November 12, 2005....7 Night Eastern...Who Else?

[4formickey]

I gave the turkey a good rub down nd it tasted like beef! OK it still tasted like turkey. When doesthe nurse get back home?

 

[Barkley's DH]

Happy Thanksgiving. As I sit down to enjoy my Turkey (which will taste similar to chicken) I will be giving thanks for all the new friends I made on our trip and on this board.

 

[DIS NURSE]

We made it! That was the magical vacation that would never end! WHEW! We have been gone for lllllloooonnnnggg time!

Great to catch up on all of your tales of being back home safely!

I never really felt the "rocking" off the ship very consistantly...but I still, as of even today, have certain activities set it off....any only for a minute or two.
#1 Brushing my teeth
#2 Riding on a spin bike
#3 Walking on a treadmill

I am still so exhausted! Today was our first full day of home life, so lots of unpacking and laundry...even a trip to Cost Co!

Maybe tomorrow I will be more enthusiastic about typing a full report. Until then, take care!

BTW, I saw that jaypd rebooked on our cruise in Nov, 2006~

 

[4campers]

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=257596

 

[PrincessHaleysMom]

Glad to see everyone home and in one piece. Hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving. I'm the scrooge of the cruise - I was not impressed! That's why I've been keeping my mouth shut! Flame me away - I can take it! When we went 2 years ago everything was better - service, food, activites. So Ben and I went in with high expectations. The shows were cute. We were chosen by room service as the family of the week - got to order anything we wanted anytime from any menu. Even got the chocolate soufle - they sent 3! However - I think the Lava cake is better (please don't hurt me). The food was ok - the worse of any of my 10 cruises though (oh- I know you're gonna hurt me now!). Waiting in line to go to dinner like cattle was annoying. Service was slow.
I am not a picky person - I just enjoy being somewhere I can not do the dishes and clean for a week. So I was satisfied to sit on my balcony - covered in sea water.
I have always loved anything Disney - and Haley really loves Disney. My family would go several times a year. Watching her each day made the trip enjoyable and the memories will last a lifetime.
Castaway Cay is awesome - I wish I could stay there for a week!
Needless to say we didn't rebook on board - professionally speaking I think their prices are insane!
I am grateful I was able to sail on the Disney Magic a second time. I enjoyed talking to you all in the months leading up to our cruise!
I guess I need to hang my head in shame and hang out with Allison's friend Laurawhatshername. Don't hate me because I had these opinion's - it's what makes the world so interesting right?

4Campers - I told you guys there really are nude cruises - now you have the proof!

 

[4formickey]

Glad to have back. The nurse wins the award for the longest vacation that a person can afford. We have enjoyed meeting you and talking with you Take care and get some rest.

 

[4campers]

Glad to see everyone home and in one piece. Hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving. I'm the scrooge of the cruise - I was not impressed! That's why I've been keeping my mouth shut! Flame me away - I can take it! When we went 2 years ago everything was better - service, food, activites. So Ben and I went in with high expectations. The shows were cute. We were chosen by room service as the family of the week - got to order anything we wanted anytime from any menu. Even got the chocolate soufle - they sent 3! However - I think the Lava cake is better (please don't hurt me). The food was ok - the worse of any of my 10 cruises though (oh- I know you're gonna hurt me now!). Waiting in line to go to dinner like cattle was annoying. Service was slow.
I am not a picky person - I just enjoy being somewhere I can not do the dishes and clean for a week. So I was satisfied to sit on my balcony - covered in sea water.
I have always loved anything Disney - and Haley really loves Disney. My family would go several times a year. Watching her each day made the trip enjoyable and the memories will last a lifetime.
Castaway Cay is awesome - I wish I could stay there for a week!
Needless to say we didn't rebook on board - professionally speaking I think their prices are insane!
I am grateful I was able to sail on the Disney Magic a second time. I enjoyed talking to you all in the months leading up to our cruise!
I guess I need to hang my head in shame and hang out with Allison's friend Laurawhatshername. Don't hate me because I had these opinion's - it's what makes the world so interesting right?

4Campers - I told you guys there really are nude cruises - now you have the proof!

NO FLAME here! At least I know I'm not the only one! The food was terrible, and the spa service was the worst by far. The crew, for the most part were on their last of 6 months, which may explain. We are moving on. Maybe, the nude cruise.....ok, not my type, but the web site is too funny!!! Next, is Alaska!
For now, DL is tomorrow and we will look for all you pirates on the ride!!!
Princess, do you like Holland America???

