kellimomo3
Busy mom to 3 prince charmings (maybe someday?)
- Joined
- Feb 16, 2004
- Messages
- 719
I did it!! As some of you know, I am going on a scrapbooking retreat this weekend so it helped me get this done. What follows is my attempt at turning that scrapbooking journaling into a trip report.Cast: me, DH Ron, DS Griffin (10), DS Ryan (8) and DS Jay (6). I am going to post this all in one entry I hope!
“Are we there yet?”
The day had finally arrived. We all were up by 7:00am. The boys had breakfast, got dressed and started watching for the limo. The limo was supposed to arrive by 8:00 am and they were hoping it would come just before the bus so their friends could see them begin their vacation in style. You know what they say about the best laid plans…..When the limo hadn’t shown by 8:10, I called. The owner informed me that he was at the doctor’s office but he was “pretty” sure that I was not scheduled until 1:00pm that day. Needless to say, I freaked a little. I mean I had called to confirm three times, the most recent was the day before! So, we quickly loaded everything into the van and drove to the park-n-ride at the airport. The boys were upset and crying a little but we all decided that if this was the worst thing that happened on our vacation, we could handle it! (And it was the worst thing!) We flew Southwest from Bradley airport to Orlando. FLTours picked us up in an on-time limo at the airport and drove us to the Hard Rock Hotel at Universal.
The Hard Rock Hotel ROCKS!
Our first impression was that the hotel was gorgeous. We had a club level Kid’s Suite which worked out great for us. It was right on the Universal property so we could walk or take the water taxi to the parks. It had a beautiful pool with a cool water slide which we all tried! There were several restaurants on site. We ate at the Kitchen on the first night. The second night, we took the water taxi to City Walk and ate at NBA City where Ron participated in a 3point shot contest. The last night there, we ate at the Palms Restaurant which was amazing!
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Universal Studios
On Thursday & Friday we headed to Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure. On Thursday, the day started out a little misty and in the high 60s. Later that day, the sun came out and Thursday afternoon and all day Friday were gorgeous. We had front of the line privledeges since we were staying on sight and this is a great perk. We strolled right on to Jimmy Neutron, E.T. and Men in Black. I think in all we rode Men in Black 6 times! Ron rode Revenge of the Mummy. He really liked it but could not convince any of the boys to ride. We grabbed lunch in a cafeteria style restaurant in Universal and then headed to the Fear Factor Live show. The show was a highlight of our trip. It was just like the show, which we all love.
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Curious George
This part of the park is a family favorite. On Friday, it was warm enough for all the water features to be turned on. The boys came prepared in their bathing suits and went crazy. Next to Curious George’s area is Fievel’s Playground where they discovered a slide raft ride they had never seen before. We really lucked out with the weather!
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Islands of Adventure
This is THE park for thrill rides. We visited both parks both days. On Thursday afternoon, Griffin had worked up his courage and wanted to try riding the Incredible Hulk Coaster so we headed in that direction first.
Marvel Super Hero Island
He did it!!! Griffin and Ron rode the Hulk coaster. Griff said he liked it but he didn’t ride it again! I still can’t believe from looking at the pictures that my baby rode that!!! The boys saw Captain America and Spiderman here too! As we left this land, we crossed into Toon Lagoon. A lot of the rides here were closed for refurbishment.
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Jurassic Park
I couldn’t convince anyone to go on the ride with me but they liked exploring the land. In the Jurassic Park Discovery Center they got to watch a baby dinosaur being born and see some giant replicas of dinosaurs.
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The Lost Continent
In this land is our family’s favorite coaster, the Flying Unicorn. We all took turns riding and it was a blast. Ron rode the Dueling Dragons coaster which is one of his all time favorites. We stopped by to visit Bob, the talking fountain who was not talking while we were there much to the boy’s disappointment. On Friday, we had lunch here at Mythos Restaurant. It was voted the #1 Theme Park Restaurant in the country several years in a row and I can see why. It is inside a cave like structure with carvings all throughout and lunch was really good!
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Seuss Landing
The new trolley ride was up and running so we took the trolley which travels up above Seuss Landing for a bird’s eye view. The colors look so whimsical from up there and I got a great shot of the Hulk Coaster. The boys got to see the Cat in the Hat and then we rode the Cat in the Hat ride which is one of their favorites. Our time at the parks had now come to an end and we couldn’t wait for our cruise to begin!
