Our crew: Me(39), DH(40), DS(12), DS(10), DD(6)
This was our first cruise. I had researched using this discussion board. What I learned here helped us to choose what we thought our family would enjoy. In a nutshell, we had a fantastic time. Now for the much longer version:
We flew in the day before the cruise. We were greeted by a fabulous thunderstorm a real treat for southern Californians where we have no actual weather.
We rented a car from Budget. Can you say slow? Thankfully we had nowhere to be and the amount we paid in time, we saved in money and we spent on a couple of drinks on the Wonder.
We stayed at the Radisson one bedroom suite. It was more than adequate for our family. After a fine breakfast from the restaurant buffet we headed to the port.
Embarkation: from the moment we stepped into the Disney terminal, we were impressed. We quickly determined and stayed with the opinion that DCL has managed to maintain the level of excellence that the public expects from Disney.
The kids and I went on in while my husband returned the car. He reported that it went very smoothly. Check-in couldnt have been easier. I checked in with one of the many information people. He verified that my documents were in order then encouraged me to check-in while the lines were light. My husband just checked in when he got there. Smooth as silk.
On the ship: I guess we boarded around noon. Beautiful ship. We went to Parrot Cay for lunch. It was good.
While my husband took the kids to register in the clubs, I went to secure Palo Brunch reservations and the exotic rasul for hubby and me. A side note the day at sea was also my husbands 40th birthday. When we reserved the cruise, we actually hadnt realized this. Anyway, I wanted to make sure it was memorable but thats later.
Our room was ready so we changed into suits yes, I had them with us headed up to the pools and spent the afternoon splashing around.
We loved the room - 8566. My 12 year-old had made a sign for the door (these board ideas were great!) and was so proud to put it on the door. My husbands family had ordered all the birthday packages available, so the room was completely decorated with goodies and a cake waiting for us.
We had late seating so went to the early shows. This worked well for us as I don't think my daughter would have made it through the shows had it been the other way. In general, we were impressed with the shows; and that night, we enjoyed Hercules more than I had anticipated.
Our Room Host, Ed, was great. Besides doing such a nice decorating job, he left us various towel animals each night using the kids sunglasses and such. Very fun touch!
Nassau We started the day by walking to the Pirate Museum. Its only a couple blocks, but due to the humidity, felt like miles to the kids. (One good point to the humidity - no need to iron!) We really enjoyed the museum and then returned to the ship to get ready for our snorkeling excursion.
I had decided that we couldnt go to the Bahamas and not snorkel. I also had determined that 9:00 am EST was 6:00 am PT and too early to start a vacation, but I wanted a sailing experience as well. Yes, I want it all!! Since neither Disney excursion was fitting my criteria, I looked further and booked with Barefoot Sailing Excursions. What a wonderful afternoon! It ended up being our family and a couple from the Atlantis resort. It felt like we were on a friends sailboat for the afternoon. We sailed to a reef and snorkeled then sailed back. The captain only used the engine at to get out of and in to the slip. It was so peaceful , not fancy, but wonderfully peaceful.
That night's show was a juggler, which I might have skipped but I thought I had remembered someone on these boards saying how good he was. Well, we werent disappointed and my 10 year-old talked about that show for days literally!
Castaway Cay once again, exceeded our expectations. My daughter and 10-year-old son splashed in the family lagoon the entire day. My husband and eldest used our snorkel gear and followed the snorkel path. Probably the most fun part of the snorkel lagoon is all the stuff that Disney has sunk. They were quite pleased with themselves for finding everything, particularly the Nautilus. I splashed with the kids and enjoyed fabulous exotic drinks under an umbrella. I briefly snorkeled and did see a ray.
We returned to the ship commenting on just how wonderful the day had been.
We really enjoyed the Golden Mickeys probably my favorite show. It was good to be reminded of this companys beginnings.
Day at Sea and hubbys 40th We started the day with room service and cards from friends and family that I had snuck in the luggage. Its helpful to be the packer of the family.
The boys werent interested in what the lab was doing that day, so we gave them the run of the ship (directing them to stick together) and permission to charge $10 each for the arcade. We checked our daughter into the club, where they made Captain Hook cry like a baby and Peter Pan gave them high fives as they slid down the slide. Doesnt get much better than that!
Hubby and I went to Palo Brunch and enjoyed mimosas, good food, a beautiful view and uninterrupted adult conversation.
We returned to the room to discover our boys had come back to the room. They were beginning to watch TV, when we kicked them out (go investigate, go to Scoops, go to a movie, go anywhere) so we could take a nap, which we did.
