WDW/DCL Western Caribbean Honeymoon Extravaganza!! DONE!!! - PG 51!!

[NikkiLovesWDW!]

Okay, Let's try this again...

Day 7 ~ July 25, 2009 (A date that's been etched in my mind since March '08)
Arrival to the port - "Is this what we're in for?"​

So we get our first glimpse of the Magic, we pull up, get off and make our way into the terminal. (Notice the ears are STILL on!)

Going through security and getting up into the lobby was very easy. We were directed to the check-in line and it was LONG! Then we met "Matthew"....OH, I really hope Matthew's family is NOT on the Disboards....

Matthew (with mom, dad and sister) was in front of us in line and let's just say Matthew is the student in my class that makes me come home with a headache every day. He seems about 8 and he just starts whining about waiting in line...and I mean WAILING! And his parents are like consoling him! Then he decideds he wants to see the model ship. He tells him parents, they tell him to stay here...and off he goes, completely ignored his parents. So mom runs after him and he gets his way. If there's nothing I can't seeing more in public, it's parents who let their kids get away with anything. And this was clearly what was going on here. It was a little longer of an enounter than I described but it made me cringe. Oh but Matthew's sister was very nice! After Matthew and mom left the line, she complimented me on my ears! Thanks!!

I just want to say (a little disclaimer here) that, first of all, I am not a doctor and am in no way equipped to make any sort of diagnosis, but clearly there were some attention deficiencies going on with Matthew and compliance is not the way to handle that, which is what bothered me the most. Secondly, I am NOT a parent and I understand that my views on such things may change once I have children of my own!

So we move up the line little by little and when we are a few people away, I see a mom with her son checking in. She was speaking to the woman behind the desk and he was carrying some sort of tote back, swinging it COMPLETELY around his head! Like, arm straight up and around FAST and I all I was thinking was, this kid is going to hit someone HARD! Well, he did...his mom. Instead of "sorry, Mom!" he thought this was funny and how his new game was just called "Hit mom!" So he contintued to hit her butt over and over again while she was talking to the woman.

Listen, I know what I signed up for. It's Disney, it's summer, there's going to be lots of kids. But this was not the last time I would see either of these children.

In WDW, you encounter things like this all the time but you can just move along and never have to worry about seeing them again.....on a cruise, it's like you are staying at the same resort with all the annoying families you encounter but the parks are closed so you are all stuck at the resort.

So anyway, our turn comes up finally and I check in.

We got our KTTW cards. I was so overwhelmed that I forgot to even look to see what our dining rotation was!

We got in line to get our pictures taken and then walked in!

It was not as momentous as I imagined it to be. I think I read the DISboards cruise line forum WAY to much before going on this trip because I think I expected bells and whistles and fireworks and music as I walked through and it was just like regular walking....

I think that was probably my biggest problem with this cruise. My expectations were SOOOOOOOO high. Again, I had been building this up in my mind for 15 months and I just didn't realize it could NEVER live up to expectations.

We went straight to our room to check it out and I have to say...it was AWESEOME!

We got a present on our bed from our TA from Magical Journeys! Thanks Debbie!

I loved all the little Disney touches in our room, especially the picture of Walk and Lily!

I also LOVED the pull-out flat screen TV!

What am I pointing at?

Kennedy Space Center!

Okay so after checking out our rooms, we went to Topsiders for lunch.
O M G, if I thought the check-in was bad, this buffet was like no other! First of all, they made such a big deal about keeping things sanitary and making sure you wash your hands every 5 minutes and they even hand out wipes before you walk into the dining room...so they kind of scare the crap out of you. So it was lovely to see, as we walking into the PACKED Topsiders buffet, children picking up trays and plates, banging them around for a little, then putting them back...

I tried to get some pics of the buffet but I was so overwhelmed. I HATE being stuck in large crowds. I almost get claustophobic in large crowds. Again you may be asking, how can you do WDW in July if you hate large crowds and I think it's because in WDW, I can keep moving. As long as I'm walking, I'm fine, but STUCK in large crowds makes me literally want to vomit. So this is sort of how I was feeling at Topsiders.