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Arriving at the DCL Terminal
We got picked up at the Hard Rock on Saturday morning at 9:00 by FL Tours and arrived at the Port about 10:00. We strolled right in with no waiting anywhere and we were all checked in by 10:30. The boys explored the terminal and we got their wristbands for the Kid’s Clubs. The most amazing thing happened while we were waiting in line for the Kid’s Club registration. One of the counselors, Lucian, screamed, “Hey Griffin!” We could not believe that he remembered his name! Griffin felt very special. We met up with the Noah and his parents, Chris & Shannon at the terminal which was one of the families we had met through he DisBoards. Noah was eight and would be in the Lab with Griff and Ry. The boys hit it off right away and Ron and I looked forward to getting to know Chris & Shannon. Not even on board and we already had familiar faces! The first place we headed after the Welcome Aboard buffet at Parrot Cay?….The Sports Deck of course!
Sailaway Party
It was such a beautiful afternoon for the sailaway party. As it started, Ryan got pulled up on stage by Pikey and was dancing like mad. I took a picture of him on the Jumbo-Tron! Jason and Ron played ping pong the whole time but Griffin, Ryan and I partied Disney style!
Staterooms
We had two Category 11 staterooms Deck 7 aft. The rooms were fine but the noise was not. We have never stayed aft before and were not prepared for all the creaking. I think there was a crew closet over our heads where they keep the cleaning carts or something because there was some very loud overhead noise as well. It stopped by 11pm but started up about 5:45am! I usually sleep really well on cruises but no this one! On the upside, we finally after three cruises got an awesome stateroom host. His name was Lyndon. He was from India and he was amazing, very attentive and personable. The boys loved him!
Parrot Cay
Our rotation was PLA so we started in Parrot Cay at the 5:45 pm seating. There was a slight mix up with our table assignment. We had asked to be at a private table and they had us with a large group, but they quickly rectified that. Our serving team was Roland from the Philippines and Nadege from France. They were pretty good but nothing beats our team of last year, Vlado & Okim. We saw Okim on board several times and he remembered the boys. Our head server was Alexsandra from The Netherlands. The first night, I had the grouper. We were also in this restaurant for Pirate Night and the last night for the “Till we meet again” menu. On Pirate Night I got the Grilled Shrimp dish and on the last night, the Beef Tenderloin. Griffin hardly ever made it through a dinner with us. He either ate with the Club or he ordered his meal and then walked around the ship until it was ready. The motion in this restaurant seemed to bother him a bit.
Animator’s Palate
No matter how many times you cruise, the show in Animator’s Palate is still cool. The boys were all there for it on Monday night. I got the filet mignon, which I don’t remember being on this menu the last time. We only dined here once on this cruise because on Thursday night, when we would have been here, Ron & I went to Palo!
Lumiere’s
We were here for formal night on Sunday. Only Jay wanted to come. He actually ate with us every night except Palo and on that night, he had us take him up to deck 9 for pizza before we went. He likes to eat lunch with the Club but not dinner. I was glad, I miss connecting with the kids at dinner! Ryan came a few times but Griff really only joined us once or twice. On formal night I got the Beef Tenderloin which was excellent. We also dined here for the Master Chef menu where I got the Orange Roughy. I think this was my favorite dish on the cruise.
Roland & Nadege
Our Serving Team
Roland and Nadege did a good job. The kids really enjoyed them. Roland made a friend for life with Jason when he brought him his vanilla ice cream for dessert with a TON of rainbow sprinkles!
Palo
We love Sasha!
We have done Brunch and Dinner at Palo every time we have cruised on DCL and every time it gets better. We have also had Sasha as our server each time. We make sure we request him now in advance. He is from Croatia and has three little daughters there. He remembers us every time and is a credit to Palo. So is the food by the way!!
Vista Spa
Aaahhhhh…just thinking about our treatments here makes me relax! We did the Romantic Hideaway Couple’s Villa and Wow was it great! It’s in your own private room with a balcony that has a double chaise lounge and a hot tub. We started out on the balcony relaxing on the chair with a foot soak, then moved to the hot tub. After about 25 minutes of that, we moved inside for a 50 minute Couple’s Massage. At the end, we literally melted back into the chaise lounge for about a half an hour enjoying fruit skewers and tea. We also came back to the spa later in the week. Ron got a Hot Stone Massage and I got a Half Massage with a Mini-Facial. This is one of my favorite spots on board!
