Hi, I’m Julie McCoy, Your TR Director

[dekkerdisneydreamer]

Gorgeous photos Jen.

And yes, I moved to KY. It honestly wasn't a choice. My dad was in the navy and when he retired we moved to KY. San Diego is VERY expensive to live in. I still have family there and try to visit when I can. I do tell my husband that if we ever win the lottery we are moving back!!

 

[canyoncam]

Hi!!!! Thanks for posting.
So where did you originally find me that brought you to Dis?
I would love to do Alaska one of these days too...so I am jealous of your family already.
I enjoy writing about my trips...it just takes me forever!
Are we friends on facebook? I am friends with so many Diser's and half the time I can't place the real name with the Dis name.
If not, you can seach jenseib and that usually brings me up.

I found you when I did a search for pictures of the Dream back late 2011. We were getting ready to cruise May 2012 on the Fantasy, which was not finished yet. So to get myself more familiar with what kind of room we'd be in I looked for pictures of the Dream. Found your TR "A Hop, NO Skip, and Many Mishaps to a Disney Dream" Obviously the best pictures I could find at that time, and then I went back through and read it! You sounded a lot like me and my sister... too excited to sleep on vacation!

I am jealous of my family taking Alaska cruise but I work seasonally so spring and fall are my traveling times. A late June cruise just won't work, but that is why I snagged my Aunt for the Panama Canal in May so I can"t cry too hard

I don't do Facebook.... think I spend enough time on DIS (mostly reading)

Thanks again for taking time to write these reports and post the pictures! Thinking if Aunt allows I may write about PC. Have been thinking of writing a TR on my solo WDW trip but too lazy right now

Sorry it took so long to say hi. Guess I was kind of in awe of you

 

[jenseib]

I would not have managed to resist that sea, but then I am a bit of a water baby. I love that last photo.

Corinna

I know how you love the water. I don't mind it, it's the changing and fixing my hair after that I hate more.

This is the first time that I have caught one of your TRs before it is 20-30 pages long! I leave in a week to catch the Wonder from Miami and we have a few days in Ft. L before and after the trip. How far was the Everglades from your hotel, did I miss that?

Welcome! I think it was approximately a 20 minute drive or so from our hotel. If you google everglades it will give you a ton of options, but this one seemed fairly close, was also listed as recommended by the hotel, so I went with this one.

It looks like a great trip so far. Too bad you can't convince the hubby that he likes cruising. I've started to read about your trips with Claire, but never got far enough along to catch up or post a comment. I'm looking forward to keeping up with this one, even if it's not a Disney trip!

I hope I can convince Skip to do another one in a year or 2. He really seemed to enjoy this past one quite a bit. I haven't posted about that part of the trip, but once I do I am going to link it to the DCL reports. So far I am still writing about the Disney portion pre-cruise.
Always feel free to comment, no matter how far behind you are.

Gorgeous photos Jen.

And yes, I moved to KY. It honestly wasn't a choice. My dad was in the navy and when he retired we moved to KY. San Diego is VERY expensive to live in. I still have family there and try to visit when I can. I do tell my husband that if we ever win the lottery we are moving back!!

LOL! I totally understand!

I found you when I did a search for pictures of the Dream back late 2011. We were getting ready to cruise May 2012 on the Fantasy, which was not finished yet. So to get myself more familiar with what kind of room we'd be in I looked for pictures of the Dream. Found your TR "A Hop, NO Skip, and Many Mishaps to a Disney Dream" Obviously the best pictures I could find at that time, and then I went back through and read it! You sounded a lot like me and my sister... too excited to sleep on vacation!

I remember when the Dream was new and I was looking for all I could about it before we sailed. Thats how I found Cass' report and then not long after we became co-workers. And then in Feb we traveled together!

I am jealous of my family taking Alaska cruise but I work seasonally so spring and fall are my traveling times. A late June cruise just won't work, but that is why I snagged my Aunt for the Panama Canal in May so I can"t cry too hard

On Disney?

I don't do Facebook.... think I spend enough time on DIS (mostly reading)

I spend WAY too much time on there.

