LadyLt
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Feb 22, 2002
- Messages
- 266
Day 1 - Getting to the Ship and then Sailing Away
Cast of Characters .
Bianca Your author, 51 year old retired cop, lover of Disney, part-time WDW CM
Christi .. My 20 year old daughter/ light of my life, also a lover of all things Disney
Neil . Christis boyfriend, 26 yrs old, cast member at WDW for last eight years
Many, many more people all wonderful friends from DDL
Neil and Christi were going under a cast member arrangement. So they needed to be at the ship very early for Neil to get their cabin assignment and check in. We were leaving Neils SUV and my car at the Radisson for the week. So I got up and loaded my luggage and Margarets luggage into Neils truck. I then drove Christi and Neil to the ship in his truck and left them and all of the luggage. I then went back to the Radisson and met up with Margaret and other DDLers there. We went over on the Radisson shuttle, but Margaret and I didnt have to worry about luggage. We were also lucky that Neil and Christi were at the front of the line to board. So once we checked in, we met up with my kids at the front!! We started boarding the ship minutes after we arrived.
Each group stops to get an embarkation photo taken and is then announced as you enter the door. The photo of Neil, Christi, and I came out great and I later purchased two copies of it. Once on board, everyone has to just gaze around that ship. It is so beautiful. It was my second cruise on it and I am still highly impressed.
After running around the ship for a little while looking at the location of Christi and Neils cabin on Deck 2 and my cabin on Deck 6, we all went to lunch at Parrot Cay. It was a very good buffet. By then it was time to settle in the cabins and get ready for the Life Boat drill. Oh how lovely we all were in those fashion vests. LOL I have great photos of Margaret in the life vest. Though they are not as good for blackmail as the ones I got later at the Sail Away party.
After the lifeboat drill, it was back to the cabin to put up the vests and get ready for the party. I took one cold bottle of champagne and some plastic flutes that I had brought. Of course, by the time we got to the 10th deck, most people had cocktails. The party was great, but it was cold. Orlando and Port Canaveral had a horrible cold snap that weekend. The wind was really blowing on the top of the ship. Most people had jackets over our wonderful matching t-shirts. Beths grandchildren were begging to go swimming and I thought they were crazy. But she said later that they loved the pool. We got to know each other some more and took a few good group photos.
After the party, it was time to put on nicer clothes and go for our dinner at Palos. We had the group room reserved for fourteen people (the maximum allowed). It was Arlene and Bob, Tracy Cherry and her brother Al, two friends of Tracy from work, Lori Wagner, Catherine, Amy, Margaret, Neil, Christi, and me. I was surprised to recognize the manager of Palo. When I cruised in December of 2001, he was new to DCL and was the Assistant Server for our table. Mauritzio was funny and a very good crew member then. In fourteen months, he is now the Manager!! of Palo. He did remember my face and we talked quite a bit. He was back in the private dining room numerous times to check and
see if we were okay. Like he really had to worry. Marco was our server and he was great. His brother Salvatore is also a server at Palo and kept coming back to help Marco because we were such a fun group. LOL Neil asked Marco if the Rack of Lamb or Filet Mignon was the better choice. Marco patted him on the shoulder and said Ill take care of you, sir. He then brought Neil two plates of entrees .. lamb and steak. If there was an appetizer that one of us didnt order, Marco or Salvatore brought one and put it in the center of the table . Saying try this, you will like it. We ate ourselves silly and then ordered chocolate soufflés for desert. Once again, Marco and Salvatore thought we would go away hungry, so they brought samples of every other desert for us to share and try.
Cast of Characters .
Bianca Your author, 51 year old retired cop, lover of Disney, part-time WDW CM
Christi .. My 20 year old daughter/ light of my life, also a lover of all things Disney
Neil . Christis boyfriend, 26 yrs old, cast member at WDW for last eight years
Many, many more people all wonderful friends from DDL
Neil and Christi were going under a cast member arrangement. So they needed to be at the ship very early for Neil to get their cabin assignment and check in. We were leaving Neils SUV and my car at the Radisson for the week. So I got up and loaded my luggage and Margarets luggage into Neils truck. I then drove Christi and Neil to the ship in his truck and left them and all of the luggage. I then went back to the Radisson and met up with Margaret and other DDLers there. We went over on the Radisson shuttle, but Margaret and I didnt have to worry about luggage. We were also lucky that Neil and Christi were at the front of the line to board. So once we checked in, we met up with my kids at the front!! We started boarding the ship minutes after we arrived.
Each group stops to get an embarkation photo taken and is then announced as you enter the door. The photo of Neil, Christi, and I came out great and I later purchased two copies of it. Once on board, everyone has to just gaze around that ship. It is so beautiful. It was my second cruise on it and I am still highly impressed.
After running around the ship for a little while looking at the location of Christi and Neils cabin on Deck 2 and my cabin on Deck 6, we all went to lunch at Parrot Cay. It was a very good buffet. By then it was time to settle in the cabins and get ready for the Life Boat drill. Oh how lovely we all were in those fashion vests. LOL I have great photos of Margaret in the life vest. Though they are not as good for blackmail as the ones I got later at the Sail Away party.
After the lifeboat drill, it was back to the cabin to put up the vests and get ready for the party. I took one cold bottle of champagne and some plastic flutes that I had brought. Of course, by the time we got to the 10th deck, most people had cocktails. The party was great, but it was cold. Orlando and Port Canaveral had a horrible cold snap that weekend. The wind was really blowing on the top of the ship. Most people had jackets over our wonderful matching t-shirts. Beths grandchildren were begging to go swimming and I thought they were crazy. But she said later that they loved the pool. We got to know each other some more and took a few good group photos.
After the party, it was time to put on nicer clothes and go for our dinner at Palos. We had the group room reserved for fourteen people (the maximum allowed). It was Arlene and Bob, Tracy Cherry and her brother Al, two friends of Tracy from work, Lori Wagner, Catherine, Amy, Margaret, Neil, Christi, and me. I was surprised to recognize the manager of Palo. When I cruised in December of 2001, he was new to DCL and was the Assistant Server for our table. Mauritzio was funny and a very good crew member then. In fourteen months, he is now the Manager!! of Palo. He did remember my face and we talked quite a bit. He was back in the private dining room numerous times to check and
see if we were okay. Like he really had to worry. Marco was our server and he was great. His brother Salvatore is also a server at Palo and kept coming back to help Marco because we were such a fun group. LOL Neil asked Marco if the Rack of Lamb or Filet Mignon was the better choice. Marco patted him on the shoulder and said Ill take care of you, sir. He then brought Neil two plates of entrees .. lamb and steak. If there was an appetizer that one of us didnt order, Marco or Salvatore brought one and put it in the center of the table . Saying try this, you will like it. We ate ourselves silly and then ordered chocolate soufflés for desert. Once again, Marco and Salvatore thought we would go away hungry, so they brought samples of every other desert for us to share and try.
