Very Merrytime Cruise from Galveston -food allergy princess's Wonderful holidays

[MomoMama]

Day 3

Day 3 Navigators...

 

[MomoMama]

Day 3

We woke up late…I was not getting a really good sleep and having hard time in the morning. DD was staying up late without naps, so the morning was hard for her too. DH got us light breakfast from the buffet, like bananas and yogurt. It was Key West day, but we were not planning on getting off the ship, so we took it easy. There was not much going on, and we avoided some activities like swimming or movie because we had a Princess Gathering scheduled just before noon. So we just hanged around…walked around a bit…picked up the cream cheese filled pretzel...which DH and I ate like 4 times during our cruise.

DD was excited to see the princesses, and got ready 1 hour before our scheduled time. She wore her Ariel dress, took Sebastian with her, and went to the lobby. Since it was a port day and not many people around, I took advantage of it and took pictures in front of the tree and the gingerbread house.

Then we waited…

and waited…

 

[MomoMama]

When it was close to our scheduled time and no one was showing up, we noticed something was wrong. So I went to the guest service to see if we were at the wrong location. The guest service said the Princess Gathering was held early that morning and we had wrong time written on the ticket! I could not believe it… on the first day when we were getting the ticket and were assigned around noon on a port day, I thought it was odd time and verified with the CM who was giving me the ticket. The CM checked, and said that was correct. There was no way of us knowing it was wrong, sine the event is not listed on the Navigator. The guest service CM told us not to worry…they would give us another ticket for the event later in the cruise. The CM took the copy of our ticket (we still needed it for the gingerbread house making event), and told me someone would call us later. DD was disappointed, but understood she could still meet the princesses later. We changed DD into more comfortable clothing and rushed to lunch. DD’s pre-ordered lunch was at Tritons’, and we had just less than 1 hour before they would close!

I was not really upset, but sure was irritated...thinking we could have done something else for those time we wasted waiting, and would not have to rush the lunch. If we were on a shorter cruise and there were no more M&G offered, or if we had changed our port plan because of this event, then I would have been really upset…
That day in the afternoon, I got a call from the guest service letting us know they were giving us a new ticket for Princess M&G. It would be held on day 5, right after the gingerbread house making and before our Palo brunch reservation. We thought it was too close to our Palo reservation and asked for another time, but that was the only time slot available. So I asked if they could move our Palo reservation for 30 min, and they could do that. I was told the ticket would be sent to our cabin so I would not have to come down to the guest service. But it was never delivered to our room. At night I realized we did not have our ticket yet, and went down to the GS around midnight to get it myself. This whole ticket mishap was only thing DCL messed up for us.

 

[cruisehopeful]

That is pretty annoying about the tickets. I can't believe you had to go down at midnight to pick up the replacements. I hope you noted all of that on your cruise evaluation form.

 

[MomoMama]

That is pretty annoying about the tickets. I can't believe you had to go down at midnight to pick up the replacements. I hope you noted all of that on your cruise evaluation form.

Do you mean the survey at the end of the cruise? No, I did not mention about this...I did not think it was necessary since we did get a new ticket and things worked out. So no CM needs to be in trouble for simple mistakes. GS does know what happened, so DCL can improve the process if they think that is necessary.
Yes, it was annoying, but it was my choice to go to GS at midnight, because I realized about the ticket at night, and I thought there would be no line at GS at midnight. Yes, there was no line.

 

[MomoMama]

After lunch, we decided to check out the sports deck. All the ping-pong tables were in use when we got there, but soon one became available and DD tried it for the first time. It is really hard to let her win, when she can’t hit the ball…but she enjoyed the foosball, since DH would let her win on that…

We thought it was a good day for her to play in the pool, so went back to the cabin to change. There we found our prizes from the Chocolate Chase hunt! We left the answer sheet by the bed in the morning as instructed, and got our treats!

I think the similar treat is sold at the gift shop, but those had “Chocolate Chase” printed on them. They do have a warning that it is made in the same facility that processes eggs and peanuts. DD did not have any reactions, but she really did not eat it…she tried, and said did not like it. I tasted it, and thought it was way too sweet.