So we got our food, walked around for 10 minutes uncomfortably trying to find a place to sit and finally got a spot inside. We ate QUICK and got the heck out of there!

By the end of lunch, the ears came off. I just wasn't feeling them anymore and instead of "congratulations" all I got was weird looks. No more ears for the rest of the cruise...

We wanted to walk around a little but we were so lost! We saw the bridge.

I feel like this may be a Jack and Coke but I don't remember. It makes sense that Tom would have wanted one of those about this time.

We sat and had a drink, trying to get a positive attitude. Soon we had to go back to our room to get ready for our drill!

Okay, now, I apologize for being a DCL downer! I'll really try not to be too negative on this portion of the trip, as there were some really nice things about the boat and things we were able to do.

Up Next: Sailing away, trying to figure out where we are, and dinner at Animator's Palate.

 

[Lifelong_Dreamer]

I am guessing that you guys spent a lot of time at the adult pool.

Awww, I am so sorry that your cruise was off to such a crummy start. The rooms are very nice though aren't they! Don't you just love sitting out on your own private veranda? The tv was great too, I love how they can get pulled out and swivel around.

 

[BippityBoo]

Oh-My-Goodness! This is crazy! I think I would have jumped ship (literally) when they started handing out hand wipes

I am so happy that you are being honest about the cruise! I feel like I dont have enough "real person not affiliated with Disney" information about it!

Scrolling from the Jack and Coke picture to your hubby looking miserable in his vest made me laugh out loud

Too bad about your bride Mickey ears...I like them!

I absolutely can not wait to hear the rest!!

 

[NikkiLovesWDW!]

I am guessing that you guys spent a lot of time at the adult pool.

Awww, I am so sorry that your cruise was off to such a crummy start. The rooms are very nice though aren't they! Don't you just love sitting out on your own private veranda? The tv was great too, I love how they can get pulled out and swivel around.

Yes, actually, we spend MOST of our time at the adult pool! The room was fantastic and the verandah was great! I think the TV was my favorite thing about the room!

Oh-My-Goodness! This is crazy! I think I would have jumped ship (literally) when they started handing out hand wipes

I am so happy that you are being honest about the cruise! I feel like I dont have enough "real person not affiliated with Disney" information about it!

Scrolling from the Jack and Coke picture to your hubby looking miserable in his vest made me laugh out loud

Too bad about your bride Mickey ears...I like them!

I absolutely can not wait to hear the rest!!

Thank you! I was really worried people would get mad at me for saying negative things about DCL because I know so many people love it. In fact, before cruising, I don't think I read one negative thing about it! SO please don't disown me, DISERS!!!

Yeah, we were in pretty sour moods right before the drill, you can just tell from DH's expression!!

 

[Lifelong_Dreamer]

Yes, actually, we spend MOST of our time at the adult pool! The room was fantastic and the verandah was great! I think the TV was my favorite thing about the room!

I spent quite a bit of time there as well although I didn't seem to have the same bad experience with misbehaving kids that you did.

Thank you! I was really worried people would get mad at me for saying negative things about DCL because I know so many people love it. In fact, before cruising, I don't think I read one negative thing about it! SO please don't disown me, DISERS!!!

Yeah, we were in pretty sour moods right before the drill, you can just tell from DH's expression!!

I should hope people don't get mad at you for expressing your true feelings and experiences. Everybody's experience is different and that's why trip reports can be so helpful! I hope things improved and you guys had a good rest of the day.

 

[disneyfav4ever]

Between all the chaos from the rental car, and check-in, etc, it doesn't sound like your cruise had a very magical begining. I hope it only gets better from here. And it's a shame you took off your ears.

The hand wipes wouldn't freak me out though. I think they just try to keep the ship as clean as possible, and buffets are a huge sanitary concern of mine, because I've seen kids just grabbing things randomly so I hope their hands are clean.

 

[NikkiLovesWDW!]

I spent quite a bit of time there as well although I didn't seem to have the same bad experience with misbehaving kids that you did.



