Whoo Hoo and Boo Hoo! Our Magic'al Trip Report for Oct 8-15th!

[LC30]

Did your son snorkel too?

And I see you're going next year in Oct out of Galveston.... I'm still checking on our next cruise...but who know's, we could meet up again on another one! I'm doing my best!

He did! It's really his first time snorkeling and he LOVED it. Join us on the October next year! Would be fun, it would be great to have another Magic in Paradise on board.

 

[sullins5]

He did! It's really his first time snorkeling and he LOVED it. Join us on the October next year! Would be fun, it would be great to have another Magic in Paradise on board.

I'd love it for sure!!! We're trying now to figure out dh's schedule for vacation slots and trying to plan a trip to the world. I figure we'll do a cruise one year and the kingdom the next. Plus, we have to have a 'beach fix' just about every summer. But who knows? I'm ALWAYS up for a trip! Just let me grab my suitcase, someone take care of the fam and I'm good to go!

 

[sullins5]

Happy Pre Halloween everyone! Yes, I know, I've got to get on here and finish up my trip report! The saddest thing about the trip....It's over! ...And yes, the post cruise blues have hit!!! With Halloween tomorrow, and dd dressing up as a pirate, it doesn't help my case!

So yes, I am missing the cruise, and already waiting to book another. And on that note? Let me just say, some folks on here said the way to avoid the cruise blues was to rebook onboard.
Well, fyi...I did try. But we felt like the offer she quoted to us 'just wasn't right', and then when talking to another 'dis'er' , found out, she really didn't quote us the thing we wanted. So on Friday before we got off the ship, my intentions were to go back, but by that point? It was so crowded (yes, even at 11pm), and we were so tired, I just figured "You know what? We booked this cruise by ourselves, got a pretty good OBC, NO, didn't get a 10% discount, but if I really want to cruise again? I'll do it!"

So, KNOW before you go, is a pretty good strategy. But for us, just not sure 2 years out HOW we want to book, WHEN, or WHERE, so we just didn't do it. Vacations for us are a 'bidding' process, so we're not ever sure until the first of a year when we can even LOOK at going..

But that's NOT stopping this disneychik!I'm already planning a trip to the Kingdom as soon as possible!

Enjoy your Sundays and I'll try to finish up this week!

 

[TIGGER/POOH4]

Happy Pre Halloween everyone! Yes, I know, I've got to get on here and finish up my trip report! The saddest thing about the trip....It's over! ...And yes, the post cruise blues have hit!!! With Halloween tomorrow, and dd dressing up as a pirate, it doesn't help my case!

So yes, I am missing the cruise, and already waiting to book another. And on that note? Let me just say, some folks on here said the way to avoid the cruise blues was to rebook onboard.
Well, fyi...I did try. But we felt like the offer she quoted to us 'just wasn't right', and then when talking to another 'dis'er' , found out, she really didn't quote us the thing we wanted. So on Friday before we got off the ship, my intentions were to go back, but by that point? It was so crowded (yes, even at 11pm), and we were so tired, I just figured "You know what? We booked this cruise by ourselves, got a pretty good OBC, NO, didn't get a 10% discount, but if I really want to cruise again? I'll do it!"

So, KNOW before you go, is a pretty good strategy. But for us, just not sure 2 years out HOW we want to book, WHEN, or WHERE, so we just didn't do it. Vacations for us are a 'bidding' process, so we're not ever sure until the first of a year when we can even LOOK at going..

But that's NOT stopping this disneychik!I'm already planning a trip to the Kingdom as soon as possible!

Enjoy your Sundays and I'll try to finish up this week!

I know how hard you tried to get a rebooking. Sorry the rebooking lady had no idea what she was talking about. I find it amazing she is in the position she is in. Good luck in your future plans and let us know when you book a cruise. Hopefully we'll be able to get together once again.

