spencersmom
Mouseketeer
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I love reading these and feel like I know your family by being part of your memories! Love them! Thanks for sharing! Ginny
What I Learned On My Disney Vacation-Complete
- Thread starter DisneyNutMary
- Start date
Originally posted by DisneyNutMary
Pool side games and fun!
How Neat! My kids are up on stage doing this too! It was SO funny to see my kids in your pictures!!!!
What a cruise! If only Jeanne had just headed out to sea, it would have been perfect!
DJ
DisneyNutMary
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Continuation of Antigua, Day 4...
When I left off we were riding, unsquished, in a cab...
I was glad it was a regular enclosed van, with air-conditioning, because there were some of the open air jitneys around, and it was hot out!
The thing I like about asking a local for a good beach, is they will tell you their opinion, not the opinion the cruise line tells them to tell you. We got to see parts of the island I doubt we would have seen if we had gone to a DCL recommended beach. Antigua is really, truly beautiful and lush. We followed a road that took us past some hills and along the shoreline.
Scenery on the way to the beach:
When we arrived, the cab driver dropped us off right by a restaurant that had public rest-rooms with outdoor showers for later. We asked him to come back in 2 hours figuring the kids would have had enough by then, and we'd all be ready for lunch.
What I Learned: Take the advice of the taxi drivers, they will seldom steer you wrong, especially when their tip depends on it.
Turner's Beach:
We found a place to set up camp, under some wooden umbrella type things that were over to one side. The guys went a little way down the beach and found a vendor who rents chairs and umbrellas, they rented 6 chairs. We ended up pulling 3 of the chairs up closer to the water so we could keep a better eye on the kids. The water was warm, the sun was shining, it was perfect beach weather. We were approached by a few vendors from down the beach, one was renting water craft-waverunners, banana boat rides, parasailing, etc. Another was doing hair braiding, another was doing horse back rides along the beach, some had souvenir stands near the hotel that was down the beach. None were pushy, they seemed like they just wanted us to know they were there, and all were polite when we said "no thank you" or 'maybe later."
There are the horses you can ride on the beach.
We swam, played in the water, the kids played in the sand. One complaint though, after about an hour of swimming we had our first jellyfish sighting....that kind of cooled down our desire to be in the water.
Tommy's such a ham!
When I left off we were riding, unsquished, in a cab...
I was glad it was a regular enclosed van, with air-conditioning, because there were some of the open air jitneys around, and it was hot out!
The thing I like about asking a local for a good beach, is they will tell you their opinion, not the opinion the cruise line tells them to tell you. We got to see parts of the island I doubt we would have seen if we had gone to a DCL recommended beach. Antigua is really, truly beautiful and lush. We followed a road that took us past some hills and along the shoreline.
Scenery on the way to the beach:
When we arrived, the cab driver dropped us off right by a restaurant that had public rest-rooms with outdoor showers for later. We asked him to come back in 2 hours figuring the kids would have had enough by then, and we'd all be ready for lunch.
What I Learned: Take the advice of the taxi drivers, they will seldom steer you wrong, especially when their tip depends on it.
Turner's Beach:
We found a place to set up camp, under some wooden umbrella type things that were over to one side. The guys went a little way down the beach and found a vendor who rents chairs and umbrellas, they rented 6 chairs. We ended up pulling 3 of the chairs up closer to the water so we could keep a better eye on the kids. The water was warm, the sun was shining, it was perfect beach weather. We were approached by a few vendors from down the beach, one was renting water craft-waverunners, banana boat rides, parasailing, etc. Another was doing hair braiding, another was doing horse back rides along the beach, some had souvenir stands near the hotel that was down the beach. None were pushy, they seemed like they just wanted us to know they were there, and all were polite when we said "no thank you" or 'maybe later."
There are the horses you can ride on the beach.
We swam, played in the water, the kids played in the sand. One complaint though, after about an hour of swimming we had our first jellyfish sighting....that kind of cooled down our desire to be in the water.
Tommy's such a ham!
DisneyNutMary
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Right on time, at 12:30 our taxi driver came back. We had packed up, and washed off some of the sand, and were ready to go. On the way back to the ship, we made our plans to clean up, have lunch at Topsider's then disembark again to shop.
After we were showered and fed, we gave the kids a choice, come or stay. Bobby, Tommy and Anthony chose to stay on the ship and go to Oceaneer's Lab/Club. Victoria and Amanda chose to come shopping, so did James, but mostly because he was really interested in getting a watch, and had heard alot of the adults talk about the prices in the islands. If weren't for the watch, he probably would have stayed in the Stack.
Right off the ship you leave the pier through a fence, and right in front of you is a large shopping area. We browsed some shops. In one shop, I found the watch that I wanted. The was the watch. But I hemmed and hawed, not sure if the price was right, and after Jimmy and I talked, we decided to look around a bit more, and come back later. We continued on browsing shops for a while, James didn't find a watch that he really liked....at 16 most of what you find in the jewelry stores is too adult.
What I Learned: When you see something that you really want, I mean really, really want, BUY IT! You will see why later...but take my advice, buy it when you see it. Prices don't vary too much from shop to shop. But once you leave that island, your chance is lost.