I should hope people don't get mad at you for expressing your true feelings and experiences. Everybody's experience is different and that's why trip reports can be so helpful! I hope things improved and you guys had a good rest of the day.

Thank you! I really appreciate that!

Between all the chaos from the rental car, and check-in, etc, it doesn't sound like your cruise had a very magical begining. I hope it only gets better from here. And it's a shame you took off your ears.

The hand wipes wouldn't freak me out though. I think they just try to keep the ship as clean as possible, and buffets are a huge sanitary concern of mine, because I've seen kids just grabbing things randomly so I hope their hands are clean.

Yeah I think that's it. It's like when you wake up on the wrong side of the bed, your whole day is shot. Our cruise woke up on the wrong side of the bed.....

I wasn't freaked out by the wipes, more just the children touching things after they made such a big deal about keeping clean!

 

[PopArtGal]

I love the keys!!!

Tom looks so sad to be on the cruise

 

[emcreative]

(popping out of lurkdom)

Nikki I think it's something about a WDW trip that impacts your home temperature! After we spent a sweltering week there this July we came home and found...our Central Air conditioning unit was broken beyond repair. Nothin' like forking over a couple thousand to get a new unit...that was money for our next trip!!!
Hopefully things have cooled off for you a bit.

-Marah

PS- I think I'll probably be with you about the cruise. I took one once on another cruiseline and it was "eh." Now, I'd probably just get depressed about the fact that those were days that COULD have been spent in the parks!!!

(popping back into lurkdom)

 

[YoNoSe]

OK, i really need Tom to chime in here...is Nikki always such a TEASE?

Actually (and quite luckily for me), Nik is not a tease at all but this does go to show one of her defining characteristics - practicality. It's time for a new fan? Okay, let's drop everything and go get it.
Come to think of it, it's also the perfect example of how she shops. As in, "we're here for a fan, why are you looking in the Star Wars toy aisle?"
We have some great role reversal in our relationship!

So, the cruise, huh?

The important thing to keep in mind is that this was not only our first Disney Cruise but our first EVER cruise. We had no idea what to expect. Obviously there are resources you can check out ahead of time but that's never truly accurate. Example: I love the park planning videos but I'm still looking for those outdoor tables in Italy where you can get a bowl of pasta and a glass of wine...oh wait, you can't!

It is fair to say that the circumstances leading up to boarding were not a good lead-in. It's also a fact that we had other issues that would be a bit disruptive (remember that elbow shot?).

So while there will be some negativity (and some really positive stuff - we are not Disney-downers, after all!) please know that WE know it's just our opinion and that this could be the ideal vaca for other people. You live, you learn!

Personally, I love discussion where someone articulates the opposite POV than mine. Discussion boards would be propoganda boards if everyone just sang the same tune. Okay, so that would be a singing board but who doesn't like a mixed metaphor?
Hopefully it's in that spirit that we go into the cruise section.

(Maybe I'm stressing this too much because I just had one of the few rational discussions I've ever had about why I think The Dark Knight is not the ideal Batman movie. Up until now people would call for my head if I suggested it was anything less than the second coming of Elvis. I don't mind that everyone loves it, but it's just not my favorite flavor of Batman. Hopefully you Cruisers are less fanatical than the folks I run into at the comic book store! )

The ship itself is BEAUTIFUL! In that respect it completely lived up to my expectations. The art design was on par with the finest any park resort has to offer. The actual artwork in the rooms and hallways was a total treat. Many times we would be hurrying to some activity or other and I would have to stop and read the captions. Many of them were actual pieces of pre-production art from classic cartoons and films! Why is there no Disney Museum?!

The Topsiders buffet, on the other hand, was terrifying! When I saw the sheer number of people squeezed in there my first thought was "what have we done?!?!?!" Luckily we would find that to be the exception rather than the rule but it is a lot to take in at first. I'm sure we'll discuss the food from the rest of our trip but I can't even remember what the buffet stuff tasted like, or even what I ate. I just wanted to get in and get out!

I should also mention my own love/hate relationship with any and all buffets (which I like to pronounce BOOO-fey!). All you can eat food = awesome. Kids running amok with knives, plates, and snotty noses = not awesome.

