Well it is the Monday after the cruise and I am going to try to begin a trip report. I beg your patience with what will surely be long missives. The cruise was wonderful and there is so much to share! I am planning on enering these reports into our journals so I want them detailed. If you find them boring please just delete from your email! I will probably do it day by day so you will find more then one entry.
We left Friday right after I got out of work. I practically ran home from the job so that we would have plenty of time to clear security at the airport.
Southwest airlines was great! The lines were not at all long and everyone there was helpful. The flight itself was uneventful (as you want an air flight to be!) We had great crew on the plane! They sang to us and ytold corny little jokes. When DD asked for some more peanuts they brought her ten packages! She was thrilled!
Being the first plane ride for the two children made it a little scary! DS 15 had to be convinced to look out the window! He was glad I forced the issue though. Since we had three stops we all got accustomed to taking off and landing! It is always amazing to me that they can get this huge steel thing up into the air!
When we finally landed in Orlando some six and half hours later we were weary yet excited! We were in Florida! I love Florida! The air was scented with some sort of flower that I love and there were palm trees too!
After a short shuttle ride to our hotel for the night- at the lovely Crown Plaza we asked at the lobby desk about getting some food and were told that there were a nummber of places across the street to choose from. We could see a chilis so that was our choice. Well- "across the street" meant crossing eight lanes of traffic! YIKES! We took a deep breath and braved the highway!
When we awoke in the morning the skys were SO blue! Why is that the sky in Florida seems so endless? Living in New England we get used to a sort of obstructed view but in Florida the sky seems to go forever! Two of us once again took our lives into our hands and crossed the freeway to fetch breakfast while the kids enjoyed watching a vulture devour a bit of armadillo road kill! EWWWW but the kids were fascinated with the ordeal.
Around 7:30 I got a phone call- uh oh....this can't be good can it? DD17 was scheduled to join us this morning. She had to fly in on a seperate flight since her senior prom was Friday night. She was flying Delta- remember that name folks. It was NOT good news. DD had been bumped from her original flight! YIKES! She had been bussed from Providence Rhode Island to Boston to catch a later flight. Now, having a child flying alone is scary enough without DELTA throwing monkey wrenches into the plans. It was unsettling for me and DD was surely beside herself. I was not able to speak to her since DELTA was shuttling her to another state to attempt to get her to the port in time for departure. They did give her taxi vouchers as well as a $200 check. Delta only got worse after this- the return flight for DD was WORSE- way worse.But I am getting ahead of myself.
DD arrived at the port at 4:30 PM. We all were pacing the port- including the Disney staff who were helpful and seemed almost as concerned as we that she make it before the ship pulled out. We missed the muster (and got a little letter from the boat stating how important it was that we know what to do in case of emergency) and worriedly watched everyone else aboard the ship lined up in the life jackets.
We ran onto the ship and then it was time to sail. DD had no idea where her luggage might be since it had gone on the flight that she got bumped from! It turned out that Disney had found her luggage at the airport with the yellow tag that was included in our documents package attached and put it onboard for her! Thank you disney! She actually had her luggage at her room before we did!
We headed up to deeck nine for the cast away buffet. Oh it was yummy! I am surprised that there are any shrimp left in the sea after all I saw consumed that day! They were lovely and tasty and large! YUMMY!
After eating we dropped off the carry on stuff and headed up to deck ten for the sail away! How exciting! After weeks of planning and a day of worrying we were ALL really going to go! Hearing the special ships whistle gave me goosebumps! We were off for a family adventure unlike any we had had before!
We were able to meet up with a few of our friends from the Disney Cruise Forum and that was cool too! We had been chatting with these people for weeks now as our excitement built and being able to put a face to a name was fun! I have a number of chat friend from other sites fow a few years. I have tried to get us together for a face to face meet but it has never worked out. I am glad it did this time!
after some unpacking- and yes- you do HAVE to unpack since there is no room in the staterooms to "live out of your suitcase" We hung up our over the door shoe hanger thingie and quickly filled it with countless small items that would have been cluttering up the tops of every surface if we didn't have it! This was by far the number one tip that I got from these boards! NEVER LEAVE HOME WITHOUT AN OVER THE DOOR SHOE HANGER THINGIE!
We all headed down for the welcome aboard show. It was fun and informative. They had this really funny juggler- I never saw him again on the trip but I hear he was around. We got to meet Rick for the first time- he was our cruise director. I want his job!!
Then it was back to the rooms to change for dinner. We ate at Lumieniers the first night. What a lovely place. Our server was Sylvester and his assistant was Joel. What a great team they were! They made each nights meal special and enjoyable. They quickly learned our names and drink preferances. By the end of the week they would become our friends. Sylvester was from India and Joel was from the Phillipines. They were both so kind and helpful to my children. really catered to their every want and desire. That can be a rather overwhelming task with three teens!
The teens all heade to Common Grounds for the first meeting. Two out of three were excited about the happenings scheduled for the week. More on the third teens reaction later....
It had been anexhausting day so it was an early to bed night. We were on the sixth floor aft and it was a great spot! Quiet and conveniant to everything. The secret deck on aft seven was lovely. Hardly ever anyone there. A great place to sun and relax for a few minutes between the activities. There was sooo much to do and I missed many things that I wanted to do! But for now- this day was over , it was time to sleep a bit and get ready for our first full day at sea! So much to look forward to!
