One Is Not Enough! Back-2-Back on the Magic-12/1 & 12/8 (Updated 1/4: Transition Day)

[CraftyMouse]

Addendum to St. Maarten Day – Elsie Our Room Hostess

I completely forgot to mention Elsie, our room hostess for the second week. She wasn’t as chatty as Flori had been but she was very sweet. For the first few days she came and went, doing a fabulous job with the room, but we saw little of her.

On St. Maarten Day DS had bought an alligator as his souvenir. It’s one of those wooden carvings that is done in sections so the creature can sort of “slither”. He has a snake that he got on our cruise to Antigua and thought this would make a nice addition to his collection. Since it inexplicably had wheels on it confused3 ) he decided to call it the “Gatormobile”.

Well, apparently Elsie found the Gatormobile and it inspired her because this is what we found when we came back to the room after dinner…

Yup, a towel alligator! You can see DS's Gatormobile to the right of the towel gator...and for some reason DD seems to be sitting on DS in the background! While we were ooh-ing and aah-ing over the towel gator I heard a voice coming from the partially-open doorway. “Do you like it?” asked Elsie. We let her know how thrilled we were, especially DS, and she seemed very pleased.

So, while Elsie wasn’t very chatty she was still one of the best stateroom hostesses we’ve had, not only because of the towel gator but because of the way she took care of us all week.

Elsie with the kids…

 

[CraftyMouse]

Chapter 15 – Our Last Sea Day …sob…

Okay...this is a long one and there aren't many pictures. Bear with me though. I think you'll find it worth the read.

So, this was it. Our last sea day. How could it have come so soon? Determined to make the most of it DH slept in just a bit and then headed to Lumiere’s for breakfast. I wanted to make sure I got to have one last Beast’s Tower.

Since we were scheduled to eat at Lumiere’s that night we thought we might see either Luis or Graham at breakfast and we were right. When we walked in we saw Luis in the far left corner. We asked to be seated in his section and, after some confusion, we were taken there. It turned out that he wasn’t actually serving guests, he was doing table set-up, but he insisted on taking care of us anyway. Of course the first thing he asked after we exchanged “Good Morning”s was “Where is Katharine?” We explained that since it was a sea day she wouldn’t be up before 11 or so but that she was planning to go to Lumiere’s for lunch. He let us know that he wouldn’t be there then as he was training to be a lifeboat captain. I thought that was pretty interesting. I didn’t realized that crew members could train to do that. He also let us know that the kids had been plotting the night before at dinner. They were making plans to stow away in Luis’ cabin instead of going home with us. We told him that if they succeeded in their plans he should feel free to put them to hard labor onboard.

I ordered my Beast’s Tower and DH chose Lumiere’s Candle (a pancake, a waffle and French toast…a carb lover’s dream!). Gavin, our assistant server, came over with the pastry tray and I chose my usual…a cinnamon roll. Gavin gave me two. I liked Gavin already! He also brought us juice and tea. A short time later Luis brought me my wonderful Beast’s Tower and I savored it for the last time on this trip. It was soooo good. I highly recommend the new breakfast menu at Lumiere’s and, in particular, the Beast’s Tower!

Just before we finished eating Luis came by again with a large bowl of strawberries, Rice Krispies, milk, a bowl and silverware. Two guesses as to who that was for? Yup. I knew you’d get it. Katharine. We asked Gavin for a couple of croissants for DS and he brought us five. FIVE. What is DS going to do with five croissants? Gavin clearly believes that more is better as far as food is concerned. We thanked him, gathered up all of the kids’ food and headed back to the stateroom. The kids were not yet conscious but we managed to rouse them by reminding them that this was our last sea day. DD had plans to meet her young friend (the one also doing a back-to-back), Tessa, for some paper-doll playing so she woke up more easily than usual. She was thrilled with her breakfast and DS managed to eat his two croissants, saving three for later.

Ducky Williams was doing his presentation again today and I decided to go. I always love to hear his story and there was the possibility of winning one of his sketches. (Don’t hold your breath!) I brought my camera with me this time but just before the presentation was to begin I realized my battery was dying. This was one of those times when cabin location played a big part. I was on deck 5 Aft and our cabin was on deck 6 Aft. The woman next to me (hi Judy!) was lamenting not having brought her camera so I made a deal with her. If she would save my seat so I could get a new battery, I’d email the photos to her when I got home! She agreed, even though I’m sure each of us would have done the favor without the promise of a favor returned. I made it back in just a few minutes and got some good shots. DH arrived just before the presentation began but had to sit behind me as the seats on either side of me were taken. Ducky told the same story I had heard twice before, but it was peppered with tidbits of new information. Plus I got to watch him sketch again, which is always fun. I hope you weren’t holding your breath because no, I did not win a sketch. It was still a great hour spent and I was happy I had gone.