So that afternoon while DH took DD to the Mickey Pool (The Goofy Pool was closed), I went to the spa. I had pre-purchased 1-day pass for $18, and used it on this day. I would have purchased more if they are open late…but with the closing time of 10pm and so many things to do every day, I knew I would not get to use the spa more than 1 day on a 6-nights cruise. I spent a little more than 1 hour in the steam rooms and on a stone chair. It was not crowded, and I only saw few people come and go. I enjoyed the spa, but I cannot say it was very relaxing…I guess there is a basketball court right above, and there were constant loud noise and vibrations.

 

[MomoMama]

After the spa I met up with DH and DD at the pool, went back to the cabin. Then we went to see some characters before dinner. The characters were dressed up in their holiday costumes, and it was a MUST for me to take pictures with them! First we got the photo taken with reindeer Pluto.

Then we lined up for photo with Mickey.

We saw Minnie came down too, but she had to wait for Pluto to finish meeting all the guests. She kept on dancing on the stairs. Nice moves, Minnie!

 

[MomoMama]

After dinner we saw Cinderella walking in front of the Lobby elevators, and DD got a quick hug and photo taken with her. I think I saw Belle in winter dress walking around that night too…but I did not have DD with me that time and do not have a photo to remember what time it was.

Then we went to have a photo taken with Santa Goofy.

See the Napkin mouse DD is holding? Our waiter Kadek made it for her and he called it Bob. It seems many waiters make them on cruises, but Kadek was great at making Bob jump out of the hand and DD loved it. DD wanted Bob to be in the photo too.

I wanted a family photo with Santa Goofy, so I asked CM to take our photo using my camera. It seems CM zoomed in the lens, and the photo came out with DD’s face cut off… This was one photo I really wanted, so I was very disappointed. I thought we would try again later during the cruise and kept checking on Goofy, but that was the only day he dressed up as Santa. And that is when I realized I had to purchase the Shutters photo…I really was not planning on photo purchase this time, but ended up buying 15 photos option for $199.

 

[MomoMama]

We did not have a lot of time before the show, but DD wanted to go the kids club, so we let her. DH and I had nothing particularly we wanted to do in the short time we had. We had a photo taken with lovely Minnie, then picked up DD from the club and went to see the show. It was Toy Story the Musical night. DH and I agreed, it was our least favorite. While the show was well done and actors were fantastic, the storyline was exactly the same as the movie, so it felt little boring to us. Also, I felt weird seeing Woody and Buzz as faced characters.

We went back to the cabin. DD wanted to eat the dessert she brought back from dinner. It was muffin –like cake.

She was excited to eat it, but after she tried one bite, said she did not like it. I tried it, and thought it was okay, especially for an allergen-free cake, but maybe little kids disagree.

 

[MomoMama]

We went to Santa’s Winter Wonderland Ball at 10:30 pm, since we missed the one at 4:00 pm. DD sat on the floor among other kids, and DH stood behind with other adults. I went up to deck 5, as the deck 4 was already full.

The dancers came out, they built a snowman, Santa came out, then Mrs. Claus and the Disney characters!

What a cute show, and it was great that the characters mingled and danced at the end.

DD went up to Chip and Dale, and the CM invited DD to dance with them. But she got shy... She enjoyed being there though.

 

[MomoMama]

Day 4

This was the day we have been waiting for…Castaway Cay day! A lot of things were going on that day… a beach day, the pirate’s party, and Star Wars movie night all in one day!

 

[MomoMama]

We went to Beach Blanket Buffet for breakfast. It was raining a bit, but stopped by the time we got our food and a table. Then we could see a rainbow while eating breakfast! DD was excited to go to the beach and said she was not hungry, but we made her have something…milk, fruits, ham, etc.

We got off the ship and walked to the beach. It is not a long walk to the first family beach, and I do not like waiting for the tram.

We settled at the first family beach, as it is close to Cookies 1, where they would serve DD’s pre-ordered meal. All the first row seats were taken by the time we got there, so we found second row seats and umbrella.

 

[MomoMama]

The last time we were there I missed a chance to meet Captain Jack Sparrow, so I really wanted to meet him this time on the island. DD was not interested, so I left DH and DD on the beach, and tried to walk back to the M&G spot. When I walked by the Mount Rustmore, I saw Goofy! There was no wait and I just could not resist having a photo taken with Goofy. How often do I get to have a photo taken with a tall and handsome man, and hubby would not say a thing… BTW, I noticed the Mount Rustmore were clean…no rust on them like I saw 2 and half years ago. Are they still called the Mount Rustmore without the rust??