We left Friday right after I got out of work. I practically ran home from the job so that we would have plenty of time to clear security at the airport.
Southwest airlines was great! The lines were not at all long and everyone there was helpful. The flight itself was uneventful (as you want an air flight to be!) We had great crew on the plane! They sang to us and ytold corny little jokes. When DD asked for some more peanuts they brought her ten packages! She was thrilled!
Being the first plane ride for the two children made it a little scary! DS 15 had to be convinced to look out the window! He was glad I forced the issue though. Since we had three stops we all got accustomed to taking off and landing! It is always amazing to me that they can get this huge steel thing up into the air!
When we finally landed in Orlando some six and half hours later we were weary yet excited! We were in Florida! I love Florida! The air was scented with some sort of flower that I love and there were palm trees too!
After a short shuttle ride to our hotel for the night- at the lovely Crown Plaza we asked at the lobby desk about getting some food and were told that there were a nummber of places across the street to choose from. We could see a chilis so that was our choice. Well- "across the street" meant crossing eight lanes of traffic! YIKES! We took a deep breath and braved the highway!
When we awoke in the morning the skys were SO blue! Why is that the sky in Florida seems so endless? Living in New England we get used to a sort of obstructed view but in Florida the sky seems to go forever! Two of us once again took our lives into our hands and crossed the freeway to fetch breakfast while the kids enjoyed watching a vulture devour a bit of armadillo road kill! EWWWW but the kids were fascinated with the ordeal.
Around 7:30 I got a phone call- uh oh....this can't be good can it? DD17 was scheduled to join us this morning. She had to fly in on a seperate flight since her senior prom was Friday night. She was flying Delta- remember that name folks. It was NOT good news. DD had been bumped from her original flight! YIKES! She had been bussed from Providence Rhode Island to Boston to catch a later flight. Now, having a child flying alone is scary enough without DELTA throwing monkey wrenches into the plans. It was unsettling for me and DD was surely beside herself. I was not able to speak to her since DELTA was shuttling her to another state to attempt to get her to the port in time for departure. They did give her taxi vouchers as well as a $200 check. Delta only got worse after this- the return flight for DD was WORSE- way worse.But I am getting ahead of myself.
DD arrived at the port at 4:30 PM. We all were pacing the port- including the Disney staff who were helpful and seemed almost as concerned as we that she make it before the ship pulled out. We missed the muster (and got a little letter from the boat stating how important it was that we know what to do in case of emergency) and worriedly watched everyone else aboard the ship lined up in the life jackets.
We ran onto the ship and then it was time to sail. DD had no idea where her luggage might be since it had gone on the flight that she got bumped from! It turned out that Disney had found her luggage at the airport with the yellow tag that was included in our documents package attached and put it onboard for her! Thank you disney! She actually had her luggage at her room before we did!
We headed up to deeck nine for the cast away buffet. Oh it was yummy! I am surprised that there are any shrimp left in the sea after all I saw consumed that day! They were lovely and tasty and large! YUMMY!
After eating we dropped off the carry on stuff and headed up to deck ten for the sail away! How exciting! After weeks of planning and a day of worrying we were ALL really going to go! Hearing the special ships whistle gave me goosebumps! We were off for a family adventure unlike any we had had before!
We were able to meet up with a few of our friends from the Disney Cruise Forum and that was cool too! We had been chatting with these people for weeks now as our excitement built and being able to put a face to a name was fun! I have a number of chat friend from other sites fow a few years. I have tried to get us together for a face to face meet but it has never worked out. I am glad it did this time!
after some unpacking- and yes- you do HAVE to unpack since there is no room in the staterooms to "live out of your suitcase" We hung up our over the door shoe hanger thingie and quickly filled it with countless small items that would have been cluttering up the tops of every surface if we didn't have it! This was by far the number one tip that I got from these boards! NEVER LEAVE HOME WITHOUT AN OVER THE DOOR SHOE HANGER THINGIE!
We all headed down for the welcome aboard show. It was fun and informative. They had this really funny juggler- I never saw him again on the trip but I hear he was around. We got to meet Rick for the first time- he was our cruise director. I want his job!!
Then it was back to the rooms to change for dinner. We ate at Lumieniers the first night. What a lovely place. Our server was Sylvester and his assistant was Joel. What a great team they were! They made each nights meal special and enjoyable. They quickly learned our names and drink preferances. By the end of the week they would become our friends. Sylvester was from India and Joel was from the Phillipines. They were both so kind and helpful to my children. really catered to their every want and desire. That can be a rather overwhelming task with three teens!
The teens all heade to Common Grounds for the first meeting. Two out of three were excited about the happenings scheduled for the week. More on the third teens reaction later....
It had been anexhausting day so it was an early to bed night. We were on the sixth floor aft and it was a great spot! Quiet and conveniant to everything. The secret deck on aft seven was lovely. Hardly ever anyone there. A great place to sun and relax for a few minutes between the activities. There was sooo much to do and I missed many things that I wanted to do! But for now- this day was over , it was time to sleep a bit and get ready for our first full day at sea! So much to look forward to!
!! We would absolutely avoid Delta but my DH is military and Delta wins most of the contracts for military travel (on the job). Delta is NOT getting any of my personal business that is for sure. So sorry your DD had to go through all of that, my stomach got nervous just reading about you waiting to board. You are a trooper!
