Mother/Daughter Double Dip: May 25th - May 29th, 2008

[deleckidesign]

I originally was not going to do a pre-trip report, but decided since I'm sitting here at work not working (shhhh!), I thought I'd get one going. I just can't seem to focus on anything other than our cruise!

Before I get going, here's the cast:

Me: The Daughter. 25 year old. Married. Graphic Artist. I got mom started on DCL.

DM: The Mother. Ahem years old. You didn't need to know that anyway. Retired, but works part-time at a church as a...do-it-all secretary...and part-time as a mother/daughter cruise vacation planner!

Yep, that's it. No one else! No boys allowed.

We took a lot of family vacations when I was a kid. Texas. Boston. Chicago. Disney World. Yes, it's like a city all it's own! But until just a few years ago, it was never just mom and I. Usually my brother (DB) went along for the ride. And my step-dad every once in a great while.

But when I became a freshman in college, one of my good friends talked me into going on a 4-night Disney cruise with her for spring break. Now...at this point, I had only been on one cruise before. Back when I was in 8th grade, my mom, brother and I went on a Carnival cruise. One of the worst vacations EVER! The ship, as far as looks and amenities, was NOTHING in comparision to what I know of DCL today. The service was not great. The food was blah. So at this point, the idea of another cruise like Carnival was a turn-off to me. But, then I got to thinking about it...and realized it was Disney. If they couldn't do it right, then no one could.

It took a little convincing to get DM to let me go. I was only 18 and had never been on a trip without her. I was mommy's little girl still and she wanted to make sure I'd be safe. She eventually said YES as she realized I was 18 and paying for it with my own money.

It turned out to be one of the best vacations ever, so upon returning, I convinced mom to go on a 7-night Eastern with me next year (2002)...and we did. Again, 5 stars for DCL! A longer break this time as life got in the way but 3 years later, and DM and I convinced my DB and DH to go on a 3-night DCL with a couple days in the World. DM and I had a blast. DB and DH liked it, but just weren't the cruising type!

That was in 2005...nearly 3 years ago! Long time, no vacation.

Back up to this past Christmas. DM and I go shopping 2-3 days before Christmas. One of our usual weekend hangouts. Shopping and food! Afterwards, we go to the church where DM works to hang out for a while...and for her to get some work done. So, while she's working, I start poking around on the Internet. Hmmm...where to go. How about the DCL website, just for grins!

Ooooh...cruises! Me WANT! "Oh, look mom." A Mexican Riviera cruise. That would be fun. We've always wanted to go to California. Wonder how much it costs?



Mom hears cruise and starts RUNNING. OK...maybe not running. But...dancing? Nah! But she pulls up a chair to look over my shoulder!

Rates...rates? Where are the RATES! Wow...kinda of a lot... ...but could be worse.

Let's BOOK it, mom!

Talk about spur of the minute vacation planning. We were on Had it booked within a few days!

Two months pass...and we started re-thinking the Mex Riv cruise. Sure it sounds fun...but we LOVE Castaway Cay so much...it seems like a bummer to miss out on it.

So, back to the drawing board.

And we find the DOUBLE DIP! Not only would be not be missing out on Castaway Cay, we'd get to go there TWICE! Bonus!

So, we switch our Mex Riv to a 4-night Double Dip. Same date: May 25th...just a quicker return. Which doesn't bother us. Although we love the cruises, we miss home!

But, in addition to that, we are leaving a day early and spending a VERY, very busy day flying in from Michigan, checking into the Hyatt at MCO, scurrying to Magic Kingdom and Downtown Disney, then off to bed so we can wake up Sunday and be ready for the Wonder!

I'm taking my laptop with me, and will TRY, yes TRY, to update this report while we are ON the ship, but I can't make any guarantees. But, at the very least, I will be keeping a journal in Word and if I don't manage to post any updates while onboard, I'll be sure to work on this upon our return!

 

[DisneyDudet]

This sounds like a great trip! You kind of sound like us. I was 18 when I took my first DCL cruise, a 4 day for High school graduation with my class. It won me over!

So, 4.5 years later, what did I want to do to celebrate college graduation, a 7 night Eastern Cruise!! That was our family trip, and we all LOVED it!

Now we're going on a DD in June! Just my parents and I. We're so excited!

I can't wait to hear what you will do! I'm so excited.

We, too, are staying at the Hyatt, and are just going to head for a leisurely day at DTD doing some shopping there, at Wal Mart, and the Disney outlets, and maybe heading to a resort for some dinner and maybe fireworks from the Poly beach.

