From a first timer: July 15-22 Magical Western

[BTSEN5]

After reading such a great trip report from my shipmate I was inspired to attempt a trip report from a first timer point of view.

This trip included me, DH, DS (18), DS (14), and DS (10)

We were all so excited on Friday evening that it was so difficult to sleep. We did sleep, but we did not get much. We woke up early Saturday morning to catch an 8:00 am flight from Norfolk, VA to Orlando. I do not like to fly at all, so this was not a part I was looking forward to. Thankfully, we had a very smooth flight and arrived in orlando 20 minutes early. This was a relief, because I had been worried about flying in on the same day as cruise day.

We were a little confused at the airport, because we had been told that we would see Disney people everywhere. Well, I do not think they meant as soon as you get off the plane. We finally found our way to the Disney buses, and got on a bus to head toward the ship.

The trip to Port went extremely fast. I remember going over a bridge and seeing the ship for the first time. My boys, especially the youngest, were in awe. I cried. I could not believe we were finally there. The ship is beautiful. The detail on the bow, and the Goofy or Pluto ( see, not very good with details) painting on the back of the ship, made it all the more special to look at. We had our carry ons with us, so those were the only pieces of luggage we had to concern ourselves with....they said that the luggage would magically appear in our rooms and I counted on that.

The terminal and check in were fairly easy. They have people there to guide you in the right direction, so we were okay with it all. I checked my 10 year old into the kids club. I had given him sign out priveleges, so they gave me a beeper that would allow me to know when he left the kids club.

We happened to see some DIS er's by some of the chairs in the terminal, so we went over to say hello. It was so nice to meet others that I had spoken to so much over the previous month.

We were number 8 for boarding, so we waited for a while, but not nearly as long as I thought we would. Boarding was so nice. It was not crowded at all. I knew all that would happen when we boarded, but knowing did not spoil the excitement or joy of it all. ( I will not tell)

We went right up to Topsiders to have lunch. It was very good. We sat out on deck. It was a very hot , but beautiful day. We saw Cape Canaveral, which was very exciting for the boys. I was looking for a foo foo drink, but decided to wait until we got by the pool. But, was my mouth watering as they came by with them . I resisted.

Finally, the pool...and foo foo drink. We sat by the pool, the boys had their suits on, and they swam while we ordered our drinks. I think they were Bahama Mama's. Very good drinks. It was nice to just relax. With the stress of the morning flight etc, we needed that time.

Once the rooms were ready, I decided to head down first so I could put the magnets on the doors. The rest of the family followed shortly. The rooms (we had 2) were bigger than I thought they would be, and the bathroom....well, whoever came up with the split bathroom idea, was a genius. That was a blessing for sure. I started to unpack a bit (just the carry ons), but before we knew it, it was just before 3...and our DIS meet.

We went up to deck 10 and met all those that I had been posting messages to. It was very nice. We had a couple beers (thanks Gales) and chatted for a bit. Then it was time to tour the ship....quickly....before the drill. This was interesting, but hot. It was very orderly, but I wanted to take that big, orange vest off. After that we went back to the room and rushed up top for the sail away party. I was looking so forward to this, and it did not disappoint.

At first we were down by the stage, did a few dances, that I still break into now and again, and had a drink. It was so hot in that area and we knew that we would be leaving soon, so we decided to go up to Deck 10 to watch as the ship left. Wow!! This was awesome. We stayed there until we were out into the open waters. We waved at the puny little boats below and they waved back. It was the neatest experience.

After we were on our way, I went back to the room, did a little unpacking because some of our luggage made it to the room. We did not have all the right clothing, but we were dressed presentable for dinner.

We ate at Parrot Cay this first night. I cannot remember menus or anything, but I do remember the service. It was excellent. Our servers were Ronald and Melroy. Melroy was such a cutie with the most genuine smile I have ever seen. They talked us into a bottle of wine, which we regretted later. It just made us want a nap. After a delicious dinner we went back to the room where DH "rested his supper" and I unpacked the rest of our luggage. I had to get this done or it would bother me. There was ample room in the cabin for all our clothes, and we put the suitcases under the bed. It worked out really well, but I am glad we had 2 cabins.

