KC's Western POST trip report 4/19-4/26

[King Charming]

We got the marker photo we wanted, but now it is coming up on 3 pm, it is hot, we are tired, and I still have cab fare in my pocket. I called the cab from DW's cell phone (she's been calling EVERYBODY she knows bragging about where she is) because we have an all over Florida plan. I was told it was a flat $7.50 per head to the port from where we were (actually the Southern Most Hotel parking lot). I about bit my tongue off hearing the price, then asked how close to the ship do they take you. For 30+ bucks, I expect 2nd deck service. The boat? Oh, are you going to the pier? Thats a flat $2.50 per person. Hey, that's better, send two. Naw, on second thought, we will just need one. Five minute wait? even better. A fast cab ride along a road a block or two over from the one we walked down (the road the locals use to get around) had the four of us back to the port for $15 dollars (I do love a good driver). The boys had fallen in love with their clubs/activities and wanted back on the ship, so we checked them in. We went back into town for a drink or two.

We limited our search area to within a few blocks of the port. I forgot the name of the place we settle in. The lone acoustic guitar player is what brought us in. DW had heard his home-spun (and bawdy) lyrics earlier and thought he'd be fun to listen to. The bar was dark, smokey, and had woman's bras nailed to the ceiling. This place had all the potential in the world, so in we go. We were talked out of frozen margaritas by the bartender (no blender?) so got them "up". The price was more than the ship charged . The guitar guy (GG) made up for it. He was good, no, he was great. A talented musician, he worked the crowd like a seasoned pro. His "let the good times roll" attitude was contagious and demonstrated just before his last set ended. He asked a favor of a fellow who was with 2 cute bikini ladies. GG explained how good he would look if photographed with the two girls topless! Quick as a wink the girls are both positioned as requested with GG's hands covering... ah...er.... yeah, there. In the photo we took you can count all of GG's teeth because his smile is so big. The only request the girls made were that the photo's never be showed to the Army. Roger Wilco Darlings.

With the cost of a drink stupid (boo), and the show over (double boo), we went back to the ship. We probably stopped in or lingered by 30 or 40 shops both with and w/out the boys, but only bought DS 14 a hat ($12), my butts ($4, but 5 at most places), and sodas ($2 each). Looks like everybody (thankfully) got the word about not spending much in Key West. Getting back on the ship brings on a whole new emotion, RELIEF!! It is an almost overwhelming feeling of joy that you have not completely screwed up your vacation by missing the boat. You may now go back into relaxation mode as you await another adventure.

 

[purplepeg]

We've taken a far amount of cruises and our experience has alwys been that the Head Waiter was Mr. (or Ms.) Snooty. We got SOOOO lucky this time. We had Arnold from Trinadad. We actually tipped him more than the recommended which is unheard of for us. He was pleasant, personable and present. He went out of his way to greet us and to chat - not only at dinner but at other times as well. He is what a Head Waiter should be!

We loved Arnold too and tipped him above and beyond the recommended amount. He was always around and talking to us wherever he saw us. Our wait staff were all right but not over the top like I was expecting from Disney.

 

[purplepeg]

I love that reflection picture of you both but I actually get to see your face at dinner. Very nice picture. Thanks for not hating me after my soapbox rant It's nice to hear what goes on after dark on the ship because I was always in bed by 10 pm I love those newlywed games, they're always good for a laugh. Love the food pictures. It's funny, the other day I was looking at my Pirate night menu and wondering why I did't order different things. It's funny how you're tastes are different at home and not hungry. At one point on our cruise I couldn't decide which appetizer to get. I was thinking maybe our waiter would say "I'll just bring you both", but he said "get this one". I kind of felt maybe it was because he thought I could stand to lose a few pounds. Keep it coming, you guys are doing a great job. Oh and a question, could you only get the porterhouse at Topsiders? I told Geodoc and he was like "what Porterhouse?" He probably would have had one every night if he'd known.

 

[King Charming]

Dinner this night was AP. This was our first night there so there was the show. Our table was in the same general area of the dining room as it had been the night before. This time our table touched the wall whereas the prior night we were one set of tables in from the portholes. At Parrots we were on the aisle near the wall, making this table easy to find also. I had heard so many different things about the show, from Mickey explodes, to...ah, OK, I didn't really hear that, but with everything except a kitchen sink included in various stories, I expected too much and was therefore slightly disappointed. I figure the less you know about the "changes", the more impressive they become. You should stay until your servers tell you the show is over is about all you will get from me about this very interesting place.