Thanks again for taking time to write these reports and post the pictures! Thinking if Aunt allows I may write about PC. Have been thinking of writing a TR on my solo WDW trip but too lazy right now

Sorry it took so long to say hi. Guess I was kind of in awe of you

Let me know if you start one and I'll read along...I won't be up to date as I am always behind, but I sure will read!

 

[jenseib]

There were some seagulls taking a stroll on the beach.



Even a baby seagull.



The happy family.







We decided it was time to walk back to the car and head back to the hotel. It was nice there, but we were ready for a nap now.





Some of the picnic areas.



We headed back and decided to stop at a gas station and fill the car back up since we had to return it in the morning. I also grabbed some soft drinks for us to take back to the hotel as well.

We pulled in and Mom had forgotten her key in the room so she took mine and I was going to meet up with her in a minute. I told her I would just knock….so don’t fall asleep till I get back.

I called home and checked on everyone and then headed up to the room. I knocked on the door and there was no answer, so I knocked a little more and harder. A maid came out from the room next to ours…yes the cart was still there….and said "she not there”. I told her she was coming to the room and should be in there. So I knocked some more. She again said “She not there, she went downstairs”. OK then. Maybe I misunderstood mom.
I headed back downstairs and found mom sitting in the lobby. I asked what was going on and she said the room was still not cleaned and she asked the maid and she told her it wasn’t her room to clean. So mom marched right down to the lobby and talked to the front desk and told them they better clean this room immediately as we had now been back several times and it still wasn’t cleaned. And just so you don’t think we are getting excited over nothing…it was about 5 till 5 PM at this point.
Mom was livid and she kept looking over at the desk as we sat there.
I took a few pictures and then I played on my phone a bit.







We decided enough time had gone by and went up to our room and sure enough it was now cleaned, with fresh towels, even extra towels.

It was now just a little too late to take a nap if we wanted any chance of sleeping at night.

We took turns showering and getting ready for dinner and I think we found a movie on TV that we started to watch, though I can’t remember what it was now.

Mom wanted pizza tonight, but good pizza and at a place that you can sit down at so I took a walk down the front desk to ask their suggestions. They gave me some menus and told me most were more carry out type places, but Sals was pretty good and more of a restaurant type place. I knew where that was as it was right next to the TGI Fridays we ate at for lunch.

Mom thought that sounded like the best option and once we were ready we headed out. I had wanted to watch the season premiere of Once Upon a Time that night, but we left a little later than we should have and I knew it would be cutting it close. I did have it set to tape at home though and I was sure Claire would give me a play by play of the whole show.

We drove over to Sals and we were seated quickly though we could tell the place was pretty busy. It was small, but they did have outdoor seating, not that many were out there and later realized they had a back room as well as we saw people being taken there.

We were now starving. Our waiter came and took our drink orders and we ordered an appetizer. We soon realized this poor guy was working this whole room and the outside area as well. Service was slow, but we didn’t put blame on our waiter. He was really working his tail off.

Our appetizer arrived.



And it was good!

It took quite a while for the pizza to come. I tried to take a picture of the table, but it didn’t turn out so great. They were glass tables with pop up looking cartoon sceneries in there. Super neat to look at.



Our pizza arrived and it was really good. It was a thin crust pizza, which I love and it was so tasty.



We pretty much ate the whole thing.



It took a bit for our server to get us checked out, but really it wasn’t his fault. He was over extended. I don’t know if this is the norm or if they were short staffed. It did appear there were 2 servers in the back room as we saw them pop out and help towards the end. I am not sure if the back is bigger or not.

We ended up giving him a big tip. We just felt so bad for him and I am sure some people were not tipping as well because the service was slow.

I also have to mention the family in the both behind us. We would eavesdrop and we laughed. It was a family with 3 kids and the parents were super …um I don’t really have a word other than strange. They kept telling these kids…which were little…about how they don’t help them so they learn to make the right choices. Every bit of food they had they would explain it in detail. I guess they were trying to teach them life lessons and culture. These kids could’ve cared less and we just thought it was so funny.

We headed back to the Fairfield Inn as I had a late date with Once Upon a Time. One of my friends kept messaging me that I needed to hurry up and get there to watch it….don’t I know it!

