MerryPoppins
<font color=coral>I posted around Woo Hooty time<b
- Joined
- Sep 2, 2000
- Messages
- 16,323
Hello again! I'm back to give you the next installment of my trip report. This is the story of day 2, or March 13.
Those of you who are looking forward to my graceful fall leading to injury, this isn't the right day. So if you are waiting for comic relief, this isn't the right report. You'll have to hang on.
We got up this morning and ate breakfast at The Inn at Cocoa Beach. (Just another shameless plug for a beautiful place to stay!) We had fresh orange juice and coffee. We boiled our own eggs (Amy was in charge of the timers and did a great job!) and had fresh fruit. The breads were a variety from bagels and toast to muffins. It was very good and the setting was incredible. Their courtyard is green and lush with cooing doves in the background.
After breakfast we walked back down to the beach for a few minutes. It is a beautiful beach and there were already a lot of people playing in the water. Returning to the room, we packed up and headed to the port.
The first sighting of the Magic is always so exciting! DH dropped us off with the luggage and headed to drop off our rental car. We handed off the luggage and kept a few carry-on items for the afternoon. We made our way into the building to go through the checkpoint. That was a new change for us. We didn't have to do that last time, but that was pre-9/11. I clutched the baggie of film and asked them to hand check it this time rather than send it through the machine. They refused.
They swore their machines are not heavy-duty like the airport ones and no one ever complains. I couldn't help but wonder if that's because you don't see them after the cruise? I hope they were telling me the truth. I guess I'll find out when I take the film to be developed. I guess I looked like a terrorist again with my waterproof cameras. LOL!
I couldn't check us in, because DH Allen had taken his paperwork with him, and the man with the paddle that stands at the end of the line won't let you into the line if you haven't checked in. So we sat down and waited. I didn't want to argue with him since he was holding a paddle. Sort of took me back to grade school and he looked prepared to assault someone with his paddle if we didn't do as we were told. When DH finally returned we got in the Castaway Club line (which was short) and checked in. Then we got at the end of the line. The paddle man welcomed us once we had the right paperwork.
Now, I must admit we were in no hurry to get on the ship. We had our Palo reservations and our massage reservations in advance due to the Romance at Sea package. That made getting on the ship much more relaxed. We had nothing that we had to rush to do.
We headed through the "mouse ears" and down the hallway. They now take your boarding photo before you have actually entered the ship. We stopped and had our picture taken and then boarded. It's wonderful to hear, "Please welcome the Schones family from Oklahoma!" along with all the applause. It's a nice touch.
We went straight to Parrot Cay for a lunch buffet. The shrimp was especially good and I liked the chilled mango soup. When I saw that they tiramisu, I had to have a piece. It's so good!
Then we checked out the new teen area called The Stack. DD Amy is less than a month away from being 13, so they let her join their program with DS David. They liked the look of the new area. It's much larger than the old Common Grounds was. The furniture is hard, but very mobile, allowing for them to use the space different ways. Both kids gave The Stack a thumbs up.
Then we went to check out the new space vacated by the old Common Grounds. It's now an adults only area near the adult pool. We liked the new use of space. Lots of people smoke in that area, so my only complaint is that the deck can be kind of smokey there. I learned to hold my breath.
Finally it was time for our room to be ready, so we headed up to deck 7. We loved our room. It was very similar to the one we had on 5 in 2001, but this time we had a veranda. The veranda was wonderful! It's so nice to be able to sit out there in the morning or evening in your nightgown. We really enjoyed it. Dreams Unlimited left a gift for us. It was a photo box with a Mickey frame and some cards inside. I loved it, since I'm a scrapbooker. We also had the basket with a silver frame/photo album, chocolates and champagne that was part of our Romantic Escape at Sea and a Castaway Club beach towel. It was like Christmas!
Our steward was Wayan. He was a cute guy that was very friendly. I don't remember where he was from, but we liked him a lot. His wording was cute and we giggled about his expressions a few times.
