JenLynn
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Apr 7, 2004
- Messages
- 716
Day 3
Some misc. notes:
· Since we had cruised with Disney before, we are members of the Castaway Club. We had heard that we would probably be getting a beach towel or something, but nothing was in our room. We asked the room steward about it and on Sunday evening a Castaway Club beach towel and 2 pins were waiting for us in our cabin, as was an invitation to the Castaway Club reception for the next day.
· Just due to where our room was, I think we were the first room in our cabin stewards rotation. This worked out so well for us because we never saw him!! We would leave for breakfast and the room would be set up when we returned. We would leave for dinner and the room was turned down by the time we returned. And of course my kids loved all of the adorable towel animals.
· Went to a few character appearances in atrium mickey and friend signing autographs; snow white, cinderella,etc. I would not want the job of having to end the line. That poor CM! I have to say that I was impressed with their procedure. The CM joins the end of the line and does not let anyone else get in line rather than just yelling out at the designated end time you lose go home! So, it isnt like you have been waiting in line for 30 minutes and then dont get a chance to meet the character. And you have to think that there is no way they could let the line just end on its own, or else the characters would never get out of there. Most people we saw were very polite and understanding when the CM would tell them the line was closed and the character would be back at x-time. Some people, though, were quite upset yelling, complaining, making the child cry to the CM to try to get in line. When one father shoved his daughter to the CM and said Go cry to her and tell her to let you in line the CM replied to the father I am sorry sir, but I have already turned away other families, I can not allow you to just get in line now. I think that was well-done and very fair.
Day 3 At Sea:
Today was the day we had a reservation for brunch at Palo. After we woke up and got dressed, Joe took kids up to Topsiders for breakfast before they went to the kids club. The children loved the mickey waffles. And DH started bringing a few packs of cereal back to the room so kids would have something to snack on later.
This morning, even though I had been wearing my trusty sea-bands, I was really feeling the motion of the ship. I took a Bonine hoping it would alleviate the slight nausea that was developing.
Then we went to Palo for the champagne brunch. They had a tray of champagne glasses at the front desk and each of us took one (except Joe who cant drink champagne). I should have taken his glass to drink when I finished mine (the first glass is complimentary). We were shown to a very nice booth in the center of the restaurant right across from the food and the galley. Our server, Marc, came and introduced himself to us and then took us on a tour of the different tables of food. The first table was filled with olives and veggies and shrimp and crab legs. Another table was filled with cheeses, crackers and breads. To the right, another table was set with sweet breads, berries, whipped cream, and jellies. A final table to the left was set with all sorts of delicious looking desserts. After filling our plates with all sorts of yummy things (especially the shrimp and crab legs with yummy sauces and the delicious berries and sweet breads with whipped cream and jams) Marc came to take our order for our main dish. Most in my group got pizza (Palo is known for their pizzas). I got pasta in a creamy sauce (delicious!). Chris got 2 orders of eggs benedict but they only brought him 1.5 orders. He said it was pretty good but he has had better. Then on to dessert. I got lemon meringue pie and chocolate tarts wonderful! Our waiter was wonderful, adorable, fun. And we had great interaction with another waitress (Ann Marie from South Africa) lots of fun
While we were at brunch, the kids started at the sports deck for games, then they went to Animators Palette for lunch. Then they got ready for the pirate party. Madalyn got her face painted like a pirate and made an arts and crafts Jolly Roger flag. Teddy played computer games. When Captain Hook and Mr. Smee arrived, my children got scared and wanted us to come get them out of the club.
After brunch and while the kids were still at the club, we sat in our favorite spot on deck 10 overlooking the Quite Cove pool. And of course our wonderful bar server, Kadir, was there to make sure we always had a drink in our hand. Sipping a Mai Tai while laying on a chair and reading The DaVinci Code .. what a wonderful way to spend a day! And it was still quite breezy not so much as to make it difficult to sit there, but breezy enough that when my friends son came up to visit us with an ice cream cone in his hand, little droplets of chocolate ice cream were blown onto the lady next to my friend. Thankfully she as very nice about it.
After getting the children out of the club, DH took them to Quarter Masters, the arcade. They loved playing Ocean Hunter, air hockey, and anything else wed let them get near. At about $1 a game we rationed out how much time they could spend in there, but it was a good reward since they stayed in the club all morning to let us have a peaceful, quiet brunch.
