One Is Not Enough! Back-2-Back on the Magic-12/1 & 12/8 (Updated 1/4: Transition Day)
- Thread starter CraftyMouse
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sandybobandy
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Yipeee! I can't wait! 
CraftyMouse
<font color=brown>I am ever so grateful for the te
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Chapter 2 - Embarkation Day
Having gone to bed at 8:30 I was up bright and early this morning. DH and the two grandpas headed back to IHOP for breakfast while I headed back to WalMart for a couple of forgotten items. I also stopped at Dunkin’ Donuts for bagels & tea for the kids.
We had packed a suitcase specifically for this overnight stay so most of our luggage was still packed in the car. We just had to gather our overnight bag together and head out. We were out of the room and on the road by 9:15. We dropped off my minivan at Thrifty and left the Grandpas there to wait for DH’s return. DH, the kids and I then headed to the port with all of the luggage. Once there we were directed to the lot across the street and were the 5th car in line.
Well, 10:00 came and went and we were still in the lot. It turns out that the ship took a bit longer than usual to be cleared and we had to wait for that. It was about 10:15 when we were allowed to drive into the terminal complex. The kids and I headed into the terminal while DH dropped off the luggage and then headed back to Thrifty.
Once in the terminal the kids headed to the sofas while I headed to the check-in line. Despite being the 5th car in line there was a considerable number of people in the terminal. I think they had let the guests that had been dropped off at the terminal in a bit ahead of us but it was all good. I received two #3 boarding cards and was thrilled! I checked in everyone except DF-i-L as I didn’t have his ID. The CM said he should just come to her when he arrived to show his ID and pick up his KTTW card.
I didn’t take any pictures in the terminal as I knew we’d have the place to ourselves the next Saturday. Instead we relaxed on the sofas and waited for the guys to arrive. I met a fellow DISer and we chatted for a while. Soon not only the guys but our friends arrived as well. They got a #10 boarding card but, after speaking to a CM, we were all able to board together with the #3 cards. We were planning to get our OL pager for DS but the line in the terminal was insanely long so we decided to wait until after we boarded.
At about 11:45 boarding began. We were through the Mickey ears about 15 minutes later and we stopped for our boarding photos on the way to the gangway.
Left to Right - DH, Me, DS, DF-i-L, DD, DF(Wife), DF(Daughter), DF(Husband), My Dad
Then it was onto the beautiful ship that was going to be our home for the next two weeks.
What a great feeling! I noticed the beautiful tree and garland in the atrium but also noticed that there were no twinkly lights. I’d learn why later that evening. I headed to Rockin’ Bar D to straighten out our Palo reservations while the others headed to Topsiders. I was quickly able to get both our brunch and dinner reservations switched to one table and then I went to join the others. On my way I passed the beautiful gingerbread house that was by the stairs between Lumiere’s and the Promenade Lounge. Gosh, did it smell good!
The Topsiders buffet was great, as usual. I particularly enjoyed the carved roast beef and the shrimp. I also indulged in the desserts and loved the fruit tarts they had. We were approached several times about purchasing a water package but politely declined each time. (I wish DCL would come up with a better system for this. I have come to expect it but I can’t help but think it is a turn-off for first time cruisers to be bombarded with solicitations for the water package.) We had brought a case of water onboard with us and I much preferred the $6 I paid for it to the $40 the water package ends up costing. Nobody asked us about the wine package and we were only asked if we wanted a Bahama Mama once.
After lunch the kids went off to explore the ship while the adults relaxed and chatted. After a while I decided to wander the ship and did that until 1:30 when the rooms were ready. Once 1:30 arrived I headed down to Deck 2 and found our cabin…#2002. It was all the way forward on the Port side. There was only one cabin further down the hallway from us so it was about as forward as you could get. DS was already in the room but the others had not yet arrived.
Our luggage started arriving a bit later, as did DH and DD. We also met our stateroom hostess, Flori, who was, by far, the best stateroom host/hostess we have ever had.
I began the unpacking ritual which quickly became frustrating as I had two other “chiefs” trying to tell me where their things should go (DH has learned who the “chief” is so he didn’t get in my way). I finally asked them all to leave the room so I could finish the job in peace. All of our bags arrived by 3:00 and I was mostly finished by safety drill time. I also took a moment to call Guest Services to sign up for the Gingerbread House activity but was told the activity was not yet in their system and to check back the next morning.
At 4:00 we headed to our lifeboat station…The Walt Disney Theater! Yippee! No standing in the sun. Heck, no standing at all. I forgot the camera though! I always like to get a picture of us in our PFDs. Our lifeboat station was only one of the reasons that we came to love cabin #2002 but it was the first.
The drill was painless and quick. After it was over we dropped the PFDs off in the room and headed to Deck 10 for Adventures Away. We met up with the grandpas but never did find our friends. Turns out they skipped the party and were in their stateroom the whole time! Ah well, we had a good time and I must say that I love the new Adventures Away song! I especially love the video of the CMs that they play. Not the interviews but the other part that goes with the song itself. I won’t go into more details as I don’t want to spoil it for anyone, but I loved it.
That's Natalie, my Cruise Staff stalker, in the front...although we hadn't met yet.
We had the 6:00 rotation (LAPLAPL) so we hung around the party for a while, strolled around Deck 10 and then headed back to the room. We got ready for dinner and headed to Lumiere’s. We had Table #41, a table for 10, and when we arrived we found someone we didn’t know sitting there. It was Anna Marie, an older woman who was sailing alone. Oh the poor thing…stuck with 9 people who know each other! How intimidating. Well…she became like family to us over the week and we really enjoyed her company. I think she enjoyed ours as well…at least she seemed as if she did.
Our Assistant Server, Graham (from England), arrived and the girls were VERY happy. What a cutie! This was his 5th sailing as he had only come onboard about a month before. He previously worked at the Rose & Crown in EPCOT for a year. He took our drink orders and brought bread to the table. We then met our Server, Luis (from India). He seemed a bit stand-offish and I was nervous about how the week was going to progress. Turns out I couldn’t have been more wrong, but those events are yet to present themselves. As the Wicked Witch said, “All in good time my pretties!”.
Dinner was great. I had the escargot and the beef and it was all delicious. I believe that DH had the prosciutto and the beef. DS had the escargot and the lamb, which he loved and DD had the prosciutto and the duck, which she liked. For DD meals are just something you have to get through to get to dessert so, for her, the best was yet to come. After perusing the dessert menu she leaned over to me and told me she would be ordering 4 desserts! Three of them were desserts I was interested in tasting as well so we ordered the 4 together and shared them. I felt much better about it that way! We had the White Chocolate Dome (my favorite from our last cruise), the Apple Tart, the Crème Brule (my all-time favorite dessert) and the Grand Marnier Souffle. Luis insisted on preparing the soufflé for her and it was great to watch. I think he had the pitcher of chocolate sauce about 3 feet above the table by the time he was done.
As we were finishing our dinner in Lumiere's they did the tree-lighting in the Atrium. Our table was right by the windows next to the Christmas tree so we had a nice view of the falling snow and twinkly lights. Truly magical!
After dinner we headed off to the Walt Disney Theater for the Welcome Aboard Show. The kids stopped to get their photo with Donald in the Atrium on the way.
It was in the Walt Disney Theater that we first started to feel the motion of the ship. It is always a bit stronger on the first night so it was something I expected. Randy Cabral and Rich Purpura were the featured entertainers and they were great. The show, itself, had changed since the last time we were onboard and it was cute.