So basically you pull out of Sal’s onto the main mall road and go through several 3 and 4 way stops. Again that must be just a suggestion for some, even in the evenings. We then turn left onto the road and quickly make a right onto the highway. I have to stay to the right as I get off at the next exit for our hotel. I was amazed how busy the road was for a Sunday evening, but I followed the car in front of me as I had no need to pass anyone since I was getting off again very shortly. Then I notice a van behind me and he puts his brights on. UGH! I can’t go any faster than the car in front of me and neither of us were really going slow.
As we come down the off ramp, we slow down, as at the end of it is a red light. It’s not rocket science. I can’t go faster than the person in front of me and I can't speed along because of a stop light. 2 things that I just can’t control. Evidently Mr. Van thought I could and just laid on his horn behind me. What the heck? I came to a stop, because the car in front of me did too and this guy is still brighting me and honking. Mom and I were just amazed and had no clue what this guy wanted us to do.

The light turns red and we make the left turn and the hotel is on the right just down a little ways. Mr. Van weaves around everyone at high speeds and takes off like a bat out of H. And then we turn into the hotel just laughing because he is sitting at the next traffic light. We were parked and out of the car before his light turned green. I guess he was in a hurry, but not getting there very fast with the tactics he was using. LOL.

We…well I, raced up to the room and watched the rest of Once Upon a Time. I only caught about the last 20 minutes or so. And then Mom went on to talk to me the whole time too. At my house you aren’t allowed to talk to me except at commercials. LOL. It really is the only must see show I watch. And Claire feels the same way so we discuss things at the commercials and then are silent, with maybe a cheer here and there during the show. Yes we are geeks!

Once the show was over I made a call to Claire. I knew it would be iffy to call her tomorrow. We would be sailing a little after she got home from school. If all worked out fine, I would call her but I wanted to let her know so she wouldn’t be upset if I didn’t. (I ended up being able to).
We also discussed the show and she updated me on everything I had missed.
I also talked to Skip for a bit and then went back to the room to watch some TV and played on the computer. Mom went to sleep, though she made it later tonight! LOL.
I still stayed up fairly late, but not as late as the night before. It had been a busy day with no nap.

This TV had the sleep timer on it. I love TV’s with this and all should have them. I like to fall asleep watching TV and setting the timer makes it nice so I don’t have to worry about it being on all night.

 

[dizneeat]

Great pics of the beach!

Not so good news coming back and finding your room not cleaned yet. Good that your mom put her foot down and had it done right away.

Pizza looked good, what was that appetizer you had?

Oh, and great you caught the end of the show you seem to love so much - I have never ever heard of it. What is it all about?

 

[dolphingirl47]

I love the sea photos. They are getting me in the mood for my trip. I can't believe that they still had not cleaned your room by 5. I can absolutely understand that your mom went to have words. Dinner looked great.

Corinna

 

[mickeystoontown]

There's no excuse of your room not to be cleaned that 5 p.m. That's just plain ridiculous. I bet that the maid assigned to your room forgot to clean it. Your mother was right to go down and complain. I'd have done the same thing.

Dinner looks really really good. What was the appetizer? I thought at first that it was tomatoes and mozzarella cheese but I don't think that it is.

 

[jenseib]

Great pics of the beach!

Not so good news coming back and finding your room not cleaned yet. Good that your mom put her foot down and had it done right away.

Pizza looked good, what was that appetizer you had?

Oh, and great you caught the end of the show you seem to love so much - I have never ever heard of it. What is it all about?

Didn't you once have an issue like that too with the room not being cleaned?
It was a caprise of some sort I believe...with tomato and mozzerella and some other stuff. Very good!

