Our greyhound is faster than your ship- 10/25/08 Double Dip-4/09, The Home Stretch!

[PaDisneyCouple]

(Curtain slowly rises)

The Cast:

, Disney fan, created by DW. Keeper of notes, receipts, and the "Master File"

, she who is my wife. Alway curious, especially when presented with a new path.

, Max. A recent addition to the cast (5/08). A retired racing greyhound. Over 130 races. Loves to be loved. Now, only runs when he wants to.

DGM & DGF: My parents. Entrusted with caring for our little cherub while we're away. (I think the 3 of them had as much fun as we did). Max intently watched them leave this morning.


Booked this cruise the first week of 2/07. We'd already made plans for the 2007 Halloween cruise, but couldn't resist the thought of 2 stops at CC. Normally, we've sailed in room 5632, a cat 7. For this cruise, we decided to try a cat 6 on deck 6: 6624.

Now, those 2 stops would really come in handy after the 2007 cruise: our CC day was ruined by Noel, and we were diverted to Nassau. That had its own positives (seeing the crew so happy) and negatives (it in no way resembles CC). We were so glad we'd booked this double dip.

Over the course of the next 18+ months, we met so many nice DISers over on the Halloween on the High Seas cruise meets thread. To attempt to name them all would run the risk of forgetting someone (due to my meds- I've returned home with quite a nice head cold). AGreyGirl even set up a web site for us, complete with chat forum. Regular chat nights were Thursday and Saturday, with Mondays added later (along with any time folks just wanted to stop by). Some of our 2007 cruise friends were rebooked for this cruise, also. Many changed their plans, as things can (and do) come up. In the end, JNS and 101DalmationFan were the only returnees with us.

As I mentioned before, I returned home with a head cold. I believe it started last Wednesday (on the cruise). It did effect our experience somewhat, but we still had a great time. The sensations in my head as we took off from MCO were quite weird. As a result, I can't guarantee that I'll be super fast in getting this completed. I'll try.

Added bonus: got a call Saturday am as we pulled into PC from DGF- no hot water at home. Kept lighting the burner with a butane BBQ lighter until today, then called the plumber. Now, it appears to be fixed.

 

[PaDisneyCouple]

We booked our flights out of BWI with Southwest. The prices are too good to ignore, and there are about 9 non-stops a day to MCO.

For parking, once again used Airport FastPark. $6.40 a day with coupon, or if a member of the frequent parker club. We fly about once a year, but all you have to do to join the frequent club is park 1 day a year there, so it works for us. After 7 (I think) paid days, you can redeem for 1 day free, which we did this year.

Upon arrival at BWI, we noticed that the security lines snaked fairly far up the concourse. This meant no use of the restrooms for me, as we had no idea how long the lines would take. Southwest check-in was a breeze, and we were now at the end of the security line. I must say, it moved quite fast. DW timed us at just over 15 minutes from joining the line to being cleared by security. Much faster than I expected, given how long the lines looked.

Our plan, given our 16:15 flight time, was to eat dinner at BWI. But, still full of sushi from lunch, we decided upon a strawberry smoothie instead. This change in plans would later be a decision we would regret. <cue dramatic music>

Now, I like to know things. Like: our equipment (plane) was due in from Hartford about 40 minutes prior to our departure. I'd checked a few days before, and felt I knew what gates we'd be at for both BWI and MCO. Checked the Hartford forecast that morning, to see if it would effect us. On our way out to the gate, I noticed a flight info board. Here, I noticed that the Hartford flight would be arriving a few minutes late. No problems...yet.

Each time I went to stretch my legs, I'd check one of those boards. Once, the delay in arrival changed during the time it took me to use the restroom. If I hadn't washed my hands for 30 seconds... It was apparent that Southwest would attempt to use the time between arrival and our departure as a buffer to make up time. If the Hartford flight was 45 minutes late, we were now 30 minutes late.