 

[Octoberbride03]

Happy Pre Halloween everyone! Yes, I know, I've got to get on here and finish up my trip report! The saddest thing about the trip....It's over! ...And yes, the post cruise blues have hit!!! With Halloween tomorrow, and dd dressing up as a pirate, it doesn't help my case!

So yes, I am missing the cruise, and already waiting to book another. And on that note? Let me just say, some folks on here said the way to avoid the cruise blues was to rebook onboard.
Well, fyi...I did try. But we felt like the offer she quoted to us 'just wasn't right', and then when talking to another 'dis'er' , found out, she really didn't quote us the thing we wanted. So on Friday before we got off the ship, my intentions were to go back, but by that point? It was so crowded (yes, even at 11pm), and we were so tired, I just figured "You know what? We booked this cruise by ourselves, got a pretty good OBC, NO, didn't get a 10% discount, but if I really want to cruise again? I'll do it!"

So, KNOW before you go, is a pretty good strategy. But for us, just not sure 2 years out HOW we want to book, WHEN, or WHERE, so we just didn't do it. Vacations for us are a 'bidding' process, so we're not ever sure until the first of a year when we can even LOOK at going..

But that's NOT stopping this disneychik!I'm already planning a trip to the Kingdom as soon as possible!

Enjoy your Sundays and I'll try to finish up this week!

She was a maroon wasn't she

Me thinks she should stick to wedding planning. Dan realized when we crashed that she was the 1 running Beth & John's wedding

I'm not sure we would have been able to book without Dan's help either. but we got it done. Not sailing for another 3 years most likely so no we have time to plan and choose dates and surprise parents(oh boy)

 

[sullins5]

I know how hard you tried to get a rebooking. Sorry the rebooking lady had no idea what she was talking about. I find it amazing she is in the position she is in. Good luck in your future plans and let us know when you book a cruise. Hopefully we'll be able to get together once again.

You know, bless her heart, she wasn't a great seller. Had she been a little bit more helpful, I'm sure we could have worked something out, for us newbies, it just didn't seem like she wanted to go to the extra effort. And maybe it was just because her satellite was down? Who knows? But yep...I've been on DCL everyday watching so as soon as I can rebook, I'll let ya know!

She was a maroon wasn't she

Me thinks she should stick to wedding planning. Dan realized when we crashed that she was the 1 running Beth & John's wedding

I'm not sure we would have been able to book without Dan's help either. but we got it done. Not sailing for another 3 years most likely so no we have time to plan and choose dates and surprise parents(oh boy)

Dan was great wasn't he? A real help to be sure! At least HE knows how it's done! We tried to go back, but oh well. We'll get it done! And hey..YAY!!for you in rebooking! And yep, I'd think in 3 years you'll have time to plan, save, and get ready for a BIGGIE!! Your family will LOVE it I'm sure! We all thought it was the best thing ever!! Even dh who had his reservations because we're such 'goers' at WDW loved it! So hopefully, we'll meet some of you again on a cruise or in WDW!!

 

[aan1701]

Wow, after reading the last few posts about the rebooking agent, it made me realize how different my experance with her was. I just asked for a dummy date with the lowest possible deposit. When her satilite came back I had the the dummy date. No problems what so ever from the moment I approached her. That dummy date has already been moved to the 9/29/13 sailing of the Dream as that is the cruise my friend is targeting for her wedding. I guess different strokes.

 

[sullins5]

Wow, after reading the last few posts about the rebooking agent, it made me realize how different my experance with her was. I just asked for a dummy date with the lowest possible deposit. When her satilite came back I had the the dummy date. No problems what so ever from the moment I approached her. That dummy date has already been moved to the 9/29/13 sailing of the Dream as that is the cruise my friend is targeting for her wedding. I guess different strokes.

