RV's March 17th, 2007 Eastern "Sharing the Magic with the Unmagic'ed" Cruise
- Thread starter RoyalVizier
- Start date
The end of Day 1 should pop up today if all goes well! Jeesh, I am being longwinded, aren't I?
PaDisneyCouple
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Feb 17, 2006
- Messages
- 2,407
We go on an Eastern this October, and were sooo looking forward to fresh, prime Eastern reports. Now we have DisneyPoor and RV. Yes!
Sean & Christine
Sean & Christine
RoyalVizier
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jun 4, 2006
- Messages
- 939
RVs March 17th 7-night Eastern Sharing the Magic with the Unmagiced Cruise!
Cast of Characters:
Me age 30
DW age 34
DD age 14
Father in Law (well go with FIL on that one) age 59
Mother in Law (well go with MIL on that one) age 59
Day 1 Part 3: The Room and Dining Changes
I sat there with my hand clenched around the handle in the door, knuckles white. As the driver drove 85 miles an hour towards the magic, I looked around the van. There were no neon lights. There was no bar. There was no leather nor sunroof nor divider between the driver and me. This certainly wasnt a limo.
But we were in a vehicle on the way to the port, and that was what mattered. 
The experience of coming up over the bridge and finally seeing the beautiful Magic is a topic discussed endlessly in trip reports so I wont rehash all of the squealing and pointing and giggling and elation that was felt. All I will say is that all of those emotions came from DW, DD, and I. MIL and FIL I wonder if they saw the ship. Uh, maybe the sun was in their eyes. Maybe they were distracted by the ripped upholstery. Not much reaction there.
We arrived at 11:30. Our bags were taken; we made our way through security, got boarding pass number nine, and headed up to the Castaway Club line. Remember we were very worried about getting to the port this late, but you know what? We were pleasantly surprised! There was no line to check in, and they had started boarding almost immediately after we arrived so it worked out very well. The original thought was that we wanted the in-laws to have some time in the terminal exploring and sitting and soaking it all in. But upon second thought, I think they would have just become impatient and bored. So it worked out great! The mornings crisis, although stressful and worrisome at the time, ended up working out to our advantage.
Upon check-in we got the PLAPLAP dining rotation, which was exactly the one we wanted, and we got the late seating, 8:15 to be exact (same as Disneypoor who has a fabulous trip report going as we speak as well. Hi Disneypoor!
) DW and I were minorly worried about this late dining time. If you remember from my pre-trip report, the in-laws live by an ungodly schedule where they eat dinner at like 3:30pm in the afternoon. DW and I agonized over whether or not we should see about getting it changed after boarding, but we liked the late seating ourselves. To us it makes it seem like there is more time in the day. So we didnt really know what to do. It was finally decided that we would go to Rockin Bar D just to see what they say and go from there.
Boarding pass #9 was called at about 12:30pm so we got in line, had the boarding picture taken (in-laws first exposure to the ubiquitous photographers) and were announced as we entered the atrium. This was an area that my wife had really hyped up over the last several months to her parents. The magic of the grand entrance we love the announcement of the guests and think it is an extraordinary touch that adds such magic to the moment. Again, not a lot of reaction from the in-laws.
We went up to Topsiders and had some lunch (corndogs and cheesecake!) and just wandered around Deck 9 for a bit showing them the sites, discussing forward, aft, starboard, port so that they could start to learn their way around. 1:30pm came around fast so it was time to head down to the room. We booked a Cat. 7 Navigators Verandah room and we were located on Deck 5 all the way aft, room 5634. Our room was only a few doors down from where we were last year when we stayed in a Cat. 6 stateroom. The in-laws had a separate room next to us, and there we no connecting rooms available. Thank goodness! There was some slight worry on our part about how we would like the Navigators Verandah, but it was GREAT! For those of you that arent aware, a Navigators Verandah is a verandah that is mostly enclosed by solid walls. The sides and front are completely enclosed leaving you with a large open porthole to the outside. There is a built in bench on one side and a small table. It is decorated with nautical instruments like maps and compasses. Its like a small extension of the room. We were very impressed by it and would stay in that category again.