Frank, my DBiL, wanted to go to the casino...he was determined to get into the casino before it got too late in the day, so he took along his two lackeys, Jimmy and Wade and they went to the casino. The casino is right near the pier entrance for anyone who's wondering. We girls, and James decided to go get some tee shirts. Here's where I started to not like Antigua so much. I have shopped in St Maarten, St Thomas and the Bahamas, and never had too much of a problem, here, on the other hand, once the men were gone, some of the vendors were too pushy and downright rude. We were approached to take a tour, and the guy was pretty insistent. "No" did not discourage these people. I was a bit uncomfortable, and I hadn't felt this way before the men left, so I just wanted to finish up and get back to the ship. I bought my tee shirts, but I wasn't happy with the vendor who sold them to me, and the rest around her were no better. I und! erstand that ships don't come in often, and this is their livelihood, but I would just as soon not go back there.
Anyway, Lucille, who is chronically cold, wanted to buy a sweatshirt. So we looked in a few shops and didn't see any. Finally she went into a store that sold name brand shirts-like Tommy Hilfiger, etc, and she asked about buying a sweatshirt. They looked at her like she had two heads! Apparently they don't sell sweatshirts here.
What I Learned:Antigua is not a sweatshirt wearing kind of country. It doesn't get cold enough there, so they don't sell them in the tourist shops! If you are a chilly type person, bring a sweatshirt or sweater with you on the cruise, or be doomed to paying Disney Cruise Line prices!
After that, we were pretty anxious to get back to the ship. So we went back, got the boys and headed up to the pool. Port days are my favorite at the pool because it is mostly empty. James went to the Stack, I guess he had enough time with the adults and needed the company of some teenagers. We stayed at the pool until it was time to start getting ready for dinner.
We got to the room, and the men still had not returned from the casino. So we got the kids ready, and they all sat in Lucy's room to watch tv. Lucy and I went on her verandah to watch for the guys, but still, no guys. At this point, after having charge of the kids most of the day, we felt if the ship left without them, too bad! Finally, at about 10 minutes to five, they came sauntering down the pier.
After we were showered and fed, we gave the kids a choice, come or stay. Bobby, Tommy and Anthony chose to stay on the ship and go to Oceaneer's Lab/Club. Victoria and Amanda chose to come shopping, so did James, but mostly because he was really interested in getting a watch, and had heard alot of the adults talk about the prices in the islands. If weren't for the watch, he probably would have stayed in the Stack.
Right off the ship you leave the pier through a fence, and right in front of you is a large shopping area. We browsed some shops. In one shop, I found the watch that I wanted. The was the watch. But I hemmed and hawed, not sure if the price was right, and after Jimmy and I talked, we decided to look around a bit more, and come back later. We continued on browsing shops for a while, James didn't find a watch that he really liked....at 16 most of what you find in the jewelry stores is too adult.
What I Learned: When you see something that you really want, I mean really, really want, BUY IT! You will see why later...but take my advice, buy it when you see it. Prices don't vary too much from shop to shop. But once you leave that island, your chance is lost.
Frank, my DBiL, wanted to go to the casino...he was determined to get into the casino before it got too late in the day, so he took along his two lackeys, Jimmy and Wade and they went to the casino. The casino is right near the pier entrance for anyone who's wondering. We girls, and James decided to go get some tee shirts. Here's where I started to not like Antigua so much. I have shopped in St Maarten, St Thomas and the Bahamas, and never had too much of a problem, here, on the other hand, once the men were gone, some of the vendors were too pushy and downright rude. We were approached to take a tour, and the guy was pretty insistent. "No" did not discourage these people. I was a bit uncomfortable, and I hadn't felt this way before the men left, so I just wanted to finish up and get back to the ship. I bought my tee shirts, but I wasn't happy with the vendor who sold them to me, and the rest around her were no better. I und! erstand that ships don't come in often, and this is their livelihood, but I would just as soon not go back there.
Anyway, Lucille, who is chronically cold, wanted to buy a sweatshirt. So we looked in a few shops and didn't see any. Finally she went into a store that sold name brand shirts-like Tommy Hilfiger, etc, and she asked about buying a sweatshirt. They looked at her like she had two heads! Apparently they don't sell sweatshirts here.
What I Learned:Antigua is not a sweatshirt wearing kind of country. It doesn't get cold enough there, so they don't sell them in the tourist shops! If you are a chilly type person, bring a sweatshirt or sweater with you on the cruise, or be doomed to paying Disney Cruise Line prices!
After that, we were pretty anxious to get back to the ship. So we went back, got the boys and headed up to the pool. Port days are my favorite at the pool because it is mostly empty. James went to the Stack, I guess he had enough time with the adults and needed the company of some teenagers. We stayed at the pool until it was time to start getting ready for dinner.
We got to the room, and the men still had not returned from the casino. So we got the kids ready, and they all sat in Lucy's room to watch tv. Lucy and I went on her verandah to watch for the guys, but still, no guys. At this point, after having charge of the kids most of the day, we felt if the ship left without them, too bad! Finally, at about 10 minutes to five, they came sauntering down the pier.