I can't believe you don't know that show! It's by Disney. It's in it's 4th season now. It is basically about Disney fairytales with kind of a twist. They were cursed by the evil queen and all ended up in a modern day town called Storybrooke. No one remembers who they are except the evil queen, Regina, who is the mayor of the town. Snow White and Prince Charming have a child and before the curse went into effect they sent her to modern day and 28 years later she is the savior that helps them get their memory back. Of course more things happen after they get their memories back and it's so addicting. Captain Hook is main character and he is quite nice to look at. Claire said to me one day "I'm starting to think that pirate is cute". Right now they have a bit of an Anna and Elsa storyline in it. All the fairytales have a bit of a twist from how we know them and sometimes they go back and forth to the fairytale in the past to the people and who they are in Storybrooke. We just LOVE the show! We live for Sunday nights when it is on.

I love the sea photos. They are getting me in the mood for my trip. I can't believe that they still had not cleaned your room by 5. I can absolutely understand that your mom went to have words. Dinner looked great.

Corinna

Your's is coming up soon. I haven't even made it over to your PTR yet. I am so behind with so many of my subscriptions.
It was so annoying that it wasn't cleaned yet.

There's no excuse of your room not to be cleaned that 5 p.m. That's just plain ridiculous. I bet that the maid assigned to your room forgot to clean it. Your mother was right to go down and complain. I'd have done the same thing.

Dinner looks really really good. What was the appetizer? I thought at first that it was tomatoes and mozzarella cheese but I don't think that it is.

At least we didn't find one laying in the bed watching TV.

Yes, it was tomatoes and mozzerella with a few other things on it and I think it was on a toasted bread if I remember right. VERY good!

 

[jenseib]

Day 3, Sept. 29, 2014, Monday

Today was the day! Yay!

I have to admit I was excited and a bit nervous. Would the ship live up to my expectations? Am I such a Disney snob these days that I would be disappointed? I was also nervous about the boarding process. It has been many many years since I have boarded a ship other than Disney and I know that process pretty well now (though they do change things up from time to time).

We had breakfast again today, but I didn’t take pictures. It was pretty much the same as the morning before except today they had bacon instead of sausage. I didn’t eat that as I have to have my bacon extremely crispy!

We packed up our bags and got our paperwork in order and I took the bags down to the car. We then flipped channels on the TV and found Friday the 13th on and it had just started. It has been years since I have seen this movie and soon we were both engrossed in it.

We ended up not wanting to leave till it was over. Unlike with Disney, you did not need to arrive super early for Princess because they weren’t going to let you on the ship quite as early.

After the movie was pretty much over, we headed down to the car and headed back to the airport and dropped off the car. I was pretty happy with Alamo and with the service we received there. We were also happy with the car.

We got directions to the where to catch the bus to the port and went out and waited.



We had to wait a little bit, but it wasn’t too bad. A lady asked me where I got my luggage tag holders. Before cruising I had read on cruise critic that some people had ordered plastic holders for their paper tags off of Amazon. I told the lady to just search cruise tags on Amazon and you will find several options. I found it so much nicer than trying to staple a piece of paper to my luggage and hoping it doesn’t rip off and I can reuse these holders in the future.

The bus arrived and the guy loaded our luggage according to which ship we were going to. It appeared most were going on the Royal Caribbean ship.

I asked the driver if we were allowed to take this bus back when we came back even though we were not renting a car after the cruise. He said yes, and if they said no, to let that driver know we were told we could and to pull out our paperwork.
Well that’s nice. We had planned on taking a taxi back, but this would be nice and save a few bucks at least.

It didn’t take long and we arrived at the port. We pulled up to the Princess terminal first.



Our bags were unloaded and taken to the porters and we tipped both the bus driver and porters and headed towards the terminal. This was my very first Princess cruise, but I had the status of Elite already because of some course I had taken. (I know some die hard Princess goers have issues with this, but I did take a lot of courses and worked hard for that certification).

Also by taking refresher courses I had $100 of OBC. That was a nice perk.

Being Elite means you should be able to go in the preferred line. I was denied. The guy told me that my boarding pass did not list it. UGH! He also asked me for my medical form…..what form? The one the lady is passing out….there is no lady.
Well she suddenly appeared and apologized for not being around and handed us our forms.
The guy let us in the regular line and he said not to worry as there was no wait anyways.

We filled out our forms and then went to get checked in. I talked to a lady and ask her why my boarding pass didn’t have preferred on it and she told me that several people had this issue today and I wasn’t the first to ask. (I still need to call Princess about this as I had a few other issues that no one could explain either).
She let us go in the preferred check in line, though honestly it wasn’t long for either line anyways.

