Trip Report for our 1st magical cruise 9/1

[tinkslite]

The Cast:

1. Myself (39 year old Disney crazed mother of 2 too cool tween boys and one charmingly young for her age emotionally/socially disabled teen daughter. Think 8-10 year old when thinking of dd).

2. DH. He sometimes makes grumpy seem optimistic! Not really. But he is a workaholic and though he has enjoyed our past dis vacations in the parks, always feels that he has given enough at the alter of my obsession (disney). He admitted, this morning, that he thought when he woke that we would be sailing in a week and was disappointed to look at the calendar and realize its actually 2).

3. Nearly 13 year old son. This one hit puberty early and is often mistaken for a 15 or 16 year old. He is looking forward to hanging out in the kids programs. He is especially interested in Ocean Quest.

4. 13 year old disabled daughter. Her disabilities are mostly invisible (until she is overtired or overstimulated, when she tantrums like a much younger child and then EVERYONE sees and hears). She seems youngish, but mostly you wouldn't notice her issues. Unless you asked her to read or something. She loves Tinkerbell and the Princesses and is looking forward to going dancing with her Dad.

5. 10 year old gymnast son. This one is always going a mile a minute. If anyone accidentally goes overboard it will be this boy! Always curious, always climbing or hanging upside down. He enjoyed the olympics. He wants to see dolphins (I've got us signed up for the dolphin cay thing at the Atlantis).

We are leaving on the 31st and staying that night at the Beach Club resort at the World. Planning to take the kiddos to Chef Mickeys that eve for dinner. Next morning we have Cape May Cafe (at our resort) planned for breakfast.

There are more than 100 dis-ers on this cruise!!!! Totally floored me! Daughter and I made some cool FE gifts. Little magnets that look like tropical fish and say "Disney Magic, Double Dip, September 1-6, 2008" on their sides.
My daughter likes to do crafts and this one took up all of last saturday. WE watched the Pirates films while we glued and wrote. It was fun.

None of us have ever been on any kind of cruise. We are looking forward. My 10 year old son has severe food allergies, but I have been assured that he will be taken care of (I hope so). He always has been well fed on our park and resort visits.

My husband (aka The WEather Nerd) has taken to watching the weather reports for the whole country for next week. He's driving me nuts. It will rain or it won't! But at least he is showing some interest.

 

[govmarley]

Hey, tinkslite, maybe our sons can connect in the kids club. Mine will turn 10 on 9/8, and he might be falling overboard with yours--goes a mile a minute! What floor are you guys staying on?

 

[nordicskidoodle]

Hi Tink,
We are also on your cruise. Your family sounds very similar to ours. We have a 13 year old son also(we'll have to hook them up to go to Ocean Quest), his name is Jamison. We also have a 13 year old daughter with Down Syndrome and she is also on the autistic spectrum. So, never fear we live with the tantrums too! Maybe we'll see you on the cruise.
Lisa

 

[tinkslite]

Boy could I use a disney fix!!!!

I had a meeting at my sons school (year round here, so they've been back since July 7) because they are "concerned" about him being behind in Math.

He was homeschooled and in and out of the hospital for years. This is his first year back at a public school and he's not used to testing. We know he's behind in Math, I told the teacher that on the first day back. I hired a tutor who is helping him. It was the dumbest meeting. It was to "inform" me of the fact that he is behind, and tell me what they are doing for him (extra help), which I already know because I am in close contact with the teacher. Duh.

My husband took the afternoon off of work for this colossal waste of time.

In the meantime, I received a letter in the mail from an ex I haven't heard from in a couple of decades. It was other worldly. Our breakup was awful.
My life is so different now. His doesn't sound that changed. It makes me sad for him. I have no desire to correspond with this person. That seems like a different life, and I have no desire to revisit.

