EcbLovesMickey
Willing to Work for Disney Dollars!!!
- Joined
- Sep 28, 2009
- Messages
- 1,589
Our dream odyssey began on a Saturday. We loaded up the car the night before and when the boys woke up we quickly feed and clothed them before tossing them into their seats and hitting the road. Of course 5 minutes in the oldest remember he forgot to bring his glasses (he only got them a couple of weeks before), so a quick turn around and we were back on the road again!
After many hours of Are we there yet? and Can we have a snack now? we finally crossed into Florida and things looked brighter. We stopped for dinner at our favorite restaurant Dixie Crossroads in Titusville, just up the road from Port Canaveral. We all gouged ourselves in rock shrimp and other various seafood delicacies then headed a bit farther south to our hotel at the port.
We decided to stay at the Radisson at the Port. The hotel itself was nice. The pools were amazing and I wish we had arrived earlier and been able to utilize them. The next morning we woke up and headed downstairs for breakfast; BIG mistake. Do not pre-pay for breakfast, the line was LONG and it took us over ½ an hour to be seated. The breakfast itself was not good and I wish we had simply walked down the road to eat elsewhere (I did let the Radisson know and I received a personal email from the manager apologizing).
On to the shuttle. Not good. It was CRAZY, we were on the list and near the top but we still waited for quite a while to board. It was a bit chaotic and there were people everywhere, very few of them paying any attention (one lady hit my son in the face with her bag while he was sitting in his stroller). Still, once we boarded and got to the port the driver helped us unload and the porters took our luggage from there directly onto the ship.
We walked in the terminal around 11 am. It was busy; we got through security quickly and went upstairs to the check in. We were given boarding card #11 as we got in the check in line. The entire check in process was fast and efficient. We did complete everything online so basically they checked our documents, added a credit card to our account and we were all set!
We then met up with our Dis-Boards pals (this was possibly the BEST part of our trip!). The kids all played together while the ladies all chatted and had a great time waiting for boarding to begin. Around 11:30-12ish they began calling numbers. Around 12:30 #11 was called and we got to go on board. Of course as we were walking up to the entrance our son decides he HAS to go to the restroom RIGHT AWAY. Of course this was also the time when the janitors shut down the restrooms for cleaning. Luckily the boarding staff let us skip the photo line and get right onboard so we could make a b-line for the potty!
Walking onto the ship was AMAZING! The atrium is breathtaking; all the photos on the boards and other sites just do not do it justice. The chandelier is an amazing work of art and truly the highlight of the lobby. After our quick visit to the lobby restrooms we made our way up to deck 11 to have lunch at Cabanas.
Ok, Cabanas on the first lunch was crowded, in fact I think this was one of the only times I felt like there were 4000 people on the ship. Hosts helped us find a table and we got something to eat. By the time we were done it was 1:30 and we made our way to our room.
Onto our room. We booked a Deluxe Family Oceanview Stateroom with Verandah on deck 7 midship (room 7602). The room was great. It is located close to the elevators but far enough away to not have constant traffic. We got the kids into their swim suits and Dh took them to the pools while I took a rest (yes he rocks, but dont tell him I said that). Apparently DS7 decided to jump into the Donald duck pool only to find it somewhat deeper than expected, so the rest of the afternoon they played in the Mickey pool and in Nemos Reef.
We had early dining, so they boys returned early enough to get changed and get ready for the sail away party and dinner at 5:45. The sail away party was fun, but rather odd in that they count down, blow the ships horn and then it is a while before the ship moves. My kids were ready for takeoff as soon as the horn blew, and ran to the side windows only to see we were still docked. The party was a blast though, the more you get into it, the more you will enjoy it! Grab one of the waving streamers and have fun!
Our first evening we ate at the Enchanted Garden. The restaurant was decorated nicely, nothing really spectacular. If the room changed at all while we were there I did not notice. We were seated at a 6 top and had a nice older couple seated with us. Our wait staff was originally a lady server and Jorge as our assistant server. The service was great and our head waiter stopped by at least once and introduced himself.
The second evening we went to Royal Palace and our head waiter was changed to Charlie, who was nice and also very helpful, and Jorge was still our assistant waiter. This restaurant was nicely decorated and I believe Sleeping Beauty stopped by briefly that night to say hello. This was not a character dinner; she just quickly walked through and waved as she passed.
Our third evening we went to Animators Palate for Pirate night. SO AWESOME! All the screens were showing drawings and concept art from various Disney films featuring pirates. So much fun and a different menu (I will talk about the food later).