DisneyNutMary
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I went over to my room to get ready with Jimmy, while Bobby and Tommy stayed to watch tv with their cousins. That's when I realized...we never went back for the watch! It was too late to disembark and try to get it, we were scheduled to leave port soon, and it was too close to dinner time. So I resigned myself to hoping I could find my watch in St Thomas :'(
Bobby and Anthony, Identical cousins
Tonight's theme was Pirates in the Caribbean. We are cruise veterans (we sailed last year) so we had packed our tropical shirts. We knew from the boards that people were still wearing tropical attire, so we went with it. Dinner was in Animator's Palette again. When we walked in Alain, our head server was there in his pirate finery,
and when we got to our table, Erasmo and Aswald were also decked out like pirates.
We were each given a black bandanna to tie around our heads like pirates, and we were handed our treasure map/menu-very cool. I liked pirate night much better than tropical night! I don't remember what I ordered, but the hidden treasure banana, ice cream and caramel dessert was AWESOME, YUM-OUT!
There was a little show during dinner where the servers paraded around the room, and they had limbo. Erasmo came back to the table and got our kids up to join the limbo line. It was alot of fun.
What I Learned:You'll probably never see most of these people again, so join in the fun. It'll make great memories
Bobby and Anthony, Identical cousins
Tonight's theme was Pirates in the Caribbean. We are cruise veterans (we sailed last year) so we had packed our tropical shirts. We knew from the boards that people were still wearing tropical attire, so we went with it. Dinner was in Animator's Palette again. When we walked in Alain, our head server was there in his pirate finery,
and when we got to our table, Erasmo and Aswald were also decked out like pirates.
We were each given a black bandanna to tie around our heads like pirates, and we were handed our treasure map/menu-very cool. I liked pirate night much better than tropical night! I don't remember what I ordered, but the hidden treasure banana, ice cream and caramel dessert was AWESOME, YUM-OUT!
There was a little show during dinner where the servers paraded around the room, and they had limbo. Erasmo came back to the table and got our kids up to join the limbo line. It was alot of fun.
What I Learned:You'll probably never see most of these people again, so join in the fun. It'll make great memories
DisneyNutMary
DIS Veteran
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After dinner we went to Who Wants to be a Mouseketteer in the Walt Disney Theater. It's a good show, but I don't like how they changed it that you have to be in the front section to play. It was packed up there, and therefore, much less likely that your seat would be called. The show was okay, no one won the free cruise, and no one in our group had their seat called 
What I Learned:Even though they have changed it to half theater, you should still try to find a seat in the emptiest row possible, if the seat called is empty, they move to the left until they find someone to play
After WWTBAM, we headed up to deck 9 for the Pirates in the Caribbean deck party. This party was great, lots of fun. The kids danced, we danced, we just had fun. One thing DCL does superb are it's deck parties, so full of energy. If you cruise, don't miss the deck parties.
The 'ham' gene just might run in the family
Victoria 's dancing with Travis of the cruise staff ;D
A pirate dropped in on our party.
After the party broke up, I took Bobby and Tommy down to their room to go to bed, while Jimmy and James went with Frank and Wade to see Mr 3000 in the Walt Disney Theater.
What My DH and Stepson Learned:After a long day on the island, and a late night deck party, it's probably not a good idea to go to an 11 pm movie on the night before Immigration at St Thomas
Towel animal du'jour
Coming up, you guessed it, early morning immigration check and St Thomas...
What I Learned:Even though they have changed it to half theater, you should still try to find a seat in the emptiest row possible, if the seat called is empty, they move to the left until they find someone to play
After WWTBAM, we headed up to deck 9 for the Pirates in the Caribbean deck party. This party was great, lots of fun. The kids danced, we danced, we just had fun. One thing DCL does superb are it's deck parties, so full of energy. If you cruise, don't miss the deck parties.
The 'ham' gene just might run in the family
Victoria 's dancing with Travis of the cruise staff ;D
A pirate dropped in on our party.
After the party broke up, I took Bobby and Tommy down to their room to go to bed, while Jimmy and James went with Frank and Wade to see Mr 3000 in the Walt Disney Theater.
What My DH and Stepson Learned:After a long day on the island, and a late night deck party, it's probably not a good idea to go to an 11 pm movie on the night before Immigration at St Thomas
Towel animal du'jour
Coming up, you guessed it, early morning immigration check and St Thomas...
DisneyNutMary
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I love the pirate party pictures, so here are some more:
He was having a good time, I swear! I just snapped the pic a minute too late.
He was having a good time, I swear! I just snapped the pic a minute too late.
DisneyNutMary
DIS Veteran
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Day 5, St Thomas
On our last cruise, immigration at St Thomas was a breeze, so we weren't worried about it this time. The time we were supposed to arrive was between 7 and 7:30 am. So at 5 minutes to 7 we all met in the hallway and walked down the 2 flights of stairs to the Walt Disney Theater. I was grumpy from lack of sleep, and the sight I saw did not help my mood any. As we came down the stairs, the line stretched out of the theater on both sides, down the hall, past Mickey's Mates and Treasure Ketch, into the atrium and around the corner. Ugh! This was not going to be fun!