I think it was around 3:45pm that Southwest announced that our flight would be delayed until 4:55. Problem was (and they made note of), at 4:55, there was still no Hartford flight at the gate. In the end, it was around 5:50 before we were getting pushed back from the gate. We arrived at MCO after 8pm. And, we'd had no dinner (told you we'd regret that decision). Snagged our bags at baggage claim, and were glad we'd decided to stay at the Hyatt in the Orlando airport. (in past cruise years, we'd stayed at AKL the night before the cruise).

Lessons learned:
1. this was the first time we'd intentionally flown late in the day in a while. DW had to work half a day on Friday. Next time, I see us both taking that Friday off.
2. there are a number of business travelers on a late afternoon Friday Southwest flight, even to Orlando. I checked us in seconds after 24 hours out. We were numbers A-49 and A-50.
3. they pretty much roll up the sidewalks at MCO after 8pm. Never seen it so empty. This will be described further post, likely title, "PaDC's quest for food".

 

[LovableGluttons]

We booked our flights out of BWI with Southwest. The prices are too good to ignore, and there are about 9 non-stops a day to MCO.

For parking, once again used Airport FastPark. $6.40 a day with coupon, or if a member of the frequent parker club. We fly about once a year, but all you have to do to join the frequent club is park 1 day a year there, so it works for us. After 7 (I think) paid days, you can redeem for 1 day free, which we did this year.

Upon arrival at BWI, we noticed that the security lines snaked fairly far up the concourse. This meant no use of the restrooms for me, as we had no idea how long the lines would take. Southwest check-in was a breeze, and we were now at the end of the security line. I must say, it moved quite fast. DW timed us at just over 15 minutes from joining the line to being cleared by security. Much faster than I expected, given how long the lines looked.

Our plan, given our 16:15 flight time, was to eat dinner at BWI. But, still full of sushi from lunch, we decided upon a strawberry smoothie instead. This change in plans would later be a decision we would regret. <cue dramatic music>

Now, I like to know things. Like: our equipment (plane) was due in from Hartford about 40 minutes prior to our departure. I'd checked a few days before, and felt I knew what gates we'd be at for both BWI and MCO. Checked the Hartford forecast that morning, to see if it would effect us. On our way out to the gate, I noticed a flight info board. Here, I noticed that the Hartford flight would be arriving a few minutes late. No problems...yet.

Each time I went to stretch my legs, I'd check one of those boards. Once, the delay in arrival changed during the time it took me to use the restroom. If I hadn't washed my hands for 30 seconds... It was apparent that Southwest would attempt to use the time between arrival and our departure as a buffer to make up time. If the Hartford flight was 45 minutes late, we were now 30 minutes late.

I think it was around 3:45pm that Southwest announced that our flight would be delayed until 4:55. Problem was (and they made note of), at 4:55, there was still no Hartford flight at the gate. In the end, it was around 5:50 before we were getting pushed back from the gate. We arrived at MCO after 8pm. And, we'd had no dinner (told you we'd regret that decision). Snagged our bags at baggage claim, and were glad we'd decided to stay at the Hyatt in the Orlando airport. (in past cruise years, we'd stayed at AKL the night before the cruise).

Lessons learned:
1. this was the first time we'd intentionally flown late in the day in a while. DW had to work half a day on Friday. Next time, I see us both taking that Friday off.
2. there are a number of business travelers on a late afternoon Friday Southwest flight, even to Orlando. I checked us in seconds after 24 hours out. We were numbers A-49 and A-50.
3. they pretty much roll up the sidewalks at MCO after 8pm. Never seen it so empty. This will be described further post, likely title, "PaDC's quest for food".

It was such a pleasure to meet you and Christine, Sean.


I agree..... take the day before the cruise off..... all of it!


Can I be the first to nag for more? LOL


Say hi to Max from the Gluttons

 

[praisehisname]

I'm looking forward to hearing your perspective of the trip. My family and I were thrilled, but it seems others were not.

It was great to meet you guys, too!

