WB repo cruise, the good the bad and looonggg!! Updated day 15 and disembarkation

[cmash95]

Day 2
today's picture link
http://figment1986.smugmug.com/gallery/5031532_ZtG5s/1/302132583_eb5qW

Not only were we at the awesome Castaway Cay for the day, but it was also Mother’s day. How cool is that? My DH and Mom started the day out bright and early ( 7 ish ) with a few laps around deck 4 and then breakfast at topsiders. This became a regular thing for them to do. Not me, I managed to get myself and my son out of bed around 9 . We had a glass bottom boat excursion at 10:30 so we hurridly showered, got dressed and headed out for our excursion. Thank heavens the walk to the glass bottom boat wasn’t far, because I nearly melted in the heat and humidity.

The boat operator was so nice, he let us sit in the shade and also let me be the first person onboard so I could sit down otherwise I don’t think I would have made it through the excursion. Oh and we did bring a couple of bottles of water with us to drink while on the boat as well. The excursion was ok. The boat takes you out beyond the protected areas of the island into open water so it was very rocky . There was one person talking about the island and the Bahamas in general. He also pointed out various types of coral and fish as we drove over the reef. After awhile the boat stopped and they threw oatmeal overboard to the fish. Everyone onboard that wanted to could throw out some oatmeal. It was fun to see the fish clammer for the food. Once all the oatmeal was gone, we headed back to the dock. I have to say that the tour operators were so nice to me and I felt bad because I forgot to bring along extra cash in order to give them a tip.

Anyway, when we got back to the dock, they called the first aid people who operate an island taxi of sorts if you can’t make it to the trams and they drove me and my son up to the first aid station which just happens to be next to the shop and near cookies. I sent my son to buy a spritzer fan and then settled in under the covered picnic area for a bit. My son was hungry, so he headed over to cookies to get some food and something to drink.

We had three oclock resies to feed the stingrays, but I was too tired to go, so my son headed over to meet his dad at the stingray lagoon, while I decided to head back to the boat and take a nap. I headed back to the first aid station to ask for a taxi ride back to the boat, but when I got there, they were very busy with a patient suffering from heat exposure. So I waited on the bench outside the office until they could get another cart out my way. It only took 5 minutes and then I was headed back to the ship. On our way back, we passed several tables where cast members were handing out wet towels and water to the passengers as they headed back to the ship. My driver was so nice, he drove me right up to the gangway so I didn’t have far to walk at all. I managed to get back to the cabin and took a short nap while my son and DH were enjoying the stingrays. Unfortunately we don’t have any pictures of the excusion but I have been assured that they had a great time.

Before continuing with the rest of the day, I want to point out a couple of things about castaway cay that I didn’t know. I knew about the sand wheel chairs, but I didn’t know about the wagons that you could use to transport your kids in. Nor did I realize that the band from the ship came out and played during the day. I have to admit that I can see why everyone raves about this island. Even with the heat, it was a great day and I hope to get back someday. I hear they have the imfamous double dip cruises where basically the only thing you do is castaway cay. Oh one more thing before I forget. When you get off the boat they have signs warning people about the chances of encountering sharks and other sea life like eels and barracudas. Take head of those warnings as I spoke to a passenger at dinner who related the story of her encounter with a barracuda. She wasn’t hurt but she was a bit spooked by it. So just be careful when you are out snorkeling.

My mom had spent the day relaxing on the ship. She did a lot of that this trio. When my son and Husband got back for the stingrays, we called her and decided to take in the hypnotist. He was a lot of fun. After the show we did some shopping and then hung out in the atrium until it was time for dinner.

Tonight it was Parrot Cay and Island dinner. They had a beautiful cake at the enterance wishing us a Happy Mother's day and they served a small piece of cake to each mom in the dining room.Dinner ran late and I was tired from castaway cay so I decided to head back to the cabin and go to bed. My mom and Husband called it a night as well but my son wanted to go to rockin bar D and see John Charles’s adult cabaret show. He told me later that the show was so crowded they had to put a video feed into diversions to hold everyone. Needless to say beat street became his home away from home nightly on the cruise. He had a great time.

