Who? Me, DH, and our 9-turning-10-in-a-matter-of-days twin DD's
Saturday: If you actually manage to read this entire epic trip report, the one thing that I hope you take away is this: FLY IN THE DAY BEFORE!!!! No exceptions. We thought we'd be fine -- we had the first flight out that morning, the plane would be at the gate already, we should be in Orlando at 9:45 am. Well... guess what. We had a plane, but no crew. We boarded 2 hours late, finally backed away from the gate, and were sent back due to a ground stop in Orlando for bad weather. We finally arrived at MCO 4 hours late; we didn't get to the pier until after 3pm. Although it ended up fine, it resulted in needless stress, and we missed out on meeting our DIS board friends and having lunch on the ship. Fortunately, that was the ONLY thing that went wrong on our trip. And once we pulled up at the terminal in Port Canaveral, everything was heavenly.
Our late arrival did make for a very quick and painless check in -- we were the only ones there! And becasue we had REAS, we didn't have to worry about PALO or Spa reservations. The ship ended up sailing late due to another party of people who were delayed by the weather in Orlando.
Once we boarded the ship, we were kind of overwhelmed and disoriented. All our plans were out the window since we were so late. It was pouring rain -- no swimming. We'd missed our DIS board meet. It was nearly time for the lifeboat drill so we didn't have much time to explore. We just had time to go to the Oceaneer's Lab and start the registration process before they closed.
We were overwhelmed by our room -- mostly because it was FULL of goodies. DH had decided to surprise me, I had decided to surprise him, Grandma had been working with Shirley at the Perfect Gift. (more on that later! keep reading.)
The sun came out just in time for the lifeboat drill and the sailaway party. The lifeboat drill was HOT (facing in to the sun) and crowded and claustrophic. The kids' size life jackets were pretty tight and uncomfortable on our tall dd's. But shortlived, and it was a nice opportunity to chat with the people around us.
Sailaway party was a blast, although we didn't actually sail away. My girls were a little bit intimidated and overwhelmed by all the hubub, so they didn't enjoy it as much as later events. We headed back to the room to freshen up a bit.
Unpacking and settling in is a bit overwhelming. DEFINITELY pack swimsuits and first night dinner clothes in a carry on. We didn't get our bags til after dinner, probably because we checked in so late. Their system for handling baggage is really quite incredible. We had 7 bags plus 2 carry ons, and everything was always right where it was supposed to be. Our largest suitcase did not fit under the bed, but we stacked it upright on one side of the closet. The rest of the suitcases fit under the bed. It was really handy to have a hanging rack in the closet to use for socks, underwear, hats, and other small items of clothing, freeing up drawer space. The over the door holder was invaluable. We hung that on the door to the room with the shower, and then we could access everything even if someone was using the facilities.
You will feel better if you take some time to unpack and get organized before you run off in twenty different directions. It is kind of overwhelming to have the suitcases and stuff piled everywhere. We had quite an assortment of surprises waiting for us in the room - dh decided to send some things without telling me, and I wanted to surprise him, so we ended up with double! We had 2 baskets from Shirley for the girls from my mom -- WONDERFUL! They loved having beach toys (we left them at Castaway Cay), juice boxes and snacks. Then we had the REAS basket, champagne on ice, a pastry tray and a fruit platter. DH ordered the spa basket for me, and 2 teen girl packages for the girls. Having the purses and books were very handy; the girls really loved them. I had ordered the birthday celebration package, so we had hanging decorations and a cake. The cake -- well, dd said it was the worst cake she had ever eaten! But it looks festive and fun, and the chocolate ship on top is good! It was nice to have the food in the room since we'd missed lunch. But, it was hard to cut into the fruit -- they confiscated dh's leatherman out of his checked bags. I don't know if you'd have better luck getting a cutting knife on board in your carry on or not.
We enjoyed the show the first night as an introduction to the cruise director, and other staff, as well as some of the entertainers.
Our first night dinner in AP was spectacular -- I had gazpacho and a Boston Bib salad for dinner, saved room for dessert (strawberry shortcake). Our server, Deneval from Jamaica, brought us a plate of the maple salmon to try; it was wonderful. DD was a little bit disoriented by the movement of the ship. She looked a bit pale and kept saying "I can't get used to this, I can't get used to this," but was fine after a walk on the deck following dinner. I think that it was enhanced by the fact that the ship sailed while we were at the show inside the theater, and the motion was really weird in that dark environment rather than in the fresh air up on deck.
We were exhausted, having left home at 5:30 am, and all the stress of our delays in traveling really did us in. We dropped into bed like a sack of stones -- thrilled to be on board!