Then right next there was Minnie. Also there was no wait, so I had a quick photo taken with her.

But right after I saw Minnie, it started to rain! I covered my camera and hurried back to our chairs on the beach, where I had a beach bag and towels. The rain did not last long, but I missed a chance to see Captain Jack Sparrow. He was scheduled to show up twice that morning, so I thought I would just try again. But of course it rained again when it was time for the second M&G…

After the rain the blue sky appeared, and we saw a rainbow again. But the rain clouds were still there…

 

[MomoMama]

DH and I thought the water was pretty cold. DD did not mind, as she was having too much fun to feel the cold. We made her wear the vest Disney provided. They also had thin orange vests for people to wear while snorkel. I guess this is a mandatory now, the life guards were constantly reminding people to wear the vests while snorkel.

DH and DD made a Mickey face on the beach. It may look like a bear face…but no, it is Mickey!

At lunch time we went to Cookies 1. There I asked a CM about getting DD’s pre-ordered meal, who asked someone else, who then called someone in charge. I had to wait a little to talk to the right person, but DD’s meal came out quick and warm. Since we did not have to worry about getting seasick this day, we ordered rice, grilled chicken and some vegetables for her. We also picked up a bag of Lay’s chips for her.

While we were eating, the character dance party started. DD said she wanted to go, so I took her. But she did not dance… It was weird seeing her standing still while everyone else, adults and kids, dancing and having fun. After the party was over, I asked her, and she said she did not like the music…

 

[MomoMama]

We finished our lunch and went back to the sand and water. DD and I buried DH in the sand. In the morning there were waiters coming by to take drink orders, but I did not see many in the afternoon. We ordered one drink of the day from a waiter, but when we wanted another, no one was coming around. So I had to go to the bar myself, since DH was in the sand…

As we were talking that we would have to go back to the ship earlier than we wanted because of the rain clouds, the rain came. It came a lot quicker than we anticipated. We stayed under the umbrella but we all got wet because of the winds. When the rain got a little lighter, we decided to just leave. Finally DD was feeling cold. We only had a small towel poncho for her, as other towels and cover-up got all wet with rain.

Before boarding the ship we took quick photos in front of the Christmas tree and such, but then we just hurried back to our cabin for a warm shower.

 

[MomoMama]

So it was the pirates’ party night. It was actually good that we came back to the ship early, and we had enough time to get ready. DD dressed up as pirate fairy Zarina. I had my costume made with her leftover fabrics, so we had the matching outfits. DH packed his pirate costume too, but did not want to wear it to the dinner. DD and I wanted to see some characters before the dinner, and DH helped.

First, DH lined up for Chip and Dale M&G while we got ready. DD and I love Chip n Dale M&G, since they are always so cute and fun! This time they took DD’s hands and danced in a circle.

Then DH lined up for Tinker Bell. Thanks to him, we did not have to stay in the line too long. Tinker Bell notice DD as Zarina right away. Actually she was the only one who did. I guess the costume was not very Zarina-like.

As soon as we were done with Tink, DH moved to line up for Captain Jack. Finally I got to see Captain Jack Sparrow!
DD had not seen any of Pirates of Caribbean movies, so she did not know who he was. I told her he was a nice pirate, but I think she did not know what to think of him…when he talked to her, she was frozen and gave him NO response at all.

Minnie was at the lobby in a lovely pirate costume. I got photos taken with her twice already, but DD had not…but I couldn’t push it with DH any more. We just went inside Triton’s for dinner.

The assistant server told us about the drinks that come in the souvenir cups that night. So we got one for DD with chocolate smoothie. It was Mickey’s pirate mug that light-up.

Pirates in the Caribbean party was at 7:30. On our last Disney cruise, I remember it being held later at night. Our waiter told us that DCL moved the pirates party to early time so the families with small kids could join. That makes sense. But the pirates buffet was open much later.