There were a couple of bad things to talk about but only one could Disney do anything about. First. the weather was HOT. Second, I lost my drivers license reboarding the ship. Thank heavens I had my passport or I would have had a tough time getting off not only in mexico but back in LA as well. Lastly( and this is something Disney could deal with.) my husband commented that the meat at the BBQ was really dry and almost overcooked.

 

[CruisinEars]

Enjoying your report. The pictures are beautiful. Looking forward to more.

 

[NZMUM]

Enjoying your report . The photos are great. Looking forward to more.

Tania

 

[cmash95]

thanks for the comments, the pictures are courtesy my DS, figment1986. otherwise known as my personal photographer.

 

[wilma-bride]

Really enjoying your report so far. We loved Castaway Cay on our last visit there. I am off to look at all your pictures now

 

[gofenmom]

Love your post and photos. What kind of camera is your son using?

 

[figment1986]

Love your post and photos. What kind of camera is your son using?

I am using a Cannon Digital Rebel XTi, with the basic lens kit and a telephoto lens. (I never remember specs of my lenses)

 

[Perdie]

I love readig your TR!! Wish I could have been on this trip...maybe next time! I live vicariously through your report!!

 

[cmash95]

Day 3

http://figment1986.smugmug.com/gallery/5093010_tD9GT/1/306986286_vcBp5

Our first day at sea. The phone rang around 7 with my mom calling to see if my DH was ready for their morning walk around deck 4. After their walk, it was up to topsiders for breakfast. This morning was a little different for them because they ran into the cruise director leading a group in a power walk around the deck.

According to the navigator, Disney had a retired canal pilot onboard and he was going to be giving a series of lectures on the panama canal. The first one was about the history of the canal and how it was constructed. The lectures were in the walt Disney theater. Mom and DH decided to go to the first one at 11 am. And then catch lunch at topsiders afterwards.

The theme for the lunch buffet was American. My son, after having partied until the wee hours of the morning in rockin bar D was barely awake at 10:30 so he decided to skip the lecture but found out that Disney was having a lunch get together for college students in parrot cay at noon. This was something I believe Disney was experimenting with during the cruise. His hosts were the pubmaster in diversions; Drew, and Terry. Terry had been temporarily assigned to the Family cruise staff for this cruise. She usually took care of the 3-4 year old age group. They had what I would consider a pretty fair turn out, ( my son couldn’t remember the exact number but said he thought it was around 9 people.). My son was surprised that he was the only one of the group who hadn’t cruised Disney before.

I spent the morning in the cabin reading on the balcony and then decided to join my DH and mom up in topsiders for lunch. I have to admit that I really enjoyed topsiders lunches, they had something different every day but the big draw for my family( especially my mom,) was the deserts. I think they were the best of the cruise.

After lunch I wandered around deck nine for a bit and met several crew members. The most memorable was with a server named Caio. He was from the phillipeans and it turned out that he had our dinner rotation So he said he would stop by out table and say hi. It turned out that he was a head waiter and every night from that day until the last breakfast he was true to his word and he stopped by and checked on us. He was so nice and always had a big smile on his face. I also got to meet drew from diversions but I didn’t realize until later that my son met him as well. I found out that drew and I graduated from the same college only about 25 years apart. Small world isn’t it?

While my DH and mom relaxed in their cabins, I decided to do some shopping and as I was headed back towards the atrium, I came across my son taking pictures of the dance party going on below. The kids looked like that were having a ball. He waited around awhile after the party and snapped a picture of the disboards group. I had totally forgotten about the picture. One of several things I missed.

