Jan27 - Feb 3 Western Trip Review

[msaseifert]

Hey everyone - I am thinking I should write a full trip report, I really enjoy reading everyone elses so much. However, I am not a creative writer so what I thought I would do is just run through our experience and if there are any questions, ask away!

Our trip consists of DH41, Me39, DS11, DD7. This is our 2nd Disney Cruise, we booked this one while on our first cruise 1 year ago. We figured we tried the Eastern we should go with the Wetsern this time and I am glad we did, the weather was a whole lot better but that may just have been luck.

This time we opted for the fly in a day early and stay at the Hyatt. So, we left VA at 2:05pm and arrived in Oralndo around 4:30. We checked into the Hyatt, dropped our luggage and then rented a car to drive to Downtown Disney - what a nice relaxing way to start our trip. We got there around 6pm and figured there would be no way we would be able to get into House of Blues or Planet Hollywood for dinner BUT it was worth a try. I have to say that I was COMPLETELY surprised that we were able to walk right into Planet Hollywood on a Friday night at 6pm. I am not sure what the House of Blues looked like but Planet Hollywood was empty. We must have hit it right because by the time we were walking out at 7:30 there was a bit of a line to get in. We shopped some and then went back to the Hyatt for our "too excited to sleep" LONG night. Got up at 8am, had room service breakfast of bagels and juice, got our bags tagged and out into the hallway, checked in at the desk and sat and waited for the DCL bus to start its runs.

We were on the first bus from the hotel at 9:30 and got to the port around 10:30am. We headed up the escalator and got a #3 Boarding Pass which we thought was cool! We checked in got our Castaway Club pins and lanyards which was exciting. We saw some of our Dis folks and chatted with them. I guess we boarded the ship around 11:30am. We had lunch at Parrot Cay, took in the empty pool and then went to check out our stateroom 6554. Very nice stateroom - awesome location for us. We did the safety drill then ran back to our cabin to drop our life vests and head to the big sailaway party which is awesome and so are the wonderful drinks!! After that is was straight to our room to get ready for dinner - we had PLA - 5:45pm. I was glad that our dinner started in Parrot Cay because we really did not have any time to change our clothes that night and we were still missing a couple bags so we had to wear our jeans to dinner. I would like to note that our servers were good but not great like some write about. Our servers were friendly but we just felt like we never really connected with them and they never really tried to connect with us. At least 4 times that week the head server and the server would start asking us about our service and the excellence of it and how they wanted us to be completely happy - it was almost as if they were trying to SELL good service rather than PROVIDE it if that makes any sense. Anyways......
After dinner all our bags had arrived so we spent some time unpacking and making room for everything. One thing that helps me is to hang a lot of stuff in the closet and then use the drawers for the kids clothes. My DH and my figured we packed a lot better this trip - we actually wore most of what we brought with us - LOL. All the suitcases went directly under the bed for storage and I put one big suitcase in the closet to hold dirty clothes. Once it was full, I pulled out one from the bed and shoved the full one under - it worked nicely.

We did see the variety show that night which was good and then it was off to the clubs with my DD and my DS hit Ocean Quest. DH and I just sat on deck with our drinks and just relaxed!

Sunday we hit Palo for brunch - I need to say that we missed Palo our first cruise and I am so glad we did not miss it this time. Palo is WONDERFUL - I can't even begin to tell you how much I ate that day and how wonderfully the food was prepared. It was simply fabulous - Sasha was our server. On the way out we asked to have Sasha be our server for our Palo dinner on Thurs evening - he was absolutely hands down the best server ever!

After Brunch we changed clothes and ventured into Key West, we did the aquarium and that was nice, my DS was dying for a Henna tattoo - there was some guy on the street charging $20 so we told him go ahead and get it. Well, my son now knows what it means to be swindled - the tattoo was barely there and we even took him back later that day and the guy assured us that it just took time for the intensity of the color to show up and it would darken - it never did - it only dissappeared about 1 day later. Live and learn I guess! Anyways, we also did the trolley tour which was a little expensive but it was nice to have the history and the sights pointed out to us. We hit Mallory Square at sunset and there was quite a few carnival acts all asking for your money. Kids thought that was cool. We tried the conch fritters - can you say YUCK? I know some people love them but these are just plain gross. Since we were at Mallory Square we missed our dinner seating so we had Pizza and Chicken Tenders for dinner - can you say YUMMY

That night we checked out the show - Jay Mattioli - which was great and then just strolled around while the kids hit their clubs - I think we played Bingo this night too. My DS won a spa foot and ankle ritual at Bingo - it was so nice of him to give it to me and I thouroughly enjoyed it later in the week more about that later.