After the show the girls headed to The Stack and DS headed to Ocean Quest. My kids were given a curfew of whatever time their club closed at night but also told that if they were unable to get up and be pleasant for our earlier mornings that curfew would be made earlier. I headed back to the room to finish the unpacking and relax. I checked the "Report from the Bridge" channel and saw that the seas were at 1-3 feet. Not high at all, but you could definitely feel the motion in our cabin. I enjoyed it as it let me know we were really sailing! There were some great movies playing on the stateroom movie channels (Transformers, Harry Potter V, etc.) so DH and I watched some TV and then went to sleep. I never even heard the kids come in, although DH said he did and they were both home on time.
Up Next...Palo Brunch and Key West Day!
Having gone to bed at 8:30 I was up bright and early this morning. DH and the two grandpas headed back to IHOP for breakfast while I headed back to WalMart for a couple of forgotten items. I also stopped at Dunkin’ Donuts for bagels & tea for the kids.
We had packed a suitcase specifically for this overnight stay so most of our luggage was still packed in the car. We just had to gather our overnight bag together and head out. We were out of the room and on the road by 9:15. We dropped off my minivan at Thrifty and left the Grandpas there to wait for DH’s return. DH, the kids and I then headed to the port with all of the luggage. Once there we were directed to the lot across the street and were the 5th car in line.
Well, 10:00 came and went and we were still in the lot. It turns out that the ship took a bit longer than usual to be cleared and we had to wait for that. It was about 10:15 when we were allowed to drive into the terminal complex. The kids and I headed into the terminal while DH dropped off the luggage and then headed back to Thrifty.
Once in the terminal the kids headed to the sofas while I headed to the check-in line. Despite being the 5th car in line there was a considerable number of people in the terminal. I think they had let the guests that had been dropped off at the terminal in a bit ahead of us but it was all good. I received two #3 boarding cards and was thrilled! I checked in everyone except DF-i-L as I didn’t have his ID. The CM said he should just come to her when he arrived to show his ID and pick up his KTTW card.
I didn’t take any pictures in the terminal as I knew we’d have the place to ourselves the next Saturday. Instead we relaxed on the sofas and waited for the guys to arrive. I met a fellow DISer and we chatted for a while. Soon not only the guys but our friends arrived as well. They got a #10 boarding card but, after speaking to a CM, we were all able to board together with the #3 cards. We were planning to get our OL pager for DS but the line in the terminal was insanely long so we decided to wait until after we boarded.
At about 11:45 boarding began. We were through the Mickey ears about 15 minutes later and we stopped for our boarding photos on the way to the gangway.
Left to Right - DH, Me, DS, DF-i-L, DD, DF(Wife), DF(Daughter), DF(Husband), My Dad
Then it was onto the beautiful ship that was going to be our home for the next two weeks.
What a great feeling! I noticed the beautiful tree and garland in the atrium but also noticed that there were no twinkly lights. I’d learn why later that evening. I headed to Rockin’ Bar D to straighten out our Palo reservations while the others headed to Topsiders. I was quickly able to get both our brunch and dinner reservations switched to one table and then I went to join the others. On my way I passed the beautiful gingerbread house that was by the stairs between Lumiere’s and the Promenade Lounge. Gosh, did it smell good!
The Topsiders buffet was great, as usual. I particularly enjoyed the carved roast beef and the shrimp. I also indulged in the desserts and loved the fruit tarts they had. We were approached several times about purchasing a water package but politely declined each time. (I wish DCL would come up with a better system for this. I have come to expect it but I can’t help but think it is a turn-off for first time cruisers to be bombarded with solicitations for the water package.) We had brought a case of water onboard with us and I much preferred the $6 I paid for it to the $40 the water package ends up costing. Nobody asked us about the wine package and we were only asked if we wanted a Bahama Mama once.
After lunch the kids went off to explore the ship while the adults relaxed and chatted. After a while I decided to wander the ship and did that until 1:30 when the rooms were ready. Once 1:30 arrived I headed down to Deck 2 and found our cabin…#2002. It was all the way forward on the Port side. There was only one cabin further down the hallway from us so it was about as forward as you could get. DS was already in the room but the others had not yet arrived.
Our luggage started arriving a bit later, as did DH and DD. We also met our stateroom hostess, Flori, who was, by far, the best stateroom host/hostess we have ever had.
I began the unpacking ritual which quickly became frustrating as I had two other “chiefs” trying to tell me where their things should go (DH has learned who the “chief” is so he didn’t get in my way). I finally asked them all to leave the room so I could finish the job in peace. All of our bags arrived by 3:00 and I was mostly finished by safety drill time. I also took a moment to call Guest Services to sign up for the Gingerbread House activity but was told the activity was not yet in their system and to check back the next morning.
At 4:00 we headed to our lifeboat station…The Walt Disney Theater! Yippee! No standing in the sun. Heck, no standing at all. I forgot the camera though! I always like to get a picture of us in our PFDs. Our lifeboat station was only one of the reasons that we came to love cabin #2002 but it was the first.
The drill was painless and quick. After it was over we dropped the PFDs off in the room and headed to Deck 10 for Adventures Away. We met up with the grandpas but never did find our friends. Turns out they skipped the party and were in their stateroom the whole time! Ah well, we had a good time and I must say that I love the new Adventures Away song! I especially love the video of the CMs that they play. Not the interviews but the other part that goes with the song itself. I won’t go into more details as I don’t want to spoil it for anyone, but I loved it.
That's Natalie, my Cruise Staff stalker, in the front...although we hadn't met yet.
We had the 6:00 rotation (LAPLAPL) so we hung around the party for a while, strolled around Deck 10 and then headed back to the room. We got ready for dinner and headed to Lumiere’s. We had Table #41, a table for 10, and when we arrived we found someone we didn’t know sitting there. It was Anna Marie, an older woman who was sailing alone. Oh the poor thing…stuck with 9 people who know each other! How intimidating. Well…she became like family to us over the week and we really enjoyed her company. I think she enjoyed ours as well…at least she seemed as if she did.
Our Assistant Server, Graham (from England), arrived and the girls were VERY happy. What a cutie! This was his 5th sailing as he had only come onboard about a month before. He previously worked at the Rose & Crown in EPCOT for a year. He took our drink orders and brought bread to the table. We then met our Server, Luis (from India). He seemed a bit stand-offish and I was nervous about how the week was going to progress. Turns out I couldn’t have been more wrong, but those events are yet to present themselves. As the Wicked Witch said, “All in good time my pretties!”.
Dinner was great. I had the escargot and the beef and it was all delicious. I believe that DH had the prosciutto and the beef. DS had the escargot and the lamb, which he loved and DD had the prosciutto and the duck, which she liked. For DD meals are just something you have to get through to get to dessert so, for her, the best was yet to come. After perusing the dessert menu she leaned over to me and told me she would be ordering 4 desserts! Three of them were desserts I was interested in tasting as well so we ordered the 4 together and shared them. I felt much better about it that way! We had the White Chocolate Dome (my favorite from our last cruise), the Apple Tart, the Crème Brule (my all-time favorite dessert) and the Grand Marnier Souffle. Luis insisted on preparing the soufflé for her and it was great to watch. I think he had the pitcher of chocolate sauce about 3 feet above the table by the time he was done.
As we were finishing our dinner in Lumiere's they did the tree-lighting in the Atrium. Our table was right by the windows next to the Christmas tree so we had a nice view of the falling snow and twinkly lights. Truly magical!