At 2:30 he headed for palo’s to do the Art of the Theme Show Ship Tour. This was a walking tour that highlighted several areas of the ship and how the Disney theme was incorportated in the area. An interesting piece of trivia. When they were planning the tile picture of walt Disney in front of the walt Disney theater, they decided to photoshop out the cigarette he was holding. However, they didn’t take out the smoke and if you look carefully you can still find it on a couple of the dark tiles. (And yes we checked and found it.)

At 5:00 that afternoon, the magic sailed between cuba and Haiti. It was actually only about 4 miles off the coast of cuba and eventhough it was pretty hazy, we have a few pictures of the coastline. Even the southern tip of cuba where Guantanamo bay is. Considering that was probably as close as anyone can get to cuba, at least for now, It was pretty exciting to me.

It was not only the first sea day, but also formal night. We debated on whether to wear our formal wear to the show but decided against it since we would have plenty of time to get ready after the show. The show was the Golden Mickeys The DH is definitely NOT a Disney nut like my son and I are. So he stayed in the cabin and watched a movie while the rest of us went to the show. I have heard so much about this show and was really looking forward to it. Needless to say, it exceeded my expectations. The Golden Mickey’s is a huge hit with our family.

After the show we headed back to the cabin to get ready for dinner. My Dh was already dressed when we got back. He brought along a nice suit for the occasion, but I splurged and rented a tux for my son. He looked so handsome. DH didn’t look too bad either. We had dinner in Luminier’s that night, (A perfect place for formal night,) and of course we were treated to the Golden Mickey menu, and we got a nice surprise when we got to the dining room.

I need to backtrack just a bit here and explain that we were part of a larger group reservation and because of this, all of the reservations were linked together for dinner. The entire group consisted of 19 people. The first night in animator’s palate we were set up at three tables. My family was at a table for four and the rest were split into two tables in the same area. We actually got table one. The next night the rest of the group wanted to try and put their two tables together so they had one table for 15 people. It was really too much for one server and one assistant server to handle. And it was also in the front corner of the restaurant so it was hard to get in and out of. Well that night when we arrived, we were lead to two tables almost directly in the middle of the restaurant and we also had an additional assistant server,(Giovanni from Italy.) I think it made things a lot easier for the staff because things did move faster and we were able to finish dinner and get out of the restaurant in time for the balloon drop.

Of course luminier’s is right there in the center of the atrium. Anyway after dinner we did make our way out into a very crowded aitruim for the after party balloon drop. Now this was 10:30 at night and I was surprised how many little kids were still up and bouncing around. Mickey and Minnie showed up and two big bags of golden balloons and tons of confetti fell on the crowd. It was lots of fun and reminded me of a big new year’s eve party.

After the after party, DH, DS, and myself headed over to Rockin Bar D to see the hyptnotist. He was doing an adult cabaret show that evening. It was a big hit. We laughed so hard most of the audience was crying. Two of the most memorable bits he did was to have a presidential debate with a guy who was supposed to be a sumo wrestler who couldn’t speak any English, and someone who was supposed to be carson crestley of queer for the straight guy fame. It was one of those moments I will never forget. He also had the group see everyone in the audience naked.now if that wasn’t bad enough, Two of his subjects were in college and traveling with family, so he had one of the girl’s father’s stand up. You can imagine her reaction. I have to admit I ran into the guy who was carson crestley several times after that and we had a good laugh. Thank heavens everyone was a good sport about the evening.

It was getting late, so I decdied to head back to the cabin and get to bed. DH left right after the show but I stayed around for a bit to chat to people. I honestly don’t have any idea what time DS got back that night but I do know he eventually got back because he woke me up when he came in.

 

[Joan1]

I am really enjoying your reports and your son's photos.
It would make the report easier to read if you split it into paragraphs
Thanks for the time you are spending putting this together

 

[wilma-bride]

Really enjoying this report. We love the Golden Mickeys too. Sounds like you were having a great time.

