Attending:
Me - 38, DM - 61, DS - 8, Friends: DW - 38, DH -37, DD - 9, DD - 5
Our first cruise ever....
We arrived at the Courtyard by Marriott in Cocoa Beach at about 9PM Wednesday night. We checked in, and then ran out to Dairy Queen for a quick snack. The hotel was nice, clean and the room was a nice size. The room had 2 queen beds, a pull out sofa and even a little refrigerator. There was also free high speed internet access (there was a sign on the desk that said $4.95 but it was crossed off and Free was written in).
Thursday morning we got up, had a quick breakfast at the buffet downstairs and took our time getting ready to go to the ship. We left the hotel at about 10:45 and got to the port about 10 minutes later. I dropped everyone off at the luggage area and went to park the car. My son was amazed at the dog that they have sniffing the luggage and spent at least 5 minutes watching before he would go upstairs. By the time I parked and got back, my Mom and son had met up with the friends we were cruising with and were already half way through checking in. We checked in on the Castaway Club line since the people we were traveling with had previously been on the Wonder and our reservation was linked with theirs. Check-in went smoothly and we were done and ready to board by 11:30PM. Even the regular lines were not busy, maybe a 5 minute wait. I was surprised at how quiet the terminal was. There were definitely people around, just not as many as I expected.
We walked around the terminal and took pictures with Minnie and waited to board. When we checked in, the agent gave us the paperwork for the kids club so we filled that out while we were waiting. There were a lot of people lined up for boarding but we did not wait in the line and once it was time we waited about 5 10 minutes and the people who lined up were through and we walked right on. There was only a short line for the Embarkation photos so we waited for those and then headed into the lobby. Once we were inside, we were amazed to see that the ship was decorated for Christmas with a beautiful tree in the lobby of Deck 3 and in various places throughout the ship. We stopped to take some pictures by the tree and then headed upstairs to the buffet.
The buffet was yummy and had many choices for both the adults and the children. We didnt even realize there was a salad bar until later because it is off to the side of the main buffet line. Disney is very organized and the buffet workers serve everything to you, you just walk down the line and tell them what you want. I skipped the desert bar since I was already full from lunch and breakfast but the people who had it said that what they had was very good.
After lunch, we walked around deck 9 to see the pools, etc.. and then headed to make Palo reservations. There were only 2 people in front of us for reservations and we easily go the reservation that we wanted (which was for 6:30PM on Friday). With that done we headed to the kids club to hand in our paperwork and pick up our beepers. The kids club was a little hectic but, all in all, it probably only took about 20 minutes to get everything done since we had filled out our paperwork before boarding.
By the time we finished there, it was 1:30 and we could go to our rooms. The room was much bigger than I expected and we were very glad to be able to drop off our carry on luggage. My son got dressed for swimming and headed up to the pool with our friends. Mom and I sat out on the balcony and just relaxed for a few minutes and then our luggage started to arrive (It was about 2PM). We unpacked the first two suitcases that came, waited a few minutes for room service to deliver the water and soda package that we ordered (I think it was $14 for 6 waters and 6 sodas) and then we headed up to the pool too.
By the time we got to the pool the kids were already having a snack of nachos and French fries (yes, even though they had just eaten lunch ). We stayed by the pool (which by now was getting pretty busy) until about 3PM and then headed back to the rooms to get ready for the lifeboat drill. By the time we got back to the room our other 2 pieces of luggage were there so we were able to finish unpacking before the drill. I was glad that I read these boards and had my extension cord since the prongs on my hair dryer wouldnt have fit without the cord and I would have been a scary sight without my hair dryer! The over the door shoe hanger was nice, but since the bathroom doors are not as wide as a regular door the hooks that hold it slid around a little bit but, it was still better than tripping over shoes for 3 days.
At 4PM we headed down to the lifeboat drill which was very chaotic but, relatively short. The worst part was the crowd trying to get back to the room after the drill. They tell you to keep your life vest on until you are in your room but, it is not very easy to walk up 2 flights of steps in a crowd without being able to move your neck in the life vest! At the end of the drill the captain came on the intercom and said to expect rough seas until about 11:30PM . I cant say I wasnt a little scared after hearing that!