Next it was on to lunch. Today was Seafood Buffet day (not Monday, as I had previously posted) so we headed to Topsiders for lunch. This was the day I had the yummy pasta, accompanied by veggies and some calamari. (BTW, Topsiders had the best veggies on the buffet. Nice big pieces of cauliflower, broccoli and carrots. Mmmmm…) I sampled a couple of the desserts but two weeks of cruising was definitely catching up to me. Perhaps my stomach was just preparing itself for post-cruise life but I just couldn’t eat very much.

After lunch I took my camera’s memory card to Shutters to make some prints. I wanted to print out all of the shots of the kids with Luis, Graham and Flori (I hadn’t taken the shot of the kids with Elsie yet) as well as the photos I had of DD and Tessa. Ordering the prints was a simple process and I thought that the prints were reasonably priced. I was given a pick-up time of 5:00 the next night so it was just about a 24-hour process. I also picked up our Christmas cards which came out very well. I dropped the cards off in the room and then went to browse through the shops. I saw a beautiful, framed set of 3 photos called “The Making of the Magic”. They showed the Magic being built, the Magic in two pieces and the finished ship. The price was just $65 and I stood there for several minutes deciding whether to buy it or not. I decided to wait to see if I still wanted it later and moved on.

I headed to the 2:00 matinee of Disney Dreams. I noticed that they were selling Bingo cards outside the theater and, on a whim, purchased one. I knew that we might miss the first game because of our Palo Tea but we’d still make it for the others. I figured it was worth the $35 gamble to take a chance at the big jackpot.

Disney Dreams was great, as usual, but I had to leave a bit early. Just before the final scene I snuck out of the theater and headed to Palo. DH wasn’t there yet but PJ took me to my table, saying he’d bring DH in when he got there. PJ had been so wonderful to get us in to the Tea and I made sure to thank him. (There had been no reservations at the 90 day mark but I had spoken to him the previous week to see if there might be any openings. He not only made the reservation for us, he gave us our pick of days, which we really appreciated.) While I was waiting for DH I met our server…Sylvester! We were definitely on a Palo roll. Tony for Brunch and Dinner and Sylvester for Tea. I can highly recommend both of them to any future DCL cruisers.

Sylvester and I chatted until DH arrived. He had not yet met Sylvester and they spent a few minutes talking about the trips DH had taken to India (Sylvester’s home). Sylvester then brought us some tea sandwiches and took our tea order. Soon two steaming pots of tea arrived. This week I chose English Breakfast and was much happier with my selection. After the sandwiches we had scones, jam and cream, followed by a pastry tray that had strawberry tarts, macaroons, brownies and éclairs. It was the same as the week before but tasted so much better with the yummy tea.

During Tea DH mentioned that he had had quite an adventure that afternoon. It seems that Elsie had come in to clean the room while he was reading on the balcony. He stayed out there while she cleaned, even while she cleaned the windows and sliding doors on the verandah side. When she was done she said goodbye and left. Out of habit she closed AND LOCKED the sliding door…while DH was still on the verandah. Of course DH did not realize this at first and it wasn’t until he went to get ready for Tea that he found he couldn’t get into the room! Luckily DD came back a few minutes later and let him in! I debated joking with Elsie about it but thought she might be embarrassed so I didn’t say anything. It’s a great story though!

As we ate, I mentioned to DH that I didn’t want to rush but I hoped we’d get out of tea in time to get to Bingo, explaining that I had bought a card. I also told him about the "Making of the Magic" photos that I had seen and said I'd like him to take a look at them. We had a nice, leisurely tea but were done just before 3:45, otherwise known as Bingo time. I ran off to the Walt Disney Theater while DH waited to sign the slip, promising to meet me at Bingo in a few minutes.