We took our youngest to check out the kids clubs, then to the pools. Later we went to the front of the boat where it was pitch black and stood there as if we really were king and queen of the world. It was so beautiful up there, and you could see the stars etc. Very nice.

I do not remember if this was the night I watched POTCII but if it was, it was great. I saw it the first chance I got. It may have been on Tuesday evening. I really wish I would have taken notes.

With the wine and excitement we all hit the sack earlier than I would have liked. My husband and I planned on getting up before the sun came up to walk 2 1/2 miles on deck 4 and then find the fitness club. I will let you know in my next post if we were successful in that endeavor.

 

[Lindy Loo]

Wow loving this report, we go on the western 7 night next Oct, so this is great info for me, thanks.

Our first cruise is this oct on a 4 night wonder....................

 

[Ker-Bear]

thanks for posting. Looking forward to the next installment

 

[sillykidsmom]

Reading your trip report and Noahsmom's trip report is making me feel quilty that I haven't gotten around to it yet. Great start so far. Can't wait to read more.

 

[BTSEN5]

Well, my husband and I did make it up at 5. We headed straight to deck 4 for a 2 1/2 mile walk...or close to it. We walked around the deck 8 times. A bit of advice. If you go, it is best to go early if you are into speed walking or jogging. Anytime we went there later in the day, there were so many people taking pictures on that deck that we had to stop and start often. It is so worth getting up at 5 to do it, because the sky changes each time you go around with the sun coming up. It is a very nice track; I was very impressed.

I brought some big water bottles ( i would suggest this if you work out) , so after our walk we went to the drink station on Deck 9 to fill them with water and headed to the fitness center. We had a heck of a time finding it. There were no actual signs that said "fitness center", so we walked around aimlessly for a few minutes until we realized that you have to go through the spa to get to it.

All I can say is "WOW!" What a beautiful fitness center. I work out daily, but I am not that serious about it, and I do it at home, so I do not have access to all the equipment. Well, I used almost every single piece of weight equipment on the ship. They were extremely easy to use, smooth as can be, and this made it so enjoyable. I know, it sounds silly. We worked out there for about 40 minutes and then headed back to our rooms to shower for breakfast. By the time we came back, the boys were getting up....except for the 18 year old. We showered and headed up to Topsiders for our first breakfast.

Breakfast was good, but I did not realize that there was more after you pass through the main line. I would have waited for an omelette, but by the time I saw them (around the corner), I had a plate full. Noahsmom was right about the regular scrambled eggs...not the best. They were a bit watery to me. The cream cheese with chives and salmon was so good on the bagels. The bagels were so fresh. My husband had the omelette, made to his liking and said it was delicious. Oh, it was so funny. I don't know where my head was at, but I really was not watching my 10 year old too closely, and when we got back to the table, it looked like his tray alone could feel 10 people. He had so much food on his plate, and large servings of each type. We had to have a discussion about self control, eyes bigger than tummy, and the like. Needless to say, I kept a closer eye on him the rest of the week.

Today was Key West. We had not planned any excursions, because we thought walking around would be enough. We walked up Duvall and had lunch at Margaritaville, along with Margarita's, of course. I was not too impressed with the food, or the menu, but the drinks were delicious. When we left there it was pouring. It was the wierdest downpour I have ever seen. It was like a black cloud just settled over us, and blue skies were all around.

The boys were "bored" so we took them back to the boat, so DH and I could shop and experience Key West. We went to the Key Lime Factory...wow, so yummy. Then we went to Hog's Breath for a couple beers. We sat outside and there was a very good acoustic performer there that reminded me that we were in Parrothead territory.

