wolffe
Earning My Ears
- Joined
- Feb 14, 2010
- Messages
- 18
I have never been a fan of the mouse. Not a rabid one anyway. I do own all of the animated features up to Hercules on VHS (or did, I've given a few of them away) and I enjoy the movies, but I've never been all about Mickey. Prior to this trip, I'd been to Disneyworld less than a handful of times and only once when I was old enough to actually remember it. That trip was most notable for my sister's insistence that we ride the Mad Hatter Tea Cup ride enough times to make me hurl.
This trip changed that a bit. I still can't say I'm a big lover of Mickey Mouse or any of the other “old” characters, but I am a big fan of the Disney experience. From the moment we checked in at the counter in the Orlando Airport to the moment we were dropped off at the terminal for our flight home, everything was pleasant, easy, relaxing and special. Every cast member I encountered was nice and helpful.
I'm very glad I read the tip boards on Cruise Critic and Disboards because they allowed us to have an even more special experience. I knew to take a photo mat and drop it off at Guest Services for all the characters to sign. They returned it to our stateroom on the final day of the cruise, and it turned out even cooler than I imagined. I made magnets to decorate our stateroom door, and we had a lot of people asking us where we got them and complimenting us on them. And of course I packed pirate gear for the pirate party.
Getting on the ship was easy and hassle free. We checked in at the desk in the Orlando Airport, were given "Green Goofy" bus boarding passes (you actually have the itinerary book DCL sends you scanned) and we were on the bus within 20 minutes. They show a nice video on the way and the trip takes no time. Once in the port terminal, you can buy a snack, watch Disney movies on several TVs, check out the scale model of the ship or stand in the long, long line for a picture with Mickey in his captain uniform. We were in the 4th group to board and went straight to lunch since we were starving.
You can definitely feel the ship move. It's a big ship, but you can feel it rocking. Especially during the at sea day, when the movement is very pronounced. Despite getting carsick rather easily, I didn't have any problems with seasickness. I felt a tiny bit nauseous the first night, when the movement was only barely noticeable, but a dose of Dramamine took care of it. The only other time I felt sick was the day after we got home. I'm still dizzy two days later, but it's getting better. (ETA: Turns out I was getting sick because I'm PREGNANT. We had been trying, but I didn't find out until a week after we got home. I was wondering why I was still feeling the ship rock and being dizzy a week after getting off. LOL)
The entertainment options abounded aboard ship. They showed first run movies (Jason went to see Alice in Wonderland in 3D while Jake and I napped one day), they had Broadway style theater shows (which were only an hour long making them perfect for kids), they had character appearances where you could take your picture with Belle, Mickey Mouse or a host of others, they had activities like Bingo and I don't know what all else. We went to one show (Toy Story) and loved it. We also had a great time during the Pirate night deck party which ends with fireworks. Other than that, and the movie Jason saw, we chose to just relax next to the toddler splash area while Jake played.
Jake still being in diapers did put a teeny cramp in some things. He wasn't able to visit the older kids' activity clubs and after 2 hours in the nursery he'd had enough. I think a child used to a daycare setting would do fine, but Jake isn't used to being left with strangers so he was having none of it. We did get two more hours of adult time – one we used to shop and the other we had brunch at the adults only restaurant Palo. As a true family vacation, it was awesome. I didn't mind having Jake with us most of the time, although admittedly Jason would have liked a bit more time to ourselves. We also weren't able to get in any of the actual pools. Babies and toddlers in swim diapers are restricted to a splash area with several fountains. It's a small area, but stays fairly uncrowded. Truthfully, Jake had a great time in the fountains and I doubt he would have liked the pools better anyway. And during our trip, the Mickey pool was closed down twice to be drained and cleaned after someone had an accident. So we didn't really miss them.
Our favorite day was the stop at Disney's private island, Castaway Cay. We were on the beach at about 10am and were able to find a premium umbrella near the water's edge. The water was much colder than we expected. I was expecting Gulf water which is warm. Caribbean water isn't warm. It is beautiful and clear, but not warm. It really didn't make any difference to us since once you get over the initial shock it's okay. Jake didn't want to get out, despite shivering enough to loosen his teeth. We spent all morning and into the afternoon on the beach relaxing under the umbrella, playing in the sand and swimming. I admit that it was a bit crowded for my tastes, but the people watching was good.
Our other favorite part was the food. Good lord, the food. They love to feed you. Every dinner was 4 courses or more if you wanted. Our dinner table mates were a couple from Canada, their daughter and son-in-law and their Granddaughter. They often ordered two entrees a piece and shared. The portions are right for having a 4 course meal, but we still left stuffed each night. We ate breakfast at the buffet, but you could also choose a sit down if you wanted. We just never got up early enough to do the sit down. Lunch was another buffet, sit down or one of several quick dining places around the pool deck. Lunch at Castaway Cay was a beachside BBQ and it was awesome. And I'm picky about my BBQ. I think I ate my weight in ribs that afternoon.
