Jan. 22 Magic....report

[1princessesmom]

Hi everybody, we just returned from our wonderful vacation. Here is a quick report:

-Dinner was outstanding! We really enjoyed the food, and our servers--Ronald and Jira--were wonderful. We were not very impressed with the food for breakfast or lunch. Topsiders buffet food was not that great, but once again, the CMs were top-notch.

-Oceaneers Club was great. Our 4 yo DD had a great time there, as did the 4yo DD we were traveling with. We were very impressed with the staff and the control they had over such a large number of children. My DD wanted to go each day and now says that the club was her favorite thing about the cruise.

-Our room was nice (Cat. 9, deck 2 aft). It was larger than we had expected and had plenty of storage room. It was on the noisy list, so we expected a bit of engine noise--and we got it. It wasn't bad at all. What we did not expect was the LOUD dance music we heard..and felt vibrating throughout our room Tuesday night. We tried to call guest services, but got no answer (odd) so my husband went up to GS around midnight to complain. (I knew Parrot Cay was above us and was closed so I figured it was coming from below). THe music continued...and woke up my 2 yo DS. around 1:15 am my husband returned to GS to complain again and they said it was the crew below us and that they had told them to turn it down once, and now they would tell them to turn it off. 5 minutes later all was quiet. The next morning I told our room hostess about it and she said that the crew bar and mess was below us and that there was a party the night before..it kept her up too. 2 days later we returned to our room after dinner and found a really nice apoligy letter from GS and 2 stuffed animals for our kids. We thought that was such a nice touch.....and all was forgiven!

--We were chosen as FAMILY OF THE WEEK and received lots of goodies delivered to our room from room service.

--My husband and 2 friend played golf at Mahogony Run on St. Thomas and were very disappointed. The view was nice, but the greens weren't that great and the employees and members were rude. THe price had gone up since the Passporter was printed and so had the price for club rental. They payed about $190 for green fees and rentals and thought they did not near get their moneys worth.....nothing like the courses at WDW, which they thought were worth the $$$$ for fees.

--I would have like to see more characters around the ship. We really had to seek them out and the lines usually long.

--DCL really knows how to get people off the ship! WOW, we were off the ship, got our luggage and was through customs and on a bus in less than 15 minutes~

--Service all over the ship was incredible.....and they were great with the kids!

--Elevators were SLOW......take the stairs!

--Shows were great...especially Disney Dreams

--We took pillowcases for autographs and they were delivered to our staterooms the last night.

--We were very impressed with the cleanlyness of the ship. THey are HUGE on everybody washing their hands and we liked that!!

- OUr trip was wonderful...better than we had hoped and we rebooked!

Thanks, Liz

 

[LindaBabe]

Thanks for writing - sounds like you had a fun trip!

 

[bratray]

sounds like a good trip- could you please tell me which room you were in? i am booked on level two, aft...room 2128..i just am worried about "tooooo" much noise
TIA

 

[1princessesmom]

We were in room 2648. I don't think you will have a problem. You are further up the ship than we were. We had friends in the 2 rooms up from ours--the ones next to us heard the music, but the ones 2 doors down did not. Hope you have a great trip!

 

[jkssands]

Thanks for the details sounds like you had a great time. Hope we have as much fun as you when we go in April.

 

[newfamilyman]

Thanks for your report, Liz. Almost like you, my daughter will be four and my son, 1, when we go on our cruise in August. Do you have any suggestions when you have children so young? For example, you recommend using the stairs, but how did you navigate that with a stroller? I'm assuming that you put your youngest in their day care (I forget what they call that) when you had your couples massage; did that work out OK for you? Thanks.