After dinner we headed off to the Walt Disney Theater for the Welcome Aboard Show. The kids stopped to get their photo with Donald in the Atrium on the way.
It was in the Walt Disney Theater that we first started to feel the motion of the ship. It is always a bit stronger on the first night so it was something I expected. Randy Cabral and Rich Purpura were the featured entertainers and they were great. The show, itself, had changed since the last time we were onboard and it was cute.
After the show the girls headed to The Stack and DS headed to Ocean Quest. My kids were given a curfew of whatever time their club closed at night but also told that if they were unable to get up and be pleasant for our earlier mornings that curfew would be made earlier. I headed back to the room to finish the unpacking and relax. I checked the "Report from the Bridge" channel and saw that the seas were at 1-3 feet. Not high at all, but you could definitely feel the motion in our cabin. I enjoyed it as it let me know we were really sailing! There were some great movies playing on the stateroom movie channels (Transformers, Harry Potter V, etc.) so DH and I watched some TV and then went to sleep. I never even heard the kids come in, although DH said he did and they were both home on time.
Up Next...Palo Brunch and Key West Day!
CraftyMouse
<font color=brown>I am ever so grateful for the te
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Ooops...double post! Next installment coming soon!
kaseyC
Mom to 3 lovely Princesses
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I'm really enjoying your trip report. I wasn't planning to post but I had to let you know as I was reading your latest installment a minute ago and scrolling through the pics, my DD (11) was reading over my shoulder and saw the picture of your kids boarding and she started yelling "I know him! I know him! He was in Ocean Quest all the time and he loves the Wii!!" LOL You have to imagine it being said by an 11yr old drama queen to get the full effect. 
We could not drag her out of Ocean Quest either.
I look forward to reading the rest of your report.
We could not drag her out of Ocean Quest either.I look forward to reading the rest of your report.
sandybobandy
DIS Veteran
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- Apr 22, 2006
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Aww I feel like I was there with you! Am looking forward to more!
CraftyMouse
<font color=brown>I am ever so grateful for the te
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I'm really enjoying your trip report. I wasn't planning to post but I had to let you know as I was reading your latest installment a minute ago and scrolling through the pics, my DD (11) was reading over my shoulder and saw the picture of your kids boarding and she started yelling "I know him! I know him! He was in Ocean Quest all the time and he loves the Wii!!" LOL You have to imagine it being said by an 11yr old drama queen to get the full effect.
I look forward to reading the rest of your report.
Toooo funny! I'll have to let him know! Yes, he loved OQ and yes, he LOVES the Wii! He and a couple friends spent most of their cruise in OQ playing lots of different games.
BTW, I added a couple more photos and a few details to that last installment...for anyone who is interested!
Edited to Add: If you look at the photo of the kids on the gangway you'll see that DS has his Nintendo DS in his hand. Yup...this kids loves video games!
DMMarla07860
DIS Veteran
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- May 12, 2005
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loving to trip report so far. I'm gonna try to get my dad to do a back-to-back cruise. Prob won't happen, but I can prob talk him into doing a cruise on the magic, then going to a hotel and going on the wonder that would be just as fun for me
LivingtheWDWdream
Dreamin of Disney!
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A great installment felt like i was really there! I am like your DD desserts are dinner LOL
more please
more please
CraftyMouse
<font color=brown>I am ever so grateful for the te
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It's coming soon, I promise!
Yes, DD loves desserts. Wait until you read about our second week. Let's just say that she and Luis (our server) had an understanding! The totally unfair part is that she came home 1 1/2 pounds LESS than when she left! What's with THAT?
CraftyMouse
<font color=brown>I am ever so grateful for the te
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Chapter 3 - Key West Day
Key West Day. I had not been looking forward to this day as I truly hated Key West the last time we were there (sorry Shirley!). It had been hot, sticky, crowded and unpleasant. I figured we’d spend an hour or two seeing some sights and then head back to the ship. Well, I can truly say that Key West showed me its charms this day, but there were other things to attend to first.
I actually woke up at 6:30. Wide awake…no possibility of getting back to sleep. So, I decided to go for a walk on Deck 4. Everyone else was still fast asleep so I snuck out and headed upstairs. After heading off in the wrong direction I discovered that the jogging track runs counter-clockwise and reversed myself. I did four laps and saw a beautiful sunrise in the process. There were only about 6-8 other walkers/runners out on deck with me. I then headed back to the cabin where I found everyone else still sleeping. I showered and got ready and by the time I was finished DS was awake. It could have had something to do with the fact that I had to plug my blow dryer in by the vanity, but this was the only day it woke him up. DD sleeps through anything and I don’t think she even moved, despite the noise. DS was hungry so he and I headed up to Topsiders.
The adults were scheduled for Palo Brunch today so I just had some fruit and a small cinnamon roll. DS had a more substantial breakfast so when I was done I spent the time updating my trip report notes while he finished. I just love sitting out on the back deck of Topsiders to eat breakfast. It’s one of my favorite moments/places on the ship. When he was done he headed off to Ocean Quest with the instruction to be back in the room by 12:15 so we could go ashore.
After pre-brunch I stopped by the Guest Services desk to sign up for the Gingerbread House making. The CM asked if she had spoken to me on the phone the day before and I said that she had. She said that they had put the event into the computer about an hour after she spoke to me and it was already sold out. Now, I know it is only Gingerbread House making but I was disappointed. It seemed to me that if they had told people to check back the next day they should have held booking until the next day…but it wasn’t the end of the world. The CM said she would see what she could do and would call us back later. Okay…we’ll just go with the “what will be will be” mentality and move on. My kids are older and I knew they would understand if we couldn’t do the activity.
I headed back to the room to get ready for brunch. Before I left for Palo I made sure to wake Katharine up and remind her to eat lunch before noon so she’d be ready to head into Key West when our brunch was over. She grunted at me, which I took as an agreement to do as directed. On my way out the door I ran into Flori and explained/apologized that Katharine was still sleeping. She was more than understanding, telling me that it was her vacation too and she would make up the room whenever we were ready for her. This was a conversation that was to be repeated on several occasions over the next week.
DH had gone to explore the ship and we agreed to meet at Palo for our 10:00 reservation. I was the first to arrive at Palo but was soon joined by the others. We were seated in one of the booths along the window and met our server, Tony from Spain. He gave us a tour of the buffet tables and explained each of the entrees for that day. I was sad to see that the pasta I had had last time was no longer offered but there was a new one to try. We ordered a mushroom pizza and a blue cheese and grape pizza (sounds gross but it was amazing!) for the table to share and then we headed to the buffet.
I had some items from the seafood, bread & cheese and antipasto stations but they were really only a pre-cursor to what I was really there for. Yet again, my favorite food on the ship was the stollen bread with cream and berries. It is just fantastic! I debated having a second piece but figured I’d be able to do that the following week. (That was not to be, but you’ll read about that later.) I did order the pasta for my entrée and it was as good as the one I had had last time I sailed. It was spiral pasta in a creamy sauce and was delicious. It was fairly heavy though so I only ate about half of it. The rest of the table was split between the breakfast frittata and lunch entrees. Tony also brought us a veal dish and the chicken marsala to try. Everything was yummy and we finished up with some selections from the dessert table. I was glad to see that they have made the desserts smaller so you can try more of them without wasting them. I had a tiramisu, a crème caramel and a small raspberry petit four along with a cup of tea. Soooo good.
After brunch we waddled out of Palo, completely full and ready to walk of some of lunch in Key West. We gathered the kids from the stateroom and headed to the gangway. We were the only ship in port that day and the weather was gorgeous. Both were a refreshing change from our last visit and our day started off on a good note.
