No ticker and no planning make me GO CRAZY.. Feb. 2013 PTR

[pinkxray]

Welcome back, Diane!
I am glad to hear you enjoyed your cruise and cannot wait to hear all about it!

Plus, I still hope that you will take that February trip - cannot wait to see you at BLT!

Welcome back. I would LOVE to see your pictures and hear all about it.

Welcome home! I can't wait to see your pictures and hear all the stories!

Welcome back! Anxiously awaiting the TR!! I am all for seeing pictures from the cruise...Disney or not!!

I would love to see cruise pictures as well!

I'm glad you guys don't mind seeing the cruise pictures. I only have about 500 When I first starting takes pictures the morning before the cruise I was getting annoyed at how the pictures looked and decided I wasn't taking any pictures this trip. I really need to get a good camera and learn how to use it soon. Looking back I wish I had just taken more pictures, even if my Guavaberry colada doesn't look as pink as it should in the photo.

 

[pinkxray]

Ft Lauderdale/Oasis of the Seas Day 1

We flew into Ft. Lauderdale on Friday night. We stayed at the Hilton Fort Lauderdale Beach Resort that was right across from the beach. I debated between this option and the hotels near the pier with shuttles and free breakfast that were half the price. I ended up picking the Hilton because if I was going to Ft. Lauderdale I needed to see the beach. I have been to FL over 10 times and never seen a FL beach.

Anyway, as I said I learned many things on this trip that will be helpful on future trips.

1. I hate flying in the evening. Our previous flights to FL have always been the 630am flights. Sure, it stinks waking up early but you are in FL before you are even fully awake
Our flight left right before 5. DH and DD took half days (I did this so that Caitlin technically had a full day of school and missed one less) I hated waiting until 1 to pick up Caitlin and the day seemed to drag on forever. We will be sticking to crack of dawn flights from now on.

2. Hartford- Orlando flights is probably the farthest distance I can handle flying with a child. Hartford, CT- Fort Lauderdale was about 45 minutes longer, and I am telling you I could feel everyone of those 45 minutes. We flew on Jet Blue and even with the TV, Caitlin constantly bothered me about when we would land. I had hoped to get to Disneyland or Alaska in the next few years but those plans are all being pushed back, way back until Caitlin and any other kids are old enough to entertain themselves on the plane ride so that I can sleep. Everytime I started to fall asleep, Caitlin woke me up b/c she didn't want to be the only one awake.

3. Booking a hotel on the beach for twice the cost when you arrive at 9pm? Useless. Unless we are flying in the day before and can fully enjoy the hotel for at least a full day, we will pick the cheapest option from now on. We did get to check out the beach the next morning but it was totally not worth the extra cost, plus there were no casual food options which DH did not like.

Since we arrived late I never got any hotel pictures. It was very nice, the room was great since it was a jr suite with living room and bedroom. We had a view of the beach but were on the side of the building so it wasn't straight on. There were a bunch of drunk adults in the lobby but I guess that is the scene on a Friday night in that area?

Here are a few shots from the beach before it started to rain. I am very glad we got to check it out. It would be nice to get in a few days early next time to have some beach time.

View from the hotel

Fort Lauderdale Beach

After only 20 minutes clouds were closing in

DH managed to get his sneakers wet and decided 3 hrs before our cruise that it would have been a good idea to get some type of sandals. We walked about 20 minutes in the pouring rain looking for a beach wear shop, but never found one. Who takes a cruise and packs one pair of sneakers for their shoe choice?

Are you ready for the pictures I took on the ship the first day?

Yep, that's it I was annoyed that I couldn't capture the beach water the exact way I saw it and decided I wasn't taking anymore photos.


Just FYI- Royal Caribbean has the day of the week in the elevator and that was one picture I managed to take every day, no matter how much it annoyed Caitlin.

