I wanted to post a trip report as this board has been so helpful in getting ready for our cruise.
The cast of characters consisted of me, my mom, and two daughters (13 and 11). We used Disney for the entire transportation package and arrived in Orlando a day early.
Wednesday arrived at Orlando Hyatt approximately 3:00 pm. The desk staff handed me my letter from DCL which told me when to be in the lobby and what paper work to complete. I had thought the girls would want to swim but everyone was pretty tired from our early start so we browsed the airport shops had an early dinner and were in bed by 9:00 pm.
Thursday morning we had breakfast and were in the lobby by 9:15 am. The ground transportation crew was finishing up their staff meeting and we were one of the first groups to check-in at 9:30. The bus for the ship wasnt leaving until 10:00 am. We waited in the lobby and very promptly at 10:00 am they called us to head to the bus.
As a side note, the Hyatts lobby proved to be a wonderful place to wait. It was much quieter and more comfortable than on the lower terminal level.
The bus was no problem. The cast members gave me a sleeve for the documents that the check in people would want and answered any last minute questions about the paperwork. They showed a video about the boat so my girls were able to really get excited about what they were about to do.
It was very fun to watch the kids expressions on the bus as we first came in site of the ship! It is very impressive.
We walked off the bus, into the terminal and right up to the counter. I checked us in, received our KTTW cards while the rest of the group wandered about in the terminal and looked over the model of the ship. We went ahead and got in the boarding line since it would be about 30 45 minutes. I didnt register my girls for the Lab at the terminal since I wanted DD1 to check out the programming for her sister to see if they would want to be together. Mickey and Minnie made an appearance and about 10 minutes later we began boarding!!!!
We were one of the first 100 people aboard. The photo people were very efficient about moving people through. We smiled sweetly and later saw that we were a little travel weary. The announcement of your name is really very neat! The girls were very impressed. A cast member was right there directing us to lunch. We had a fabulous lunch in Parrot Cay. A recurring theme began here where my children willingly tried foods they had never had before! To be on the safe side, everybody took a motion sickness pill with lunch.
Our stateroom wasnt scheduled to be read until 1:30 so we wandered about the ship. The girls did wear their swim suits under their shorts but our weather was overcast and not hot (perfect for the adults!). So while we looked over the pools, no one was particularly excited about swimming. Went to the spa and Mom and I made reservations for Friday. What a great place, it smells wonderful! Went to the Lab to register the girls and for DD1 to decide if it would be OK. The CM was very helpful and went over the activities with the girls. Both decided that the Lab would be fun so we signed them up and got our pager. We wanted to spend time with the girls so Mom and I didnt dine at Palos.
As promised, our stateroom was ready for us when we got there. Im so glad we booked a verandah room (7052). Being able to step outside to your own space was great.
Went to the sail away party. Mom and I watched from Deck 10 and the girls were dancing machines!! It was very fun. We had to show the girls that we were moving as we went downstairs to check on our luggage. It was amazing how quiet actual maneuvering of the boat was.
Two of our three bags were outside our stateroom after the party. I called Guest Services to find out if I should be concerned, they assured me that luggage does get separated and if my third bag didnt arrive by 6:00 pm to call them back. Lo and behold, magically the third bag showed up at 5:30. I didnt have to go to dinner in my shorts!!
Our dining rotation was 6:00 T/A/P. The first night was very elegant. The photographer showed up at our table. (Dont forget Shutters tomorrow!) Our servers were Harlan (Philippines) and Jaru (Czech). They were wonderful and very helpful with the menu. Everyone ordered off the adult menu and had something different. Everything was good.
After dinner it was Hercules. A fun show and we enjoyed it. We watched the characters in the atrium after dinner. They were always there at that time, the lines moved pretty well and the photographers were very generous about letting you take your own photos too.
The girls went to the Lab and Mom and I people watched and sat on our verandah to plan the next day.
Friday Was up early and went walking on the jogging deck. I would suggest early or late for true running. It gets a bit congested during the day with people just strolling. 3 laps to a mile. Be careful for water on the deck. Went back to check on everyone else. Mom was getting ready to go to her spa treatment at 8:00 and the girls were still asleep. I decided to try some weights in the gym. It was very crowded. I was able to work in with weights but the cardio stuff was in constant use. Being able to look into the bridge is pretty neat though. Watched Nassau show up on the horizon. Back to the room around 8:30.
Woke the girls as they wanted to be at the Lab in the Aloft by 9:30. I showered and dressed and took them to breakfast at the Beach Blanket Buffet. It was a very good breakfast. Lots of fruit, cereal, hot items. We didnt even go to the omelet station!