Our fourth evening was back at Animators Palate. Again SO AWESOME! We we seated a table away from the screens, so we did not have direct interaction with Crush, but it was really fun. Even when Crush was not visiting us, other Nemo friends were and they kept our 2 year old entertained the whole time. Let me say, DO NOT LEAVE EARLY. Even if youre done eating and ready to head out, wait for the show to end, you will not be disappointed!
The first night of our 3 day we were back at Animators Palate with Charlie as our server, but a different assistant server. We were now seated at a 4 top and right in front of a screen. This was the best part of the cruise. Crush appeared and looked at my oldest son, said he looked familiar and when my son said he was here last night, Crush said, little dude, is your name XXXX? OMG my son almost died! BEST BEST BEST moment ever!
The second night we ate at Enchanted Garden again and then Royal Palace for night #3. No pirate night menu on the 3 day cruise.
Cookies and Cookies 2 on Castaway Cay served the same BBQ food both trips. It was good beach food, nothing spectacular but similar to food found at quick service places at the parks.
So, onto the food in the dining rooms. FULL DISCLOSURE, I do not eat red meat, so I cannot comment on that aspect of the menu, although Dh does as do my kids. I consider myself a foodie and I do follow culinary trends. Overall I was not impressed with the food. Before all the flamers get going, please know I do not think it was bad, just really not awesome. The kids menu was great though and offered a good variety along with the fact that they could order some or all of their meal off the adult menu, made for happy kids. So again, nothing was bad, just nothing spectacular and noteworthy. However, the room service buffalo wings were the most tasty things I ate onboard.
Shopping Seminar GO and make a LOT of noise!!! The shopping advisor was a nice young lady who had lots of giveaways! I won a rum cake and my son won a bamboo shirt, on top of some color changing rings they gave him and my youngest son when we arrived. Ok, so much of it is pushing certain shops and talking about different rings and stones you should buy, but they also hand out lots of flyers for freebies you can get in port. Ok, the freebies are not super amazing, but they are to a 7 year old and said 7 year olds girl friends who think anything that sparkles is gold and diamonds! So for a few minutes of my time I got souvenirs for a lot of his friends and since I was there I just HAD to buy some nice earrings for myself too I mean I saved a fortune on souvenirs, so I deserve them right? Some of the freebies I got include pendants, earrings, a bracelet, necklaces and a 1 carat sapphire.
On our first visit to Castaway Cay the weather was not great. All excursions were cancelled. We had booked the stingray feeding for DS7 and DH. Tears flowed until we reminded him that we would have another chance in a few days. The surf was a bit choppy and the water was a bit cold, but WOW yes, thats the word for it WOW! We grabbed a chair, tossed our stuff down and hit the water. The sand in the water was mixed with coral rock and shells, so little ones would benefit from aqua socks.
After a while we headed out to Geocache. We have been caching for almost 10 years, and finding a cache on CC was so much fun! We left a travel bug and got another one to bring home with us!
Our second trip to Castaway Cay was the best by far. The water was like glass. We had been able to rebook the Stingray excursion, and DS7 and his Dis-meet buddy got to pet and feed stingrays together! DS2 and I stayed on the beach until 3ish when we headed back to the ship to take a rest before dinner. I had to pull him away from the beach. I am not a big beach person, but Castaway Cay has converted me! I could have stayed there until the last call!
PIRATE NIGHT! Whether you are fully decked out in your Captain Hook costume, or merely donning the Pirate Mickey Bandannas the room attendants leave you, you just cannot miss this! DS2 and I stayed in on the first night since he had overdone on the Cay that day. So second pirate night we got on deck early. We went to deck 12 and had a great view of everything, fireworks, show, everything!
Shows! We loved the Golden Mickeys, and Believe is, well UNBELIEVABLE! Villains tonight was not my favorite, I really didnt like the theme that they needed more evil It was a cute show and the cast was great, just not a big fan of the whole plot behind it. We got there when doors opened and got good seats each time. There were people holding seats and CMs only said something to them about 5 minutes before show time when the place was filling up, at which time they made them fill in and their party who was not there would have to sit elsewhere.
Fish Extenders OMG, what a WONDERFUL bunch of DisPals we had on both of our cruises. They totally spoiled us! From awesome personalized gifts to yummy candies and fun toys, we felt like royalty returning to our room to see what kind of goodies we would find! Luckily no one bothered our FE or disturbed our magnets. When we went delivering goodies all the room hosts would be so excited to see us and ask what we were giving. It was like being Santa Claus!
Nassau On our first stop, I joined some of my DisPals on a Mango Rum Run. We hit the rum store and stocked up on some delicious rum and other rum based goodies. I also stopped in at Del Sol and got the boys color changing t-shirts. On the second trip DH and DS7 took the Seaworld Semi-Submarine excursion. They had a great time, and took lots of pictures of the fish they saw; a great alternative to the glass bottom boat. DS2 and I hit the shops for all our freebies with DS2, who flirted his way into extra goodies and lots of extra kisses and cheek pinches!