 

[dizneeat]

Sorry your first day wasn't all the fun you would have liked it to be. I know the "what hotel to take" dilemma as we always arrive in the evening. Believe me, it pays to NOT go with the cheapest option. So I guess you did not do too bad with your hotel choice.

Love that you took the "picture of the day" every day!

Keep the trip report coming!

 

[pinkxray]

Sorry your first day wasn't all the fun you would have liked it to be. I know the "what hotel to take" dilemma as we always arrive in the evening. Believe me, it pays to NOT go with the cheapest option. So I guess you did not do too bad with your hotel choice.

Love that you took the "picture of the day" every day!

Keep the trip report coming!

I am trying so hard to catch up with your TR, but I think I am like 10 pages behind I did see that you stayed at the MCO Hyatt. I think if we end up on the Fantasy we will fly in Friday night and stay there. The pictures look nice

Okay, maybe not the cheapest option... maybe somewhere in the middle? I think I have realized we are not deluxe amenties people, but not value either. I think we're more of a moderate amenties type of family.

I just realized I never took a picture the Sat we got off the ship I just I could just use the first Sat one though. DD thought it was annoying that I had to take a picture, but towards the end of the week she managed to have a few days of the week pictures that she had taken with her camera.

 

[jenseib]

Sounds like a little bit of a rocky start....but at least you were on vacation. Your DH totally cracks me up. Skip never packs...if he did..a plastic bag with 1 change of clothes. LOL

 

[teekathepony]

Travel days are always the hardest, here's hoping it just goes up from there!

 

[pinkxray]

Sounds like a little bit of a rocky start....but at least you were on vacation. Your DH totally cracks me up. Skip never packs...if he did..a plastic bag with 1 change of clothes. LOL

This is the first time in years DH has had to pack. I usually do it for him, but told him he was on his own this time. Bad idea because he realized that morning he forgot to pack white t-shirts to wear under polo shirts at dinner and SOCKS The only shoes he had were wet sneakers and one pair of socks. I had purchased new socks for myself before the tripand he took them over and stretched them out. I guess I'm back to the packing.

Travel days are always the hardest, here's hoping it just goes up from there!

It certainly does

 

[pinkxray]

Day 2- Nassau

On our first full day we were scheduled to stop at Nassau. I see many people on the cruise boards say they skip Nassau and stay on the ship, but both times we stopped here we had a great time. Last year we went to the water park at Atlantis and this year we went to Blue Lagoon Island. I think if you are going to Nassau, an excursion is your best bet.

Following us the whole trip was the Carnival Dream. I had gone back and forth between booking the Dream and the RCL Oasis so it was neat to see the Dream up close. It was a great deal cheaper to go on the Carnival for the exact same itinerary but some bad reviews kept me away from Carnival. After seeing the ship I think we would have had a great time on her and will consider it in the future.

We booked the excursion through RCL so we head to the outside meeting area for all excursions going to Blue Lagoon. I finally got some pictures of the Oasis. She is so big it is hard to get in one frame.

Also there was the NCL Sky, which I have my sights on for an adults only cruise maybe next fall, and the RCL ship that does the 3/ 4 night Bahamas the Majesty.

We waited for the ferry from Blue Lagoon to arrive and it was running late. The Oasis is only in Nassau from 8-2 so it was hard to watch the time ticking away knowing we only had limited time on the island. The ferry arrived and the mob of people all had to be first on the ferry. I think we finally took off a little after 8:30.

There is a 30 minute ride to Blue lagoon which fine. I should probably mention something a bit silly. I have some slight issues with motion sickness. I get car sick on the way to the airport if I read or anything. Cruising is probably not the best idea but I haven’t had too many issues. I pack motion sickness pills and haven’t taken them yet. On the Disney Dream I drank ginger ale and never felt sick. On the Oasis I did feel the motion a bit more than I liked the first day or so, but had packed ginger altoids which helped. After the second day I was used to the motion and had no more issues.
Anyway, getting back to the ferry. I did start to feel the motion sickness on the ferry and started getting a bad headache. I didn’t bring anything other than the ginger altoids which weren’t cutting it. From now on anytime we take a smaller boat I will need to remember to take something first. I try to avoid Bonine and Draminine as long as possible because I like to have a few tropical drinks and won’t drink and take medicine at the same time.


