Back at work this morning . . .sigh.
what a fabulous vacation! There weren't a lot of DIsers there, but it was wonderful meeting everyone, and "knowing" people ahead of time made the trip even more magical. so here goes . .
I traveled with my dd, who turned 7 just 2 days before we left. We left Denver at 6 am on sunday - had to leave the house at 3:30 am (which I paid for later - see whiny child description below). Plane was on-time, thank you thank you, and we got in to LAX about 7:15. The Disney folks showed up about 8:30, loaded us on the bus and we were the first to arrive at the port. As Roger (goofy on the high seas) said in his trip report, embarkation was easy. there was some waiting, but everyone is so excited, time went quickly. As soon as we got to the terminal, we met Roger and his family, which was fun. We soon met Cherta and her family as well. Since my dd had been emailing cherta's dd, they were excited to finally meet. They got along great, and were excited to see each other throughout the cruise. then we met Bethany - spotted the T-shirts she had made up. Its really funny - it was like seeing long lost friends, yet we'd never met before. If you haven't been on the cruise meets board, you need to do it!
We boarded the ship about 11:45 (I think) - so cool to be announced. There is just so much excitement, its hard to describe. Our cabin was ready, so we went there first. I had ordered birthday decorations for my dd as a surprise. Then we went to parrot key for lunch with Roger and his family, went swimming, had the lifeboat drill, and then the sail away party.
The sail away party was a highlight for us. It was sunny, my dd danced, there were characters, confetti, and when the ship's horn blew, it was just, well, "magical."
The rest of the week was simply wonderful. too many things to write about, but here are the highlights, and the (very few) dissapointments:
Food: On the whole, the food was very good, but not great. The exception was Palo, which was fabulous. I had brunch only, so I cant comment on dinner, but everyone should try brunch. Beautiful sunny day, looking out at the ocean, drinking champage, eating great food. It doesn't get any better than that. As for the rest of the restaurants - I had really good dinners at Animator's palate, good at Lumiers and so-so at Parrot Key. the servers were wonderful, especially to my daughter. The wine list was very nice.
weather: cold and cloudy on monday, which went well with my dd's mood - she was exhausted and quite whiney. I had to wake her up from a nap so I could go to my massage appt. big mistake, because she was way out of sorts when she went to the kids club for the first time, and never wanted to go back after that. She did go back, because I am a mean mom that needed some time by herself, but it was always under duress. tuesday and thursday were hot and sunny, Wed. and friday started out gloomy and then cleared up. all in all, no complaints about the weather. There's always something fun to do, so the clouds didnt bother me at all. monday night we had big waves because of a tropical storm down south - it was weird because the sky was clear, but the ship was rocking. I loved it and neither one of us got sick, but quite a few people left the show in a hurry.
kids club: my daughter's reaction notwithstanding, the counselors and activities are great. My dd just wanted to be with mom, but every time I picked her up she was having fun. go figure. Just goes to show, no matter how much planning you do, you cant predict how everyone in the family will fare. My dd also managed to page me twice during the massage, which i ignored. bad mommy.
shows: great - high disney quality all the way, and much more enjoyable than i thought they would be. Disney Dreams, Twice Charmed and Golden mickeys are not to be missed. we didnt like the Till We Meet Again show as much.
Shutters: Wow, they really get you on this. Way expensive but very hard to resist/avoid. I bought so many wonderful pictures.
spa - very nice - a little bit of "up-selling" but they take no graciously. I had a regular massage and then a hot stone one on the last day. cost a ton, but boy, was it wonderful. I wanted to bring the masseur home with me, but he declined.
quite cove cafe/pool. Great area for adults the pool is nice, quiet and uncrowded. I loved the cafe- its a small coffee bar/regular bar with big screen tv and some computers. On monday when my patience was thin after my dd's meltdown and paging, i checked on her in the club, saw she was having fun, and went to the cove to get on-line. i told the bartender i needed a magarita. He should chose the tequila, but make it strong. he must have seen that look on a parent's face before, because he made me the best, strongest, and yes, most expensive, margarita ever. worth every dime.
room - much bigger than the RCCL stateroom I had on my only other cruise. The split bathroom was great, and balcony was definitely woth the money. We were in the room a lot more than i anticipated because my dd napped every afternoon. (Its been years since she napped!!) We stayed up so much later than at home, she was exhausted after lunch. sitting on the balcony reading a book was heaven.