I got to the WDT just before the game started and took a seat in the back so DH could find me. The game started and DH arrived a few minutes later. I let him play the first game while I took the “checker” role…you know, the person who checks the card to make sure the player got everything right. Well…we didn’t win. Have mentioned that I never win anything? We then played the second game. This time I was the player while DH was the checker. Could my luck change? Nope. …sigh… Then it was time for game 3. DH and I switched roles again. Perhaps he would be lucky? Um…nope. …double sigh… We have played Bingo on every single DCL cruise and never won. Why do we keep playing?

Next it was time for the final game. DH handed me the card, the game started and he said he’d be right back. I was so busy listening to the numbers being called that I wasn’t really sure where he was going, but I kept my focus where it should be…on the game. Numbers were called, cards were punched and folded and more numbers were called. I had no checker to make sure that I was doing everything right but I felt confident that I had punched and folded each number called. A few minutes later DH returned with a receipt in his hand. My non-romantic, “I-can-never-think-of-a-good-gift” husband had gone to Treasure Ketch and bought the framed photos of the Making of the Magic for me! I was so excited that I wanted to jump up and hug him…but I didn’t. After all, there were thousands of dollars at stake! I did, however, make sure to tell him, over and over, how much I loved what he had done for me. An extra bonus was that the print was going to be shipped directly to our house at no extra cost so we didn't have to worry about getting it home!

So, the game continued. Numbers were called, cards were punched and folded, yada yada yada. All too soon a gentleman stood up. Uh oh! That means he just needs one more number! Nooooooo. Bingo Queen Bailey asked him what column his needed-number was in and he said it was a B. Oh no! The next number was a B! Everybody held their breath…but it wasn’t his number. ...breathe, breathe... Then two more numbers were called and now there were three or four people standing. …sigh… When I looked at my card I realized that one of my boards needed only two numbers. That’s pretty good, right? The next number was called and it was one of those two numbers! OH MY GOSH I HAVE TO STAND UP!!!! I ONLY NEED ONE NUMBER!!!

My heart was beating out of my chest. I didn’t want to get excited. I wasn’t going to win. I NEVER win, remember? My needed-number was also in the B column so I was sure that if it was called I’d be sharing the pot with Stander #1 and possibly several other people. Bailey got the next number and announced that it was a B! BEAT BEAT BEAT, THUD THUD THUD. I was probably as close to a heart attack as I’ve ever been. Of course Bailey dragged the whole thing out saying “Beeeeeeeeeeeeee….pause…pause…pause…eleven! B 11? Did she say B 11? BINGO!!!!! Yup…I had Bingo. I looked around to see who else had a Bingo. There was NO ONE! It was just ME! And guess who came over to verify my card? My Cruise Staff Stalker, Natalie! She took my card, took me by the hand and led me to the stage. All the way down the stairs I kept saying “I am so scared it’s not a real Bingo!”.

They needed a guest to act as verifier. There was a bit of confusion getting someone to do this. A woman came with us onstage but Jenn, from Monday’s Ducky Williams chat had also came up to act as verifier. Since the other woman was closer to us Natalie chose her to verify. They went through all of the numbers that had not yet been called and none of them were on my card. It was a good Bingo! I HAD WON!!! When Bailey told me the jackpot total I nearly fell over. It was just over $5,000! Natalie gave me a huge hug, as did Jenn but I was still in a semi-dream state. My hands were actually shaking. Perhaps if I had more experience with winning things my body would know how to handle this kind of thing but it was at a loss as to what to do. I came off the stage and saw DH waiting there for me so I gave him a huge hug!

Natalie hugged me one more time and handed me off to Jay, the officer who was responsible for paying out the jackpot. He took us to the Guest Services Desk where we waited for him to get everything ready for us. Well, let me tell you, winning Bingo makes you somewhat of an instant celebrity onboard. For the next 15 minutes (and several more times over the next day and a half) I had people congratulating me on the win. It was a surreal experience.

While we were waiting I reminded DH of the agreement we had made. Remember? The deal was that I could book another cruise “if I won Bingo”. Never did DH believe that that would actually happen, but he was more than happy to hold his end of the bargain. A few minutes later Jay called us over to the GS desk and counted out 50 $100 bills, plus a few smaller ones. Unbelievable! Simply unbelievable! We thanked him and then I led DH directly to the Deck 4 re-booking desk. The CM (Leslie, I think) was just finishing up with a couple and we were next. We told her our story while we were looking over dates. DCL had just announced new itineraries for ’09 so we had a bit to look through. We chose the 1/3/09 Eastern to St. Croix and took care of the details. DH went back to the stateroom to get our driver’s licenses as they needed them for the booking, and then it hit me…the kids didn’t know! How was I going to tell the kids? DH returned saying that DD was upset that I hadn’t come back to curl her hair for Semi-Formal Night as promised. I figured she’d get over it when she knew where I had been instead.

