mandymouse
Bahama Mama Time !!
- Joined
- Mar 8, 2003
- Messages
- 72,440
Trip Report Tues 11th May Sun 29th May 2005
Part Two Disney Cruise Line Thurs 12th Sun 15th May 2005
Port Canaveral
We woke up at the All Star Sports at 4.45am and we all wrote our diaries, got ready and potted around until the food court opened. We had a light breakfast of fruit cups, muffins, cookies etc and about 8.00am we headed to the Wal-Mart by the Florida Mall. We bought our cooler box and some bits and pieces and around 9.15am we set off for Port Canaveral. It only took about 40 minutes, and as we drove along we could see the bright red funnels of the Disney Wonder in the distance. As we neared I had butterflies in my stomach with the excitement of knowing that this was going to be our home for the next 3 nights.
As it wasnt quite 10am, the Port hadnt opened but a security guy said that we could park our car and bring our own luggage over to the terminal (usually you drive up in front of the ship, everyone gets out, except the driver, you unload your cases and a guy takes your luggage away while the driver parks the car). This wasnt a big deal to us, so we rolled the cases over, the cases were loaded onto a trolley and we were allowed into the terminal building at 10.30am. We were the first in line for overseas visitors and within 10 minutes we were all checked in (and they had taken our passports).
It was a beautiful hot sunny day, so after taking the usual photos outside of the ship and by the model ship in the terminal, me and DH sat outside in the sun. Around 11.15am we started to get in line, then Captain Mickey Mouse came out and I took some photos of the girls with him and at about 11.45am we were allowed to embark.
We entered through those huge Mickey Ears and had our photo taken, then my fave part, they announced our name as we entered the ship, its a great feeling and all the CMs are clapping and welcoming you onboard.
We were ushered up to the Beach Blanket Buffet for lunch which was superb, all sorts of fruit, salads, fish, meats (hot & cold), cheese and much more. DH & I filled ourselves up as the girls went to Plutos Hotdogs to get some chicken strips and chips (sorry fries !!!).
As our room wasnt ready, and as we had our swimwear with us, we got changed and did a bit of sunbathing. The Goofy pool and area were quiet and I had my first Bahama Mama (of many woohoo !!). The girls went off to explore and found where their clubs would be and after a while our room was ready.
Our stateroom number was 6062, it had a verandah and was in a perfect position to get to the kids clubs, atrium and restaurants. On our last cruise we were lucky to be given a free upgrade from a Cat. 9 to Cat.6 and we loved the verandah. DH could sit outside while 3 mad girls were getting changed.
A few of us dis-ers had arranged a little meet, and as the girls loved the unlimited internet package, we sorted that out and ran into some of our new friends in the Promenade Lounge. It was great to put faces to names, and we met some very nice people and we were lucky enough to run into them all the time and stop for a chat. My girls had got to know a couple of girls who were going on our cruise beforehand (I had pmd their parents and asked if they wanted their girls to be pen-friends) so they already knew someone when they got onboard. The girls had a great time hanging out with them and going to the cinema.
Anyway after our chat it was nearly time for the Lifeboat drill, we donned our life vests (so fashionable not !!) and got to our station for 4pm.
After the drill, we went back to the room and got ready for the sail-away party at 5pm, we decided to put on our dinner outfits so that after the party we could just wander around on Deck 9 and take video and photos. The sail-away party was great, the Goofy pool was covered with a stage and then the characters came out (Mickey, Minnie, Pluto, Goofy and Chip & Dale) in their sailor outfits and after a countdown from 10 to 1 the ships horn played When You Wish Upon A Star (I always get a lump in my throat to that). So after taking photos and waving frantically at the Two Palms Webcam (thanks Sue for capturing the ship and e-mailling it to me) it was time for dinner.