 

[Jillpie]

Well, its 2 AM, and I'm utterly hooked. Just fantastic, you have us right there, with every thing that you guys are doing. I just love it. Please, more and very soon!

 

[CRSNDSNY]

 

[Hypermommy]

Hello again all.... you'll have to forgive me for not posting for a couple of days, but Saturday was National Scrapbooking Day and my scrapping mojo took over. Thank goodness all of my guys have enough sense to leave me alone when I'm scrapping. Some of the girls on SM asked what kinds of deals we had to make to be able to scrap all day. Fortunately, KC was gone most of the day working and then there's poker at night (standard Sat night thing). And as for the kids -- well, you know my line... I had an heir and a spare for a reason.. one of you can die.

But here I am again bright and bushy tailed and ready to go on with the report.

One of the folks on our list had posted sunrise times for the various ports we were going to be in and Key West was the latest sunrise, so that's the one I decided to be up for. DS12 decided he wanted to wake up with me and enjoy sunrise. So at 6:30 AM the phone rings and it's Mickey. I do so love those wake up calls. Even though it means I have to quit snoozing how can you be upset hearing that delightful voice?

DS12 and I went up to Topsiders and waited with several other folks for the sun to rise. During our wait and after the sun rose, I remembered that folks used to worship the sun and I can see why. First it's all dark with just the beginnings of a glow. Everyone's quite and what talking there is going on is in hushed tones. (Except for DS12, of course. I keep having to remind him to whisper.) And then, all of a sudden, before you even realize it's happening, the sun pops up -- magically... magestically embarking on it's daily journey across the sky. We got some great pics of sunrise but none can match the magic I felt that morning.

Doesn't it look like there are ships or something in front of the sun? It took me a while before I figured out those were clouds. Hey, cut me some slack... it was early and I hadn't had enough coffee.

After the sunrise I took DS12 off to the windiest part of the ship that KC had found. It was on deck 9 forward... all the way up to where the captain has the docking deck (the clear-floored one he uses to see how close the ship is to the dock). At some point I snapped this pic of DS12.

Then I took him back to the room where KC and DS14 were snoozing. Those two are sooooo much alike (which, believe you me is making my life interesting now that DS14 has hit the whole teenaged, moody, knows-everything portion of his life). I went up for a smoke. I learned to absolutely adore early mornings on the ship when it's quiet and I can have a smoke and coffee and usually a nice chat with Marian from Germany (who's English was very good). Mornings were absolutely magnificent!

I went back to the room and got some magnets up on the door and offloaded the pictures from my camera so I could make more room to take pics in Key West. By 8:25 I had my fanny pack loaded up (which I did while enjoying a smoke and a coffee and chatting with Marian -- and no, purplepeg, your "rant" didn't bother me at all... I know true concern when I hear it). I thought about getting some breakfast but my tummy was still a bit queasy. Besides, the music was on now by the adult pool and I have my smokes, my coffee and smooth jazz and a beautiful view. Who needs breakfast?

While I was sitting there I noticed the CM setting up the deck loungers by the pool. Now you know most folks would just get the things generally lined up, but not Disney. First, he got them off the stack and laid them out in the general location they were to be. Then he started back from the middle and raised the back of each of them and moved them a few inches here and there so they'd be perfectly aligned. You know, it's that attention to detail that makes me think I don't ever want to cruise or vacation anywhere except with Disney!

By 10AM, like KC said, he and DS14 rolled out of bed. I dunno... maybe I had a hand in that <evil grin>. DS14 and I went and got in the hot tub by the Goofy pool for a while becuase he wanted to try it out. After a while I ditched him (sorry baby) and came to the adult spa and relaxed.

The seas were even calmer now. Guess it's what KC said about being in close to land waters. Of course, it helped that we were going a lot slower. Maybe I will go get some breakfast.

I caught up with a7moulton and her hubby and we chatted for a while and then KC showed up and joined us. It was a very relaxing and enjoyable time.

KC gave you the highlights of Key West so I'll just drop some pictures here.

Cap'n Tony's was the place with the fun "show" and guitar player

Some of the decorations at Cap'n Tony's

I purposely left off the picture that I took specifically for KC of the real "show" that went on. Hey... it's his vacation too... he should have some pictures of his favorite destinations and diversions

And yes, I took some pictures of the fabled Key West sunset. It was beautiful.

