MassDisLovers
A dream is a wish your heart makes....
- Joined
- Dec 30, 2003
- Messages
- 1,205
Monday morning I woke up early and was wide awake. I decided to get out of the cabin and let everyone sleep, and thought it would be a good time to deliver our FE gifts. The ship was quiet and it was a perfect time to do it - most people were sound asleep. We had 85 people in our exchange, so there were cabins all over the ship.
Shortly after 8am I was finished and walked up to deck 9 to get coffee. Jody was just arriving there also, thinking that's where I might be. We got our coffee and sat, enjoying the quiet and the sea rushing by. It was sunny and a little cool, but still delightful. We passed the morning lazily and soon it was time to get ready for our brunch at Palo so we returned to the cabin. Kelly was already gone - the lure of the Stack and new friends was like a magnet pulling her in all week - and Meg was getting ready to go. We met Barbara at Palo and were greeted by our excellent server Emmanuel. However, before we could even get to the buffet display, PJ, the Palo manager, called Meaghan back to the desk. "Carded" at Palo .....oh well.... someday she'll be happy that she looks younger than she is! Satisfied that she was 20, and old enough to be there but not share in the complimentary cocktail, we proceeded to enjoy our brunch. That is... until Jody suddenly felt sick. Very sick
. The motion of the ship was very significant that morning, and was affecting her in a big way. Emmanuel advised her to go outside for some air (Barbara agreed that this was the best thing to do) and we continued to eat. And eat . And eat. I checked on Jody a few times - she was lying on a deck chair just outside Palo - but she insisted we continue without her. She made a couple attempts to re-join us but was quickly convinced that the deck chair was a better place for her. PJ gave her some Dramamine and after a time she did feel well enough to join us for coffee. We were at Palo for nearly 3 hours! The food and the conversation were so good that we didn't even notice the time and although we had been among the first to arrive, we would now certainly be among the last to leave!
Barbara headed back to her cabin to spell John, who had been with Jen while we gorged ourselves, and Meg headed back to work on the BIG paper that needed to be submitted via e-mail to her professor the next day. Jody and I headed to the adult pool to join Diane, Brooke and Kim. There was a breeze, but it was warm and sunny ...life was good. We decided to go in to the hot tub and soak . There were two men already in there - one who was bad-mouthing DCL over the events of the weekend, and the other one who was saying absolutely nothing. Jody and I couldn't stand listening to him blah-blah-blah and we started to offer "alternative" comments to his complaining. He definitely felt Disney "didn't do enough for him" - "What more could they do ?", we asked (They gave us entertainment (park tickets) food vouchers, a hotel for Saturday night, onboard credits of $100 per cabin and $20.00 per person) He felt they didn't give enough food money - he said had spent $300.00 on food for his family of 4 Saturday and wanted to be fully reimbursed. $300.00 ! WOW! We were a group of 4 and certainly spent nowhere near that! He also felt that Disney should have greeted him with free alcoholic drinks upon his arrival on the ship. "Use your $180.00 onboard credit to buy yourself a drink" we suggested. The other gentleman in the hot tub continued to say nothing, but seemed amused. Every complaint the man had, we countered. They "made" him go to EPCOT and his kids don't like EPCOT -at 8 and 10 they are "done" with WDW he said - (WHAT???) and they had booked this trip JUST TO GO TO ST.MAARTEN and now that island had been eliminated. "Why didn't you just go directly to St. Maarten then, and not on a cruise? He then states that Disney should have eliminated Castaway Cay instead. "There'd be a riot on this ship if they did that !" we laugh. Finally he explained that we "didn't understand, because he had booked his trip with DVC points so the refund of 20% of the fare was not going to apply to him." Oh yes - I understood that perfectly since MY trip was booked on DVC points too. He complains, we counter and the other man says.... nothing.... until The Crab in the Hot tub decides to leave and the Formerly Silent Man says "Nice work, Ladies! What a jerk he was!"
We all laugh and the Formerly Silent Man tells us that he is Glen Foster, an entertainer on the ship for the first time. He has done some work on the Wonder, but this is his first time on the Magic. He is from the Orlando area and auditioned with Disney when they began looking for new acts in anticipation of the new ships. We find his story interesting and ask a lot of questions. We add Glen to our list of "New Best Friends" and promise to come to his shows.