You could see the ships docked from the ferry

I planned on taking more on the way back, but never really did.

We were directed to the dolphin swim/encounter meeting area where we meet our trainer. She told us a bit about dolphins. We learned about where to touch, keeping dolphins safe in the wild, etc. Once it was over the swim/ encounter groups split up and we were led to lockers.

Once everyone had changed and stored their belongings we were led to our dolphins. I think we were in groups of 8?

This is where something interesting happened. We just got into the water and they started to take pictures of people doing the dolphin kiss. Apparently one of the dolphins wasn’t behaving because they told us all to get out of the water. DH was last in line and the misbehaving dolphin pretty much trapped him and kept nudging him. The trainers kept telling him to get out of the water but the dolphin wouldn’t let him get around. Honestly, if it was me or Caitlin I would have freaked out but DH thought it was funny.

Later the trainer explained the dolphin didn’t like that we were getting out of the water since it had expected to play, so it had tried to keep DH in the water to have a playmate.

 

[pinkxray]

We were lead to another dolphin area and introduced to two new dolphins, Princess and Stormy.

I was a little hesitant after the other misbehaving dolphin.

After all the kissing and dancing, it was time for the main event. Dolphin foot push!!

DH and I have wanted to do this since we saw Nick Lachey and Jessica Simpson do it on the Newlywed show 10 years ago.


DH and DD went before me. It was hard to get pictures but we ended up buying the DVD.
I was very, very nervous watching Caitlin do it. She did great but it was really hard to see her since she was so small. She loved it though.

Caitlin swimming out and then waiting

I think I was more nervous watching her than my own ride

My turn

Awesome!!!!


Afterwards we only had a little over an hour so I waited for the dvd and family photo while DH and Caitlin headed over to the beach.

DH $15 per person for him and DD to play on the inflatables.

My head was still hurting so I purchased some gingerale and spent my hour in a hammock with palm tree views.

The last ferry left at 12:15. It really stinks that the time in Nassau is so short and we cant wait to do another Bahamas cruise so we can spend more time there.

 

[Nermel9]

Wow the Oasis is SO gigantic!

I want to swim with dolphins so bad, but I always here how they can get aggressive, so that makes me nervous. I'd want to ask for a girl dolphin, because I think it's the boys that are the jerks. I'd freak out if a dolphin wouldn't let me out of the water. Brandon would just think it was funny like John did.

I want to do a cruise now. That blue water look so pretty. And laying on a hammock sounds great. I think maybe it's time to take a break from Disney after February. It's hard saying that but I want to go somewhere tropical. And who knows, maybe I can find a way to do a couple of Disney days after the cruise.

 

[amandaw]

Hey! We just got back today. Sounds like your trip might have been a lot like mine - I didn't take nearly as many pics as I normally do & we slowed down a lot. Ed was really disappointed in the ToT race. He said he really doesn't feel the need to do any other Disney races. I didn't like the 5K either.

I'm excited to hear/see about y'alls RCL cruise! That ship is massive! Looks like y'all had fun in Nassau. I would have freaked out if that dolphin had tried to trap me.

 

[teekathepony]

Omg, I know it could easily get scary, but the thought of a dolphin trying to keep me in the water to play is just so adorable! I love interacting with dolphins, they're so very interesting.

 

[dizneeat]

Diane, I love the update, gorgeous pics! Love the dolphin play ones.

Thanks for sharing!

 

[jenseib]

how awesome. I loved Blue lagoon as well. We just did the encounter, but hope to do a swim in the future.

 

[TinksThree]

I love the picture from the balcony at the beach hotel! I agree about staying on the beach when you can't utilize it! It just teases you! Those clouds looked menacing! My DH would be one to pack one pair of shoes. I believe we have bought sandals on every trip due to this!

