Mother/Daughter Cruise to Tortola, May 23rd, Lots of pics! COMPLETE 7/14

[Lifelong_Dreamer]

Suevee,


Lessa, the TR is awesome. We will be in cabin 6542 and it's the first time we've had a veranda. LOVED all your room pictures. I am cutting and pasting some of your trip ideas into our family "things to do/see" list!!

Have a great weekend!!

Oh you are going to love having your own verandah! It is so nice to just sit out there and relax away from it all.

Thanks for one of the best trip reports I've ever read! The pictures are fabulous and I always enjoy the food pics! I've seen more detail in your pics on the ship than I've ever seen before. I haven't been on the Magic yet (will be going to Tortola in September) and I think it looks beautiful! I look forward to reading about the rest of your cruise!

I am so glad that you enjoy looking at all my pictures, I sure took enough of them!

 

[Lifelong_Dreamer]

We awoke to a beautiful sunny day at sea. Our first really nice 100% sunny day of pretty much the whole two week trip. Isn't that sad?

We didn't eat breakfast at Topsiders this morning as today was our scheduled Character Breakfast at Parrot Cay! Our servers had mentioned it to our table the night before and we could have sworn they said our meal time was 9:15. I had read here on the boards that you are supposed to get an invitation to the breakfast with your day/meal time on it in your stateroom but we never got one.



We went for a walk on deck 4 as we had a bit of time to kill before breakfast and we wanted to enjoy the beautiful morning.


We also checked out our picture in Shutters. I have no idea why I was always checking them out since I had no plans on buying any.

It was just about 9:15 now so we made our way over to Parrot Cay. We were confused though, it looked like people were finishing up their breakfast and leaving instead of being seated and ordering. Well Mom took initiative and asked one of the servers walking by (not one of ours) and they told her that our breakfast was actually at 9:45. While Mom was talking to the server I was taking a couple pictures around the entrance to Parrot Cay.




Well since we had half an hour to kill we headed up a deck and went to the animation class. I was disappointed that we were going to miss it due to the character breakfast but now we got to go after all!

We were a bit late and they had already started drawing so we did our best to catch up. Mom got frustrated and gave up but I persevered! Here is what I ended up with:


It was nearing 9:45 now so we made our way back to Parrot Cay thinking we would be a few minutes early. Well when we arrived we found our tablemates already seated with pastries on their plates. Turns out our breakfast was not at 9:15 or 9:45 but at 9:30! It was not really a big deal and our assistant server was soon there to take our drink order.

Now I don't know what was up with our servers this morning but they kept messing up our orders. First the drinks got mixed up so we all just passed them around till they got to the right person. Then the server brought me hash browns instead of the bacon I had requested. They were always very good at dinner so no idea what was up with them that morning.

Soon the characters started to make their way around the room. Dale practically rushed past our table before we could get any pictures. The character handler brought him back though when we made it clear that though we were all adults we still wanted character pictures. After that all the characters made sure to stop and pose with all of us.




Our assistant server came around and started putting napkins on our heads.

Mine was fashioned to look like a bow and Mom's looked like a turban. They also made a Peter Pan hat for one of the men at our table and several other hats that I don't remember. It was all great fun.





We had all finished eating by the time Mickey came around so once we got our picture it was time to leave.

We stopped in the empty atrium to get a picture with the Mickey statue.


I wish Mom had told me to fix my shirt.



Next we ventured up to the shops. They were having a sidewalk sale so we wanted to check it out. While shopping we ran into the same family/dad that we kept seeing throughout the week and who we had chatted with that first day in the terminal. It was so funny how we kept running into the dad, everywhere we turned, there he was!


While at the shops I decided to pick up a photo album for our cruise pictures.

After we were all shopped out we went back to the room and got dressed for the pool.

Initially we had chairs up on deck 10 but Mom was able to snatch two lounge chairs poolside.