MONDAY was our day at sea. I hit the spa for my massage at 9am - I had the hot stone massage and it was nothing less that superb! After that we all met up and went to the Castaway Club reception. Sodas, Krispy Bars, free pens and a chance to win a clock (we didn't). After that we piddled and relaxed at the pool. Tonight was formal night so we all needed showers and time to get ready so we spent some time in our cabin getting us all dressed and ready and off we went to Animators - I love this restaurant. After dinner we played Bingo again and my DD won $80 - after this we never played Bingo again - we figured our luck had run out and we already made back what we had spent so we were even. We turned in early this night because we had an early tour of Grand Cayman on Tuesday!

I will write more later - my fingers are starting to hurt!

 

[Babs417]

Good job cant wait for more

 

[WeCantWait]

Yay!!! I have been waiting for someone from our cruise to write a trip report! Looking forward to more.

 

[msaseifert]

Yay!!! I have been waiting for someone from our cruise to write a trip report! Looking forward to more.

Feel free to chime in whenever...............



Okay so Tuesday we were in Grand Cayman - we got up early because we had an island tour scheduled. Our timing for our tour was 8:15 - 10:15 but we never even left the ship until 8:45 so we did get a late start. The tour was fine but quick and I hate the way you are ushered off the bus and have to hurry back onto the bus. We visited Hell, kind of cool - had 10 minutes there. We visited the turtle farm, 30 minutes there and then our tour bus stopped at the beach for us to take pics and we were there for about 10 minutes. We also made a quick stop for rum cake somewhere. It was so rushed. I would much rather do a tour like that a little slower and not be rushed. Yes, there is not much at Hell but I would have liked more than 10 minutes - maybe 20/30 minutes to get pics and go to the bathroom and to just look around. At any rate, the night before I was feeling a little seasick and had taken dramamine and I was still feeling the effects of it, I was so out of it this day. We really wanted to do some shopping in Grand Cayman but when we got back to the dock at 11:30 we realized that there was at least 5 other cruise ships in port that day - you could not move in Grand Cayman. We just headed right back onto the ship and hit the pools and some lounge chairs. I think if we had to do it over, we would get off the ship in the morning, do some shopping then do an excursion or tour. Downtown was way too crowded for us in the afternoon but was not so bad first thing in the morning. I asked our tour bus driver if there was always that many ships in port and she says that Tues is one of their busiest and on Monday there is only 1 ship in port.

The rest of this day we just sort of piddled - we did the cabaret show and some other little shows. We did not do most of the DCL productions only because we had already seen them last year. We spent more time relaxing this cruise and my kids love shuffleboard so we spent a lot of time on deck 4. We also really enjoyed the movies on the big screen at the Goofy Pool. DH and I would sit up on deck 10 and watch the kids swim below.

This day was also the beginning of a love hate relationship with Shutters. I love all the photos they take - well most of them. There is so much room for customer service improvements here though. I was so frustrated with Shutters by the end of the cruise I ended up cancelling all my packages with them and purchased only 2 of our 8x10's. I don't recall her name but one of the ladies working there (she always seemed to be there too) would not work with me at all. She was unfriendly and not very customer service oriented, she was pushy as well. I wish DCL would revisit this system, it seems there is quite a consensus on this board about Shutters too.