We went back to the ship, gathered the boys, and got ready for another wonderful dinner. Ronald and Melroy were wonderful. I can't remember what we did that night, but we had a great time onboard. I do know that we headed to the cafe up on deck 9 at about 9 or so and had a really nice cup of coffee. We did not do any shows. We normally just sat up on the top deck chatting.

Off to bed fairly early again.

DAY 3 Monday

We had a repeat of yesterday...up at 5, walk, fitness center, then breakfast. It was a sea day, and I was really looking forward to the deep blue waters. The seas were so calm. We saw Cuba at one point, which was really neat to see. The entire day was spent by the pool . We had a couple of the drinks of the day. My husband wanted to get into the hot tub. Wow, it took my breath away. It was so hot, and it was hot outside. I wondered what the purpose of being in the hot tub was. I did not stay in very long. We did meet a nice lady who was traveling with her grandson. She was fun to chat with .

We had a Palo reservation, so we did not eat. It was formal night and our youngest did not want to go, and our oldest did not either. We could not find our middle son, so we assumed he wanted to eat elsewhere. When we got to the room, I was so surprised that he went to the Lumier's on his own. He even tied his own tie. I was so impressed by that. I would have never done that at his age. When he came back, he had a bunch of plates to give to his brothers. The servers sent them with him. He said he had a great time, got changed and met his friends. He grew very close to a few kids there.

We dressed for Palo,and thought we would stop by what I thought was a presentation about shopping at Grand Cayman. This was nothing more that some flyers put out for you about shopping. I was disappointed. WE walked the deck for a little and decided that we might as well see if we could get into Palo's early. We were at least a half hour early, but they let us go right in.

Our server was Alex from Croatia. He was a class act. We enjoyed the meal so much, because he made it so special. We ordered pizza to share (we should have skipped this). It was delicious, but it was so filling along with all the bread. My husband had the calimari also. I ordered the tuna and Alex asked me how I would like it done. He suggested Med rare. I thought I would try it because he insisted it was so delicious. WHen I got it, I could not get past the red...no, raw look of it. I picked at it around the edges and Alex was so upset that he insisted that the chef make one well done. I tried to say no, because I could not eat anymore, but he insisted. Oh well, had to waste most of it. We had these awesome lemon martinis too. Oh, they were so good. I have never had anything like that.

Of course we were planning on the chocolate souffle. I wanted to share one, but Alex again insisted that we have one each. WE did, and that I could not stop eating. I definitely recommend it. He brought out another custard like dessert with berries, which was also good , but we could not eat it. THEN he brought these little shot glass things with a lemony slush type drink/dessert in it.I am not sure what it was,but I told my husband it tasted like another. It was delicious.

After Palo, we could barely walk out of there. We overindulged in just about every way. I believe we went back to our rooms and never came back out.

 

[sherry]

Thank you so much for doing a trip report. My dh and I are going in September and it's great to daydream about it.

 

[BTSEN5]

I am really bummed. I had time, so I stated our Grand Cayman day, and my computer wiped it out. I guess I need a break before I beat this thing. I will be back later. I did not realize how much fun it could be to relive it. Unfortunately, I have already forgotten so much.

 

[sillykidsmom]

BTSEN5
On Sunday night (Key West), you went to see Who Wants to Be a Mouseketeer. How can you forget since Zach and I were chosen and won!! LOL LOL Great report!!!

 

[Jillpie]

We were on the June double dip, so I am loving your report! I know exactly what you mean about the hot tubs, wow were they ever HOT!!! Too hot. But we stayed in there for quite awhile chatting with other folks, so fun. Did you get to go to the lounges at night (70's night etc)? That was most of our fun. Can't wait to read more!

 

[BTSEN5]

BTSEN5
On Sunday night (Key West), you went to see Who Wants to Be a Mouseketeer. How can you forget since Zach and I were chosen and won!! LOL LOL Great report!!!

LOL!! I remember that part. I am just getting all the days jumbled up. You guys were AWESOME!!! hehe.

Oh, BTW, Johnny Depp was on David Letterman last night. Did ya get to see it? I was thinking I should have let you know, but I was so busy; whenever I thought about it, I never got to it. He was sweet.