 

[cristit14]

-Our room was nice (Cat. 9, deck 2 aft). It was larger than we had expected and had plenty of storage room. It was on the noisy list, so we expected a bit of engine noise--and we got it. It wasn't bad at all. What we did not expect was the LOUD dance music we heard..and felt vibrating throughout our room Tuesday night. We tried to call guest services, but got no answer (odd) so my husband went up to GS around midnight to complain. (I knew Parrot Cay was above us and was closed so I figured it was coming from below). THe music continued...and woke up my 2 yo DS. around 1:15 am my husband returned to GS to complain again and they said it was the crew below us and that they had told them to turn it down once, and now they would tell them to turn it off. 5 minutes later all was quiet. The next morning I told our room hostess about it and she said that the crew bar and mess was below us and that there was a party the night before..it kept her up too. 2 days later we returned to our room after dinner and found a really nice apoligy letter from GS and 2 stuffed animals for our kids. We thought that was such a nice touch.....and all was forgiven!




Thanks, Liz

That must have been what we heard we we stayed in 2652 last summer. It kept me awake two of the nights. I kept laying there trying to figure out what it was. It didn't bother anyone else in my room so I didn't complain about it. The second night they were playing Michael Jackson's "Beat It" so that kept running through my head the rest of the night.

 

[1princessesmom]

Thanks for your report, Liz. Almost like you, my daughter will be four and my son, 1, when we go on our cruise in August. Do you have any suggestions when you have children so young? For example, you recommend using the stairs, but how did you navigate that with a stroller? I'm assuming that you put your youngest in their day care (I forget what they call that) when you had your couples massage; did that work out OK for you? Thanks.

Hi Newfamilyman, Our kids did well on the trip. THe 4yo DD LOVED the club and all the princesses (bring a princess dress or 2 for your DD!!). THings were pretty easy with her, although she still naps during the day (as does my son) and we had to make time for that. OUr 22 month old son did not like FLounder's Reef Nursery. We tried it while we had brunch at Palos and we were paged during dessert. It was a great facility, but my son just doens't take well to nurserys. We were traveling with friends who had kids the same ages. The wives had a night out while the husbands watched the kids, and then the husbands had a night out. My son could not sit still each night through the 4 course meal. He got up and wandered around the table..and sometimes to tables around ours...and it did not bother anybody. The waiters are great and will try to entertain your kids....they also bring their food out a bit earlier so they don't have to wait as long. As for the stroller, we didn't use it that much because of the stairs issue. We used it at port and thats about it. We were flexible with schedules and meals while we were on vacation and played things by ear a lot. If they seemed to be in a good mood when a show was about to begin, we'd take them...if not, it was bed time. They have DIsney Movies playing in the room all the time, so that helped alot also. We also used room service for breakfast and lunch occasionally when they were a bit on the grumpy side. Also, we would take our son to the Oceaneers Club to play...the councelors don't mind as long as a parent stays with him. One thing my son was frustrated about was not being able to go swimming. He wanted to get in the pool with his sister, but could not because he wears swim diapers. Hope this helps, please let me know if you need more info. Thanks, Liz

 

[newfamilyman]

Thanks for the information. That's too bad that they don't let babies who wear swimming diapers into the pool and kind of ironic, considering the ones we buy have Nemo characters on them! Since we're going on the Mexican cruise from LA, which I'm sure will be extremely crowded, I imagine it will be hard to spend much time at the pool anyway b/c of the crowds. Was seasickness an issue for your children? I'm planning on bringing a patch or something for me, but from what I've read, kids don't seem to get as affected. I'm testing my son's attention spans for the cruise shows by taking him to the shows at Disneyland, and I have a feeling it will be difficult to watch them if he is awake, but I will have to adjust my expectations, as you seem to have done very well. By the way, what does it mean to be family of the week? Thanks again for your help. Carl

 

[1princessesmom]

Hi Carl,

I brought motion sickness meds for myself, and had to take them only once...i was feeling only slightly sick and took it mainly so that I could sleep.
My DD had her 4 yo well-child check up the week before we left so I asked the Dr. what to bring for the kids in case they got sea sick. She said my 4 yo could take 1/2 of a dramamine pill and that my son should take Benedryl (he was too young for dramamine). SHe said kids usually did well on cruises and doubted that they would require any meds. THe Dr. was right!
As for FAMILY OF THE WEEK, on the second day of the crusie we returned to our room after breakfast and found a letter on our bed saying that we had been chosen as family of the week by room sevice. We could order anything served in any of the restaruants to be delivered to our room (normally you can just order from the limited room service menu). IT was nice to order hot breakfasts instead of the pasteries and cereal they offer on the regular RS menu. They also delivered plates of cookies, fruit, petit fours, or appetizers to our room daily.....just because!! IT was nice. Hope this helps!!