We finished up with Leslie and headed back to the room. As I came through the door I acted completely frustrated with DD. I said, in my best angry tone, “Okay, okay, I know that I was supposed to curl you hair. I just figured that you’d be okay with me winning $5,000 instead!”. You should have seen the look on both her and DS’s face. I wish I had been videotaping it. As I said in my initial post, I have been known to tease my kids a bit and, at first, they didn’t know if I was telling the truth. They started to believe me when I opened the envelope and showed them the money though and then there was much screaming in Stateroom 6610! (Apologies to those in 6608 and 6612!) It was a fantastic moment!

We were running a bit late to dinner so I decided not to change. I went to semi-formal night in my capris and red shirt but it was all good! Nobody seemed to care and I was comfy! When we got to Lumiere’s we told Luis and Graham that we had rebooked and they were excited. When I told them why they were so happy and Graham asked us if we’d be ordering champagne that night! We told him we’d stick with the soft drinks that he had waiting instead. Luis asked when we were coming back and I told him. He quickly figured out that he would be traveling back to the ship that week and wouldn’t be onboard until the following sailing. Oh no! That’s not what we wanted to hear! We decided to see what we could do, date-wise, when we got home. DD will be in college at that point and we will need to go by her schedule.

Dinner was very good. DH and I had been in Palo on semi-formal night last week so this menu was new to us. I had the fruit cocktail appetizer and the lobster. Both were very good and the lobster was much better than I remember it from our last sailing. I am a born-and-raised New Englander and not much can compare with Maine lobster, but I can honestly say that this came close. The texture was a bit tougher but the flavor was wonderful. DD also had the lobster and agreed that it was delicious.

DH and DD at dinner...

For the 5th night in a row DD was refused a dessert menu. Luis brought her one of each, yet again. Actually...no...he didn't. He only brought her four tonight. As he delivered them he let DD know that since he didn't like the Lingonberry Cheese Pudding he was sure she wouldn't like it either so he didn't bring it. At this point I figured I’d have to have her blood sugar checked when we got home, , but she was a very happy girl. DH and I both had the Cherries Jubilee and DH had…big surprise coming…nothing!

After dessert we said goodnight to Luis and Graham and headed back to the room. I had asked DD to please come to Disney Dreams with us tonight as she had missed most of the shows during our two weeks onboard. She has seen most of the shows before but I just wanted her to see DD once more. DS had seen it the previous week so he was given the okay to head to Ocean Quest. On our way to the WDT DD, DH and I browsed in the shops and made a few last-minute purchases. I bought DD a gold-by-the-inch bracelet and a pretty ring that she liked; DH got a note cube for his desk; I got the Twice Charmed CD and DD bought her favorite dance teacher (and fellow Disney-lover) a Golden Mickey’s statue. DH ran the bags back to the room since we still had 35 minutes until showtime.

DD and I sat in the red chairs at Preludes and waited for DH to return. We chatted about the cruise and reminisced about some of the wonderful moments we’d had. It was nice to just sit and catch up with her. Just after DH returned it was time to go into the show. DD enjoyed watching the kids get excited each time Tinkerbell flew across the curtain and soon the show began. DD said later that she was really glad we had insisted that she come to the show and I was glad to share it with her.

After Disney Dreams DD headed off to Ocean Quest and DH & I headed back to the room. It had been an amazing, surreal, wonderful and exciting day and I was beat! I spent some time on the verandah and then watched a little bit of TV before going to sleep.

The seas today had been wonderfully smooth and it had been our best sea day ever!

 

[sandybobandy]

HOLY MOLY!!! Congrats on your huge bingo win!!!!

 

[CraftyMouse]

HOLY MOLY!!! Congrats on your huge bingo win!!!!

Can you believe it??? I certainly couldn't! I think that's probably it for the rest of my life. My luck was used up in one, great big shot!

 

[Babs417]

WOW $5000

 

[Perdie]

I just spent the last 2 hours catching up on your trip and I loved reading every minute of it!! My husband and I are going on the feb 2nd eastern cruise for my 30th birthday and my husband's 32nd and the trip can't come soon enough!!
Sounds like you had a great time-thanks for all the details and great story telling-I felt like I was there!! : )

I hope to go on back to back one day too! The only DCl we have been on was this summer in the Med so I am looking forward to seeing what is different on the caribbean cruises!

