Grumbo
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Feb 26, 2003
- Messages
- 1,886
We initially had a week booked at a condo in the Orlando area. We had always talked about the Disney Cruise, seen the tv advertisements, ordered the video but always figured it would be too much money. We checked the DCL website and figured this was doable for us despite the trip being in U.S. dollars 
We went for the Category 11 and were actually not particularly well informed as to what the cruise entailed but were excited and probably did things backwards in that we booked first and THEN started to do some investigating (with this forum being by far the best source I found).
We got a pleasant surprise a couple of days before the cruise when my travel agent called (I immediately asked her.. "Whats wrong?" figuring something had happened) when in reality we got an upgrade to a Category 9.
Needless to say we were pleased and on the day of our flight there was a terrible snow storm. The drive which usually takes about 45 - 55 minutes took about 2 1/2 hours. The flight from Toronto to Orlando was actually shorter than the drive to the airport
Anyways once in Florida we picked up the rental vehicle and stayed at the Best Western Oceanside in Cocoa Beach. It was a decent place with a full kitchen as well as being right on the beach. We picked up some bottled water and bottled pop for the trip and drove to the Cruise docks the night before. We were surprised to find them all locked up. Actually that made us more secure about leaving the vehicle parked by the dock while on the cruise. We also took the wrong turns in our dry run and am glad I did that the day before
Up the next morning and over to Perkins for breakfast and then a bit more shopping and then off to the docks. Seeing the Wonder docked as well as the Carnival Fantasy beside it was quite a sight. The online Cruise book was a great thing to have read in advance and the information provided about check in was helpful. I dropped off my wife and daughter and parked and walked back. This was all around 11 - 1130 am. The check in was relatively painless and we wandered around the embarkation area taking photos, looking at the scale model of the ship. Staff members asked room numbers and then showed you where on the ship your room was. We liked how you could walk out onto the outdoor balony at the far end and watch the ship being loaded and the other ships in the harbour.
Once they announced we could board it was done very quickly. I have to admit the photographs of your group as boarding were a disappointment (and no not just because I was in it
) I found it was just in front of a cheesy sign with the name and date. It would have been better on the gangway or even a photo of the ship. Nevertheless it was a small thing.
They ask your name as you enter to announce your arrival and the crew applauds. I must have missed reading this though because I wondered what the heck is this woman wanting to know who I am after having shown ID 15 times to get to this point!!! I started laughing when I actually realized WHY she wanted to know this. It was a nice touch.
We walked around the lobby and then as we were on the second floor figured we would take a stab at being able to look in our room. It was open and we were impressed at how large the room was. Now I've read others folks complain about the room sizes and we only had 3 people in the room but I was VERY happy with the size as well as the storage. We put our carry ons inside and met our room steward Johnny. We were also travelling with another couple who had a Category 11 but had NOT been upgraded (Oh well and took there stuff up to their room) I found their room spacious for a ship but realized that the split bathroom was a major plus for us as well as the porthole. My wife and the other ladies got hooked up for pedicures that afternoon and cabana massages on Castaway cay (Once again thanks to this forum for the heads up on being there early).
We hit the buffet on the 9th deck and had a meal on the deck. It was great. Afterwards we wandered around and we all hit the hot tubs by the "Mickey" pool and then laid around the pool. I was beginning to like this cruising stuff and we hadn't even gone 2 feet yet
While my wife and her friend went for the pedicures my daughter and I went up on deck for the Bon Voyage party. The group Sea breeze and the characters were great. I have to admit I didn't even realize that the ship was moving until I happened to look to one side and saw the shore moving by
We made our way to Animator's Palate and had our first meal. There was a couple with 3 children ages 3 - 8. They were good kids and for the meals that did show up for were very well behaved and a pleasure to be with. They were enrolled in the kid's programmes for a lot of the time.
We had Richard who is from Chile and Joanne from Canada as our servers. Richard was very helpful and described many of the meals he recommended as "yummy yummy".