 

[tinkslite]

My dh is out of town (a common occurrence, due to his company owning 2 areas). My kids started school today. I am on my last week of a temporary babysitting job. We leave on Sunday for our Magic cruise on Monday. I am (mostly) packed, my paperwork is in order, the house is quiet.
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I just want this trip to start!!!!!
I admit I'm a little apprehensive about the category 11's that I booked. I will be fine. The kids will be fine. A little afraid dh will feel claustraphobic. Hope not.
I am also a little nervous about ds's food allergies. But I have notified everyone I am supposed to notify. In writing, on the phone, etc. etc.
I am looking forward to the Atlantis dolphin cay and aquaventure (all 5 of us are signed on for this one). My family loves karaoke (actually all love it but me, my voice should not be experienced by anyone who hasn't had a little alcohol within the previous hour or so), so they are looking forward to Family Karaoke (which I told them I could not promise was going to happen).

Nothing left to do but worry!

 

[Mom2Cody06]

Sounds like you will have an awesome trip, can't wait to here your trip report!

 

[Caitsmama]

Hey there fellow cruiser!! I am enjoying reading your pre-trip! Takes my mind off whatever i still need to do!! LOL

 

[tinkslite]

I am so glad to be thinking that next week I will be somewhere in Bahamian waters on the Disney Magic!!!
Today BOTH my middle schoolers missed the bus to come home and I had to put the little ones I babysit into car seats to go and retrieve them. Interupting Nap Time of course. Cranky babies for the rest of the day.

Then my son informs me that he got mixed up re. his schedule at school (it's only been 2 days, so this was legit) and went to a strings class when he should have been in History and didn't realize what he'd done until it was actually the correct period for him to be in Strings!!! Poor Kid. Still getting used to things.

Then my 10 year olds math tutor came down sick and I had to help him with a math concept I suck at!!!!!!
Hubby is out of town, and he is the math whiz.
Heavy sigh

How many more days again?????

 

[tinkslite]

There are no pics here as that surpasses my techie abilities. I may have alink to photos and video later on when my 13 year old son gets over whatever mystery illness he brought home. But :

We are home again (as of last night) with suntans, sunburns and lots of stories and memories of a great vacation.

1. Vacation tip #1: If your husband is a workaholic with a Blackberry obsession then a cruise is the perfect choice for a vacation. The black berry won't like being on the ocean!!!! HOORAY

So, we enjoyed our flights to Orlando and the first afternoon and evening, which we spent at the Disney World Resort in the Beach Club Hotel. The Beach Club is modeled after turn of the century Cape Cod Beach Hotels. There was a campfire on the beach, a sandy bottomed pool area with a slide and the kids loved the water slide which came right out of a shipwreck (one must climb the mast of the shipwreck to ride the slide and there was a bell to ring at top).
On the morning of September 1st we boarded a Disney Cruise Line transport bus to the Port (Port Canaveral right near the Space Center). The ship was very impressive as we drove up to the port. The kids gasps and awe were a lot of fun. After getting through security (just like at the airport but they allowed us to keep our shoes ON), we entered the terminal and the fun started! Minnie was greeting guests in the middle of the terminal (mostly the JR. guests as parents were standing in check in lines. The check in took 15 minutes or so, including the line; there was so much going on for the kids that the time flew by). There were several TV's tucked into corners where kiddos could watch the loops of Disney cartoons or the tapes of what to expect on the ship. In another area of the terminal was a small cafe and check in for kids programs on the ship (the parents are given a pager if child is 12 or younger; each child has a wrist band and is scanned in and out of program. Scanner tells counselors about allergies, fears, special needs etc. etc.).
So within 25 minutes we were checked in to everything, had said hello to Miss Mouse (wearing a sailor dress of course) and were on our way up the gangplank.
As you enter the ships atrium you are greeted by a ships officer, asking for your family name and whether or not you have cruised with Disney before. As we had not the officer then announced to the atrium in a loud carrying style voice,"Attention Magic! I would like everyone to please welcome aboard The Hansen Family, from Sparks Nevada!" Then the crew in the atrium applaud and cheer and you make your way through a little reception line of officers. Fun. I stuck around a minute to see how experienced cruisers are welcomed,"Please welcome back the Smith Family" if you are a vacation club member (disney time share) "Please Welcome Home the smith family"!