Thanks for sharing!

 

[CraftyMouse]

I just spent the last 2 hours catching up on your trip and I loved reading every minute of it!! My husband and I are going on the feb 2nd eastern cruise for my 30th birthday and my husband's 32nd and the trip can't come soon enough!!
Sounds like you had a great time-thanks for all the details and great story telling-I felt like I was there!! : )

I hope to go on back to back one day too! The only DCl we have been on was this summer in the Med so I am looking forward to seeing what is different on the caribbean cruises!

Thanks for sharing!

Have a great time on the Eastern! I'm sure you will love it. We would have loved to do one of the Med cruises last summer but it just didn't work out. We're really looking forward to the Panama Canal crossing next August though. DCL is addicting, isn't it!

 

[LivingtheWDWdream]

I just caught up and what a great sea day!! Congrats on winning BINGO!!!!

So sad that this report is getting closer to the end

 

[CraftyMouse]

I just caught up and what a great sea day!! Congrats on winning BINGO!!!!

So sad that this report is getting closer to the end

Thanks!

And I feel the same way. I am procrastinating on writing the last part as then it will be over...again!

 

[GreenAcres]

CraftyMouse, GREAT trip report. I'm really enjoying it for a number of reasons. The first is that we're leaving for our 7-day Western on Saturday and reading about your trip is getting me even more excited (I wouldn't have thought that possible). Another reason is that I have a DD17 who's also a dancer and a DS12 (who knows just how to push her buttons).

My DD is a senior this year, so I'm right there with you in getting future vacations scheduled around college. Not too many people I know understand what it's like to parent a dedicated dancer (one of her favorite tee shirts says, "I can't.....I have dance"). We've had to schedule all our vacations around rehearsals, performances, competitions, football season, etc. DD dances 7-days a week for most of the school year. Maybe vacation scheduling around college will be easier?

You're doing a fantastic job of making me feel like I'm right there....and I'm totally jealous about the bingo win! I'd rebook too if I were you.

Lisa

 

[podsnel]

Now you can stop saying, "I never win"- because now you do!!! WOO-HOO for you! I would absolutely have been shaking and worried I had made a mistake on the walk up to the stage, too!! What a great day at sea.

I also wanted to tell you how wonderful it is that your kids enjoy each their dinner together- what a nice family you have!

 

[CraftyMouse]

Chapter 16 – Castaway Cay, Take 2

DH and I woke up this morning knowing it was the last real day of our vacation. It had all gone by so quickly. We got ready and headed to Topsiders for breakfast. At the door we found Graham who was on hand-wipe distribution duty. We chatted with him for a minute or two and found that he had the afternoon off and was also hoping to enjoy the island.

I had my usual Topsiders breakfast…fruit, scrambled eggs, one hash brown patty and a cinnamon roll. Actually I had to go hunting for a cinnamon roll. They weren’t in their usual place, warming in the tray on the smaller buffet that has the milk & cereal, so at first I thought they weren’t available. I found two by the doughnuts but restrained myself and only took one. After all, there was probably some other cinnamon-roll-loving passenger who was frantically searching for his/her own fix and I didn’t want to deprive him or her.

We sat inside today as it was fairly windy on the back deck. Luis wasn’t there today so, when we were done, we had to gather DD’s breakfast on our own. Reality was already setting in! We agreed to meet up at the front doors and DH went off to get DD's Rice Krispies and some strawberries for both kids while I grabbed a couple of croissants for DS. I got to the front door first so I spent a few more minutes chatting with Graham. I asked him how the hand-wipe distribution duties were going and he responded that his thumb and first finger had never been so clean in his life!

DH soon arrived and we headed back to the room. From the verandah we could see that we were almost docked.

DH was going to be our advance scout, yet again, while I got the kids up and moving. DH headed off at 9:00 and the kids and I followed about 30 minutes later. I had made DD get up and get ready so she could disembark with DS and I. I wanted to get some photos of the two kids on the island this week. Last week, between the rain and DD’s anxiousness to get to the Teen Beach, I hadn’t gotten any pictures of her. It was like she wasn’t even with us! I vowed that this week would be different.

We disembarked, grabbed some towels and headed off for some photo ops.

The first one was with Donald by the tree...

followed quickly by a photo of the kids with the ship.