 

[MomoMama]

After dinner we went to the deck 9 for the party. We took DD to the kids area in front of the stage. There were many kids there already and they were all older and taller than DD, but she found small spaces and kept moving forward. She ended up in a pretty good spot close to the stage, and we could see that she was having fun!

Lots of music and dancing were going on. Rock music is not something we normally listen, and to be honest it did not feel very pirate-like to me, but it was still fun.

Zip-lining Captain Mickey’s arrival was impressive, and the fireworks felt magical. I do not remember much about the pirates party from the last cruise we sailed, but I did have more fun this time!

 

[MomoMama]

After the party we went to see Star Wars movie. We chose to watch 3D version in the Walt Disney Theater. DD is only 5, and we were not really thinking about watching Star Wars movie with her, but she wanted to see it. Even though she had never seen any of other Star Wars movies or cartoons before, she already knew some of the characters because Star Wars is seen everywhere these days. And when CD Clayton told us to go see the movie, she got so excited.

So we seated…I gave her the bread we got from dinner. She could not finish all the food they would bring out at the dinner, but I knew she would be hungry later, so I asked to let us take her bread and dessert to the cabin every night. DD really just wanted to eat the bread only everyday…just bread, no butter or anything else. She would eat her dinner if I promised her that she could have her bread later.

The movie started. DH is not into Star Wars, and fell asleep. DD was not used to watching an action movie like this, so I was checking with her if she was okay in the beginning. Somewhere in the middle of the movie when I was into watching, DD said she wanted to leave. I woke up DH and told him we were leaving. Bit too much action for a 5 years old…DD got scared. I was thinking about watching the move by myself later, but did not get the chance. I still do not know how the movie ended….

We wanted DD to feel better, so took her to the kids club. Then we saw Goofy was scheduled to show up in the lobby. Yes, I had taken photos with Goofy already and his pirates costume was not my favorite, but it was Goofy! It was not like there was anything else DH wanted to do anyway, so he let me see Goofy.

I think I was the first one in the line. Goofy let me do a little twirl, and I felt like a little girl.

We were not really hungry, but I told DH we should check out the pirates buffet. On Magic we did not get to try it because it was held right after the pirates’ party and the place was packed. This time however, Beach Blanket was not crowded at all. We took some fruits and the smallest turkey leg as we were not hungry. Also we tasted few desserts. We did not think the buffet was a "must-try," but it would have been a great choice if we were hungry around that time.

After we picked up DD and went back to the cabin, she wanted to eat her dessert we brought back earlier.

It was late and it was a chocolate cake, but we did not think she would eat it all, so we let her. She took one bite and that was it. I tasted the cake and thought the cake was good especially for allergy-free, but somehow DD who loves chocolate did not like it. She actually wanted more bread…

 

[MomoMama]

Day 5

It was a sea day with gingerbread house making, Princess Gathering, and our Palo brunch reservation. Because of the brunch, we did not want to eat a big breakfast. While us ladies were getting some beauty sleep, DH went to the buffet and brought fruits and yogurt for us.

 

[MomoMama]

DD dressed in a princess dress for the gingerbread house making at Studio Sea, because the Princess Gathering was following right after. We found out later that we had plenty of time for her to get changed, because the gingerbread house making did not take long…it took maybe less than 30 min. I felt we were rushed to build the house and get out of there. But it was still fun to do, and I am glad we did it. The best part was meeting the pastry chef. He did mention that the cookie contained wheat, eggs, and nuts, and warned us not to participate if you were allergic to those. DD was not going to eat it, and since she does not react by touch, we let her join. She just loves gingerbread houses, even though she cannot eat them.

Our house kept falling down, and a nice CM helped us. We managed to make a house that held up well! I put the icing around, DH passed the candies to DD, and she decorated.

Before we left the studio, we stopped to say hello to the chef. We wanted to thank him for all the wonderful desserts he was making. Then the chef gave us the sample gingerbread house he decorated! I knew DH and I could not possibly eat 2 houses, but declining his offer seemed rude when he was saying he loved to make the guests happy. So we accepted and thanked him again. We left the studio and stayed in front of the entrance, to pass this beautiful house made by the chef to another family. We saw one family came out soon after us, and it seemed something went wrong with their house. We stopped them and asked if they would take the chef’s house. They did, and we hope they enjoyed it.