Back to room for me and the Aloft for the girls. The plan was they were to check themselves out at 10:50 to go to the 11:00 am movie; Mom and I had 11:00 am pedicures in the spa. I let them go and met up with Mom to head to the spa. Just as we were heading into the spa I received a page, DD1 had checked out but went to the stateroom. So I called to catch her. Mix up, panic, the girls got separated but found each other again. Were too late for the movie so were watching TV in the room.
The pedicures were wonderful! I might have to do this again.
After a lunch at Beach Blanket (again lots of choices and everything we had was very tasty), we journeyed into Nassau. I hadnt booked any excursions but we decided to walk to the Pirate Museum and try the Straw Market. I had forgotten my Nassau map at home; Guest Services had an advertising map so we set out with that. (Note: Street signs are infrequent so the retail map with stores marked turned out to be better landmarks.) The large pavilion at the end of the dock was our starting point. I was scanning some brochures for a better map when an immigration person offered help. He gave us great directions! Our walk to the museum was OK. As it was Good Friday, not all of the shops were open. We arent really into shopping but if you were it might be disappointing. The sidewalks were crowded and we did get a lot of offers for hair braiding! The museum was fun. If you want a brief excursion off the boat just to say you did it, this was about the right speed. We headed back to the ship with intentions of walking through the Straw Market but our map is ahead of itself. We got to the location marked on the map but the sign said Future Location. The current location as a few blocks back and we decided wed rather go back to the ship. If I had this to do again, I would treat this as a day at sea. Possibly book a day at Atlantis or a beach excursion. On a 3 day cruise though, it would be very hectic.
Dinner that evening was Animators. Probably our best dining experience. The setting and the light show really makes this wonderful. We had great meals; again my girls impressed me by ordering adult fare and enjoying it! This was Pirate night but I believe it was the regular Animators menu. We didnt get the treasure map menus.
The show was Disney Dreams. Outside the theater there was a line of kids being interviewed by the Rona Barrett-type CM. This was on the screens in side the theater. Let your child be on TV if they want. DD2 had met a friend in the Lab and sat with her during the show. They decided to try for the TV interview but didnt make the cut off.
The pirate party is great!! Music, dancing, pirates! I did have glow bracelets for the girls. They did look pretty hard at the Disney merchandise cart but no pleas for something different. The pirate take over is very fun as is the favorite pirate contest. We had fireworks!!
Saturday Castaway Cay -- Up at 6:00 walk, back to the room to get everyone else, shower, breakfast (Beach Blanket again all good). We were one of the first groups off the ship at 8:30 am. As you expect from Disney, everything was clean and organized. We found a great spot on the beach, rented snorkels and floats, and set up camp. Water was a bit cool at first but we got used to it quickly. The girls had a great time! Lunch at Cookies was good. I wouldnt recommend the lobster burgers but the chicken was super. Stayed at the beach until about 2:00, went to SheSells and looked around. The shower is near there and we washed as much sand off as we could. Stopped at the post office to mail our post cards and found another shower by the gangway. More sand left on the shore!
Cleaned up so that the girls could get to the Lab to participate in the Celebrate the Journey program. You need to get the kids to rehearsal by 3:45 for the program at 5:00. Girls got a T-shirt and the cutest mortarboards ever!
Disembarkation talk at 4:30, Celebrate the Journey at 5:00. I wish we had known where our kids would be. We were on the wrong side of the theater and have better pictures of other peoples kids!
Dinner at Parrot Cay. Really enjoyed our last meal. This did seem like the dining room with the most noise. DD2 was moping about not wanting to leave! Best dessert of the cruise was Chocolate Espresso Cake! I had gone to Guest Services while the girls showered for dinner so I had taken care of my tips and could hand them over at dinner.
Disney Dreams show was most impressive! Hustled back to the room to pack up our bags for the 11:00 pm pick up. I had left pillowcases on the first night and went to pick them up. Note: They werent ready until after 10:30. So I wanted to pack the clothes I had on and had to wait a bit but made 11:00 no problem.
Saturday -- Got everyone up and was at breakfast by 6:45. We finished by about 7:20 and had our bags. Waited in the line for disembarkation as we didnt start leaving the ship until 7:30. Picked up our bags and again waited for about 10 minutes in the customs line. Straight to the bus. If you purchase the Disney Air program, you can check in for your flights right at the bus and get your boarding passes!
Arrived in Orlando Airport around 9:30. Our flight didnt leave until 2:00 but remember the Hyatt lobby!!
A really great trip. I would definitely do it again. Would probably want to book a longer cruise next time, 3 days is pretty frantic. The retail outlets on board were always very busy. But I believe they can only have fairly limited hours due to government regulation.
I was very impressed by the entire experience. It was our first cruise and we really enjoyed it.