I am looking forward to your reports!

BTW, I'm 24!

 

[deleckidesign]

This sounds like a great trip! You kind of sound like us. I was 18 when I took my first DCL cruise, a 4 day for High school graduation with my class. It won me over!

So, 4.5 years later, what did I want to do to celebrate college graduation, a 7 night Eastern Cruise!! That was our family trip, and we all LOVED it!

Now we're going on a DD in June! Just my parents and I. We're so excited!

I can't wait to hear what you will do! I'm so excited.

We, too, are staying at the Hyatt, and are just going to head for a leisurely day at DTD doing some shopping there, at Wal Mart, and the Disney outlets, and maybe heading to a resort for some dinner and maybe fireworks from the Poly beach.

I am looking forward to your reports!

BTW, I'm 24!

Wow, we do sound a lot alike

We're hoping to book the Eastern Tortola for May 23, 2009 while onboard! Perhaps that will be your next cruise as well!

I plan on having the TR finished by the time you leave!

What excursions are you guys planning? We are doing parasailing (tandem, our first time doing this) on Castaway Cay...and Atlantis Beach Day in Nassau, which we've done before, but like. And the Dolphin Encounter is already sold out

 

[Pocahantas]

Great start and I hope to meet you on Sunday since we will be on the same cruise!! Safe travels...

 

[MagicMe]

great start! I've done two 4-days with my DM (and other family members - 20 the first trip and 15 the second!) but we're doing a 7-day double dip in SEPT. Can't wait!!! The rest of the group is going on a 4-day DD in July (including my Mom - she get's two cruises in one year!!! ) but I'd already booked the 7-day and I'm not giving it up! This time there are just four of us (me and DM and my oldest DS and his DGF). We're going to have a blast!!!

 

[DisneyDudet]

Wow, we do sound a lot alike

We're hoping to book the Eastern Tortola for May 23, 2009 while onboard! Perhaps that will be your next cruise as well!

I plan on having the TR finished by the time you leave!

What excursions are you guys planning? We are doing parasailing (tandem, our first time doing this) on Castaway Cay...and Atlantis Beach Day in Nassau, which we've done before, but like. And the Dolphin Encounter is already sold out

Are we twins?

We're looking at possibly booking a Tortola cruise while we're on board as well! It may not be May 23, as my mother is a teacher, but WOW!

We, too, are planning on doing parasailing!! We may not do tandum, but we'll see! I think we're just going to hang out on the ship and maybe venture out to Nassau, but aren't too sure.

I hope you have a great time tomorrow! I'm so jealous and can't wait to hear about it!

 

[deleckidesign]

Well, I certainly didn't plan on waiting this long to get the trip report started. We got back a week ago today...and since then, I have just been busy getting back into the swing of things at work. But, the boss is not here today, so now's the perfect time to start

Mom arrived at my house at 4am on Saturday so we could head to the airport for our 7am flight. I of course was buying crying since I was leaving my husband and "kids" (my 2 cocker spaniels). I really hate being away from then...but I knew that once we left the house, I'd be fine. Tears still welled up on the way to the airport...but once we arrived, I was ready to go!

Turns out, there's no need to get to the airport 2.5 hours before your flight. Sure, they say you have to be there 2 hours before your flight time, but that's just crazy. Especially when you're flying out of the airport in Flint, which, by the way, only has 6 gates!

So we checked in, paid $20 for mom's second checked piece of luggage and went to get some breakfast at the only place in the entire airport to eat! But, it was good. Ham, egg and cheese croissants...and I had a cream cheese danish, too. Yum! We paid (ugh, the start of our nickel-and-dime vacation!) and headed to the security checkpoint.

I had no idea I had to take my laptop and video camera out completely to be scanned. I haven't flown in 2-3 years, so a lot has changed regarding security since then. Before getting in the "scanning" line...I had to sit on the floor and DIG through my carry-on rolling luggage for my laptop. I had strategically packed it to fit A LOT of stuff...and so removing my laptop messed up my intense organizational plan! So, while digging for that...removing my belt and hair pins...and jewelry...and shoes, etc...a security guard asks if I'm looking for my liquids?! Uh, no! Just removing my laptop. Duh!

K, so I finally make it into the line and begin to walk through the metal detector with my *gasp* wallet/travel organizer. A female security begins to yell at me..."You can't take THAT through there!" Whoa, lady. Just chill out. So I turn around, grab my ID out of it, then toss the wallet into a bin. I understand they are doing their job, but they could at least be nice about it.