As KC mentioned, our dinner was at Animator's Palete. I got the polento appetizer which was very good. I also go the pasta alfredo becuase I'd been jonesin' for some alfredo lately. It was good, but I had some of KC's filet mignon and wish I'd ordered that.

Yes, I did take some pictures of the inside of AP, but I can't show them here becuase they'd give everything away. I agree with KC.... just enjoy the show (most of which happens at the end of dinner) and wait until the very end.

Speaking of dinner, this seems as good a place as any to mention it.... maybe KC and our family just aren't into the whole "fine dining" thing, but we were getting frustrated that dinner took 2 hours every night. We love good food as much as the next person (just look at me and you'll know that's true) but there's too much else going on to spend 2 hours sitting eating dinner. This is why you'll notice for the next couple of nights we're grabbing something at Topsiders. For dinner they aren't a buffet, but a table service restaurant. But they're like we're used to with nice tablecloths and fine wait staff and dinner's done in an hour. There are pros and cons to everything, you know... by going to Topsiders we learned about the fantastic porterhouse steaks. But later we learned that we could let our servers know we'd like to have dinner completed in less time and they accomodated us excellently. In fact, I almost felt guilty becuase they would stop whatever else they were doing when we got in so we could get our menu quickly and get on with dinner and get it done with so we could get back and enjoy the ship. They really were fantastic! No, excellent!!! That's the word they like to see on their guest survey

When we got back to the room we had an elephant awaiting us.

By this time it was about 10:00 and I was about to turn into a pumpkin. We let the boys head to their clubs with instructions to wake me when they got in. We timed their evening curfews so that they would be in after the activities in their clubs were done. I didn't mind them staying out late but they didn't need to be wandering the ship at night or they might pull a Pinocchio and turn into a donkey. Of course their curfews were adjusted based upon how late they were for dinner (yes, they were late for dinner again -- definitely if you're going to give anyone in your party time on their own, invest in a watch). I think KC might have spent the evening exploring the ship... not sure if this was this night or not. But since I was up at 6:30AM, 10:00 was as late as I could make it. I hated going to bed early because there was so much I was missing. But I guess I'm just too old to be burning the candle at both ends anymore.

Next up from me.... A day at sea (my birthday!) What a joy!!!

 

[LisaSp]

We loved Arnold too and tipped him above and beyond the recommended amount. He was always around and talking to us wherever he saw us. Our wait staff were all right but not over the top like I was expecting from Disney.

Just chiming in to say we had Arnold too and loved him. We also tipped him over and above! We have only taken 2 Disney cruises but he was 100% better than our head waiter on our 1st DC.

Also wanted to say this is a very entertaining TR! Keep it coming both of you!

 

[King Charming]

Let me first preface this by saying NO public outdoor area will ever be void of wandering people during "normal" hours, however....

The least used public outside spot with allowable access is indeed up on deck 9. There is two different ways to get to it, but because it is a dead end passageway, people come to it once, realize it is way too windy AND it goes nowhere, so they leave just as quickly. Due to the way the ship is laid out, you can not walk forward on deck 9 to see the front of the boat on the right side, but you can over on the port (left) side. You can get to the spot by either walking all the way forward up the left side of deck 9, or can use the staircase (again forward port side) from deck 10 to get there. At the end of this passageway are two locked doors. One comes from the spa area, the other is for crew members coming/going to the bridge (I think). I NEVER saw anybody use these doors during the hours I spent there. As it was so very windy at the front of the ship during transit, it was an ideal place for a private puff or two. And because nobody hangs out there (except me), if they did realize I was smoking, they didn't say a word. (I was afterall, there first). Most folks were chagrined to find themselves turning around and leaving and therefore didn't stick around to chit-chat. Anybody coming down the steps could be seen WAY before they are aware of you. The absolute best time to go there is after dark. 90% fewer people use these mostly unused stairs, and you get extra warning of people walking up by wisely using the reflections. With the glass "bubble wall" you can see reflections of people AROUND THE CORNER!! Having a 10 to 15 second warning open up all kinds of exciting possibilities. I spent a great evening there Sunday night watching the lights of Havana come into view, along with a couple of "other" fun experiences. When we were sailing off into the sunset on Wed. night I had to share this spot w/ a few others taking pictures, but that was the only time I had unwanted others to deal with. This place is also THE place to be to watch the Capt dock the ship when he is using the port side flying bridge since you can look down on him. I brought a chair there Sun. and Mon. nights, but they had been removed by morning each time so I stopped. Go there sometime (but leave after I get there and say hello), you will find this to be the most windy spot, and least used spot on the ship. Strangely enough, 7 paces away from the railing here is also the calmest outdoor spot as far as wind goes. The two doors at the end are recessed back into the structure with a small dry area out front in case of rain. I think you will really like my spot, don't tell anybody else so this can remain OUR secret.