It was so so hot that day. I was in and out of the pool to keep cool. It also turns out that we were sitting next to the brother and sister who had been in the hypnosis show the night before. The brother was in the pool pretty much the whole time so we didn't see much of him. His sister was sunbathing and the whole time she was out there people were coming up to here and asking questions and laughing with her about the experience.

It was a perfect day at sea, great weather, a nice pool, fun tropical music playing.

I grabbed some pizza from Pinocchio's to snack on at one point while Mom stayed with the chairs.

We lounged around the pool until about 3pm that day. It was very nice.

Right before we left, David came out and performed for us. He said that it was some of his own music that he had written himself.






Click here to continue

 

[bsusanmb]

I am so hooked on your tr. I look everyday for more. Do you have any old TR"s from other trips? You write so well, with such detail and I feel like I am right there with you! Just love it!
Susan

 

[Lifelong_Dreamer]

I am so hooked on your tr. I look everyday for more. Do you have any old TR"s from other trips? You write so well, with such detail and I feel like I am right there with you! Just love it!
Susan

Yep, they are WDW TR's though since this was my first cruise. I have been told my WDW TR's are amusing, probably due to my brothers.

My First Report

Our Funfilled Action Packed Trip to Disney Over the Fourth of July

Our 2008 WDW Trip

The Silly and Mischievous Adventures of Four Crazy Canucks

And then my current trip report

The Sea Witch Stole My Voice! Our Two Week Land and Sea Adventure!

 

[DMMarla07860]

Right before we left, David came out and performed for us. He said that it was some of his own music that he had written himself.

what did you think of David singging, in 2008 on my 7 night cruise I saw him sing and thought he was amazing, loved David he is awesome

 

[Georgia Jamie]

This is the best report ever . . . will be so sad to see it end!

Jamie

 

[Lifelong_Dreamer]

what did you think of David singging, in 2008 on my 7 night cruise I saw him sing and thought he was amazing, loved David he is awesome

He was pretty good and I thought it was neat that he was performing his own music for us.

This is the best report ever . . . will be so sad to see it end!

Jamie

Well thanks!

 

[Lifelong_Dreamer]

After listening to David play for us for a while we decided it was about time to head back to the room as we were nice and roasted from the sun and the heat.

We stopped off at Pluto's Dog House to grab some lunch to take back to the room. I had chicken strips and grabbed some veggies to snack on as well. I figured that I should at least try and eat something nutritional while on vacation.

Food in hand we went back down to our room and just relaxed in the air conditioning. We turned on the debarkation info on the tv while Mom started to pack. We didn't want to have to fuss with it too much the next day as we figured we would be pretty busy considering it was our Castaway Cay day and all.

The show that night was the amazing Disney Dreams, this was spectacular. I am so impressed with the shows that Disney is able to put on while at sea.

Here is a "small sampling" of my pictures from the show.







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[Lifelong_Dreamer]

This is such an amazing show, do not miss it! If you only see one show while onboard make sure this is it!

Click here to continue

 

[princess22]

I was wating for all your pictures to be back up and now that they are I have spent all afternoon reading your TR. I'm LOVING it. Aren't mother/daughter cruises wonderful? I have done some with my mom (not on disney though) and they create such wonderful memories.

I'm hooked and can't wait to read more!! Your pictures are beautiful by the way

 

[Lifelong_Dreamer]

I was wating for all your pictures to be back up and now that they are I have spent all afternoon reading your TR. I'm LOVING it. Aren't mother/daughter cruises wonderful? I have done some with my mom (not on disney though) and they create such wonderful memories.

I'm hooked and can't wait to read more!! Your pictures are beautiful by the way

I do enjoy traveling with my Mom, probably because she lets me do all the planning, I like to be in charge! When my brothers travel with us they are always throwing my plans out of whack, of course traveling with them is fun too but they need to learn to just follow my plans!