Check in was fairly easy and we had a very nice lady helping us.





This terminal was not as bad as I thought it would be, but compared to Disney’s….well there is no comparison. Disney has a beautiful terminal and other cruise lines should take note of that.

Once we had our sailing cards in hand we headed upstairs. Had we gotten their early we could’ve sat in the preferred lounge, but the ship was already boarding.







We skipped the boarding picture as we knew our beauty would break the camera….The photographer told us that was the first time he heard that one. LOL.

Once we got on the gangway it was a little slower, but not bad at all.





My Elite status card.



You may notice a little sticker on there. I had preordered the unlimited soda and more package. Unlike Disney, you have to pay for soft drinks on Princess (and pretty much most other lines). I prebought the package so I wouldn’t have to worry about when I wanted something to drink and how much it was adding up. This also included smoothies, mocktails and shakes. For me, this was well worth it and it paid for itself many times over. I am not a big drinker anyways and if I do drink it’s one here or there and not my idea of fun for a vacation. That’s just me. Mom on the other hand, likes wine and will have several glasses a day.

Boarding a Princess ship is pretty boring compared to Disney as well…but I knew that going in. Disney will announce each and every family and all the CM’s clap. Boarding Princess….you just walk on and they tell you your room is ready and you can grab lunch. Not many people around and surely not the same fanfare.



The nice thing about Princess…your rooms are ready when you board, so you can go drop off your carry ons and not have to lug them around till 1:30.

We moved into the Atrium/Piazza and took a look around.







I did like the light fixture and it would change colors.



I also liked their atrium.



They call the main ground area the Piazza and often had something going on here. Mom ended up spending a lot of time here watching things and just people watching as well.





The International Café is in the Piazza and offers all sorts of goodies and desserts. (All included with your cruise fare)






The elevator area looked a little busy so we decided to head forward and see about catching one there.

We made our way through the art gallery.



Um…am I on the right ship? I see Disney paintings.

 

[dolphingirl47]

What a shame that there was an issue with the preferred line. I like the look of the atrium and that dessert counter looks so tempting. The Disney paintings made me smile. That is really nice that you could head straight to your cabin. We have only sailed Disney and Norwegian and on Norwegian we had to wait even longer until we could get to the stateroom.

Corinna

 

[dekkerdisneydreamer]

We…well I, raced up to the room and watched the rest of Once Upon a Time. I only caught about the last 20 minutes or so. And then Mom went on to talk to me the whole time too. At my house you aren’t allowed to talk to me except at commercials. LOL. It really is the only must see show I watch. And Claire feels the same way so we discuss things at the commercials and then are silent, with maybe a cheer here and there during the show. Yes we are geeks!

I am the EXACT same way when I watch TV. We have a DVR and when people think it's okay to talk to me during a show, I pause it, look at them annoyed, and when they're quiet, I put the show back on. I have to focus, people!!


I can't wait to see more photos of the ship. We have only cruised once and it was on Royal Caribbean, but it's was back in 2004 so I have no clue which one it was.

 

[dizneeat]

Great start to your day! And how nice that they allow you to take the shuttle back as well.

The terminal looks pretty nice compared to Disney's Barcelona's one! I would not have minded waiting there and the ship looks pretty neat as well. Can't wait for more pics, as we are definitely looking for something else for a Med cruise.

LOVE the Disney art!!!!!!!!

 

[rndmr2]

Sorry you had issues in the check in but glad you are on board the Beautiful ship! Looks like it has similar Decor to the Grand Princess, I really like all the wood and marble.

 

[Flossbolna]

Oh, you are finally on your ship! The first pictures look promising! I like the look of that International Cafe. Seems like a great spot for a snack!

 

[canyoncam]

Cool you are on the ship! Looks nice, can't wait to see your room and some food! Seems like boarding went pretty smooth and nice they still let you in the preferred line.