 

[PrincessHaleysMom]

NO FLAME here! At least I know I'm not the only one! The food was terrible, and the spa service was the worst by far. The crew, for the most part were on their last of 6 months, which may explain. We are moving on. Maybe, the nude cruise.....ok, not my type, but the web site is too funny!!! Next, is Alaska!
For now, DL is tomorrow and we will look for all you pirates on the ride!!!
Princess, do you like Holland America???

Holland is very nice for Alaska - Princess is too. RCCL has a few of their nice mid-size ships sailing to Alaska next season too - which may be better for the kids. We're thinking of Alaska too!

 

[AngieBelle]

Hmm...I wasn't crazy about much at Topsiders- except the desserts, but most of the stuff in the dining rooms I loved! There were a few dishes that I didn't like, but most of those were new things I tried that just weren't for me. The soups were yummy- especially the butternut squash soup and the sweet onion soup. I *loved* both chicken dishes I had as well as the rigatoni pasta, and most of the desserts were to die for. (Can you tell I have a big sweet tooth?)

I thought the hamburgers at Pluto's were quite yummy, and the pizza wasn't bad at all even though I'd heard it was horrible.

I've been on an Alaskan cruise with the princess cruiseline with my family about 6 years ago. It was quite neat. This Disney cruise was my first cruise since then. I want more vacation! I wish I could take trips and cruises all the time! (That's one reason I'm considering a career as a freelance travelwriter...)

 

[4formickey]

I think Pluto's had the best food. Since this rotation was almost over that could explain why they didn't off seconds on the drinks after night 2.

 

[barkley]

hello all-just caught up with the posts, for some reason they were not sending updates to my email.

glad everyone's back safe and sound.

it's interesting-the comments that have been made are similar to those in the focus group i sat in on our last sea day (they were all repeat cruisers). most thought that while the service and food were comparativly better than other lines, that they were nowhere up to the standards on previous cruises. personaly, i grew weary of the menu items-i would like to see more of a variety (although with the exception of the venison i found everything good). i was surprised one night when we wanted to go to topsiders for dinner vs. the dining room-i thought they offered buffet in the evening as well, but it's just a streamlined sitdown version of what was on the dining room menu (we ended up with room-service instead). i did like the addition of goofy's galley-the wraps were great, and while i did'nt try it dd said the fresh pasta was wonderful. as far as the service went-our stateroom guy was great, but i found the dining room staff a bit rushed, and less personalized than on prior cruises. i also missed that they did not do as many informal photos as on previous cruises (although i noticed after several of us mentioned this at the focus group, the next day the crew did a ton at castaway cay). we did enjoy finaly making it to castaway cay-dd is now the tannest child in the state! we could not keep her out of the water there.

as for the overall shipboard experience-it was great for us. both kids loved the kid's club activities, so dh and i got to relax and spend loads of time together. we talked about rebooking onboard, but since it takes a ton of vacation points to do so, we're not sure where we will be living a year from now, and the focus group moderator indicated that alaska and the mediteranian were in the final stages of port negotiations for 2007 or 2008-we decided to hold off. alaska was an awesome place to cruise-would do it again in a heartbeat, and even with the shortcoming of this cruise disney would have beaten holland america by leaps and bounds (truly awful service and no children's programing unless garage sale games and old videos appeal to the kids), my girlfriend did alaska on rcl (she was on the ship they did the big drydock series on the discovery channel) and she said their service and programming for adults and kids was great.

hope turkey day went well for everyone-we should polish off the last of the leftovers today. dh and ds are off to retrieve dd from my mom's while i run to superwalmart to restock the fridge and pantry. hope to get the lights on the tree tonight so we can get it decorated by tomorrow evening (i enjoy being back in more seasonal weather i understood disney and the shops decorating, but when i sat on the ship's verandah and watched the locals hauling around artificial trees in their pickup trucks-it just seemed surreal

so with the exception of a trip to the snow sometime this winter (which is in reality only a couple hours away) no more big vacations for us anytime in the near future.

take care all-talk with you soon.

 

[4formickey]

I guess the barkley curse is broken and the duck does cruise now!

 

[DIS NURSE]

Glad to have back. The nurse wins the award for the longest vacation that a person can afford. We have enjoyed meeting you and talking with you Take care and get some rest.

I am not so sure we can afford it......it will slowly be paid off.....gulp! Back to work tomorrow......
I will feel rusty tomorrow.....the first vein on a 3 lb baby I have to access for an IV will be a challenge!

 

[DIS NURSE]

Oh, I am so sick! I just typed the longest report and then hit a key accidentally and lost it! I lost it 'cause I was proofreading it!