We trekked to the back of the line, trying to pass people who were just standing in the middle of the path, and not wanting to move for anyone. Everyone was grumpy on this line.
Surprisingly, the line did move quickly into the theater. Right at the theater door, there is a table with a CM who marks off your room number on a list, then you go in. The theater was packed!!!!! CMs line the aisles and direct traffic. When we got to the row, we were the last family in, my sister and Lucille's families went into the row behind us, and were clear across the theater
I was sitting behind a young girl, about 11 years old, who had her hair fully braided, with beads at the ends. She liked the sound it made when the beads hit one another, apparently, because she kept whipping her head side to side, and whacking me with the beads
All I can say is, it didn't tickle...but I figured it would be over soon. After about 10 minutes, I whispered to my DH that I wish this kid would stop whacking me with her hair. It's very out of character for me to say anything, I am a grin and bear it type person, but I was grumpy that day. The girls mother overheard me, and felt the need to tell everyone in her group what nerve I had...but never once suggested to the girl that she be more careful. Surprisingly, to myself, I ignored them, but boy was that a long wait.
When our row was finally up to go to the immigration officer, I got up and noticed my legs were all scratched.GRRR!
We got to the end of the row, and my sister was right behind us.
The rest was easy, the officer barely glanced our papers and we were on our way.
What I Learned:DCL needs to come up with a better way of doing this immigration thing! The time is way too early after the late night deck party the night before, and there is log jam in the theater with everyone pressing to be first to get through. Regardless, I plan to get there much earlier next time.
To be continued...
On our last cruise, immigration at St Thomas was a breeze, so we weren't worried about it this time. The time we were supposed to arrive was between 7 and 7:30 am. So at 5 minutes to 7 we all met in the hallway and walked down the 2 flights of stairs to the Walt Disney Theater. I was grumpy from lack of sleep, and the sight I saw did not help my mood any. As we came down the stairs, the line stretched out of the theater on both sides, down the hall, past Mickey's Mates and Treasure Ketch, into the atrium and around the corner. Ugh! This was not going to be fun!
We trekked to the back of the line, trying to pass people who were just standing in the middle of the path, and not wanting to move for anyone. Everyone was grumpy on this line.
Surprisingly, the line did move quickly into the theater. Right at the theater door, there is a table with a CM who marks off your room number on a list, then you go in. The theater was packed!!!!! CMs line the aisles and direct traffic. When we got to the row, we were the last family in, my sister and Lucille's families went into the row behind us, and were clear across the theater
I was sitting behind a young girl, about 11 years old, who had her hair fully braided, with beads at the ends. She liked the sound it made when the beads hit one another, apparently, because she kept whipping her head side to side, and whacking me with the beads
All I can say is, it didn't tickle...but I figured it would be over soon. After about 10 minutes, I whispered to my DH that I wish this kid would stop whacking me with her hair. It's very out of character for me to say anything, I am a grin and bear it type person, but I was grumpy that day. The girls mother overheard me, and felt the need to tell everyone in her group what nerve I had...but never once suggested to the girl that she be more careful. Surprisingly, to myself, I ignored them, but boy was that a long wait. When our row was finally up to go to the immigration officer, I got up and noticed my legs were all scratched.GRRR!
We got to the end of the row, and my sister was right behind us.
The rest was easy, the officer barely glanced our papers and we were on our way.
What I Learned:DCL needs to come up with a better way of doing this immigration thing! The time is way too early after the late night deck party the night before, and there is log jam in the theater with everyone pressing to be first to get through. Regardless, I plan to get there much earlier next time.
To be continued...
trivial
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"The girls mother overheard me, and felt the need to tell everyone in her group what nerve I had...but never once suggested to the girl that she be more careful."
You know, it REALLY ticks me off when I hear/read things like this, but the sad thing is, I hear/read about it on a daily basis. If this is how so many parents are teaching their children to behave (and how parents themselves behave), I'm not terribly optimistic about the society my future children will have to live in. Do people no longer have any degree of shame or respect at all? Kudos to you for remaining civil; I don't think I would've been able to in the face of such gall.
Anyways, crazed rant aside, thank you very much for the time and effort you're putting into this report, as it's very interesting reading. By the way, Tommy's such a cutie!
You know, it REALLY ticks me off when I hear/read things like this, but the sad thing is, I hear/read about it on a daily basis. If this is how so many parents are teaching their children to behave (and how parents themselves behave), I'm not terribly optimistic about the society my future children will have to live in. Do people no longer have any degree of shame or respect at all? Kudos to you for remaining civil; I don't think I would've been able to in the face of such gall.
Anyways, crazed rant aside, thank you very much for the time and effort you're putting into this report, as it's very interesting reading. By the way, Tommy's such a cutie!
DisneyNutMary
DIS Veteran
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Thank you everyone for the nice comments. I had an awesome time on this cruise, and I relive every moment as I share it.