I broke apart from Alan and the kids at this point because the kids were hungry for lunch (they went to the Topsiders Buffet on Deck 9) and I wanted to try to get dining reservations at the adults only restaraunt, Palo. It is very competitive to get into Palo and we really wanted to try it. Unfortunately, the only dining time they had left was that very first night and we felt odd about not eating with the kids on the first night. We decided we could get a small appetizer and drinks at Palo and then eat a proper meal with the kids as our dinner seating was the later one (8:15 pm). So I grabbed the reservation and made my way to Deck 9 for a buffet lunch with the family.
Our lunch was overlooking the aft of the ship and we were able to see the activity on the port side of the ship as well. The food was wonderful and as we sat in the sunshine and a kid dropped a fork, before I could rise to retrieve a new one a Disney Cast member was at my side with another and a big smile. He asked how we were and if we had ever cruised before. He told the kids a few things about the kids programs on board the ship and then he disappeared. I wish I remember his name, but I don't. He was like the Lone Ranger "who was that masked man?" LOL.

I will tell you all about our staterooms and the sail away party later on, but I need to go do some laundry (the worst part of coming home from vacation).

 

[tinkslite]

Well,after our lovely buffet lunch we went down to our staterooms and found a Personal Navigator and then it was time for life vests. Our station was in Animators Palate so we got a little preview. The drill was handled quickly and painlessly. We returned our lifevests and headed up for the sail away party on decks 9 and 10.
Our 3 tweens danced, waved streamer ribbons on sticks and videotaped alot of the proceedings. Daddy and I oversaw the proceedings from deck 10 w/drinks in our hands. Lol. I don't know what I was drinking but it was frozen, fruity and good.
After party the kids wanted to swim and check out clubs (fine with us, we had Palo ressies). We went to shower and change. We were at Palo by 6:40 and our "appetizers" turned into etrees at the insistence of the server (who said better to skip the appetizers and salads and go for the main course. We could have salad and appetizers w/the kids). He was correct and the meal was divine. I had lobster ravioli w/a nice cheesy cream sauce (it sounds heavier than it was) and a glass of champagne. Alan had a beef dish w a wine glaze. Very good.
We met the kids for dinner @ 8 @ Lumieres. Our server was Wilson (what a great and entertaining guy), our assistant server was Joszef from Hungary and we wanted to bring him home with us!! They seemed to be serving only us they were so attentive!!! I know they had other guests, it really was magical. My kids will never forget these 2. Our head server made my sons food allergies an absolute NONIssue!! Thanks Jeff!!

We needn't have felt odd about being away from the kids during a meal. They wanted to go back to the clubs so badly that they wouldn't make it through til dessert! Please can we be excused? We want to go play guitar Hero, go to a party, go swimming, go see a show?????? Please?? Our servers would serve them dessert and they would bolt out the door spooning the goodies into their mouths!!
During dinner 2, the motion of the ship started to make me dizzy and tired. This soon turned into real motion sickness and my evening ended with 2 drammamine and and early retirement to bed , much to the dismay of my NOT motion sick hubby!
More later must cook dinner

 

[tinkslite]