We went back to the room, dropped off our life vests and headed back up to deck 9 for the sail away party. The party was great...lots of music, characters and fun. Since we had late dinner seating we all got a snack and sat on the deck listening to the music. We were going to try to hook-up with some of the other DISers on the cruise at sail away but it was so hectic, we were not able to find anyone. We stayed on deck until about 6PM and then headed back to the rooms to get ready for the Hercules show.
Most of the kids didnt want to go to the show so we dropped them off at the lab and the rest of us headed to the show. We got to the there right at about 6:30 and the theatre was crowded but we were still able to find 5 seats together. The show was very nice and when it was done, we headed back to the kids club to pick up the kids and then went to the lobby to take a few pictures. There were no characters so the lobby was pretty empty but, we had a photographer to ourselves and were able to take nice pictures by the tree and with the cruise picture backgrounds..
On to dinner Our first restaurant was Animaters Palate and we were all very excited to see the show. We ordered our food and wine but, unfortunately by now, the boat was rocking pretty hard and my son started to feel sick. We put on the sea bands that we had brought but, after about 15 minutes he was feeling worse so, he and I headed back up to the room. After being in the room for a little bit he felt better so we went back down to the restaurant but, by then, my friends had started to feel ill and had left the restaurant too so my Mom was sitting alone at the table watching the light show. When the waiter saw me back he apologized and explained that he had thrown away my entrée but he would try to get another one (I had ordered the steak). A little while later he came back with my steak and with a Mickey Bar for my son. The steak was yummy but my sons stomach didnt feel well enough for the ice cream so he only took a bite.
By now it was about 10:30 PM. As we left the restaurant we walked through Shutters and stacked our photos for the day together (a great tip I learned on this board) and headed back to the room. My mom and son fell asleep right away but I stayed up surfing the TV Channels and enjoying the sound of the ocean waves through the patio door. Around midnight the waves started to settle down ( as the Captain had predicted earlier) and
I too called it a night.
Me - 38, DM - 61, DS - 8, Friends: DW - 38, DH -37, DD - 9, DD - 5
Our first cruise ever....
We arrived at the Courtyard by Marriott in Cocoa Beach at about 9PM Wednesday night. We checked in, and then ran out to Dairy Queen for a quick snack. The hotel was nice, clean and the room was a nice size. The room had 2 queen beds, a pull out sofa and even a little refrigerator. There was also free high speed internet access (there was a sign on the desk that said $4.95 but it was crossed off and Free was written in).
Thursday morning we got up, had a quick breakfast at the buffet downstairs and took our time getting ready to go to the ship. We left the hotel at about 10:45 and got to the port about 10 minutes later. I dropped everyone off at the luggage area and went to park the car. My son was amazed at the dog that they have sniffing the luggage and spent at least 5 minutes watching before he would go upstairs. By the time I parked and got back, my Mom and son had met up with the friends we were cruising with and were already half way through checking in. We checked in on the Castaway Club line since the people we were traveling with had previously been on the Wonder and our reservation was linked with theirs. Check-in went smoothly and we were done and ready to board by 11:30PM. Even the regular lines were not busy, maybe a 5 minute wait. I was surprised at how quiet the terminal was. There were definitely people around, just not as many as I expected.
We walked around the terminal and took pictures with Minnie and waited to board. When we checked in, the agent gave us the paperwork for the kids club so we filled that out while we were waiting. There were a lot of people lined up for boarding but we did not wait in the line and once it was time we waited about 5 10 minutes and the people who lined up were through and we walked right on. There was only a short line for the Embarkation photos so we waited for those and then headed into the lobby. Once we were inside, we were amazed to see that the ship was decorated for Christmas with a beautiful tree in the lobby of Deck 3 and in various places throughout the ship. We stopped to take some pictures by the tree and then headed upstairs to the buffet.
The buffet was yummy and had many choices for both the adults and the children. We didnt even realize there was a salad bar until later because it is off to the side of the main buffet line. Disney is very organized and the buffet workers serve everything to you, you just walk down the line and tell them what you want. I skipped the desert bar since I was already full from lunch and breakfast but the people who had it said that what they had was very good.