Oh, no worries Alan! She was nice, but I too had asked for the lowest possible deposit, dummy date and when I got my quote, we were a tad shocked how much it was. No inside staterooms available, and it just didn't 'register' to us as a great deal. In fact, quite a bit more than we thought for just one room. Then I spoke with Dan and with all his experience and knowledge, he steered me the right direction. Alas though, by this time, it was Friday at CC, we were pooped...and after standing in long lines for character pictures, watching her lines just continue to grow, we opted to just 'do it on our own'. No biggie, but yep, lost my 10%, my cheaper deposit, but as we ALL know, when you LOVE Disney, you'll do what it takes!

Glad you got what you needed though, and maybe we'll see some of you later on! It WAS a great cruise for sure!!

 

[HermanTriplets+1]

: I too had asked for the lowest possible deposit, dummy date and when I got my quote, we were a tad shocked how much it was. No inside staterooms available, and it just didn't 'register' to us as a great deal. In fact, quite a bit more than we thought for just one room. :

I don't get this - how can there not be any inside staterooms available on a dummy date? Can't you just say to them "book me any 2 night cruise to nowhere or 3 night bahamas trip that still has an inside stateroom available"... or was the agent saying that none of the least expensive cruises had inside staterooms available? Hmmm. If you were doing it again, what do you think you'd do to get a good dummy date with a nice low deposit?
As you said, though, "no worries", on board booking or not isn't going to make or break it if one wants to do another DCL!

 

[sullins5]

Oh my gosh!! We almost missed this one!!!! Good rule of thumb everyone? LOOK at those dining tickets they put in your cabin! Hilarious!!! I was sitting, talking to a 'well experienced' Dis'er and fellow cruiser on Monday (right Dan?) about rebooking and the subject of the 'character breakfast' came up. REALLY? We have one of those? When is it? ( I now picture Dan dying laughing insidethinking "these newbies"...And I wouldn't blame him for it!) We didn't have a clue what those dining tickets were for, so I hadn't even glanced more than the first night to check out our rotation...
HELLLLLLLOOOOO!!! So, check those tickets, because you'll find out when YOUR character breakfast is, and you DON'T want to miss it!! On Thursday morning, we laughed so hard, and had such a great time, it MADE our day!

As you walk into Parrot Cay, the scene was already set for some fun..Fun colors and menus just waiting for a peek!

And then the characters start coming! Better have those cameras out, ready to click and go! You really don't have time to 'think and strategize' they come and go so fast!

And then as quick as the characters came in, they were gone! However, this is when our fun began! Our servers..who were the GREATEST (Yes, I'm sorry, but we had the BEST!) came over and started making our hats. I was Stitch (not being a stitch fan, it was ok, but what did I look like?) DH was Peter Pan, of course dd was Minnie, older dd was Cap'n Jackie Sparrow? lol, ds was another pirate, mil was a princess? and fil was Dumbo. OH MY GOSH! We laughed so hard and furious! It was hilarious! So we went from the serious to the sensational Disney style! What fun! It really just 'marked' our day for fun!

After breakfast, we had planning of the minds. What to do today?Dd ran to the Edge for just a little bit, we watched ice sculpturing outside and the chef made this..

Amazing! It was a fish, my picture didn't do it justice!

Next up was Bingo. With the other half of the ship!We had no idea! But what fun! Can't remember her name, but the director was soooo funny! And I didn't know you dance during Bingo! Have times changed or what! We laughed and though didn't win, we WON in the section of fun things to do!

And that night was the Captain's Gala...

Best dessert (well, my family liked it, I'm not much on sweets...)

Got some great pics for semi formal night and headed back to the room because CC was tomorrow... So excited about our first CC Day!

And of course, He was waiting for us when we got back:

I just love all things Disney!
Next up? CC Day!!