The meals for the entire cruise were great. I found that the fact soda pop was available with your meals was not explained or well advertised. I think there is perhaps a bit too much emphasis for you to buy a smoothee, wine or alcoholic drink. Don't get me wrong its not pushed down your throat but the alternatives aren't explained too well so once again this forum helps telling you what is available.
We went to the Hercules show in the theatre after supper. Found the stores enroute. There was a "silent auction" between ths shops and theatre. Some of the items were unique, some were imho junque (thats high class junk
). I looked at the bids on the final night and there were not that many and there really didn't seem to be alot of interest in the offerings.
Hercules was well done and we all enjoyed it.
Jim the cruise director was a good guy and seemed to throughly enjoy himself. The captain made a guest occurrence at the start of the show. We wandered around exploring but were in bed by 10:30 pm (Yeah I know duds eh?) but wanted to be ready for the next day.
The first day had gone beautifully and my wife and I talked that night and said this IS something we probably could get used to.
We had booked the Stingray City excursion to Blue Lagoon. We were up early and sat on deck for breakfast as we pulled into Nassau, Bahamas. We have cruised the Greek Islands and the Nile, but never been to the Caribbean before so for our family it was a first. It was great sitting on deck as we docked and could see the Atlantis Hotel in the distance. We got our stuff together and went to Wave Bands to get our pre excursion instructions. Desiree was there and I felt somewhat sorry for her as she gave instructions continuously because as soon as she had finished, another group came in so she had to start all over again. The towels were provided which was great. Of course there wasnt enough to go around as people took more than the quota of 1 but after signing waivers (Is anyone responsible for anything anymore? Heck we signed another one at Stingray City too.) we all left along with the Dolphin Encounter people and the group for the day on Blue Lagoon. We walked over to the ferry Calypso for our trip over to the Blue Lagoon. We thoroughly enjoyed the day. That said, we are not avid or experienced snorkelers and for us it was our first time. The water was a bit choppy the day we were there but the employees are in the water and get the stingrays up where you can touch them. There are also a pile of other tropical fish around. Someone asked while we were there how much the visit to Stingray City was if you walked up and were told $15.00 per person. I can't remember how much the day shore excursion alone at Blue Lagoon alone was/is but you could do just the Blue Lagoon trip and some of your group do the Stingray City while others pass. Until you go you don't really understand the logistics of where this is and what is involved.
It is about a 40 - 45 minute trip on the Calypso which has a three piece group playing music and singing with a small dance floor. There is a bar on the boat too. With a quick stop at the dock on Paradise Island enroute (not tooooooo far from the Atlantis Hotel) and then once on the the Blue Lagoon you are led to the Stingray City which is at the far end of the island. Its a fair hike and IF there is a large group I'd personally suggest waiting 30 minutes until everyone else is done. Much quieter (as long as no other groups are in there) and there are lots of things to look at enroute.
I've heard complaints about the food included but I have to say I personally found the food good, plentiful and a decent choice. You get "drink coupons" but be warned it is NOT for the cans of juice or pop directly beside where you get your lunch. It is for cups of fruit punch (No alcohol and someone asked for a rum punch and they do not sell it). The punch was very good and you get two coupons each but don't automatically grab the cans of soda pop or juice figuring its included. We had a great day at Blue Lagoon and for novice snorkelers like us it was great. I think for people that have done a fair bit of snorkeling it may be a bit dull. However Blue Lagoon was beautiful. The hammocks, water and location was great. I tried to envision Gilligan and the Skipper hanging out there as I guess this is where the outside shots for Gilligans Island was done. There are 2 pm and 4 pm boats back to the ship. We took the 2 pm one so we could go to the Straw Market. People may not agree with me on this, and thats what makes the world interesting, but I thought the Straw Market (to quote my daughter) Sucked. I understand the old market burned down a few years ago but it is wall to wall stuff that is all the same. I went up and down a few of the stifling aisles and left my wife and her friends to the bartering. I think next time Id walk around other than the market or try the Atlantis area. One of those things though you dont know til you tried and on the other hand my wife enjoyed it (But not the bartering.. She hates it) but that is a part of the scene.