We had the early dining seating at 6pm and our rotation was Tritons, Animators Palate and Parrot Cay, so tonight we got dressed up for Tritons. Our server was Kiattisah, who was brilliant, he was always very attentive and did magic tricks on Becky, our assistant server was Halide, who was lovely and for the first time we had a really good Head Server Bhoola, who was always shouting Coventry whenever he saw us (well no-one knows where Nuneaton is, so we say were from Coventry). Anyway tonights magic trick was Kia rolling up a napkin into the shape of a mouse and making it run at Becky, she nearly jumped out of her skin it was so funny. I cant remember what food we had, but I know it was delicious.
After dinner we had some photos taken with Lilo and Stitch, and then the girls met up with their friends to go to the cinema to see The Ice Princess. Apparently Lilo and Stitch were running around the theatre and sitting next to people the girls loved it. DH & I, for the first time ever onboard, had time to ourselves. We had a few Bahama Mamas in the Promenade Lounge and chatted with some of the passengers. Becky did go to the kids club once but she wasnt impressed, as she found the children too young for her, so she didnt go back.
With Kerry able to join the Teen Club, there was always something going on, so when DH & I rolled back to the room at 11.30pm, we had to wait a while for the girls to come in (a sign of things to come I think).
Nassau
We awoke on our way to Nassau, it was great to go out onto the verandah and see it in the distance. We had breakfast at the Beach Blanket and then went onto deck 10 to take some photos with Atlantis in the background.
We really dont like Nassau (and we werent doing any excursions), so we strolled off the ship to take some photos, we went to the craft market at the dock and then got back on the ship again.
We did some sunbathing for a while, had chicken strips, fries and Bahama Mamas for lunch (nice combination eh ??) and at 2.30pm we had arranged to go on the tour of the bridge. It was quite interesting listening to the CM tell us what the different instruments were, but of course as we were in dock nothing was going on in the bridge. After this 30 minute tour, Kerry vanished off to the Teen Club, DH went off to sunbathe, so me and Becky went to an Animation Class in Animators Palate to learn how to draw Mickey Mouse. We were in fits giggling as Beckys drawing looked more like Timon until he had his ears drawn, but we enjoyed our time together.
Now tonight was Pirate Night, we were really looking forward to this and on our way back to our room we saw people having photos with Pirate Stitch, so we legged it to the room and got changed. Now DH didnt want an outfit so he had a Captain Jack Sparrow beard and moustache, I wore a pirate top and loads of goldish jewelry and the girls had their pirate wenchs outfits on. When we got back to Stitch we noticed that we were the only family dressed up. Stitch loved it, so we had photos and a bit of fun with him.
As it was nearing dinner, we decided that we didnt want to keep our outfits on, so we changed and went to Animators Palate. Once again the food was brill, I had a stuffed tomato, followed by cannelloni and then double fudge choccy cake along with a bottle of Asti Spumante and a Speciality Cocktail of the Day. We were also given our Pirate Bandana to wear for the party tonight. I love this restaurant and I always enjoy watching the pictures light up and the lights finale.
After dinner we went to watch the Golden Mickeys show, it was really good, like an awards show. We then had a walk around the shops where they sold the Golden Mickeys statues, so Paul videoed me doing my Gwyneth Paltrow Id like to thank my mum and dad and everyone else who knows me speech while trying not to cry. We were all in hysterics and some people were looking at me strangely.
We then went up to Deck 9 to get ready for the Pirate Party, we sat with some of our new dis-friends and watched the show with Mickey & friends, and there was Captain Hook up to no good with his lot and Pirate Stitch. It was a lot of fun and then the fireworks went up which was a great ending. There was a buffet on after the show, but we were still stuffed from dinner. The girls went off to see Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy at 11pm, (they shouldve been back at 1am), but they didnt enjoy it and were back by about 12.30, us old folks were already in bed (how sad is that !!).
Castaway Cay
Yippee !! We could see Castaway Cay from the verandah and it was a lovely day. Once again we had brekkie at the Beach Blanket and we were off the ship at 9am.
It was already hot, so after taking some photos and video of Paul constantly falling off the hammock (honestly I was laughing so much, I thought Id have an accident) DH & I had a good few hours sunbathe. The girls went down to the water, but by lunch time the heat was in the high 90s. Now even at home we arent beach people, we do enjoy sunbathing, but Im not good with sand and by lunchtime Id had enough.