After lunch, we walked around deck 9 to see the pools, etc.. and then headed to make Palo reservations. There were only 2 people in front of us for reservations and we easily go the reservation that we wanted (which was for 6:30PM on Friday). With that done we headed to the kids club to hand in our paperwork and pick up our beepers. The kids club was a little hectic but, all in all, it probably only took about 20 minutes to get everything done since we had filled out our paperwork before boarding.
By the time we finished there, it was 1:30 and we could go to our rooms. The room was much bigger than I expected and we were very glad to be able to drop off our carry on luggage. My son got dressed for swimming and headed up to the pool with our friends. Mom and I sat out on the balcony and just relaxed for a few minutes and then our luggage started to arrive (It was about 2PM). We unpacked the first two suitcases that came, waited a few minutes for room service to deliver the water and soda package that we ordered (I think it was $14 for 6 waters and 6 sodas) and then we headed up to the pool too.
By the time we got to the pool the kids were already having a snack of nachos and French fries (yes, even though they had just eaten lunch ). We stayed by the pool (which by now was getting pretty busy) until about 3PM and then headed back to the rooms to get ready for the lifeboat drill. By the time we got back to the room our other 2 pieces of luggage were there so we were able to finish unpacking before the drill. I was glad that I read these boards and had my extension cord since the prongs on my hair dryer wouldnt have fit without the cord and I would have been a scary sight without my hair dryer! The over the door shoe hanger was nice, but since the bathroom doors are not as wide as a regular door the hooks that hold it slid around a little bit but, it was still better than tripping over shoes for 3 days.
At 4PM we headed down to the lifeboat drill which was very chaotic but, relatively short. The worst part was the crowd trying to get back to the room after the drill. They tell you to keep your life vest on until you are in your room but, it is not very easy to walk up 2 flights of steps in a crowd without being able to move your neck in the life vest! At the end of the drill the captain came on the intercom and said to expect rough seas until about 11:30PM . I cant say I wasnt a little scared after hearing that!
We went back to the room, dropped off our life vests and headed back up to deck 9 for the sail away party. The party was great...lots of music, characters and fun. Since we had late dinner seating we all got a snack and sat on the deck listening to the music. We were going to try to hook-up with some of the other DISers on the cruise at sail away but it was so hectic, we were not able to find anyone. We stayed on deck until about 6PM and then headed back to the rooms to get ready for the Hercules show.
Most of the kids didnt want to go to the show so we dropped them off at the lab and the rest of us headed to the show. We got to the there right at about 6:30 and the theatre was crowded but we were still able to find 5 seats together. The show was very nice and when it was done, we headed back to the kids club to pick up the kids and then went to the lobby to take a few pictures. There were no characters so the lobby was pretty empty but, we had a photographer to ourselves and were able to take nice pictures by the tree and with the cruise picture backgrounds..
On to dinner Our first restaurant was Animaters Palate and we were all very excited to see the show. We ordered our food and wine but, unfortunately by now, the boat was rocking pretty hard and my son started to feel sick. We put on the sea bands that we had brought but, after about 15 minutes he was feeling worse so, he and I headed back up to the room. After being in the room for a little bit he felt better so we went back down to the restaurant but, by then, my friends had started to feel ill and had left the restaurant too so my Mom was sitting alone at the table watching the light show. When the waiter saw me back he apologized and explained that he had thrown away my entrée but he would try to get another one (I had ordered the steak). A little while later he came back with my steak and with a Mickey Bar for my son. The steak was yummy but my sons stomach didnt feel well enough for the ice cream so he only took a bite.
By now it was about 10:30 PM. As we left the restaurant we walked through Shutters and stacked our photos for the day together (a great tip I learned on this board) and headed back to the room. My mom and son fell asleep right away but I stayed up surfing the TV Channels and enjoying the sound of the ocean waves through the patio door. Around midnight the waves started to settle down ( as the Captain had predicted earlier) and
I too called it a night.