Our exotic rasul was scheduled for that afternoon. Another side note: the spa listings have no description of the exotic rasul and when I booked it, the cm asked if I had read about it on the internet.
My husband isnt a massage person, but I knew hed enjoy this and he did for the 20 minutes before the pager went off! Our daughter wanted to be picked up from the club. I called the club to see if maybe I could convince her to hang out a bit longer no dice. Pick me up nooww. So we did. We had had such a great day and she really sounded done. No need to traumatize the child.
Our daughter wanted to go swimming in the Mickey pool and so up we went. She was sizing up the slide I could see the wheels turning- should I or shouldnt I when my eldest showed up. He took her up the slide, and for the rest of our time, she was up and down that slide. I love to see the kids overcome a fear and try something new.
Disney Dreams was the show and though good, I liked Golden Mickeys better. My daughter, on the other hand, LOVED this show. To be six and in love with Peter Pan!
We had a birthday cake for my hubby at dinner and tried to see the farewell show, but it had been a long day and my daughter who had fallen asleep during dinner really didnt care. The boys were equally ready to go back to the room. So we skipped that, threw our clothes into bags and called it a night.
Debarkation: As easy as everyone on this board has said.
Final thoughts: The cruise was Wonder-ful and we really did enjoy every minute. I didnt see any chair/hammock hogs or obnoxious kids. Maybe we were just in the right places at the right times, but what I saw primarily was families just having a great time together. The most fun was seeing the generations of families having a great time together. A lot of grandparents with grandkids dancing and playing and making those memories okay, now Im going to cry.
I honestly didn't think I'd want to buy any of the Shutters pictures - wrong. They really were good. We took advantage of most picture opportunities and ended up with some terrific ones. I even asked a photographer on Castaway Cay to take one of my kids building a sandcastle - fantastic picture!
I do agree with all who suggest that Disney add cubicles around the pools. There just isnt any place for stuff other than chairs. Also, my boys would have loved to have just hung out in the lab on sea day, but that group was doing things all over the ship so that wasnt an option. It would have been nice to have had a cm in the lab so the kids who wanted to, could use it.
Following the cruise, we spent the day at Kennedy Space Center and then met friends at WDW for a week of frolicking in the parks.
All-in-all a magically wonderful trip!
This was our first cruise. I had researched using this discussion board. What I learned here helped us to choose what we thought our family would enjoy. In a nutshell, we had a fantastic time. Now for the much longer version:
We flew in the day before the cruise. We were greeted by a fabulous thunderstorm a real treat for southern Californians where we have no actual weather.
We rented a car from Budget. Can you say slow? Thankfully we had nowhere to be and the amount we paid in time, we saved in money and we spent on a couple of drinks on the Wonder.
We stayed at the Radisson one bedroom suite. It was more than adequate for our family. After a fine breakfast from the restaurant buffet we headed to the port.
Embarkation: from the moment we stepped into the Disney terminal, we were impressed. We quickly determined and stayed with the opinion that DCL has managed to maintain the level of excellence that the public expects from Disney.
The kids and I went on in while my husband returned the car. He reported that it went very smoothly. Check-in couldnt have been easier. I checked in with one of the many information people. He verified that my documents were in order then encouraged me to check-in while the lines were light. My husband just checked in when he got there. Smooth as silk.
On the ship: I guess we boarded around noon. Beautiful ship. We went to Parrot Cay for lunch. It was good.
While my husband took the kids to register in the clubs, I went to secure Palo Brunch reservations and the exotic rasul for hubby and me. A side note the day at sea was also my husbands 40th birthday. When we reserved the cruise, we actually hadnt realized this. Anyway, I wanted to make sure it was memorable but thats later.
Our room was ready so we changed into suits yes, I had them with us headed up to the pools and spent the afternoon splashing around.
We loved the room - 8566. My 12 year-old had made a sign for the door (these board ideas were great!) and was so proud to put it on the door. My husbands family had ordered all the birthday packages available, so the room was completely decorated with goodies and a cake waiting for us.
We had late seating so went to the early shows. This worked well for us as I don't think my daughter would have made it through the shows had it been the other way. In general, we were impressed with the shows; and that night, we enjoyed Hercules more than I had anticipated.
Our Room Host, Ed, was great. Besides doing such a nice decorating job, he left us various towel animals each night using the kids sunglasses and such. Very fun touch!