We got back on board and went for a swim, and then played a few cards of Bingo. One family one two games in a row. Hmmmm think there last name was Disney J
We got changed for supper and then went into Parrots Cay for our supper. Very colourful and once again the meal was good. We went to the show for the magicians show. It was funny and good for kids and adults alike. We went and did a bit more shopping and wandered the decks searching around. My daughter and a friend went into Mickey Mania. They got chosen and had a laugh. There was a couple though that either they have seen this show 25 times before, or have NO life as in the one part they show mixed up Disney characters and slowly they are changed on the tv monitor and when you can figure it out you buzz. Well I dont think a team of cryptographers from the CIA could have figured a few of these out as quickly as these two did J Needless to say they had a record score of 700. Our daughter loved it and it was fun.
We did some souvenir shopping and again hit the hay by 10:30.
Up at 6:30 am (Me not the rest who were sawing logs) and grabbed coffee and a Danish and watched as we sailed in towards Castaway Cay. I got tea and some goodies for my wife and daughter and took them to the room. Having the Disney Channel in your room can become addictive. My daughter watched it too
We had a decktop breakfast and prepared for Castaway Cay. The weather for the entire cruise was perfect. Today was no exception. The ladies in our group had 11 am appointments for massages and facials in the cabana. My daughter and I grabbed the snorkeling items for all of us and after taking the tram walked almost down to the final lifeguard stand and grabbed some chaises and chairs. The beach was quite busy but if you walk far enough you shouldnt have a lot of problems getting a spot. My daughter and I had a great time in the swimming area doing our snorkeling. It was much less crowded and we some neat fish. We then swam over to the snorkeling area. I see what people mean when they comment on how the silt/sand gets kicked up though. Once youre out a ways though its not bad. We saw some good sized fish and while standing on the beach the lifeguard pointed out a barracuda that was sitting by the water volleyball nets. He explained the small fish like the yellow ball and the barracuda likes dining on these smaller fish. The lifeguard said there are two larger barracudas that live in the lagoon out past the furthest lifeguard stand but they dont bother the people. The lifeguard was very friendly and I found out there are 18 people on the island full time. They get three ships a week in and do the maintenance, clean up etc on their off days and prepare the umbrellas, chairs etc for the ships arriving. They rotate the staff by three members going and three replacing them. I think it was 3 or 4 months they stay on the island.
The ladies had a wonderful time at the spa. They couldnt speak highly enough of the treatment or of the staff. I know this will be on the agenda for any future cruises. I stopped and bought a number of gifts at the Castaway Cay Gift shop. I bought a number of items but was a little peeved when a week later I found the Bahama stamp coffee mugs at the Disney Clearance Warehouse in Orlando for $1.99. Sheesh!!!!!!
Went up to the bar and relaxed by the pool. Took a number of photos of the island and waited for the rest of the gang to come on board.
Something that I hadnt read about is that they have gift packages and decoration packages for Birthdays, Anniversaries etc and we had seen one as we were walking down a hall on our first day. It was our daughters 10th birthday on the last cruise day so we got the Happy Birthday banner, Mickey Birthday tree and Mickey hanging decoration. It looked sharp and we brought them home. The staff put it in the room while we were at Castaway Cay so it was all ready on our return. I reserved this and saw the book of available items at Guest Services.
Castaway Cay is such a fantastic idea. I could see in time hotels on there for people to spend a few days and get picked up by the next ship as well as other facilities. It sure looks as though the space is available. I explored the rest of the ship finding some of the bars and restaurants I hadnt been to and photographed them. My 10 year old wanted her hair braided so ended up at the small room they have for this by the ESPN bar on the 10th floor aft. This was VERY poorly managed in that three people from our group had a 5:00 pm appointment. There was only two ladies working, and the only reason my daughter got in at 5 was because another girl got into a crying fit because she wanted her whole head in braids and it would have taken over 3 ½ hours to do and they had supper reservations etc etc.. There wasnt enough time for the other folks from our group. Other people came in and made reservations for later that night and nothing was written down and it was quite obvious that whoever happened to show would get in. NOT up to the regular Disney standard imho.