So after dragging all my stuff off the belt, and struggling to carry it over to the nearest seat, I begin the reorganization process...which takes a good 5 minutes! Then, a potty break...then waiting...and waiting. They had TNT playing on the TV's and it was some sort of gruesome movie with a very fake looking beast-like creature. Mom and I were a bit disgusted and talked about how inappropriate it seemed. Maybe they could've played cartoons or something.

Finally, boarding began...but we were in Zone 7, near the front...so we were almost the last people to board. Once on the plane, we discovered that our seats were BOTH aisle seats. We didn't even get to sit next to each other. I guess our travel agent didn't realize what she was doing. Mom sat next to relatively quiet people...I had to sit next to a couple that got up 4 times! And at one point, then even managed to change seats WITHOUT standing up!

Sorry. OK...moving on!

It was a routine flight and we landed on time around 9:15am. Since we were near the front, we got off pretty quick. Of course, it didn't matter, since we had to go to baggage claim. Once there, we waited at least 15 minutes for the luggage to start rolling through...then another 10 for ours to appear. Then up to the Hyatt at the MCO to check-in. A room was available (atrium-view) and we scurried up there and I checked to make sure there was still a phone in the bathroom! Yep. Still there.

Then we changed, and we were off to get our rental car so we could go to the Magic Kingdom. So, down to the lower level. Walked around lost for a few minutes until we found a sign that said "Off-Site Rentals." What?! Off-Site? But we want our car now! Perplexed by the sign, a lady standing nearby helped us decipher what exactly that meant. Finally, we figured it out. We had to go outside, take a BUS to GET to the rental car place (Advantage)...then get our car. By this time, mom and I were FURIOUS!

We boarded the bus...it finally left...and we realized we were going in a circle. TO THE OTHER SIDE OF THE AIRPORT. Doh! Some other passenger told us we had to go to Side A before going to Advantage. After picking up more people from Side A, we were off...and it took another 20 minutes just to get there! All of this because our travel agent had no idea that Advantage was off-site.

But, once we got our car (a Hyundai something or other)...we were off to Magic Kingdom.

I would guess it took about 30 minutes to get there. Go there, parked in "Donald..."

...then took the tram to the entrance to buy tickets (amidst a few rain drops). A quick $150 later, we were on the ferry and on our way to MK. Once we arrived, the rain had stopped...and we had hoped this would be the last of it.

But would there be more rain to come?

Keep reading to find out. . . . .

 

[deleckidesign]

We walked into MK and it looked PACKED. First on the agenda though, were cookies! Just a few stores from the entrance was the wonderful bakery/cookie shop. Two cookies, two drinks and $15 later (ok, I doubt it was that much...but you get the idea...), we went to head out AND...

...RAIN! Just a downpour. Even people in ponchos were running inside the shops. We stood in the cookie shop doorway for what seemed like forever. 5 minutes. 10. Still raining. Our cookies were gone. Should we buy more? We thought about it...but the rain slowed for a minute or two and we made a dash across the street to all the shops that connect. You know, the ones with all the Disney stuff where you want to buy EVERYTHING you see. We meandered around there for a few minutes, until it slowed enough to head out again.

At some point, we stopped someone with a poncho and asked them where they got it. They said there was a stand somewhere by the carousel...so we headed in that direction sensing more rain was on the way. On the way there, a downpour. Everyone was shouting: RUN TO THE TEACUPS!

And if you have ever been to the teacups, there is very little overhang...so half of me was dry...and half of me was getting rained on! Again, it didn't last long...so we began to trek towards Mickey and Minnie's houses.

We were almost to Minnie's house...and rain again.

Her house was FULL...even the porch. We got wet until it cleared out enough for us to make it to the her porch. We felt like sardines. Wet, smelly sardines...packed into Minnie's pretty pink house!

Then we got to the last room of her house and were forced outside...so we ran to Mickey's house next door.

His house wasn't quite as full since the rooms aren't quite as closed-off as Minnie's, but lots of people were just hanging out on the porch waiting for the rain to stop.

A quick stroll through his house...then we stopped in his garage to devise our next plan of action.

We decided it might be a good idea to try something that was INSIDE...so we decided on the new Monsters, Inc. show. So, we scurried over there trying to avoid the rain drops. We made it fairly dry and got right in. It was a very funny show...and interactive since they used people from the audience for the show. Hilarious!

After that, the sun decided to come out for a bit...and we made our way over to the Haunted Mansion. But it said a 40 minute wait, so we decided not to wait. Right nearby was the Swiss Family Treehouse. We walked up that...which didn't take long.