 

[cmash95]

I am really enjoying your reports and your son's photos.
It would make the report easier to read if you split it into paragraphs
Thanks for the time you are spending putting this together

I'm sorry about the format, I wrote this using microsoft word on my sons computer, When I copied and pasted it came out that way. I just went back and fixed the 2 days.

 

[scottishwee35]

Hi

Just let you know that I enjoyed reading your story and loved the photos too.

What a great memory.

Saw the photo of group that I was there

Scottishwee35

 

[figment1986]

hmm, is it me or are some people looking at the photos ahead of the report

Thanks for the comments everyone

 

[cmash95]

Day 4

http://figment1986.smugmug.com/gallery/5106018_YK4jC/1/308091059_tRCRi

Sea day number 2. Again Mom and DH get up at the wee hours of the morning to do their morning walk and catch some breakfast. This actually was working out well for DS and I because when DH would get back to the cabin, the morning"paper" would have arrived and he could read the news. I have to admit I was actually happy to get the news every morning because my dear husband is addicted to the newspaper at home and he gets very cranky if he hasn't read his news in the morning. So thank you Disney Cruiseline for the news each day.

Disney began their Behind the scenes series of lectures with a lecture from Jeff Kurti and creative consultant who is currently working with the Disney family on the Walt Disney Museum that will open in San Francisco next year. My son decided to take in the lecture. That was at 11:00 am.

My mom and DH had their usual lunch at topsiders, while I hung out in the shade at the goofy pool , drinking a mai tai and reading a book. A nice quiet day for the most part.

That night's show was "When Mickey Dreams" it was a show that was done during the transatlantic cruises last year and was such a big hit that they decided to show it again for this cruise. If you like Circque du soliel( please excuse the butchered spelling) you will enjoy this show. the acrobats were awesome. and I have to admit I was amazed at the feats that were accomplished on a moving ship. Oh and the ship was definitely moving. I think we hit a bit of a rocky patch because you could definitely feel the rocking motion throughout the ship. Brent did say the next day that the captain had slowed the ship a bit durnig the showtimes so the stabilizers could kick in. Not sure if he was kidding or not.

After dinner my DS and I decided to check out Who wants to be a Mouseketeer in Studio Sea. When we entered the club we were given a number and the computer randomly picked numbers throughout the night. My number actually came up but I sent my son instead. He got all the way to the last answer. the question was " where did the world premier of who framed roger rabbit take place?" He had 50/50 left so after using it, the choices were New York or London. Ok he lost.- it wasn't london. But he got a pin for playing. We collect pins so this one will be a valuable addition to our collection.

After the show, we headed to animator's palate for dinner. It was the show dinner that night and what a show it was. During the meal various pictures would be on display. they would start out as pencil sketches and then eventually turn full color. I had heard about this many times but I have to admit that the effect is so much better than I expected. At the end of the meal scorcerer mickey shows up and the wait staff and the whole room are all aglow in color. It's a lot of fun to watch and the food was pretty good too.

After dinner my son headed back to rockin bar D for another performance by John Charles. He was planning to disembark in Aruba the next day so this was going to be his only other performance onboard. It turned out that he was so popular, the cruise staff asked him to stay onboard and he didn't get off the ship until Acapulco. I decided to check out Studio Sea and watch the disney kareokee. Believe it or not, I actaully had a good time watching and listening to the tweens, teens, and even a few youngsters and their parents butcher disney songs. Especially those wonderful High School Musical numbers. After kareokee, I headed back to the cabin and was greeted by the sounds of my husband snoring away in bed. It wasn't too long after that I joined him. I honestly don't know what time DS got in because I was so tired I didn't wake up when he came back. I guess a relaxing day at sea can really tire a person out.

 

[aan1701]

Love the report. Caio was my head waiter and to be hones I was not very impressed with him. He never did anything for our tabe and some nights he never came by. By far the worst head waiter I have ever had on DCL and I did let DCL know this. You must have had late seating. Also Love the pic of Rockin bar D on night three. I saw myseld in my Dodger Hat and shorts. Cool.