Our daughter loved the job done on the hair. She still has them in and cant wait to show her friends at school this week. We went to the room and got changed and just in time for our supper at Tritons. As always the food was good but found the tables a bit close together. We gave our serving crew their gratuity envelopes. As I said it was our daughters birthday and she got a small cake and they sang Happy Birthday as well as a Disney Pin for her Birthday. She had a huge smile on her face.
I had read and heard that the Disney Dream show is excellent. Well I have to agree. It was phenomenal. To be able to do all of that on a ships stage is mind boggling. The lady that sings the Circle of Life is fantastic. This IS a do not miss show.
We did some more shopping, and then caught a bit of the Newlywed game and then packed. I went with our friends and saw the 50s and 60s dance. I can tell Im getting old because I loved the music but it was WAY TOO LOUD. Yeah I know.. An old dud. Stayed about a half an hour but as we had to be down for Immigration clearance at 6 am was in bed by 11:30. We had put our bags out at 10:00 and they were immediately taken by the room steward.
I was up at 5:00 am and got the others up by 5:30 am. We were at the theatre by 5:50 am and very few people there yet (Big surprise J ). There was one Immigration officer there but we were in and out in 5 minutes. He looked at our passports and immediately saw it was our daughters birthday and wished her a happy birthday. Very decent fellow indeed. Our friends slept in and by the time they got there it was about a 15 minute wait. We finished packing the carry on and then went for breakfast. We ate quickly and got our bags and were out of the ship in 15 minutes with our bags. Very well run.
Did we enjoy our trip?
Well we booked for next March for the 7 Day Eastern cruise and are trying to persuade our parents to come along. Disney Cruises are for kids of all ages. I know theyd love it and hopefully we can convince them.
Cheers,
Grumbo
We went for the Category 11 and were actually not particularly well informed as to what the cruise entailed but were excited and probably did things backwards in that we booked first and THEN started to do some investigating (with this forum being by far the best source I found).
We got a pleasant surprise a couple of days before the cruise when my travel agent called (I immediately asked her.. "Whats wrong?" figuring something had happened) when in reality we got an upgrade to a Category 9.
Needless to say we were pleased and on the day of our flight there was a terrible snow storm. The drive which usually takes about 45 - 55 minutes took about 2 1/2 hours. The flight from Toronto to Orlando was actually shorter than the drive to the airport
Anyways once in Florida we picked up the rental vehicle and stayed at the Best Western Oceanside in Cocoa Beach. It was a decent place with a full kitchen as well as being right on the beach. We picked up some bottled water and bottled pop for the trip and drove to the Cruise docks the night before. We were surprised to find them all locked up. Actually that made us more secure about leaving the vehicle parked by the dock while on the cruise. We also took the wrong turns in our dry run and am glad I did that the day before
Up the next morning and over to Perkins for breakfast and then a bit more shopping and then off to the docks. Seeing the Wonder docked as well as the Carnival Fantasy beside it was quite a sight. The online Cruise book was a great thing to have read in advance and the information provided about check in was helpful. I dropped off my wife and daughter and parked and walked back. This was all around 11 - 1130 am. The check in was relatively painless and we wandered around the embarkation area taking photos, looking at the scale model of the ship. Staff members asked room numbers and then showed you where on the ship your room was. We liked how you could walk out onto the outdoor balony at the far end and watch the ship being loaded and the other ships in the harbour.