 

[joycepa]

bratray,
My family was in 2128 on the 1/15/05 sailing. There were some nights that were noisier than others. My husband woke up a few times because of the noise. I was up quite a bit because of the noise. I never sleep really well on vacation. My dd12 and dd3 never woke at all because of the noise. If you are a light sleeper I would definitely stay away from this room.

 

[newfamilyman]

Hi Liz,

Thanks again for the information. I hope you don't mind if I ask you some basic questions, since you're being so helpful. Do you think they would have let your baby into the pool if you had covered the swimming diapers with a bathing suit? What did you do with your son then when your daughter was in the pool? Also, because we booked so late, we are stuck with late dining, which starts after my youngest's and just before my oldest's bedtime. How many people sit at a small table? I have a fear of being seated with a couple who are on the cruise for romance who will no doubt be less than pleased with having to share their dinner with some cranky kids!

Carl

 

[1princessesmom]

Hi Carl, I'm glad to answer your questions. My son had a swim suit on over his diaper. SOmetimes there was a CM around who would herd the non-potty trained kids out of the pool and other times it was just the parents who monitored. One of Mickey's ears, in the Mickey Mouse pool, is a splash/fountain for the kiddies is swim diapers. Not very exciting. While my DD was swimming we let my son play in the splash/fountain ear (though he got bored fairly quickly), we fed him ice cream from Scoops (which is right beside the pool) or my husband took him to the nearby basketballs courts (deck 10 forward...I THINK) and let him chase the basketballs around. We managed OK. There is also a snack bar (Plutos) by the pool and sometimes our son would just eat some fries while his sister would swim. (yes, I know, WAY to much junk food!! )
If you want the early seating for dinner, you can ask about it when you board. I believe they can put your name on a list for that. We went with 2 other families and we all sat together for dinner...11 of us. I saw most tables had about 8....some with more, some with less. Don't worry about the kids being cranky.....anybody on a DISNEY cruise understands....and the waiters are great with the kids. One good thing about the late seating is that you can go to the early show! And if your kids just can't be at the dinner table just one minute longer ( as happened once on our trip), I'm sure your server will be happy to bring some food to your room (ours did!) My one piece of advise......BE FLEXIBLE and HAVE FUN!! Hope this helps!!

 

[Clovis]

-Dinner was outstanding! We really enjoyed the food, and our servers--Ronald and Jira--were wonderful. We were not very impressed with the food for breakfast or lunch. Topsiders buffet food was not that great, but once again, the CMs were top-notch.

I recommend eating breakfast at Lumiere's instead. You can order off the menu and eat almost as quickly as the Topsiders buffet. The food is MUCh better as well and the dining room is practically empty.

-Clovis

 

[CPM]

Thanks for the great report!
The least they could have done was invited you to the party!!

 

[JimmyJackJunior]

Wow - we had Ronald and Jira too on the same cruise. You were right both of them were absolutely fantastic. Were you at early or late? We were on Table 3 at the late seating.

 

[JimmyJackJunior]

Dang, cant edit the first post.

As for dinner, it was outstanding. I dont go to a lot of fancy restaurants but that was among the best food I have ever eaten. I disagree with Topsiders a bit. I thought it was pretty good for a buffet. My only qualm is that the food at the snack bars - Pinochios and Plutos was really bad.

Oceanears Club - my nephew(5) had fun early on but grew bored of it in the latter half of the cruise. My 2 year old wanted in so bad.