Oops! Off topic. Sorry. I get carried away.

 

[BTSEN5]

We were on the June double dip, so I am loving your report! I know exactly what you mean about the hot tubs, wow were they ever HOT!!! Too hot. But we stayed in there for quite awhile chatting with other folks, so fun. Did you get to go to the lounges at night (70's night etc)? That was most of our fun. Can't wait to read more!

Sadly, we never made it to any of those theme nights. I wanted to, but I could not make it. Next time I plan on napping mid day.

 

[BTSEN5]

We woke up early again and did the walk and fitness room. Off to Topsiders again. I wanted to do a sit down, but Topsiders was easier for us.

Tendering at Grand Cayman was much easier than I thought it would be. We had set up the Island Tour on the ship the day before, so we met our group in Studio Sea. Pikey was one of our "leaders/hosts". He is so funny, and will say just about anything. He had me laughing so hard at times. We got on the tender with our group and walked a short distance to where the buses were. It was very hot and we seemed to wait quite a long time for the bus, but we chatted with a group of people from Florida, so that passed the time well. We got on a small bus/van with Robert as our driver. He was very entertaining and told many silly stories as we drove along. Our first stop was the Turtle Farm.

The Turtle Farm was very interesting. The boys loved the turtles, and they were ableto pick them up and hold them. The turtles would flap their feet until you turned them upside down and rubbed under their "chin." It was really neat. Some of these turtles were huge. It seemed that many of the bigger ones has sores on the back of their neck. I guess that is from all the activity. They really don'r have a lot of room. We spent about 20 minutes here. Next stop was the Tortuga Rum Factory.

I tried every kind of rum cake and they were all delicious. I decided to buy the variety 6 pack. I was really surprised and disappointed when I got home to find such a tiny cake. I can't believe that I spent that much money on something so small. I think I will look up a recipe on the internet and see about making one myself. We were only here for 10 minutes and we were off to the next stop.....Hell.

This place was a bit of a disappointment to me. I thought there would be more to look at, but it is mainly a touristy place. It was neat though, how they had the buildings painted up. My youngest got some really cute pictures as an angel and devil that was painted on the building. His facial expressions are so fitting. I will have to see if I can get the picture. This was a short stop, and that was fine with me. Hell was hot.....really, it was. so I was looking forward to the air conditioned van. Off to the stingrays.

I was not looking forward to this, but my boys wanted to do it. Funny thing is, I ended up being the last one back in the boat. I had an great, great time. I would really recommend this to anyone who is considering an excursion. It was so beautiful, and fulfilling. I was in awe of the size and gentleness of these creatures. My son, the one who wanted to do this so badly, was scared stiff at going in the water. As mom, I knew that they only needed to see their sissy mom get in, so I went in. I was just as scared as they were. I saw one of the stingrays coming at me and screamed. Then immediately told my youngest how wonderful it was. It was a bit contradictory. I have to laugh at it now. I finally got my youngest in. He was hanging on me and I had the hardest time staying up. The stingrays would come right towards you and then lift one of their "wings" and then rub up against you . It was really strange, but so neat. My youngest says I was like "nature woman" because I kept calling the things to me. I tried to feed them, but got scared when I saw a multitude coming to me. I ended up throwing the squid in the other direction.

Unfortunately, we had to get back in the boat. We bought the disk with the pictures on it that they took of us kissing, holding, and getting a back rub from the stingrays. They are really nice pictures, but very expensive. Oh well, this is our vacation.

When we got back to downtown we shopped for a little bit. I was not really impressed with what I saw, but I only had about 40 minutes to shop. I tried to buy liquor, but, as noahsmom said, they do not service Disney. I was kind of bummed by that.

We went back to the boat on one of the last tenders. We again were rushed for dinner. I think I am actually getting used to the pace....until tomorrow.