We took this time to get situated. I made a beeline for our dining tickets to see what table number we were assigned. Table 50. This was important to us because I had requested upon making the reservation that we have a table to ourselves due to having the in-laws along. They didnt particularly like the idea of dining with others, and we agreed that in this situation, just the five of us at a table would be best. So I took our dining tickets and made my way to Rockin Bar D to see about Palo and to see what size table #50 was. There was no line when I arrived (which was great!). I asked if there was any availability for the early seating, and there wasnt, so that took care of that. Turns out table #50 was a table for ten, but they were able to change it and get us by ourselves. And we booked Palo dinner for Thursday night at 8pm. We had already booked Palo brunch online prior to cruising for the next morning at 11am. So I was all taken care of!
Next Up: The First Dinner
Sorry, this is so much longer than I ever imagined it would be. Four parts to Day 1?! I must be crazy sorry.
Cast of Characters:
Me age 30
DW age 34
DD age 14
Father in Law (well go with FIL on that one) age 59
Mother in Law (well go with MIL on that one) age 59
Day 1 Part 3: The Room and Dining Changes
I sat there with my hand clenched around the handle in the door, knuckles white. As the driver drove 85 miles an hour towards the magic, I looked around the van. There were no neon lights. There was no bar. There was no leather nor sunroof nor divider between the driver and me. This certainly wasnt a limo.
But we were in a vehicle on the way to the port, and that was what mattered. The experience of coming up over the bridge and finally seeing the beautiful Magic is a topic discussed endlessly in trip reports so I wont rehash all of the squealing and pointing and giggling and elation that was felt. All I will say is that all of those emotions came from DW, DD, and I. MIL and FIL I wonder if they saw the ship. Uh, maybe the sun was in their eyes. Maybe they were distracted by the ripped upholstery. Not much reaction there.
We arrived at 11:30. Our bags were taken; we made our way through security, got boarding pass number nine, and headed up to the Castaway Club line. Remember we were very worried about getting to the port this late, but you know what? We were pleasantly surprised! There was no line to check in, and they had started boarding almost immediately after we arrived so it worked out very well. The original thought was that we wanted the in-laws to have some time in the terminal exploring and sitting and soaking it all in. But upon second thought, I think they would have just become impatient and bored. So it worked out great! The mornings crisis, although stressful and worrisome at the time, ended up working out to our advantage.
Upon check-in we got the PLAPLAP dining rotation, which was exactly the one we wanted, and we got the late seating, 8:15 to be exact (same as Disneypoor who has a fabulous trip report going as we speak as well. Hi Disneypoor!
) DW and I were minorly worried about this late dining time. If you remember from my pre-trip report, the in-laws live by an ungodly schedule where they eat dinner at like 3:30pm in the afternoon. DW and I agonized over whether or not we should see about getting it changed after boarding, but we liked the late seating ourselves. To us it makes it seem like there is more time in the day. So we didnt really know what to do. It was finally decided that we would go to Rockin Bar D just to see what they say and go from there.Boarding pass #9 was called at about 12:30pm so we got in line, had the boarding picture taken (in-laws first exposure to the ubiquitous photographers) and were announced as we entered the atrium. This was an area that my wife had really hyped up over the last several months to her parents. The magic of the grand entrance we love the announcement of the guests and think it is an extraordinary touch that adds such magic to the moment. Again, not a lot of reaction from the in-laws.
We went up to Topsiders and had some lunch (corndogs and cheesecake!) and just wandered around Deck 9 for a bit showing them the sites, discussing forward, aft, starboard, port so that they could start to learn their way around. 1:30pm came around fast so it was time to head down to the room. We booked a Cat. 7 Navigators Verandah room and we were located on Deck 5 all the way aft, room 5634. Our room was only a few doors down from where we were last year when we stayed in a Cat. 6 stateroom. The in-laws had a separate room next to us, and there we no connecting rooms available. Thank goodness! There was some slight worry on our part about how we would like the Navigators Verandah, but it was GREAT! For those of you that arent aware, a Navigators Verandah is a verandah that is mostly enclosed by solid walls. The sides and front are completely enclosed leaving you with a large open porthole to the outside. There is a built in bench on one side and a small table. It is decorated with nautical instruments like maps and compasses. Its like a small extension of the room. We were very impressed by it and would stay in that category again.
