Francisca64
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Apr 29, 2003
- Messages
- 198
Good morning,
Back again.
Wonder, 9/28 to 10/2
Me, 39
DS, 12
DD, 7
PORT/FIRST DAY:
Wow, we had no problem at all getting on the ship. We drove to the terminal, dropped off our luggage with a porter, paid our $40 and parked. I chose to park at the terminal because I had too much luggage to haul with me on the Radisson van. I'm glad I did. It was very simple and I had no waits.
Of course the terminal was lovely with the art deco look, model of the ship, plenty of comfy couches, movies and the extraordinary view of the ship. My children were so excited and in awe of the size of the ship. We checked in around 11 and were in line for entry in to the ship within 10 min. I guess because I already had all of the paperwork filled out. The best surprise in the whole world was that we got upgraded. I was excited because being a single mom with no child support (though I do have a good job-don't feel too sorry for me
) I booked the least expensive cabin, cat. 11. Well, we were upgrade to a balcony!!! 
It was just lovely, but I'm getting ahead of myself.
I waited in line with about 50 other people (at first) while the children sat on a couch and watched movies. We only had an hour wait, but it turned out to be 45 min because they let us on at about a 11:45. It was fun sitting in line with everyone else who was excited. I was able to keep an eye on the kids and with my carry-ons in line I got out several times to chat with the kids. Well, here comes Minnie!!! Livvie (DD's nickname) was ecstatic! She was the first in line to get her picture taken. I purchased it and if I can figure out how to post pictures I'll do so.
So the time has come to board and yes they called out a warm welcome to the Carlson family and shuffled us off to Parrot Cay, but we were too excited to eat, so having been on the ship before (or rather the Magic in 1999), I knew my way around a bit and decided to go exploring with the kiddies. We had a great time checking everthing out, but the one thing they were most impressed with was the extraordinary chandelier in the Atrium. Both took several pictures - I had purchased a disposable camera for each since I'm not into photography. They enjoyed the freedom of taking pictures of exactly what they wanted. I'm interested to see what they thought was picture worthy.
The afternoon was a bit of a blur because there is so much to do. As soon as we saw the pools DD changed into her bathing suit - had it packed with her carryon, great tip! Thanks. It was indeed very quiet but guess who was already in there? Olivia from the Radisson!(in previous post) What bliss for my daughter!
Her older sister who was 11 and her parents were there too. I parked myself under the covering in a chair, it was a very warm afternoon, and released my body of all of our carry ons...whew! My DS and I got some lemonade and he soon joined his sister, though he was quiet tentative because he's a very tall 12 yr old and wasn't quiet sure about the Mickey Pool.
By 1:30 I drag my DD and DS out of the pool and we go to our room. That's when we find we have a balcony!!! Getting one was beyond my wildest expectations, but you know in the end though it was lovely to have one I didn't really get a chance to use it that much. I think it is because it was just the kids and me and they kept me so busy that I had very little time to myself. Also, it was quite hot and humid. Yes, I know it we were in the sub-tropics
, but at times with the sun shining it was just too warm to sit out there. I have to say though I really enjoyed it the morning we docked at Castaway Cay. It was really, really cool to watch the CMs unload the ship and prepare for our day on the island. It gave me a real appreciation of just how hard every person on that ship works. I was amazed at how quickly they were able to unload all the food and supplies they needed for the day. It was a very coordinated effort.
OK, back to day one...
After unpacking and taking a two minute breather it was back to the pools. My daughter just loved the slide. My son wandered around a bit and tried out the Goofy Pool as well. While they were swimming and under the watch of Olivia's parents, I quickly went to the kids clubs and signed up both. Yikes, it was busy and hectic. I agree that the Oceaneer's Club is very dark. I'm not sure why Disney doesn't add more lighting, but that was just my opinion. Livvie didn't seem to mind. It took longer than expected to sign them up, but once at a table with a counselor the process was very painless. I received my pager for my daughter and gave my son signing out privileges since he'll be 13 in Dec. He did very, very well keeping me informed the few times he was on his own. He could have the counselors in the Lab page me and let me know where he was going or where to meet him. I liked that a lot.
Back to the pool to pick up the kids for lifeboat drills. That too was very, very painless maybe because we were in Animators Palette. It only lasted a few minutes and then we were free once again to explore. Since we were so tired from our long day (and it was only around 4:30) we relaxed for a bit in the room. There is a great selection of movies both for kids and adults and it was nice to let the kids watch a full-length Disney movie in the room when they needed some down time.