The Cabin - we had the same as you Category 9, midship deck 2. Never had any noise problems. Really liked the spaciousness and the large port window.

The Shows - Dreams, The Incredibles and Hercules the Muse-ical were all great. Top Notch. The comedians at the variety shows were not however. Maybe hampered by a family audience.

The Characters - I kind of disagree with PrincessMom. I thought they were everywhere although the lines for some was long. There was also a video near GS telling us every morning where appearances would be. The kids loved it.

The Stops - I have been to Maui several times in the last few years and neither St. Maartens or St. Thomas held a candle to it for beaches, natural beauty or snorkelling. Quite dissapointed actually. They really dont give you enough time to find anything special. We went to Dawn Beach on St. Maartens and it was OK. St. Thomas was just a tourist trap. We went to Blackbeard's castle and were shooed away when we tried to take a picture from the outside. Certainly no interest in every visiting there again.

The elevators - you are certainly correct on this one. Forward elevators werent as bad but aft and midship were terrible. It was frustrating watching perfectly able adults go one floor on them.

The pools - out non toilet trained daughter of 2 was never kicked out of Goofy or Mickey pools.

The activies - we only did the nature hike/kayak at Castaway Cay. But it was great. Disney imports local experts from nearby Islands and they were fantastic. Very knowledgeable, very safe. The wind was howling though and some inexperienced kayakers shortened the trip because they couldnt kayak properly. Frustrating.

Cataway Cay - really nice place to spend a day even if the setting is a little contrived. I really objected to being forced to wear a life preserver while snorkeling in a very sheltered place though. Lawyers running amok.

Disembarking - no kidding princess mom. We were standing in the line for our rental schuttle before we realized what had hit us.

The staff - every single member of the crew I ran into was extremely friendly except for one overzealous member of the photogrophy section who thought we were stealing our photos.

Cleanliness - amazing as I have come to expect from Disney.

Rebooking - nope. We realized we were far happier spending a week in Maui. It was just too slow paced a vacation for us with not enough time in port and probably at the wrong ports.

Hi everybody, we just returned from our wonderful vacation. Here is a quick report:

-Dinner was outstanding! We really enjoyed the food, and our servers--Ronald and Jira--were wonderful. We were not very impressed with the food for breakfast or lunch. Topsiders buffet food was not that great, but once again, the CMs were top-notch.

-Oceaneers Club was great. Our 4 yo DD had a great time there, as did the 4yo DD we were traveling with. We were very impressed with the staff and the control they had over such a large number of children. My DD wanted to go each day and now says that the club was her favorite thing about the cruise.

-Our room was nice (Cat. 9, deck 2 aft). It was larger than we had expected and had plenty of storage room. It was on the noisy list, so we expected a bit of engine noise--and we got it. It wasn't bad at all. What we did not expect was the LOUD dance music we heard..and felt vibrating throughout our room Tuesday night. We tried to call guest services, but got no answer (odd) so my husband went up to GS around midnight to complain. (I knew Parrot Cay was above us and was closed so I figured it was coming from below). THe music continued...and woke up my 2 yo DS. around 1:15 am my husband returned to GS to complain again and they said it was the crew below us and that they had told them to turn it down once, and now they would tell them to turn it off. 5 minutes later all was quiet. The next morning I told our room hostess about it and she said that the crew bar and mess was below us and that there was a party the night before..it kept her up too. 2 days later we returned to our room after dinner and found a really nice apoligy letter from GS and 2 stuffed animals for our kids. We thought that was such a nice touch.....and all was forgiven!

--We were chosen as FAMILY OF THE WEEK and received lots of goodies delivered to our room from room service.

--My husband and 2 friend played golf at Mahogony Run on St. Thomas and were very disappointed. The view was nice, but the greens weren't that great and the employees and members were rude. THe price had gone up since the Passporter was printed and so had the price for club rental. They payed about $190 for green fees and rentals and thought they did not near get their moneys worth.....nothing like the courses at WDW, which they thought were worth the $$$$ for fees.