On DCL, your serving team follows you from restaurant to restaurant and ours was awesome. We plan to request to be seated with him again on our next cruise, if he'll be on the same boat. My favorite for the food was Triton's, the French cuisine restaurant. But the show at Animator's Palate was awesome too. The only thing I ate on board I didn't care for was the crab. For some reason, none of the crab I tried was good. I also didn't think the brunch at Palo was worth the extra money and the anxiety of leaving a very unhappy Jake at the nursery. Jason thinks it was, but I don't think he was as worried about the little one as I was since he wasn't there for the tear filled, sobbing Mommy drop off. Next time we'll skip it since the food in the other restaurants is just as good.
We didn't visit the port city of Nassau since we heard so many awful things about the aggressive peddlers along the dock. We did get off the ship to take pictures, and talked with several people who had gotten halfway to town and turned around and came back. Our table mates went all the way to Atlantis, paid a pretty penny to enter the aquarium and said it wasn't worth it. We were more than happy with our decision to hang out around the boat. We also didn't do any shore excursions and kept our spending overall to a minimum. We did buy a couple of souvenirs but passed up a lot of others. One thing I did do was send postcards from Castaway Cay for the postmark. I wish I had known that only Bahama themed postcards were available in the post office. I would have bought the much nicer Disney ones at one of the many shops on the island instead. I did know you needed cash to buy postage, so that saved me a trip back to the boat I saw other people having to make.
I wish they'd had more beach towels closer to the beach. They give you as many as you like when you get off the boat but I only took three thinking there would be plenty of other towel stations. I didn't find another one until we were ready to leave, past the restaurant area and almost to the shops. I would have taken six (two for each of us) if I'd known so I'd have one to get sandy and sit on and one to dry off with. The only other hiccup we had the entire time was we weren't enrolled in the airport check in service even though they called for our flight number. I noticed other people getting their luggage tags and called Guest Services and they apologized profusely and had our tags to us in no time.
Of course, I ended up wishing we had kept our bags because we were off the boat, done with the bus ride and at our terminal by 10am and our flight didn't leave until 5:30pm. They had suggested online to make your return flight no earlier than 4pm, so I did, but that is WAY overkill. We'll be booking the first flight after noon next time.
Obviously we're already planning our next cruise and would have booked on board if we were comfortable spending the money for the deposit. Next time we'll be doing the 7 day Western Caribbean cruise that goes to Key West and Cozumel. We've put an Alaskan cruise on our list as well. We may try an all inclusive resort some day, but for now and as long as we have little kids I think we'll stick with Disney cruises. The part of me that was tempted to try another (cheaper) cruise line was squashed while talking with other people on the ship who had done it. All of them said the service was better and everyone had more fun and was able to relax more on DCL. They take care of the kids and the adults. I certainly came back relaxed and rejuvenated. Honestly I can't wait for the next one!
All the rest of the pictures are here.
This trip changed that a bit. I still can't say I'm a big lover of Mickey Mouse or any of the other “old” characters, but I am a big fan of the Disney experience. From the moment we checked in at the counter in the Orlando Airport to the moment we were dropped off at the terminal for our flight home, everything was pleasant, easy, relaxing and special. Every cast member I encountered was nice and helpful.
I'm very glad I read the tip boards on Cruise Critic and Disboards because they allowed us to have an even more special experience. I knew to take a photo mat and drop it off at Guest Services for all the characters to sign. They returned it to our stateroom on the final day of the cruise, and it turned out even cooler than I imagined. I made magnets to decorate our stateroom door, and we had a lot of people asking us where we got them and complimenting us on them. And of course I packed pirate gear for the pirate party.
Getting on the ship was easy and hassle free. We checked in at the desk in the Orlando Airport, were given "Green Goofy" bus boarding passes (you actually have the itinerary book DCL sends you scanned) and we were on the bus within 20 minutes. They show a nice video on the way and the trip takes no time. Once in the port terminal, you can buy a snack, watch Disney movies on several TVs, check out the scale model of the ship or stand in the long, long line for a picture with Mickey in his captain uniform. We were in the 4th group to board and went straight to lunch since we were starving.
You can definitely feel the ship move. It's a big ship, but you can feel it rocking. Especially during the at sea day, when the movement is very pronounced. Despite getting carsick rather easily, I didn't have any problems with seasickness. I felt a tiny bit nauseous the first night, when the movement was only barely noticeable, but a dose of Dramamine took care of it. The only other time I felt sick was the day after we got home. I'm still dizzy two days later, but it's getting better. (ETA: Turns out I was getting sick because I'm PREGNANT. We had been trying, but I didn't find out until a week after we got home. I was wondering why I was still feeling the ship rock and being dizzy a week after getting off. LOL)
The entertainment options abounded aboard ship. They showed first run movies (Jason went to see Alice in Wonderland in 3D while Jake and I napped one day), they had Broadway style theater shows (which were only an hour long making them perfect for kids), they had character appearances where you could take your picture with Belle, Mickey Mouse or a host of others, they had activities like Bingo and I don't know what all else. We went to one show (Toy Story) and loved it. We also had a great time during the Pirate night deck party which ends with fireworks. Other than that, and the movie Jason saw, we chose to just relax next to the toddler splash area while Jake played.