After that, mom was hungry and said she HAD to have some of those corn dog nuggets from Casey's. I was skeptical at first...but obliged and got my own cup of them...and they are FANTASTIC! If you haven't tried them, you must. We plowed through those as we watched the 3pm Dreams parade pass by.

While eating, we saw several ducks walking around looking for food!

Once that was over...we had had enough...and decided to head to Downtown Disney.

We were both wearing down since we had gotten up so early...and we knew we wanted to hit DTD...so, we went. Once there, we meandered around the World of Disney for almost an hour. Bought a few things...then we were both ready to go.

Had to return our car...which mom managed to run over the curb (accidentally) while turning into Advantage to return it. Oops! Luckily the shuttle bus returned shortly after we got there...and of course, it went to the A side first. Figures...since we needed the B side. Oh well. At this point, we didn't care and there was nothing we could do about it.

If I remember correctly, we went to Chilli's too in the airport for dinner. Both got Chicken Crispers. After we got it, we realized we could've split it. It's just money, as mom told me throughout the trip!

After that, we stopped at Krispy Kreme for some donuts...then back to the room.

We had to get some rest...for tomorrow we were going to be on the WONDER!

 

[wilma-bride]

Great so far - but I want to read about your cruise so hurry up please

 

[DisneyDudet]

Ok, I have determined that we were twins or something. WE ARE SO SIMILAR!!!!

Not only are we flying in a day early to MCO, we are going to DTD after renting a car. I LOVE the corn dog nuggets (they used to have them in a kid's meal at Cosmic Ray's... just FYI.. something to look for).

As this report is becoming eerily closer to what mine might look like... I can't wait for more!

 

[deleckidesign]

Work and getting our house ready for an open house has been keeping me from furthering this trip report. I'm really trying to get it completed, since I'm starting to forget things.

So, we woke up and made our way down to the 4th level of the Hyatt where there was a meeting place for all Disney cruisers. We went to a check-in table, where an older man took our travel voucher booklets and began asking us our room number. It wasn't clear if he was referring to our Hyatt room # or our cabin # on the ship. So we gave him our cabin #. Until I thought better of it and asked if that's what he was referring to. He said, no, I need your Hyatt room # so we can get your luggage. Then he proceeds to mention that he has no idea what he is doing. Gee, thanks buddy...that's reassuring. Other than that, the check-in was quick and easy. Mom and I waited for at least another half an hour on a bench watching people go through security.

Finally, after well over 50 people were hanging around, they announce that it's time to go to the buses. All 50+ of us walked in a line through the airport to the lower level where the buses are. Lots of people made it through for the first bus...we were about 10 people away from making it on. But, not to worry...another bus was along in about 10 minutes. We packed up the bus and we were on our way.

Finally, after about 40 minutes, we could finally see the Wonder (sorry, no pics of this)! Excitement, yes. Tears, no. I'm just not like that...and neither is mom! We finally arrived, went through security, then checked in at the Castaway Club desk. Boarding pass #7.

That's ok...we're not in any hurry. We took a seat...then watched some King of Queens on mom's dvd player while waiting.

Eventually, announcements began. "Boarding passes #1 and #2." Five minutes pass..."#2 and #3." Five more minutes...and the process continues until we get to #7. Yippee!

Since they announce your family's last name, we had a dilemma. Mom's last name is different than mine since I'm married. Last time, we used her last name. So this time we used my last name. And as usual, there was lots of jumping and shouting from the CM's in the atrium. After speaking briefly about sailing before with a CM, we made our way up to Beach Blanket Buffet; which was interesting as I was carrying a purse and my rolling luggage. I loaded up on...mac n cheese, bread, fruit, cookies...I'm sure there was more, but I can't quite remember. I was having issues trying to carry my tray along with my luggage. A CM noticed and quickly grabbed my tray and led us to a table just outside the BBB doors.

We ate fairly fast as we knew we wanted to head down to the Shore Excursions Desk to check on any dolphin excursions available in Nassau since we had been unable to sign up online. So, we went to the SED after eating and were instantly helped by Martin, one a handful of CM's from the US. We asked about any dolphin excursions available in Nassau...and there was one with only 7 openings left...the Blue Lagoon Dolphin Encounter. We were ecstatic to sign up for that at only $99 per adult. I have to say, we encountered Martin several other times during our cruise, and he was always very pleasant, helpful and upbeat!