 

[BTSEN5]

 

[BTSEN5]

Here is my son in Hell. He was so funny here. Sorry, I do not know how to resize the pictures to make them smaller, nor do I know how to rotate it.

 

[Jillpie]

Fantastic. Just great. Please keep it coming. I also have three boys! They are 18, 14 and 13. I'm anxious to hear how your 18 yr. old liked the cruise. Mine almost didn't get into the teen club the first night, he was very upset. So I called them, and because he had just turned 18, they let him. He met some great friends and had an awesome week. Wasn't it strange though, they were allowed into the clubs and such, but he still wanted to hang with the teens. A very funny age. Anyway, great pics too! Waiting for more...thanks!

 

[BTSEN5]

We woke again at 5, walked, fitness room, breakfast. It was nice seeing Cozumel come into view.

When we got off the tender in Cozumel, we immediately saw the devastation from the hurricanes. It was so sad to see the hotels that are in rubble, the trees that are destroyed, the pier etc. It is still, in my opinion a beautiful island, and the people are so resilient.

We did the Playa Mia beach break through Disney and got on a big bus to get there. I laughed at the way the driver was driving. The motorcycles pretty much better get over or get run over. I would not want to be on any kind of motorbike in Cozumel. The drive to Playa Mia was maybe 20 minutes....help me here sillykidsmom. We got off the buses and the place was very festive, of course. Colorful shops, a walking sunshine, and the music. I loved it. You could tell that Playa Mia had been hit hard too. The big grass roof was gone. I think they are called something like palbos or something. I am not positive.

There was a special beach for Disney cruisers to go. They had kayaks, paddleboats, water trampoline, and iceberg. It was a pretty nice beach. The boys went in immediately. I sent DH to the bar for the free margaritas. My son and I went on a kayak for a while...twice, and they got on all the toys. I had a couple more margaritas, then we decided we would eat at the "free" buffet. It was okay, but nothing to get excited about. It filled us up. I had a pina colada so i could get up the nerve to go to the shops. Boy did I need that. It was so difficult for me to shop here. They are so aggressive. They made me feel sorry for them. That is not good, but not hard to do with me. I got to the point where I felt too uncomfortable to shop anymore.

We were warned that the bus would not wait for us, so we made sure we made it to the bus on time. It is a good thing we did, because they left right away. When we got back to the tendering area, we decided to send the younger two back on the boat. Our middle boy rode over with our youngest and I tried to do a little shopping while DH and DS (18) went to Carlos and Charlies. I did not enjoy shopping here either. I like price tags, but there are rarely price tags here. I haggled a bit for a pair of shoes but I am so bad at it. I only asked him to go down five dollars in price for a pair of shoes. My DH said I should always start very low and then work from there. It is just not for me.

I met DH in Carlos and Charlies and had one last margarita. This would be a mistake later in the evening. It was a very good margarita. I had heard many things about Carlos and Charlies. It was a fun place. We even got spanked going out the door. Whoo Hoo.

We went back to the boat to get ready for Pirate night. Another close call, but we made it to dinner on time. My youngest wore a pirate costume, and the other 2 boys wore pirate shirts. DH and I just dressed tropical. We had so much fun at dinner. My husbands bandana got the other diners attention. I will post a pic below. I loved the menu too.

I believe after dinner I took a short nap ( can anyone say...too many margaritas?) I never take naps and felt terrible after I woke up. The ship seemed to be moving and I had a sick feeling. Hmmm, still do not understand why. I had to push myself to get up on deck for Pirate Night.

Wow!! I loved pirate night. It was amazing. The dancing, the surprises, the fireworks. It was more than I could have imagined. Our youngest, Nate, was getting so tired, my husband did not feel well either, so they were planning on going to the room . Thankfully, one of the Dis families told them to wait for 5 minutes. My son would have missed the fireworks, but he did not. He would have been devastated.

My DH and DS went back to the room. I felt terrible, but I did not want to go to sleep. I saw the buffet and walked away. I wanted nothing to do with food. It was a beatiful buffet. There was so much food, and I believe there was a dessert buffet too.