A note about immigration....I wasn't going to share my experience in the theater. First, because as much as I hate to think it, the mom could easily have been a DISer, and not really rude, but just having a bad morning like me. And second, when I write my trip reports, they are as much for me and my kids to read as everyone else I share them with, so I like to leave out life's less than shining moments-unless they are necessary to help the story along.
And Lucy, I know you are reading this, so feel free to add to anything I may have forgotten at any time...this long after the trip, my mind is getting fuzzy.
A note about immigration....I wasn't going to share my experience in the theater. First, because as much as I hate to think it, the mom could easily have been a DISer, and not really rude, but just having a bad morning like me. And second, when I write my trip reports, they are as much for me and my kids to read as everyone else I share them with, so I like to leave out life's less than shining moments-unless they are necessary to help the story along.
And Lucy, I know you are reading this, so feel free to add to anything I may have forgotten at any time...this long after the trip, my mind is getting fuzzy.
DisneyNutMary
DIS Veteran
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St Thomas, continued
After the immigration check, we headed up to Topsider's for breakfast. We were planning to get off the ship today only to shop. So after we ate, we put all the kids (except James) into the Oceaneer's Lab and headed out to shop in St Thomas.
We got into a taxi van, there were 7 of us, and the van would hold 10. The driver was desperate to fill those last 3 seats. So we waited about 20 minutes for people to come along.
Finally, we threatened to get out and walk downtown if she didn't get in and drive.
Needless to say, that driver lost her tip!
We were let off in a parking lot at the edge of the downtown shopping area and we walked down Front Street for a bit before cutting up an alley.
I was in search of a Mickey Mouse watch, James wanted a Fossil watch, Wade and Lucille were interested in Mickey Mouse watches, Frank was interested in spending money, and my poor sister would probably have been happier just staying on the ship.
We must have gone into about 6 jewelry shops, and Mickey watches were scarce. I was getting depressed.
In Royal Caribbean, James finally found the watch he wanted...and with Frank's negotiation skills, he got a good price. WHile they handled the paperwork and sizing of James' watch, I went ahead to Columbian Emeralds. I found 2 Mickey Mouse watches here that I liked
One with a gold band, and one with a sterling silver band. I couldn't decide. I wanted the silver band, but the watch face that was on the other watch. Then Wade and Lucille joined me and they liked the silver band watch- the face of the watch is blue, with Mickey in silver right in the center.
Finally after hemming and hawing, and remembering my disappointment of the previous day, I decided on the silver watch. I am actually glad I did. It looks so nice on me, and it is casual enough for day wear, and dressy enough for the evening. I love it!
After shopping, we headed back to the ship to once again take advantage of empty pools.
Tommy and Victoria taking a break from their hectic day
My boys in the hot tub!
Pool fun!
Dinner was in Parrot Cay. While everyone got ready for dinner, I went up to deck 9 to find James and watch the ship leave St Thomas.
This was pretty cool, we backed out like a car, then turned and sailed away...it didn't happen that fast, but it was cool!
As we passed the entrance from the harbor into the open sea, I saw dolphins playing in the water near the shore. I was so upset that I forgot the camera, I know my kids would have loved seeing those pictures.
When we were sitting down to dinner, it started. The ship rocked like it hadn't yet all week. We heard bangs below us, which Erasmo swore were nothing to worry about, but we were nervous.
For the rest of the night, the ship rocked like crazy. Our cabin was squeaking, and walking up and down stairs was becoming a challenge.
We carried on with our normal nightly routine, and no one was sick yet, but the rocking was becoming a niusance.
This night was unusual, I didn't get any pictures, I didn't even get a pic of our towel animal-I think it was a snake.
I went to bed hoping we'd hit calmer seas tomorrow.
Coming up: Feeling the motion of the ocean
After the immigration check, we headed up to Topsider's for breakfast. We were planning to get off the ship today only to shop. So after we ate, we put all the kids (except James) into the Oceaneer's Lab and headed out to shop in St Thomas.
We got into a taxi van, there were 7 of us, and the van would hold 10. The driver was desperate to fill those last 3 seats. So we waited about 20 minutes for people to come along.
Finally, we threatened to get out and walk downtown if she didn't get in and drive.
Needless to say, that driver lost her tip!We were let off in a parking lot at the edge of the downtown shopping area and we walked down Front Street for a bit before cutting up an alley.
I was in search of a Mickey Mouse watch, James wanted a Fossil watch, Wade and Lucille were interested in Mickey Mouse watches, Frank was interested in spending money, and my poor sister would probably have been happier just staying on the ship.
We must have gone into about 6 jewelry shops, and Mickey watches were scarce. I was getting depressed.
In Royal Caribbean, James finally found the watch he wanted...and with Frank's negotiation skills, he got a good price. WHile they handled the paperwork and sizing of James' watch, I went ahead to Columbian Emeralds. I found 2 Mickey Mouse watches here that I liked
One with a gold band, and one with a sterling silver band. I couldn't decide. I wanted the silver band, but the watch face that was on the other watch. Then Wade and Lucille joined me and they liked the silver band watch- the face of the watch is blue, with Mickey in silver right in the center.Finally after hemming and hawing, and remembering my disappointment of the previous day, I decided on the silver watch. I am actually glad I did. It looks so nice on me, and it is casual enough for day wear, and dressy enough for the evening. I love it!