 

[Lifelong_Dreamer]

After Disney Dreams we headed down to Rockin Bar D to see the ventriloquist act. He was fairly amusing and I had never seen a ventriloquist before so it was a new experience. We didn't have a very good view of the show though as the club was absolutely packed and we ended up being on the far side by the doors.

Dinner tonight was at Animator's Palate and it was the Captains Gala Menu

Garlic and Herb Sauteed Shrimp on Saffron Rice drizzled with Pin Grapefruit Vinagrette


I had the Fettucine with Parmesan Crusted Chicken, it was very good!


Grilled Venison Medallions in Stilton and Red Currant Jus

Veal Roated with Shallots, Fennel and Vin Santo on Chive mashed potatoes



Dessert Time! I was torn between the molten lava cake and the cheesecake so Mom got one and I got the other and we shared dessert.

Amaretto Cheesecake


Warm Chocolate Lava Cake


Oh wait, it comes with ice cream too!



Cherries Jubilee

After dinner we popped over to Studio Sea as there was a game of Mickey Mania going on. There were very few people there so the host was going to allow adult teams instead of the adult/child teams that they usually request.

Mom and I were not chosen to be a team but we did get to answer some of the audience questions. I was the only one in the room who knew the name of Chip and Dales girlfriend (Clarice) and Mom was able to tell them which street in New York City that World of Disney is located on (5th Avenue).

We didn't stay for the whole game as I wanted to get my picture taken with Donald. He was the one character I hadn't managed to get my picture with yet on the cruise.

Daisy was also out in her finery but her line was too long.




After the picture with Donald it was time to run up to the room and get changed into some warm comfy clothes. Tonight was going to be a late night for us!



You are probably wondering what was so important that night to break our tradition of going to bed early. Well tonight was the PremEAR at Sea of the new Pixar movie UP! They were showing it exactly at midnight in the Walt Disney Theatre, we even got to see it in 3-D!

We knew that the theatre was going to be packed full so we wanted to get there early. So we got out of our semi-formal clothes and into our comfy clothes, grabbed a book to read and then headed down to the theatre. There were already quite a few people camped outside the theatre waiting to get in. They were going to start letting people in at 11pm.

Also that night there was a dessert buffet in Lumiere's. I briefly considered going down to get some pictures for the report (I was way too full to actually eat anything) but I was too lazy and opted not to. Our waiters told us that the first 15 minutes that the buffet was open was solely for picture taking.

I did wander the hallway with the shops and took some pictures of the window displays.




Right at 11pm they started to let us in. Mom and I grabbed seats right in the centre of the centre row of the theatre along with two of our tablemates. We decided to sit there so as to have lots of leg room.

The hour before the movie passed quickly as we chatted away.

Soon Brent Davies, our cruise director, came out and introduced one of the directing animators for the film, Dave Mullins. Dave was on the cruise with us that week and had given two behind the scenes talks about the movie and was there that night to introduce the movie to us. We were the first general audience to see the movie I believe.


Not only did he introduce the movie but he had also filmed an amusing little surprise for us. Before he left for the cruise he had taken a video camera around to all the Pixar animators and had them say a little something about the movie to all the cruise passengers. It was very funny as he had obviously not warned them they were going to be filmed so some of them were really put on the spot so we had a few chuckles.

After that fun little introduction the film started rolling. We saw a few trailers including the trailer for Toy Story 3 and then came the animated short which was really cute and funny!

I can not say enough good things about UP. I am sure most of you have seen it by now so will know exactly what I am talking about. It was funny, sad and heartwarming. Pixar sure knows how to pull the heart strings that is for sure.

When the movie ended everybody in the audience stood up and applauded. I have always thought that it is strange when people do this in a regular movie theatre as nobody associated with the making of the film can hear the applause. That night though with one of the animators in the audience with us I totally understood the applause and joined in myself.