I'll have to photoshop myself into this one, right in front of my dad, as I was the photographer.
We took a taxi van to the Southernmost Point, planning to walk back to the ship from there, stopping along the way at the sights that interested us. The Southernmost Point is a pretty basic place but I had really wanted to get our photo there last time and hadn’t. This time, as you can see, I was successful and so we moved on to explore the rest of Key West.
We wandered down one of the main streets, stopping along the way at any shops that interested us. Our next major stop was at the Hemingway House. We bought our tickets and decided to wait for the next guided tour. Dave, our tour guide, led us through the house, telling us stories and facts about Hemingway’s years on the island. We also saw several of the famous 6-toed cats all over the property.
The only sour note was at the end of the tour. In the middle of me asking Dave if I could take a picture of him with the kids he stormed off, apparently upset that nobody had tipped him. Too bad he couldn’t take the time for the photo as it would have led to the tip he so clearly wanted. Instead the $5 in my pocket, that was to have been his, stayed there. Aside from Dave's petulance we really enjoyed this tour and would highly recommend it.
Anyway, on we went. We were all hot and tired by now so we headed to Margaritaville for drinks and snacks. We shared some conch fritters and calamari and enjoyed some frosty beverages. While we were waiting for the food DH headed across the street to Banana Republic to get a white dress shirt as the shirt he had brought was just not up to par. He actually went to Fastbuck Freddie’s first but their least expensive shirt was $125!!! Doesn’t Fastbuck Freddie’s sound like a discount store to you? It did to me but it appears I was wrong. DH was successful at Banana Republic and it only cost him $25 as the shirt was on clearance!
After our rejuvenating stop at Margaritaville we split into two groups. The moms and kids went in one direction while the dads and grandpas went in another. They were in search of a liquor store while we were in search of Kinos sandals and key lime pie on a stick. We shopped as we walked and soon made it back to the cruise dock area. It was here that I got a call on my cell phone. It turns out that my friend had her DHs KTTW card and he couldn’t get back on the ship. DS had had enough shopping and volunteered to head back to the ship and take the KTTW card with him. Had I not been able to see the ship from where I stood I would have said no but we were very close so I let him go. A few minutes later DH called to let me know that DS had made it back safely and we girls continued shopping.
We successfully found Kinos sandals, only to find out that they were closed! Nooooo! It was so disappointing. There was only one thing to do. We drowned our sorrows in key lime pie on a stick, covered in chocolate. So very yummy! Then DD and I headed back to the ship (browsing in shops along the way) while the other mom-daughter team did some more serious shopping.
DD and I did have a funny moment in one of the shops. As we walked from one shop to another one of the sales guys asked if he could help us. We said no and passed by a second sales guy who looked at DD and said “No, she’s definitely looking for me!” The look on DD’s face was priceless. The guy was in his 20’s, at least, and she was both shocked and repulsed at the same time. Her comment to me was “But mom, he was so OLD!”
Never mind that our server, Luis, also developed a little platonic crush on her and he was also in his late-20’s at least...but you'll hear more about that later. I’m just glad she’s still opposed to the idea of older guys being interested in her!
Once back on the ship we relaxed in the room and got ready for dinner. DH hopped up to Deck 10 to take some photos of the beautiful sunset. Key West had been a wonderful port and we all said we’d love to go back someday. DD and her friend even talked about taking a road trip there when they were older.
Dinner tonight was in Animator’s Palate and it was show night. We had a table along the wall which made viewing the changes in the restaurant hard for half of us. It all worked out fine and we all enjoyed our meal. Luis and Graham did a great job taking care of us and were definitely warming up a bit.
AP has my least favorite menu but I enjoyed what I had. The garlic mushrooms were fantastic, the confetti tomato salad was just okay and the filet was very good. Graham, as he had done the night before, came to ask me if I’d like pepper on my meal. I declined again and so began a running joke that would continue for the next two weeks. Dessert was strawberry shortcake and I was sad to see that they had changed the cake from our last trip. It is now on a shortcake-type muffin instead of pound cake. It was still very good, just not as good as I remembered.
The Shutters photographers were taking photos in AP tonight. DS has been having difficulty with his photo smiles lately. The picture ends up looking like we are forcing him to smile for the camera and it's just not a great look. His AP photo came out this way so we didn't buy it, but the one of the girls was very nice.
After dinner it was time for Rich Purpura’s show in the Walt Disney Theater. He was hilarious but I have to admit that my son was the highlight of the show for me. At one point RP asks the audience for different languages in which to count to three. Of course he got the usual choices…French, Spanish, Italian, etc. He even got Korean and Japanese. None of them worked for the trick, however, so he was still looking for options. DS, my quiet, shy, don’t-call-on-me, I-won’t-volunteer-for-anything kid raises his hand. RP calls on him and asks what language DS would like to try. DS says “Roman”. RP asks him how to count to three in Roman and DS says “I”, “I,I”, “I,I,I”. Well, RP’s reaction was terrific, the audience was howling and most of us who knew DS were in tears! It was priceless.
After the show the kids were off to their clubs and I wandered through the shops before meeting some of the others at Rockin’ Bar D for Randy Cabral’s cabaret show at 10:15. Randy has (or had) an act with one of my favorite WDW performers, Matt the Juggler. Matt used to do the pre-show for the Hunchback Show at the Studios and Randy’s act is very similar to Matt’s. His adult show was lots of fun and not raunchy at all…well except maybe for the last bit with the paddle ball paddle in his pants…but that was pretty funny.
After the show we headed to Diversions to join some of the guys who were watching the Patriots game. Late-night snacks were brought out and we enjoyed those while watching the game. We were sailing again and the motion of the ship was making me sleepy so I headed back to the room earlier than the rest and hit the hay. When I got to the room I noticed we had a phone message. It was the CM from Guest Services, telling me that they had gotten both us and our friends into the gingerbread making on Thursday! Yippee! A great ending to a fabulous day.
Just after 2:00 (although I didn’t know what time it was then) I was awakened by knocking at the door. I, as any good wife would do, poked DH and made him answer the door. It was just DD whose key didn’t work. All home safe and sound we went back to sleep.
Seas today, both before KW and after, were calm and smooth. The Bridge Report on TV said the waves were at 1.5-3 feet.
Key West Day. I had not been looking forward to this day as I truly hated Key West the last time we were there (sorry Shirley!). It had been hot, sticky, crowded and unpleasant. I figured we’d spend an hour or two seeing some sights and then head back to the ship. Well, I can truly say that Key West showed me its charms this day, but there were other things to attend to first.
I actually woke up at 6:30. Wide awake…no possibility of getting back to sleep. So, I decided to go for a walk on Deck 4. Everyone else was still fast asleep so I snuck out and headed upstairs. After heading off in the wrong direction I discovered that the jogging track runs counter-clockwise and reversed myself. I did four laps and saw a beautiful sunrise in the process. There were only about 6-8 other walkers/runners out on deck with me. I then headed back to the cabin where I found everyone else still sleeping. I showered and got ready and by the time I was finished DS was awake. It could have had something to do with the fact that I had to plug my blow dryer in by the vanity, but this was the only day it woke him up. DD sleeps through anything and I don’t think she even moved, despite the noise. DS was hungry so he and I headed up to Topsiders.
