minniesota
<font color=purple>Land is a good thing, too<br><f
- Joined
- Jun 26, 2002
- Messages
- 1,690
Eastern Magic: March 31- April 7
Cast and crew: 7 adults, all related, ages 44-77
6 kids, all related, ages 12-17
Pre-cruise: Arrived Friday afternoon. Used Budget from MCO- Port Canaveral rented a 12 passenger van and a minivan. Fastbreak Club members so all pretty painless. Stayed at the Residence Inn we had three 2br suites for $109 each (great deal thanks to the Dis!) Rooms were in great condition and quiet. Had a delicious breakfast with lots of hot selections. The place was booked solid! Went to Grills for dinner Friday night loved it!
Ask the front desk if they have any coupons or print the coupon off of Grills website. We found the website coupon to be the better value 10% off entire check. Bought wine and beer at ABC, a short drive from the hotel.
Saturday: The men and kids dropped the ladies and luggage (19 bags total) off at the terminal around 10:15. They went over to RonJons for last-minute purchases and returned the vans. Ladies were directed to the CC line (2 groups ahead of us) and received Boarding Number 2. Check-in was quick. Men and children returned to terminal via Budget shuttle about 11:30 and we started boarding at 11:45. Took the embarkation photo and went to Rockin Bar D to change Palo ressies ( we made brunch and dinner ressies online but had to tweak the timing). We tried to change our dining rotation from 8:30 to 8 p.m. but with a table of 13, it was apparently not possible. Also purchased our Margarita tasting tickets at Guest Services. Up to Topsiders to join our happy group as we enjoyed shrimp, salads, corn dogs and Bahama Mamas (which at $7.99 for a basic fruit punch seemed like a rip-off but we kept the festive glasses!) Our rooms were ready at 1:15 and our luggage all arrived by 1:45! Yeah! Lifeboat drill was quick and painless. The kids headed right up to Deck 10 and got some tables by the railing for us old people. We went to the cabins, poured ourselves some adult beverages and headed up to the sailaway party which was loud but fun.
Attended the Welcome Aboard show at 6:15 Freddy Fusion was great and we thought the comedienne/ventriloquist was also very entertaining. We went back to our verandah for cocktails and headed to Lumieres at 8:30. Met our wonderful servers Agus from Indosesia (Bali) and Shanda from France. Great dinner food was better this cruise than last.
Loved our connecting rooms teens in one, DH and I in the other. Loved our location on Deck 7 aft. Our rooms were spotless all the time thanks to our wonderful room host Craig from Jamaica (always a smile and great towel creatures!)
Sunday/Monday: Ship was a little rocky here and there very windy on decks. Thought Topsiders did a great job as far as variety and freshness. People served themselves hand wipes were everywhere. Did Art of Entertaining appetizer demo Crab Martinique. Delish and the wine was good too! Golden Mickeys was fun, but too many people arriving after the show had started very annoying! People were dressed nice on formal night we thought. Went to brunch at Palo on Monday and it was delicious a very relaxing time. We did margarita/tequila tasting Monday afternoon. Warning: only do this if you like tequila shots! We were offered 3 or 4 straight shots and then two mixed margaritas. Guess were not hard-core tequila drinkers but it was interesting.
Tuesday (St. Maarten): We arranged a private tour with NoRush Tours and it was great. Beau picked all of us at the port and took us to Mullet Bay, a beautiful beach. We rented chairs and umbrellas and spent a couple of hours there. Some of the group wanted to return to the ship so Beau took us all back to the port. Those of us who wanted to continue touring changed out of our suits and then we were off for an island tour. We stopped for lunch at the Paradise View Point restaurant and bar overlooking Orient Bay. It was stunning and the food was awesome as were the mango daquiris and beer!
We saw a lot of the island and Beau is very knowledgeable. He totally caters his tours to your agenda. Pirate Night was OK for me my DD15 said she felt claustrophobic on the dance floor but DS13 thought it was a blast. I loved the fireworks but I just didnt get that jazzed by the concept.
