Trip Report: 5/6/04 3-night Wonder Part 1

[Killer_Tomato]

Day 1: Flew in from Pittsburgh to Orlando via Atlanta. I was worried that after reading some horror stories about missed connections and the boat sailing without you, I'd miss out, but the flights were right on time, and I arrived at Port Canaveral just after 2 PM. The downside of a late flight is that you miss out on a reservation at Palo...all they had available by then was Thursday night. Since I was traveling stag, and wanted to meet my dinner mates that night anyway, I didn't feel too badly about missing Palo on this cruise. I'd eaten there on my first cruise, and really loved it, but eating alone in a semi-romantic restaurant is no fun anyway!

So I grabbed a quick lunch at the Beach Blanket Buffet (not bad, but the desserts helped!), and a very quick dip in the pool, I headed off to the safety drill. Afterwards I grabbed another quick dip, a shower, and headed off to "Hercules". The show is showing its age...it was never my favorite movie anyway, but despite the great performances by the cast (especially the Muses, Hades and Pain and Panic), it just never grabs me.

Dinner was late seating at Triton's. I had roast duck...excellent. My dinner companions were a family from Chicago, and they were great. The Servers (Josko was from Croatia, Zoran from Bosnia....or do I have them switched?) attentive, friendly, efficient and fun. Naturally, I was looking forward most to dessert (OK, I'm a dessertaholic!), and decided on the Grand Marnier souflee (since I wasn't going to get the chocolate version from Palo). Unfortunately, I SHOULD have gone for the Creme Brulee...the souflee was good but not great.

I tried my hardest to stay up that night...I wanted to head down to Route 66 and have some fun. It was not to be, though, thanks to having to get up at an ungodly hour that morning to make my flight! Oh, well.....at least I'll get up early on Day 2 to enjoy my excursion!

I stayed in the Barb & Tony Suite...Room 5650. I can't complain about the accommodations...they are big rooms, and the verandah was larger in 5650 than I remembered my last stateroom to have. OTOH, I did have a lot of trouble STAYING asleep that night...the engine cavitation was annoying me, just enough to make my sleep restless. I do have to give props to my stateroom attendant, Allan, for his hard word and cute towel animals, though!

Watch for Part 2!

 

[Killer_Tomato]

Day 2: Nassau

I had to get up early to grab a quick breakfast (at Parrot Cay...the eggs were a tad runny, but the breakfast was otherwise just fine...especially the warm sticky buns!), shower and get ready to do the excursion meet.

I had chosen the Catamaran and Snorkeling. We met at 9, and were the first off the boat in Nassau. A short (10 minutes or so) walk over to the small-boat berthings, onto the nice-sized catamaran where we got our snorkel gear, and we were on our way. The Seahorse is evidently owned by the Atlantis, and the crew was very friendly. The weather was absolutely perfect...sunny, warm and slightly breezy. We motored over to Athol Island, where we snorkeled for about an hour or so. The variety of fish was astounding...some I recognized, most I didn't. Fish of many shapes, sizes, colors...really wonderful. Unfortunately, I ran out of film (I bought a waterproof disposable camera at Walmart for about $7) waaaaaay too early...I should have gotten TWO! On the way back to Nassau, they did put the sail up....but unfortunately, they still had the engines assisting the sail, despite the fact that it was more than breezy enough to get us back in time. Oh, well....I had a great morning anyway.

After another quick shower (poor Allan, having to clean my shower room every 2 hourse!), I popped up to the Buffet for lunch...again, the food was better than average, helped significantly by the desserts. I decided to pop back into Nassau and visit the straw market where I picked up a tasteless tropical shirt (should have tried it on, though...it said it was XL, but fits more like a Medium) and a shotglass for my collection.

Back on board, I took another dip in the pool, showered AGAIN!, and headed down to the Golden Mickeys. This was a very cute show, but they really need a better narrative thread to tie it all together. I loved the use of video married with the live performances, and as usual the cast was excellent. I'd give it a solid B+ grade. The most disturbing part, though, was that I found myself having the hots for Cruella DeVil....I don't know who was playing her, but she was WAY too cute to play so bad!

Dinner tonight was at Animator's. The veal chop was excellent. The Boston Creme Pie was stale. Josko and Zoran were still great.