Character Breakfast
This is the first year, we actually made it to this. Ryan was so into getting the character’s autographs this year, that it was an easy sell. The breakfast was at 8:15 on Thursday in Parrot Cay. It was very well organized and each character made it to our table for photos and autographs!
Mickey Slide
After the slide at the Hard Rock I thought they may be a little let down but they were still just as into the Mickey slide as ever. I think Jay would go up and down all day if we let him. I took these pictures in order so it captured their fun perfectly! FYI, we did see the pool being cleaned twice due to potty accidents!
Pirate Night
We got ready early tonight so we could get our picture taken with Captain Jack and I am glad we did. The line got a lot longer than I thought. It was worth it though. The man looked just like Captain Jack. He even got his mannerisms down! Ryan had brought his Jack Sparrow costume from Halloween so he fit right in! We saw Pirate Mickey too! Dinner was at Parrot Cay and it was a lot of fun. After dinner Griffin and Ryan wanted to go to the club instead of the Deck Party. We tried hard to change their minds but they were having none of it. The scheduled Sports Deck fun was calling their names!
Pirates of the Caribbean Deck Party
Jay, Ron and I watched the Pirate Deck party from a great spot against the railing on Deck 10. Jay enjoyed having his parents all to himself! The fireworks display at the end seemed even better than last year. When we went to get the boys on the Sports Deck after the show, we were happy to learn that they had brought the kids to the rail to see the fireworks. I can see why Griffin and Ryan wanted to go to the Sports Deck with the Club, there were only three children including them. Talk about one on one attention!!!
Towel Animals
Every night, when we returned to our stateroom, Lyndan had left us some really cool towel animals. The boys loved them and Griffin became a man on a mission. He really wanted to learn to make them himself. He attended a Towel Making seminar in Rockin’ Bar D but got really frustrated trying to do it ( I think I even saw some tears!) Lyndan took pity on him and gave him some one on one instruction!
Characters!!!
This is the first cruise where we actually had to stand in line to see the characters. Ryan got really into the whole autograph book thing. He was so shy approaching each character but he wanted those signatures. On the last night we went to the “Till we meet again” character signing in the atrium. Ryan was able to get all the signatures he missed during the cruise. His favorite autograph?...Jack Sparrow!
Oceaneer’s Club & Lab Programs
We continue to be more and more impressed with this program. Jay was in the 5-7s and Griffin and Ryan were in the 8-9s. They all really immersed themselves into the program and got to know their counselors really well. They made some great friends and this was the first year that tears were shed about how much they would miss everyone! On the last night we received three goodie bags and a hand written note in our stateroom form all the counselors. In the bags were books, videos, pillowcases and Oceaneer’s Club bucket hats. The note was so personal and signed by all the Club staff. I thought it was a really nice thing to do and we packed it to surprise the boys with when we got home.
Favorite spots on the Ship
Once again, Ron and I were able to spend quite a bit of time in the adult areas. We love the adult pool and the nightlife was something we did more of this time around. We hit a few of the Comedy shows in Rockin’ Bar D. The ventriloquist’s adult show was the best by far. Hysterical! I have just one thing to say, S…H…E…R…R…Y!!!! We all loved relaxing up on deck. One of Jay’s favorite spots was Topsiders and the mid-ship elevator. My favorite spot was Shutters. I love all the great pictures we got from there! Ryan, Griff and Dad loved the Sports Deck! We also used the Cove Café a lot this year to check our email. I think it’s a great addition to the ship.
St. Maarten
Bikini Beach
We woke up to a beautiful day on Tuesday and we were already docked at St. Maarten. Ron and I had not been here since our honeymoon and we were excited to be back. We were off the ship by 9:00 and took a van taxi from the pier to Bikini Beach which is part of Orient Beach. It cost us $6.00 each. The beach is beautiful but the surf is a little rough. The boys loved it but it made us a little nervous. They are all good swimmers but the undertow was really strong. I had read that Bikini Beach tends to have less nude sunbathers, this is NOT true! We had warned the boys before hand that they may see some ladies without their tops on. They giggled a bit but seemed to accept it as different strokes for different folks. Well….we saw a lot more than some ladies without their tops!