The cast of characters consisted of me, my mom, and two daughters (13 and 11). We used Disney for the entire transportation package and arrived in Orlando a day early.
Wednesday arrived at Orlando Hyatt approximately 3:00 pm. The desk staff handed me my letter from DCL which told me when to be in the lobby and what paper work to complete. I had thought the girls would want to swim but everyone was pretty tired from our early start so we browsed the airport shops had an early dinner and were in bed by 9:00 pm.
Thursday morning we had breakfast and were in the lobby by 9:15 am. The ground transportation crew was finishing up their staff meeting and we were one of the first groups to check-in at 9:30. The bus for the ship wasnt leaving until 10:00 am. We waited in the lobby and very promptly at 10:00 am they called us to head to the bus.
As a side note, the Hyatts lobby proved to be a wonderful place to wait. It was much quieter and more comfortable than on the lower terminal level.
The bus was no problem. The cast members gave me a sleeve for the documents that the check in people would want and answered any last minute questions about the paperwork. They showed a video about the boat so my girls were able to really get excited about what they were about to do.
It was very fun to watch the kids expressions on the bus as we first came in site of the ship! It is very impressive.
We walked off the bus, into the terminal and right up to the counter. I checked us in, received our KTTW cards while the rest of the group wandered about in the terminal and looked over the model of the ship. We went ahead and got in the boarding line since it would be about 30 45 minutes. I didnt register my girls for the Lab at the terminal since I wanted DD1 to check out the programming for her sister to see if they would want to be together. Mickey and Minnie made an appearance and about 10 minutes later we began boarding!!!!
We were one of the first 100 people aboard. The photo people were very efficient about moving people through. We smiled sweetly and later saw that we were a little travel weary. The announcement of your name is really very neat! The girls were very impressed. A cast member was right there directing us to lunch. We had a fabulous lunch in Parrot Cay. A recurring theme began here where my children willingly tried foods they had never had before! To be on the safe side, everybody took a motion sickness pill with lunch.
Our stateroom wasnt scheduled to be read until 1:30 so we wandered about the ship. The girls did wear their swim suits under their shorts but our weather was overcast and not hot (perfect for the adults!). So while we looked over the pools, no one was particularly excited about swimming. Went to the spa and Mom and I made reservations for Friday. What a great place, it smells wonderful! Went to the Lab to register the girls and for DD1 to decide if it would be OK. The CM was very helpful and went over the activities with the girls. Both decided that the Lab would be fun so we signed them up and got our pager. We wanted to spend time with the girls so Mom and I didnt dine at Palos.
As promised, our stateroom was ready for us when we got there. Im so glad we booked a verandah room (7052). Being able to step outside to your own space was great.
Went to the sail away party. Mom and I watched from Deck 10 and the girls were dancing machines!! It was very fun. We had to show the girls that we were moving as we went downstairs to check on our luggage. It was amazing how quiet actual maneuvering of the boat was.
Two of our three bags were outside our stateroom after the party. I called Guest Services to find out if I should be concerned, they assured me that luggage does get separated and if my third bag didnt arrive by 6:00 pm to call them back. Lo and behold, magically the third bag showed up at 5:30. I didnt have to go to dinner in my shorts!!
Our dining rotation was 6:00 T/A/P. The first night was very elegant. The photographer showed up at our table. (Dont forget Shutters tomorrow!) Our servers were Harlan (Philippines) and Jaru (Czech). They were wonderful and very helpful with the menu. Everyone ordered off the adult menu and had something different. Everything was good.
After dinner it was Hercules. A fun show and we enjoyed it. We watched the characters in the atrium after dinner. They were always there at that time, the lines moved pretty well and the photographers were very generous about letting you take your own photos too.
The girls went to the Lab and Mom and I people watched and sat on our verandah to plan the next day.
Friday Was up early and went walking on the jogging deck. I would suggest early or late for true running. It gets a bit congested during the day with people just strolling. 3 laps to a mile. Be careful for water on the deck. Went back to check on everyone else. Mom was getting ready to go to her spa treatment at 8:00 and the girls were still asleep. I decided to try some weights in the gym. It was very crowded. I was able to work in with weights but the cardio stuff was in constant use. Being able to look into the bridge is pretty neat though. Watched Nassau show up on the horizon. Back to the room around 8:30.
Woke the girls as they wanted to be at the Lab in the Aloft by 9:30. I showered and dressed and took them to breakfast at the Beach Blanket Buffet. It was a very good breakfast. Lots of fruit, cereal, hot items. We didnt even go to the omelet station!