We took this time to get situated. I made a beeline for our dining tickets to see what table number we were assigned. Table 50. This was important to us because I had requested upon making the reservation that we have a table to ourselves due to having the in-laws along. They didnt particularly like the idea of dining with others, and we agreed that in this situation, just the five of us at a table would be best. So I took our dining tickets and made my way to Rockin Bar D to see about Palo and to see what size table #50 was. There was no line when I arrived (which was great!). I asked if there was any availability for the early seating, and there wasnt, so that took care of that. Turns out table #50 was a table for ten, but they were able to change it and get us by ourselves. And we booked Palo dinner for Thursday night at 8pm. We had already booked Palo brunch online prior to cruising for the next morning at 11am. So I was all taken care of!
Next Up: The First Dinner
Sorry, this is so much longer than I ever imagined it would be. Four parts to Day 1?! I must be crazy sorry.
RoyalVizier
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jun 4, 2006
- Messages
- 939
Did you book another cruise?
Nope, we're not quite sure what we're going to aim at for next year. Our options are wide open. There are some stupid life things that we need to get squared away so we're just going to save as much as we can and see where we land.
RoyalVizier
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jun 4, 2006
- Messages
- 939
RVs March 17th 7-night Eastern Sharing the Magic with the Unmagiced Cruise!
Cast of Characters:
Me age 30
DW age 34
DD age 14
Father in Law (well go with FIL on that one) age 59
Mother in Law (well go with MIL on that one) age 59
Day 1 Part 4: The First Dinner
After I got all of our dining arrangements taken care of, I went back to the room to see what we wanted to do next. Well DD was itching to remove herself from our presence and go meet her kind at the Stack. So she took off (as she did SO many times that week) leaving DW and I alone. Well you know where the minds of two young adults go after their daughter leaves them alone and theyve just boarded the magical ship in the universe . FOOD!
Food, people
food. So we left the in-laws in their room (evil probably but I wasnt caring) and headed up to Plutos for pizza. We LOVE the ships pizza. And then to top it off we had to have our first ice cream of the cruise. We DOUBLE LOVE the ships soft serve creamy ice cream! DW discovered on our first cruise that it is much more magical to grab a large cup from the drink station and use it for ice cream instead of the smaller cups provided next to the machines. I married a brilliant woman! 
We went back to the room and ran into Mario, our room host along the way. He was a super friendly guy. He was delivering my tux to the room that I had ordered prior to cruising. Shortly thereafter the luggage started arriving so we piddled around with unpacking for a bit, I tried on my tux, and we just sorta got things organized in the room. The boat drill was at 4pm. Our meeting place was just downstairs from our room in Animators Palate. It was quick and painless just like usual. Then we headed up top for the sail away party. MIL/FIL are not party people at all, so we found a table on Deck 10 aft where they could sit and be away from the party going on midship. I wandered down there a few times to see the action, but wasnt immersed in it like previous years. The horn sounded at 5pm (love that horn
), but we didnt go anywhere. There were two other ships in port that day, the Carnival Elation and the Carnival Glory. They werent going anywhere either. Finally around 5:30pm they started to head out, and then we followed. Long after the cruise, I discovered that over 100 people missed our ship due to weather up North. That would totally SUCK!
We went back to the room at 6pm to rest and get ready for the evening. We had PLAPLAP rotation so dinner was in Parrot Cay at 8:15pm. We gathered the in-laws and headed to the dining room. Our servers were David from Australia (Server) and Juan Pablo (Asst. Server) from Chile. David told us that he was a bit jet-lagged due to just having arrived on the ship from Australia. This is his first cruise back from a six week break. They were spectacular and treated us great over the week.
I always like to say that Im going to try new things when we cruise, but its hit or miss most of the time. I had the crab Martinique appetizer which was a HUGE departure from me, and I liked it! The highlight came in the dessert of course (doesnt it always?). I had the French Toast Banana Bread Pudding which was HEAVEN on a plate!
