I Was on the Bash on the Boat 10/24/09 Magic Eastern with Pictures updated 3/16/2010!

[GOS]

While waiting outside of Lumiere's we took the obligatory family picture in front of Mickey as well.

Enjoying the trip report so far Chris. Love the pictures.

 

[Dyerneeds]

enjoyed the update chris.

you mean you didnt get any pics that morning with that $8,000 camera of yours. (i'm kidding)

me? take credit for helping the guys win the pool game?
truth be told, me thinks those young guys carried this old man.
but i did get a lot of compliments from the ladies about my scar.

 

[praisehisname]

Great update! I love The Golden Mickeys!!!

 

[captchris]

As stated before, one of the things about Eastern itineraries that has always caught my eye has been that extra sea day. To me, it totally sets the pace for a relaxing vacation and I was really happy that we had yet another sea day to enjoy the ship.

We took our time getting up and about on this Monday. We had Palo Brunch reservations at 11:00 and therefore we (the adults) didn't want to eat breakfast, but we did take the kids up to Topsiders and got them something to eat.

On a side note, I was really looking forward to Palo Brunch. I stayed up to midnight on the day that our booking window opened and along with many of the DISers, were able to score prime Palo times. I was happy with our 11:00 time and was excited not to miss dinner in the dining rooms. We figured that the Brunch was the best way to test out Palo.

Soon the time came for our reservation, and the kids were with friends and friends parents. We then made our way up to Deck 10 for some good food.

We were quickly greeted and shown our table and given the "Palo tour" and instructions. I initially settled for some awesome foccaccia and Tracy and mom actual tried the caviar...to say they actual tried it once. When it was time to order the pizza, we got the Bleu Cheese and Grape Pizza and a Sausage Pizza. I thought both were really good! For my entree, I ordered the Chicken Parmigiana and it was among the best I have ever had! It was way better then the Chick Parm I just had from a local restaurant here in Connecticut!

I really enjoyed Palo, Elaine not so much. I can't remember how much my parents enjoyed it. Before leaving, we had our server snap a picture for us.

The rest of the day was a family day for us. It was a combination of pool time, movie time, and Quiet Cove time. During an afternoon announcement, Jay heard Clayton say that the Alfred and Seymour family show would be taking place, so he asked me to take him. Elaine had seen the adult show the night before, so I was really excited to see the family show with my son. We went down to the Walt Disney Theatre, but Jay wanted to sit close. We ended up with 2nd row end seats. This would later prove to be embarassing, but I will get to that. Jay then asked me to order him a smoothie, so I ordered a chocolate one for him as he requested. When the drink finally came, he only wanted the cherry, so I had the smoothie for myself. Soon it was time for Alfred and Seymour to start and they didn't let us down. They were very funny and even started picking on me...the end seat was the downfall. They kind of groped me and gave me a faux lapdance to the sounds of Saturday Night Fever. Good times, albeit embarassing ones. I was glad we did this. It was a great father and son time together.

Jay and I then headed to the arcade for some more father and son time and before we knew it, it was time to get ready for dinner. The kids wanted to go to Grandma and Grandpa's room for a little bit, so we headed down to hang out. While there I snapped a few pictures from the Verandah.

And of course a beautiful sunset at sea.

Dinner that night was in Animator's Palate and of course, being our first night in it, it was the show night. That is always a fun treat and we enjoyed the meal and the festivities.

Sam wanted "nothing" for dessert and got "nothing"

The show for the night was Twice Charmed an original twist on the Cinderella Story. I enjoy this show primarily for the music. It has great original songs and typically the leads can really wail. I did my best to snap some decent pictures throughout the show.

Following the show, we had a few opportunities to take some good pictures with characters. I even joined in on the fun when I could. I love me some Disney characters.

After taking some pictures 3/4 of the family went to the stateroom for bed. I wandered around a bit, I popped into Rockin Bar D and caught the tail end of the juggler's show. I then took a few random pictures around the ship.

I finally turned in shortly after midnight. In fact, the CM's were closing the Quiet Cove Pool just as I was getting ready to head back to the room. I really enjoyed those quiet moments of solitude as I wandered the ship. It was very refreshing and peaceful. Great times.

Next chapter St. Maarten

 

[KSFrogge]

Nice, Chris! I liked the Palo brunch a lot, too. Didn't try any entrees, but I thought the buffet was amazing!!

 

[LoveMickey]

Thanks for doing the trip report. We're doing the Eastern in January.

 

[GOS]

Thanks for the update Chris. Love the sea days...very relaxing.

 

[Dyerneeds]

really enjoyed the update captn.

alfred and seymore got you eh?

 

[croppincolburn]

Wonderful pictures! Thanks for posting. Looking forward to more.

 

[praisehisname]

Great update! I love Palo brunch!

 

[Tart Annihilator]

Hey dining neighbor....

Lovin' the trippie. Now that you're feeling better, keep it coming. Can't wait to see all your piccies.

Hi Elaine.

 

[natale1980]

I really want to do another 7 day cruise next!!! We have a 4 day in January booked.

-nat

 

[Dyerneeds]

captn chris....we need an update!!!

 

[GOS]

captn chris....we need an update!!!

we do, indeed.

 

[Dyerneeds]

yoohoo...capn chris....put down that salvation army kettle and give us an update on your trip report.

hope you guys are ok?

 

[heatherlynn444]

great so far, really enjoying it!

 

[Lucille1963]

More! More! More!