We went up to Cookies B-B-Q for lunch, of different burgers, salads, crisps (sorry chips !!) and cookies which were all very nice. We went to the shop and bought our postcards (which I wrote there) and some T-Shirts and after taking yet more photos we headed back to the ship for showers. I can never understand how you get sand up your bum, when you havent been sitting on it oh well never mind.
So after chilling for a bit, I packed and at 5.15pm we went to the Castaway Club party (for returning cruisers), there was a lovely finger buffet and Castaway cocktails, but then Kerry felt unwell, we managed to get her to Parrot Cay, but she wasnt hungry, even-so Kia the server was really concerned and ordered her some fruit anyway and she cheered up. Once again the food was brilliant (and so were the drinks !!) and during the meal they play Feeling Hot, Hot, Hot and got all the kids up to do the limbo. Kerry joined in and by this time she was feeling much better so she went off to the Teen Club where she was given an Aloft hat (name of Teen Club) which was a nice souvenir. We went to view our photos at Shutters and bought some great ones of us dressed up as Pirates with Stitch, at some of the restaurants and at Castaway Cay.
Becky went off to the cinema with her friend to see A Lot Like Love and Genie stuck his head around the door at them. DH & I went to do some last minute shopping and we had our cases outside our stateroom before 11pm (so that we didnt have to carry them off ourselves when disembarking). We went to have some photos with the characters and then the girls joined us for some more. We finally got to bed about 11.30pm.
Back to Port Canaveral
We were up at 5.45am for immigration, this is the worst part of the cruise for us Non U.S. citizens, we went to immigration and had to wait ages to be given our passports back. As ever we had our breakfast at the beach Blanket and we were able to disembark at 8am. As I walked under the huge See Ya Real Soon sign, I felt myself fill up. Wed had a fantastic cruise and we really didnt want it to end, and now theyre all taking about doing a back to back 3 & 4 night cruise so Id better start saving.
Part 3 coming soon ....
Part Two Disney Cruise Line Thurs 12th Sun 15th May 2005
Port Canaveral
We woke up at the All Star Sports at 4.45am and we all wrote our diaries, got ready and potted around until the food court opened. We had a light breakfast of fruit cups, muffins, cookies etc and about 8.00am we headed to the Wal-Mart by the Florida Mall. We bought our cooler box and some bits and pieces and around 9.15am we set off for Port Canaveral. It only took about 40 minutes, and as we drove along we could see the bright red funnels of the Disney Wonder in the distance. As we neared I had butterflies in my stomach with the excitement of knowing that this was going to be our home for the next 3 nights.
As it wasnt quite 10am, the Port hadnt opened but a security guy said that we could park our car and bring our own luggage over to the terminal (usually you drive up in front of the ship, everyone gets out, except the driver, you unload your cases and a guy takes your luggage away while the driver parks the car). This wasnt a big deal to us, so we rolled the cases over, the cases were loaded onto a trolley and we were allowed into the terminal building at 10.30am. We were the first in line for overseas visitors and within 10 minutes we were all checked in (and they had taken our passports).
It was a beautiful hot sunny day, so after taking the usual photos outside of the ship and by the model ship in the terminal, me and DH sat outside in the sun. Around 11.15am we started to get in line, then Captain Mickey Mouse came out and I took some photos of the girls with him and at about 11.45am we were allowed to embark.
We entered through those huge Mickey Ears and had our photo taken, then my fave part, they announced our name as we entered the ship, its a great feeling and all the CMs are clapping and welcoming you onboard.
We were ushered up to the Beach Blanket Buffet for lunch which was superb, all sorts of fruit, salads, fish, meats (hot & cold), cheese and much more. DH & I filled ourselves up as the girls went to Plutos Hotdogs to get some chicken strips and chips (sorry fries !!!).