After shopping, we headed back to the ship to once again take advantage of empty pools.
Tommy and Victoria taking a break from their hectic day
My boys in the hot tub!
Pool fun!
Dinner was in Parrot Cay. While everyone got ready for dinner, I went up to deck 9 to find James and watch the ship leave St Thomas.
This was pretty cool, we backed out like a car, then turned and sailed away...it didn't happen that fast, but it was cool!
As we passed the entrance from the harbor into the open sea, I saw dolphins playing in the water near the shore. I was so upset that I forgot the camera, I know my kids would have loved seeing those pictures.
When we were sitting down to dinner, it started. The ship rocked like it hadn't yet all week. We heard bangs below us, which Erasmo swore were nothing to worry about, but we were nervous.
For the rest of the night, the ship rocked like crazy. Our cabin was squeaking, and walking up and down stairs was becoming a challenge.
We carried on with our normal nightly routine, and no one was sick yet, but the rocking was becoming a niusance.
This night was unusual, I didn't get any pictures, I didn't even get a pic of our towel animal-I think it was a snake.
I went to bed hoping we'd hit calmer seas tomorrow.
Coming up: Feeling the motion of the ocean
jlawall
<font color=royalblue>Captain Lucky, the Great Pro
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- 11,591
Wow, I just read ALL your reports and THEY ARE TERRIFIC!!!
I feel like I just went to WDW and then on the cruise. I was wondering when the hurricane season would hit.
One comment......the Avis car rental has moved since a year ago and it is further away. In addition, they take drivers to the Carnival cruise as well as the DCL cruise. This is why it takes so long.
Keep those reports coming!!!
I feel like I just went to WDW and then on the cruise. I was wondering when the hurricane season would hit.
One comment......the Avis car rental has moved since a year ago and it is further away. In addition, they take drivers to the Carnival cruise as well as the DCL cruise. This is why it takes so long.
Keep those reports coming!!!
DisneyNutMary,
We were on the 9-18-04 Antigua cruise with you. Great trip report!!! We went to the WWTBAM show and if there was one person in that theater that did not want to be picked to go up on stage it was my wife. Guess what? She was picked and not very excited about it!!! She was so nervous but she took my daughter up on stage with her and everything worked out fine. They won $100.
We were on the 9-18-04 Antigua cruise with you. Great trip report!!! We went to the WWTBAM show and if there was one person in that theater that did not want to be picked to go up on stage it was my wife. Guess what? She was picked and not very excited about it!!! She was so nervous but she took my daughter up on stage with her and everything worked out fine. They won $100.
DisneyNutMary
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jan 20, 2003
- Messages
- 1,974
Day 6: Feeling the Motion of The Ocean
Normally, the gentle rocking and rolling of the ship causes me to sleep like a baby, but Wednesday night was awful! The entire ship was creaking and cracking, and I thought I would look up at any moment and see that the ceiling had separated from the walls. The closet door was sliding open and banging shut all night, and there were times I would have sworn the ship was laying on it's side. One of the downsides of an inside cabin, with no windows, is that there is no way to reassure myself at 2 am, that the ship is not laying on it's side.
Normally, I get seasick in a moving car, but amazingly, the movement of the ship did not bother me much...it was the noises the ship was making that were scaring the heck out of me.
I was up pretty early, because sleep was just not happening for me, I was hoping that daytime would bring calmer seas with it. I showered and dressed, and headed up to Deck 9 for coffee...humming the theme to Gilligan's Island the whole way (because that's how I felt!) The sun was shining, the skies were blue, and the sea was rolling....the waves were huge! I noticed that the pools were all closed, this is accomplished by hanging ropes around the pools, with little signs on them that say "pool closed" I thought they'd have something more clever, like maybe closing the dance floor over the Goofy pool or something, but no, just ropes.
I got my coffee, and a coffee for Jimmy, and headed down to wake the kids. James was green, there was no way he was moving from the bed. Bobby and Tommy both reluctantly got out of bed, but I could tell the rocking of the ship was hypnotizing them. They both looked like they wanted to just sleep.
After we were all dressed, we met Lucy's family, and Lucille's family out in the hall, and headed up to Topsider's for breakfast. The scene was surreal...people looked like zombies, even the crew looked like they weren't very happy. Anthony wasn't feeling well, and had stayed in bed, and halfway through breakfast, Victoria went back to her room to lay down. Next was Tommy, but he wasn't feeling sick, just exhausted...we learned on our first cruise that the rocking of the ship makes him sleepy...and on both cruises he had slept through dinner almost every night. Jimmy took Tommy downstairs, and left him to sleep with James.
Bobby asked to go to the Oceaneer's Lab. Being the only one of the kids not to feel seasick, I figured the Lab would be the most exciting place for him, so I let him go sign himself in.