It goes hand-in-hand with any Disney vacation that you are going to encounter a lot of different familes and some of their attitude/parenting skills/(occasionally)smell may have a negative influence on your good time. The good thing about the parks is, as Nik pointed out, you just keep moving forward (I think someone else may have said that, too...) and you don't even have to think about it. On the Cruise, there are times we're you feel like you are stuck in a resort with all of the other guests. It's a beautiful resort, but after a while the walls start closing in. So again it comes back to the nature of the vacation and not always the quality. This could be the best sailaway day on any cruise line ever (and I bet it is) but for us it was like mass hysteria.

So my bottom line for the Cruise so far -
The ship - perfect!
The buffet - crazy!

 

[YoNoSe]

(popping out of lurkdom)
Now, I'd probably just get depressed about the fact that those were days that COULD have been spent in the parks!!!

Oh, that thought does occur!

 

[NikkiLovesWDW!]

I love the keys!!!

Tom looks so sad to be on the cruise

Haha! No, he was just not in the mood for all the first day festivities!

(popping out of lurkdom)

Nikki I think it's something about a WDW trip that impacts your home temperature! After we spent a sweltering week there this July we came home and found...our Central Air conditioning unit was broken beyond repair. Nothin' like forking over a couple thousand to get a new unit...that was money for our next trip!!!
Hopefully things have cooled off for you a bit.

-Marah

PS- I think I'll probably be with you about the cruise. I took one once on another cruiseline and it was "eh." Now, I'd probably just get depressed about the fact that those were days that COULD have been spent in the parks!!!

(popping back into lurkdom)

Don't lurk! It's nice to hear everyone's input.

Things have definitely cooled off, both outside and in! Yeah, believe me, we had that thought a few times....

 

[mamaboogie]

I haved so enjoyed reading your report! You have some beautiful pictures - starting with the wedding ones!

I can't wait to hear more about the cruise.

Shari xx

 

[NikkiLovesWDW!]

Day 7 ~ July 25, 2009
The rest of the day.​

Okay, so we did our boat drill, then we went back to our room. Tom really had no desire to go to the sail away party at this point but this was another moment I had imagined for so long!! So he came with me. I grabbed a Bahama Mama on the way up and we made it to Deck 10. Again, it was super crowded everywhere and we weren't about to squeeze ourselves in with strangers so we kind of had to watch just the screen. I did sneak up for a few pics.

After the party, we found the spot where we would spend a lot of our time. The adult only section on the starboard side.

Okay, I have a confession. Don't judge me. I'm an ex-smoker....who sort of became an occassional smoker again before the wedding and kind of became a chain smoker on this cruise. I know, I know! It's awful and I'm not smoking anymore but with the stress of the wedding, blah blah, I can try to rationalize it all I want to but you know what I'm saying.

So we go off to the "section" and I order another Bahama Mama and it's like, "Okay, what do we do now? Just sit? Hmm...Oh look at that! We're moving!"

So we sat there for a while, had a few more drinks and chatted a little with this couple, Michelle and Kenny (I think were their names). They were really nice and congratulated us on our marriage. They said they met a couple on their last cruise and they all booked this cruise together! (Little did I know at the time, that the "other couple" they were refering to, were DISers!! I'll find out tomorrow!) After a while, we decided to go back to the room, shower and get ready for dinner at 8:15.

I'm not sure if we just didn't realize or if we did it on purpose, but we did not see the show that first night. I guess we didn't give ourselves enough time to get ready since our showtime was BEFORE dinner.

We DID have some time to walk around a little before it was time to eat.

We LOVED the Disney touches all over the ship. I especially liked the pictures of Walt and the disney music always playing!

Me trying to figure out where the heck I am! I'm the kind of person who always needs to know where I am. (When we used to drive to WDW when I was a kid, I would hold the AAA maps the whole time, checking the cities on the exit signs against the map to see exactly where we were!) So I couldn't STAND that I didn't know my way around. The map was with me at all times for the first half of the trip!

Finally, dinner!