Jake still being in diapers did put a teeny cramp in some things. He wasn't able to visit the older kids' activity clubs and after 2 hours in the nursery he'd had enough. I think a child used to a daycare setting would do fine, but Jake isn't used to being left with strangers so he was having none of it. We did get two more hours of adult time – one we used to shop and the other we had brunch at the adults only restaurant Palo. As a true family vacation, it was awesome. I didn't mind having Jake with us most of the time, although admittedly Jason would have liked a bit more time to ourselves. We also weren't able to get in any of the actual pools. Babies and toddlers in swim diapers are restricted to a splash area with several fountains. It's a small area, but stays fairly uncrowded. Truthfully, Jake had a great time in the fountains and I doubt he would have liked the pools better anyway. And during our trip, the Mickey pool was closed down twice to be drained and cleaned after someone had an accident. So we didn't really miss them.
Our favorite day was the stop at Disney's private island, Castaway Cay. We were on the beach at about 10am and were able to find a premium umbrella near the water's edge. The water was much colder than we expected. I was expecting Gulf water which is warm. Caribbean water isn't warm. It is beautiful and clear, but not warm. It really didn't make any difference to us since once you get over the initial shock it's okay. Jake didn't want to get out, despite shivering enough to loosen his teeth. We spent all morning and into the afternoon on the beach relaxing under the umbrella, playing in the sand and swimming. I admit that it was a bit crowded for my tastes, but the people watching was good.
Our other favorite part was the food. Good lord, the food. They love to feed you. Every dinner was 4 courses or more if you wanted. Our dinner table mates were a couple from Canada, their daughter and son-in-law and their Granddaughter. They often ordered two entrees a piece and shared. The portions are right for having a 4 course meal, but we still left stuffed each night. We ate breakfast at the buffet, but you could also choose a sit down if you wanted. We just never got up early enough to do the sit down. Lunch was another buffet, sit down or one of several quick dining places around the pool deck. Lunch at Castaway Cay was a beachside BBQ and it was awesome. And I'm picky about my BBQ. I think I ate my weight in ribs that afternoon.
On DCL, your serving team follows you from restaurant to restaurant and ours was awesome. We plan to request to be seated with him again on our next cruise, if he'll be on the same boat. My favorite for the food was Triton's, the French cuisine restaurant. But the show at Animator's Palate was awesome too. The only thing I ate on board I didn't care for was the crab. For some reason, none of the crab I tried was good. I also didn't think the brunch at Palo was worth the extra money and the anxiety of leaving a very unhappy Jake at the nursery. Jason thinks it was, but I don't think he was as worried about the little one as I was since he wasn't there for the tear filled, sobbing Mommy drop off. Next time we'll skip it since the food in the other restaurants is just as good.
We didn't visit the port city of Nassau since we heard so many awful things about the aggressive peddlers along the dock. We did get off the ship to take pictures, and talked with several people who had gotten halfway to town and turned around and came back. Our table mates went all the way to Atlantis, paid a pretty penny to enter the aquarium and said it wasn't worth it. We were more than happy with our decision to hang out around the boat. We also didn't do any shore excursions and kept our spending overall to a minimum. We did buy a couple of souvenirs but passed up a lot of others. One thing I did do was send postcards from Castaway Cay for the postmark. I wish I had known that only Bahama themed postcards were available in the post office. I would have bought the much nicer Disney ones at one of the many shops on the island instead. I did know you needed cash to buy postage, so that saved me a trip back to the boat I saw other people having to make.
I wish they'd had more beach towels closer to the beach. They give you as many as you like when you get off the boat but I only took three thinking there would be plenty of other towel stations. I didn't find another one until we were ready to leave, past the restaurant area and almost to the shops. I would have taken six (two for each of us) if I'd known so I'd have one to get sandy and sit on and one to dry off with. The only other hiccup we had the entire time was we weren't enrolled in the airport check in service even though they called for our flight number. I noticed other people getting their luggage tags and called Guest Services and they apologized profusely and had our tags to us in no time.
Of course, I ended up wishing we had kept our bags because we were off the boat, done with the bus ride and at our terminal by 10am and our flight didn't leave until 5:30pm. They had suggested online to make your return flight no earlier than 4pm, so I did, but that is WAY overkill. We'll be booking the first flight after noon next time.
Obviously we're already planning our next cruise and would have booked on board if we were comfortable spending the money for the deposit. Next time we'll be doing the 7 day Western Caribbean cruise that goes to Key West and Cozumel. We've put an Alaskan cruise on our list as well. We may try an all inclusive resort some day, but for now and as long as we have little kids I think we'll stick with Disney cruises. The part of me that was tempted to try another (cheaper) cruise line was squashed while talking with other people on the ship who had done it. All of them said the service was better and everyone had more fun and was able to relax more on DCL. They take care of the kids and the adults. I certainly came back relaxed and rejuvenated. Honestly I can't wait for the next one!
All the rest of the pictures are here.
I'm glad you found something to lift your heart during a dark time.