Now, I had taken the Bonine right before leaving for brunch and by the end of brunch I was quite drowsy. I laid on deck 10 for a while but finally needed to go back to the cabin to take a real nap. I took the kids with me to nap since they usually nap at home but hadnt had one in 4 days. While they were sleeping (and before I laid down) I got room service for myself (hadnt eaten lunch since we were full from brunch). I ordered the tomato soup, the cheese platter and some chocolate chip cookies. On our last cruise (the Wonder in 2002) I had gotten the soup and it was served with a thick slice of cheesy French bread and it was delicious! Well, this time it was just served with some crackers bummer! After my snack, I laid down and was knocked out for the rest of the afternoon.
We ended up skipping the Castaway Club reception because I was still napping and there was no way I would be up and ready for dinner by 5:15 (so we could go to the reception and then to dinner).
Thankfully, Joe came back to the cabin and helped get the children dressed for dinner so I could get up and get myself together (I was still sluggish from the Bonine .. needless to say that was the one and only time I took any meds).
They were doing more portraits in the atrium, but we skipped the portraits and headed straight to dinner at Lumieres. I got the shrimp medley (very good); pasta with a 3 cheeses (blah); apple tart with vanilla ice cream (just ok). Joe got escargot (very good) lamb shank (didnt like); tenderloin (good); crème brulee (very good). Yes, he got 2 entrees and that was no problem at all. The server actually apologized to Joe that he would have to bring it out on 2 separate plates and couldnt put both items together that was no a problem for us!
We shopped around a bit in Mickeys Mates and Treasure Ketch before going to the show. Joe had bought Madalyn a charm bracelet with a Cinderella charm by the Mickey pool earlier in the day so I bought her a few more charms to add to her bracelet. I also bought 2 DCL scrapbooks and a pack of character autograph stickers. Each of the children picked out a character shaped pen to give their teachers.
Then we went to Walt Disney World Theater to see Hercules the Muse-ical .. I loved it, it is one of my favorite movies (especially the music). It was very funny; the kids enjoyed it and there was humor for adults as well. For some of the shows, the theater can get quite full by showtime so be sure to get there a wee bit early to get seats. We didnt see any problems with people saving large blocks of seats. The theater is well designed and you can see well from anywhere. The exception to this is when you are behind a row of people who need to keep coming and going during the show then it is hard to see!
After the show, DH took the children to the kids club to watch movies and I went to bed (still exhausted from the Bonine). Joe went out to Rockin Bar D to hang out with Chris and he brought the children back and tucked them in.
Coming Day 4: St. Maarten, our Golden Eagle excursion, tropical night, and (groan) a problem with Joes KTTW card and the safe
Some misc. notes:
· Since we had cruised with Disney before, we are members of the Castaway Club. We had heard that we would probably be getting a beach towel or something, but nothing was in our room. We asked the room steward about it and on Sunday evening a Castaway Club beach towel and 2 pins were waiting for us in our cabin, as was an invitation to the Castaway Club reception for the next day.
· Just due to where our room was, I think we were the first room in our cabin stewards rotation. This worked out so well for us because we never saw him!! We would leave for breakfast and the room would be set up when we returned. We would leave for dinner and the room was turned down by the time we returned. And of course my kids loved all of the adorable towel animals.
· Went to a few character appearances in atrium mickey and friend signing autographs; snow white, cinderella,etc. I would not want the job of having to end the line. That poor CM! I have to say that I was impressed with their procedure. The CM joins the end of the line and does not let anyone else get in line rather than just yelling out at the designated end time you lose go home! So, it isnt like you have been waiting in line for 30 minutes and then dont get a chance to meet the character. And you have to think that there is no way they could let the line just end on its own, or else the characters would never get out of there. Most people we saw were very polite and understanding when the CM would tell them the line was closed and the character would be back at x-time. Some people, though, were quite upset yelling, complaining, making the child cry to the CM to try to get in line. When one father shoved his daughter to the CM and said Go cry to her and tell her to let you in line the CM replied to the father I am sorry sir, but I have already turned away other families, I can not allow you to just get in line now. I think that was well-done and very fair.
Day 3 At Sea:
Today was the day we had a reservation for brunch at Palo. After we woke up and got dressed, Joe took kids up to Topsiders for breakfast before they went to the kids club. The children loved the mickey waffles. And DH started bringing a few packs of cereal back to the room so kids would have something to snack on later.
This morning, even though I had been wearing my trusty sea-bands, I was really feeling the motion of the ship. I took a Bonine hoping it would alleviate the slight nausea that was developing.