Nassau We started the day by walking to the Pirate Museum. Its only a couple blocks, but due to the humidity, felt like miles to the kids. (One good point to the humidity - no need to iron!) We really enjoyed the museum and then returned to the ship to get ready for our snorkeling excursion.
I had decided that we couldnt go to the Bahamas and not snorkel. I also had determined that 9:00 am EST was 6:00 am PT and too early to start a vacation, but I wanted a sailing experience as well. Yes, I want it all!! Since neither Disney excursion was fitting my criteria, I looked further and booked with Barefoot Sailing Excursions. What a wonderful afternoon! It ended up being our family and a couple from the Atlantis resort. It felt like we were on a friends sailboat for the afternoon. We sailed to a reef and snorkeled then sailed back. The captain only used the engine at to get out of and in to the slip. It was so peaceful , not fancy, but wonderfully peaceful.
That night's show was a juggler, which I might have skipped but I thought I had remembered someone on these boards saying how good he was. Well, we werent disappointed and my 10 year-old talked about that show for days literally!
Castaway Cay once again, exceeded our expectations. My daughter and 10-year-old son splashed in the family lagoon the entire day. My husband and eldest used our snorkel gear and followed the snorkel path. Probably the most fun part of the snorkel lagoon is all the stuff that Disney has sunk. They were quite pleased with themselves for finding everything, particularly the Nautilus. I splashed with the kids and enjoyed fabulous exotic drinks under an umbrella. I briefly snorkeled and did see a ray.
We returned to the ship commenting on just how wonderful the day had been.
We really enjoyed the Golden Mickeys probably my favorite show. It was good to be reminded of this companys beginnings.
Day at Sea and hubbys 40th We started the day with room service and cards from friends and family that I had snuck in the luggage. Its helpful to be the packer of the family.
The boys werent interested in what the lab was doing that day, so we gave them the run of the ship (directing them to stick together) and permission to charge $10 each for the arcade. We checked our daughter into the club, where they made Captain Hook cry like a baby and Peter Pan gave them high fives as they slid down the slide. Doesnt get much better than that!
Hubby and I went to Palo Brunch and enjoyed mimosas, good food, a beautiful view and uninterrupted adult conversation.
We returned to the room to discover our boys had come back to the room. They were beginning to watch TV, when we kicked them out (go investigate, go to Scoops, go to a movie, go anywhere) so we could take a nap, which we did.
Our exotic rasul was scheduled for that afternoon. Another side note: the spa listings have no description of the exotic rasul and when I booked it, the cm asked if I had read about it on the internet.
My husband isnt a massage person, but I knew hed enjoy this and he did for the 20 minutes before the pager went off! Our daughter wanted to be picked up from the club. I called the club to see if maybe I could convince her to hang out a bit longer no dice. Pick me up nooww. So we did. We had had such a great day and she really sounded done. No need to traumatize the child.Our daughter wanted to go swimming in the Mickey pool and so up we went. She was sizing up the slide I could see the wheels turning- should I or shouldnt I when my eldest showed up. He took her up the slide, and for the rest of our time, she was up and down that slide. I love to see the kids overcome a fear and try something new.
Disney Dreams was the show and though good, I liked Golden Mickeys better. My daughter, on the other hand, LOVED this show. To be six and in love with Peter Pan!
We had a birthday cake for my hubby at dinner and tried to see the farewell show, but it had been a long day and my daughter who had fallen asleep during dinner really didnt care. The boys were equally ready to go back to the room. So we skipped that, threw our clothes into bags and called it a night.
Debarkation: As easy as everyone on this board has said.
Final thoughts: The cruise was Wonder-ful and we really did enjoy every minute. I didnt see any chair/hammock hogs or obnoxious kids. Maybe we were just in the right places at the right times, but what I saw primarily was families just having a great time together. The most fun was seeing the generations of families having a great time together. A lot of grandparents with grandkids dancing and playing and making those memories okay, now Im going to cry.
I honestly didn't think I'd want to buy any of the Shutters pictures - wrong. They really were good. We took advantage of most picture opportunities and ended up with some terrific ones. I even asked a photographer on Castaway Cay to take one of my kids building a sandcastle - fantastic picture!
I do agree with all who suggest that Disney add cubicles around the pools. There just isnt any place for stuff other than chairs. Also, my boys would have loved to have just hung out in the lab on sea day, but that group was doing things all over the ship so that wasnt an option. It would have been nice to have had a cm in the lab so the kids who wanted to, could use it.
Following the cruise, we spent the day at Kennedy Space Center and then met friends at WDW for a week of frolicking in the parks.
All-in-all a magically wonderful trip!
