chrisn
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Aug 30, 2000
- Messages
- 1,273
Cast:
DH-41
Me-36
DD-17
DS-7
Radisson:
This is the 2nd time we've stayed here the night prior to the cruise. I would definitely stay here again. It's convenient and clean and the kids like the pool. Hubby dropped off our rental car at Budget the morning of embarkation and walked back. It took him about 30 minutes. Very easy. Had an ok dinner at Florida Seafood the night before. Took a pit stop at Ron Jon's for surfer T's and hopped on the 10:00 am shuttle to the port the next morning.
Embarkation:
We were let into the terminal at about 10:30 am. I checked us all in then went to ask about upgrades. There were a few available but chose to stay where we were. I did the kids club checkin and received DS's pager at the terminal. Convenient but the trick is to get there early if you want to pre-register. Since we were among the first, there was no waiting. I did see quite a slow moving long line later on though. We were the first to board after pre-boarders at around 11:45. We were announced and sent up to Beach Blanket Buffet. Kids went to Pluto's. It was very good. After lunch, we went for ressies at Palo. Booked brunch at dinner. No spa this time. The DISer's had a Mini DIS Meet at 3:00 in the Promenade Lounge. That was cool, I'm glad I got to meet some of you. Our deck party was canceled do to wind and rain and was moved to the atrium. It's just not the same.
Stateroom and Stateroom Attendant:
Cat 10 Deluxe Inside Cabin 2035. We've been on three cruises. The first cruise I booked a porthole, the second cruise a verandah and this cruise decided to try the inside. The cabin was a very nice inside but just not for me. I really need natural light and so will not book inside again. Love the split bath feature. We had this last time too. I believe our stateroom attendants name was Jeanette? Don't have any idea where she was from. I guess I was completely out of it from 9 crazy days at Disney. She was quiet and reserved. She did her job and that was it. We did get a few towel animals.
Dining Rotation and Servers:
We had the AAPT rotation. We really like Parrot Cay and wanted the PPTA rotation but was too tired to stress over it and it worked out fine. Our server was Hernan and the assistant server was Ray. Michelle was the head server and stopped at our table every evening. Hernan was nice but seemed a little tired. Ray was a real sweetie pie.
Food:
The dinners were all very tasty. I believe this is an improvement over our last Disney Cruise. Pirate's Night Dinner was FUN! We dressed as Pirates and everyone made a huge fuss over us. We got tons of compliments and really had a great time. The breakfast buffet was good. Loved the made to order omelet station. I did have Eggs Benedict in Tritons one morning and they were very good. Never had lunch, not even once. Too stuffed from breakfast and too afraid to ruin the dinner appetite. Kids ate at Pluto's and Pinochio's A LOT! Ordered room service a couple times. I think Mom and Dad were all ate out from all the grazing we did at Disney! Palo was outstanding! We had brunch and dinner. Dinner was the standout. Serena was our server for both and she's wonderful! For brunch we had the omelet and the pasta. For dinner the steak with gorgonzola cheese and the lasagne special. We had calimari and the portabella mushroom appetizers along with the italian ice cream and chocolate lava cake. YUM! The lasagne was to die for! We also did the wine tasting at Palo. That was fun and informative.
Entertainment:
Nothing but praise here. Hercules was wonderful, Golden Mickeys was superb and Disney Dreams was just magical. My kids won Walk the Plank and were rewarded with medals and Pirate Mickey's gold. Bingo is always fun and we played the final jackpot Bingo but alas, I did not win the booty! There is plenty for all to enjoy. We saw The Incredibles at the theatre while scarfing down on junk food. I really wanted to do a few of the late night adult things but we were just too wiped out from touring the parks and just couldn't make it. DS did swim in the Mickey pool and they both swam in Goofy's pool and had a good time. The Pirate Deck Party that I had been so looking farward to was canceled do to evening rain in Nassau. They moved it to the atrium which was a real bummer. It's just not the same!