I am sure I didn't cover something, but overall a great trip and we met some amazing people!
After many hours of Are we there yet? and Can we have a snack now? we finally crossed into Florida and things looked brighter. We stopped for dinner at our favorite restaurant Dixie Crossroads in Titusville, just up the road from Port Canaveral. We all gouged ourselves in rock shrimp and other various seafood delicacies then headed a bit farther south to our hotel at the port.
We decided to stay at the Radisson at the Port. The hotel itself was nice. The pools were amazing and I wish we had arrived earlier and been able to utilize them. The next morning we woke up and headed downstairs for breakfast; BIG mistake. Do not pre-pay for breakfast, the line was LONG and it took us over ½ an hour to be seated. The breakfast itself was not good and I wish we had simply walked down the road to eat elsewhere (I did let the Radisson know and I received a personal email from the manager apologizing).
On to the shuttle. Not good. It was CRAZY, we were on the list and near the top but we still waited for quite a while to board. It was a bit chaotic and there were people everywhere, very few of them paying any attention (one lady hit my son in the face with her bag while he was sitting in his stroller). Still, once we boarded and got to the port the driver helped us unload and the porters took our luggage from there directly onto the ship.
We walked in the terminal around 11 am. It was busy; we got through security quickly and went upstairs to the check in. We were given boarding card #11 as we got in the check in line. The entire check in process was fast and efficient. We did complete everything online so basically they checked our documents, added a credit card to our account and we were all set!
We then met up with our Dis-Boards pals (this was possibly the BEST part of our trip!). The kids all played together while the ladies all chatted and had a great time waiting for boarding to begin. Around 11:30-12ish they began calling numbers. Around 12:30 #11 was called and we got to go on board. Of course as we were walking up to the entrance our son decides he HAS to go to the restroom RIGHT AWAY. Of course this was also the time when the janitors shut down the restrooms for cleaning. Luckily the boarding staff let us skip the photo line and get right onboard so we could make a b-line for the potty!
Walking onto the ship was AMAZING! The atrium is breathtaking; all the photos on the boards and other sites just do not do it justice. The chandelier is an amazing work of art and truly the highlight of the lobby. After our quick visit to the lobby restrooms we made our way up to deck 11 to have lunch at Cabanas.
Ok, Cabanas on the first lunch was crowded, in fact I think this was one of the only times I felt like there were 4000 people on the ship. Hosts helped us find a table and we got something to eat. By the time we were done it was 1:30 and we made our way to our room.
Onto our room. We booked a Deluxe Family Oceanview Stateroom with Verandah on deck 7 midship (room 7602). The room was great. It is located close to the elevators but far enough away to not have constant traffic. We got the kids into their swim suits and Dh took them to the pools while I took a rest (yes he rocks, but dont tell him I said that). Apparently DS7 decided to jump into the Donald duck pool only to find it somewhat deeper than expected, so the rest of the afternoon they played in the Mickey pool and in Nemos Reef.
We had early dining, so they boys returned early enough to get changed and get ready for the sail away party and dinner at 5:45. The sail away party was fun, but rather odd in that they count down, blow the ships horn and then it is a while before the ship moves. My kids were ready for takeoff as soon as the horn blew, and ran to the side windows only to see we were still docked. The party was a blast though, the more you get into it, the more you will enjoy it! Grab one of the waving streamers and have fun!
Our first evening we ate at the Enchanted Garden. The restaurant was decorated nicely, nothing really spectacular. If the room changed at all while we were there I did not notice. We were seated at a 6 top and had a nice older couple seated with us. Our wait staff was originally a lady server and Jorge as our assistant server. The service was great and our head waiter stopped by at least once and introduced himself.
The second evening we went to Royal Palace and our head waiter was changed to Charlie, who was nice and also very helpful, and Jorge was still our assistant waiter. This restaurant was nicely decorated and I believe Sleeping Beauty stopped by briefly that night to say hello. This was not a character dinner; she just quickly walked through and waved as she passed.
Our third evening we went to Animators Palate for Pirate night. SO AWESOME! All the screens were showing drawings and concept art from various Disney films featuring pirates. So much fun and a different menu (I will talk about the food later).
Our fourth evening was back at Animators Palate. Again SO AWESOME! We we seated a table away from the screens, so we did not have direct interaction with Crush, but it was really fun. Even when Crush was not visiting us, other Nemo friends were and they kept our 2 year old entertained the whole time. Let me say, DO NOT LEAVE EARLY. Even if youre done eating and ready to head out, wait for the show to end, you will not be disappointed!