The adults were scheduled for Palo Brunch today so I just had some fruit and a small cinnamon roll. DS had a more substantial breakfast so when I was done I spent the time updating my trip report notes while he finished. I just love sitting out on the back deck of Topsiders to eat breakfast. It’s one of my favorite moments/places on the ship. When he was done he headed off to Ocean Quest with the instruction to be back in the room by 12:15 so we could go ashore.
After pre-brunch I stopped by the Guest Services desk to sign up for the Gingerbread House making. The CM asked if she had spoken to me on the phone the day before and I said that she had. She said that they had put the event into the computer about an hour after she spoke to me and it was already sold out. Now, I know it is only Gingerbread House making but I was disappointed. It seemed to me that if they had told people to check back the next day they should have held booking until the next day…but it wasn’t the end of the world. The CM said she would see what she could do and would call us back later. Okay…we’ll just go with the “what will be will be” mentality and move on. My kids are older and I knew they would understand if we couldn’t do the activity.
I headed back to the room to get ready for brunch. Before I left for Palo I made sure to wake Katharine up and remind her to eat lunch before noon so she’d be ready to head into Key West when our brunch was over. She grunted at me, which I took as an agreement to do as directed. On my way out the door I ran into Flori and explained/apologized that Katharine was still sleeping. She was more than understanding, telling me that it was her vacation too and she would make up the room whenever we were ready for her. This was a conversation that was to be repeated on several occasions over the next week.
DH had gone to explore the ship and we agreed to meet at Palo for our 10:00 reservation. I was the first to arrive at Palo but was soon joined by the others. We were seated in one of the booths along the window and met our server, Tony from Spain. He gave us a tour of the buffet tables and explained each of the entrees for that day. I was sad to see that the pasta I had had last time was no longer offered but there was a new one to try. We ordered a mushroom pizza and a blue cheese and grape pizza (sounds gross but it was amazing!) for the table to share and then we headed to the buffet.
I had some items from the seafood, bread & cheese and antipasto stations but they were really only a pre-cursor to what I was really there for. Yet again, my favorite food on the ship was the stollen bread with cream and berries. It is just fantastic! I debated having a second piece but figured I’d be able to do that the following week. (That was not to be, but you’ll read about that later.) I did order the pasta for my entrée and it was as good as the one I had had last time I sailed. It was spiral pasta in a creamy sauce and was delicious. It was fairly heavy though so I only ate about half of it. The rest of the table was split between the breakfast frittata and lunch entrees. Tony also brought us a veal dish and the chicken marsala to try. Everything was yummy and we finished up with some selections from the dessert table. I was glad to see that they have made the desserts smaller so you can try more of them without wasting them. I had a tiramisu, a crème caramel and a small raspberry petit four along with a cup of tea. Soooo good.
After brunch we waddled out of Palo, completely full and ready to walk of some of lunch in Key West. We gathered the kids from the stateroom and headed to the gangway. We were the only ship in port that day and the weather was gorgeous. Both were a refreshing change from our last visit and our day started off on a good note.
I'll have to photoshop myself into this one, right in front of my dad, as I was the photographer.
We took a taxi van to the Southernmost Point, planning to walk back to the ship from there, stopping along the way at the sights that interested us. The Southernmost Point is a pretty basic place but I had really wanted to get our photo there last time and hadn’t. This time, as you can see, I was successful and so we moved on to explore the rest of Key West.
We wandered down one of the main streets, stopping along the way at any shops that interested us. Our next major stop was at the Hemingway House. We bought our tickets and decided to wait for the next guided tour. Dave, our tour guide, led us through the house, telling us stories and facts about Hemingway’s years on the island. We also saw several of the famous 6-toed cats all over the property.
The only sour note was at the end of the tour. In the middle of me asking Dave if I could take a picture of him with the kids he stormed off, apparently upset that nobody had tipped him. Too bad he couldn’t take the time for the photo as it would have led to the tip he so clearly wanted. Instead the $5 in my pocket, that was to have been his, stayed there. Aside from Dave's petulance we really enjoyed this tour and would highly recommend it.
Anyway, on we went. We were all hot and tired by now so we headed to Margaritaville for drinks and snacks. We shared some conch fritters and calamari and enjoyed some frosty beverages. While we were waiting for the food DH headed across the street to Banana Republic to get a white dress shirt as the shirt he had brought was just not up to par. He actually went to Fastbuck Freddie’s first but their least expensive shirt was $125!!! Doesn’t Fastbuck Freddie’s sound like a discount store to you? It did to me but it appears I was wrong. DH was successful at Banana Republic and it only cost him $25 as the shirt was on clearance!
After our rejuvenating stop at Margaritaville we split into two groups. The moms and kids went in one direction while the dads and grandpas went in another. They were in search of a liquor store while we were in search of Kinos sandals and key lime pie on a stick. We shopped as we walked and soon made it back to the cruise dock area. It was here that I got a call on my cell phone. It turns out that my friend had her DHs KTTW card and he couldn’t get back on the ship. DS had had enough shopping and volunteered to head back to the ship and take the KTTW card with him. Had I not been able to see the ship from where I stood I would have said no but we were very close so I let him go. A few minutes later DH called to let me know that DS had made it back safely and we girls continued shopping.
We successfully found Kinos sandals, only to find out that they were closed! Nooooo! It was so disappointing. There was only one thing to do. We drowned our sorrows in key lime pie on a stick, covered in chocolate. So very yummy! Then DD and I headed back to the ship (browsing in shops along the way) while the other mom-daughter team did some more serious shopping.
DD and I did have a funny moment in one of the shops. As we walked from one shop to another one of the sales guys asked if he could help us. We said no and passed by a second sales guy who looked at DD and said “No, she’s definitely looking for me!” The look on DD’s face was priceless. The guy was in his 20’s, at least, and she was both shocked and repulsed at the same time. Her comment to me was “But mom, he was so OLD!”
Never mind that our server, Luis, also developed a little platonic crush on her and he was also in his late-20’s at least...but you'll hear more about that later. I’m just glad she’s still opposed to the idea of older guys being interested in her!Once back on the ship we relaxed in the room and got ready for dinner. DH hopped up to Deck 10 to take some photos of the beautiful sunset. Key West had been a wonderful port and we all said we’d love to go back someday. DD and her friend even talked about taking a road trip there when they were older.
Dinner tonight was in Animator’s Palate and it was show night. We had a table along the wall which made viewing the changes in the restaurant hard for half of us. It all worked out fine and we all enjoyed our meal. Luis and Graham did a great job taking care of us and were definitely warming up a bit.
AP has my least favorite menu but I enjoyed what I had. The garlic mushrooms were fantastic, the confetti tomato salad was just okay and the filet was very good. Graham, as he had done the night before, came to ask me if I’d like pepper on my meal. I declined again and so began a running joke that would continue for the next two weeks. Dessert was strawberry shortcake and I was sad to see that they had changed the cake from our last trip. It is now on a shortcake-type muffin instead of pound cake. It was still very good, just not as good as I remembered.
The Shutters photographers were taking photos in AP tonight. DS has been having difficulty with his photo smiles lately. The picture ends up looking like we are forcing him to smile for the camera and it's just not a great look. His AP photo came out this way so we didn't buy it, but the one of the girls was very nice.
After dinner it was time for Rich Purpura’s show in the Walt Disney Theater. He was hilarious but I have to admit that my son was the highlight of the show for me. At one point RP asks the audience for different languages in which to count to three. Of course he got the usual choices…French, Spanish, Italian, etc. He even got Korean and Japanese. None of them worked for the trick, however, so he was still looking for options. DS, my quiet, shy, don’t-call-on-me, I-won’t-volunteer-for-anything kid raises his hand. RP calls on him and asks what language DS would like to try. DS says “Roman”. RP asks him how to count to three in Roman and DS says “I”, “I,I”, “I,I,I”. Well, RP’s reaction was terrific, the audience was howling and most of us who knew DS were in tears! It was priceless.