WEDNESDAY was Cozumel day - this was my favorite port day (besides Castaway Cay which is in a league of its own). We got up leisurely and checked the kids into the clubs got off the ship and enjoyed some kid free shopping which was wonderful. DH and I spent a couple hours at the mall and then headed back to get the kids for lunch and then our excursion - Eco Park Tour and Snorkel. We were all very excited about the snorkeling part. We quickly had lunch and headed to Rocking Bar D where our excursion was meeting - the timing on this one is 12:45pm - 4:40pm. We did not leave the ship until 1:15 and by the time we were on our way it was 1:30. We took about a 35 minute ride to Punta Sur park - it was fine at first but started to rain and the vehicle we were in is open so we were pelted with rain for about 5 minutes and then it stopped thank goodness. We got to the park and was handed wristbands to put on. We seen a VERY SMALL Mayan ruin and visited the crocodile lagoon - pretty big crocs in there. Then we off to the snorkel part. This park is gorgeous, wonderful views of the water and looks very inviting. We we get off the bus our tour guide tells us to leave our shoes on there is prickers in the sand - he was right, oh my gosh I have never seen so many prickers in the sand. So that was a bit dissappointing, when you are someplace like this you expcect to be able to be barefoot in the sand. Anyways, the tour says snorkeling 5 years and up and I would say that to be true if your child has snorkeled before which mine have but most of the smaller kids that were with us could not do this snorkeling. It ws long and they were out very far from the beach, my DH had to pull my DD7 who has snorkeled before. Everyone who did it said it was good and that they did see some fish but it took forever to get them back into shore. By this time it is already 4:30 - I know we are not making to the ship by 4:40. This upsets all of us because dinner is at 5:45 and its pirate night - we didn't want to miss anything. We all board back onto the bus and have a look at a lighthouse and then back to the ship. We arrived at the ship at 5:20pm. We all managed to take showers and only be 15 minutes late for dinner. We were all starving so we ate like horses that night. After dinner we stood in line and got our pic with Jack Sparrow - they need to offer more time for pics with this guy, there was a huge line. What irritates me about this is that the CM had asked that each family limit pics with Jack to one per family so that everyone can have a turn and then the lady in front of us does her family, then just her, then her two kids, then one kid, then the other kid, then her and her hubby - the CM never said anything but was looking a little irritated, I was looking ALOT irritated. I can't stand people like that who cannot follow the rules!

I will try and post the rest later this afternoon. Next Up - Another day at Sea and Castaway Cay - AAAHHHH!

 

[CapnJackGroupie]

Thanks for sharing.....you're doing a great job!!

 

[ThePhantomsGirl]

Nice to see someone on our cruise writing a trip report. I've thought about it but if I told you half of what happened...well I'd have to kill ya! (kidding!)

I had a blast and so did my Pal Mickey although he kept falling down.....

I want to go on another cruise so badly. I am seriously thinking about doing the Eastern....just not sure when.

 

[brady961]

great report, keep sharing <G> and thanks for sharing your trip with us on there but with others that couldn't be there.

 

[plutospup]

I'm very much enjoying your TR. It's been almost 3 yrs since our last Disney cruise. At that time Castaway Club members received pins and a beach towel when they arrived at their stateroom. Did I understand you correctly that CC members now receive their pins and a lanyard when they check in at the terminal?
I'm looking forward to your next installment!

 

[msaseifert]

I'm very much enjoying your TR. It's been almost 3 yrs since our last Disney cruise. At that time Castaway Club members received pins and a beach towel when they arrived at their stateroom. Did I understand you correctly that CC members now receive their pins and a lanyard when they check in at the terminal?
I'm looking forward to your next installment!

Yes, we each (all four of us) got a Castaway Club Lanyard and two CC pins - one to keep and one to trade. We received these upon check in. Once we got into our stateroom, we had a nice canvas bag with some other goodies inside - a couple of mesh bags, some CC cups for the kids, sunscreen, a magnet, a notpad and some flags to wave during the sailaway party. It was cool having something there waiting for us.


Now to finish my report.............

I forgot to mention that on Monday we just for fun asked for a quote for the Eastbound Repo in 2008. That quote was delivered to our stateroom on Wednesday morning. On Thursday we put down a deposit so we are onboard for the repo trip. We are excited and I must say that it was really hard to get off the ship on Saturday, it would have been even harder had we not booked something for the future - something to look forward to.

