot of the trip.

 

[eandesmom]

Somewhere in the realm of 4:30-5 we headed out of the MK and off to find a bus to take us back to the YC.

As you might recall my original evening plan looked like this.

4:30, walk over to Boardwalk
5:10 dinner at Kouzzina.
Stroll Boardwalk
8 pm Yacht Club dock to board cruise
8-9:45 Illuminations Cruise
10-12 head back to Epcot for evening EMH
​

I admit, chatting on the bus led us a big fat nowhere on the dinner options other than CS from the BC Marketplace might be an option, one that thrilled no one! We’d had to wait for the bus for a bit, I don’t think we got back until close to 6.

Back at the ranch, I mean the YC, we quickly got into suits and down to the pool. After a quick dip, Sandie and I chatted about dinner. T-2 at this point.

Suddenly.

An idea.

Pizza.

To go.

On the boat!

A plan of sorts in mind, with no real clue if I could pull it off in the timeline, I headed off to the concierge desk. I’d looked into on-boat catering as an idea but hadn’t been thrilled with the options, both in food but also in desserts and drinks. Our cruise did include soda and chips but hardly a meal does that make. The on-board catering info asked for booking, I think, a minimum of 24 hours ahead. Clearly, we were FAR outside of that.

And then I met a lovely CM. At the Beach Club Concierge Desk. Our SAB location was closer to the BC so that’s where I went. I don’t recall her name, other than she was from Ohio (I think). Her response? No problem!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Of course, me, being the paranoid rule following moron that I am had thought it was a long shot so I hadn’t exactly figured out what we’d order! And, Sandie and Paul had headed up to the room. So I placed a tentative order and then headed up to confirm details like how much pizza, should we add wine, etc. Yes, we should add wine! And yes, we should get 3 pizzas!
So we did. Because I wasn’t allowing room charge this somehow ended up in 3 trips for me, to confirm we could get pizza, to place the actual order and then to give them the credit card but the peace of mind, despite the hiking, was WELL worth it. After a quick dip, interestingly enough, someone had wanted to play volleyball. Real volleyball. Apparently this isn’t a common request so it took them a bit to figure out how to get a ball, even knowing where to go to get one didn’t speed it up, the CM at the fitness center had no idea! So I went to the pool to round up my crew and instead found them playing volleyball.

Which gave me time to get myself a drink. Yeah, at that point I decided I needed (deserved) to try a HH margarita. Which was….pretty darn tasty!
All too soon I had to round them up. Of course, no one but the adults knew what we were doing and we’d fended off a number of “what’s for dinner” type requests.
Quick rinses for all and it was off to the marina!

Why the marina they wondered?

Oh, because it’s pretty!

Don’t they look confused? But, Kendall does look spiffy in her new shirt. LOL

This is why!

Now of course, being the opportunistic person I am…I noticed a PP photographer and approached him for a few shots.

He’d actually been “booked” to take pictures of another group.

OOPS! Party foul.

But…he whispered to me…”If I can…I’ll get a couple in”


Soon, it was time to board. The kids were still entirely confused…but excited.

Would we capture the moment?

That PP photographer…..did!

Continued in next post

 

[eandesmom]

For those that don’t know, the cruise leaves from the YC dock, heads out towards DHS and then back to Epcot for Illuminations. So a little cruise before the show. You park under the International Gateway.

Pretty night! The lightening was threatening and there was thunder…but….it stayed away. WHEW!

Our Captain!

Yes, we put her to work right away, opening wine. LOL

Once that was done, we could get ready to take off
So pretty!

And a fancy dinner to boot!

The gang seemed pretty darn happy about the dinner choice

Man am I glad the bandanna phase has passed, every time I look at these pictures I laugh!

Heading out by the boardwalk

Watching the sun go down

Continued in next post...

 

[eandesmom]

Checking out the threatening skies and DHS in the distance

And…one last blurry picture as the boat headed back to the Boardwalk, towards the IG and…

POOF! A dead battery!
Now. In all fairness it had been a LONG and supremely busy day. My only time in the room had been to grab a credit card to pay for the pizza and then to shower. Charging the camera didn’t cross my mind an iota. And you know what?

It’s a good thing. For many reasons. Not the least of which is that camera wouldn’t have taken but maybe 2 out of 50 decent pictures. At best. Not one in the bunch I just posted if you ask me. But the best reason is that had it have worked, I’d have been taking pictures instead of relaxing on the boat, coasting peacefully along with my pizza, wine, and family. Missing out on that would have been a crime. I cannot begin to say enough wonderful things about this cruise. On paper, doesn’t sound like all that much. You leave the marina, head over to DHS, and then back to the IG. A path you’d take on a friendship boat so it’s not exactly the road untraveled. But what surprised us, I think, was the peacefulness and beauty of the still lake as the sun set and the rain threatened. The “rock star” feeling you get cruising in such a boat in the evening like that. What also shocked me was just how darn tasty that pizza was! And how perfectly the wine went with it. Doing the cruise, without the pizza and wine, wouldn’t have been the same. It actually made the evening.

We pulled up and tied off under the IG bridge. That has to be one of the coolest things ever. I think it fits a total of 4-8 boats. Not positive and it’s probably closer to 4 but safe to say, it’s not many. The looks of all those walking over the bridge that seemed to shout “who are they? How did they get to do that? That looks so cool!” had our kids feeling pretty darn special.