Once they announced we could board it was done very quickly. I have to admit the photographs of your group as boarding were a disappointment (and no not just because I was in it
) I found it was just in front of a cheesy sign with the name and date. It would have been better on the gangway or even a photo of the ship. Nevertheless it was a small thing.They ask your name as you enter to announce your arrival and the crew applauds. I must have missed reading this though because I wondered what the heck is this woman wanting to know who I am after having shown ID 15 times to get to this point!!! I started laughing when I actually realized WHY she wanted to know this. It was a nice touch.
We walked around the lobby and then as we were on the second floor figured we would take a stab at being able to look in our room. It was open and we were impressed at how large the room was. Now I've read others folks complain about the room sizes and we only had 3 people in the room but I was VERY happy with the size as well as the storage. We put our carry ons inside and met our room steward Johnny. We were also travelling with another couple who had a Category 11 but had NOT been upgraded (Oh well
and took there stuff up to their room) I found their room spacious for a ship but realized that the split bathroom was a major plus for us as well as the porthole. My wife and the other ladies got hooked up for pedicures that afternoon and cabana massages on Castaway cay (Once again thanks to this forum for the heads up on being there early). We hit the buffet on the 9th deck and had a meal on the deck. It was great. Afterwards we wandered around and we all hit the hot tubs by the "Mickey" pool and then laid around the pool. I was beginning to like this cruising stuff and we hadn't even gone 2 feet yet
While my wife and her friend went for the pedicures my daughter and I went up on deck for the Bon Voyage party. The group Sea breeze and the characters were great. I have to admit I didn't even realize that the ship was moving until I happened to look to one side and saw the shore moving by
We made our way to Animator's Palate and had our first meal. There was a couple with 3 children ages 3 - 8. They were good kids and for the meals that did show up for were very well behaved and a pleasure to be with. They were enrolled in the kid's programmes for a lot of the time.
We had Richard who is from Chile and Joanne from Canada as our servers. Richard was very helpful and described many of the meals he recommended as "yummy yummy".
The meals for the entire cruise were great. I found that the fact soda pop was available with your meals was not explained or well advertised. I think there is perhaps a bit too much emphasis for you to buy a smoothee, wine or alcoholic drink. Don't get me wrong its not pushed down your throat but the alternatives aren't explained too well so once again this forum helps telling you what is available.
We went to the Hercules show in the theatre after supper. Found the stores enroute. There was a "silent auction" between ths shops and theatre. Some of the items were unique, some were imho junque (thats high class junk
). I looked at the bids on the final night and there were not that many and there really didn't seem to be alot of interest in the offerings.Hercules was well done and we all enjoyed it.
Jim the cruise director was a good guy and seemed to throughly enjoy himself. The captain made a guest occurrence at the start of the show. We wandered around exploring but were in bed by 10:30 pm (Yeah I know duds eh?) but wanted to be ready for the next day.
The first day had gone beautifully and my wife and I talked that night and said this IS something we probably could get used to.
We had booked the Stingray City excursion to Blue Lagoon. We were up early and sat on deck for breakfast as we pulled into Nassau, Bahamas. We have cruised the Greek Islands and the Nile, but never been to the Caribbean before so for our family it was a first. It was great sitting on deck as we docked and could see the Atlantis Hotel in the distance. We got our stuff together and went to Wave Bands to get our pre excursion instructions. Desiree was there and I felt somewhat sorry for her as she gave instructions continuously because as soon as she had finished, another group came in so she had to start all over again. The towels were provided which was great. Of course there wasnt enough to go around as people took more than the quota of 1 but after signing waivers (Is anyone responsible for anything anymore? Heck we signed another one at Stingray City too.) we all left along with the Dolphin Encounter people and the group for the day on Blue Lagoon. We walked over to the ferry Calypso for our trip over to the Blue Lagoon. We thoroughly enjoyed the day. That said, we are not avid or experienced snorkelers and for us it was our first time. The water was a bit choppy the day we were there but the employees are in the water and get the stingrays up where you can touch them. There are also a pile of other tropical fish around. Someone asked while we were there how much the visit to Stingray City was if you walked up and were told $15.00 per person. I can't remember how much the day shore excursion alone at Blue Lagoon alone was/is but you could do just the Blue Lagoon trip and some of your group do the Stingray City while others pass. Until you go you don't really understand the logistics of where this is and what is involved.