Denise

 

[PaDisneyCouple]

So, Max left for upstate NY with DGM and DGF. He watched intently as each took their turns at the rest stop. And, he went right in the front door when they arrived at their home. Chris and I were worried that Max wouldn't eat, or sulk, not be himself because he missed us. Upon arriving at our hotel room (around 8:40), we found a message from them on my phone. So, I called them, and we found out that he ate his entire dinner of 1.5 cups food, fish oil capsule, peas/carrots, and vanilla yogurt in under 2 minutes. Yep, he was really missing us- normally, he's done in just over a minute! Poor little thing just wasn't himself at all.
We talked with them Saturday morning, after brunch. Max had given them a bit of a show already that morning. Dad said he was walking around the back yard with Max when suddenly: ZOOM! Max just took off running at/near top speed around the back yard. Zig-zag. Buzz the tower, full stop. And then it was over. This is something we call "crazy running" when we see it at home. Further proof that he was perfectly comfortable and at-ease.

 

[PaDisneyCouple]

I'm looking forward to hearing your perspective of the trip. My family and I were thrilled, but it seems others were not.

It was great to meet you guys, too!

Denise

Denise,
Yes, seeing that some had a different experience than we felt we did. Later, we'll compare/contrast this year's Halloween 7 night cruise with last years.

 

[PaDisneyCouple]

For our 2 other cruises, we stayed at AKL the night before. With our planned late arrival (which became a much later arrival), we chose the MCO Hyatt instead this year. I booked us at the AAA promo rate, and didn't try the Priceline/Hotwire game. I'd love to get one of those really low prices, but just didn't feel lucky enough to try.

Check-in: We didn't use the bellman getting our luggage service, since we knew we'd recognize our bags right away. It was a short trek from baggage pickup to the elevator. Take the elevator (or escalator) up from the main terminal level to the check-in area at the Hyatt. A very helpful bellman met us as we exited the elevator, and placed our luggage onto a cart. Correctly deducing that we were on a DCL cruise (DW's Disney shirt and our arrival time probably gave it away), he directed us to the self-checkin kiosk, as the one desk worker was busy. Self-checkin was easy and efficient. Next, he guided us to our room, #8021. They're doing some renovating in that section, so with the new carpet we also had some signs of construction. Our room overlooked what appeared to be the dropoff zone for departing passengers. There were runways and terminals to our left and right. I returned the call to my parents, and then called suziemva, one of our DIS friends. There were plans for a mini-meet that evening, but it was now pushing 9pm, and we still hadn't eaten dinner. Suzie reported how everyone was there, but all had flight issues that day, and were turning in instead of meeting.

We went back down to the airport concourse, to find them pretty much rolling up the sidewalks. I mean it: all the stores were closed/closing. In the food court, only McD's, Sbarro, and I think one other place were open. We walked by Macaroni Grill, to find that they also closed at 9. So, to Mickey D's we went. We shared a small french fry, I got a milk, and Christine got some sort of soda. It was enough to take the edge off to sleep. We thought about the Hyatt restaurants, but didn't want to spend a lot of time eating. We thought more options would still be open on the concourse.

Saturday morning came quickly, and Christine commented on how quiet the room was, "if I didn't know that we were in an airport, I wouldn't be able to guess it. This room is so quiet." In need of sustinence, we decided to try one of the Hyatt restaurants: Hemisphere.

But first, we'd received the bill under the door in the night. I didn't know what checkout involved, so I telephoned the desk. They provided excellent customer service, walking me through the video checkout process. Never done that before. Also, at this time, I'd like to mention that the room was rather spacious (at least the size of a room at BC or AKL), clean, and functional. The AC did come on with a loud "click", which could rouse a light sleeper.

Now, back to food. You can order off the menu at Hemisphere for breakfast, or get the buffet. We figured we'd see our share of buffets on the Magic, so we ordered off the menu. Christine had French toast, with, I believe, orange zest. I had scrambled eggs, bacon, toast, and redskin potatoes. It came with a tomato and some asparagus. It was a quick and tasty breakfast. I did find the OJ to be a bit on the pulpy side, though.

We used Happy Limo for our transfers. Just take the Hyatt elevators to level 1, and go straight out to valet parking. Robert showed up with a Lincoln at 10am, as requested, and we were on our way to the port.

