First time cruisers-Dec. 26-29-Day 3 and 4 added

[Princessofthehouse]

Cast of characters:
Susan--me (DW) 35 and 5 months pregnant
Mike (DH)43
Chris (D Step-son)13
Jack (DS)2.5
MIL and FIL
Stacy (DWBFF)36
Randy (DHBFF) 40

Background and Day 1

My DH and I are frequent travelers to Disney. We are DVC members and usually go 3 or 4 times a year. We had wanted to try a cruise and thought Disney would be a great place to start since we enjoy the World so much. My DH parents mentioned last Christmas that they wanted to travel with us and we usually travel with our friends who are also DVC members.

My DH, DS 2.5 and I were the only people who had not been a cruise before. Wd had no idea what to expect, but had read lots of threads and trip reports. We had decided to try a 3 day to see if we liked cruising. My husband was very worried about getting sick, so a 3 day seemed like a no brainer to start.

My DH, DS 2.5 and I drove to Disney on the 22/23rd of December. We spent two nights at Wilderness Lodge and enjoyed the holiday in Disney. The night of the 25th, all others flew in to meet us. We spent the night at the SpringHill Suites, Orlando Airport. It was a nice hotel and the breakfast the next day was really good.

My brother lives in Orlando and helped drive all 8 of us to the port on the morning of the 26th. We drove our minivan, but with all the luggage we needed for 3 of us to ride with him. We arrived at the port at exactly 11:00. What a breeze!! We were on the ship and eating lunch by 12:00. We were boarding group 4 and had a port arrival time of between 11:00 and 11:30. It was super easy. We headed straight for Cabannas and had a lovely lunch. What a great selection. After eating lunch we started exploring the ship until our room was ready at 1:30. Some of us took the tour, while others just looked around on our own. Again, I had never cruised before so the ship was amazing to me and I loved exploring every inch. What an amazing boat!

Our room was ready at 1:30 and I was hoping to get the 2.5 year old down for a nap before the muster drill. No such luck He wanted to play in the room and watch Mickey Mouse. Oh, well. So we headed down to the kids clubs to check them out. He fell in love with Andy's room. He is not potty trained and not 3, so he could not go there except for family time. We also checked out the nursery. WOW!! Amazing. He loved it and I was thrilled because I had him signed up the next evening from 7:30-9:30. There was a cast member named Dipo. I'm a teacher and could just tell he was going to be amazing with my son.

We headed back to the room to meet up with everyone for the muster drill. It was super easy and painless. My little one actually fell asleep on my DH chest while sitting in the theater during the drill. We then headed up to deck 12 for the Sail Away party. What fun. I thought they did a really nice job and the kids loved it.

After the party, we headed back to the room to change for dinner. We had the first seating, 5:45, and the Royal Palace was our first rotation. We arrived at dinner and met our server, Ozen. He was great. Our assistant server was just OK and not really attentive. I thought dinner was good, not great. The others with us mentioned that on other cruises dirty dishes, crumbs, forks, etc....would all be taken care of much more promptly. Again, I had nothing to compare it to, but they thought the service was a bit lacking. My DS 2.5 was starting to meltdown by 7:00, so my husband took him down to the nursery to see if they had availability. The did! Yay He stayed there with a smile on his face and they put him down around 8:00 and we picked him up at 10:00. How nice.

We left dinner around 7:45 and headed to the theater for the show. Our time was 8:30 and the first show was "The Golden Mickeys". I loved it. Now, by this time, the boat was rocking. None of us were sick, but boy was it moving. When I went to pick up my son at 10:00, one of the cast members said it was because we had to go so fast to get to Nassau the next morning. Again, nothing to compare it to, but you could sure feel it moving.

My Dstep-son left us after dinner to go to the Edge and we did not see him again until we called him back to the room at 11:00. Honestly, we saw him at dinner on this cruise and that was really it. They must keep them really busy at the Edge. He loved it!

Coming up: Day 2 and No Castaway Cay

 

[iloverags2]

Fun start! Great how your embarkation was a breeze, and your first day onboard sounds wonderful!

 

[Princessofthehouse]

I left out our stateroom in my last post. We were on the 8th floor, mid-ship in a Family Stateroom with a Verandah. It was very nice. I loved the split bathroom and there was a TON of storage. The only thing was it was a bit crowded with the Pack N' Play up. Our stateroom attendant was Noelle and he was great!

I also forgot to mention that while I was taking DS 2.5 to the kids club open house, the rest of our group went to the DVC presentation. It was nice and our family won a few bags and goodies. They had some excellent DVC deals and we ended up buying 50 more points at Hilton Head

Day 2

I woke up around 7:00 and stepped out onto our balcony. BEAUTIFUL. I really loved sitting out there. Our room was a bit cramped with the Pack N' Play so it was a nice bonus to sit outside. By 7:30 everyone else in the room us up and moving and we headed to Cabannas for breakfast. We sat outside and watched the boat dock in Nassau. That was really cool! The weather was beautiful. We had already decided we were going to stay on the ship for the day and enjoy. My Dstep-son headed off to The Edge after breakfast and we did not see him again until dinner. DS 2.5 and DH played in Nemo's Reef after breakfast. He loved it there and it was hard to get him out. After playing, we just strolled the ship and had some nice character time. My DH and DHBFF went to see War Horse around noon while I took the little one for a nap in the room. After nap time, we walked around some more and enjoyed the ship. By 5:00 it was time to start getting ready for dinner. Our rotation for night 2 was Animator's Palette. I loved the decor and it the interactive screens really helped keep my DS 2.5 occupied. Again, food was good, not great. At 7:00, my husband took the little one to the nursery for the evening. He was not as happy to go this time, but my husband left him screaming and eventually he was fine. Well, I"m assuming he was fine because they never called me to come get him

After dinner we did some shopping and I bought a few more charms for my Disney Chamillia bracelet. FUN!!