Wednesday (St. Thomas): We didnt have any specific plans for today and when we found out we were tendering, everyone was less than enthusiastic to leave the ship. Immigration was very easy and quick took about 5 minutes. Some of the teens in our group wanted more beach time so the dads took them to Morningstar Beach which they said was OK. The day was not the greatest overcast and cool so that may have colored their perspective. Most of the rest of the group went downtown to poke around in the shops. I stayed onboard and enjoyed the quiet of Deck 4. Had dinner at Palo tonight and sat at the Captains Table which was a real treat. The food and service were outstanding.
Thursday: Another day at sea which we love! Cant even remember what we did this day besides relax on Deck 7 and Deck 4. We probably snuck up to the Cove or Signals for a cocktail or two as I remember. We tended to avoid the big family areas like the pools and special shows. We always saw the main show of the evening and we did watch our kids one night as they took the stage at Family Karaoke. Mostly, we relaxed and enjoyed our verandah a lot!
Friday: We woke up to cloudy skies and the threat of rain as we headed to Castaway Cay. It was pouring by the time the captain announced all ashore. The kids and dads headed out anyway and made the best of it. The ladies stayed back and did all the packing so we could enjoy the evening. The sun did try to come out so we decided to chance it. We caught the tram to Serenity Bay and the clouds moved in big, dark clouds. We managed to grab our lunch and a table under an umbrella. We got drenched but laughed a lot! We will just have to go back Things cleared up later as we sat in Diversions and watched the diehards return to the ship. The evening was quite nice and we enjoyed our last dinner together. Visited the rebooking desk and put down some money for a cruise in October 2008. Made the final selections at Shutters and our last purchases at the shops. Everyone was a little blue
Saturday: Had breakfast at 8:15 at Lumieres and said goodbye to our servers. Left the ship about 9 and found a great porter who breezed us and all our luggage right through!
We rented a minibus from Happy Limo and they were waiting for us. Very comfortable and affordable for our group of 13. Now its back to counting down October 2008 seems like a long time from now.
Cast and crew: 7 adults, all related, ages 44-77
6 kids, all related, ages 12-17
Pre-cruise: Arrived Friday afternoon. Used Budget from MCO- Port Canaveral rented a 12 passenger van and a minivan. Fastbreak Club members so all pretty painless. Stayed at the Residence Inn we had three 2br suites for $109 each (great deal thanks to the Dis!) Rooms were in great condition and quiet. Had a delicious breakfast with lots of hot selections. The place was booked solid! Went to Grills for dinner Friday night loved it!
Ask the front desk if they have any coupons or print the coupon off of Grills website. We found the website coupon to be the better value 10% off entire check. Bought wine and beer at ABC, a short drive from the hotel.
Saturday: The men and kids dropped the ladies and luggage (19 bags total) off at the terminal around 10:15. They went over to RonJons for last-minute purchases and returned the vans. Ladies were directed to the CC line (2 groups ahead of us) and received Boarding Number 2. Check-in was quick. Men and children returned to terminal via Budget shuttle about 11:30 and we started boarding at 11:45. Took the embarkation photo and went to Rockin Bar D to change Palo ressies ( we made brunch and dinner ressies online but had to tweak the timing). We tried to change our dining rotation from 8:30 to 8 p.m. but with a table of 13, it was apparently not possible. Also purchased our Margarita tasting tickets at Guest Services. Up to Topsiders to join our happy group as we enjoyed shrimp, salads, corn dogs and Bahama Mamas (which at $7.99 for a basic fruit punch seemed like a rip-off but we kept the festive glasses!) Our rooms were ready at 1:15 and our luggage all arrived by 1:45! Yeah! Lifeboat drill was quick and painless. The kids headed right up to Deck 10 and got some tables by the railing for us old people. We went to the cabins, poured ourselves some adult beverages and headed up to the sailaway party which was loud but fun.