So, after that, we were tired and wanted to see if our room was ready. But it wasn't quite 1:30pm...a few minutes before. We made our way to deck 6 anyway and found several other people waiting by the aft elevators and steps waiting for the blue cords to be drawn. We decided we might as well just wait instead of continuing to carry our luggage around the ship. About 10 minutes later, LOTS of other people began gathering...and finally, we were allowed to go to our rooms. 6626...that was us. Only steps away from the aft elevators. It really turned out to be a great location!

Castaway Club gifts:

View from our verandah:

Mom, on the verandah:

Minutes upon arriving to our room, we heard a thud at the door. Wow, luggage already?! Then we remembered that the aft luggage drop-off room was across the hall from us! Mom opened the door to get the luggage and was met by our room steward, Alex, from Chile I believe. He asked how many more pieces of luggage we had (2) and told us he'd do his best to find them quickly. We spent the next hour or so hanging around the room just relaxing and hoping our luggage would arrive soon. Sure enough, by 3:00, we had ALL of our luggage.

--just a side note about being across the hall from the luggage room...we never noticed any additional noise related to it. Neither at the beginning or the end of the cruise!--

After getting our luggage, we took a stroll around decks 9 and 10, just taking in the fresh air and sunshine.

 

[deleckidesign]

Dog sniffing luggage:

Time for the drill. Our muster station was in Animator's Pallete! An uneventful drill as usual.

After that, mom wanted to hang out for the sail away party; I wanted to relax in the room and watch us sail away from our verandah.

I began filming as we were pushing away from the dock and mom walked in a couple minutes later and joined me on the balcony. Silence...then mom shouts "Oh look! A dolphin!" I asked Where and began searching with my video camera, hoping I could capture it. A couple seconds later, I leaps out of the water, and I got it on tape (I'll try and post that later)

It was neat to see all the restaurants on shore as we were leaving. They were packed full of people...all just staring at the Wonder. Some of them waving...and shouting.

So, we were off!

 

[DisneyDudet]

I love it!

So, I have to ask, did they change things up at the Hyatt? Last time we stayed there, we were told to put our bags out, tagged about 45 min or so before check in would start for the buses. So after we did that, we went to get breakfast, and our bags were already gone! Do we ate and checked in. We waited and were assigned a bus. We were led down the elevators to their ground level at the Hyatt, and walked past the luggage and got on our bus.

So it is a different system now?

I can't wait for the rest of your report! I leave for Florida in less than a week now!

 

[deleckidesign]

I love it!

So, I have to ask, did they change things up at the Hyatt? Last time we stayed there, we were told to put our bags out, tagged about 45 min or so before check in would start for the buses. So after we did that, we went to get breakfast, and our bags were already gone! Do we ate and checked in. We waited and were assigned a bus. We were led down the elevators to their ground level at the Hyatt, and walked past the luggage and got on our bus.

So it is a different system now?

I can't wait for the rest of your report! I leave for Florida in less than a week now!

Hm, well, we were told our luggage had to be out by...I wanna say 8:030am or 9:00am. We left the room right around then, got some breakfast down at the food court in the airport...then headed to the lobby area to check in with the Disney reps. Before it was just meeting one rep with no check-in process whatsoever. There was a table with 2 reps getting our Hyatt room #'s so they'd know what luggage they had to get. When it was time, we were escourted down to the lower level where the buses arrive. Once we left the room at the Hyatt, we didn't see our luggage again until we were on the ship.

I'm going to try to finish up the trip report this week. And hopefully add some pictures as well~

 

[deleckidesign]

While getting out to sea, we saw a boat just below our verandah that kept following awful close.

I kept watching it is it got closer and closer, until finally it bumped up against the side of the Wonder.

It was as if someone had missed the boat or something. After someone got on, the boat driver waved!

So after that excitement, it was time to get ready for dinner at Palo...our very FIRST dinner at Palo!

After getting ready, we headed up to Deck 10 to Palo.

We arrived and it looked pretty empty in there.

We were led to a table right by the windows.

We were soon greeted by Juan Pablo from Chile (our favorite CM from the cruise). We got bottled water and soda...and were served some bread with 3 dipping sauces (one was white and tasted like ranch, one was red and was sort of salsa-like, and the other one that I didn't try was black and had anchovies in it). We parused the menu and were utterly confused. It was as if it was in a foreign language!

Finally Juan came back and realized our dilemma. So...we told him our likes and dislikes and he recommended some great dishes.

For appetizers, mom got a mushroom thingie

and I got a tomatoe with mozzarella cheese.

Mom is a meat and potatoes kinda gal...so she had beef tenderloin and potatoes.

I'm allergic to seafood and not a fan of most meats...so I had the penne with chicken and alfredo sauce.