I love the dolphin swim!! That may have tempted me to do Nassau for Chris' trip if it is more budget friendly!!

The pictures you have taken are great so far!!

 

[pinkxray]

Wow the Oasis is SO gigantic!

I want to swim with dolphins so bad, but I always here how they can get aggressive, so that makes me nervous. I'd want to ask for a girl dolphin, because I think it's the boys that are the jerks. I'd freak out if a dolphin wouldn't let me out of the water. Brandon would just think it was funny like John did.

I want to do a cruise now. That blue water look so pretty. And laying on a hammock sounds great. I think maybe it's time to take a break from Disney after February. It's hard saying that but I want to go somewhere tropical. And who knows, maybe I can find a way to do a couple of Disney days after the cruise.

Go on a cruise! I think you would like it. Brandon likes eating so I'm sure he would trying all the restaurants. Plus they have tons of stuff to do or not do, whatever you want.

And if Brandon doesn't like it, you can go with me. John doesn't want to go on the Wonder or Magic and I really do. I even looked at adding the Dream cruise to our Feb. trip but unless we win the lotto, that is not happening.

Hey! We just got back today. Sounds like your trip might have been a lot like mine - I didn't take nearly as many pics as I normally do & we slowed down a lot. Ed was really disappointed in the ToT race. He said he really doesn't feel the need to do any other Disney races. I didn't like the 5K either.

I'm excited to hear/see about y'alls RCL cruise! That ship is massive! Looks like y'all had fun in Nassau. I would have freaked out if that dolphin had tried to trap me.

I was on the lookout for you guys in the corral b area but never saw you

I had such a bad time and it really sinks because I am having a hard time getting back to running. I haven't run since.. I think I am just burnt out. I am going to take a few weeks off and start back at the beginning and build up again.

We looked RCL. It had many similarities to Disney without the Disneyness. Of course, I missed the Disney touches like the art work in stairways and halls but DH and DD couldn't care less. They loved RCL.

Omg, I know it could easily get scary, but the thought of a dolphin trying to keep me in the water to play is just so adorable! I love interacting with dolphins, they're so very interesting.

I would have been scaried. On the way out of the water the trainer had the dolphin swim right behind me and spit water on my head.
But it also dove down and brought me a rock from the bottom of the pool

Diane, I love the update, gorgeous pics! Love the dolphin play ones.

Thanks for sharing!

Thanks, Karin. It was a great day

how awesome. I loved Blue lagoon as well. We just did the encounter, but hope to do a swim in the future.

I remember reading your report and that helped was when I first learned about BL. It really made me look there over Atlantis. BL seems much relaxed than Atlantis and I liked that they let you bring your cameras.

The swim was awesome

I love the picture from the balcony at the beach hotel! I agree about staying on the beach when you can't utilize it! It just teases you! Those clouds looked menacing! My DH would be one to pack one pair of shoes. I believe we have bought sandals on every trip due to this!

I love the dolphin swim!! That may have tempted me to do Nassau for Chris' trip if it is more budget friendly!!

The pictures you have taken are great so far!!

I'm glad my DH isnt the only one who forgets proper footwear.

The swim was great. When will the trip for Chris be? Graduation? Have you made any decisions about what ship or itinerary you will be going on. I have seen great reviews on the Carnival Magic, is that one of your options? I wish we had it closer to us. I am considering the Breeze for 2014 but I havent great things about the port or airport in Miami, which is where the Breeze is.

 

[pinkxray]

After our time in Nassau we had the whole night and the next day at sea to explore the ship.

As soon as we got back we headed to lunch. I only took 1 food picture the whole trip, but that is later one. The food was all fine. We stuck to the free places (except one dinner at Johnny Rockets) and I thought the MDR and buffet food was pretty comparable to the Disney Dream.


