Short and sweet report:
We arrived late on May 9 (sailing on May 10). The airport porter at luggage insisted he could take the luggage all the way up to our room at the Hyatt. So we had him take our luggage, only to find out that the Hyatt won't allow airport porters to come up to rooms. So we had to tip twice (both airport and Hyatt). Moral: if you are at the Hyatt and want to have someone take care of your luggage, get a Hyatt porter.
We used QS tranportation from the Hyatt MCO to the port. I wanted to get there really early to get a low boarding number. We had the van come at 8:30am, although we didn't get the kids (4 sons, ages 2, 5, 8, 10) ready in time. We ended up leaving about 8:50am. The driver was very kind and didn't mind our tardiness. We got to the port around 9:30am. We got dropped off at the curb and there was no porters yet - they were still helping those getting off the ship. We had two cabins (connecting 9's) so I took the two children that were registered in my cabin and went to check in while DH stayed with the other two with the luggage. We got boarding #2! Very excited. There were upgrades available, although since we needed 2 connecting cabins it didn't matter to us. Other DISers did upgrade. They had a suite available, although I never found out what one (I do know it was a Cat. 3). Cat. 4, 5, and I think 6 or 8 were available. I was surprised as I figured there would have been nothing available. The upgrades went fast.
We hung out for several hours, checking out the ship and getting pictures with Mickey. How fun! We were so excited. Our 2 year old kept looking at Mickey's Ears and wanted to so badly go through! Finally they said they would start calling numbers. One person just pushed their way to the front - saying "I'm number 2" and went right past all the rest of us that were number 2! But no bad feelings as I knew it would be just moments until we got on board! Sure enough, a moment later they called number 2 and we head in. One look back....to Florida....and off to California we went.
I almost cried when they announced our family. After a long 18 months, we really were starting our trip of a lifetime! Once on board, DH went to guest services to get a stroller and I went to Rockin Bar to get Palo's and check on our table assignment. We got PLA, which is what I wanted - Parrot Cay on Pirate night and Luminere's on Formal. Perfect! Our time was very early, 5:30pm. I was worried it would be too early but they said we could come after 5:30pm, no worries. Most nights we didn't get there until 5:45pm. Our table was just our family, so no worries they said.
Tons of brunch and dinner at the time we checked in. "No problem" they said. We already had our dinner, so made a brunch on the 17th.
After that, off to Parrot Cay. Then to Mickey Pool. It was all just perfect. We had the pin order form waiting in our room. The deal: each cabin could order one of each pin (the ports, the 2 panama canal, and the one large logo). You put them in order of preference. It seemed pretty certain that you were guaranteed one of each. If you wanted more than one, you needed to complete another form, and those would be filled after everyone got there first choice. They also had ornaments (limited to 120). Since we had 2 cabins, we put down for 2 of those as our first choice. We also got enough of the PC pins for all the kids (just the PC, not the other ports - we could have, but it would have been expensive. They also had some special pins to put down - a Mother's Day one, Chip and Dale, Prince Caspian. I put down Mother's Day as my second priority (after the ornament) but didn't get it. We got all the other ones. After, they still had some left over if people wanted to buy more. The ornaments did sell out.
Castaway was the first day - and it was Mother's Day. It was a great way to spend the holiday. Loved it. The boys rented bikes. A guest unfortuantely broke his leg while riding bikes. Saw him a few days later at Palo's and he was doing well. That night was the best - I met up with some other DISers and we had a blast dancing and visiting.
Sea days were wonderful. The kids loved the club. Played bingo for the first time using the electronic bingo. Didn't like it as much as old fashion, but suppose you have better odds. The jackpot bingo ended up over $30,000! For EB people - be sure to get there early as they ran out of the electronic cards during the big jackpot one on the last day.
Aruba was fun - we didn't do any tours on this trip. We walked up and down the streets, bought some souvenirs for the kids. Got some sunglasses.
Sea day again. Had Palo dinner on the 15th. Of course, it was great.
Went to bed early to prepare for the big day!
On the 16th, I got up at 5am. Did I mention it was my 40th birthday???? What a great day! My eldest went up with me. By 5:15am, all the spots against the railing were taken on deck 10 forward one person deep. The sides were pretty empty. We had made a banner, but didn't have it set up yet. In hindsight, I wish we did that first thing. Also, I only saw the photographers at the first set of locks. As hard as I tried, I couldn't get an answer as to where they would be and at one time before the actual day of the crossing. So we ended up never getting a photo of us behind our banner. I don't think the photographers knew when they would be able to go out. It probably isn't something they could plan well. Also, there was a US sub that went right before us so that messed with the webcam slightly they said. Security reasons caused them to make the webcam offline.
Back to the day, I had a great time hanging out waiting for the crossing to start. They had a buffet set up on deck 10. A wonderful young couple allowed the kids to sit up in front of them. Around 6:30am, it started to get pretty packed. I called DH to have him come with the rest of the boys. Around 7:30am, they announced it would be another hour before the actual crossing. Most people stayed put. By the time of the actual crossing, it was a bit claustiphobic was so many people packed in. But I had no desire to leave. DH left with the baby, who wanted to go back to sleep. A little while later, two more boys went to the cabin and it was just me and my oldest (just like we started the morning). You can see where the French canal was.
The photographers were on shore during the first set of locks, taking lots of pictures. If you don't see your photo and you think it was taken, be sure to ask to see the negatives. They only make one copy of each, so if you are standing next to someone, they might buy it before you get to see it. The whole thing was pretty impressive.
After the first set, we went to lunch at Topsiders. That was really neat to sit outside. Then we headed to deck 4 to stand next to our banner during the next set of locks. By then, we couldn't see any photographers on shore. They were walking around the ship, as was several of the characters. My favorite part was sailing through the lake - that was very beautiful.
That night, we had a great chocolate cake for my birthday. The next day was at sea and Palo's brunch. In Acapulco, we took a taxi to see the cliff divers. I've seen divers in Maui and have to say that I enjoyed the Maui dive watching much more. We made reservations at the lunch at the restaurant were everyone gathers to watch the show. The restaurant actually collects a fee before being served ($15/each). It seemed pretty cheesy, so we passed on it and paid the $3 to walk down the stairs. With the $3, you got a drink (Squirt). Overall, it was somewhat of a disappointment. Regardless, we were making the most of it. We then paid our taxi driver to take us on a quick tour. He took us to this old hotel that was being refurb. It had a fantastic view.
Other ports: In PV, we went straight to the Westin and played in their pools.
We used points and paid for a night, although we were just there for the day. It was $60 plus I think 4000 starwood points. Great deal. In Cabo, did the same thing and went to the Sheraton. It was a great pool and beautiful hotel. We made it back in time for Pirate night, which was a little tough given our 5:30 dinner time. In hindsight, I wish we had stayed on the ship for Cabo.
The whole trip was magical and if they released more PC cruises in 2010, I'd book in a heartbeat. It was wonderful.
If you have any questions, please feel free to ask away. It was a great time. I'm very jealous of you EB who have the great journey ahead!
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I got off last week and am so sad to be home. Have a great time...