The adults were feeling okay, not too much issue with seasickness, so we headed down to Bingo, Amanda was okay at this point too, so she came with us.
Bingo was in Rockin Bar D. We bought our bingo cards, and found a couple of tables to sit at. While we were waiting for bingo to start, we took turns going upstairs to check on the kids. At one point, both Lucille and Wade were gone, and Amanda made a funny face, then gagged, then, well, let's just say the rocking of the ship had gotten to her. That's another kid down...she and Lucille went up to the room to rest.
Bingo was interesting, you could tell that people were feeling off...and when it ended, we all just wandered up to our rooms because there wasn't much else to do.
I had given James a Bonine, and Jimmy went up and gave him a second one...these seemed to help, because he got up showered and dressed, and went out for a walk up on deck. Tommy was fast asleep, and Lucy's kids were in bed too.
The day dragged on with us each taking turns wandering around, looking for something to do.
I walked on Deck 4 for a bit, and it looked like a hospital ward...people were passed out on the deck chairs, just sleeping it off. Then I headed up to deck 9, where I saw more of the same. People were just out of it. CMs were walking around with barf bags in their pockets, and I saw two CMs with a carpet steamer who looked like they could not keep up with the need for their services.
What I Learned:Bonine and rest are the best relief when the seas are bad.
Some time in the afternoon, the captain made the announcement that due to Hurricane Jeanne we would not be stopping at Castaway Cay. The groan was audible about the ship. I think people were mostly annoyed that all this bouncing around was for nothing, and that the captain could have used the extra day to seek out calmer waters for the trip home.
What I Learned: I would rather skip Castaway Cay altogether than sail through rough seas, Castaway Cay is beautiful, and fun, but the destination is not worth the journey in this case.
Jackpot Bingo was this afternoon in the Walt Disney Theater. It was pretty filled, but not a rowdy crowd, again, the rocking of the ship had a lot of people subdued. All I really remember is that I didn't win
Tonight's dinner was the Captain's Gala, and semi formal night. My kids were feeling okay, so Jimmy and I got dressed in our semi-formals and met my sister and Anthony in the hall, along with Lucille...the others stayed behind because even though the seas were less rough, they were not fully recovered. The dining room was not as empty as we thought it would be, but it was noticeable that people were still not feeling well. Dinner was good, but dessert was what made the day. Warm Chocolate Lava Cake, yum, the best dessert all week.
Erasmo made up plates for Frank and Wade, because they were back doing baby-sitting duty, and Aswald was kind enough to carry the tray up to the rooms. Nice touch, just another example of DCL's excellent service.
That evening, the ship was coming out of it's coma, my kids went to the clubs so we could go out. But for some reason I was just a zombie....I was completely exhausted. Jimmy went down to Rockin Bar D, I told him I'd be coming down, but I never quite made it. I fell asleep. I was counting on having my last hurrah on Friday night, so I wasn't too worried about missing out on the fun. I wish I had known then what Friday would bring.
What I Learned:Life, the weather, and DCL are unpredictable...have the fun when the opportunity arises, sleep when you get home
Coming next: Day 7.....Outrun a hurricane? Is this captain kidding me?
Normally, the gentle rocking and rolling of the ship causes me to sleep like a baby, but Wednesday night was awful! The entire ship was creaking and cracking, and I thought I would look up at any moment and see that the ceiling had separated from the walls. The closet door was sliding open and banging shut all night, and there were times I would have sworn the ship was laying on it's side. One of the downsides of an inside cabin, with no windows, is that there is no way to reassure myself at 2 am, that the ship is not laying on it's side.
Normally, I get seasick in a moving car, but amazingly, the movement of the ship did not bother me much...it was the noises the ship was making that were scaring the heck out of me.
I was up pretty early, because sleep was just not happening for me, I was hoping that daytime would bring calmer seas with it. I showered and dressed, and headed up to Deck 9 for coffee...humming the theme to Gilligan's Island the whole way (because that's how I felt!) The sun was shining, the skies were blue, and the sea was rolling....the waves were huge! I noticed that the pools were all closed, this is accomplished by hanging ropes around the pools, with little signs on them that say "pool closed" I thought they'd have something more clever, like maybe closing the dance floor over the Goofy pool or something, but no, just ropes.
I got my coffee, and a coffee for Jimmy, and headed down to wake the kids. James was green, there was no way he was moving from the bed. Bobby and Tommy both reluctantly got out of bed, but I could tell the rocking of the ship was hypnotizing them. They both looked like they wanted to just sleep.
After we were all dressed, we met Lucy's family, and Lucille's family out in the hall, and headed up to Topsider's for breakfast. The scene was surreal...people looked like zombies, even the crew looked like they weren't very happy. Anthony wasn't feeling well, and had stayed in bed, and halfway through breakfast, Victoria went back to her room to lay down. Next was Tommy, but he wasn't feeling sick, just exhausted...we learned on our first cruise that the rocking of the ship makes him sleepy...and on both cruises he had slept through dinner almost every night. Jimmy took Tommy downstairs, and left him to sleep with James.