After the show the kids were off to their clubs and I wandered through the shops before meeting some of the others at Rockin’ Bar D for Randy Cabral’s cabaret show at 10:15. Randy has (or had) an act with one of my favorite WDW performers, Matt the Juggler. Matt used to do the pre-show for the Hunchback Show at the Studios and Randy’s act is very similar to Matt’s. His adult show was lots of fun and not raunchy at all…well except maybe for the last bit with the paddle ball paddle in his pants…but that was pretty funny.
After the show we headed to Diversions to join some of the guys who were watching the Patriots game. Late-night snacks were brought out and we enjoyed those while watching the game. We were sailing again and the motion of the ship was making me sleepy so I headed back to the room earlier than the rest and hit the hay. When I got to the room I noticed we had a phone message. It was the CM from Guest Services, telling me that they had gotten both us and our friends into the gingerbread making on Thursday! Yippee! A great ending to a fabulous day.
Just after 2:00 (although I didn’t know what time it was then) I was awakened by knocking at the door. I, as any good wife would do, poked DH and made him answer the door. It was just DD whose key didn’t work. All home safe and sound we went back to sleep.
Seas today, both before KW and after, were calm and smooth. The Bridge Report on TV said the waves were at 1.5-3 feet.
tidoublegger
<font color=purple>Crazy People Don't Know They're
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Great trip report! Your photos are terrific too! I can't wait to read more! 
CraftyMouse
<font color=brown>I am ever so grateful for the te
- Joined
- Nov 25, 2004
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Great trip report! Your photos are terrific too! I can't wait to read more!
Thanks! I have to say that I absolutely love my camera. It really did a great job on this trip!
LivingtheWDWdream
Dreamin of Disney!
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Yay an update!!!!!
Key West sounded nice but I agree the Stolen Bread is SOOOO goood!
Glad they got you in for the Gingerbread making and hope your DD's Key got fixed!
Love your photos as well I can't wait to use my new camera on my cruise in May!! Hopefully they will come out half as nice as yours at least!
More please
Key West sounded nice but I agree the Stolen Bread is SOOOO goood!
Glad they got you in for the Gingerbread making and hope your DD's Key got fixed!
Love your photos as well I can't wait to use my new camera on my cruise in May!! Hopefully they will come out half as nice as yours at least!
More please
Hey! We were there, too! That was hysterical alright! My dc were still talking about it at bedtime.
I rarely read cruise trip reports, but had to read yours - and I LOVE IT! I am so looking forward to my first cruise in January, especially after seeing your photos and reading your report so far!
Your signature says you're on the Wonder in 1 month and 5 days...which would be Jan. 23rd - and that's a Wednesday. Are you cruising on the 20th or 27th with your mom? I'll be on the Jan. 20th 4-day with my mom.
Your signature says you're on the Wonder in 1 month and 5 days...which would be Jan. 23rd - and that's a Wednesday. Are you cruising on the 20th or 27th with your mom? I'll be on the Jan. 20th 4-day with my mom.
CraftyMouse
<font color=brown>I am ever so grateful for the te
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- 8,417
I rarely read cruise trip reports, but had to read yours - and I LOVE IT! I am so looking forward to my first cruise in January, especially after seeing your photos and reading your report so far!
Your signature says you're on the Wonder in 1 month and 5 days...which would be Jan. 23rd - and that's a Wednesday. Are you cruising on the 20th or 27th with your mom? I'll be on the Jan. 20th 4-day with my mom.
Drat...we're sailing on the 27th but I"m sailing with my mom too. She was unable to join us on our Western as someone had to stay home with my grandmother. As a consolation she and I will be taking our first mother-daughter trip. My countdown is synced to the 23rd as we'll be spending a few days at WDW before our cruise. It's too bad...I"m sure we will be seated with others as there are just two of us. We could have arranged to have a mother-daughter table!
Happy Sailing!
CraftyMouse
<font color=brown>I am ever so grateful for the te
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- 8,417
Chapter 4 - Our First Sea Day
Okay, on to Monday…
Ahhhh…our first sea day! I love sea days!
Once again I woke up at 6:30. Wide awake…no chance of getting back to sleep. So it was back to Deck 4 for another walk. I did four laps again today and then headed back to the room to shower and change. DH was stirring so after we both got ready we headed to Topsiders for breakfast. Have I said how much I love Topsiders? I do, I love it!
We chose a table outside but under the canopy as I don’t like to sit in the sun. Our dads came along just as we started to eat so they joined us. It was a really nice breakfast and it was great to spend some quiet time with our fathers.
When we got back to the room there was a message telling us that there would be an extra session of Gingerbread House making and that we were on the list. This was great news as we’d be able to keep our house longer by doing it earlier in the week! We were told we didn’t need tickets, we should just show up at Studio Sea at 2:00. Yippee!!!
Okay, on with the day. Now, I know that many people like to go on a cruise to sit in the sun and relax. That’s just not me. I really like the classes/presentations that are offered and that is how I spent my time today. After breakfast I went to the Art of Entertaining: Dazzling Desserts activity. I had been trying to meet up with one of my DIS friends, Gerweniel, since Saturday but we kept missing each other. I had let her know that I’d be going to this activity so I chose a table for two, on the chance she would decide to join me.
Stitch keeps me company at the table.
I was one of the first to arrive and got talking with the chef, Edgar. After chatting for a few minutes he asked me if I’d like to help him with the presentation. Now if you know me you know that I am not one to put myself in the direct path of attention. Get up in front of everyone? I don’t think so! But somehow I found myself accepting his offer. I had a brief, internal conversation with myself that went something like this…
Me: What were you thinking?
Myself: I thought it would be fun.
Me: But we have to stand up in front of everybody!
Myself: Oh just relax and go with it!
Before I developed a full-blown case of Multiple Personality Syndrome I decided to listen to Myself and just go with it. And I’m so glad I did! I had a blast! The best part? We were making my favorite dessert from Lumiere’s…White Chocolate Raspberry Domes! Yippee!
Edgar started the presentation and introduced me as…Michele, a pastry chef from CT! WHAT??? I am NOT a pastry chef…although I love to bake. Ah well…listen to Myself and just go with it, right? So go with it I did. I got to make the whipped cream, whisk the sabayon and fill the pastry bag. I had such a good time helping Edgar that I decided that from now on I would listen to Myself more often. She’s a fun girl!
The other major event that happened during Dazzling Desserts was that I met Natalie. Natalie and I would continue to stalk each other over the next two weeks and this is where it all began. She was the Cruise Staff CM in charge of moderating this event and she is a true credit to the Walt Disney Company. More on Natalie later.
After DD I headed to Rockin’ Bar D for the Castaway Clubhouse. DH was supposed to meet me there but I didn’t see him yet. I chose a table on the upper level, along the rail (what was to become our regular table at RBD) and waited. Well, the event began and still DH had not shown up so I was on my own. I really enjoyed the video clips they showed and got to meet some great cruisers and staff. About half-way through, DH finally found me and we enjoyed the rest of the event. When it was over we snagged a couple of Mickey rice krispie treats for DD (the dessert lover) and dropped them off in the room. From there we headed to Topsiders for the Asian buffet. It was very good and I especially enjoyed the Sweet and Sour Chicken.