Next we walked the path to the Family Beach where we found Capt. Jack Sparrow...

Minnie...

and Pluto...

I thought that this would be enough proof that DD had actually been on the island so I let her head off to the Teen Beach. DS and I quickly found DH as he was in the exact same spot as the week before. I plopped myself down in what I was beginning to think of as “My Hammock” and was very happy.

DS decided to go out to the water jungle gym before it was closed because of low tide. I headed to get my snorkel gear as I wanted to get to the snorkel trail early. We had booked two packages that included snorkel gear, floats and bike rentals so I just showed my ticket and got my gear. I snorkeled for about 30 minutes and saw everything except what I wanted to see most…the sunken Mickey. I decided I’d go back that afternoon to see if I could find him.

I returned to our area to find DS donning his snorkel gear. When he saw me coming he got emotional and said he thought we were going to snorkel together. Ooops! I hadn’t realized that he wanted to snorkel together. I figured I’d go early and then he and DH could go together. I explained all of this to him but he was sad and I felt terrible. DH finally convinced DS to go snorkeling with him and the two of them went off while My Hammock and I got reacquainted. There is nothing as good as sitting in a hammock on Castaway Cay. Nothing.

When the boys returned DS joined me in the hammock until it was time for lunch. As I mentioned before, DS absolutely loves the buffet at Cookie’s and he was excited to go again today. DH wasn’t quite ready so we went to get ours without him. We knew that Luis was working part of the lunch shift (leaving early to do more lifeboat training) so we looked for him but didn’t see him. We got our trays from Cookie’s and brought them back to the beach. I love sitting on the beach to eat lunch. It’s so much more relaxing than eating at the picnic tables…at least to me. DH went up a few minutes later. When he returned he said he had seen Luis and that he bet I’d never guess what Luis asked him. Ummmm…let’s see…”Where’s Katharine?” Yup. He had wanted to know where DD was.

Lunch was wonderful and we savored it as we knew it was our last Cookie’s meal for a while. After we ate we returned our trays and DS went in search of some sliced watermelon. He met us back at our spot saying that he, too, had seen Luis and that Luis had asked him where DD was. Well, it was quite clear by now that Luis was fond of DD. I don’t want to give anybody the wrong impression though. His attention was never inappropriate or over the line. He just enjoyed spoiling her and treated her like a princess. They had a really fantastic bond and it was all good.

After lunch I asked DS if he’d like to go snorkeling again but he declined. Instead we got our tubes and headed for the water. We spent about a half an hour bobbing in the waves on our tubes and having a good time. We then returned to our spot and he and DH went off to rent bikes and explore the island a bit. I believe their plans also included a stop at the Grouper Game Pavilion for a few rounds of ping pong. While they went on their adventure My Hammock and I spent some quality time together.

On their bike ride they visited the observation tower...

View of the Magic from the tower...

I was just starting to debate heading back to the ship without the guys when they returned. We gathered our things and headed off, stopping at She Sells Sea Shells on the way. I bought a few postcards and then DH and I stopped at the post office so I could write them out and mail them while DS headed back to the ship. DH and I mailed the cards, stopped for a cookie and some eggnog and then we boarded the Magic for the last time.

As we were boarding we noticed a banana boat going out. It was just about 2:30 and that was DD’s time for her teen banana boat ride so we rushed back to the room to see if we could see her from the balcony. We saw a banana boat way out by the teen beach and thought that was probably them. Then a second banana boat sped by us and we realized that that was them! Ack! I still managed to get a couple of pictures, but they are not as good as they would have been if I’d really been paying attention.

We all showered and got ready for dinner. I packed up most of our things so that I wouldn’t have to do it later. At 4:00 I started to wonder where DD was. I wasn’t really concerned but the mom-thing kicked in. She finally arrived at the room at 4:30 and I was glad to see her. She had had a fantastic time on the teen beach and had enjoyed her second banana boat ride. She headed to the shower while I continued packing. At 5:00 we sailed away from Castaway Cay …sniff… but knowing we were booked for another cruise made it a bit easier.