THURSDAY was another day at sea so really this day we all just hung out, we went to Bingo, hit the pool and just relaxed. Earlier in the week, DH had gotten $30 arcade cards for the kids so we turned them loose in Quartermasters so they could use up their cards. DS11 won a mini Ipod Shuffle from one of the games in there which was cool (it was on sale this week at Circuit City for $79). Kids went to their clubs to enjoy themselves and get ready for the DSEAU Graduation. We went to the graduation and the off to Palo, we had ressies for 6pm. I have to say that just thinking of our Palo meal that night makes me drool. Once again Sasha outdid himself. We had the most wonderful Portabella Mushroom, I had Lobster too then next thing I remember is the wonderful Chocolate Souffle - OH MY GOODNESS is all I can say. We also got to try the Panna Cotta which was equally wonderful. At the end of our meal Sasha served us some wonderful champagne with sherbert ?? in it and that was so nice and refreshing! After we rolled out of there, I went to get DD7 at 7:30 so we could do some of the High School Musical Party - she loved it and wish that we could have been there through the whole party. DS went to Who Wants to Be a Mousketeer - he loved this game and I think we went to it about three times. We also went to a couple of dance parties that DD enjoyed throughout the week but I can't remember which night they were now. After all this we went back to our stateroom to do some minor packing so that we weren't rushed the next evening. We sat out on our verandah (first time we really used it all week) and just stared out at the ocean - aaahhhh.

Friday is the coveted Castaway Cay day and we had so much fun - we love this island. I started my morning by visiting the spa for my foot and ankle ritual that DS had won at Bingo - what a great way to start my day! We all had breakfast and then off the ship early - 9:15 and headed to find some chairs on the beach. The kids hit the water and I went to get sunscreen and CC t-shirts. When I got back we all went and got snorkel equipment and snorkeled. The water was very murky this time, it was quite windy so I think that was why. We seen some things but it wasn't like the first time we snorkeled there. One thing I would like to mention about the water - it was way warmer than last year at this time. It was cool but refreshing, not numbing! We hung out on the beach until noon and then went for lunch at Cookies - YUMMY! We snorkeled some more and then cleaned up our stuff and headed to Castaway Rays for our Stingray Encounter. Now, my DD7 had so been looking forward to this and could not wait, my DS11 was a little more nervous about it. I love the way Disney does it - very controlled. The rays are huge and while my DD did not freak out she definitely was not very keen on the idea of slimy things swimming around her. DS on the other hand embraced it and had a blast. We were the last excursion of the day. Walked back to the tram and back onto the ship at 4:30pm. This was a perfect day! We showered, had dinner, gave everyone their tip envelopes and then headed back to our cabin for packing and DD went to a party in her club. DS, DH and I went to the last show and then I had one of my last fights with lady at Shutters and then we all decided that it was late and time for bed.

A few other notes - Our stateroom host was great, he did just what he needed to do and left towel animals every night but he never took the time to introduce himself so I can't remember his name. He did a nice job.

Our servers were good but again, they seemed to be so focused on talking to us about good service that it actually irritated us a bit. It almost seemed as if they were selling good service and not providing it. Our Head Server always seemed rushed and honestly I felt that he did not deserve the tip we gave him. I felt like we should have split his tip into two and gave it to our servers instead but we didn't, we tipped the recommended amount.

MY DD got her hair braided on Sunday night, she got a headband with 8 braids - looked great and it only cost $16. While she was having her hair braided I talked with the CM - she had two sons at home ageas 11 and 9 and the realization hit me that this woman does not see her children every day like me - I tipped her very well - pretty close to double, I felt she deserved it!

Shutters - don't even get me started again. As a side note though, DH was looking at our pics - the two we got and managed to point out that the family pic with Jack Sparrow has the wrong date on it. It says Jan 9 instead of Jan 31. I found the customer service #, I just need to call to see what can be done.

Movies on deck 9 at the Goofy Pool should not be overlooked - they are awesome!!

Pillowcases are so awesome, I can't say enough about this service. It was so fun for the kids and I to figure each character that signed the cases. My kids love them - even DS11 thinks its cool!

Rebooking on board is the way to go - you get the discount but it also makes the disembarkation a wee bit easier.

RELAXATION is key - sometimes there is too much to do and you forget your on vacation. DH and I spent more downtime this cruise since we had already seen most of the shows.

The entertainment staff is awesome!! By the end of the week we were joking with them like they are old friends - wonderful people!