After lunch DH and DF-I-L were headed to the Making of the Magic presentation and I headed to the DVC presentation. We had missed the DVC Member Get Together the day before because of our Palo reservation so I thought I’d stop by and see what this one was like. It was definitely geared toward prospective members but I was eligible for the $300 OBC door prize so I stayed. Well, I didn’t win the credit. I never win anything. Well…almost never. (Wait for it, people, wait for it!)
I still had not met up with my friend, DISBoard Codename Gerweniel, but she was going to be joining us for tea at 3:00. It was now 1:30 so I strolled up to Shutters to look for my photos. I asked the CM there if I could purchase a package and use it for both weeks. He didn’t know the answer but promised to find out the answer and call my stateroom when he knew. Sounded good to me so I left my information and off I went.
I then headed to Studio Sea for our Gingerbread House making. What a lot of fun we had! Each family got the pieces of a Gingerbread House, along with a pastry bag of icing, candies for decorating and a gold-covered board to build it on. We also got a cardboard house that we could stick the pieces of gingerbread to. I thought this was cheating, but I was over-ruled. We went with the cardboard house base and continued to the decorating stage. It was such a nice family activity. As my kids get older I realize how little time I have left with them home. This one hour of time was really special to me and gave us that much needed dose of “togetherness”. I never begrudge my kids for heading off to their clubs, it was just nice to have this time with them.
Okay…houses made my friend and I headed off to Palo just before 3:00 and, there she was…Gerweniel herself! We finally got to meet in person! My other friend soon came along and we were seated at the same table we had had for brunch. This time we had Sylvester as a server and he was great. I don’t remember what kind of tea I had but I do remember that I didn’t care for it. They didn’t have my beloved Earl Gray so I tried something new…but it was a mistake! Everything else was delicious though. We had scones with cream & jam, tea sandwiches, macaroons, strawberry tarts, brownies, éclairs and trifle. Everything was small so we could sample it all. It was so nice to sit, chat and have girl time. Who knew where the guys were? Who knew where the kids were? Who cares! We were having girl time and it was fantastic.
After tea we parted ways with Gerweniel and headed back to our staterooms. Tonight was formal night so there was primping to do! DD met me back in the room at 4:30 so I could curl her hair. We usually do it with hot rollers but I hadn’t wanted to lug them along with us. Instead we were using a curling iron so it was going to take a bit longer. I must say that I prefer the rollers but the iron did a fine job.
Now, I am not a dress-up girl and I just wasn’t feeling in a dressy mood, but I bit the bullet and got ready. I certainly wasn’t looking my best, as is evident from our group photo, but that’s okay. It was a fun evening anyway.
Pay no attention to the woman in the black dress. I have no idea who she is. Certainly I do not look this horrible! But I love the look on DF-I-L's face!
A nice shot of the grandpas with the kids.
The three Calebs, although only DH goes by that name.
We were in Parrot Cay tonight and it didn’t detract at all from the theme of the evening. Graham had our drinks waiting and Luis took our orders. He also spent some time giving the kids some brain-teasers and they had fun trying to figure them out. They got the first one but gave up and had him show them the answer to the second one.
"Am I Right, Am I Right?" Nope. But she eventually got it.
The girls with Graham...
Tonight I had the chicken wings, the fruit salad and the ribs. Graham, again, tried to pepper my meal but I refused him! Back! Back, you pepper-mill wielding assistant server! You shall not sully my meal with that evil stuff! Everything was good, but the barbecue sauce on the ribs was to-die-for! It was soooo good. Luis asked us about our day and when we told him about our girl-time at Palo he wanted to know who our server had been. It turns out that he and Sylvester used to be roommates, were both from India and had both been working on the Magic for 8 years.
The girls decided to head out before dessert as they wanted to get changed before heading to The Stack. DD usually likes to see the main shows but knew she could see The Golden Mickeys the following week. She did make sure to place her dessert order with me before heading off. Luis brought me her lemon meringue pie, along with a cover and a fork so she could enjoy it later in the room. I also had the lemon meringue pie and it was very good.
After dinner I ran back to the room to get out of my formal clothes before the show. Ahhhhh…that’s better! Completely comfortable once again, I headed off to the show. The Walt Disney Theater Lifeboat Station was reason #1 why we loved our room. Stateroom hostess, Flori, was reason #2. Reason #3 was it’s proximity to the Walt Disney Theater and Rockin’ Bar D. It was just a quick two flights up to the show. DS was already there so we found him and took our seats. This is my favorite show onboard (followed closely by Disney Dreams) so I was excited for it to begin. I think I love it so much because Walt Disney is featured. It gets me teary every time! Once again, it didn’t disappoint.
(Note…I forgot to mention my encounter with Natalie. She was outside the Walt Disney Theater before the show and we chatted for a while before the performance. It was here that she insisted I was stalking her (I had seen her a couple of other times that day around the ship). I let her know that I felt she was stalking me but we agreed to disagree on that one.)
After the show DS headed off to Ocean Quest, the dads headed back to their stateroom, the girls were in the Stack and the rest of us headed to Rockin’ Bar D for the Rich Purpura cabaret show, taking “our” table along the rail on the upper level. I don’t know what it is about RP, but he just cracks me up! I was laughing so hard it hurt!
After the show we stopped to see what snacks they were putting out but we were all still too full to eat anything else. Instead we all headed back to our staterooms for the night. DS was “home” when we got there but DD was still out. She had replaced her key that morning and we knew she’d be able to get into the room so we watched some TV and went to sleep. I was slightly afraid that we’d be awakened by the sound of her discovering and inhaling her lemon meringue pie but that didn’t happen. She must have been really tired!
Seas today were calm, calm, calm. They never got higher than 4 feet!
Okay, on to Monday…
Ahhhh…our first sea day! I love sea days!
Once again I woke up at 6:30. Wide awake…no chance of getting back to sleep. So it was back to Deck 4 for another walk. I did four laps again today and then headed back to the room to shower and change. DH was stirring so after we both got ready we headed to Topsiders for breakfast. Have I said how much I love Topsiders? I do, I love it!
We chose a table outside but under the canopy as I don’t like to sit in the sun. Our dads came along just as we started to eat so they joined us. It was a really nice breakfast and it was great to spend some quiet time with our fathers.
When we got back to the room there was a message telling us that there would be an extra session of Gingerbread House making and that we were on the list. This was great news as we’d be able to keep our house longer by doing it earlier in the week! We were told we didn’t need tickets, we should just show up at Studio Sea at 2:00. Yippee!!!
Okay, on with the day. Now, I know that many people like to go on a cruise to sit in the sun and relax. That’s just not me. I really like the classes/presentations that are offered and that is how I spent my time today. After breakfast I went to the Art of Entertaining: Dazzling Desserts activity. I had been trying to meet up with one of my DIS friends, Gerweniel, since Saturday but we kept missing each other. I had let her know that I’d be going to this activity so I chose a table for two, on the chance she would decide to join me.
Stitch keeps me company at the table.
I was one of the first to arrive and got talking with the chef, Edgar. After chatting for a few minutes he asked me if I’d like to help him with the presentation. Now if you know me you know that I am not one to put myself in the direct path of attention. Get up in front of everyone? I don’t think so! But somehow I found myself accepting his offer. I had a brief, internal conversation with myself that went something like this…
Me: What were you thinking?
Myself: I thought it would be fun.
Me: But we have to stand up in front of everybody!
Myself: Oh just relax and go with it!