Then for dessert, Juan asked if we liked chocolate. I knew what was coming. He recommended that we both try the chocolate souffle.

Then he wanted to surprise us with another dessert...but, I ruined it by asking if we could try the Panna Cotte!

He was bummed, but seemed surprised that I knew about it already. Both desserts were delicious. I was expecting to LOVE the chocolate souffle. Don't get me wrong, it was good, but the Panna Cotte was my favorite!

Me with Juan...sorry, I was full and sleepy:

After leaving Palo, we stopped at the Palo bathroom:

...then it was time for the show. The Golden Mickeys. A show that we hadn't seen before. It was great to walk by the shops down the red carpet. There were poparozzi (spelling?) flashing pictures and talking a million miles a minute! "Oh, what a fabulous dress!" blah, blah, blah! When we arrived in the theatre, it seemed full already. But we managed to find a couple seats near the back...and of course, behind people that were taller than us. Something about those seats that we hate...they seem to lean back too far...and when you're short, it makes it very difficult to see the stage unless a child is in front of you.

The show was good. Not my favorite, but good. After that, we may have shuffled through the shops...but we were both exhausted. We then went back to the room and were greeted with a towel animal:

...and my Grateful dead bear, Booger, waving at me:

Tomorrow -- Castaway Cay...and parasailing...we hope!

 

[deleckidesign]

We arrived to Castaway Cay bright and early on Monday...to a very sunny day!

And we were on the Starboard side of the shop, so we got to see the island side -- our favorite. I stood out on the balcony taking pictures and filming for a while. Saw a parasail boat heading in...and starting getting excited about our parasailing excursion!

We got ready and headed up to BBB for breakfast! We didn't have breakfast anywhere else the whole cruise. It was just so quick and easy to go up to the buffet. Most days, I had scrambled eggs, grits (yum!), grilled tomatoes (these were GREAT, even if they didn't look it), fruits (canteloupe, my favorite), and usually a couple rolls and/or danishes (blueberry danish was the best).

After breakfast, we decided to head off the ship and head to Marge's Barges (our meeting place for parasailing).

By now, it was almost 10am, but our parasailing wasn't scheduled until 11am...but we took a seat at a picnic table at Marge's anyway. Right around 10am, a CM at Marge's announced that everyone for 10am parasailing should gather around. She announced that they would not be doing parasailing as it was too windy. We decided to wait around until 11am to see if the conditions changed enough. Finally, 11am rolled around, and nope, conditions had not improved enough. We were bummed...but took it in stride.

By this time, it was almost time for Cookies BBQ to open...so we headed that way as we were both hungry AGAIN! We took a seat at one of the picnic tables by Cookies and waited for them to open. We were surprised that they opened about 10 minutes early (around 11:20)...but happy...so we jumped in line! I had a hot dog, potatoe salad (I LOVE their potatoe salad...stock up on it today if you like it; they didn't have it on the 2nd CC day), banana bread and cookies. Yum! I think mom had a hamburger, potatoe salad, banana bread, cookies, I think some grilled flatbread with cheese.

After lunch, we stopped by the shops to stroll around for a bit, then we then took a walk to...the bar area...over by some hammocks. Can't remember the name of the bar. But we were shocked to find that the hammocks were not occupied yet!

Views from my hammock (2 of my favorite pics)

So, we each took a hammock and relaxed for a few minutes. This became one of my favorite RELAX moments of the entire cruise! Highly recommended if you haven't tried them yet.

After that, we decided to head back to the ship.

Neither one of us are big BEACH people...and since we didn't have an excursion, we thought it might be nice to take advantage of the somewhat empty ship! And what a great idea this was. We headed to the adult pool, and there were only a handful of people there. It was so nice and quiet and relaxing...highly recommended if you don't have an excursion!

A few minutes of sitting at the pool and I got a headache...so I headed back to the room for some relax time in the shade...and to hopefully rid of my headache. I know, we aren't very interesting, are we? I made sure to stop by the drink station on deck 9 aft first...then headed down 3 flights to our room. I don't recall what I did...I think I checked my e-mail...watched some TV. Eventually mom came back to the room, and guess what...we were hungry AGAIN! Room Service! Woohoo!

We ordered the All Hands on Deck cheese platter (not a LOT of cheese, but tasty...loved the grapes)...

...and I think a BLT. *forgot to mention that yesterday we ordered the cheese platter and 1/2 dozen cookies* We were in food heaven!

Of course, after eating like pigs, we both decided it was nap time! At least until it was time to get ready for dinner. We were at Triton's tonight -- our favorite of the 3 rotational restaurants...