It is about a 40 - 45 minute trip on the Calypso which has a three piece group playing music and singing with a small dance floor. There is a bar on the boat too. With a quick stop at the dock on Paradise Island enroute (not tooooooo far from the Atlantis Hotel) and then once on the the Blue Lagoon you are led to the Stingray City which is at the far end of the island. Its a fair hike and IF there is a large group I'd personally suggest waiting 30 minutes until everyone else is done. Much quieter (as long as no other groups are in there) and there are lots of things to look at enroute.
I've heard complaints about the food included but I have to say I personally found the food good, plentiful and a decent choice. You get "drink coupons" but be warned it is NOT for the cans of juice or pop directly beside where you get your lunch. It is for cups of fruit punch (No alcohol and someone asked for a rum punch and they do not sell it). The punch was very good and you get two coupons each but don't automatically grab the cans of soda pop or juice figuring its included. We had a great day at Blue Lagoon and for novice snorkelers like us it was great. I think for people that have done a fair bit of snorkeling it may be a bit dull. However Blue Lagoon was beautiful. The hammocks, water and location was great. I tried to envision Gilligan and the Skipper hanging out there as I guess this is where the outside shots for Gilligans Island was done. There are 2 pm and 4 pm boats back to the ship. We took the 2 pm one so we could go to the Straw Market. People may not agree with me on this, and thats what makes the world interesting, but I thought the Straw Market (to quote my daughter) Sucked. I understand the old market burned down a few years ago but it is wall to wall stuff that is all the same. I went up and down a few of the stifling aisles and left my wife and her friends to the bartering. I think next time Id walk around other than the market or try the Atlantis area. One of those things though you dont know til you tried and on the other hand my wife enjoyed it (But not the bartering.. She hates it) but that is a part of the scene.
We got back on board and went for a swim, and then played a few cards of Bingo. One family one two games in a row. Hmmmm think there last name was Disney J
We got changed for supper and then went into Parrots Cay for our supper. Very colourful and once again the meal was good. We went to the show for the magicians show. It was funny and good for kids and adults alike. We went and did a bit more shopping and wandered the decks searching around. My daughter and a friend went into Mickey Mania. They got chosen and had a laugh. There was a couple though that either they have seen this show 25 times before, or have NO life as in the one part they show mixed up Disney characters and slowly they are changed on the tv monitor and when you can figure it out you buzz. Well I dont think a team of cryptographers from the CIA could have figured a few of these out as quickly as these two did J Needless to say they had a record score of 700. Our daughter loved it and it was fun.
We did some souvenir shopping and again hit the hay by 10:30.
Up at 6:30 am (Me not the rest who were sawing logs) and grabbed coffee and a Danish and watched as we sailed in towards Castaway Cay. I got tea and some goodies for my wife and daughter and took them to the room. Having the Disney Channel in your room can become addictive. My daughter watched it too
We had a decktop breakfast and prepared for Castaway Cay. The weather for the entire cruise was perfect. Today was no exception. The ladies in our group had 11 am appointments for massages and facials in the cabana. My daughter and I grabbed the snorkeling items for all of us and after taking the tram walked almost down to the final lifeguard stand and grabbed some chaises and chairs. The beach was quite busy but if you walk far enough you shouldnt have a lot of problems getting a spot. My daughter and I had a great time in the swimming area doing our snorkeling. It was much less crowded and we some neat fish. We then swam over to the snorkeling area. I see what people mean when they comment on how the silt/sand gets kicked up though. Once youre out a ways though its not bad. We saw some good sized fish and while standing on the beach the lifeguard pointed out a barracuda that was sitting by the water volleyball nets. He explained the small fish like the yellow ball and the barracuda likes dining on these smaller fish. The lifeguard said there are two larger barracudas that live in the lagoon out past the furthest lifeguard stand but they dont bother the people. The lifeguard was very friendly and I found out there are 18 people on the island full time. They get three ships a week in and do the maintenance, clean up etc on their off days and prepare the umbrellas, chairs etc for the ships arriving. They rotate the staff by three members going and three replacing them. I think it was 3 or 4 months they stay on the island.