 

[PaDisneyCouple]

We'd do the Hyatt again. It was a nice place to stay, and with our flight delays, better than having to get somewhere from the airport after our arrival.

They provided good service, as mentioned: the bellman at checkin, and the front desk by phone at checkout.

Even not knowing where valet parking was, it was very easy to get to. Nothing to be stressed about.

 

[wilma-bride]

Great start to your trippy - looking forward to more.

 

[PaDisneyCouple]

The trip to the port was no problem. We did pass through some heavy showers, but Robert slowed down for safety. He didn't have another pickup for hours, and we felt no need to push the pace. Just a nice ride to the port.

Christine met a fellow NJ cast member at the outside checkin. They had a pleasant talk for a few minutes, then we headed to the terminal. We fell into the security line directly behind Newfie Mom. As we got introduced, someone ahead in the line heard us discussing the DIS, and called to us, "I just found the DIS and your thread about a week ago, and read the whole thing. Thank you all, its been very helpful". Now through security, we struggled to contain ourselves as we climbed the stairs to the main concourse. At the top, we took a track to the left, and were presented with checkin boarding number 8. I think last year we were a 5, but we were there, and the ship wasn't going anywhere anytime soon. The wait in the checkin line was short, and our checkin cast member was very efficient. I suppose it helped that I pulled out the fabled Master File, and immediately whipped out all the appropriately signed paperwork. He then scanned our passports, and presented us with our KTTW and CC lanyards. I'm not kidding when I say that our entire experience with him lasted 3 minutes, 4 tops. As a point of reference: last year's CM was, I believe, earning their ears. And, the KTTW machine at their station wasn't working correctly. First the wrong names, then double printing.

With just under an hour to kill, we looked for a place to sit. The terminal was already quite crowded. One reason for this was the fact that it had started to rain. This issue would effect things slightly for us later in the day. We established base camp over in the last row of seats by the restrooms. I don't know why I didn't look right away (probably due to the efficiency), but suddenly I thought to look at my KTTW for the dining rotation. It was, PLLAAPL. Doing some quick projecting, and a check of the Master File, and I deduced that we might be in Animators for the show night when our Palo dinner was. This was our 3rd cruise, and we'd yet to see the Animators show dinner. There was some sadness at this possibility, but we were willing to roll with it.

DW next directed me to venture forth, and find DIS friends, which I did. LovableGluttons, HelenSB, TotallyAngelic, Disney4Dana, Suziemva, and more. Dana and her family were handing out the group lanyards and name cards that some had purchased. It had a nice copy of the DISers cruise logo on it, with the DIS screen name, and actual person's name. We didn't go in on them, and regretted it. 1- real nice job of workmanship 2- the plastic card holder seemed more durable than the one DCL provided for our KTTW. I returned to Chris, and reported on my recon work. We used the facilities one last time, and set out together to meet all the DISers we could. DW suddenly began to tug on my shirt, "Look! Minnie Mouse is out for photos!" Over to that line we went, listening as more boarding groups were called. They were up to group 6 by the time we had our photo taken.

Soon, they were up to group 8, and it was our time. We skipped the embarkation photo again this year, due to scoring a Minnie photo moments before. This allowed us to pass dozens of people and get on board (to food!). They took our names, and what DCL cruise this was for us (#3), and then we were announced. I wondered that day, what must it be like for Inkkognito when she and her husband board..."On their 50+ DCL cruise!" Must bring things to a screetching halt in the deck 3 atrium.

Next up: eating, exploring, "is all this for us?", and the DIS meet.

 

[TotallyAngelic]

HI Sean and Christine

It was lovely to meet you both! I am enjoying your cruise report. Sorry to hear about your head cold. I bet Max was really pleased to see you home!

 

[alwayslisad]

Love the report - can't wait for another chapter

 

[NewfieMom]

Sean - it was great to meet you and Christine in the lineup - you were my first face-to-face disser! The t-shirts and lanyards were a great help connecting us all - the kids and even hubby got into the act -"look - there's another one of us!" as they spied the lanyards or shirts. Lots of people throughout the cruise asked me about either - I was very proud to explain about our group! And to have that lady comment about our thread - didn't know we were famous!