Then we went to Palo for the champagne brunch. They had a tray of champagne glasses at the front desk and each of us took one (except Joe who cant drink champagne). I should have taken his glass to drink when I finished mine (the first glass is complimentary). We were shown to a very nice booth in the center of the restaurant right across from the food and the galley. Our server, Marc, came and introduced himself to us and then took us on a tour of the different tables of food. The first table was filled with olives and veggies and shrimp and crab legs. Another table was filled with cheeses, crackers and breads. To the right, another table was set with sweet breads, berries, whipped cream, and jellies. A final table to the left was set with all sorts of delicious looking desserts. After filling our plates with all sorts of yummy things (especially the shrimp and crab legs with yummy sauces and the delicious berries and sweet breads with whipped cream and jams) Marc came to take our order for our main dish. Most in my group got pizza (Palo is known for their pizzas). I got pasta in a creamy sauce (delicious!). Chris got 2 orders of eggs benedict but they only brought him 1.5 orders. He said it was pretty good but he has had better. Then on to dessert. I got lemon meringue pie and chocolate tarts wonderful! Our waiter was wonderful, adorable, fun. And we had great interaction with another waitress (Ann Marie from South Africa) lots of fun
While we were at brunch, the kids started at the sports deck for games, then they went to Animators Palette for lunch. Then they got ready for the pirate party. Madalyn got her face painted like a pirate and made an arts and crafts Jolly Roger flag. Teddy played computer games. When Captain Hook and Mr. Smee arrived, my children got scared and wanted us to come get them out of the club.
After brunch and while the kids were still at the club, we sat in our favorite spot on deck 10 overlooking the Quite Cove pool. And of course our wonderful bar server, Kadir, was there to make sure we always had a drink in our hand. Sipping a Mai Tai while laying on a chair and reading The DaVinci Code .. what a wonderful way to spend a day! And it was still quite breezy not so much as to make it difficult to sit there, but breezy enough that when my friends son came up to visit us with an ice cream cone in his hand, little droplets of chocolate ice cream were blown onto the lady next to my friend. Thankfully she as very nice about it.
After getting the children out of the club, DH took them to Quarter Masters, the arcade. They loved playing Ocean Hunter, air hockey, and anything else wed let them get near. At about $1 a game we rationed out how much time they could spend in there, but it was a good reward since they stayed in the club all morning to let us have a peaceful, quiet brunch.
Now, I had taken the Bonine right before leaving for brunch and by the end of brunch I was quite drowsy. I laid on deck 10 for a while but finally needed to go back to the cabin to take a real nap. I took the kids with me to nap since they usually nap at home but hadnt had one in 4 days. While they were sleeping (and before I laid down) I got room service for myself (hadnt eaten lunch since we were full from brunch). I ordered the tomato soup, the cheese platter and some chocolate chip cookies. On our last cruise (the Wonder in 2002) I had gotten the soup and it was served with a thick slice of cheesy French bread and it was delicious! Well, this time it was just served with some crackers bummer! After my snack, I laid down and was knocked out for the rest of the afternoon.
We ended up skipping the Castaway Club reception because I was still napping and there was no way I would be up and ready for dinner by 5:15 (so we could go to the reception and then to dinner).
Thankfully, Joe came back to the cabin and helped get the children dressed for dinner so I could get up and get myself together (I was still sluggish from the Bonine .. needless to say that was the one and only time I took any meds).
They were doing more portraits in the atrium, but we skipped the portraits and headed straight to dinner at Lumieres. I got the shrimp medley (very good); pasta with a 3 cheeses (blah); apple tart with vanilla ice cream (just ok). Joe got escargot (very good) lamb shank (didnt like); tenderloin (good); crème brulee (very good). Yes, he got 2 entrees and that was no problem at all. The server actually apologized to Joe that he would have to bring it out on 2 separate plates and couldnt put both items together that was no a problem for us!
We shopped around a bit in Mickeys Mates and Treasure Ketch before going to the show. Joe had bought Madalyn a charm bracelet with a Cinderella charm by the Mickey pool earlier in the day so I bought her a few more charms to add to her bracelet. I also bought 2 DCL scrapbooks and a pack of character autograph stickers. Each of the children picked out a character shaped pen to give their teachers.
Then we went to Walt Disney World Theater to see Hercules the Muse-ical .. I loved it, it is one of my favorite movies (especially the music). It was very funny; the kids enjoyed it and there was humor for adults as well. For some of the shows, the theater can get quite full by showtime so be sure to get there a wee bit early to get seats. We didnt see any problems with people saving large blocks of seats. The theater is well designed and you can see well from anywhere. The exception to this is when you are behind a row of people who need to keep coming and going during the show then it is hard to see!
After the show, DH took the children to the kids club to watch movies and I went to bed (still exhausted from the Bonine). Joe went out to Rockin Bar D to hang out with Chris and he brought the children back and tucked them in.
Coming Day 4: St. Maarten, our Golden Eagle excursion, tropical night, and (groan) a problem with Joes KTTW card and the safe