I'll do it again only if you guys don't mind typo-s. Okay!?
I am not proofreading this next attempt!

Okay, here it goes!

 

[frank2271]

Glad to see everyone home and in one piece. Hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving. I'm the scrooge of the cruise - I was not impressed! That's why I've been keeping my mouth shut! Flame me away - I can take it! When we went 2 years ago everything was better - service, food, activites. So Ben and I went in with high expectations. The shows were cute. We were chosen by room service as the family of the week - got to order anything we wanted anytime from any menu. Even got the chocolate soufle - they sent 3! However - I think the Lava cake is better (please don't hurt me). The food was ok - the worse of any of my 10 cruises though (oh- I know you're gonna hurt me now!). Waiting in line to go to dinner like cattle was annoying. Service was slow.
I am not a picky person - I just enjoy being somewhere I can not do the dishes and clean for a week. So I was satisfied to sit on my balcony - covered in sea water.
I have always loved anything Disney - and Haley really loves Disney. My family would go several times a year. Watching her each day made the trip enjoyable and the memories will last a lifetime.
Castaway Cay is awesome - I wish I could stay there for a week!
Needless to say we didn't rebook on board - professionally speaking I think their prices are insane!
I am grateful I was able to sail on the Disney Magic a second time. I enjoyed talking to you all in the months leading up to our cruise!
I guess I need to hang my head in shame and hang out with Allison's friend Laurawhatshername. Don't hate me because I had these opinion's - it's what makes the world so interesting right?

4Campers - I told you guys there really are nude cruises - now you have the proof!

How do you get chosen room service family of the week? I would love that on our next cruise in 2007. If the service on this cruise was bad I can't wait to see good service. We had an incredible experience. The kid's clubs were extremely impressive. The food was great and the service at the dinning rooms was really good. The drinks were a little slow but that happens. Our character breakfast food was "ICE" cold and we told our server "Fitz" and he was very apologetic. My son loved Fitz, he actulally said that he was going to miss Fitz when we were leaving. I loved the food on deck 9 and the free soda's were great. Can't wait for 2007!!!!!

Frank

 

[PrincessHaleysMom]

How do you get chosen room service family of the week? I would love that on our next cruise in 2007. If the service on this cruise was bad I can't wait to see good service. We had an incredible experience. The kid's clubs were extremely impressive. The food was great and the service at the dinning rooms was really good. The drinks were a little slow but that happens. Our character breakfast food was "ICE" cold and we told our server "Fitz" and he was very apologetic. My son loved Fitz, he actulally said that he was going to miss Fitz when we were leaving. I loved the food on deck 9 and the free soda's were great. Can't wait for 2007!!!!!

Frank

I asked why we were chosen and this is what they said. On the first day, the write down the name of the people who call and are memorable. When I called, I was an airhead and was looking for the menu and making jokes. Haley was screaming "I wanna talk to the lady". So she gets on the phone and tells the lady "I want chicken and fries please, ok, bye, Haley loves you".
She said I had a kindness in my voice that made her want to get to know us and the fact that Haley told her she loved her helped! So order something up on the first afternoon and be REALLY nice! It was the best part of our cruise!

 

[DIS NURSE]

Okay.....trip report #2. GGGGRRRR!

Here is a summary of the adventures we had since disembarking with STB and her lovely family. Hi!

....we hauled 3,000 lbs. of luggage onto the Budget shuttle from the terminal. No Joke! I packed WAY too much stuff! Our luggage even started ripping! I read, I was warned, I promised not to , but I did. I packed WAY too much stuff! Never again! We made it to the Budget rental place where we saw a bunch of Dis'ers returning rental cars and getting shuttled to the terminal. I wished them well....they were excited but a little uneasy about the weather forcast and probable rough seas! Did any of you read what that cruise was like? They had rough seas alright, and they missed docking at GC> Also, two days after our day at CC, the Wonder was unable to dock there. We were lucky!

We were then on our way "to the airport", so thought the kids. We passed many signs for the MCO Airport and DD said, "I think the airport must be around here somewhere" after we passed it and were heading towards Disney.
Within a 1/4 mile of the Nick Hotel, the kids saw it and screamed, "there's the Nick Hotel!" We pretended like we were lost and said we'de turn around there just so we could look at it. We went up to the gate attendant and he asked us our name. He siad, "Welcome!" and then I turned around and annouced to them to them that we were staying for 5 nights! Theye were so thrilled! They were very cooperative and helped unload the car, giggling and laughing!