The view of the illuminations from the boat itself was simply indescribable. The entire evening was so beyond my expectations it’s not even funny. Absolutely magical on every level and I know the entire group felt the same. To say it was a trip highlight, is an understatement. Worth every penny, and then some! And, thanks to the poor use (by some) of dining credits earlier in the week, the OOP pizza actually got us back on track credit wise at a lower investment than had we kept to our ADR’s. Talk about a silver lining. Our Captain/CM was WONDERFUL, couldn’t have had better (and tipped accordingly!).

The show over, we headed back to the marina. They let us take any soda’s and chips we’d not consumed on the boat, which was pretty cool and they definitely got used up over the rest of the trip, some coming with us to Universal. The gang was tired. It was EMH at Epcot. We made a surprising, spur of the moment, call.

Jeff and I ditched everyone and headed into Epcot for a late night date night! I imagine they all went straight to bed but honestly didn’t/don't know (or care lol!). First stop was….a grey goose slushie! It was still really warm and they melted quickly. YUM! There is something magical about strolling the world showcase with your love, holding hands and sipping a slushie. It really doesn’t get any better than that. We wandered around, peeking at the shops in Italy and Germany and then, slushies gone, headed to watch the American Adventure.

I confess.

I fell asleep.

Again.

Slushie went straight to my head! I maybe caught half of it. Jeff couldn’t doze as he thought it was really LOUD but maybe that was his slushie talking to him! LOL. With that, Epcot was shutting down and it was time to head home. A lovely lovely end to a really perfect day.

Up next. Our last full day at WDW! How will we spend it?

Don't worry, the trips not even close to over though...we still have that pending visit to...the dark side!

 

[Jazzabelle508]

That cruise sounds like it was a lot of fun!!!!! How cool that you could just walk down to the pier and board the buses, that must have saved a lot of time! Nice that the weather didn't go bad on you guys as well, that could have been sad . I also find it entertaining that you also refer to universal as the "Dark Side" or at least i'm guessing that is what you are talking about. My family and I called it "The Place that Must Not Be Named". We called it that because of the fact that they now have the Harry Potter Land (Our only reason to venture over there).

 

[glennbo123]

Awesome Cynthia! What a great idea to get pizza for the boat ride. It solved so many issues.

Your night sounded fantastic. Now I might have to think about doing that!

 

[KatMark]

Cynthia, what a terrific update. The cruise sounds absolutely awesome and it looks as if hte kids really enjoyed it. I really need to look into that for Mark and I one of these days. The photopass pictures are really good too.

 

[All7OfUs]

What a beautiful ending to a simply perfect day!! Everything about it, from the pizza straightening out the credits, to the rain holding off at a distance- it was just great! I love how you captured the essence of the evening for us and that it was one of your best highlights of the whole trip! Those memories last a lifetime.

 

[TarzansKat]

Hi!



Sorry I've bene so MIA lately. I have lots and lots of catching up to do, but I just wanted to say hi, I'm still here.

 

[FauntleroyFAN07]

the cruise does look like a lot of fun, i might have to check into that for the next trip.

 

[MEK]

Cynthia - I did not realize the cruise was a surprise. Nice!

And - it just occurred to me that you probably don't need a park ticket to do the cruise. That is definitely a thought for my December trip. What a surprise that would be if I planned it without Denny and Nick knowing.

Hmmmmmm - something to think about. I really like that idea.


The picture of your captain opening the bottle of wine cracked me UP!

Oh - and way to rock the photopass pictures. I love, love, love the one with tinkerbell.

I hope you don't mind, but I am really looking forward to hearing about the dark side. Nick really wants to go to Universal if we don't buy a Disney park pass (which I don't think we will). I think two days at Universal would work out really well for us and I really want to know how to work the whole Harry Potter thing.

 

[jenjolt]

What a great update Cynthia!!! The Illuminations cruise looks like a wonderful way to spend an evening!! YAY for Pizza and Wine!!!! I love being able to see fireworks in new and wonderful ways so I will have to think on this as it looks SO much fun!!!!!

YAY for a date night!!! EPCOT at night is just beautiful!

 

[manntra]

The cruise sounds like such a great idea...glad everyone was surprised and felt special
Good job putting the Captain right to work! She is very multi-talented
Too funny that you fell asleep in AA (another never seen confession ) Must be something about America, air conditioning and naps!

See ya real soon!!

Tracy

 

[mermaid764]

What an amazing evening, the cruise looks incredible and how fun that your dinner plans being canceled worked to your advantage.

Can't wait for more

 

[brookelizabeth]

Ahhhh, what a perfect night!!! I'm so glad it all worked out so wonderfully! And yes, you have officially got me on wanting a fireworks cruise.

I agree with you on the tuna sandwich too-SO GOOD! I wonder if that recipe is out on AllEars...

 

[Flossbolna]

Seemed like you had the perfect event for your group there! I am glad that your last night at Disney ended on a high note! I can't belive that the Disney portion of your trip is nearly over, but I am looking forward to reading about Universal and everyone's thought about that. I wonder wether the teens were more in their element there?