Our last dinner was at Animator’s Palate. On the way I stopped at Shutters to pick up the photos I had ordered. They were of the kids with Luis, Graham and Flori plus two of DD and her little friend, Tessa. I sorted them out and put them in envelopes I had prepared. When I got to dinner I gave Luis and Graham each an envelope telling that it wasn’t their tips as we’d give them those the next day. We then sat down to our last dinner with our fantastic serving team. They were a bit frazzled tonight as one of their late seating families had been seated at a table across the dining room and they had to keep going over there to serve them. While I think it is great that DCL tries to accommodate guests at a more convenient time for them (when possible) and provide their same serving team, it definitely put a strain on them to have to serve tables on both sides of the restaurant. They handled it very professionally, but you could tell that they were working hard to make everyone happy.

I remember almost all of what everyone had tonight. We all had the garlic mushrooms and then the kids and I had the beef while DH had the salmon. He almost ordered the beef but then decided to be different. I know that he also had soup but don’t remember what kind. Dinner was great, although I don’t care for the William Potatoes (shaped like a pear) that they serve with this entrée. Other than that all was yummy! DD had to be at Rockin’ Bar D by 7:00 for her talent show but Luis was aware of this so he brought her her personal dessert buffet a bit early. This was it…the last one…the last time that Luis would be showering her with desserts. She thanked him, enjoyed every one of them and then ran back to the stateroom to change.

DH, DS and I stayed for the parade of flags and cheered loudly for both Luis and Graham. When they returned to the table we thanked them for two weeks of wonderful dinners. DH had run back to the room to get our remaining, unopened bottle of wine and we gave it to them, hoping they could use it to unwind after a stressful evening. We then headed off to Rockin’ Bar D to see DD dance but took a quick detour to visit Deck 4 and gaze at the sea.

When we got to RBD DD wasn’t there. Dave (the RBD host) called her name a couple of times so DH let him know that she was coming but was running late. She showed up a few minutes later and all was well. There were more acts tonight, including a man who had written songs for each of his sons. DD had a lot of fun and again received a goody bag for her efforts. This time it had a Sing-Along-Songs DVD in it. While DD is a bit beyond Sing-Along-Songs she decided that she could take it with her when she goes babysitting so she was happy.

After the Talent Show we headed to Deck 2 to deliver Flori’s picture. She wasn’t there so we left it propped on her cart and told Fernando about it. He thanked us again for the tin of Hershey’s Kisses we had given them, saying he had been enjoying them all week. Next we stopped in the Atrium so I could take a picture I had wanted to take since Day #1...

...and then we delivered Tessa’s pictures to her room, leaving them on her fish when our knock went unanswered. The kids then headed off to their clubs for the evening while DH headed to the theater to see Ratatoille one more time. I headed to the room to pack up the last of our things. I had planned to go to the Farewell Variety Show but instead found myself enjoying the quiet of our stateroom and verandah for an hour or so.

I managed to get everything packed and into the hallway by 9:30 and then went for a last walk around the ship. I walked all the way forward and took the elevator to Deck 9. As I emerged from the elevator a woman stopped me and asked me if I had won Bingo the day before. She was also from CT and we chatted for a few minutes. I then continued my walk. I strolled along Deck 9, grabbed a soda from the drink station and then headed back to the room.

I fell asleep on DS’s lower bunk and didn’t wake up when DH got back from the movie. I also didn’t wake up when DS returned from OQ so he ended up sleeping with DH tonight. DD came in sometime in the wee hours but I didn’t wake up then either. And so ended our last night of our wonderful vacation.

 

[LivingtheWDWdream]

What a great last day at Castaway Cay!

So sad that its all over

Thank you for sharing it!

 

[CraftyMouse]

Chapter 17 – Now It’s Time to Say Goodbye

Breakfast this morning was at 6:30 at Animator’s Palate. We arrived to a bowl of Rice Krispies waiting at DD’s place. …sigh… How was she going to function without Luis? Both Luis and Graham thanked me for the photos that I had given them. I then gave them their tips and thanked them, again, for making our vacation wonderful.

DD was wearing her special Autograph Jeans today. They are a pair of jeans that she had the Disney characters autograph when we went to WDW in ’06. I then embroidered over the signatures to make them more permanent. She loves this pair of jeans and is very careful about which characters sign the small amount of remaining space. It became clear how special Luis and Graham had been to her when she pulled out a pen and asked them both to sign her jeans. I don’t think they had ever been asked to sign someone’s pants before, but they seemed flattered. I asked them what their favorite colors are so I could use them for the embroidery. (DD now has a bright yellow “Luis” and a red “Graham” (because Graham’s favorite football team…soccer to those of us in the US…wears red) stitched on her pants.)