To answer your question about my Panama Canal cruise: Yes it is Disney! If I am on a ship for two weeks want to know I WILL like the ship
Plus looking at prices they were actually cheaper than other lines for the PC when it first got released. Though I did not book early, I did have an OBB that I moved once I did book so it is still reasonable (or so I tell myself )

 

[Luv2Diz]

I love your TRs - they are always so well written and have great photos! I'm looking forward to more of this one. I've done 3 Disney cruises and have been thinking about trying Princess. I'm curious to hear your comparisons.

 

[jenseib]

What a shame that there was an issue with the preferred line. I like the look of the atrium and that dessert counter looks so tempting. The Disney paintings made me smile. That is really nice that you could head straight to your cabin. We have only sailed Disney and Norwegian and on Norwegian we had to wait even longer until we could get to the stateroom.

Corinna

The International cafe had great food!
I thought it was funny how many Disney things were on this ship.
I sailed NCL many years ago and with NCL we always arrived so late (flying in the same day both times) that we could go to our rooms right away, but we also had to go to the Muster Station almost right away as well.

I am the EXACT same way when I watch TV. We have a DVR and when people think it's okay to talk to me during a show, I pause it, look at them annoyed, and when they're quiet, I put the show back on. I have to focus, people!!


I can't wait to see more photos of the ship. We have only cruised once and it was on Royal Caribbean, but it's was back in 2004 so I have no clue which one it was.

Skip just called me 15 minutes before Once Upon a Time was to start tonight and asked me to get him from the field...seriously? he found someone else to get him.
I would like to try RCCL some day too. Preferably one of the newer ships.

Great start to your day! And how nice that they allow you to take the shuttle back as well.

The terminal looks pretty nice compared to Disney's Barcelona's one! I would not have minded waiting there and the ship looks pretty neat as well. Can't wait for more pics, as we are definitely looking for something else for a Med cruise.

LOVE the Disney art!!!!!!!!

I thought that was great we could take the shuttle back too. I was happy with my whole Alamo experience.
Princess is a good line and I do recommend it. I had a few issues, but nothing to ruin my trip.

Sorry you had issues in the check in but glad you are on board the Beautiful ship! Looks like it has similar Decor to the Grand Princess, I really like all the wood and marble.

I think they are sister ships if I remember right (and not going to look it up at the moment. )
I thought the ship was pretty in most areas. There were some areas it did show wear, but then again so does some of the Disney ships.

Oh, you are finally on your ship! The first pictures look promising! I like the look of that International Cafe. Seems like a great spot for a snack!

It was a great spot for a snack and I tried to stay away from it or I would be 10 foot wide when I got off the ship.

Cool you are on the ship! Looks nice, can't wait to see your room and some food! Seems like boarding went pretty smooth and nice they still let you in the preferred line.

To answer your question about my Panama Canal cruise: Yes it is Disney! If I am on a ship for two weeks want to know I WILL like the ship
Plus looking at prices they were actually cheaper than other lines for the PC when it first got released. Though I did not book early, I did have an OBB that I moved once I did book so it is still reasonable (or so I tell myself )

It was a pretty easy boarding process. Not everything was perfect, but it wasn't crowded either.
I would love to do a PC crossing .....some day! It's on my list. I need to wind the lottery!
I love your Disney math!

I love your TRs - they are always so well written and have great photos! I'm looking forward to more of this one. I've done 3 Disney cruises and have been thinking about trying Princess. I'm curious to hear your comparisons.

Thanks!
I enjoyed Princess...yes it is different, but we still had a very nice time.

 

[jenseib]

We found the forward elevators only to find a sign on them that told us that during embarkation they were being used for luggage. UGH! OK, let’s go back to the Piazza then.
And then I heard music playing….and it was Disney music….Under the Sea. Again I questioned myself….am I on the right ship? LOL.

I took a few more pictures as we passed through the Piazza.



Vines is a wine bar.



You can see people boarding off to the right of this next picture.



We got to the elevators and pushed the buttons. They have several elevators here and one set needed its own button pushed as well to call that one. When they arrived there was a Crew Member (I will refer to them as CM’s now, …not to be confused with Disney’s Cast Member CM’s) and she would run the elevator and take us to the floor we wanted.