 

[King Charming]

I started drinking the beers I brought Sun evening after DW turned in. One of the best perks of having the "crack of dawn" come at 10am is late nights. . I checked out channel 12 (more about this great TV channel later) to figure out that it really was Havana I saw around 12-12:30. I grabbed a couple more brews in my jacket pockets and headed back up to the designated smoking area. It was here that I got to play "Who's the Rookie Now?". With the bars closed I shared a beer & a smoke with a guy from Cal. (CG). He has cruised many times before , both Disney and others and insisted on educating me on the ways of the seas when I admitted I had never cruised before (silly me). He was going on & on about this and that, and I'm busy waving and talking to everybody who happens to wander by. First it was Dear Barbara, a gentle lady who I ended up smoking with at least twice a day for the whole cruise. Then Connie's friends from Germany come by. Although her English is good, both CG and my ears stopped working 3 beers ago. We did manage a friendly wave and smile when they realized our impairment and moved on. CG mumbled something about them being from France, so I set him straight about where they were from and the wedding planned for Thurs. Finally when John stopped by for a heartly hello (another regular & fellow DIS'er TECHPMJ), CG couldn't stand it anymore and demanded to know how I knew so many different people, from so many different countries, when I had never been on the ship before.

"You did vote for me, didn't you?" Whoa, this really threw him, huh? "Thank you" I said. "It was really an honor being elected 'The MOST POPULAR Passenger'". I loved watching his expression change. From confussion to 'damn, what did I miss out on', from 'did he really say what I think he did', to 'kinda play along with him'. I just love pulling a leg when given an opportunity, and this poor fellow set himself up perfectly. I laid it on thicker and thicker until even I couldn't believe the load of crap I was serving up and burst out laughing. I quickly told him about the DIS boards and the cruise meet forum we were active in. I sure hope CG can forgive me for yanking his chain so hard I may have left a scar.

 

[aemacias]

KC and Hyppermommy,

I am truly enjoying the trip report, brings back good memories of our first cruise. However, I don't remember anything spectacular happening at the end of the show at AP. I think we missed it Can you PM and share the details? Please?

thanks and keep those details comming
adri

 

[CRSNDSNY]

"You did vote for me, didn't you?" Whoa, this really threw him, huh? "Thank you" I said. "It was really an honor being elected 'The MOST POPULAR Passenger'". I loved watching his expression change. From confussion to 'damn, what did I miss out on', from 'did he really say what I think he did', to 'kinda play along with him'. I just love pulling a leg when given an opportunity, and this poor fellow set himself up perfectly. I laid it on thicker and thicker until even I couldn't believe the load of crap I was serving up and burst out laughing. I quickly told him about the DIS boards and the cruise meet forum we were active in. I sure hope CG can forgive me for yanking his chain so hard I may have left a scar.

 

[King Charming]

I again sprang from bed at the crack of 11? Upon becoming human after nicotine and Pepsi levels become stable I find I'm feeling better than the new day looks. Perfect temp (around 80), good breeze (we must be cruisin), barely any waves or clouds as we sail around Cuba. Today is a sea day, and Bday cake is on the menu so it should be a good day. It is also formal night and we will get our pictures taken in our rented tux'es. I sure hope all of this doesn't interfer with my drinking today.

 

[DisneyDavO]

You guys are making me miss the ship so bad its killing me! Deniece, my wife and I were also pretty early risers, so we too missed most of the night action. I did try to go to kareoki one night with Aubrey, but we were falling asleep in the chairs. Thats the one thing I will do different next time, at least one sleep in so we can stay up past 10:30.