Well...stu-u-p-i-d me! I MUST be in denial...because this was'nt day 5, it was day 6!! And no one caught my blunder (or they were kind enough not to correct me) And I haven't a clue how to change the title...so it should read....DAY 6

 

[Octoberbride03]

Wow, after reading the last few posts about the rebooking agent, it made me realize how different my experance with her was. I just asked for a dummy date with the lowest possible deposit. When her satilite came back I had the the dummy date. No problems what so ever from the moment I approached her. That dummy date has already been moved to the 9/29/13 sailing of the Dream as that is the cruise my friend is targeting for her wedding. I guess different strokes.

Oh she was very nice. I'll give her that. But as a person who'd only done 1 cruise and had questions the best way to do things to book an entire family, she really didn't offer any options about how to accomplish it. Yes its a dummy date but I still needed 2 cabins and apparently she just picked a random address for my sister because when the booking came back, my sister had moved to White Plains, NY

Without Dan we may not have gotten booked, and I would have been very unhappy if we hadn't.

 

[sullins5]

Oh she was very nice. I'll give her that. But as a person who'd only done 1 cruise and had questions the best way to do things to book an entire family, she really didn't offer any options about how to accomplish it. Yes its a dummy date but I still needed 2 cabins and apparently she just picked a random address for my sister because when the booking came back, my sister had moved to White Plains, NY

Without Dan we may not have gotten booked, and I would have been very unhappy if we hadn't.

Exactumondo!!! Is that a word? And I'd NEVER done a Disney cruise, and agree completely Maureen! She didn't offer us ANY options but gave us a pretty high qoute for a Fantasy 7 day cruise and that was her best option. I was just so confused at our quote and it definately was NOT what I wanted. Dan was the man on this one, as he shared what 'could've/should've' been done, and I wanted to go back, but as I said..It was just too late by the time I talked to Dan on Friday and when we got back on the ship. Yep, she was definately nice enough, but maybe she could've explained it better for us newbies. And btw? I first talked to her Monday afternoon, so it was early on to be told NO inside staterooms available?

Oh well...Next time!!! And there WILL be a next time!

 

[sullins5]

I don't get this - how can there not be any inside staterooms available on a dummy date? Can't you just say to them "book me any 2 night cruise to nowhere or 3 night bahamas trip that still has an inside stateroom available"... or was the agent saying that none of the least expensive cruises had inside staterooms available? Hmmm. If you were doing it again, what do you think you'd do to get a good dummy date with a nice low deposit?
As you said, though, "no worries", on board booking or not isn't going to make or break it if one wants to do another DCL!

I'm not sure..That's what we thought we asked for..the farthest thing, cheapest inside room available..but she said they didn't have any. Next time, I'd do exactly that...tell her I want a 2 day to nowhere cruise that still has an inside stateroom available. (I thought that's what I had revealed to her..but who knows? I'm definately NOT blaming her, just was sad that the only quote I could get was a deluxe on the Fantasy 7 days. Not at all what we wanted. And so, we didn't accept the quote, but it wasn't until Friday that I was sharing with our fellow Dis'er why I was disappointed, and he said "No, no, that's not what you wanted or needed, Go back and tell her...." He was a great help. But unfortunately, by the time we got back on board from CC, it was after 3 getting to the cabin, getting ready for our early dinner, and then the lines to her were ridiculous.
And we had to ask ourselves at this point "Enjoy the rest of our last evening with 12dd getting pictures and memories?" or "Standing in line and maybe or maybe not getting to see her by midnight"..so we opted to 'opt' out.
One of those cases where I should've done MORE research, thought I had, thought I said it right, but still made errors. Live and learn for sure!

 

[Octoberbride03]

Exactumondo!!! Is that a word? And I'd NEVER done a Disney cruise, and agree completely Maureen! She didn't offer us ANY options but gave us a pretty high qoute for a Fantasy 7 day cruise and that was her best option. I was just so confused at our quote and it definately was NOT what I wanted. Dan was the man on this one, as he shared what 'could've/should've' been done, and I wanted to go back, but as I said..It was just too late by the time I talked to Dan on Friday and when we got back on the ship. Yep, she was definately nice enough, but maybe she could've explained it better for us newbies. And btw? I first talked to her Monday afternoon, so it was early on to be told NO inside staterooms available?