This place was a done up (yet massive!) Holiday Inn....as I had braced myself for. It was as gaudy as it could get....green and orange everywhere! The two pool complexes with the slides are impressive! Besides that, it really was kind of a dump. Nothing seemed right after our DCL experience! The food and service on the cruise, we thought, were fantastic! The number #1 great thing about the Nick/Sick Hotel was that we had a fridge and microwave. i managed to find my favorite store (a super Wal-Mart, no less.....) and bought $89 in groceries to hold us over for 5 days. I was very proud that we only ate out twice!
This was a one time stop and I knew that going into it....the kids had a great time and after a day or two of the pools, the lure of Disney took over and was of course, more magical! The service sucked. They had young/rude staff people who rolled their eyes, or had no eye contact, or flat affects. DCL spoiled us!
There were hundreds of kids who would volunteer everyday to get up at these live pool-side shows and get green slime dumped all over them! I was so glad our kids only watched in amazment and didn't want to participate! How would I get that green slime out of DD's braids, anyway? Gross!

We decided to go for it on Sunday and went to Wet N Wild. Anyone ever been there? Crazy slides that are really quite scary! The weather was mid 70's but apparently many people thought that was too cold. We were just about the only people there and walked on every slide we wanted to! There were a few that we took the kids down crying and screaming but they got over it and were proud of themselves afterwards. My DH and I took turns going on one called The Storm. Look it up on their Web Site.....scary! I almost chickened out at the last minute but went anyway. You lay down flat on your back with your arms over your head.....drop almost vertical into a dark tube and down into a toilet-like vortex that spins you around by your centrifical force until you are finally spit out head first into a dark pool....you must right yourslef and find the steps to get out. That was freaky!
This water park is a great one for teenage boys! My kids did have a great time, though.

That night we explored Downtown Disney.

Monday we hung around the Sick Hotel a while swimming and moomy sunning herself and then explored the Wildernesss Lodge. What a fantastic place that is! I would love to stay there sometime! It looks alot like Oregon and our lodgy feel here. Rode on the monorail so the kids could see the castle at MK and shopped at the Contemporary. Not sure why I like those shops there so much, but I do. Icky looking hotle IMHO. I would be so afraid that DS would jump over one of those railings over looking the atrium/lobby!

That night we explored the Boardwalk and had fun. Watched Illuminations for free from the Bridge by Epcot.

Tuesday we went to Magic Kingdom. This was our only window to go but I expected some serious crowds. I was right but I knew what we wanted to do there and where things are. We went full bore until 4 p.m. and then rested at the Sick Hotel until we went back to MK for the Spectromagic Parade. I love that parade! So pretty!
Earlier in the day, my friend (DD's best friend's mom) and I were talking via cell phone as to where we should set up the "secret" meet...the girls had no idea they were going to "run into eachother". We met by the Liberty Bell in Liberty Square. They saw eachother from about 100 feet away and went running and screaming with their arms out, hugging eachother and giggling! I got it all on video and it was very cute! We all went to the Haunted Mansion together and it was a Magical Day!

Wednesday we went to Gatorland. Can't quite describe that place until you have been there! Pretty hokey and a money sucker if you arene't careful! It was very spendy to get in, I was then suckered into a silly 6 minutes (lame) train ride for additional $$. There were some shows put on at various times where the trainers teased the gators with whole raw chicken on a string/pole over their laggons. They are fat, well fed gators so they were pretty lazy. You could pay $10 to throw a piece of raw chicken to a bunch of gators, you could pay another $10 to sit on the back of one with its mouth duct-tapped together (what? Do you think I am stupid?)....some people were actually getting that picture made into their Christmas card pictures right there! Far cry from the Lifestyles portraits on the Disney Cruise, don't ya' think? There was gross, highly overpriced greasy food and an extensive trinket shop.
We really did have a great time there seeing crocs and gators....something I will never see on this side of the country. There was a deck you could walk out onto over the breeding lagoon where literally hundreds of gators were swimming and lurking. Pretty scary creatures! This deck was about 2-3 feet over the water and there was just a wire fence below the railings. The wife of a family next to us said to her hubby, "Honey, get the Cheetos out." The proceded to feed the gators Cheetos and potatoe chips! This are was not supervised at all by ground people and I was amazed that a stupid person or a small child really could fall in and get chomped on! So I got all of this craziness on video just for entertainment purposes.....and all of the sudden while I am videoing gators munching on Cheetos 2 -3 feet below me, my DS proceeds to sqweeze his hand throught the wire fencing right over the gator! I kicked his hand out of fear, all the while he starts crying and screaming! Yup, it's all on videotape! That should make for a lovely memory!