As our room wasnt ready, and as we had our swimwear with us, we got changed and did a bit of sunbathing. The Goofy pool and area were quiet and I had my first Bahama Mama (of many woohoo !!). The girls went off to explore and found where their clubs would be and after a while our room was ready.
Our stateroom number was 6062, it had a verandah and was in a perfect position to get to the kids clubs, atrium and restaurants. On our last cruise we were lucky to be given a free upgrade from a Cat. 9 to Cat.6 and we loved the verandah. DH could sit outside while 3 mad girls were getting changed.
A few of us dis-ers had arranged a little meet, and as the girls loved the unlimited internet package, we sorted that out and ran into some of our new friends in the Promenade Lounge. It was great to put faces to names, and we met some very nice people and we were lucky enough to run into them all the time and stop for a chat. My girls had got to know a couple of girls who were going on our cruise beforehand (I had pmd their parents and asked if they wanted their girls to be pen-friends) so they already knew someone when they got onboard. The girls had a great time hanging out with them and going to the cinema.
Anyway after our chat it was nearly time for the Lifeboat drill, we donned our life vests (so fashionable not !!) and got to our station for 4pm.
After the drill, we went back to the room and got ready for the sail-away party at 5pm, we decided to put on our dinner outfits so that after the party we could just wander around on Deck 9 and take video and photos. The sail-away party was great, the Goofy pool was covered with a stage and then the characters came out (Mickey, Minnie, Pluto, Goofy and Chip & Dale) in their sailor outfits and after a countdown from 10 to 1 the ships horn played When You Wish Upon A Star (I always get a lump in my throat to that). So after taking photos and waving frantically at the Two Palms Webcam (thanks Sue for capturing the ship and e-mailling it to me) it was time for dinner.
We had the early dining seating at 6pm and our rotation was Tritons, Animators Palate and Parrot Cay, so tonight we got dressed up for Tritons. Our server was Kiattisah, who was brilliant, he was always very attentive and did magic tricks on Becky, our assistant server was Halide, who was lovely and for the first time we had a really good Head Server Bhoola, who was always shouting Coventry whenever he saw us (well no-one knows where Nuneaton is, so we say were from Coventry). Anyway tonights magic trick was Kia rolling up a napkin into the shape of a mouse and making it run at Becky, she nearly jumped out of her skin it was so funny. I cant remember what food we had, but I know it was delicious.
After dinner we had some photos taken with Lilo and Stitch, and then the girls met up with their friends to go to the cinema to see The Ice Princess. Apparently Lilo and Stitch were running around the theatre and sitting next to people the girls loved it. DH & I, for the first time ever onboard, had time to ourselves. We had a few Bahama Mamas in the Promenade Lounge and chatted with some of the passengers. Becky did go to the kids club once but she wasnt impressed, as she found the children too young for her, so she didnt go back.
With Kerry able to join the Teen Club, there was always something going on, so when DH & I rolled back to the room at 11.30pm, we had to wait a while for the girls to come in (a sign of things to come I think).
Nassau
We awoke on our way to Nassau, it was great to go out onto the verandah and see it in the distance. We had breakfast at the Beach Blanket and then went onto deck 10 to take some photos with Atlantis in the background.
We really dont like Nassau (and we werent doing any excursions), so we strolled off the ship to take some photos, we went to the craft market at the dock and then got back on the ship again.
We did some sunbathing for a while, had chicken strips, fries and Bahama Mamas for lunch (nice combination eh ??) and at 2.30pm we had arranged to go on the tour of the bridge. It was quite interesting listening to the CM tell us what the different instruments were, but of course as we were in dock nothing was going on in the bridge. After this 30 minute tour, Kerry vanished off to the Teen Club, DH went off to sunbathe, so me and Becky went to an Animation Class in Animators Palate to learn how to draw Mickey Mouse. We were in fits giggling as Beckys drawing looked more like Timon until he had his ears drawn, but we enjoyed our time together.