Despite my best intentions, our carryon bags weighed a ton again - and the terminal was PACKED! (Gotta love the rain that kept appearing throughout the week ) so we ended up sitting on the floor by the wall. Lucky you got seats!

Can't wait to read more!

 

[Disneygrl36]

Hi Sean & Christine

Love your title....very cute. I also love how we always think our dogs are going to miss us & they have a great time at the grandparents. Our Bella is the same way. Resilient things that what they are.

Great start here & I cannot wait to hear about all that I missed this year. I was thinking about all you lucky Halloween cruisers all week & wishing we were there again.

Seeing some negative posts about this cruise....... Glad it sounds like you had a different experience.

 

[jns]

Hi Sean & Christine

Great start to your report
Lovely to meet up with you both again onboard

sorry everytime I met you I meant to ask about Max but always forgot
think we were talking to much about the cruise
we too had a great time

 

[PaDisneyCouple]

Thanks to all for the replies. It is nice to hear from friends old, and new. I'll try to get another installment up soon, but continue to fight this darned cold. Currently, I can breathe, which is always nice. Just got this persistent tickle and lump in my throat. That, and I've been told at work that they like my new, deeper, voice.

has now skimmed my scribing, and told me that she approves.

 

[Eric Julie and Hailey]

Funny, we were also on that Magic sailing and all four of us caught a cold. Kids worse than adults (but, nothing serious).

 

[PaDisneyCouple]

After boarding, we proceeded directly to our traditional first stop on the ship: Parrot Cay. I think the reason is because we were directed there on our first cruise in 2005, and sometimes, we enjoy tradition. You'll recall that earlier, I mentioned the liquid sunshine currently being experienced in the PC area. This, of course effected lunching. The vast majority of the cruisers headed to Parrot Cay, just like us. The dining room was rather packed, and they stopped seating more with the group right before us. So, we waited about 10 minutes to get a table.

I believe our server for lunch was Toby, from Austraila. Very nice gentleman, and we saw him again several times during the cruise. We each enjoyed a tall glass of milk with our lunch. I was the first to join the herd, erh- line. Thought I'd scored big when I got to go down the left side of the buffet (a trick we've heard: when presented with a choice, go left- ours is a right-handed society). But, I would be wrong in this assumption. This is because I got freight trained by a family of 6-8, who decided to not wait in line like everyone else. Instead, they would leap-frog to gaps in the line, take what they wanted at that point, and hop again. This served to slow down everyone not participitating in this buffet game of Frogger. And, just like that video game of so long ago, Frogger doesn't always win...

Now, I want you to understand: I'm not mad at this point. Its vacation. I can't control how polite others are, only how I act and how I feel. I choose to enjoy my time off from work. So, someone had the misfortune to jump ahead of me as I approached the peel and eat shrimp station. This is not wise, as yours truly really lives for his shrimp. You see, the way the line was configured, the cocktail sauce was before the shrimp. <cue dramatic music> Frogger plants at the shrimp station, oblivious to the truck coming his way... I happen to note a conspicuous lack of cocktail sauce in the bowl on our side of the buffet. Remember where the sauce is. I start scraping all the little trails from the sides of the bowl down into the center. Taking great care to get it all. I like my cocktail sauce, I really do, but in reality there wasn't much left for me to gather. Frogger now turns- he's looking for something. What could it be? Frogger is now staring blankly down into the empty bowl of cocktail sauce. I'll just pop around here and plant in front of the shrimps, gather a few up, and be on my way thankyouverymuch. Last I saw Frogger, he was looking for a Cast Member, and waiting. By the time I return to the table, DW is ready to send out a search party. "But I saw you got to go down the left side of the line?" she asks. "I'll tell you a story later," was my response.

-surely the laundry must be ready for the dryer-

To be continued...