My DH and DHBFF signed up for a whiskey tasting at 9:00, so we decided to skip "Villian's Tonight" and just relax in the adult area. After the tasting we headed up to Deck 12 to watch the fireworks. We were not able to see the show from there so I'm not sure what it was like, but the fireworks were neat. We noticed a few boats around us for the show. I wonder if they plan that
By this time it was time to go get DS from the nursery. He had another fun night and was sleeping when we picked him up.

 

[Trekker]

Sounds like a great trip - keep it coming!

 

[Princessofthehouse]

Day 3

I woke up early to step out onto the balcony and see how the process to Castaway Cay was coming. I think I was up around 7:30 or so. When I stepped out, I could see we were approaching the island. I noticed the sea was a bit rough, but other that that it looked beautiful. I was so excited about playing on the beach with my little guy and just enjoying the day. Again, I had no idea what to expect when docking because we had never cruised before. I thought trying to "back in" was normal docking procedures, etc.... I think it was around 8:30 or so, the captain announced that the wind/currents were making it difficult to dock and they would try again in about an hour. I did not know what to think. It looked so nice outside. The rest of the crew was up by this point and we decided to head to Cabanas for breakfast. After breakfast, we noticed a ton of characters in the lobby so we went to get some fun family shots. We watched from the large windows as the captain tried to dock again. It was then we noticed how huge the waves were. It was not looking good for us and our fun day on the island. We headed back to our room to take a look at the docking progress from our balcony. We could see how close we were and there were lots of people standing on the dock waiting for us to arrive, but just then.......the boat pulled away and the announcement was made After at least 3-4 hours no luck and we were having a day at sea. I must say, I was very disappointed, but life happens and we moved on. My DS 2.5 and DH went to Nemo's Reef. It was VERY windy on deck and getting out of there was cold. DS 2.5 and I snuggled wrapped in towels and watched a bit of Dumbo by the pool. I had goosebumps from the wind. Around noon, they announced that they were going to play some tunes on the boat's horn. I must admit, I got a little teary. Now that is a magical moment!

We had lunch around 12:30 and then took the little one back to the room for a nap. I honestly can't remember what we did during/after the nap. I did sit out on the balcony for a while soaking up some sun. It was not nearly as windy out there and just beautiful. I could have stayed there all day.

My DBFF and DMIL headed to Bingo around 4:00 for the 4:30 game. Holy Cow! It was packed. My DMiL won the first game and walked away with $350. The last winner left with over 3,000!! It was the largest winning on a 3 night voyage. Wish I was them! I totally would have booked another cruise

After bingo, we headed to the room to get ready for dinner. My DS 2.5 was spending from 5:30-10:00 in the nursery this evening so we could have a nice quiet dinner. Dinner was at The Enchanted Garden. It was good, but I think my least favorite dinner. After dinner we headed to the show, Believe. Let me just say.....bring tissues! I don't know if it is pregnancy hormones or what but I was just about sobbing by the end. Great show!

After the show we did a bit of shopping at Shutters and then headed to pick up the little one. We did order room service when we got back. Just some pizza, milk and cookies. All Yummy!

Day 4:
We were scheduled to eat breakfast at 6:45 in The Enchanted Garden. I knew we were not all getting out of the room and ready by then, so we woke up around 7:00 and took our time getting ready and headed to Cabanas around 8:00. We took everything with us and then left the ship from there. Super Simple and off the ship by 9:30.

Final Thoughts:

I really loved cruising and can't wait to do it again, BUT when my little ones are at least five. Although my 2 year old enjoyed it, it was a lot of work on our part to take him back for naps, keep him busy at dinner, etc... I'm sure it works great for some people, but my little guy is not a real flexible sleeper and strollers are not exactly ideal on the ship.

I was disappointed in not getting to Castaway Cay. I do know why we did not dock and safety is always first, but I feel as though Disney could have gotten a lot of people to re-book if they had run an extra 10% off or something. I think I would have for 20% off.

I thought food was OK, shows were great and most cast members were great.Room was beautiful and spacious and the ship itself is amazing.

I really look forward to cruising again when I can enjoy the adult areas more , enjoy the family events after 10:00 and not have to keep a toddler busy at dinner

Overall, a great time and we made great memories. Thank you Disney for another amazing vacation!

 

[Love That Mouse]

Love this trip report! I agree that they should have offered you SOMETHING for the missed day at Castaway Cay! Did you contact them at all?

Perhaps others can reply to the success of complaining about "no Castaway Cay"?

 

[NJBlackBerry]

There is a rather extensive thread -> http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2853847 about the same cruise. Nothing offered. Be prepared for some very frank comments. I did write to DCL Communications.