We were seated at a 4-top and were shortly joined by Janet and Donna. I was a little weired out at first because I'm not really comfortable with forced conversation with strangers but we soon grew to really enjoy their company. Donna was a special needs teacher and Janet worked for WDW for 20 years! We had many interesting conversations and it was great getting to know them!

 

[NikkiLovesWDW!]

Animator's Palate Dinner!​

Tom got started with the Taleggio Cheese Tart.

I did not order the first course because of my food issue (remember, I don't have an "animator's palate" I have an 8-year old's palate!

For my second course I got the Confetti Tomato Salad and Tom got the Smoked Salmon and Trout with Goat Cheese Salad.

The walls are starting to change!!

For the main course, I got the Pennette Pasta. It had bacon and turkey on it. And Tom got the Fire-Roasted Beef Tenderloin.

I can't speak for Tom, but mine was NOT delicious.

Then the show! I love a good montage and that exactly what we got! Best of all, it was all classic disney scenes! The montage was used as a way to light up the whole restaurant. It was actualy the scene at the end of the Little Mermaid where triton waves his trident. Absolutely fantastic! Tom was a little disappointed in this because there was no mention of a montage in all the planning videos and Travel Channel specials. They all said the restaurant gradually changes and that's it.

Then, Mickey busted out like a bat out of hell on crack and danced around the room like there's no tomorrow!!! It was hard to get a good pic of him because he was moving so fast, but it was funny AND it was to the music of Fantasmic! which was exciting!

There was nothing appealing to me on the dessert menu so I just asked for ice cream with chocolate sauce and Tom got the Cranberry and Orange Cheesecake.

Tom said the presentation was beautiful (as you can see) but it tasted like it came from a box in 7-11.

After dinner, we walked down the LONG scary hallway back to our room. We were pretty tired. Remember we were up since 7:30 dealing with the rental car.

Up Next: Day 2 of Cruise ~ Palo brunch and Key West.

 

[NikkiLovesWDW!]

I haved so enjoyed reading your report! You have some beautiful pictures - starting with the wedding ones!

I can't wait to hear more about the cruise.

Shari xx

Thank you so much!!!

 

[Lifelong_Dreamer]

Animator's Palate is such a fun restaurant and the show is so much fun to watch.

Sorry you didn't care for your dinner, I too eat like an 8-year old and found it very difficult to order from the menus in the restaurants so I feel your pain.

 

[PopArtGal]

Sad that the foods looks awesome, but doesn't taste like it looks

Does it make sense? lol

 

[YoNoSe]

Sad that the foods looks awesome, but doesn't taste like it looks

Does it make sense? lol

It not only makes sense it sums up my general opinion of the food on the cruise.

Don't get me wrong, there are bright spots, but I guess this is a good time to get my biggest gripe out of the way - at least half the food tasted like it should have been on a cafeteria tray. And I'm not talking about the counter service places on the deck (I actually enjoyed the chicken fingers from Pluto's Doghouse), I mean the sit down restaurants.

This is where being a Park Person really worked against us. Aside from our first trip to WDW together, we eat very little counter service in the parks. We get snacks - funnel cake, pastries, the occasional turkey leg - from the counter service and stands. But very early on we realized that we LOVE food and there is a ton of great food to be had in the parks and resorts. So we have been doing our best to work our way through the restaurants on property and as a result we are accustomed to DELICIOUS DISNEY FOOD!

So maybe I went in with my expectations too high. Even taking that into consideration I truly felt the food could have been much, much better. I tried to rationalize it - there must be limits to how much food you can load and store on a boat without getting into lots of frozen and pre-made elements. But I have to call a spade a spade, and at Our Lady Help Of Christians grammar school in Staten Island, NY, we called stuff that tastes like this Hot Lunch.

I know that sounds harsh but it is my biggest gripe.

 

[Lifelong_Dreamer]

Unfortunately for you guys you were sailing soon after the new menu was released on the Magic. Pretty much everybody, at least here on the Dis, who has cruised with the new menu has not liked the food, maybe they were still working the kinks out. I was on one of the last cruises to have the old menu in May and in general found the food pretty good and that is coming from a picky eater.