We made the short jog down the hall to our room. We were on the Riviera deck 14. We had the first inside cabin going forward from the midship elevators on the starboard (right) side.
I was a little nervous about our cabin as well. I knew it was going to be small. Disney tends to have bigger cabins than many other lines. I also have only stayed in an inside once many years ago and that was on NCL. That cabin was soooooo tiny that Skip and I laughed and joked about it for a long time. I have been staying in balcony rooms on Disney and they are so nice and roomie ...and I just have become a balcony snob!
With the deal I had with this cruise, I had to take an inside room or pay to upgrade. We decided since this was an extra trip this year (my 4th vacation this year…..I am still shocked I was able to do this), we would stick with the inside room and hope for the best.
When picking my room I really wasn’t sure what to look for. I typically pick a middle deck and towards the aft with Disney. I decided to look midship this time and a higher deck. I have no clue why, but it just pulled me that way. The room I picked was laid sideways in the deck plan. I thought that might be fun to get a different type of room, so I pick R407.
I did a search on this room and found out it was slightly bigger than most of the regular inside rooms. Some people didn’t care for it because it was under the pool deck, but most others said it really never was an issue.
I kept it and hoped for the best. Well actually I had hoped we would be upgraded since the ship was not selling out. I followed the cruise date thread on Cruise Critic and read of so many people being upgraded….and GOOD upgrades too, but not us. We were still in the inside cabin. I was a little disappointed, but I was still happy with my choice and I would make due.

We opened the door and were shocked. It was pretty roomy and we really liked the set up a lot!

When you walk in, to the direct left there is a desk along the wall and the beds on the left wall.





Looking back at the door.



To the right there is the TV on the wall and this divider. The fridge is in the cupboard. The other cupboard has shelves.



Since I bought the soda package I was given a souvenir cup, which was given to Claire.





There were 2 big closets on the far right wall and then around the divider there was the teeny tiny bathroom.



Being elite, I was to get upgraded toiletries.



See that shower curtain to the left…we had a very intimate affair this trip. LOL!



Shower gel, which was nice…and shampoo/Conditioner combo. Worst stuff ever. I thought I would’ve gotten an upgraded shampoo with my toiletries but I did not. Only a bottle of conditioner.





A look over at one of the closets. Mom used that one.



I had a letter on the bed explaining the elite perks. I was also supposed to get a questionnaire to fill out for this cruise. I never got it. I asked several people and no one could tell me where to get one. Eventually I went to the circle host desk to ask and she told me pretty much what others did, it’s issued from the shore side of things and if I were to get one it should’ve been in with my perks letter. And to this day I still have not gotten a hold of anyone who can help me with this.



I used the drawers at the desk for many of my things.



I used the closet in the background there and on the other side there were shelves and the safe.



Once we had checked our room out we headed upstairs to find some lunch.

Our first look at one of the pools.





And into Horizon Court.



They have hand sanitizers at the entrance to the buffets, which I do like, though I am not sure everyone uses them as they should.

It was quite crowded in the buffet area. It consists of pods, much like most of the Disney ships do. There just wasn’t enough room to really walk around and look at everything in my opinion. I still was able to fill my plate with a nice selection. I would say the selection was slightly less than on the Disney ships, but still a good one and I found plenty to my liking.

We then went in search of a table and ended up at the very back of the ship, which means we actually left Horizon Court and went into the seating area of Caribe Café. I am not sure why they have 2 buffets back to back, but they do. Caribe Café was not open today and on most days was not open at the same time as Horizon Court, with the exception of lunch on Sea Days. Then both seemed to be open and Caribe Café tended to have better food.

 

[dolphingirl47]

The ship looks really nice and the cabin looks quite spacious. We love the inside sideways cabins on the Magic and the Wonder. I had to smile about all the little Disney touches.

Corinna

 

[DWGal210]

Great report so far! I'm very excited to read, as I have never done any other ships but Disney. I *NEED* to get certifications and take courses in other cruise lines - it's on my "winter projects list" for when I am holed up in the house for this winter.

Too bad about not getting all your Elite privileges. That stinks. And they didn't know where the survey was?!! Seems odd, doesn't it?