Excursions - we did Randi's happy horses in Mazatlan, which was fabulous. My dd got to ride her own horse and even trot. we rode for about an hour and a half along a gorgeous deserted beach on stone island. Rough surf, a little overcast. wow - the look on her face when she started to ride was priceless. We ended up at a beach bar/restaurant called victor's. Great food and beer. We swam in the ocean a little - basically just jumped a few waves, because it was too rough to really swim safely. no jellies.
In Cabo, we did the Santa Maria sail and snorkel. unfortunately, the water was too rough to snorkel for kids, so we just got in the ocean and swam a little. the water was not too cold at all - it felt great, but my daughter was very disappointed. Disney had advertised the excursion as ok for kids - but even if the waters had been a little calmer, it wasn't really a good idea for kids under 10 in my opinion. I knew this wouldn't be great snorkeling as the water is colder, and more rough than the Caribbean, but I expected a much more protected bay. I also thought that, based on the description, if the snorkeling didn't look good, we could play on the beach. The catamaran captain said they never go to the beach, that Disney just described it wrong. That said, the sail back was so much fun - all the disappointed kids were laughing and screaming at the waves. it was like a Disneyland ride. Good sailing = bad snorkeling. DCL has so much experience with the Carribean excursions, and Mexico was new to everyone, so I dont blame them, but surely someone complained earlier this summer. I did tell guest services about it, and someone from from the shore excursion program called me immediately. Is was still a great day - just different than advertised.
Pools - Mickey pool we didnt use, except for the slide. goofy pool we used a fair amount, although its so crowded on sunny sea days, my daughter didn't enjoy it that much. we spent less time sitting by the pool or swimming than I thought we would. too much else to do.
Overall experience - great. Its hard to describe why its so wonderful, but Disney knows kids and every day there are so many moments that make the kids beam - from the characters to the servers - just everything. if you have children, you cant find a better vacation. there are a lot of great things for adults too, but its really the whole family experience thats magical. We will definitely go again - I just have to wait till I can afford it!
what a fabulous vacation! There weren't a lot of DIsers there, but it was wonderful meeting everyone, and "knowing" people ahead of time made the trip even more magical. so here goes . .
I traveled with my dd, who turned 7 just 2 days before we left. We left Denver at 6 am on sunday - had to leave the house at 3:30 am (which I paid for later - see whiny child description below). Plane was on-time, thank you thank you, and we got in to LAX about 7:15. The Disney folks showed up about 8:30, loaded us on the bus and we were the first to arrive at the port. As Roger (goofy on the high seas) said in his trip report, embarkation was easy. there was some waiting, but everyone is so excited, time went quickly. As soon as we got to the terminal, we met Roger and his family, which was fun. We soon met Cherta and her family as well. Since my dd had been emailing cherta's dd, they were excited to finally meet. They got along great, and were excited to see each other throughout the cruise. then we met Bethany - spotted the T-shirts she had made up. Its really funny - it was like seeing long lost friends, yet we'd never met before. If you haven't been on the cruise meets board, you need to do it!
We boarded the ship about 11:45 (I think) - so cool to be announced. There is just so much excitement, its hard to describe. Our cabin was ready, so we went there first. I had ordered birthday decorations for my dd as a surprise. Then we went to parrot key for lunch with Roger and his family, went swimming, had the lifeboat drill, and then the sail away party.
The sail away party was a highlight for us. It was sunny, my dd danced, there were characters, confetti, and when the ship's horn blew, it was just, well, "magical."
The rest of the week was simply wonderful. too many things to write about, but here are the highlights, and the (very few) dissapointments:
Food: On the whole, the food was very good, but not great. The exception was Palo, which was fabulous. I had brunch only, so I cant comment on dinner, but everyone should try brunch. Beautiful sunny day, looking out at the ocean, drinking champage, eating great food. It doesn't get any better than that. As for the rest of the restaurants - I had really good dinners at Animator's palate, good at Lumiers and so-so at Parrot Key. the servers were wonderful, especially to my daughter. The wine list was very nice.