Okay - thats it! If anyone has any questions please ask away.................

 

[plutospup]

Thanks msaseifert for the info on the Castaway Club goodies! It sounds like it's improved. Your TR is wonderful. I'm envious of your upcoming Repo cruise!

 

[Timmbco]

"Thanks msaseifert for the info on the Castaway Club goodies! It sounds like it's improved "

How do you figure it has improved? She described it exactly like it was back in September.

Great Report BTW

 

[msaseifert]

"Thanks msaseifert for the info on the Castaway Club goodies! It sounds like it's improved "

How do you figure it has improved? She described it exactly like it was back in September.

Great Report BTW

This person's last cruise was 3 years ago - it definitely has changed for them!

Glad you enjoyed my report! Happy V Day!!!

 

[Timmbco]

msaseifert.. I don't mean to detract from your great TR...I just don't understand how plutospup saw an improvement. I too cruised 3 years ago and the CC party was abundant with free drinks and a fancy buffet. So it has "changed" from that time but(IMHO) hardly improved.
Anyway, Happy V day to you too!

 

[ThePhantomsGirl]

I think she was talking about the CC "gifts" left in the stateroom and the pins and lanyards when checking in - not the reception. My friend Shari and I didn't go to the reception as it was the same time as our Palo Brunch. She said it USED to be this wonderful reception with cocktails and food - but now it's Mickey Rice Krispy bars and soda.

 

[Timmbco]

THANKYOU! That explains everything. The new CC gifts ARE great!!!

 

[msaseifert]

Thanks ThePhantomsGirl, that is exactly what I meant. I would not waste my time going to another CC reception though - it was okay but not something I wish to spend my time doing on the ship. I guess you live and learn -now I know!

 

[bbbruins]

thanks for the heads up on the CC rewards info.

 

[taswira]

msaseifert - Great trip report! Thanks!

Who was your Head Server? I am curious because on most of my past cruises the head server did the same as yours, seemingly "pitching" for "excellent" non-stop without doing anything to earn it. This time it was Ronald, who surprisingly didn't mention the comment cards and ratings more than once. What impressed us however was that he actually WORKED - did little things in the dining room, whatever he saw needed to be done, even clearing plates. So I am guessing you probably didn't have Ronald.

 

[msaseifert]

Honestly, we can't even remember his name. He really did only come by our table three times and every time he tried to sell us service. Our server was nice but I honestly can't remember his name either. I do remember our asst server was Evelina. Funny thing is we DO remember our servers names from our cruise in Feb 06 - over 1 year ago. Don't get me wrong our servers this time were okay but not memorable like last time.

One thing that did bother us though. We decided to stay at Mallory Square to watch the sunset in Key West so we missed our dinner. We did not inform our servers, it was sort of a last minute decision on our part. Well, the next night at dinner you could tell that they were a bit irritated with us for missing dinner. On Wed. we were a bit late to dinner because of our excursion and again they were a bit irritable. DH and I figured we should let them know that we were doing Palo on Thurs night and our server seemed again to be a bit miffed. We did come to dinner on Friday and both our servers were very quiet and robotic with us. We tipped the recommended amount even though we skipped the dining room twice. We figured even though we were disappointed they still worked hard for us. I thought maybe they acted that way because they were feeling like they were going to get stiffed on tips but Saturday morning they were quiet, hardly spoke two words to us. I hope on our repo cruise we get better servers.

 

[taswira]

A lot of servers get stiffed on tips so I think they do get anxious about that. Many times if people don't show for dinner a time or two without notice, the servers assume (sometimes rightfully) that those guests won't tip. If you know ahead of time that you won't be at dinner, or that you will be at Palo, it is a courtesy to inform the main dining room servers the night before so they will not have to prep the table for you and anticipate your arrival, etc. However, there is nothing you can do when your excursion causes you to be late, except perhaps informing the servers ahead of time that you will be taking an excursion and "hope" you will get back in tme for dinner. I don't know. I only know I would not want their job!

Holly and I had a dreadful server who caused the other guests at our table for 8 to never return after the first night. The server wasn't just bad, she rather insulted them. Our constantly smiling assistant server was all that made up for it, but it was only his second week so he has not had time to turn sour.