We explored a little more and then headed to the mandatory drill. I hate those horrible life jackets they make you wear. LOL! Right after the drill we dropped off our life jackets and headed for Scoops Ice Cream for the prearranged DIS meet. Very few of us showed up, but it was fun to put faces with names. We saw each other off and on the rest of the week. Finally we all went our separate ways to dance with Mickey and the gang or blow bubbles at the Sail-Away Celebration. It was fun.
We had hoped to stay on deck until the Mickey horn blew and we actually sailed away. It's so fun to wave at the people as you pull away. Unfortunately, someone's plane was delayed, so we didn't leave port on time. Our family had first seating for dinner, so we had to go down and get changed.
Our first dinner was at Lumiere's. I think it's one of my favorite restaurants. I love Beauty and the Beast, so the roses in the light fixtures and the mural on the wall appeal to me. Dinner was lovely. Our servers were Pirom from Thailand and Roger from Jamaica and we liked them a lot. I had cream of cauliflower soup (that I am going to have to try to make because it was so good! Anyone know the recipe? I know it has a potato base), garlic roasted beef tenderloin, and creme brulee. Mmmmmmmm. It was a wonderful dinner. David tried the creme brulee and didn't care for it. He said it reminded him of roasted marshmallows and he doesn't like them. I think he's crazy. Amy had it too and she loved it just like mom. In the middle of dinner someone noticed that we were moving. So we missed the actual sailing, but that was okay. It was nice to know we were on our way.
After dinner we went to the Welcome Aboard Variety Show with Gary Delena's rock and roll comedy and Rich Purpura's magic. Amy is still singing Gary's version of the song from the Lion King that he says begins "Pennsylvania! Pink pajamas, penguins on the botton"
He was cute and Rich Purpura is very funny.
After the show, we checked out Mickey Mania. I went up to the room to unpack a little and then the kids went to the 411 information talk at The Stack. They stayed for Break the Ice and to sign up for tribes. Then Amy came back to the room, while David stayed for the dance.
I can't remember exactly what Allen and I did that night. We checked out the new sport's bar called Diversions and we drank some wine out on our veranda. It was a night to unwind and relax a little. I think the phrase of the evening was "ahhhhhhh!"
Edited to add the link to day 3.
http://disboards.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=534556
Those of you who are looking forward to my graceful fall leading to injury, this isn't the right day. So if you are waiting for comic relief, this isn't the right report. You'll have to hang on.
We got up this morning and ate breakfast at The Inn at Cocoa Beach. (Just another shameless plug for a beautiful place to stay!) We had fresh orange juice and coffee. We boiled our own eggs (Amy was in charge of the timers and did a great job!) and had fresh fruit. The breads were a variety from bagels and toast to muffins. It was very good and the setting was incredible. Their courtyard is green and lush with cooing doves in the background.
After breakfast we walked back down to the beach for a few minutes. It is a beautiful beach and there were already a lot of people playing in the water. Returning to the room, we packed up and headed to the port.
The first sighting of the Magic is always so exciting! DH dropped us off with the luggage and headed to drop off our rental car. We handed off the luggage and kept a few carry-on items for the afternoon. We made our way into the building to go through the checkpoint. That was a new change for us. We didn't have to do that last time, but that was pre-9/11. I clutched the baggie of film and asked them to hand check it this time rather than send it through the machine. They refused.
They swore their machines are not heavy-duty like the airport ones and no one ever complains. I couldn't help but wonder if that's because you don't see them after the cruise? I hope they were telling me the truth. I guess I'll find out when I take the film to be developed. I guess I looked like a terrorist again with my waterproof cameras. LOL!I couldn't check us in, because DH Allen had taken his paperwork with him, and the man with the paddle that stands at the end of the line won't let you into the line if you haven't checked in. So we sat down and waited. I didn't want to argue with him since he was holding a paddle. Sort of took me back to grade school and he looked prepared to assault someone with his paddle if we didn't do as we were told. When DH finally returned we got in the Castaway Club line (which was short) and checked in. Then we got at the end of the line. The paddle man welcomed us once we had the right paperwork.