That night we went to City Walk and ate at Jimmy Buffet's Margaritaville. City Walk is crazy and loud and commercialism at its best. DH didn't care for it at all. It was just something to go experience once, I think. We ate in front of a stage where a loud band was playing. It was visually overwhleming. I had fun! We went to bed very tired that night.

Thursday we packed up and checked out of the Sick Hotel by 8:30 AM. We went to the Beach Club to meet up with DDs' best friend and their cousins. My friend, myself, and DH took 7 little kids mini golfing at Fantasia Gardens, a quick walk down the Boardwalk on a beautiful Thanksgiving morning. All of the Deluxe Hotels on Disney property were done up to the 9's in Christmas decorations! It was very pretty.
We were done golfing by 11:30, said our goodbyes, and then off to one last spoiling! ......we went to Typoon Lagoon and had a blast! My theory served me right and people started leaving for their turkey dinners by 2PM ish. We had the place to ourselves almost and the weather was just barely warm enough. That wave pool they have there is incredible! Any of you ever been there? I am surprised more people don't get hurt! A massive wave comes at everyone about every 5-6 minutes and body go flying! It was much more impressive than Blizzard Beach's or Wet N' Wild's.
We finished up sliding and swimming by 5 PM and were off to return the rental car at MCO.

Again, a rude person (Budget guy)....maybe he was mad he had to work on Thanksgiving? .....we returned it and walked over to the awesome MCO Hyatt where we were treated much like the DCL people. They were great! What a nice hotel! We took full advantage of the fitness facility and pool. We didn't fly out until Friday evening so we got to shop around the airport with out lugging around suitcases which was nice.

We flew across the country and were ug: DOG TIRED! We made it back to out mansion safely. Whew! We did it! A dream vacation of a lifetime!

A few of our thought about the cruise itself.....WE LOVED IT! Remember, we were first time cruisers who had nothing else to compare it to....but we got off that ship impressed! I loved the food, the entertainment, and the service was top notch in our opinion. I welcome all different though processes, though. I pay attention to what others say....some of the same comments you guys have mentioned were very well spelled out from the cruise after us, as well.
My DH was a bit skeptical at first, and he'd tell you now that he was impressed and we had a great time! CC was the best! 2 stops there on our next cruise should be a nice treat!
Did I mention that our DD set the tone for DS and put a "no go" on going into any of the kids' prgrams? That kinda' stunk for us, 'cause DS would go in a instance if DD was game. They spent the entire cruise with one or both us us! I didn't expect that at all!

So I am pressing the magic send button now before I lose this again!
Good bye!

P.S. DD wrote us thank you note today for the entire vaction. She said that her favorite part of it was the Deiney Cruise and that says a lot, I think.

 

[DIS NURSE]

Oh, forgot to mention that our kids were chosen as "the cutest kids on board" and presented with a nice certificate and 4 nice pins from one of the gift shops. Renetta from the shop remembered our kids and (gulp!) how many times we went back and shopped. It was a nice touch.

Congrats to Jessica and her family! I am glad that made you trip more enjoyable! Wish I could have seen more of you!
Our stateroom host (Benny) was great but probably not fantastsic. He was going home the day we disembarked and it was obvious he was tired and ready.

Bringing that giant jar of Skippy's creamy peanut butter with us saved us! Every morning I went to Topsider's and asked for plain bread (before the gal toasted it). I pre made PB & J's and stored them in the cooler. DS is addicted.

I brought LOTS I never should have and never used.....
Over the door shoe holder....can you believe that? Just didn't need it.
WAY too many clothes for the kids.
A walkman I could not even use...no reception and no place to plug headphones in.
My DCL Passporter. I already had the thing memorized. What was I thinking?
A giant binder with all sorts of duplicate paperwork and junk. Never opened it.
3 extra BIG water bottles we never used.
A giant bottle of Sponge Bob bubble bath....never opened it.
Air Freshener....never useed it
Too much lotion
Too much sunscreen
Too much wine.....even after Orlando, I ended up lugging two bottles back!
A whole sloo of Sponge Bob related notebooks, toys, etc. Even a boardgame! Was I crazy?

 

[PrincessHaleysMom]

Our head server and stateroom attendant were leaving the same day. I definitely noticed the "I don't care I'm leaving in a few days attitude". I even mentioned it in my big mouth kidding kind of way to the head server and he agreed! It made tipping at the end easy - no one got more than the reccomended amount and that is unusual for us.

 

[4formickey]

we are glad that our rich freinds had fun.