Hi Everyone!
We are back safe and sound. Spent Sunday unpacking and doing laundry. Yesterday I went up to DD's house and helped her unpack and sort through all our FE gifts. Final night on the ship we just threw things into bags and things went wherever they fit! LOL!
Cruise Report! It was wonderful! The best cruise ever. Even though the Sail Away Party was moved indoors because of the rain and the first night and first day was so rocky. We hit 20 foot waves. Let's just say the line at Guest Services picking up anti seasick pills was huge. Even my husband and daughter who NEVER get seasick were feeling it. I was one of those poor people in line getting them some pills. DD was fine on Sunday, but DH just layed in bed all day because he wasn't feeling well. I ended up buying some Dramamine they had in the gift shop and that helped him. Either that or the seas did calm down by dinner time! Oh, and I did learn that if you get to an elevator and there are cast members standing in front of a door that doesn't open, it's because someone got sick and they were cleaning it. They are like, "You don't want to go in this one."
If any of you are on Facebook, I posted a ton of pictures on my page and also shared my DD's albums on my page as well.
Anyway, when we got to the port on Saturday we decided to ask if there were any upgrades available and the 2 bedroom suite was open. So we got it! It was perfect for us. The "kids" bedroom had two lower twin beds and also an upper berth. We put my DD and granddaughter in there. It had a full bathroom and a walk in closet. The living room had a queen size sofa bed, so we had my dad sleep there. The master bedroom was a king sized bed, huge walk in closet. The bathroom had a jacuzzi tub and then a separate toilet area with a nice big shower. It was awesome! The mini fridge came stocked with soda and we got a full case of bottled water and a welcome fruit bowl. Concierge level really spoils you. Every afternoon around 3:30 they would deliver yummy treats! When we sailed away from St. Thomas they had a private Concierge Party, with drinks and yummy eats! They even had those Rice Krispy Ears for the kids and kids at heart (um...yes I ate one of them...I love those things!) What fun that was.
The one thing I learned about cabin changes and upgrades at the port is that it does pose a small problem with FE gifts. We had several people upgrade or their cabins were switched for unknown reasons. Most Cabin Hosts were really nice about it. They posted signs on the doors or left the signs that people posted on the doors, "We have moved to cabin # , signed DisName." Plus the people that moved delivered their FE gifts early. I delivered mine right away and put my new cabin number on there and as soon as we boarded I went to our FE organizer's room and posted a note on her door that we had upgraded. A few people must have missed the we moved memo though. I went down and left a note on the old door on Sat. I went down on Sunday just to check, and the note was gone and there was a gift just lying on the floor. I found the Cabin Host and asked him where the note was, and he was so rude, he claimed that someone was in the cabin so he took the note down! I went to the front desk on Monday and was told the room was empty. So I checked the hall a few times throughout the trip and would find things just lying in front of the door. That guy also never left my DD's DVC Member Gift in her Cabin nor my Dad's Castaway gift in his cabin. When we upgraded we could only upgrade one cabin and we had to keep the second cabin, so technically, my DD was still in that cabin and we had a key for her the entire time, and he never left those things in that cabin. Maybe he was mad that he was losing out on a tip?
Anyway, where I'm going with this is that if there is no Fish Extender hanging from a fish, it's a pretty good indication that the person you are leaving a gift for is no longer in that cabin. Lesson learned here from this experience. I'm going to have a list on my door of any cabin changes. So please check my list if you have any questions and be sure to make my cabin stop number one if you have a change!
Okay, moving on. The food was wonderful but the meals would take about two hours. Which is fine if you are adults with older children. But it really was a LONG time to sit there with an almost two year old. If you have really little ones, make sure to bring things to keep them busy during the meal. It was a long time between courses. We had crayons and coloring books and blank coloring paper, and little toys to keep Tori busy. She really was a good girl considering how long she had to sit there.
The shows were amazing! Don't miss them! That's all I'm saying!
If you have a little girl make sure to head right over to Guest Services to ask about the Alice and Mad Hatter Tea Party. Tori LOVED it. They hold those at 4 pm on sea days.
While you are at Guest Services, be sure to drop off a photo mat or pillow cases for autographing. We dropped off two mats with Sharpies and some candy for the "VIPs". It must be in a bag that can close or a ziplock type of bag. They have a form that they tape to the bag with your name and cabin number. They ask you who you want to have sign it. I just said, EVERYONE one of the characters on the ship. On final night the autographed items are delivered to your room. The mat was signed by: Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Daisy, Goofy, Chip, Dale, Snow White, Dopey, Tiana, Cinderella, Aurora, Stitch, Lilo, Belle, and Pluto!
Castaway Cay was beautiful. We did get a cabana and it was totally worth every penny. LOVED it.
So I'm ending this trip report with a picture of the view from inside a cabana, and I sure hope I didn't bore anyone. Please feel free to ask me any questions.