The ladies had a wonderful time at the spa. They couldnt speak highly enough of the treatment or of the staff. I know this will be on the agenda for any future cruises. I stopped and bought a number of gifts at the Castaway Cay Gift shop. I bought a number of items but was a little peeved when a week later I found the Bahama stamp coffee mugs at the Disney Clearance Warehouse in Orlando for $1.99. Sheesh!!!!!!
Went up to the bar and relaxed by the pool. Took a number of photos of the island and waited for the rest of the gang to come on board.
Something that I hadnt read about is that they have gift packages and decoration packages for Birthdays, Anniversaries etc and we had seen one as we were walking down a hall on our first day. It was our daughters 10th birthday on the last cruise day so we got the Happy Birthday banner, Mickey Birthday tree and Mickey hanging decoration. It looked sharp and we brought them home. The staff put it in the room while we were at Castaway Cay so it was all ready on our return. I reserved this and saw the book of available items at Guest Services.
Castaway Cay is such a fantastic idea. I could see in time hotels on there for people to spend a few days and get picked up by the next ship as well as other facilities. It sure looks as though the space is available. I explored the rest of the ship finding some of the bars and restaurants I hadnt been to and photographed them. My 10 year old wanted her hair braided so ended up at the small room they have for this by the ESPN bar on the 10th floor aft. This was VERY poorly managed in that three people from our group had a 5:00 pm appointment. There was only two ladies working, and the only reason my daughter got in at 5 was because another girl got into a crying fit because she wanted her whole head in braids and it would have taken over 3 ½ hours to do and they had supper reservations etc etc.. There wasnt enough time for the other folks from our group. Other people came in and made reservations for later that night and nothing was written down and it was quite obvious that whoever happened to show would get in. NOT up to the regular Disney standard imho.
Our daughter loved the job done on the hair. She still has them in and cant wait to show her friends at school this week. We went to the room and got changed and just in time for our supper at Tritons. As always the food was good but found the tables a bit close together. We gave our serving crew their gratuity envelopes. As I said it was our daughters birthday and she got a small cake and they sang Happy Birthday as well as a Disney Pin for her Birthday. She had a huge smile on her face.
I had read and heard that the Disney Dream show is excellent. Well I have to agree. It was phenomenal. To be able to do all of that on a ships stage is mind boggling. The lady that sings the Circle of Life is fantastic. This IS a do not miss show.
We did some more shopping, and then caught a bit of the Newlywed game and then packed. I went with our friends and saw the 50s and 60s dance. I can tell Im getting old because I loved the music but it was WAY TOO LOUD. Yeah I know.. An old dud. Stayed about a half an hour but as we had to be down for Immigration clearance at 6 am was in bed by 11:30. We had put our bags out at 10:00 and they were immediately taken by the room steward.
I was up at 5:00 am and got the others up by 5:30 am. We were at the theatre by 5:50 am and very few people there yet (Big surprise J ). There was one Immigration officer there but we were in and out in 5 minutes. He looked at our passports and immediately saw it was our daughters birthday and wished her a happy birthday. Very decent fellow indeed. Our friends slept in and by the time they got there it was about a 15 minute wait. We finished packing the carry on and then went for breakfast. We ate quickly and got our bags and were out of the ship in 15 minutes with our bags. Very well run.
Did we enjoy our trip?
Well we booked for next March for the 7 Day Eastern cruise and are trying to persuade our parents to come along. Disney Cruises are for kids of all ages. I know theyd love it and hopefully we can convince them.
Cheers,
Grumbo