Bobby asked to go to the Oceaneer's Lab. Being the only one of the kids not to feel seasick, I figured the Lab would be the most exciting place for him, so I let him go sign himself in.
The adults were feeling okay, not too much issue with seasickness, so we headed down to Bingo, Amanda was okay at this point too, so she came with us.
Bingo was in Rockin Bar D. We bought our bingo cards, and found a couple of tables to sit at. While we were waiting for bingo to start, we took turns going upstairs to check on the kids. At one point, both Lucille and Wade were gone, and Amanda made a funny face, then gagged, then, well, let's just say the rocking of the ship had gotten to her. That's another kid down...she and Lucille went up to the room to rest.
Bingo was interesting, you could tell that people were feeling off...and when it ended, we all just wandered up to our rooms because there wasn't much else to do.
I had given James a Bonine, and Jimmy went up and gave him a second one...these seemed to help, because he got up showered and dressed, and went out for a walk up on deck. Tommy was fast asleep, and Lucy's kids were in bed too.
The day dragged on with us each taking turns wandering around, looking for something to do.
I walked on Deck 4 for a bit, and it looked like a hospital ward...people were passed out on the deck chairs, just sleeping it off. Then I headed up to deck 9, where I saw more of the same. People were just out of it. CMs were walking around with barf bags in their pockets, and I saw two CMs with a carpet steamer who looked like they could not keep up with the need for their services.
What I Learned:Bonine and rest are the best relief when the seas are bad.
Some time in the afternoon, the captain made the announcement that due to Hurricane Jeanne we would not be stopping at Castaway Cay. The groan was audible about the ship. I think people were mostly annoyed that all this bouncing around was for nothing, and that the captain could have used the extra day to seek out calmer waters for the trip home.
What I Learned: I would rather skip Castaway Cay altogether than sail through rough seas, Castaway Cay is beautiful, and fun, but the destination is not worth the journey in this case.
Jackpot Bingo was this afternoon in the Walt Disney Theater. It was pretty filled, but not a rowdy crowd, again, the rocking of the ship had a lot of people subdued. All I really remember is that I didn't win
Tonight's dinner was the Captain's Gala, and semi formal night. My kids were feeling okay, so Jimmy and I got dressed in our semi-formals and met my sister and Anthony in the hall, along with Lucille...the others stayed behind because even though the seas were less rough, they were not fully recovered. The dining room was not as empty as we thought it would be, but it was noticeable that people were still not feeling well. Dinner was good, but dessert was what made the day. Warm Chocolate Lava Cake, yum, the best dessert all week.
Erasmo made up plates for Frank and Wade, because they were back doing baby-sitting duty, and Aswald was kind enough to carry the tray up to the rooms. Nice touch, just another example of DCL's excellent service.
That evening, the ship was coming out of it's coma, my kids went to the clubs so we could go out. But for some reason I was just a zombie....I was completely exhausted. Jimmy went down to Rockin Bar D, I told him I'd be coming down, but I never quite made it. I fell asleep. I was counting on having my last hurrah on Friday night, so I wasn't too worried about missing out on the fun. I wish I had known then what Friday would bring.
What I Learned:Life, the weather, and DCL are unpredictable...have the fun when the opportunity arises, sleep when you get home
Coming next: Day 7.....Outrun a hurricane? Is this captain kidding me?
kikipug
A princess NEVER chases a chicken!<br><font color=
- Joined
- Nov 17, 2004
- Messages
- 5,178
Great report... wish I was going SOONER!!!!! Doing 7-day Magic with the new 2 CC visit itinerary in May '06- I've cruised many times, but not on DIS...
Regarding the hurricane- I feel your pain- living on the East Coast of FL, I had a front row seat for all 3... a little too close for comfort! You'll never catch me booking during hurricane season- unless its last minute and I know the forecast!
Sounds like you had a great trip - wish I could drag another family with us!!!!
Regarding the hurricane- I feel your pain- living on the East Coast of FL, I had a front row seat for all 3... a little too close for comfort! You'll never catch me booking during hurricane season- unless its last minute and I know the forecast!
Sounds like you had a great trip - wish I could drag another family with us!!!!
jrp
DVC Since 2001* WL*F.I.F.L To Go Where No MOuse H
- Joined
- Aug 25, 2004
- Messages
- 652
Hi DisneyNut Mary
I have enjoyed your posts on your trip as we did the Eastern cruise 2 years ago and really enjoyed the trip.. What brand of camera and what megapixel did you use for the photos? They are pretty clear. I just got a kodak 5.0 easyshare and hope to take pictures that good. Thanks James
I have enjoyed your posts on your trip as we did the Eastern cruise 2 years ago and really enjoyed the trip.. What brand of camera and what megapixel did you use for the photos? They are pretty clear. I just got a kodak 5.0 easyshare and hope to take pictures that good. Thanks James
Medleytrio
Earning My Ears
- Joined
- Nov 24, 2004
- Messages
- 25
I am anxiously awaiting to hear more about your trip.....
tksbaskets
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jan 17, 2002
- Messages
- 4,457
I loved your trip report especially the "What I learned". Thanks for sharing wiht us!
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