The in-laws had Walnut Chocolate Cake and loved it so much that they took one back to the room. We were thrilled with how the dinner went. It was an area of big worry for us regarding them. They are set in their ways and sorta picky eaters so we really didnt know how dinners would go, but FIL verbally confirmed that the dinner was marvelous! Thank God!
After dinner we poked into Shutters to look at the embarkation photo. It was pretty good. We let it sit for now, but came back for it at a later time. Sadie came home at the appropriate hour and we turned in for the night. Nothing has changed since last year were still not late night people, and after dining that late and eating as much as we did, we pretty much turned in after dinner each evening. Sorry no wild and crazy party or lounge stories here, folks.
Oh... this is how the first day ended:
Next Up: Palo Brunch and a Curling Iron Catastrophy
Cast of Characters:
Me age 30
DW age 34
DD age 14
Father in Law (well go with FIL on that one) age 59
Mother in Law (well go with MIL on that one) age 59
Day 1 Part 4: The First Dinner
After I got all of our dining arrangements taken care of, I went back to the room to see what we wanted to do next. Well DD was itching to remove herself from our presence and go meet her kind at the Stack. So she took off (as she did SO many times that week) leaving DW and I alone. Well you know where the minds of two young adults go after their daughter leaves them alone and theyve just boarded the magical ship in the universe . FOOD!
Food, people
food. So we left the in-laws in their room (evil probably but I wasnt caring) and headed up to Plutos for pizza. We LOVE the ships pizza. And then to top it off we had to have our first ice cream of the cruise. We DOUBLE LOVE the ships soft serve creamy ice cream! DW discovered on our first cruise that it is much more magical to grab a large cup from the drink station and use it for ice cream instead of the smaller cups provided next to the machines. I married a brilliant woman! We went back to the room and ran into Mario, our room host along the way. He was a super friendly guy. He was delivering my tux to the room that I had ordered prior to cruising. Shortly thereafter the luggage started arriving so we piddled around with unpacking for a bit, I tried on my tux, and we just sorta got things organized in the room. The boat drill was at 4pm. Our meeting place was just downstairs from our room in Animators Palate. It was quick and painless just like usual. Then we headed up top for the sail away party. MIL/FIL are not party people at all, so we found a table on Deck 10 aft where they could sit and be away from the party going on midship. I wandered down there a few times to see the action, but wasnt immersed in it like previous years. The horn sounded at 5pm (love that horn
), but we didnt go anywhere. There were two other ships in port that day, the Carnival Elation and the Carnival Glory. They werent going anywhere either. Finally around 5:30pm they started to head out, and then we followed. Long after the cruise, I discovered that over 100 people missed our ship due to weather up North. That would totally SUCK! We went back to the room at 6pm to rest and get ready for the evening. We had PLAPLAP rotation so dinner was in Parrot Cay at 8:15pm. We gathered the in-laws and headed to the dining room. Our servers were David from Australia (Server) and Juan Pablo (Asst. Server) from Chile. David told us that he was a bit jet-lagged due to just having arrived on the ship from Australia. This is his first cruise back from a six week break. They were spectacular and treated us great over the week.
I always like to say that Im going to try new things when we cruise, but its hit or miss most of the time. I had the crab Martinique appetizer which was a HUGE departure from me, and I liked it! The highlight came in the dessert of course (doesnt it always?). I had the French Toast Banana Bread Pudding which was HEAVEN on a plate!
The in-laws had Walnut Chocolate Cake and loved it so much that they took one back to the room. We were thrilled with how the dinner went. It was an area of big worry for us regarding them. They are set in their ways and sorta picky eaters so we really didnt know how dinners would go, but FIL verbally confirmed that the dinner was marvelous! Thank God!
After dinner we poked into Shutters to look at the embarkation photo. It was pretty good. We let it sit for now, but came back for it at a later time. Sadie came home at the appropriate hour and we turned in for the night. Nothing has changed since last year were still not late night people, and after dining that late and eating as much as we did, we pretty much turned in after dinner each evening. Sorry no wild and crazy party or lounge stories here, folks.