 

[deleckidesign]

It was time for Triton's. So we walked down to Deck 3 and were led to our table for 4. Our tablemates arrives a couple minutes later...two older women that were friends...Fran and...ahh, her name escapes me right now. They had been at Palo the night before as well, but we didn't see them. They seemed nice, but it was awkward making small talk with complete strangers. But, we made do.

For an appetizer, I had escargo again (snails...I had them on our last cruise).

They were good, in a different sort of way, but VERY salty.

For the main course, I had some sort of pasta dish. OK at best. But I really had no other options that sounded tasty that did not include meat.

Mom had the same thing that she had at Palo the night before...beef tenderloin and potatoes.

And for dessert, we both had creme brulee, which tastes MUCH better than the picture suggests. I promise!

Oh, forgot to mention our servers. Our main server was Orlando and our assistant server was Banjo (yes, spelled like Banjo, pronounced Bon-Jo). They were pleasant and VERY fast. I think we had to be one of the first tables done! Our dinner seating was at 5:30 and I think we were done by 7:10!

Made it to the room in time for sunset...another one of my favorite photos:

Then it was time for the show, Toy Story. I was really looking forward to this show. It was good, don't get me wrong. But it was the movie turned into a play. Really nothing completely different. But it felt like it lasted really, really long. Maybe we were just tired, but this was probably my least favorite of all the shows.

Oh, that reminds me...I completely forgot to mention who our cruise director was. Clayton! He was wonderful. Mom and I both thought so. Very upbeat...and hilarious!

After the show, we were both ready for bed. Back to the room for bed...and Nassau in the morning We were both SO ready for our dolphin encounter!

 

[deleckidesign]

We awoke the next morning and were getting very close to Nassau. We both woke up fairly early and again, headed up to BBB for breakfast. I had my usual breakfast, then we headed back to the room to watch the Wonder dock right next to a Carnival ship.

I thought THIS was funny...a sign hanging on the Carnival ship. I guess it's necessary for security reasons, but still funny.

Pretty soon, it was time for us to go meet in Studio Sea for our Blue Lagoon Dolphin Encounter excursion. We got there and there were a TON of people. Well over 100. We got in line to get wristbands, then another line to ensure that everyone was present. This took FOREVER! Finally, we ALL went in a line down to Deck 1 to disembark. Once off the ship, we walked a little ways into Nassau to get to the ferry that would take us to Blue Lagoon. Once on the ferry, we were off!

And it was a LONG ferry ride. 30+ minutes. And the seats were VERY uncomfortable...cold, hard metal. But, the towels we all had helped a little.

As we started getting closer to Blue Lagoon, the water became VERY, very blue. It looks green in the pictures, but it was BLUE.

We all disembarked the ferry and headed for "orientation..." a short presentation about dolphins. How they have somewhat of a belly button and we were not to touch BELOW this area ...they have 76-100 teeth! How if you were to x-ray their fin on the bottom (yeah, as you can see, I didn't listen well enough to learn the name of this fin!) it would look like a human arm. It's believed dolphins may have walked at some point in their early existance.

Once this was done, we made our way to these floating platforms with openings in the center. That way we could all sit around on the platform and have the dolphins swim into the opening. There were 3 of these floating platforms...so everyone was divided into smaller groups. We stripped down to our bathing suits, shoved our stuff in lockers and headed down!

((Pics to come later. They were taken with a waterproof camera and I haven't had time to scan them yet...but they'll be up soon!))

First, we got a short introduction, then we got to meet our dolphin, Andy! We were told that in the facility they had 40 or so females and only 3 males. Lucky Andy!

After the introduction, Andy got everyone wet with his fin! We then all lined up to get into the water and get a picture with Andy. There were steps leading down into the water, where there was an attached platform that was beneat the water. Once it was our turn, we slowly walked down into the FREEZING water. Andy would get to kiss one of us...so mom decided it should be me. We both had to bend and put our knees down on the underwater platform. We both looked up at the camera...and Andy swam up and put his nose to my cheek for a picture As we were leaving, we stuck his tongue out at us!

After everyone got their picture taken with Andy, we got back on the underwater platform in groups of about 10. Of course, we were the last group...which was ok. We got to dance with Andy...get a kiss from him...hug him (got our photo taken at this point)...rub his back and his belly...and touch his teeth! It was amazing Even though we have swam with the dolphins before on a previous vacation to Mexico, this was still worth the money (only $99 per adult)!