weather: cold and cloudy on monday, which went well with my dd's mood - she was exhausted and quite whiney. I had to wake her up from a nap so I could go to my massage appt. big mistake, because she was way out of sorts when she went to the kids club for the first time, and never wanted to go back after that. She did go back, because I am a mean mom that needed some time by herself, but it was always under duress. tuesday and thursday were hot and sunny, Wed. and friday started out gloomy and then cleared up. all in all, no complaints about the weather. There's always something fun to do, so the clouds didnt bother me at all. monday night we had big waves because of a tropical storm down south - it was weird because the sky was clear, but the ship was rocking. I loved it and neither one of us got sick, but quite a few people left the show in a hurry.
kids club: my daughter's reaction notwithstanding, the counselors and activities are great. My dd just wanted to be with mom, but every time I picked her up she was having fun. go figure. Just goes to show, no matter how much planning you do, you cant predict how everyone in the family will fare. My dd also managed to page me twice during the massage, which i ignored. bad mommy.
shows: great - high disney quality all the way, and much more enjoyable than i thought they would be. Disney Dreams, Twice Charmed and Golden mickeys are not to be missed. we didnt like the Till We Meet Again show as much.
Shutters: Wow, they really get you on this. Way expensive but very hard to resist/avoid. I bought so many wonderful pictures.
spa - very nice - a little bit of "up-selling" but they take no graciously. I had a regular massage and then a hot stone one on the last day. cost a ton, but boy, was it wonderful. I wanted to bring the masseur home with me, but he declined.
quite cove cafe/pool. Great area for adults the pool is nice, quiet and uncrowded. I loved the cafe- its a small coffee bar/regular bar with big screen tv and some computers. On monday when my patience was thin after my dd's meltdown and paging, i checked on her in the club, saw she was having fun, and went to the cove to get on-line. i told the bartender i needed a magarita. He should chose the tequila, but make it strong. he must have seen that look on a parent's face before, because he made me the best, strongest, and yes, most expensive, margarita ever. worth every dime.
room - much bigger than the RCCL stateroom I had on my only other cruise. The split bathroom was great, and balcony was definitely woth the money. We were in the room a lot more than i anticipated because my dd napped every afternoon. (Its been years since she napped!!) We stayed up so much later than at home, she was exhausted after lunch. sitting on the balcony reading a book was heaven.
Excursions - we did Randi's happy horses in Mazatlan, which was fabulous. My dd got to ride her own horse and even trot. we rode for about an hour and a half along a gorgeous deserted beach on stone island. Rough surf, a little overcast. wow - the look on her face when she started to ride was priceless. We ended up at a beach bar/restaurant called victor's. Great food and beer. We swam in the ocean a little - basically just jumped a few waves, because it was too rough to really swim safely. no jellies.
In Cabo, we did the Santa Maria sail and snorkel. unfortunately, the water was too rough to snorkel for kids, so we just got in the ocean and swam a little. the water was not too cold at all - it felt great, but my daughter was very disappointed. Disney had advertised the excursion as ok for kids - but even if the waters had been a little calmer, it wasn't really a good idea for kids under 10 in my opinion. I knew this wouldn't be great snorkeling as the water is colder, and more rough than the Caribbean, but I expected a much more protected bay. I also thought that, based on the description, if the snorkeling didn't look good, we could play on the beach. The catamaran captain said they never go to the beach, that Disney just described it wrong. That said, the sail back was so much fun - all the disappointed kids were laughing and screaming at the waves. it was like a Disneyland ride. Good sailing = bad snorkeling. DCL has so much experience with the Carribean excursions, and Mexico was new to everyone, so I dont blame them, but surely someone complained earlier this summer. I did tell guest services about it, and someone from from the shore excursion program called me immediately. Is was still a great day - just different than advertised.
Pools - Mickey pool we didnt use, except for the slide. goofy pool we used a fair amount, although its so crowded on sunny sea days, my daughter didn't enjoy it that much. we spent less time sitting by the pool or swimming than I thought we would. too much else to do.
Overall experience - great. Its hard to describe why its so wonderful, but Disney knows kids and every day there are so many moments that make the kids beam - from the characters to the servers - just everything. if you have children, you cant find a better vacation. there are a lot of great things for adults too, but its really the whole family experience thats magical. We will definitely go again - I just have to wait till I can afford it!
Thanks for the trip report. I'm glad you and your daughter had a good time. Question for you on the Spa. It sounded like you had a man providing your massage. Is that correct? If so, do you know if you can request a man or woman? I plan on scheduling a Spa appointment for my husband and I think he'd much prefer this from a woman instead of a man.