Oh... this is how the first day ended:
Next Up: Palo Brunch and a Curling Iron Catastrophy
firstmickey
Riddle Goddess of Chaos
- Joined
- Sep 17, 2002
- Messages
- 26,641
NOTHING worse than a curling iron catastrophe...can't wait to see what happens! 
and that are you crazy thing...that was rhetorical, right? 
YAY for the Navigator room...Im glad it turned out well since you were worried about it before you left! And Im glad to see that you still went about having your own good time even though inlaws didnt always join in!
Great pics!
keep writing!
and that are you crazy thing...that was rhetorical, right?
YAY for the Navigator room...Im glad it turned out well since you were worried about it before you left! And Im glad to see that you still went about having your own good time even though inlaws didnt always join in!
Great pics!
keep writing!
Tink rules
<font color=teal>The kids in my family sometimes t
- Joined
- Dec 30, 2006
- Messages
- 18,133
Sounds good so far...
A curling iron catastrophe???
A curling iron catastrophe???
Disneygrl36
Happy DVC member!!!!
- Joined
- Jul 19, 2004
- Messages
- 4,269
I'm here...... & count me very very impressed at all that you already have up.
Sorry about the rough start with the limo/van. Hope that is the only bad thing that happens. Glad dinner went well..........no offense to your in-laws but how could anyone not get excited & have a reaction when seeing the Magic or Wonder for the first time??
Even my Dad (who is a judge & generally very hard to impress) was impressed although he didn't show it as much as I would have liked, but I found out after we got back that he was telling everyone what a great time he had.
Ready for more
Sorry about the rough start with the limo/van. Hope that is the only bad thing that happens. Glad dinner went well..........no offense to your in-laws but how could anyone not get excited & have a reaction when seeing the Magic or Wonder for the first time??
Even my Dad (who is a judge & generally very hard to impress) was impressed although he didn't show it as much as I would have liked, but I found out after we got back that he was telling everyone what a great time he had.Ready for more
Tink rules
<font color=teal>The kids in my family sometimes t
- Joined
- Dec 30, 2006
- Messages
- 18,133
Luckily my mom is also a Disney fan... of course her cheerleading lessons start long before the trip... (I want Dopey! I want Dopey!)
The rest of my family would be like the inlaws... and they would NEVER take the time to find hidden Mickeys or anything...
The rest of my family would be like the inlaws... and they would NEVER take the time to find hidden Mickeys or anything...
Jennifer48
Not a Disney bride but engaged and honeymooned at
- Joined
- Jun 1, 2005
- Messages
- 3,403
Sorry for the rocky start to your vacation but it sounds like its shaping up nicely. Keep up the great work! Can't wait to find out about the curling iron catastrophe! 
Keep up the great work! Can't wait to find out about the curling iron catastrophe! Elastagirl
Earning My Ears
- Joined
- Feb 13, 2007
- Messages
- 14
Signing on to your trip report, we are taking my parents in Sept. They too are not easily impressed, nor party people, so we are wondering how to entertain them and keep them happy on the trip!
michelle9343
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Dec 9, 2004
- Messages
- 1,453
I am really enjoying yuour trip report.. can't wait for the rest!!
Jennifer48
Not a Disney bride but engaged and honeymooned at
- Joined
- Jun 1, 2005
- Messages
- 3,403
Stop posting your pictures on Disneypoor's trippie and get over here!! I need to know about the curling iron catastrophe!!
I need to know about the curling iron catastrophe!! 
LovableGluttons
See Ya REAL Soon!
- Joined
- Jan 12, 2007
- Messages
- 1,298
RV?? No lounge stories? You aand your DW weren't in Match You Mate talking about dumper trucks?
Well!
(nice report....loving it!)
Well!
(nice report....loving it!)
- Joined
- Jan 9, 2006
- Messages
- 2,855
Stop posting your pictures on Disneypoor's trippie and get over here!!
Hey! I did finally figure out how to post pictures! It took me long enough, huh?
Dixielady908
Grandma's Little Princess
- Joined
- Apr 20, 2003
- Messages
- 5,205
OK RV dont leave us hanging too long...looking forward to the rest of your report.....
Denise
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