Now, I must admit we were in no hurry to get on the ship. We had our Palo reservations and our massage reservations in advance due to the Romance at Sea package. That made getting on the ship much more relaxed. We had nothing that we had to rush to do.
We headed through the "mouse ears" and down the hallway. They now take your boarding photo before you have actually entered the ship. We stopped and had our picture taken and then boarded. It's wonderful to hear, "Please welcome the Schones family from Oklahoma!" along with all the applause. It's a nice touch.
We went straight to Parrot Cay for a lunch buffet. The shrimp was especially good and I liked the chilled mango soup. When I saw that they tiramisu, I had to have a piece. It's so good!
Then we checked out the new teen area called The Stack. DD Amy is less than a month away from being 13, so they let her join their program with DS David. They liked the look of the new area. It's much larger than the old Common Grounds was. The furniture is hard, but very mobile, allowing for them to use the space different ways. Both kids gave The Stack a thumbs up.
Then we went to check out the new space vacated by the old Common Grounds. It's now an adults only area near the adult pool. We liked the new use of space. Lots of people smoke in that area, so my only complaint is that the deck can be kind of smokey there. I learned to hold my breath.
Finally it was time for our room to be ready, so we headed up to deck 7. We loved our room. It was very similar to the one we had on 5 in 2001, but this time we had a veranda. The veranda was wonderful! It's so nice to be able to sit out there in the morning or evening in your nightgown. We really enjoyed it. Dreams Unlimited left a gift for us. It was a photo box with a Mickey frame and some cards inside. I loved it, since I'm a scrapbooker. We also had the basket with a silver frame/photo album, chocolates and champagne that was part of our Romantic Escape at Sea and a Castaway Club beach towel. It was like Christmas!
Our steward was Wayan. He was a cute guy that was very friendly. I don't remember where he was from, but we liked him a lot. His wording was cute and we giggled about his expressions a few times.
We explored a little more and then headed to the mandatory drill. I hate those horrible life jackets they make you wear. LOL! Right after the drill we dropped off our life jackets and headed for Scoops Ice Cream for the prearranged DIS meet. Very few of us showed up, but it was fun to put faces with names. We saw each other off and on the rest of the week. Finally we all went our separate ways to dance with Mickey and the gang or blow bubbles at the Sail-Away Celebration. It was fun.
We had hoped to stay on deck until the Mickey horn blew and we actually sailed away. It's so fun to wave at the people as you pull away. Unfortunately, someone's plane was delayed, so we didn't leave port on time. Our family had first seating for dinner, so we had to go down and get changed.
Our first dinner was at Lumiere's. I think it's one of my favorite restaurants. I love Beauty and the Beast, so the roses in the light fixtures and the mural on the wall appeal to me. Dinner was lovely. Our servers were Pirom from Thailand and Roger from Jamaica and we liked them a lot. I had cream of cauliflower soup (that I am going to have to try to make because it was so good! Anyone know the recipe? I know it has a potato base), garlic roasted beef tenderloin, and creme brulee. Mmmmmmmm. It was a wonderful dinner. David tried the creme brulee and didn't care for it. He said it reminded him of roasted marshmallows and he doesn't like them. I think he's crazy. Amy had it too and she loved it just like mom. In the middle of dinner someone noticed that we were moving. So we missed the actual sailing, but that was okay. It was nice to know we were on our way.
After dinner we went to the Welcome Aboard Variety Show with Gary Delena's rock and roll comedy and Rich Purpura's magic. Amy is still singing Gary's version of the song from the Lion King that he says begins "Pennsylvania! Pink pajamas, penguins on the botton"
He was cute and Rich Purpura is very funny.After the show, we checked out Mickey Mania. I went up to the room to unpack a little and then the kids went to the 411 information talk at The Stack. They stayed for Break the Ice and to sign up for tribes. Then Amy came back to the room, while David stayed for the dance.
I can't remember exactly what Allen and I did that night. We checked out the new sport's bar called Diversions and we drank some wine out on our veranda. It was a night to unwind and relax a little. I think the phrase of the evening was "ahhhhhhh!"
Edited to add the link to day 3.
http://disboards.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=534556