The afternoon passes but not before Jody dances with Minnie. There were LOTS more characters out and about his time, a CM told us that because they are actively training crew for the new ship they have a lot more crew onboard, hence more folks to be characters and more to assist them. Characters appeared everywhere , not just at the designated "meet and greets".
Soon we are getting ready for formal night (Kelly's beautiful new silver dress DID fit!). To ease the getting-ready crunch in the stateroom, I took a shower in the spa, my favorite thing to do. Anyone can use the shower facilities in the spa for free. The show tonight was Twice Charmed which we all enjoyed. After the show we went to the Captain's Reception and enjoyed a drink on the house (hope the Hot Tub man got HIS free drink that night!) We chatted with some nice ladies from Orlando (one worked for Disney), had a picture taken with the Captain, and soon went to dinner in Animator's Palate. Dwight had put our table for 4 with the table of 10 so now we were with part of the group.... yay! We try to catch up on everyone's day, and Gabby tells us that she couldn't swim in the Mickey pool(AGAIN) because "someone pooped in the pool and they closed it (AGAIN)". We just don't get why this always happens - what's wrong with people
- poor Gabby and every other kid who wanted to swim.
The adult evening show in Rockin'BarD was the comedy of Heath Hyche - very funny- but the best thing was listening to Brooke's infectious, genuine laugh. It's been a long day -sunshine, wine and too much food - time to turn in and be rocked to sleep by the ocean. We re-set the clocks for tomorrow's new time zone and are asleep in moments. No sleeping pills are ever needed on the sea!
Tomorrow - Characters go to breakfast, a paper, some tea and PIRATES!
Shortly after 8am I was finished and walked up to deck 9 to get coffee. Jody was just arriving there also, thinking that's where I might be. We got our coffee and sat, enjoying the quiet and the sea rushing by. It was sunny and a little cool, but still delightful. We passed the morning lazily and soon it was time to get ready for our brunch at Palo so we returned to the cabin. Kelly was already gone - the lure of the Stack and new friends was like a magnet pulling her in all week - and Meg was getting ready to go. We met Barbara at Palo and were greeted by our excellent server Emmanuel. However, before we could even get to the buffet display, PJ, the Palo manager, called Meaghan back to the desk. "Carded" at Palo .....oh well.... someday she'll be happy that she looks younger than she is! Satisfied that she was 20, and old enough to be there but not share in the complimentary cocktail, we proceeded to enjoy our brunch. That is... until Jody suddenly felt sick. Very sick
. The motion of the ship was very significant that morning, and was affecting her in a big way. Emmanuel advised her to go outside for some air (Barbara agreed that this was the best thing to do) and we continued to eat. And eat . And eat. I checked on Jody a few times - she was lying on a deck chair just outside Palo - but she insisted we continue without her. She made a couple attempts to re-join us but was quickly convinced that the deck chair was a better place for her. PJ gave her some Dramamine and after a time she did feel well enough to join us for coffee. We were at Palo for nearly 3 hours! The food and the conversation were so good that we didn't even notice the time and although we had been among the first to arrive, we would now certainly be among the last to leave!Barbara headed back to her cabin to spell John, who had been with Jen while we gorged ourselves, and Meg headed back to work on the BIG paper that needed to be submitted via e-mail to her professor the next day. Jody and I headed to the adult pool to join Diane, Brooke and Kim. There was a breeze, but it was warm and sunny ...life was good. We decided to go in to the hot tub and soak . There were two men already in there - one who was bad-mouthing DCL over the events of the weekend, and the other one who was saying absolutely nothing. Jody and I couldn't stand listening to him blah-blah-blah and we started to offer "alternative" comments to his complaining. He definitely felt Disney "didn't do enough for him" - "What more could they do ?", we asked (They gave us entertainment (park tickets) food vouchers, a hotel for Saturday night, onboard credits of $100 per cabin and $20.00 per person) He felt they didn't give enough food money - he said had spent $300.00 on food for his family of 4 Saturday and wanted to be fully reimbursed. $300.00 ! WOW! We were a group of 4 and certainly spent nowhere near that! He also felt that Disney should have greeted him with free alcoholic drinks upon his arrival on the ship. "Use your $180.00 onboard credit to buy yourself a drink" we suggested. The other gentleman in the hot tub continued to say nothing, but seemed amused. Every complaint the man had, we countered. They "made" him go to EPCOT and his kids don't like EPCOT -at 8 and 10 they are "done" with WDW he said - (WHAT???) and they had booked this trip JUST TO GO TO ST.MAARTEN and now that island had been eliminated. "Why didn't you just go directly to St. Maarten then, and not on a cruise? He then states that Disney should have eliminated Castaway Cay instead. "There'd be a riot on this ship if they did that !" we laugh. Finally he explained that we "didn't understand, because he had booked his trip with DVC points so the refund of 20% of the fare was not going to apply to him." Oh yes - I understood that perfectly since MY trip was booked on DVC points too. He complains, we counter and the other man says.... nothing.... until The Crab in the Hot tub decides to leave and the Formerly Silent Man says "Nice work, Ladies! What a jerk he was!"