Ports of Call:
Nassau - We had booked a room at the Comfort Suites in order to be able to utilize the facilities at Atlantis. After debarking the ship, we headed over to the downtown area for some obligatory shopping. Stayed for about an hour then took a taxi to Comfort Suites/Atlantis. Comfort Suites is what I would call a ***minus star hotel. I'm kind of a freak when it comes to hotels and this one is pushing the not nice enough meter for me just a little. It was ok. Just ok but it didn't really matter because we didn't book the room to stay there so it was fine. Atlantis is a big, beautiful, sprawling resort and I am unimpressed. It's a little too sprawling and I didn't think it was all that clean. The water habitats really looked like they were in sad shape. DH and DD agreed. The water in the pools even looked a little "off". The waterslides are cool but we had been to Blizzard Beach just prior to this so it was no big deal. This is someplace that I was really interested in visiting to see if we would like to return and vacation there. I am glad we went because now I know that I won't be spending DH's money to return for a longer period. Really IMHO it's over rated. I've been to much nicer resorts and beaches and the prices they charge just arent justified. We did have a nice day though.
Castaway Cay - Was not meant to be
. Captain Henry tried his best to get us in and just couldn't do it. I missed my beautiful little piece of Disney island magic. I'll try again another day and that's all I have to say about that!
Kids Clubs:
DS-7 just is not interested in Disney's club. He did go but never asked to be there. He paged us to come get him once. He made the goo and participated in the children's show at the end. I think he would have had fun at Scuttles Cove so I'm sad that he missed it. He did have a good time with DH, DD and I though. DD-17 did participate in the teen club but only about 1/4 of the time. She said she felt a little "old". Yeah hon, your ancient at 17! I guess she'll be that 18-20 age next time we cruise so no more teen stuff. I guess she'll have to hang with the cool people, us!
Debarkation:
We were off the ship by 8:00 and quickly loaded onto the DCL bus for the ride back to the airport. Were at the airport by 9:00 and our flight was not until 3:00. I had booked a day room at the Hyatt. That was the smartest thing I did! DH was very proud of me and everyone was snoozing by 9:30. Flight home was uneventful but spent all weekend in bed with a bad flu/cold thing. All in all, a great trip. DH is "freakin sick of Disney" but it continues to be my favorite destination. For those of you waiting to sail, I hope your trip is all you hope for!
Chris
DH-41
Me-36
DD-17
DS-7
Radisson:
This is the 2nd time we've stayed here the night prior to the cruise. I would definitely stay here again. It's convenient and clean and the kids like the pool. Hubby dropped off our rental car at Budget the morning of embarkation and walked back. It took him about 30 minutes. Very easy. Had an ok dinner at Florida Seafood the night before. Took a pit stop at Ron Jon's for surfer T's and hopped on the 10:00 am shuttle to the port the next morning.
Embarkation:
We were let into the terminal at about 10:30 am. I checked us all in then went to ask about upgrades. There were a few available but chose to stay where we were. I did the kids club checkin and received DS's pager at the terminal. Convenient but the trick is to get there early if you want to pre-register. Since we were among the first, there was no waiting. I did see quite a slow moving long line later on though. We were the first to board after pre-boarders at around 11:45. We were announced and sent up to Beach Blanket Buffet. Kids went to Pluto's. It was very good. After lunch, we went for ressies at Palo. Booked brunch at dinner. No spa this time. The DISer's had a Mini DIS Meet at 3:00 in the Promenade Lounge. That was cool, I'm glad I got to meet some of you. Our deck party was canceled do to wind and rain and was moved to the atrium. It's just not the same.
Stateroom and Stateroom Attendant:
Cat 10 Deluxe Inside Cabin 2035. We've been on three cruises. The first cruise I booked a porthole, the second cruise a verandah and this cruise decided to try the inside. The cabin was a very nice inside but just not for me. I really need natural light and so will not book inside again. Love the split bath feature. We had this last time too. I believe our stateroom attendants name was Jeanette? Don't have any idea where she was from. I guess I was completely out of it from 9 crazy days at Disney. She was quiet and reserved. She did her job and that was it. We did get a few towel animals.
Dining Rotation and Servers:
We had the AAPT rotation. We really like Parrot Cay and wanted the PPTA rotation but was too tired to stress over it and it worked out fine. Our server was Hernan and the assistant server was Ray. Michelle was the head server and stopped at our table every evening. Hernan was nice but seemed a little tired. Ray was a real sweetie pie.