 

[LMCmom25kids]

Hello everyone! We have just returned home from an absolutely wonderful cruise vacation. We settled on the specific cruise in August of 2008 and spent the last 14 months getting to know fellow DISers here on our cruise meet thread. While I didn't get to meet all of them onboard, seeing familiar faces throughout the day really made the cruise that much more special. Okay, enough gushing now for the background and housekeeping information.

I am Christian...the writer of the report and DISname CaptChris. I don't profess to want to be the captain of anything except my that it is my professional title. Although being a Captain on DCL would be kind of cool! I am a Captain in The Salvation Army. What that means is that I am responsible for all Salvation Army operations in the community that I am stationed in. In addition to that, I am also an ordained minister with The Salvation Army and responsible for the church programs in our community.

DW Elaine...the Captains First Mate and also a Captain herself in The Salvation Army. We live and work together. That can sometimes be a challenge, but its more good that bad.

Samantha and Jay...our two kids. They can be hyper, they can fight like none other, but we love them and they probably love each other a little bit. Samantha is 9, Jay is 7. There is NEVER a dull moment when the two of them are together!

We also cruised with my mom, dad and sister. It was great to have this TOTAL vacation with them. More clarification on that a little later.

This was our third cruise. The first was on RCCL Nordic Empress/Empress of the Seas. It was in March 2004 and was a 7 day Western Cruise out of Tampa.

Our second cruise was on the Disney Magic in 9/2006. It was also a Western cruise itinerary.

My parents have been on 4 previous cruises, 2 on the Magic and 2 on Norwegian (SS Norway, and Norwegian Sea)

We were really looking forward to visiting the Eastern Caribbean for a couple of reasons.

-Additional Sea Day
-More "texture" to the land

Now on to the report...

My vacation started officially on 10/22. Elaine and I spent the day at home getting things packed, and finalized before picking our kids home from school at dismissal time. After the kids were picked up, we headed north to Portland, Maine where we would stay with my parents before flying out on 10/23. I know, I know, its kind of bizarre to drive north to fly south, but the flight times were perfect and the price was as well. The bags were packed and in short time the car was loaded.

We arrived in Maine around 6:00 PM and enjoyed Pizza and Stromboli with my family before watching the Yankees and Angels.

The next morning we woke up and mom cooked a wonderful brunch. However prior to brunch, Elaine sent me out for some Dunkin Donuts coffee. After brunch, we loaded up the cars and got ready to head over to Portland International Jetport for our flight to Orlando. Everyone was excited and after a 5 minute ride we were checking in at the JetBlue kiosk.

Before we knew it we were through security and walking to the gate. It didn't seem long before our plane landed and pulled up at the gate.

It was our first time flying JetBlue and I must say, I really liked their product. We had a direct flight from Portland to Florida. We left on time and arrived a few minutes early. That's always a good thing. The baggage claim was also lightning fast as the carousel started moving just a few minutes after we arrived at the Baggage Claim.

After securing our bags, Dad and I headed to Budget to get our cars. He was not a FastBreak member so he had to go to the regular counter. I stood up there with him to make sure his reservation was good since I booked it for him. While up there he succumbed to peer pressure from the agent and myself and ended up with a very nice ride.

Yep, my dad was styling in a 2010 Chevrolet Camaro. A red one at that! It's funny because when I was a kid my parents had a red Camaro, but much different that this one! They have changed a lot in 30 years. Since he needed me to take a piece or two of luggage, I resisted the urge to buy an upgrade. I settled for an Impala, but it was a brand new Impala with only 800 miles on it. Sorry, no pictures of that! I will say that the Cadillac CTS parked in the first slot in the garage looked awfully inviting, but I didn't want us to have a luggage issue.

We drove to Port Canaveral, keeping it under 80mph. We arrived at the Radisson, checked in and quickly headed over to Grills for dinner. The Radisson is a great property and I will stay there again for future cruises.

Dinner was great at Grills. After dinner, we came back to the hotel, and as I was pulling in Dan (DISname danandnan) sent me a text message asking me if I was coming down to the DISmeet. I responded an affirmative and that I would be there in a few minutes. I let the kids swim for a few, then Elaine and I went over to meet the DISers that were over there. We met, Dan, Nancy K, Nancy G and Chuck, Joanne and Roger, Tom and Leisha, Mike and Robin, Rose and June, Heather and Rick, Jennifer and Ariel, and Ron and Dianne. I think I got everyone but if I omitted you I am sooooo sorry!

After a short time together the group broke and we all went to bed. We would have quite the day in the morning!

It was still too early for me, so me and Tracy drove into Cocoa, walked through Ron Jon's, walked on the beach and at Freddie Patrick Park. It was a good time to have that little bit of time together as siblings.

Next chapter...Embarkation Day.

My hubby had a 69 Camaro when he was in high school.... cool car! Just wondering if you could tell me more about the hotel. We are cruising for the first time in April and have been looking at staying at the Radisson the night before the crusie. It looks like a beautiful hotel and we luv the idea of the free shuttle also. Any info would be appreciated. Again.... cool car!

 

[Topscot]

Does anyone know what has happened to captchris? It's been almost a month and a half since we have heard from him. I'm getting worried...and I want to find out how this trip went!

 

[Dyerneeds]

Does anyone know what has happened to captchris? It's been almost a month and a half since we have heard from him. I'm getting worried...and I want to find out how this trip went!

nope.
we cruised with him but he's been awol here. i know the holidays are a busy time for him and his wife.
perhaps we lost him to facebook??

come on captn. your fans are waiting.