Attended the Welcome Aboard show at 6:15 Freddy Fusion was great and we thought the comedienne/ventriloquist was also very entertaining. We went back to our verandah for cocktails and headed to Lumieres at 8:30. Met our wonderful servers Agus from Indosesia (Bali) and Shanda from France. Great dinner food was better this cruise than last.
Loved our connecting rooms teens in one, DH and I in the other. Loved our location on Deck 7 aft. Our rooms were spotless all the time thanks to our wonderful room host Craig from Jamaica (always a smile and great towel creatures!)
Sunday/Monday: Ship was a little rocky here and there very windy on decks. Thought Topsiders did a great job as far as variety and freshness. People served themselves hand wipes were everywhere. Did Art of Entertaining appetizer demo Crab Martinique. Delish and the wine was good too! Golden Mickeys was fun, but too many people arriving after the show had started very annoying! People were dressed nice on formal night we thought. Went to brunch at Palo on Monday and it was delicious a very relaxing time. We did margarita/tequila tasting Monday afternoon. Warning: only do this if you like tequila shots! We were offered 3 or 4 straight shots and then two mixed margaritas. Guess were not hard-core tequila drinkers but it was interesting.
Tuesday (St. Maarten): We arranged a private tour with NoRush Tours and it was great. Beau picked all of us at the port and took us to Mullet Bay, a beautiful beach. We rented chairs and umbrellas and spent a couple of hours there. Some of the group wanted to return to the ship so Beau took us all back to the port. Those of us who wanted to continue touring changed out of our suits and then we were off for an island tour. We stopped for lunch at the Paradise View Point restaurant and bar overlooking Orient Bay. It was stunning and the food was awesome as were the mango daquiris and beer!
We saw a lot of the island and Beau is very knowledgeable. He totally caters his tours to your agenda. Pirate Night was OK for me my DD15 said she felt claustrophobic on the dance floor but DS13 thought it was a blast. I loved the fireworks but I just didnt get that jazzed by the concept.
Wednesday (St. Thomas): We didnt have any specific plans for today and when we found out we were tendering, everyone was less than enthusiastic to leave the ship. Immigration was very easy and quick took about 5 minutes. Some of the teens in our group wanted more beach time so the dads took them to Morningstar Beach which they said was OK. The day was not the greatest overcast and cool so that may have colored their perspective. Most of the rest of the group went downtown to poke around in the shops. I stayed onboard and enjoyed the quiet of Deck 4. Had dinner at Palo tonight and sat at the Captains Table which was a real treat. The food and service were outstanding.
Thursday: Another day at sea which we love! Cant even remember what we did this day besides relax on Deck 7 and Deck 4. We probably snuck up to the Cove or Signals for a cocktail or two as I remember. We tended to avoid the big family areas like the pools and special shows. We always saw the main show of the evening and we did watch our kids one night as they took the stage at Family Karaoke. Mostly, we relaxed and enjoyed our verandah a lot!
Friday: We woke up to cloudy skies and the threat of rain as we headed to Castaway Cay. It was pouring by the time the captain announced all ashore. The kids and dads headed out anyway and made the best of it. The ladies stayed back and did all the packing so we could enjoy the evening. The sun did try to come out so we decided to chance it. We caught the tram to Serenity Bay and the clouds moved in big, dark clouds. We managed to grab our lunch and a table under an umbrella. We got drenched but laughed a lot! We will just have to go back Things cleared up later as we sat in Diversions and watched the diehards return to the ship. The evening was quite nice and we enjoyed our last dinner together. Visited the rebooking desk and put down some money for a cruise in October 2008. Made the final selections at Shutters and our last purchases at the shops. Everyone was a little blue
Saturday: Had breakfast at 8:15 at Lumieres and said goodbye to our servers. Left the ship about 9 and found a great porter who breezed us and all our luggage right through!
We rented a minibus from Happy Limo and they were waiting for us. Very comfortable and affordable for our group of 13. Now its back to counting down October 2008 seems like a long time from now.