No sooner than I sat down did I realize it was time to get ready for dinner! That's one thing I will change next time is early seating to late seating. Though the kids and I always eat early at home, I think it was rather stressfull to try to get ready for dinner and be in the dining room by 6. I also felt that once we were there we were rushed through dinner for the next seating. We had such lovely dinner companions and I wanted to relax and spend time chatting, but it was very, very loud and as soon as I was finished with my main dish, my menu was back in front of me for dessert selection. While I understand the need for this, I simply think I would enjoy a later, less rushed style of dining. Besides there is soooo much food everywhere on the ship that I was never really hungry for dinner by 6. This said, I did enjoy most of my dining experience. We had the TAPT seating and had Atilla (Server) from Hungary and Margarita (Assit. Server) from Mexico City. They both work very hard, but I think Margarita worked even harder. She definitely deserved her tip. She not only took drink orders, she served the food, dished out sauces, cut up the children's food and cleared the table.
Well, I seem to be getting long winded so I'm going to shorten up this day since I have to continue working. We had a couple and their only child from SC, a single woman and her two children from Wisconsin and an older lady traveling on her own, Doris. We all loved Doris. She is a self-proclaimed Disney Nut and has visited WDW 39 times! This was her first DCL cruise, though she had cruied several times before with and without her husband. Like she said, she's been married 37 years and if her husband wants to travel with her fine, if not, fine also. I think she really enjoyed her solo cruising.
After dinner we saw Disney Dreams. That's when the two Olivia's sat together just in front of me. They were sooo cute. When Mickey came out on stage Livvie stood up and waved to him. She has a special thing for Mickey because last year when we were at Magic Kingdom she opened the park and got a "signed" certificate from Mickey. When she saw him on the ship, she reminded him of that.
Well, last but not least Livvie wanted to spend a few minutes in the kids club. Since it was past 9:30 she had a choice of watching a movie or playing dressup, she did the latter. My son chose to go back to the room and was asleep by the time we got back. I picked up Livvie a half hour later...I wandered around a bit and looked at the shops. Livvie said she didn't like the counselors. She said they were mean, but I think everyone was very tired after that first day, including the counselors because she didn't compalin anymore of that.
Whew...and that was just the first day. There are a lot of my opinions thrown in to this narrative, so take them for just that. I guess my first dining experience was not that great, but it did get better. I think perhaps I was just tired and not prepared to have to dress up the first night. It was quite a bit of prep getting myself and two children ready for a formal dining experience, but They looked just great. I had to remember how to tie a tie for my son. Yes, he was in a sports coat and tie for both times at Tritons. I think he liked it the first night...he felt very grown up but the last night he left early to change back into a kid. And came back to the rest. in shorts and a t-shirt to let me know he was going to the Lab.
Ok, OK I just don't seem to know where to stop. But now I will and just say we all slept very well that first night!
Tomorrow: Nassau
Back again.
Wonder, 9/28 to 10/2
Me, 39
DS, 12
DD, 7
PORT/FIRST DAY:
Wow, we had no problem at all getting on the ship. We drove to the terminal, dropped off our luggage with a porter, paid our $40 and parked. I chose to park at the terminal because I had too much luggage to haul with me on the Radisson van. I'm glad I did. It was very simple and I had no waits.
Of course the terminal was lovely with the art deco look, model of the ship, plenty of comfy couches, movies and the extraordinary view of the ship. My children were so excited and in awe of the size of the ship. We checked in around 11 and were in line for entry in to the ship within 10 min. I guess because I already had all of the paperwork filled out. The best surprise in the whole world was that we got upgraded. I was excited because being a single mom with no child support (though I do have a good job-don't feel too sorry for me
) I booked the least expensive cabin, cat. 11. Well, we were upgrade to a balcony!!! It was just lovely, but I'm getting ahead of myself. I waited in line with about 50 other people (at first) while the children sat on a couch and watched movies. We only had an hour wait, but it turned out to be 45 min because they let us on at about a 11:45. It was fun sitting in line with everyone else who was excited. I was able to keep an eye on the kids and with my carry-ons in line I got out several times to chat with the kids. Well, here comes Minnie!!! Livvie (DD's nickname) was ecstatic! She was the first in line to get her picture taken. I purchased it and if I can figure out how to post pictures I'll do so.
So the time has come to board and yes they called out a warm welcome to the Carlson family and shuffled us off to Parrot Cay, but we were too excited to eat, so having been on the ship before (or rather the Magic in 1999), I knew my way around a bit and decided to go exploring with the kiddies. We had a great time checking everthing out, but the one thing they were most impressed with was the extraordinary chandelier in the Atrium. Both took several pictures - I had purchased a disposable camera for each since I'm not into photography. They enjoyed the freedom of taking pictures of exactly what they wanted. I'm interested to see what they thought was picture worthy.
The afternoon was a bit of a blur because there is so much to do. As soon as we saw the pools DD changed into her bathing suit - had it packed with her carryon, great tip! Thanks. It was indeed very quiet but guess who was already in there? Olivia from the Radisson!(in previous post) What bliss for my daughter!