 

[Bobbybear68]

Love the report. Caio was my head waiter and to be hones I was not very impressed with him. He never did anything for our tabe and some nights he never came by. By far the worst head waiter I have ever had on DCL and I did let DCL know this. You must have had late seating. Also Love the pic of Rockin bar D on night three. I saw myseld in my Dodger Hat and shorts. Cool.

That is very interesting about Caio, because we had him as Head Server early seating and he stopped by our table every night and some of the other people at our table made special requests such as a special appetizer and he came through for them.

 

[wilma-bride]

Still loving this. Who Wants to be a Mouseketeer sounds fun

 

[cmash95]

. Caio was my head waiter and to be honest I was not very impressed with him. He never did anything for our tabe and some nights he never came by. By far the worst head waiter I have ever had on DCL and I did let DCL know this.

I feel bad because we did have late seating and he came by every night to check on us. It was like we had two head waiters. Our head waiter was Gaspare and I have to admit he worked his but off, not because of us but the rest of the group ( the party of 18) took alot of his time.

 

[cmash95]

day 5

http://figment1986.smugmug.com/gallery/5112885_qWLpt/1/308663171_W26YE

ARUBA!!! We didn't have any excursions scheduled so everyone sort of just took turns getting off the boat and walking around the city. Of course shopping was involved as well. I was a little concerned with my son leaving the boat because he had never been in a foreign country by himself. He had always been on a excursion or with other family members but you can see from the pictures, he did fine and had a good time on the island. I thought my mom would hit one of the casinos when she was in town but she hit a few stores and found some very pretty scarves.

Since most people were off the ship during lunch,my mom, son, and I decided to try out luminiers. Lunch in the dinningroom was alot of fun. I had seen our servers up at topsiders a couple of days before. They told me that they rotate between the diningroom and the two buffets during lunch.

National Treasure book of secrets was playing in the theater that day, so my mom and DH and I decided to take in the movie instead of going to the ventriloquist. After the movie, we also decided to try out topsiders for dinner. Actually I wanted to try it out because I wanted to get a spot for the tropicalifragilistic deck party that night and I figured that if I ate dinner in the diningroom I wouldn't make it up to deck 10 on time. Mom and DH decided to join me. I have to admit that noone informed my son. but luckily someone from the other table offered to eat dinner with him so he didn't eat alone. The menu in the diningroom was carribean that night and I was told I missed a great limbo contest.

Dinner in topsiders is a lot like dinner in the diningroom. You are seated at a table and order your entre from a menu. The menu isn't the same as what is being offered in the diningroom that night. they also offer a salad bar instead of your salad course. The food was delicious and plentiful. I mistakenly ordered the porterhouse steak and there was enough to share with mom and hubby. The other nice thing about topsiders is you can eat there no matter what rotation you are on. IT's open from 6:00 - 8:30 each evening. so if you can't wait for your late dinner or miss your early dinner, this is nicer than hot dogs or burgers on deck. When dinner was over, I went up to deck 10 and found the perfect spot for the deck party.

The deck party was alot of fun. The band from rockin bar D played and they had a conga line and of course lilne dances for the kids. Mickey and the Gang made an appearance at the end. Deck 9 was packed. they had two small buffets set up on each side of the deck with lots of goodies. I was really surprised how many young kids were still up at 10pm and going strong until close to midnight. Luckily the next day was a sea day and they could all sleep in.

My son talked me in to hitting Rockin Bar D for some crazy kareoke. It was definitely crazy. the adult cruise staff really lets their hair down at night. I must admit that rockin bar D was the place to be most evenings. I would recommend crazy kareoke to anyone, even if you don't participate, it' really is alot of fun to watch. Amazing what people will do for a free shot or free beer.