Oh well...Next time!!! And there WILL be a next time!

Dan even offered to go to the desk with us to get what we needed. But we declined, I don't really think that would have been a pretty sight Fortunately, we tugged his ear enough at dinner and while hanging various places on the ship that we came away satisfied with what we booked. Its just too bad that Dan is not an actual travel agent that can offer me even more OBC than what we have waiting for us

 

[HermanTriplets+1]

And we had to ask ourselves at this point "Enjoy the rest of our last evening with 12dd getting pictures and memories?" or "Standing in line and maybe or maybe not getting to see her by midnight!

GOOD FOR YOU!! What you did was NOT let the obsessive- planning- it -all- needs -to- be -perfect get in the way of having a great time!

 

[sullins5]

GOOD FOR YOU!! What you did was NOT let the obsessive- planning- it -all- needs -to- be -perfect get in the way of having a great time!

I think the older we get, we learn that in the light of things, as each day is a gift, that memories and time well spent are more important overall. Yes, we want to do another, NOPE, not gonna dwell on would've/could've/should've...instead we enjoyed just about every second of our time! Sometimes we get so caught up in the mundane, we miss the little miracles, and magic! So, we are indeed thankful for that trip...and looking forward to the next!
As are you! As I typed that, I thought (lol) of a lot of little happies I could SO give at Christmas if I was on a June cruise! Or with Halloween over (don't know whether Israel celebrates Halloween?) thought of all the 'piratey' stuff you can find for Pirate Night! Know you are counting down your days!

 

[HermanTriplets+1]

with Halloween over (don't know whether Israel celebrates Halloween?) thought of all the 'piratey' stuff you can find for Pirate Night! Know you are counting down your days!

I was thinking of thatand had to hold myself back and NOT ask my mother in NJ to buy pirate stuff for us! We have a dress-up holiday in March called Purim and it is every bit as gimicky as Halloween, so I'm waiting to see what I can get then!

 

[sullins5]

Can I just say, this is a much anticipated day and yet, I found myself dreading it too. Why? Because it meant it was the last leg in this journey. While I tried NOT to think about it ending, I also was full aware that by the days end (which having heard on here how WONDERFUL it was gonna be, so CC would fly by) we would be going to "Till We Meet Again"...and seeing all the characters say goodbye....Oh, well, we'll get to that, when we get to that!

We got up early, ran down for a quick bite, got dressed, and had heard we weren't gonna be able to disembark until about 9:45. Being outside and taking pictures, we realized that people were already getting off, so we got our 'sackpacks' and headed off.

Unbelievable! Met every thought or expectation I had! All the fun signs, sights and beauty were unsurmountable. Unfortunately, I didn't stop to take pictures of all the fun signs because I did feel like we were in a heard of cattle making our way to the family beach (no ones fault but our own). Here's the ship though:

We were definately NOT in the know about all the chairs filling up so quickly. So we kept walking down to the Pelican Plunge area where we did find a couple of hammocks tucked in the back. So we 'set up shop', dh and dd went for a bike ride, while I was more interested in seeing what I missed while walking. So here are a few shots of cool places...

Spring a Leak ( a little water fountain play place)

Huge pavillion area for eating Cookies BBQ! Yum...and or for dashing in and out of to protect that camera from getting wet in a shower...

Pelican Plunge...

Just the pathways...I know it's silly, but I liked THESE! The serenity, what did it lead too? Just loved them...

Of course, my family found a live creature...we ALWAYS find something! And yes, the black cat on the island is alive and well! Didn't get a picture, but saw alot of people petting it!

My dd and her grandmother got on these little funcats...Although, they said they really weren't too fun. Think about it, it's hot, you can't access the water to splash yourself off, and if the said battery stops out in the middle of the ocean, you have to wait until someone notices you to come out and help. just a little side note there...