They announced that they were playing the first POTC under the stars and they were setting out the chaise lounges. I decided that I could use a little Captain Jack to make my night complete. Sadly, I only made it through a third of the movie, but it was nice to sit under the stars and watch what I did. I went back to the room, but did not sleep much at all. I felt the boat moving, and it was a little noisy in the room.

Tomorrow is a sea day and I have decided that I will not drink another thing on the ship. I have had enough, and I am going to be strong......Hmmmm, was I ?

 

[BTSEN5]

Here is three of the five of us at dinner on Pirate Night. Oh yes, that is my husband. As you can see I did not join his crew. My son, on the other hand, was aiming for the pointy bandana. I wonder why everyone was pointing and laughing.

 

[BTSEN5]

Today we did not get up until 7. Our alarm went off at 5, and at about 5:30 my husband asked if I was ready to walk. I pulled the covers over my head and firmly said no. At about 7 we got up and had breakfast, again at Topsiders. The eggs again were so watery. I think I had an omelette. After breakfast guilt got the best of both of us, and the kids wanted to do their thing, so we went to deck 4 to walk. It was much busier than the earlier times we went. Shuffleboard was being played, the crew members were having some sort of fire drill and lots of painting and repair going on. They had one end of the track blocked off so to make a full lap we had to go through some doors and in through the main ship. It was much hotter too. We decided then that no matter what, we were getting up tomorrow to walk at 5.

After the walk we went to the gym. It was not quite as busy at this time in the morning. Usually we get there when it first opens and there are quite a few people there. Not crowded, but lots of the ellipticals and treadmills are taken. We worked out the usual time, then went to the room to shower and get our swimsuits on.

I packed up our day bag with books, sunscreen, and some little bottles of rum....who were these for? I was not going to drink anything but water today. We headed up to the pools. By this time the pools were pretty full. All the chairs were taken, so we moved up to deck 10 to take a seat. It was nice, because we could still see the stage at the pool, and later on they had a lot of neat activities going on.

My husband asked me if I wanted a drink and I thought, " Why not, I am on vacation. I had this java coconut type of drink, which was very good. We watched the different activities going on. There was a juggling bartender, ice sculpting, and a game with some of the adults. It was fun to watch. We spent much of the day just lounging there.


Dinner tonight was semi formal. All of us dressed up and went. We were in Animators Palate. I was really disappointed, because they did not have any of the color changes going on. We missed AP when we were at Palo on Monday night, so this was our last chance. We asked why it was not changing and they said that it was because they do not do it on semi formal night. I still do not understand the reasoning behind that. Anyway, Alexandra said that we could come back after the late seating and she would play it for us, but that was too late and we just did not feel like it by then.

We did a few things in the evening, and were desperately trying to stay up for the dessert buffet. I am so glad that we did. It was amazing. I have never seen anything like it, and you can tell that it is a big deal. The curtains are closed, they have partitions up at the door, so you cannot get a glimpse before they open the doors. You can even hear the CM's having a pep rally before hand. We did not eat too much, they offered us champagne, but we declined. It was really too late to think about eating or drinking.

Just a reminder....always wear shoes aboard. My husband and I were walking to the dessert buffet and he stepped on one of the Disney pins and it got stuck in his shoe. We found the boy who lost it, thankfully. We saw many teens and little kids without shoes. That pin would not have felt too good in someone's bare foot. Yikes!

After the dessert buffet we went to bed. It was a lovely day. I would definitely recommend staying up for the dessert buffet. It not to eat from it, to look at it. We were second in line, because my main purpose was to get pictures.

 

[BTSEN5]

This is just a small sampling of the dessert buffet. This does not do it justice. There is a lot more, so I do not think this will spoil any surprises.

 

[BTSEN5]

PS. It is also good to start packing things up on Thursday night, because Friday is an extremely busy day with Castaway Cay, dinner and everything else. I packed all but the last suitcase,and it saved a lot of time and stress on Friday.