I headed over to WaveBand's to watch the "Match Your Mate" and karaoke. As expected, the karaoke was hysterically funny, mainly because the total number of people with good voices in the room was 2. Everyone else was so incredibly bad, it was SUCH fun to watch...kinda like the early "American Idol" episodes, but EVERYONE was the guy who butchered "She Bangs". The absolute highlight was the guy who *said* that his wife brought him on the cruise to tell him she wanted a divorce....his buddies forced him to sing Bonnie Tyler's "Total Eclipse of the Heart" (which he didn't really know), he was so drunk he could barely stand let alone sing, and he ended up going Sam Kinison on the song...so bad it was good.

Got to bed around 2ish...luckily, I knew I'd be spending a very relaxing day on Castaway Cay the next day, so the lack of sleep didn't hurt!

More to Come!

 

[Killer_Tomato]

Day 3: Castaway Cay.

Got up early, and decided to skip breakfast. We arrived at CC early, and I was again one of the first people off the ship. I hoofed (OK, I trammed!) over to Serenity Bay, and was glad to see that it was still pretty much deserted and I was able to grab a hammock under an umbrella. I spent the day sleeping, reading, swimming in the cool (but not cold), crystal clear water.....Heavenly.

Lunched at the BBQ at Serenity Bay. The steak sandwich was fantastic. The Konk Koolers were flowing, too...it was SUCH a nice day. I even bought another shirt and shotglass!

Went to the debarkation talk once back on the ship, then back to grab another shower and head down to "Disney Dreams". Definitely the best of the three shows (mainly due to a good narrative), and was happy to see that "Under the Sea" was part of it. I could have sworn the "Lion King" segment was longer last year, though, although the soloist for "Circle of Life" was terrific.

Dinner at Parrot Cay: I had a mixed grill (excellent, as usual), and lemon meringue pie (very good).

It was 70s night at WaveBands...lots of fun. Milk and Cookies delivered to my stateroom ended my eating for the day!

Day 4: Return to Real Life. Breakfast at Parrot Cay (very tasty), off the ship by 8:30, and back to the airport. Luckily (!), I got bumped from my flight back home, and even got a free plane ticket anywhere in the US out of the deal!

Well, there ya go...my trip in a nutshell. For those of you who are curious, going stag on this trip was not a problem...there's so much to do, and you're never bored. The movie selectin on board consisted of "Miracle", "The Alamo", "Home on the Range", "Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen" and "The Ladykillers"...I didn't go to any of them cuz I didn't have TIME!

 

[EmmasGrammy]

WOW!!!! Great trip report Killer tomato!!

I especially like how you posted the days separately but together! (Know what I mean??) Sounds like you had a great time!! Did you feel that the ship was over with children. Heidi said she felt a little over whelmed by the number of kids.

I'm also a little worried about the meals. There has been quite a lot of negative comments lately about food and it's freshness. Hope you shared these comments on the card they provide at the end of the cruise.

Thanks so much for taking the time to share your trip and the wonderful memories you made. How soon til you cruise again?

 

[Killer_Tomato]

Thanks for the kind words, Grammy!

I did mention on the cards that the desserts need to be fresher, but frankly that was the only "problem" I had with the whole cruise.

The boat did have a lot of kids on board...a LOT of kids. But since I stuck primarily to the "adult" sections of the boat and CC, they didn't bother me. I love kids anyway, and seeing their faces and hearing their comments about meeting Mickey and Goofy are great. That said, having the adults-only pool and beach on Castaway Cay is a great idea, and really makes the trip peaceful if you want it to be!

 

[CindyBeth]

Loved your report! I was wondering about the Catamaran and Snorkeling @ Nassau, it seemed like you enjoyed it. Would you do it again? My dh is a redhead is there any shade on the catamaran?

 

[Killer_Tomato]

I really did enjoy the snorkeling....and would definitely do it again. There is shade on the catamaran, but get your DH some sunscreen and a hat, and drag him up front...it's much more fun!

I should mention that the "sailing" portion of the catamaran trip wasn't actual sailing, and I WAS disappointed with that. I suppose taking the other snorkeling excursion (which is a couple of bucks cheaper) would be very similar...but I had a great time out there regardless.

 

[PattiPB]

Thanks for posting such a complete report! It was GREAT reading, and an interesting perspective on traveling solo.

BTW: How crowded did the adult beach get at CC?

 

[deedee67]

Great trip report! Thanks for sharing. I was wondering how being on the ship felt. Did you experience any motion sickness due to rough waters?

 

[Muushka]

I enjoyed reading your report and also liked the way you put all of the days together. A fun read!

I so agree with you about the woman who sang 'Circle of Life'. She was so good the little hairs on my arms stood up! But have to disagree with you about the narrator of Dreams. The gal on our cruise had a fake child-like voice that was just plain annoying.
I did enjoy everything else about Dreams though.....Again, thanks for posting .