We all laugh and the Formerly Silent Man tells us that he is Glen Foster, an entertainer on the ship for the first time. He has done some work on the Wonder, but this is his first time on the Magic. He is from the Orlando area and auditioned with Disney when they began looking for new acts in anticipation of the new ships. We find his story interesting and ask a lot of questions. We add Glen to our list of "New Best Friends" and promise to come to his shows.
The afternoon passes but not before Jody dances with Minnie. There were LOTS more characters out and about his time, a CM told us that because they are actively training crew for the new ship they have a lot more crew onboard, hence more folks to be characters and more to assist them. Characters appeared everywhere , not just at the designated "meet and greets".
Soon we are getting ready for formal night (Kelly's beautiful new silver dress DID fit!). To ease the getting-ready crunch in the stateroom, I took a shower in the spa, my favorite thing to do. Anyone can use the shower facilities in the spa for free. The show tonight was Twice Charmed which we all enjoyed. After the show we went to the Captain's Reception and enjoyed a drink on the house (hope the Hot Tub man got HIS free drink that night!) We chatted with some nice ladies from Orlando (one worked for Disney), had a picture taken with the Captain, and soon went to dinner in Animator's Palate. Dwight had put our table for 4 with the table of 10 so now we were with part of the group.... yay! We try to catch up on everyone's day, and Gabby tells us that she couldn't swim in the Mickey pool(AGAIN) because "someone pooped in the pool and they closed it (AGAIN)". We just don't get why this always happens - what's wrong with people
- poor Gabby and every other kid who wanted to swim.The adult evening show in Rockin'BarD was the comedy of Heath Hyche - very funny- but the best thing was listening to Brooke's infectious, genuine laugh. It's been a long day -sunshine, wine and too much food - time to turn in and be rocked to sleep by the ocean. We re-set the clocks for tomorrow's new time zone and are asleep in moments. No sleeping pills are ever needed on the sea!
Tomorrow - Characters go to breakfast, a paper, some tea and PIRATES!
This was MICKEY'S REVENGE for my part in your campaign for Most Popular Passenger on his ship this fall! ** 
They are all delightful reading!
at the breakfast that morning! 
Dwight said he could still bring us food, and we were able to have a brief visit with the Mick himself, so all was good. Breakfast was winding down and Dwight had some time to chat. It was interesting to hear about his 10 years on the ship, his wife and two children at home in Jamaica, and his plan to transfer to the Fantasy when it comes out in 2012. He has no desire to go to the Dream next year, since he prefers the 7 day cruises. He said he enjoys getting to know his customers and feels the 3/4 day sailings are too short for that.
More time in the hot tub - Glen Foster returned, but no crabby/complaining people that day . Around 1:15 pm Jody headed to Lumiere's for lunch with Diane, Brooke and Kim, I stayed at the pool since Meg and I were going to tea at Palo at 3pm.
Due to our cruising delay, we were a day late, but that didn't matter. We arrived at Palo (no getting "carded" this time) and were given a beautiful table by the window. I learned last time to bring sunglasses- it's SO bright in there ! We chose our teas and then the food began to arrive - sandwiches, scones, deserts, a trifle - it's endless! The portions are small and tea-party like, but they are plentiful. You truly cannot eat all the food they bring! At a mere $5.00 per person, this is the best bargain on the ship.