It was near 2am when we got back to the room and my throat was killing me! It was so odd how this bug/virus I had was behaving. One day I would really feel it and other days I wouldn't notice it at all. That night though my throat was aching. So once back in the room I downed some Nyquil and then picked up my cell and made a 30 second phone call to my brother at home to brag that I had just seen UP. Yes my cell was receiving service out at sea, Mom's however didn't.

The Nyquil started to take effect and I was out! Good thing too as I really needed a good nights sleep as we were heading into Castaway Cay in the morning.

Click here to continue to the Navigators for the trip

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[lwilliam]

I don't mean to be a pain, but this report is simply awesome.....we also saw UP, but in a theatre near us, and I agree, it was terrific....so glad you had the experience of a PREMear at sea

Do you know if the navigators are listed anywhere for this cruise (we leave for our Tortola cruise July 18)...we are curious what days they offer what (e.g., tastings, Pirate night, etc.).

I'm getting sad that your trip report is coming to an end! This is the BEST one I have ever read! Thanks again.
Lucy

 

[Lifelong_Dreamer]

I don't mean to be a pain, but this report is simply awesome.....we also saw UP, but in a theatre near us, and I agree, it was terrific....so glad you had the experience of a PREMear at sea

Do you know if the navigators are listed anywhere for this cruise (we leave for our Tortola cruise July 18)...we are curious what days they offer what (e.g., tastings, Pirate night, etc.).

I'm getting sad that your trip report is coming to an end! This is the BEST one I have ever read! Thanks again.
Lucy

You are not a pain, I love to hear from the people that are reading, otherwise I will think I am talking to myself!

I have the navigators from the cruise, I was planning on scanning and posting them at the end of the report but I can post them a bit early if that will help you out.

 

[mkmommy]

Your report is wonderful, I so want to go on another cruise. I love reading mother/daughter reports and I sure hope my girls still want to travel with me when they are older.

Thank you for taking the time to share with us all.

 

[Lifelong_Dreamer]

Your report is wonderful, I so want to go on another cruise. I love reading mother/daughter reports and I sure hope my girls still want to travel with me when they are older.

Thank you for taking the time to share with us all.

I am dreaming of going on another cruise as well. Too bad school is going to be severely restricting my travel budget. It will be worth it though! Once I am a nurse I will be more than capable of funding lots of cruises and I will probably really need relaxing vacations once I become a nurse.

We saw lots of adult aged "kids" traveling with their parents on the cruise, I am sure your girls will keep wanting to travel with you as well.

 

[princess22]

Love your update. I'm dying to see "Up." I almost went the other night but decided on going to Ohana's instead. Have you already started school for nursing? I almost went the nursing route, but realized my heart was in teaching. I wish you the best with school! It will be worth it in the end!

 

[Lifelong_Dreamer]

Love your update. I'm dying to see "Up." I almost went the other night but decided on going to Ohana's instead. Have you already started school for nursing? I almost went the nursing route, but realized my heart was in teaching. I wish you the best with school! It will be worth it in the end!

Nope haven't started yet, I head back to school in September to start working towards my Nursing degree (I already have a BAH in English Lit and Classical Studies).

 

[anetnmike]

Hey Lessa! I have been loving your trip report! It's been just like being there!
and really helpful for our planning. Thank you!
I have been an RN for over 21 years,20 of it in ICU. Yes, you will certainly need regular vacations! I still love being a nurse though and I encourage you to go for it!

 

[Lifelong_Dreamer]

Hey Lessa! I have been loving your trip report! It's been just like being there!
and really helpful for our planning. Thank you!
I have been an RN for over 21 years,20 of it in ICU. Yes, you will certainly need regular vacations! I still love being a nurse though and I encourage you to go for it!

I am very much looking forward to Nursing school, it is definitely going to be a vast departure from my previous studies but I enjoy learning so it should be exciting tackling something new and then of course when I am done I will be all set for a long and fulfilling career! I just wish I had studied Nursing to begin with instead of wasting so many years getting the first degree and then sort of just meandering around not knowing what I am doing for these past couple years.