Go to Day Two
Saturday: If you actually manage to read this entire epic trip report, the one thing that I hope you take away is this: FLY IN THE DAY BEFORE!!!! No exceptions. We thought we'd be fine -- we had the first flight out that morning, the plane would be at the gate already, we should be in Orlando at 9:45 am. Well... guess what. We had a plane, but no crew. We boarded 2 hours late, finally backed away from the gate, and were sent back due to a ground stop in Orlando for bad weather. We finally arrived at MCO 4 hours late; we didn't get to the pier until after 3pm. Although it ended up fine, it resulted in needless stress, and we missed out on meeting our DIS board friends and having lunch on the ship. Fortunately, that was the ONLY thing that went wrong on our trip. And once we pulled up at the terminal in Port Canaveral, everything was heavenly.
Our late arrival did make for a very quick and painless check in -- we were the only ones there! And becasue we had REAS, we didn't have to worry about PALO or Spa reservations. The ship ended up sailing late due to another party of people who were delayed by the weather in Orlando.
Once we boarded the ship, we were kind of overwhelmed and disoriented. All our plans were out the window since we were so late. It was pouring rain -- no swimming. We'd missed our DIS board meet. It was nearly time for the lifeboat drill so we didn't have much time to explore. We just had time to go to the Oceaneer's Lab and start the registration process before they closed.
We were overwhelmed by our room -- mostly because it was FULL of goodies. DH had decided to surprise me, I had decided to surprise him, Grandma had been working with Shirley at the Perfect Gift. (more on that later! keep reading.)
The sun came out just in time for the lifeboat drill and the sailaway party. The lifeboat drill was HOT (facing in to the sun) and crowded and claustrophic. The kids' size life jackets were pretty tight and uncomfortable on our tall dd's. But shortlived, and it was a nice opportunity to chat with the people around us.
Sailaway party was a blast, although we didn't actually sail away. My girls were a little bit intimidated and overwhelmed by all the hubub, so they didn't enjoy it as much as later events. We headed back to the room to freshen up a bit.
Unpacking and settling in is a bit overwhelming. DEFINITELY pack swimsuits and first night dinner clothes in a carry on. We didn't get our bags til after dinner, probably because we checked in so late. Their system for handling baggage is really quite incredible. We had 7 bags plus 2 carry ons, and everything was always right where it was supposed to be. Our largest suitcase did not fit under the bed, but we stacked it upright on one side of the closet. The rest of the suitcases fit under the bed. It was really handy to have a hanging rack in the closet to use for socks, underwear, hats, and other small items of clothing, freeing up drawer space. The over the door holder was invaluable. We hung that on the door to the room with the shower, and then we could access everything even if someone was using the facilities.
You will feel better if you take some time to unpack and get organized before you run off in twenty different directions. It is kind of overwhelming to have the suitcases and stuff piled everywhere. We had quite an assortment of surprises waiting for us in the room - dh decided to send some things without telling me, and I wanted to surprise him, so we ended up with double! We had 2 baskets from Shirley for the girls from my mom -- WONDERFUL! They loved having beach toys (we left them at Castaway Cay), juice boxes and snacks. Then we had the REAS basket, champagne on ice, a pastry tray and a fruit platter. DH ordered the spa basket for me, and 2 teen girl packages for the girls. Having the purses and books were very handy; the girls really loved them. I had ordered the birthday celebration package, so we had hanging decorations and a cake. The cake -- well, dd said it was the worst cake she had ever eaten! But it looks festive and fun, and the chocolate ship on top is good! It was nice to have the food in the room since we'd missed lunch. But, it was hard to cut into the fruit -- they confiscated dh's leatherman out of his checked bags. I don't know if you'd have better luck getting a cutting knife on board in your carry on or not.
We enjoyed the show the first night as an introduction to the cruise director, and other staff, as well as some of the entertainers.
Our first night dinner in AP was spectacular -- I had gazpacho and a Boston Bib salad for dinner, saved room for dessert (strawberry shortcake). Our server, Deneval from Jamaica, brought us a plate of the maple salmon to try; it was wonderful. DD was a little bit disoriented by the movement of the ship. She looked a bit pale and kept saying "I can't get used to this, I can't get used to this," but was fine after a walk on the deck following dinner. I think that it was enhanced by the fact that the ship sailed while we were at the show inside the theater, and the motion was really weird in that dark environment rather than in the fresh air up on deck.
We were exhausted, having left home at 5:30 am, and all the stress of our delays in traveling really did us in. We dropped into bed like a sack of stones -- thrilled to be on board!
Go to Day Two
.. a little pixie dust I presume. 