I have no idea what we did the afternoon but I am sure it involved a nap for DH. I know that DH went to see Men in Black 3 in 3D and it might have been this day. One thing I didn't like was that the Oasis has a theater that they use for movies but it is also where the nightly shows and main theater productions take place. Unlike the Disney theater where you can catch a movie anytime of day. I had told Caitlin we would go see Madagascar 3 but they only played it the first night at 10:45pm. They usually had one movie per day, although it might not have been everyday. They did show movies outside at the back of the ship, but that was also only once or twice a day.
However, they did show Brave twice during the trip outside so that was a plus


I believe that while DH napped Caitlin and I headed to the Boardwalk area to ride one of the only carosels at sea(I do have more pictures of the area later on in the trip)

There was also free face painting at certains time of the day.

We spent some time checking out all of the shops and I believe Caitlin bought a few things.


Soon we headed back to the room to get ready for dinner and a swim afterwards. It was formal night, which we were going to skip. Instead our plan was to eat dinner at johnny Rockets and head to the pools for the rest of the night. I thought I took some pictures of the pools but I can't find them. I will post them if I do.

The pool sitation was much better on the Oasis than the Dream. We usually swam right after breakfast on sea days or in the evening so the pools were never too crowded. We aren't big on going to show though, so I guess if you are you couldn't do that.

On our first day we were signed up for the character breakfast. It took place each of the 3 sea days and required reservations but was included in the price. They have the Shrek characters and the Madagscar characters. However you don't know which day which characters will be there until you see it in the navigator.

We were lucky enough to get the Shrek characters since Caitlin loves Puss in Boots.

Caitlin was a bit cranky at first and didn't want to do a character meal.

Of course as soon as they introduced the first one, she completely changed her tune.

There was a set menu which included choc. items such as choc pancakes and choc. milkshakes along with normal fare for breakfast. It takes place on one side of the MDR so there is also a buffet set up that you are welcome to hit to fill in any missing items.

I have to say the the character entrances were much more energetic than Disney. Lots of loud music and whoever was playing Fiona was very into her dancing. I was afraid she might hurt herself she was dancing so hard.

Napkin twirling

It was very fun and I am glad we went. I tried to run to the buffet at one point and Caitlin insisted I stay and take the picture of her and Daddy with Shrek. So much for not wanting to see the characters
I had also signed up for another later in the week but we didn't need to see the Madagascar characters so I cancelled it in order to sleep in a bit.

 

[dizneeat]

Thanks for another update! It's so interesting to see the differences in the ships. I don't think we will have much of a chance of seeing any other than the Disney ships ........... yeah, boring, I know! But to get a little insight is awesome.
The caroussel looks fun and the face painting too! Bummer about the movies, but the character breakfast looks fun ..... love to see Caitlin's smiling face!

 

[pinkxray]

Thanks for another update! It's so interesting to see the differences in the ships. I don't think we will have much of a chance of seeing any other than the Disney ships ........... yeah, boring, I know! But to get a little insight is awesome.
The caroussel looks fun and the face painting too! Bummer about the movies, but the character breakfast looks fun ..... love to see Caitlin's smiling face!

I don't think staying with the Disney ships is boring at all. I am very jealous that you get to keep going back. There seems like there is so much to do and I drool at your photos of Palo brunch each trip you take. Unfortunately, DH and DD seem to have more to do on RCL. I think they will enjoy the Fantasy but neither one will admit it.

Smiling Caitlin photos are rare. She doesn't seem to show emotion or excitement well.

 

[Nermel9]

I wish we could do a cruise in Feb. but there's no way I'd be able to afford that AND Disney! I do want to try to go on one of the 3 night Disney cruises next year sometime, maybe near Christmas or something.

Being on the ship all day looks like fun, it seems like there is a lot to do! The character meal looks cute, even though I haven't seen Shrek or Puss in Boots!

Caitlin's dress is cute. Tell her I got a pair of leopard ears like hers for Halloween, I got them to wear to work!