Before I developed a full-blown case of Multiple Personality Syndrome I decided to listen to Myself and just go with it. And I’m so glad I did! I had a blast! The best part? We were making my favorite dessert from Lumiere’s…White Chocolate Raspberry Domes! Yippee!
Edgar started the presentation and introduced me as…Michele, a pastry chef from CT! WHAT??? I am NOT a pastry chef…although I love to bake. Ah well…listen to Myself and just go with it, right? So go with it I did. I got to make the whipped cream, whisk the sabayon and fill the pastry bag. I had such a good time helping Edgar that I decided that from now on I would listen to Myself more often. She’s a fun girl!
The other major event that happened during Dazzling Desserts was that I met Natalie. Natalie and I would continue to stalk each other over the next two weeks and this is where it all began. She was the Cruise Staff CM in charge of moderating this event and she is a true credit to the Walt Disney Company. More on Natalie later.
After DD I headed to Rockin’ Bar D for the Castaway Clubhouse. DH was supposed to meet me there but I didn’t see him yet. I chose a table on the upper level, along the rail (what was to become our regular table at RBD) and waited. Well, the event began and still DH had not shown up so I was on my own. I really enjoyed the video clips they showed and got to meet some great cruisers and staff. About half-way through, DH finally found me and we enjoyed the rest of the event. When it was over we snagged a couple of Mickey rice krispie treats for DD (the dessert lover) and dropped them off in the room. From there we headed to Topsiders for the Asian buffet. It was very good and I especially enjoyed the Sweet and Sour Chicken.
After lunch DH and DF-I-L were headed to the Making of the Magic presentation and I headed to the DVC presentation. We had missed the DVC Member Get Together the day before because of our Palo reservation so I thought I’d stop by and see what this one was like. It was definitely geared toward prospective members but I was eligible for the $300 OBC door prize so I stayed. Well, I didn’t win the credit. I never win anything. Well…almost never. (Wait for it, people, wait for it!)
I still had not met up with my friend, DISBoard Codename Gerweniel, but she was going to be joining us for tea at 3:00. It was now 1:30 so I strolled up to Shutters to look for my photos. I asked the CM there if I could purchase a package and use it for both weeks. He didn’t know the answer but promised to find out the answer and call my stateroom when he knew. Sounded good to me so I left my information and off I went.
I then headed to Studio Sea for our Gingerbread House making. What a lot of fun we had! Each family got the pieces of a Gingerbread House, along with a pastry bag of icing, candies for decorating and a gold-covered board to build it on. We also got a cardboard house that we could stick the pieces of gingerbread to. I thought this was cheating, but I was over-ruled. We went with the cardboard house base and continued to the decorating stage. It was such a nice family activity. As my kids get older I realize how little time I have left with them home. This one hour of time was really special to me and gave us that much needed dose of “togetherness”. I never begrudge my kids for heading off to their clubs, it was just nice to have this time with them.
Okay…houses made my friend and I headed off to Palo just before 3:00 and, there she was…Gerweniel herself! We finally got to meet in person! My other friend soon came along and we were seated at the same table we had had for brunch. This time we had Sylvester as a server and he was great. I don’t remember what kind of tea I had but I do remember that I didn’t care for it. They didn’t have my beloved Earl Gray so I tried something new…but it was a mistake! Everything else was delicious though. We had scones with cream & jam, tea sandwiches, macaroons, strawberry tarts, brownies, éclairs and trifle. Everything was small so we could sample it all. It was so nice to sit, chat and have girl time. Who knew where the guys were? Who knew where the kids were? Who cares! We were having girl time and it was fantastic.
After tea we parted ways with Gerweniel and headed back to our staterooms. Tonight was formal night so there was primping to do! DD met me back in the room at 4:30 so I could curl her hair. We usually do it with hot rollers but I hadn’t wanted to lug them along with us. Instead we were using a curling iron so it was going to take a bit longer. I must say that I prefer the rollers but the iron did a fine job.
Now, I am not a dress-up girl and I just wasn’t feeling in a dressy mood, but I bit the bullet and got ready. I certainly wasn’t looking my best, as is evident from our group photo, but that’s okay. It was a fun evening anyway.
Pay no attention to the woman in the black dress. I have no idea who she is. Certainly I do not look this horrible! But I love the look on DF-I-L's face!
A nice shot of the grandpas with the kids.
The three Calebs, although only DH goes by that name.
We were in Parrot Cay tonight and it didn’t detract at all from the theme of the evening. Graham had our drinks waiting and Luis took our orders. He also spent some time giving the kids some brain-teasers and they had fun trying to figure them out. They got the first one but gave up and had him show them the answer to the second one.
"Am I Right, Am I Right?" Nope. But she eventually got it.
The girls with Graham...
Tonight I had the chicken wings, the fruit salad and the ribs. Graham, again, tried to pepper my meal but I refused him! Back! Back, you pepper-mill wielding assistant server! You shall not sully my meal with that evil stuff! Everything was good, but the barbecue sauce on the ribs was to-die-for! It was soooo good. Luis asked us about our day and when we told him about our girl-time at Palo he wanted to know who our server had been. It turns out that he and Sylvester used to be roommates, were both from India and had both been working on the Magic for 8 years.
The girls decided to head out before dessert as they wanted to get changed before heading to The Stack. DD usually likes to see the main shows but knew she could see The Golden Mickeys the following week. She did make sure to place her dessert order with me before heading off. Luis brought me her lemon meringue pie, along with a cover and a fork so she could enjoy it later in the room. I also had the lemon meringue pie and it was very good.
After dinner I ran back to the room to get out of my formal clothes before the show. Ahhhhh…that’s better! Completely comfortable once again, I headed off to the show. The Walt Disney Theater Lifeboat Station was reason #1 why we loved our room. Stateroom hostess, Flori, was reason #2. Reason #3 was it’s proximity to the Walt Disney Theater and Rockin’ Bar D. It was just a quick two flights up to the show. DS was already there so we found him and took our seats. This is my favorite show onboard (followed closely by Disney Dreams) so I was excited for it to begin. I think I love it so much because Walt Disney is featured. It gets me teary every time! Once again, it didn’t disappoint.
(Note…I forgot to mention my encounter with Natalie. She was outside the Walt Disney Theater before the show and we chatted for a while before the performance. It was here that she insisted I was stalking her (I had seen her a couple of other times that day around the ship). I let her know that I felt she was stalking me but we agreed to disagree on that one.)
After the show DS headed off to Ocean Quest, the dads headed back to their stateroom, the girls were in the Stack and the rest of us headed to Rockin’ Bar D for the Rich Purpura cabaret show, taking “our” table along the rail on the upper level. I don’t know what it is about RP, but he just cracks me up! I was laughing so hard it hurt!
After the show we stopped to see what snacks they were putting out but we were all still too full to eat anything else. Instead we all headed back to our staterooms for the night. DS was “home” when we got there but DD was still out. She had replaced her key that morning and we knew she’d be able to get into the room so we watched some TV and went to sleep. I was slightly afraid that we’d be awakened by the sound of her discovering and inhaling her lemon meringue pie but that didn’t happen. She must have been really tired!
Seas today were calm, calm, calm. They never got higher than 4 feet!
Ah - that explains the countdown clock! I just realized - I'm leaving one month from today, because I'm flying in 2 days before the cruise and staying at my mom's in Cocoa.
I'll be at WDW for 4 nights after the cruise - so our paths still may cross!My first mother-daughter trip with my mom was a cruise on Holland America in Feb. 2004 - and that wasn't such a great cruise. I'm hoping for a much better cruise on the Wonder!
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