Before I start my report, I just want to say how helpful this board was with all the great tips. Also www.castaway.club.com and www.dcltribute.com and wdwig.com were all very helpful. The cruise was absolutely wonderful. Everything was perfect. The weather, the service, the food, the oceaneer's lab & club. I didn't hear of anyone getting sick on the cruise. My kids wore the seabands. No one got sea sick. I would definitely recommend the cruise. I would like to try a seven day next time.
We flew in from NY to Orlando on Saturday. Arts Shuttle met us at the airport at 1pm and took us to Hilton Oceanfront in Cocoa Beach. It was $70 for 3 adults and 3 children ( I believe my 3 yr old was free). They were great. We looked into renting a car but since we needed a minivan it was $90 without the hassle of renting a car. The hotel was nice. It was what I expected after reading all the information on the board and other website. It was more than adequate for one night. Pool was small but the kids loved it. It was also nice to be on the beach. Next time I would probably try Radisson ( it was sold out this time). Sat night we stopped by a liquor store and picked up some bottles of wine to bring on board.
Next morning we took Arts Shuttle to the port. They picked us up at 10:45am (they wouldn't come any earlier). It was $18 for the six of us. After we checked in we got in line, a little bit after 11am. We were probably the 20th family on line. They started letting people on the boat around 12:30. One disappointment-they didn't announce our name when we boarded. They were announcing some names-maybe they were doing it randomly. We went to Beach Blanket Buffet. It was great. The shrimp was outstanding. At 1:15pm went to Wave Bands. Walked right in and made reservations for 3 adults on Wed night at 7:30 pm for Palos. Then went in the same room to change our late seating to the early seating. It was no problem. I must of called Disney 50 times before we left to change it and they wouldn't-so I was thrilled we got the early seating. I have a 3 yr old who fell asleep every night at dinner by 6:45pm therefore, the later seating would have been awful. However, if my kids were older I would of prefered the later seating because there's less rushing to get to dinner and we were so full watching the show, I wanted to fall asleep. At 1:20pm I went to the spa to make reservations. It opened up at 1:30pm. Made a reservation for the seaweed wrap for the day at sea. It was great. Would highly recommend it. Wish I could of done the Absolute Body and Face as well.
Met my DH, 3 DS and mother in law at the mickey pool. It was nice because it wasn't too crowded. Went to stateroom around 3 to unpack. We got 2 Cat 11 rooms- 6649 and 6651. They were fine. I was trying not to expect much because I didn't want to be disappointed. They were perfect for us. With 3 boys under 8, the only time we were in the room was to change for dinner and go to bed. If I went on a 7 day, I would like to get a room with the balcony. We were near the mid-ship elevators. It was nice to be near an elevator. Those elevators are definitely more crowded than the front and aft elevators. Went to the mandatory drill. It went quick. Because it was raining, the sail away party was inside at the atrium. That was disappointing. It was fun inside but I'm sure it's much better when it is outside. Although it is the only time it rained so I can't complain. It stopped raining, so we got to see the boat pull out and hear the horn "wish upon a star".
Our dining rotation was APTA. Went to dinner at Animator's Palate. Our servers were Tino and Watt. They were great. They entertained the kids. Food was excellent. After dinner we walked around until Hercules. I was so full and tired, I was falling asleep. My 3 yr old was sleeping in the stroller. The show was good. My 6 & 8 yr old loved the show. After dinner, we all went to bed because we were so tired. Chicago was playing at 11:30pm. I was dying to see it, but I was too tired. I will continue on the same thread later.
We flew in from NY to Orlando on Saturday. Arts Shuttle met us at the airport at 1pm and took us to Hilton Oceanfront in Cocoa Beach. It was $70 for 3 adults and 3 children ( I believe my 3 yr old was free). They were great. We looked into renting a car but since we needed a minivan it was $90 without the hassle of renting a car. The hotel was nice. It was what I expected after reading all the information on the board and other website. It was more than adequate for one night. Pool was small but the kids loved it. It was also nice to be on the beach. Next time I would probably try Radisson ( it was sold out this time). Sat night we stopped by a liquor store and picked up some bottles of wine to bring on board.
Next morning we took Arts Shuttle to the port. They picked us up at 10:45am (they wouldn't come any earlier). It was $18 for the six of us. After we checked in we got in line, a little bit after 11am. We were probably the 20th family on line. They started letting people on the boat around 12:30. One disappointment-they didn't announce our name when we boarded. They were announcing some names-maybe they were doing it randomly. We went to Beach Blanket Buffet. It was great. The shrimp was outstanding. At 1:15pm went to Wave Bands. Walked right in and made reservations for 3 adults on Wed night at 7:30 pm for Palos. Then went in the same room to change our late seating to the early seating. It was no problem. I must of called Disney 50 times before we left to change it and they wouldn't-so I was thrilled we got the early seating. I have a 3 yr old who fell asleep every night at dinner by 6:45pm therefore, the later seating would have been awful. However, if my kids were older I would of prefered the later seating because there's less rushing to get to dinner and we were so full watching the show, I wanted to fall asleep. At 1:20pm I went to the spa to make reservations. It opened up at 1:30pm. Made a reservation for the seaweed wrap for the day at sea. It was great. Would highly recommend it. Wish I could of done the Absolute Body and Face as well.
Met my DH, 3 DS and mother in law at the mickey pool. It was nice because it wasn't too crowded. Went to stateroom around 3 to unpack. We got 2 Cat 11 rooms- 6649 and 6651. They were fine. I was trying not to expect much because I didn't want to be disappointed. They were perfect for us. With 3 boys under 8, the only time we were in the room was to change for dinner and go to bed. If I went on a 7 day, I would like to get a room with the balcony. We were near the mid-ship elevators. It was nice to be near an elevator. Those elevators are definitely more crowded than the front and aft elevators. Went to the mandatory drill. It went quick. Because it was raining, the sail away party was inside at the atrium. That was disappointing. It was fun inside but I'm sure it's much better when it is outside. Although it is the only time it rained so I can't complain. It stopped raining, so we got to see the boat pull out and hear the horn "wish upon a star".
Our dining rotation was APTA. Went to dinner at Animator's Palate. Our servers were Tino and Watt. They were great. They entertained the kids. Food was excellent. After dinner we walked around until Hercules. I was so full and tired, I was falling asleep. My 3 yr old was sleeping in the stroller. The show was good. My 6 & 8 yr old loved the show. After dinner, we all went to bed because we were so tired. Chicago was playing at 11:30pm. I was dying to see it, but I was too tired. I will continue on the same thread later.