 

[King Charming]

So in checking my notes, it seems that I was up at the crack of 9am. I guess I turned in around 2am. Our character breakfast was at 9:45, and the boss said I was eating. Thankfully we were warned that it would be different than previous meals in that Mickey & friends do NOT come to the table for pics. That Monday morning I wrote: What's worse than sitting on a side aisle when the Mic is dancing in the center of the room AND he is immediately surrounded by dancing children and mom's with cameras (DW included); to not see Mickey but only the backs of a knot of people? Careful what you ask for silly boy...

It is when Mickey makes his second appearance and stations himself 8 feet from your table. We were instantly set upon by hordes of hyper people with flash cameras as you are eating your bacon. One hypermommy is super cool, by the dozens my love drops off exponentially. The insane part was that DW couldn't get a decent photo of him even being seated 10 feet away! (Over) eager moms had no problem pushing their way between the table and the mouse. I wish they would go back to the old way when you got one minute at the table for photos with each character. (Are ya listening in there? )

 

[King Charming]

Nothing really happened, please skip to the next post.

I know at some point we had lunch as a family. We covered our itinerary and deadlines. I do remember after lunch the boys and I tried on our clothes. Finding a sizing error at the last minute will not do. One of the reasons I rented from Fancy Cruise Duds dot com or whatever was the on-board dude who can fix problems. I never had to figure that one out because they came through as promised.

I discovered the Cove Cafe today. This has got to be the 2nd most unused indoor public area on deck 9. (the other is the 4 chair w/ table area at the 9 Forward elevators). The cafe has seating for 20-25, and has a big screen TV set to CNN News. It was nice to touch base with reality for a few minutes everyday. They sell deluxe coffee and cocktails, and give away treats worthy of Palo (where it probably came from). In the day-time, the unlocked display case contains sweets, neat tasty finger food type stuff. There are plates and napkins to the left of the large glass case. In the late afternoon/evening they swap out the petit fours for hors d'oeuvres. Although they look devine, they only tasted pretty good. It was only toward the end of the cruise that I noticed I was not taking the first or second serving. Even though the stuff is display quality, it is really there to be eaten with your cup of joe or nibbling on over a pre dinner drink. Or just raid the place to satisfy your cravings. I thought it was great planning to put this neat place within 200 feet of my favorite spot.

 

[Hypermommy]

You know Mickey planned that just for you, darling. I know he likes to take your money but you must admit that he does try to make it fully worth it.

Gotta go... back to fighting with my external hard drive -- you know... the one that has all the pictures from the cruise on it (as well as hundreds of pictures from the last few years of Disney trips)? I'll try to get my thoughts on Monday posted as soon as I can, but y'all pray for me that I can at least recover this data.

 

[CRSNDSNY]

Great updates!

I am not sure how I feel about the changes to the character breakfast...I guess I'll have to wait and experience it for myself.

Hypermommy -- Hope you are able to recover your pictures!

 

[nzdisneymom]

I didn't know about the pastry-cabinet thing in Cove Cafe until another DISer showed it to me. I never got around to trying anything from it, but it's on my list of things to do on our next cruise

Can't wait to read more of your trip! Hypermommy - hope you get the hard drive working.

 

[King Charming]

We had talked about skipping dinner after complaining to ourselves that we weren't really DOING anything in the evenings. A two hour dinner wasn't working for us at all. I'd bore you with the details but when there is a 10 to 20 minute "built-in" pause between bread, salad, soup,... oh yeah, you didn't want to hear about it. You are right, it bored me too. Tonight we HAVE to go to dinner, I ordered a Bday cake for DW. If my deserving wife wants us to get all dressed up and eat a fancy dinner & cake, thats exactly what we are going to do!

Prior to dinner we had photos taken in front of a couple of back-drops set up around the lobby. This is something we planned and budgeted time for. I refer to this night's pictures as my $500 photographs since this is about what the outfits and the pics themselves cost. After seeing the way some of them turned out, I guess I can say I got my money's worth.

We are back in A.P. again, sans show. Dinner again took forever, and THEN the wait began. After a long while I spy the head boss holding a cake, the next moment he is across the room (must not be our cake). A minute later he has moved, but still has the cake. Maybe he is showing it off (must be some cake). After watching the man for 5 mins or so, I realize he's not showing it off, he is actually needed at all these tables (or at least speaking w/ them) and is merely "taking the cake" with him. Another 5 minutes later he has rounded up a group of servers who sing Happy Birthday as Mr. Marco presents the well traveled cake. There has got to be a quicker way, and we aim to find it.