--I would have like to see more characters around the ship. We really had to seek them out and the lines usually long.

--DCL really knows how to get people off the ship! WOW, we were off the ship, got our luggage and was through customs and on a bus in less than 15 minutes~

--Service all over the ship was incredible.....and they were great with the kids!

--Elevators were SLOW......take the stairs!

--Shows were great...especially Disney Dreams

--We took pillowcases for autographs and they were delivered to our staterooms the last night.

--We were very impressed with the cleanlyness of the ship. THey are HUGE on everybody washing their hands and we liked that!!

- OUr trip was wonderful...better than we had hoped and we rebooked!

Thanks, Liz

 

[1princessesmom]

Hi JJJ, We were table 2 at the early seating. Thanks for your great report. I enjoy reading what others have to say!!

 

[PizzieDuster]

oh, completely O/T: JimmyJackJunior:

We, our family - DS15, DS12, DD6 are going to Maui ---first Hawaiian vacation for them, first Maui for me......

Can you email me any tips?????????????? I'm going from books at this point, would love some "experience" advice...

kerstenlaw@aol.com

 

[JimmyJackJunior]

Pixie - if you havent booked your vacation yet I will start with accomodation. We always stay at the Hale Kamaole in Kihei. We really prefer Kihei to the more to the resort areas and this is an owner rented place that most travel agents dont offer. It is really well maintained and since it is owner owned they are usually really well stocked with dishes and stuff and higher quality video equipment for your TV. By the way, restaurant meals are extremely expensive in Hawaii so you definately want a place with a kitchen(lanai). It is also right across the street from Kamaole 3 beach which is constantly rated as one of the ten best in the world.

There are several dont miss places on Maui.

1) Haleakala - on your first full day try to go up for the sunset. You have to leave at about 3:30 or so but as you arent adjusted to the time it isnt that hard. Remember though you are at 10,000 feet and it is extremely cold before the sun comes up, usually around freezing. Depending on how fit you are you may want to hike down into the crater but the air is very thin. The first time I went far too quickly and got altitude sickness.

2) Hana - an amazing place. It is jungle and you will have just left desert if you were in Kihei. The road is very slow and winding and there are so many interesting natural displays and cultural things to see that it makes for a very long day but I still do it two or three times if i go for two weeks. You can do some cliff jumping at Oheo Gulch(Seven Sacred Pools) for me. I couldnt last time as there was flooding.

3) Iao Needle - amazing place at the entrance to the second rainest place on earth. Very peaceful despite the fact many wars took place there.

4) Honolua Bay - an amazing but not very well known place. Incredible snorkeling at this marine preserve. There are turtles and an amazing variety of tropical fish. Some spinner dolphins once came and played with me there and one actually ran into me. As well you might run into some non dangerous reef and mud sharks(You only have to worry about Tiger Sharks and Great Whites though). You can also pay to go to Molikini Reef. The fish are a little better out there but it is pricey. Honolua Bay will save you a lot of money. If you do go to Molikini the best boat is the Four Winds. Drop by one of the dive shops for a free or cheap snorkeling guide for the best places on the Island too. There are some other good places down near Wailea.
Honolua Bay

Food - get your food by the airport at Costco and Wal Mart. Way cheaper than anywhere else. For some reason DVDs are mind bendingly cheap at theCostco on Maui. Picked up a $250 set of the Complete Monty Python for $
70 last time. Its odd cause nothing else is cheap on Maui. Budget to spend about 1.5x what you normally would on food.

Activities - there are a lot of people trying to sell you a lot of things to do. Do some research before you go into what might interest you. A Luau is probably fun to do once in your life. A lot of the activities offer little value though. We did things like Sunset crusies that werent that impressive. There is so much travelling, snorkelling, boogie boarding and surfing you can do on your own that spending the extra money is often not worth it.