After that, we got out, dried off, grabbed some snacks, I changed outta my bathing suit. Then we bought photos...and it was time to get back on the ferry to head back to the ship. Again, another 30+ minute ride back...but we were tired, so it was relaxing. Snapped a couple pictures of Atlantis on the way back:

Finally back to Nassau, and we headed back to the ship, and back to our room.

Atlantis from our verandah:

We ordered another cheese platter from room service...

...as well as a slew of other items. We were starving!

...and cake of the day, Cheesecake:

...and other cake of the day, Carrot Cake:

This was followed by a nap...and of course, all that room service replaced another dinner at Triton's. But, we went there last night, so it was nice not to have to worry about getting ready for dinner and all that formalness.

And there was a show tonight...a ventrilloquist. We decided to skip it and just hang in the room. Party poopers, aren't we?

Here's a pic of sunset that evening...or maybe it was sunrise the next morning. I can't recall...

Tomorrow...another day at Castaway Cay...and Stingray excursion!

 

[deleckidesign]

We awoke this morning to another BEAUTIFUL day at Castaway Cay! I didn't take a lot of pictures of the island today as it was merely a carbon copy of stop number 1...but here's one, just for good measure!

We had our usual breakfast at BBB, then decided to try the hour "learn how to animate" class in Animator's Palatte around 10am, especially since we had time before our stingray excursion. So, we headed down to AP, but we were early, so we stepped out onto Deck 4 and enjoyed the deck chairs. A very quiet and relaxing spot, I might add. Try it!

Finally, it was time to animate. We made our way in to AP...

...and there must've only been 10 other people! We spent the next hour learning how to draw Mickey and Donald. This was quiet easy for me (I work as a graphic artist for a living)...but not so much for mom. She did seem to enjoy it, though. I'll have to scan pics of our drawings and post them

After that, it was time to head to CC for the stingray adventure It was quite a hike...and on the way there, we both decided we weren't interested in snorkeling, just feeding and petting the stingrays. We got there, put our ugly yellow vests on...and waited for more people to arrive for the orientation. Then, once that was over, it was time to head to the water. Upon entering, mom freaked out and realized that yes, the stingrays were likely going to bump up against our legs. OUT SHE WENT! She wasn't having any of that. But I stayed.

For those that don't know how feeding the stingrays works...they train the stingrays to recognize that shape of Mickey's head. Basically you take a piece of food (shrimp, calamari, etc) and put it between two of your fingers with the food sticking up. Then you place your hand on top of a board that is shaped like Mickey...and put it in the water. The stingrays swim up this ramp into a "C" shaped trench. They swim right over your hand and VACUUM up the food. The first couple women that tried it got what the trainer called a "stingray kiss," and yelped that they had been bit. Some of the stingrays are a bit more agressive when taking the food than others. Of course, the first time I tried feeding, I got a "stingray kiss," which stung a bit, but enough for me to yelp. A couple minutes later, I tried it again...and it was VERY gentle. And again...gentle. Must've gotten the not so gentle one the first time around.

Petting them was so...cool! After doing the dolphin encounter yesterday, it was interesting to feel the difference between the two. The dolphin is soft...but firm. The stingrays felt soft as well...but more squishy. Their tail was actually much firmer, especially where the barb is trimmed back. It also felt really strange when they bumped up against my legs...surprised me every time. Quite a cool experience

After that, we swung by the gift shop...and ate? Or maybe we ate at Cookies before the stingray adventure. I can't quite recall. I just know we were both bummed because there was no potato salad

We then headed back to the ship for more relaxing...ie napping! Then room service, which replaced our dinner again. We actually made a special trip down to AP to deliver tips to our servers (full recommended tip amount even though they only served us on one evening). We wanted to make sure they knew that they were wonderful servers and non-existence on all but one night was in no way related to them. They were happy to accept their tips and we parted ways.

We then returned to the room to find Alex ready to clean. So, we ventured up to the shops in order to give him time to clean. A few minutes later, we returned to a towel animal:

...and one I forgot to post everyday:

Soon, it was time for Disney Dreams, our favorite! So we made our way up to the Walt Disney Theatre. Clayton, the cruise director, made his nightly talk...and shared his "dance" with us...which went "something" like THIS:



Then, on with the show, which was as great as we had remembered, with a few minor tweaks from 3 years ago!

Then, bed time. Our last night!

The next morning we woke up and were back in Port Canaveral.

...and workers were already preparing for the next cruise!

Coming up...final thoughts.

 

[ols386]

Hi deleckidesign.....it's your Mom. Your trip report looks great!