Food:
The dinners were all very tasty. I believe this is an improvement over our last Disney Cruise. Pirate's Night Dinner was FUN! We dressed as Pirates and everyone made a huge fuss over us. We got tons of compliments and really had a great time. The breakfast buffet was good. Loved the made to order omelet station. I did have Eggs Benedict in Tritons one morning and they were very good. Never had lunch, not even once. Too stuffed from breakfast and too afraid to ruin the dinner appetite. Kids ate at Pluto's and Pinochio's A LOT! Ordered room service a couple times. I think Mom and Dad were all ate out from all the grazing we did at Disney! Palo was outstanding! We had brunch and dinner. Dinner was the standout. Serena was our server for both and she's wonderful! For brunch we had the omelet and the pasta. For dinner the steak with gorgonzola cheese and the lasagne special. We had calimari and the portabella mushroom appetizers along with the italian ice cream and chocolate lava cake. YUM! The lasagne was to die for! We also did the wine tasting at Palo. That was fun and informative.
Entertainment:
Nothing but praise here. Hercules was wonderful, Golden Mickeys was superb and Disney Dreams was just magical. My kids won Walk the Plank and were rewarded with medals and Pirate Mickey's gold. Bingo is always fun and we played the final jackpot Bingo but alas, I did not win the booty! There is plenty for all to enjoy. We saw The Incredibles at the theatre while scarfing down on junk food. I really wanted to do a few of the late night adult things but we were just too wiped out from touring the parks and just couldn't make it. DS did swim in the Mickey pool and they both swam in Goofy's pool and had a good time. The Pirate Deck Party that I had been so looking farward to was canceled do to evening rain in Nassau. They moved it to the atrium which was a real bummer. It's just not the same!
Ports of Call:
Nassau - We had booked a room at the Comfort Suites in order to be able to utilize the facilities at Atlantis. After debarking the ship, we headed over to the downtown area for some obligatory shopping. Stayed for about an hour then took a taxi to Comfort Suites/Atlantis. Comfort Suites is what I would call a ***minus star hotel. I'm kind of a freak when it comes to hotels and this one is pushing the not nice enough meter for me just a little. It was ok. Just ok but it didn't really matter because we didn't book the room to stay there so it was fine. Atlantis is a big, beautiful, sprawling resort and I am unimpressed. It's a little too sprawling and I didn't think it was all that clean. The water habitats really looked like they were in sad shape. DH and DD agreed. The water in the pools even looked a little "off". The waterslides are cool but we had been to Blizzard Beach just prior to this so it was no big deal. This is someplace that I was really interested in visiting to see if we would like to return and vacation there. I am glad we went because now I know that I won't be spending DH's money to return for a longer period. Really IMHO it's over rated. I've been to much nicer resorts and beaches and the prices they charge just arent justified. We did have a nice day though.
Castaway Cay - Was not meant to be
. Captain Henry tried his best to get us in and just couldn't do it. I missed my beautiful little piece of Disney island magic. I'll try again another day and that's all I have to say about that!Kids Clubs:
DS-7 just is not interested in Disney's club. He did go but never asked to be there. He paged us to come get him once. He made the goo and participated in the children's show at the end. I think he would have had fun at Scuttles Cove so I'm sad that he missed it. He did have a good time with DH, DD and I though. DD-17 did participate in the teen club but only about 1/4 of the time. She said she felt a little "old". Yeah hon, your ancient at 17! I guess she'll be that 18-20 age next time we cruise so no more teen stuff. I guess she'll have to hang with the cool people, us!
Debarkation:
We were off the ship by 8:00 and quickly loaded onto the DCL bus for the ride back to the airport. Were at the airport by 9:00 and our flight was not until 3:00. I had booked a day room at the Hyatt. That was the smartest thing I did! DH was very proud of me and everyone was snoozing by 9:30. Flight home was uneventful but spent all weekend in bed with a bad flu/cold thing. All in all, a great trip. DH is "freakin sick of Disney" but it continues to be my favorite destination. For those of you waiting to sail, I hope your trip is all you hope for!
Chris