Breakfast was a sad affair. We were so sad to be leaving, even though a small part of us was ready to go home. We each finally took a deep breath, pushed away from the table and prepared to leave. I took one last picture of the kids with Graham and then we went to find Luis.

He was standing in the entryway and didn’t seem his usual, cheerful self. I had noticed that his large table (10 guests) hadn’t shown up for breakfast and I was hoping that they hadn’t left without tipping. I asked him where I should leave the kids, since they’d be moving in with him, but we all knew that it couldn’t be. I took one last picture of him with the kids, promised him we'd try to change our dates to come back when he'd be onboard and said goodbye.

We headed to the Atrium and waited for the all clear to disembark. We were let off at 7:45am and we quickly grabbed a porter to help with our luggage. Fifteen minutes later we were through Customs and waiting on the curb for the Thrifty van. Our porter had suggested that we all take the shuttle to Thrifty and I had agreed, even though that hadn’t been the plan. I had been planning to go to Thrifty alone and then return for the family and luggage. Well, while all of the other car rental companies seemed to have several vans running, Thrifty only had one. When it arrived I realized that we weren’t going to get on this shuttle with all of our luggage so I reverted to Plan A and hopped on alone to go rent the car. Soon after I pulled back into the port, we loaded everything up and we said goodbye to the Magic…for now.

We drove to WDW where we had lunch. We also stopped at the Character Premiere outlet where I was able to get a DVC member Watch (originally $125) for $47.99! Then it was on to the Tampa airport and our flight home.

I have to say, I will gladly fly into Tampa again. We arrived to find a nearly empty airport, no lines for either check-in or security and a beautiful terminal. I had originally booked flights through Tampa as they were considerably cheaper than flying into Orlando, but I’ve become a true TPA fan!

Our flight home was bumpy, bumpy, bumpy! There was turbulence from Florida to Charlotte and we hoped we’d have a better ride on the second leg. Our gate-location luck did not hold out this time and we had to go from the far end of Terminal B to the far end of Terminal C. We made it just as they were starting boarding for our second flight and, literally, walked off of one plane and right on to the other. The turbulence continued all the way to Rhode Island but we landed early in Providence. Let me tell you, it was like Instant Christmas. There was snow and twinkly lights and it was COLD but we would be able to keep warm with the memories of our two weeks on the beautiful Disney Magic.

So if you’ve read this far, thanks for coming along for the ride. I’ve enjoyed reliving our trip and hope that you’ve enjoyed hearing about it. I will write one more “This and That” chapter and then it’s on to planning for our next one.

Oh, about the next one…once we arrived home we determined that we could switch our cruise from the 1/3 Eastern to the 1/10 Western as it fit into DD’s college calendar. I made the switch and then visions of the Panama Canal shoved their way into my brain. On the DCL website I saw that there was availability for the Western PC cruise but not the Eastern. We have a scheduling conflict with the Western PC so we couldn’t do that but I decided to keep checking for the Eastern PC. A few days later a Cat. 11 opened up so we grabbed it, canceling the 1/10 cruise. I was able to get the 10% discount and stateroom credit and I’m thrilled to say that we’ll be sailing through the Panama Canal next August. We’ve written to Graham and Luis to let them know we’ll be back and hope we can have them as our serving team again.

 

[CraftyMouse]

Ooops...double post.

 

[LivingtheWDWdream]

A great finish and how cool that you'll be on the EB Repo! Unfortunately I'm on the WB Repo so at least I can bring it out and you can bring it back LOL!

Thank you for sharing your adventures with us!

 

[nanatink]

My husband and I saw you many times on the ship. We didn't know you were craftymouse. We were there when your wife was on stage with that wonderful bingo win she won. Congraulations to you and your family. We were only one away when she won. We didn't win this time but we will try again on the Panama West and 09 St. Croix. Wish me luck.

I enjoyed your trip report very much. Thanks for taking your time and helping us relive our cruise. The pictures were beautiful as well as your family. Hope to see you and your family on other future Disney cruises.

 

[gossipgirl]

Craftymouse this is the best trip report.

 

[fairfax]

I agree, this trip report was wonderful. I have completely enjoyed reading it. Wonderful pictures, too! Thank you for sharing this with us all.

 

[glindamood]

I have totally enjoyed your TR - the house is a mess, dishes are not done, no lunch yet but I am very satisfied indeed. What a grand time you had and thank you very much for sharing with all of us.