Busy, busy, busy...but also fun, fun, fun!

And then in a blink of an eye, it's time to go in......

Next up was dinner and a movie...well, not a movie but a show:

Think 'recap' of the whole week, but boy do they have some great singers!

If you haven't put out your suitcases, you had to find a time to load up and get those out there by about 10:30 or so. This was hard..pack, or have fun? Pack or have fun? What a killer!

And then at the end of the night, all the characters come out for one last 'hurrah' and time for those last minute shots...

And by this point, you're like "NOOOOOOO, I don't want it to end!!!"

And so, you're standing there, watching them all go in, and it's bittersweet. The party's over, you've had a trip of a lifetime, and sadly , you head back, making sure you've got everything. And yes, the captain says there's still plenty to do, but we're pooped, have to get up and out early on, so we head in probably about midnight.

I'll post a pic and a few comments about our last morning and then my trip report will be over. :sad3: I do hope your trips will fare as wonderfully as ours did! We loved every minute! Last report on the last day coming soon...

 

[sullins5]

Well, here we were. The party was over. Can I just say, "Man is it different getting OFF than it was getting ON." The somberness, seriousness, not alot of people in the 'Disney' spirit. But we were gonna 'absorb' one more morning as quick as we could!

First off, they tell you on Friday night, where your designated breakfast is. Ours was Parrot Cay again. PLAPLAP was our rotation, and I loved it! Don't know whether we will get it next time, but we loved it, and I'll request it next time.
So our great servers told us we'd be in PC and they looked forward to saying goodbye. We had already hugged, gotten pics with them on Friday and after talking decided we didn't want to take more time waiting on food and saying goodbyes again. So off we go to Topsiders. However, the family designated me to go and say goodbye to our servers. He was SOOOO great. Another hug, thanks for everything, and he genuinely acted like he was sad to see us go. Made me sad ..Albeit, I do wonder if inside he was like "Whoo Hoo, I don't have to prep that table/serve/clean up...my day just got quicker!" You KNOW they work their little rear ends off on Saturday! That's their hardest days from what I heard!

We head to Topsiders (at 6:30) and it's wonderful! Just a handful of folks in there, with some of our Dis' meet friends too, and we're able to get what we want, enjoy the view and almost watch the sun come up. Here's what we saw...

Funny isn't it? Almost looks dismal, quiet, and serene. Not sure what ship this was, but the scene really does duplicate at this point, what everyone is feeling.

So we ate, and took one last stroll topside...

And of course, Disney has already started showing their DCL advertisement on the big stack..:

...Making you want just ONE more cruise already..

And so, we head in to see if we can disembark, not really knowing WHEN we can since we didn't hear the announcement. And when we got to guest services, there was a long line facing the exit and we were all waiting for the 'go' to exit. I must say, this is an easy one. You still need your KTTW card, so don't let your kids throw those away or misplace them on Friday. And the saddest thing of all?

We head to luggage and a porter is there willing to help. With 13 suitcases, we HAD to have help!

And so, we're off to Budget rental. Another long story. Don't know whether we'd ever use them again, but plenty of other cruisers have had better results than we did. So, this is one of those times where everyone has a differing opinion on rental companies...

What I still Love about Disney? Is that even at the airport, you get one more BIG dose of Disney, as if to remind you to come back!

I finally figured out my handycam and have about 200 more pics, some for here, but for now? This is the end of our trip report. May your Disney Days and Cruise be as great and magical as ours. For us newbies? I couldn't have asked for anything different...it met every expectation and desire above and beyond! Look for this disneychik again...coming soon to a Disney Cruise again!

 

[Octoberbride03]

You must have left before we did. We left with the Davids and by the time we were all ready to go there really wasn't a line. We're heading to the desks for 1 last card swipe and some CM was trying to hurry me along. I told her "I'm 2 minutes away from luggage. I ain't in no hurry"

What a trip though. Best time ever