Back to room for me and the Aloft for the girls. The plan was they were to check themselves out at 10:50 to go to the 11:00 am movie; Mom and I had 11:00 am pedicures in the spa. I let them go and met up with Mom to head to the spa. Just as we were heading into the spa I received a page, DD1 had checked out but went to the stateroom. So I called to catch her. Mix up, panic, the girls got separated but found each other again. Were too late for the movie so were watching TV in the room.
The pedicures were wonderful! I might have to do this again.
After a lunch at Beach Blanket (again lots of choices and everything we had was very tasty), we journeyed into Nassau. I hadnt booked any excursions but we decided to walk to the Pirate Museum and try the Straw Market. I had forgotten my Nassau map at home; Guest Services had an advertising map so we set out with that. (Note: Street signs are infrequent so the retail map with stores marked turned out to be better landmarks.) The large pavilion at the end of the dock was our starting point. I was scanning some brochures for a better map when an immigration person offered help. He gave us great directions! Our walk to the museum was OK. As it was Good Friday, not all of the shops were open. We arent really into shopping but if you were it might be disappointing. The sidewalks were crowded and we did get a lot of offers for hair braiding! The museum was fun. If you want a brief excursion off the boat just to say you did it, this was about the right speed. We headed back to the ship with intentions of walking through the Straw Market but our map is ahead of itself. We got to the location marked on the map but the sign said Future Location. The current location as a few blocks back and we decided wed rather go back to the ship. If I had this to do again, I would treat this as a day at sea. Possibly book a day at Atlantis or a beach excursion. On a 3 day cruise though, it would be very hectic.
Dinner that evening was Animators. Probably our best dining experience. The setting and the light show really makes this wonderful. We had great meals; again my girls impressed me by ordering adult fare and enjoying it! This was Pirate night but I believe it was the regular Animators menu. We didnt get the treasure map menus.
The show was Disney Dreams. Outside the theater there was a line of kids being interviewed by the Rona Barrett-type CM. This was on the screens in side the theater. Let your child be on TV if they want. DD2 had met a friend in the Lab and sat with her during the show. They decided to try for the TV interview but didnt make the cut off.
The pirate party is great!! Music, dancing, pirates! I did have glow bracelets for the girls. They did look pretty hard at the Disney merchandise cart but no pleas for something different. The pirate take over is very fun as is the favorite pirate contest. We had fireworks!!
Saturday Castaway Cay -- Up at 6:00 walk, back to the room to get everyone else, shower, breakfast (Beach Blanket again all good). We were one of the first groups off the ship at 8:30 am. As you expect from Disney, everything was clean and organized. We found a great spot on the beach, rented snorkels and floats, and set up camp. Water was a bit cool at first but we got used to it quickly. The girls had a great time! Lunch at Cookies was good. I wouldnt recommend the lobster burgers but the chicken was super. Stayed at the beach until about 2:00, went to SheSells and looked around. The shower is near there and we washed as much sand off as we could. Stopped at the post office to mail our post cards and found another shower by the gangway. More sand left on the shore!
Cleaned up so that the girls could get to the Lab to participate in the Celebrate the Journey program. You need to get the kids to rehearsal by 3:45 for the program at 5:00. Girls got a T-shirt and the cutest mortarboards ever!
Disembarkation talk at 4:30, Celebrate the Journey at 5:00. I wish we had known where our kids would be. We were on the wrong side of the theater and have better pictures of other peoples kids!
Dinner at Parrot Cay. Really enjoyed our last meal. This did seem like the dining room with the most noise. DD2 was moping about not wanting to leave! Best dessert of the cruise was Chocolate Espresso Cake! I had gone to Guest Services while the girls showered for dinner so I had taken care of my tips and could hand them over at dinner.
Disney Dreams show was most impressive! Hustled back to the room to pack up our bags for the 11:00 pm pick up. I had left pillowcases on the first night and went to pick them up. Note: They werent ready until after 10:30. So I wanted to pack the clothes I had on and had to wait a bit but made 11:00 no problem.
Saturday -- Got everyone up and was at breakfast by 6:45. We finished by about 7:20 and had our bags. Waited in the line for disembarkation as we didnt start leaving the ship until 7:30. Picked up our bags and again waited for about 10 minutes in the customs line. Straight to the bus. If you purchase the Disney Air program, you can check in for your flights right at the bus and get your boarding passes!
Arrived in Orlando Airport around 9:30. Our flight didnt leave until 2:00 but remember the Hyatt lobby!!
A really great trip. I would definitely do it again. Would probably want to book a longer cruise next time, 3 days is pretty frantic. The retail outlets on board were always very busy. But I believe they can only have fairly limited hours due to government regulation.
I was very impressed by the entire experience. It was our first cruise and we really enjoyed it.
I agree about a longer trip, we're planning on a 7 day next time.