Castaway Cay was absolutely wonderful!!! WE wound up rescheduling our Stingray Adventure time to the afternoon as we did not get off the ship in time to get there by 10 am. Rescheduling was no problem, though.
We set our tote bags and towells down on some chairs not far from Castaway Ray's hut and our daughter promptly found a young friend to play with nearby. This was the very farthest side of the Family Beach area. Our older son, James went off to find out where th Disney Quest kids were and we didn't see him again until 2:00! He says he went on a scavenger hunt, played some B-ball, and generally had a great time w/ the Ocean Quest gang. We took our youngest son over to Scuttle's Landing and checked him in w/the Lab group. He stayed there until after lunch and they handled lunch for the food allergy kid just fine (we stopped by and checked).
After all the kids were settled we took out a catamaran and went sailing. My husband loved to do this when he was younger, and has always wanted to take me. It was a lot of fun.
After our sail we went back and had lunch with our daughter at Cookie's BarBQ. The food was good. I love the banana bread. I had fish (they were actually sandwiches but i just asked for mine separately), fruit salad, banana bread and ice water. Jessica had a hamburger, chips and a pop. Dad had a hot dog (cant imagine why), chips, fruit and ice water. We all stopped for soft serve ice cream after lunch.
There was a dance party happening not too far from where we ate, and Lilo and Stitch were part of it. We listened to the music, but did not join in as jessie wanted to get back down to the family beach. Alan and I wanted to take her snorkeling and we got the equipment and started to swim out. BUT...As it began to be well over her head and we started to see more fish she panicked. She has a phobia of sharks and she could not get over the fear of being in the ocean. Daddy accompanied her back to shore and she would not go in the water deeper than her waist for the rest of the cruise!
At 2 we checked Nicholas out of the lab and went over to Castaway Ray's for our Stingray adventure. While there we met a cast member who lives on the island and works at the Ray adventure, Rendal. Rendal had a break earlier in the day and had been shooting hoops with our son James. We had a nice visit with him and even exchanged email addresses! He lives on Castaway Cay, I am sure it is lonely between ships visits.
The rays were the highlight of the trip for Nicholas!! He loves all things animal and reads voraciously at home about habitats, feeding and mating habits etc etc re. different species. He would not leave the snorkelling pool until everyone else had gone. We gave him an underwater camera and let him have at it. I haven't developed those pics yet, but I am looking forward to it.
Jessica was still nervous from her earlier snorkelling panic, and I thought she wouldn't go near the rays. But she bucked up a bit and actually came out and even fed them a couple of times. She still wouldn't snorkel though, and returned to the beach after the feeding was over.
After the rays, my daughter wanted to return to the Magic. As it was after 3 and I was kind of tired I agreed to take her back. Alan wanted to take the boys sailing on a catamaran so he stayed on the island a bit longer. The boys enjoyed their sail.

On the way back to the ship, Jess and I stopped to get our photo in front of the Pirate Ship and then to visit w/Max.
This was Animators Palate night for my family, more on that later on.........

 

[stulaurie]

Great trip report.

Do you mind telling me what allergies that your son has? Our son has Peanut, Tree Nut, Sesame, Beans, Peas, Chick Peas, and Lentils. I am just curious what kinds of foods your son was able to eat.

Thanks

 

[lichevyguy]

great trip report , looking foward to reading the rest , glad you had a good time

 

[anc22]

Great T.R.

 

[tinkslite]

Nicholas is allergic to Peanuts, tree nuts, corn, soy, wheat, bananas and all legumes (he also has medication and some environmental allergies). It is always a challenge to feed him when we are away from home and we rarely eat out, spontaneously.
Disney Parks and Resorts have taken great care of his dietary needs on our past vacations; when he was 6 years old he came home from the Disneyland Resort in California telling everyone that the best part of his vacation was "my chef at Goofy's Kitchen. He makes Mickey's Grilled cheese sandwiches, too."

I overworried about feeding him on the ship. His Dr. filled out a Disney Cruise Line health form (down load on the dcl website). We had like 4 epipens with us. He took an epipen to the Oceaneer's Lab with him.

His head server (for dinner) was in charge of his meals for the duration of the cruise. He would arrange meals for his following day at each dinner time, discussing ingredients and Nicholas' favorites. He did a great job. He served Nick things like gluten free pancakes and pizza, he arranged french fries cooked in olive oil (rather than soy) covered them in cheese. He arranged gluten free, nut free desserts too. Nick had green jello (a fave), ice cream, fruits w/whip cream and brownies. He was actually served such big portions I felt a little guilty that they had arranged these wonderful special meals for him and he had barely made a dent!
They even served the pizza lunch in the lab for him so he didn't have to leave his buddies. No one ever minded us checking on the ingredients or asking to see and make sure. The whole thing was handled very well.

So Tip # 2 Your Head Server is your friend-especially if you have special dietary needs such as an allergy!