 

[PaDisneyCouple]

Our next stop was the Vista Spa and Salon. We had a Spa Villa reservation for Cozumel day, and we wanted to scout what it looked like. Also, as part of the Romantic Escape at Sea (REAS) package, we had length of cruise passes to the Tropical Rainforest Room. During our tour, we met Peter, one of the Fitness Instructors. Peter is about 68", all muscle, flexible, and extremely energetic. DW wasn't enamored with the instructors on last Halloween's cruise, and didn't want to book anything like personal training until she had the chance to meet this years team. Does Peter try to sell all the various products and services of the Spa- yes. I'm sure it is one of his duties. But, does Peter interact with the guests, enjoy what he does, and take an interest in the guests? Once again, yes. These positive attributes far outweigh any sales pitch that happens, in our opinions. I knew that this wouldn't be our only interaction with him.

It was now after 1:30. Time to meet our room! On both previous cruises, we'd been in 5632, a category 7. For this one, we decided to try a category 6. Room 6624 was to be our home away from home for the next week. We opened the door, and were immediately struck by sunlight. There is so much more light that comes into the stateroom from the cat 6 verandah versus the cat 7. And the bountiful harvest of booty to be found all throughout the stateroom! One of the first tasks of mine was to make sure it was all ours. Last year, someone elses excursion tickets found their way into our room, which I corrected. We did find a card for another room in our hallway that mentioned a $200 stateroom credit being on account already. I quickly got that into the fish outside the correct room.

Now, back to OUR booty:
Memory box with nautical theme from our TA: All Seasons Travel
2 White chocolate champagne flutes with chocolates inside them (REAS)
Bottle of Korbel Brut Champagne in a metal ice bucket. (REAS? The card didn't mention it, just said it was from DCL). I'd say 1 liter size.
2 White DCL robes with silver DCL logo embroidered on them (REAS)
Black soft-sided ice bucket with silver DCL logo embroidered on it
Excursion tickets
REAS letter with 8x10 free photo coupon from Shutters
REAS Romantic breakfast in bed selection card

The Castaway Club gift: CC logo on everything
Red mesh backpack-style bag
Writing pad with pen
Black and red tote bag holding everything. We both feel its nicer than the bag used last year
2 water bottles

CC gift evaluation:
The water bottles seemed to be of poor quality. And, we've got dozens at home already. I pried the foam koozie-like outer wrappers off, and we brought them home. Threw out the bottles. The red mesh backpack started to break our first day at CC. One of the grommets at the bottom pulled right out of the bag. We continued to use it until the last day, then threw it out. I should note that we didn't use the bag last year at all.

As we explored all this, and the room, our bags began to arrive. We commented how funny it was that they arrived over a 1 hour period at the room, when they all went into the same bin at the curb earlier that morning. But, the pace of delivery did give us a chance to open each as it arrived, and process things into the room drawers.

By now, it was almost 3pm: time for the DIS meet. This year, the group chose to meet in the Promenade Lounge on deck 3. Last year, we met at the Goofy pool. With NO offense to our 2007 group, we liked this location better. Why? Glad you asked. For starters- the intermittent rain of the day. The fact that we knew that everybody hanging out there was a DISer. Let's face it: Goofy Pool is a very public place. It became hard to tell who was with the group, and who wasn't. And, in 2007, it resulted in people starting to gravitate away from the group before you could meet them. This year's location gave a real sense of just how large our group was. We met so many DISers at the meet, and yet there were so many more we didn't get to. Before we knew it, Brent was announcing the muster stations drill, and it was time to go.

Attracted to our surprise Korbel, we decided to take in our departure from our verandah. I safely launched the cork into the shub, and the pouring began. The second thing we noticed about the verandah (after the sunshine) was the size. Or, our perception of it. I think the Passporter states that the deck 6 verandahs are about 6 inches deeper than those on deck 5. Ours didn't just seem deeper, it seemed much wider. We were already thinking of spurning cat 7 in the future for cat 6.


I must go now. Laundry, and Max needs some exercise. He's on his side right now, just behind me. I know the minute I get up, he'll be up. Until the next chapter, "Dinner with non-DISers"

 

[iu97alum]

Luv the TR! can't wait for more!