The funny thing was (well one of the many funny things!) the boys didn’t notice any of them. Ron and I were in shock at all the completely naked men strolling down the beach just letting it all hang out!! I kept waiting for the kids to burst our laughing but they never even noticed! We had a great beach day and headed back to the ship around 2:00 for a snack by the pool and to rinse off!St. Thomas
Magen’s Bay
I was not looking forward to the alarm going off this morning to wake us for immigration and I guess I jinxed it, because it never did! Suddenly I woke up and it was 7:30! I scrambled to wake everyone up and get down to the Walt Disney Theater to clear immigration. We were fine and did not get in trouble. We had a quick breakfast at Topsider’s and we were off the ship by 9:00. We took an open air taxi bus to Magen’s Bay. On the taxi, we reconnected with a family from the ship we know only as “Pittsburgh!” They are a lot of fun and made the ride go by quick! We had enjoyed this beach on our honeymoon and we were looking forward to returning. A soon as we got to the beach, we met up with the boy’s friend Noah and his parents Shannon and Chris. We ended up spending the entire day with them and made some great friends! We all shared a pizza on the beach and enjoyed a more relaxing day than the day before a t St. Maarten. There were very little waves and no undertow so we felt more relaxed with the kids. About 2:00 we grabbed the same taxi bus back and asked her to slow down so we could take some pictures from up high. She did better than that she brought us tot eh Lookout spot where we got some great pictures not only of the view but this is where we met “Monica Lewinsky” the beer loving donkey. That’s right, she loved drinking Ron’s beer, and everyone got a big kick out of it! In town, we saw another donkey, this one had huge red lipsticked lips and was named “Oprah Winfrey”! The taxi driver brought us into town and gave us a half hour to shop while she waited. We hit the Del Sol shop to get a St. Thomas t-shirt. We were back on board by about 3:00 and watched the ship leave from deck 7 aft’s secret verandah!
Castaway Cay
It was great to see the Flying Dutchman docked at Castaway Cay as we arrived. It was not there last year and the boys loved seeing it. They all wanted to go straight to Scuttle’s Cove so we did our pictures along the way. After dropping them of for their fun, Ron & I grabbed the hammocks over by the Heads Up Bar. It was sunny but a bit breezy when we arrived but by the afternoon, it was hot. I had to go back on the ship around 11:30 to print our Southwest boarding passé and after that Ron & I headed over to Serenity Bay for lunch. As soon as we sat down to eat, the pager went off. We finished quickly and took the tram back. We never got a chance to sunbath over there but it was rather windy on that side of the island anyway. Ryan wanted to swim so we hit the family beach for a while. As soon as we settled in Ryan met up with on of his good friends, Jake. His family was another that we met on the DisBoards before the trip. His younger brother, Steven was one of Jay’s buddies. Ryan and Jake played in the water for hours. We got a chance to chat with Jake’s parents, Robbie & Jan and his grandparents too. They were all nice people and it was nice to get to know them. We headed back to the ship around 3:30 to shower and get ready for our last night on board! We put off the packing until after dinner while the boys were enjoying their last time in the Clubs till next year!
Ryan lost a tooth!!
As we were leaving Castaway Cay, Ryan’s tooth fell out! He was so excited and curious about if the tooth fairy would find him on the ship. I remembered reading on board that they sometimes do something special for kids who loose teeth so I called Guest Services when we got back on board. They sent up a Magical Moments Certificate and that night “Tinkerbelle” left Ryan a cool pin set on his pillow! The whole thing was very magical for him!
Celebrate the Journey
Griffin and Ryan didn’t really want to participate in the show this year, but I am glad they did. It’s a graduation ceremony for all the kids in the Club. Mickey and Minnie were there and they showed a montage of photos from throughout the cruise. It was nice to see them all getting really into their dances up on stage. Even Jay, who almost didn’t do it last year, walked proudly up on stage this time around. We were very proud as always!
But, we don’t want to leave!
Before we knew it, it was Saturday morning and time to leave. Disembarkation went very smoothly. We walked right off the ship with no waiting about 7:45. While waiting for our FlTours limo, we ran into the boy’s friends Jake & Stephen & Co. It was nice to chat for a while before we got picked up. Jan and I discovered that we were both Creative Memories consultants! Small world! Our flight home was uneventful and we were all kind of subdued remembering the whole vacation in our minds and also starting to get excited for the next one! We rebooked for January 2008!! I can only hope it will be half as good as this cruise was!!
Well people, I did my best. I know it's kind of all over the place, but it goes with my pictures which unfortunately, I do not know how to post here! A quick shout out to all the dissers that made our trip extra special: Shannon, Jan and "Hey Wellfleet!!!" You guys rock!
Kelli
Hopefully we will be able to meet again on another 