The first night of our 3 day we were back at Animators Palate with Charlie as our server, but a different assistant server. We were now seated at a 4 top and right in front of a screen. This was the best part of the cruise. Crush appeared and looked at my oldest son, said he looked familiar and when my son said he was here last night, Crush said, little dude, is your name XXXX? OMG my son almost died! BEST BEST BEST moment ever!
The second night we ate at Enchanted Garden again and then Royal Palace for night #3. No pirate night menu on the 3 day cruise.
Cookies and Cookies 2 on Castaway Cay served the same BBQ food both trips. It was good beach food, nothing spectacular but similar to food found at quick service places at the parks.
So, onto the food in the dining rooms. FULL DISCLOSURE, I do not eat red meat, so I cannot comment on that aspect of the menu, although Dh does as do my kids. I consider myself a foodie and I do follow culinary trends. Overall I was not impressed with the food. Before all the flamers get going, please know I do not think it was bad, just really not awesome. The kids menu was great though and offered a good variety along with the fact that they could order some or all of their meal off the adult menu, made for happy kids. So again, nothing was bad, just nothing spectacular and noteworthy. However, the room service buffalo wings were the most tasty things I ate onboard.
Shopping Seminar GO and make a LOT of noise!!! The shopping advisor was a nice young lady who had lots of giveaways! I won a rum cake and my son won a bamboo shirt, on top of some color changing rings they gave him and my youngest son when we arrived. Ok, so much of it is pushing certain shops and talking about different rings and stones you should buy, but they also hand out lots of flyers for freebies you can get in port. Ok, the freebies are not super amazing, but they are to a 7 year old and said 7 year olds girl friends who think anything that sparkles is gold and diamonds! So for a few minutes of my time I got souvenirs for a lot of his friends and since I was there I just HAD to buy some nice earrings for myself too I mean I saved a fortune on souvenirs, so I deserve them right? Some of the freebies I got include pendants, earrings, a bracelet, necklaces and a 1 carat sapphire.
On our first visit to Castaway Cay the weather was not great. All excursions were cancelled. We had booked the stingray feeding for DS7 and DH. Tears flowed until we reminded him that we would have another chance in a few days. The surf was a bit choppy and the water was a bit cold, but WOW yes, thats the word for it WOW! We grabbed a chair, tossed our stuff down and hit the water. The sand in the water was mixed with coral rock and shells, so little ones would benefit from aqua socks.
After a while we headed out to Geocache. We have been caching for almost 10 years, and finding a cache on CC was so much fun! We left a travel bug and got another one to bring home with us!
Our second trip to Castaway Cay was the best by far. The water was like glass. We had been able to rebook the Stingray excursion, and DS7 and his Dis-meet buddy got to pet and feed stingrays together! DS2 and I stayed on the beach until 3ish when we headed back to the ship to take a rest before dinner. I had to pull him away from the beach. I am not a big beach person, but Castaway Cay has converted me! I could have stayed there until the last call!
PIRATE NIGHT! Whether you are fully decked out in your Captain Hook costume, or merely donning the Pirate Mickey Bandannas the room attendants leave you, you just cannot miss this! DS2 and I stayed in on the first night since he had overdone on the Cay that day. So second pirate night we got on deck early. We went to deck 12 and had a great view of everything, fireworks, show, everything!
Shows! We loved the Golden Mickeys, and Believe is, well UNBELIEVABLE! Villains tonight was not my favorite, I really didnt like the theme that they needed more evil It was a cute show and the cast was great, just not a big fan of the whole plot behind it. We got there when doors opened and got good seats each time. There were people holding seats and CMs only said something to them about 5 minutes before show time when the place was filling up, at which time they made them fill in and their party who was not there would have to sit elsewhere.
Fish Extenders OMG, what a WONDERFUL bunch of DisPals we had on both of our cruises. They totally spoiled us! From awesome personalized gifts to yummy candies and fun toys, we felt like royalty returning to our room to see what kind of goodies we would find! Luckily no one bothered our FE or disturbed our magnets. When we went delivering goodies all the room hosts would be so excited to see us and ask what we were giving. It was like being Santa Claus!
Nassau On our first stop, I joined some of my DisPals on a Mango Rum Run. We hit the rum store and stocked up on some delicious rum and other rum based goodies. I also stopped in at Del Sol and got the boys color changing t-shirts. On the second trip DH and DS7 took the Seaworld Semi-Submarine excursion. They had a great time, and took lots of pictures of the fish they saw; a great alternative to the glass bottom boat. DS2 and I hit the shops for all our freebies with DS2, who flirted his way into extra goodies and lots of extra kisses and cheek pinches!
I am sure I didn't cover something, but overall a great trip and we met some amazing people!