Now tonight was Pirate Night, we were really looking forward to this and on our way back to our room we saw people having photos with Pirate Stitch, so we legged it to the room and got changed. Now DH didnt want an outfit so he had a Captain Jack Sparrow beard and moustache, I wore a pirate top and loads of goldish jewelry and the girls had their pirate wenchs outfits on. When we got back to Stitch we noticed that we were the only family dressed up. Stitch loved it, so we had photos and a bit of fun with him.
As it was nearing dinner, we decided that we didnt want to keep our outfits on, so we changed and went to Animators Palate. Once again the food was brill, I had a stuffed tomato, followed by cannelloni and then double fudge choccy cake along with a bottle of Asti Spumante and a Speciality Cocktail of the Day. We were also given our Pirate Bandana to wear for the party tonight. I love this restaurant and I always enjoy watching the pictures light up and the lights finale.
After dinner we went to watch the Golden Mickeys show, it was really good, like an awards show. We then had a walk around the shops where they sold the Golden Mickeys statues, so Paul videoed me doing my Gwyneth Paltrow Id like to thank my mum and dad and everyone else who knows me speech while trying not to cry. We were all in hysterics and some people were looking at me strangely.
We then went up to Deck 9 to get ready for the Pirate Party, we sat with some of our new dis-friends and watched the show with Mickey & friends, and there was Captain Hook up to no good with his lot and Pirate Stitch. It was a lot of fun and then the fireworks went up which was a great ending. There was a buffet on after the show, but we were still stuffed from dinner. The girls went off to see Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy at 11pm, (they shouldve been back at 1am), but they didnt enjoy it and were back by about 12.30, us old folks were already in bed (how sad is that !!).
Castaway Cay
Yippee !! We could see Castaway Cay from the verandah and it was a lovely day. Once again we had brekkie at the Beach Blanket and we were off the ship at 9am.
It was already hot, so after taking some photos and video of Paul constantly falling off the hammock (honestly I was laughing so much, I thought Id have an accident) DH & I had a good few hours sunbathe. The girls went down to the water, but by lunch time the heat was in the high 90s. Now even at home we arent beach people, we do enjoy sunbathing, but Im not good with sand and by lunchtime Id had enough.
We went up to Cookies B-B-Q for lunch, of different burgers, salads, crisps (sorry chips !!) and cookies which were all very nice. We went to the shop and bought our postcards (which I wrote there) and some T-Shirts and after taking yet more photos we headed back to the ship for showers. I can never understand how you get sand up your bum, when you havent been sitting on it oh well never mind.
So after chilling for a bit, I packed and at 5.15pm we went to the Castaway Club party (for returning cruisers), there was a lovely finger buffet and Castaway cocktails, but then Kerry felt unwell, we managed to get her to Parrot Cay, but she wasnt hungry, even-so Kia the server was really concerned and ordered her some fruit anyway and she cheered up. Once again the food was brilliant (and so were the drinks !!) and during the meal they play Feeling Hot, Hot, Hot and got all the kids up to do the limbo. Kerry joined in and by this time she was feeling much better so she went off to the Teen Club where she was given an Aloft hat (name of Teen Club) which was a nice souvenir. We went to view our photos at Shutters and bought some great ones of us dressed up as Pirates with Stitch, at some of the restaurants and at Castaway Cay.
Becky went off to the cinema with her friend to see A Lot Like Love and Genie stuck his head around the door at them. DH & I went to do some last minute shopping and we had our cases outside our stateroom before 11pm (so that we didnt have to carry them off ourselves when disembarking). We went to have some photos with the characters and then the girls joined us for some more. We finally got to bed about 11.30pm.
Back to Port Canaveral
We were up at 5.45am for immigration, this is the worst part of the cruise for us Non U.S. citizens, we went to immigration and had to wait ages to be given our passports back. As ever we had our breakfast at the beach Blanket and we were able to disembark at 8am. As I walked under the huge See Ya Real Soon sign, I felt myself fill up. Wed had a fantastic cruise and we really didnt want it to end, and now theyre all taking about doing a back to back 3 & 4 night cruise so Id better start saving.
Part 3 coming soon ....
Tis worth looking into though. Thanks for sharing, I look forward to more.