 

[tinkslite]

Ok, so the kids were all having a great time. They loved the club and by the end of our day at Castaway Cay my youngest had discovered girls!!!!!!!!!
Actually, just one girl: Mya (aged 9). They met on the island in the Lab activity group and were instantly fast friends.
For the rest of the cruise the two were inseparable. They did EVERYTHING together and when they weren't together they were on the stateroom to stateroom phone making plans to do stuff together!! We were a little worried that he was making himself a nuisance to some poor family. But then we met Mya's parents and grandparents and it turned out she was just as obsessed and they had worried she might be bothering us!!!! We wound up agreeing that the whole thing was adorable and then planning to go out for "next to the grown up pool" drinks while our urchins were occupied.
That night we attended Animators Palate. I was excited about the "show". But the kids thought the color changing was a bit slow moving and wanted to get back to all the action. I kept telling them to chew their food, sit down, there is more to the show, I think. But in the end we lost one of them before dessert so he missed the whole Mickey Mouse led finale. The two that were with us loved it. We attended The Golden Mickey's that night and really enjoyed all the music. None of the kids came with us, though we learned later that James went with a friend.
During the early showing (6:15, our show due to the late dinner seating) there was some sort of technical blip and the sound suddenly died in the middle of the Tarzan number!! The singer finished the measure like a trooper sans mic and music, though. Then the stage went black for a couple of minutes and an announcer informed us that the show would resume momentarily. This is when my "Disney Scrooge" of a hubby smiled and said, "Stitch must be backstage!" You could have knocked me over with a feather when he said that! He was really enjoying the cruise and said it was the best vacation he had ever had.
That night, none of us was in bed prior to midnight. We were enjoying karaoke, dancing and fun all over the ship!! Getting up the next day was a challenge!

 

[tinkslite]

This one is a quote from allergy son:

"It is the perfect way to eat. I've always liked eating at Disney! It's great. I eat better there than at home. They give me huge piles of food like int the Hercules movie when he had to climb Mt. Olympus my fork has to climb a Mt. Olympus. My favorite was when they melted cheese all over chicken and fries and made me some gluten free noodles with a sauce I could eat!"

Just thot I'd let the kiddo have his say!

 

[kimiza]

great Trip Report..can't wait to hear more

 

[suzycute]

sounds like a fantastic cruise - will look forward to reading more!

 

[tinkslite]

The next day was Nassau. We had originally discussed going on the Dolphin Cay and Aquaventure @ the Atlantis resort, but the price tag was just to big for us . It turned out to be fine, anyway because we were able to sleep in (when we rose at 10 the kids had gotten up, ordered a room service breakfast and gone to the clubs to play-leaving us a note to that effect on our white board on our door!)
We found the kidlets and asked if they wanted to go for a walk in Nassau with us. They emphatically did NOT, and so we went shopping, ate ice cream cones and had a carriage ride without kids. It was nice. BUT
Nassau was a dirty impoverished tourist trap, for the most part. We only spent about an hour or 2 then returned to ship. Perhaps Paradise Island has a different feel?
When we returned to ship we went to check on kiddos. Boys were fine. Jessica was in the stateroom sniffling and upset. When I inquired as to the problem she said she ached all over and her back itched. On further inspection we learned that her back was totally sunburnt!! She had spent the 2.5 hours we'd been away from her at the pool without ever pulling out the can of sunblock I'd left in her tote bag and told her to use often!!!
So, I spent the next hour obtaining aloe vera with pain relief gel, and helping her apply and finding a loose cotton top for her to wear (braless of course).
That night was Pirates. We LOVED IT! From dinner to fireworks we had a blast. Nicholas dressed up in his Jack Sparrow costume. The only Shutters photo I bought was Nicholas on Pirate Night. It was really cute.
Sorry it's taking me so long to add, but Nicholas and James have brought home an extra souvenir. They are both really sick! Upper repiratory (they both have asthma), fevers, chills, loss of appetite and James was blessed with an ear infection too! Poor guys.
We all wish we were back on Castaway Cay!!!