Tonight was Pirate night and we all had matching Pirate t-shirts and bandannas that I had bought after Halloween at Wal-Mart for $2.00 a piece (
) We went to the show - the comedy of Heath Hyche, once again browsed in the shops, and then headed to dinner, our second night in AP, but no "show" tonight. Our dinners were always very good, but very long, probably because we were a combined party of 20 seated at 2 tables. We were absolutely fine with the timing and never felt rushed. We enjoyed having good conversation and good food with new friends. Tonight we wanted to get out a bit early, though, so we could head up on deck for the pirate party. We had received lots of glow/light sticks as FE gifts, so I brought them all along. Once we found our spot on deck 10, I handed them out to children around us. It was fun to see them enjoy bracelets and necklaces. We enjoyed the pirate dancing and fireworks but had absolutely no desire to even sample anything at the buffet. That's one thing about late dinner - you never want to eat any of the late-night snacks! That was a good thing, though, because we had a date with Glen Foster - tonight was his debut in Rockin'BarD - a tough spot due to the Pirate festivities going on. We headed to the bar and got seats. There was a decent crowd, but it wasn't packed as it had been earlier in the week. He gave a really good show and we hooted and hollered to the best of our ability - wanting to make sure we did our part to help him on his quest to be a regular 
and we fall asleep dreaming about a day in the sun and surf .
The peacefulness of the ocean with very little to see except water and the occasional ship, and the bustling activity of the ship are always so fun. This day was even more exciting because it was a planned activity from our Meet Thread. During our months of discussion leading up to our cruise, it was discovered that many of the women were traveling without their husbands and we decided to organize a Palo brunch among the "traveling solo" ladies. Well... the best-laid plans and all that ... it's tricky to get that private room at Palo! You have to have at least 18 but no more than 20 people, it's only available on certain days, and, as we found, it tends to get booked pretty far in advance. So, our second choice was to plan a "Ladies Lunch" which ended up being better because ALL the ladies who wanted to attend, could attend (unlike the brunch which is capped at one per person/ per cruise, so if they went to brunch with their husband they wouldn't have been able to go again). We settled on Thursday at 12:30 in Lumiere's, and 20 ladies indicated that they would attend, ranging in age from 20 to 60's. To further add to the fun, we planned a "Yankee Swap" (also know as "Dirty Santa" and various other names depending on where you're from). Each person was to bring a $10.00 gift - it could be cruise/beach related, represent your home town, or just about anything else you thought another woman would enjoy. This gift exchange initially caused some confusion for our ladies from the NY/NJ area, as they were not big baseball fans and didn't think they wanted to participate in a "YANKEE" swap. 
(stevegriswold), the one who made all the bags for the FE participants. I initially chose it and made it very clear that I wanted to keep it, but since I had #3, I pretty much knew that wasn't going to happen! 
We were able to get out of there without security being called , as was our standing joke on the thread, so we considered it a successful gathering. 
for a while until it was time for dinner. We were in Lumiere's for dinner and Dwight presented Kelly with a birthday cake (yummy!) at dessert time and everyone sang to her . Kelly 
before heading to the club. I almost wished I didn't when I found an e-mail stating that Jody's flights on Saturday had all been canceled and changed! 
I am enjoying your TR very much
) and noticed that the spa folks were setting up to do massages outside. We figured that it was because they were not fully booked due to most everyone planning to spend the day on the island. Jody inquired and was told she could have a 30 minute massage (head, neck, shoulders) for $35.00. She happily accepted that deal! 
at 10 pm in Studio Sea. They had no idea why she was selected, but she was very excited to be chosen! Meaghan quickly volunteered to take her in case Kim was still at Palo (hard to tell who loved the Princesses more... Meg or Gabby!) 
to each of the characters. They have amazing pictures of her with all the characters and it will be a memory not only for her, but also for those who were with her to share that special moment . Gabby is a delightful little girl, and we truly enjoyed spending time with her on this cruise. We believe that CMs must have seen, as we did, how special she was, and this is why she was invited to this event.
A wonderful bit of pixie dust on her last night! 