Her older sister who was 11 and her parents were there too. I parked myself under the covering in a chair, it was a very warm afternoon, and released my body of all of our carry ons...whew! My DS and I got some lemonade and he soon joined his sister, though he was quiet tentative because he's a very tall 12 yr old and wasn't quiet sure about the Mickey Pool. By 1:30 I drag my DD and DS out of the pool and we go to our room. That's when we find we have a balcony!!! Getting one was beyond my wildest expectations, but you know in the end though it was lovely to have one I didn't really get a chance to use it that much. I think it is because it was just the kids and me and they kept me so busy that I had very little time to myself. Also, it was quite hot and humid. Yes, I know it we were in the sub-tropics
, but at times with the sun shining it was just too warm to sit out there. I have to say though I really enjoyed it the morning we docked at Castaway Cay. It was really, really cool to watch the CMs unload the ship and prepare for our day on the island. It gave me a real appreciation of just how hard every person on that ship works. I was amazed at how quickly they were able to unload all the food and supplies they needed for the day. It was a very coordinated effort.OK, back to day one...
After unpacking and taking a two minute breather it was back to the pools. My daughter just loved the slide. My son wandered around a bit and tried out the Goofy Pool as well. While they were swimming and under the watch of Olivia's parents, I quickly went to the kids clubs and signed up both. Yikes, it was busy and hectic. I agree that the Oceaneer's Club is very dark. I'm not sure why Disney doesn't add more lighting, but that was just my opinion. Livvie didn't seem to mind. It took longer than expected to sign them up, but once at a table with a counselor the process was very painless. I received my pager for my daughter and gave my son signing out privileges since he'll be 13 in Dec. He did very, very well keeping me informed the few times he was on his own. He could have the counselors in the Lab page me and let me know where he was going or where to meet him. I liked that a lot.
Back to the pool to pick up the kids for lifeboat drills. That too was very, very painless maybe because we were in Animators Palette. It only lasted a few minutes and then we were free once again to explore. Since we were so tired from our long day (and it was only around 4:30) we relaxed for a bit in the room. There is a great selection of movies both for kids and adults and it was nice to let the kids watch a full-length Disney movie in the room when they needed some down time.
No sooner than I sat down did I realize it was time to get ready for dinner! That's one thing I will change next time is early seating to late seating. Though the kids and I always eat early at home, I think it was rather stressfull to try to get ready for dinner and be in the dining room by 6. I also felt that once we were there we were rushed through dinner for the next seating. We had such lovely dinner companions and I wanted to relax and spend time chatting, but it was very, very loud and as soon as I was finished with my main dish, my menu was back in front of me for dessert selection. While I understand the need for this, I simply think I would enjoy a later, less rushed style of dining. Besides there is soooo much food everywhere on the ship that I was never really hungry for dinner by 6. This said, I did enjoy most of my dining experience. We had the TAPT seating and had Atilla (Server) from Hungary and Margarita (Assit. Server) from Mexico City. They both work very hard, but I think Margarita worked even harder. She definitely deserved her tip. She not only took drink orders, she served the food, dished out sauces, cut up the children's food and cleared the table.
Well, I seem to be getting long winded so I'm going to shorten up this day since I have to continue working. We had a couple and their only child from SC, a single woman and her two children from Wisconsin and an older lady traveling on her own, Doris. We all loved Doris. She is a self-proclaimed Disney Nut and has visited WDW 39 times! This was her first DCL cruise, though she had cruied several times before with and without her husband. Like she said, she's been married 37 years and if her husband wants to travel with her fine, if not, fine also. I think she really enjoyed her solo cruising.
After dinner we saw Disney Dreams. That's when the two Olivia's sat together just in front of me. They were sooo cute. When Mickey came out on stage Livvie stood up and waved to him. She has a special thing for Mickey because last year when we were at Magic Kingdom she opened the park and got a "signed" certificate from Mickey.
When she saw him on the ship, she reminded him of that. Well, last but not least Livvie wanted to spend a few minutes in the kids club. Since it was past 9:30 she had a choice of watching a movie or playing dressup, she did the latter. My son chose to go back to the room and was asleep by the time we got back. I picked up Livvie a half hour later...I wandered around a bit and looked at the shops. Livvie said she didn't like the counselors. She said they were mean, but I think everyone was very tired after that first day, including the counselors because she didn't compalin anymore of that.
Whew...and that was just the first day. There are a lot of my opinions thrown in to this narrative, so take them for just that. I guess my first dining experience was not that great, but it did get better. I think perhaps I was just tired and not prepared to have to dress up the first night. It was quite a bit of prep getting myself and two children ready for a formal dining experience, but They looked just great. I had to remember how to tie a tie for my son. Yes, he was in a sports coat and tie for both times at Tritons. I think he liked it the first night...he felt very grown up but the last night he left early to change back into a kid. And came back to the rest. in shorts and a t-shirt to let me know he was going to the Lab.
Ok, OK I just don't seem to know where to stop. But now I will and just say we all slept very well that first night!
Tomorrow: Nassau
Cupcake
