Wonder 7/31-8/03 incl Hyatt UPDATE & COMPLETE 9/11

[Zoiebear]

I cant wait to read the rest
S

 

[CapnJackGroupie]

Are you still waiting for your luggage??

 

[eyeheartgoofy]

Sorry about the lapse!! Life got in the way of my internet time (which is a good thing since I spend too much time online!!!).

Anyway...


JULY 31, PART 3

After departing from the Oceaneer Club, we headed back to our room where we found ... ABSOLUTELY NO LUGGAGE. NONE!!! At this point, I make a silly little joke to my husband about our luggage sitting in the hallway of the Hyatt. DH doesn't laugh.

So, anyway, back in the room, my safety family starts freaking out about this life boat drill. DD6 is especially concerned (and has been since the moment we stepped foot in the cabin and noticed the 2 youth life vests on the bed) ... she wants her life jacket on NOW. I try to convince everyone that the drill is not something that is starting immediately ... but that lovely cruise director keeps on making announcements about the upcoming drill and DD6 just keeps freaking out.

While everyone freaks out, I watch the luggage activity at the port ... trying to spy our suitcases. I don't spy our suitcases, but just knowing that luggage is still being loaded onto the ship makes me feel a little better. Every time we hear a bump, DH opens the door to see if we have a suitcase ... no luck.

Finally, it is time for the actual drill and we head to our assigned boat. Drill was boring and hot. Lame jokes were told. People smooshed together. Drill ended and we returned to our cabin ... but there wasn't any luggage!!!

Then, just as we are getting to head up for the sail away party ... we hear it. Bump. Bump. Thud. Thud. OUR LUGGAGE HAD ARRIVED!

So, we head up to the sail away party. I'm not much for deck parties. But the girls heard "party" on the PA and they were there. We were handed streamers and found a place pretty close to the stage. It was hot (the storm had just passed over ... so it was very, very muggy) and we were dripping with sweat. I stayed for a few numbers, then told DH that I wanted to head up to our room to unpack. So, he stayed back with the girls while I went up to the room.

I was unpacking fast and furiously when I noticed the ship was moving ... I had heard the horn, but really hadn't processed what was happening and didn't bother to step out on the verandah as we departed. I can't believe I didn't watch the departure and we had such a good view of the terminal. DUH!!!

The family returned from the party and we got dressed for dinner.

Up next, dinner is served ... sort of ...

 

[eyeheartgoofy]

did your luggage show up or did you get to go shopping??? I think that I would prefer to bring my own luggage. Is there any reason that you could not? Sorry to hear that the girls did not get to go for a good swim that first time. But I am sure that they made up for it later.

Yes, we got the luggage. I don't know of any reason why you couldn't bring your own luggage.

 

[eyeheartgoofy]

Awesome.. TR.. TFS.. subscribing

Thanks!

 

[eyeheartgoofy]

Hey! We were on this cruise, too!! our room was 7576...so just down the hall from you!!

Howdy, neighbor! Did you enjoy the cruise??

 

[eyeheartgoofy]

Please finish, can't wait to see if you got your luggage.

Working on it!

 

[eyeheartgoofy]

I am really enjoying your trip report!

Thanks!

Enjoying your report and looking forward to more. Robin

I'm working on it ... slowly, but surely.

Enjoying your report. Please continue soon.

Still working on it ...

Enjoying your report so far - can't wait to see if your luggage arrived OK.

Glad you are enjoying the report. Yes, we got the luggage!

I cant wait to read the rest
S

I got your pm!

Are you still waiting for your luggage??

Sorry about the delay ... I was waiting for the new fall season to answer the cliffhangers.

 

[wilma-bride]

So glad your luggage arrived safely. What a shame you missed the actual departure. Can't wait to read more

 

[dismom73]

I was on the edge of my seat waiting to see if you got your luggage! I'm glad it made it!

 

[allaboutthemouse]

more?

 

[thecooley]

Loving your TR! Especially appreciate the info on the Hyatt. We will be staying there in October.

 

[eyeheartgoofy]

So glad your luggage arrived safely. What a shame you missed the actual departure. Can't wait to read more

I was so happy to see our luggage! We have bad luggage luck! It was kind of a bummer to miss the departure. I was "in a zone" working to unpack before the family got back to the cabin ... I heard the horn in the background, but really wasn't paying attention until I saw scenery whipping on by!

I was on the edge of my seat waiting to see if you got your luggage! I'm glad it made it!

I was very, very happy to see those suitcases!

more?

Don't be sad ... more is on the way!

Loving your TR! Especially appreciate the info on the Hyatt. We will be staying there in October.

Will you be staying at the Hyatt before or after the cruise? They Hyatt was nice and the pool looked cool (it was thundering and lightening when we got there, so no pool for us) ... it was sort of like staying inside of a shopping mall though with all of the shops in the airport.

 

[eyeheartgoofy]

Okay, so after the big bon voyage party, we all headed up to our room to get changed for dinner.

Now, a little back story on dinner that I forgot to mention earlier. We booked this cruise fairly late and were assigned to the second dining rotation. This concerned me a great deal b/c I have one child who does not do well with late nights. My 6 year old is an EARLY BIRD. I mean EARLY. People don't get how much of an early to bed, early to rise girl she is until they actually witness her at bedtime. The child will TELL YOU that she is sleepy and wants to go to bed. Usually, around 7:00pm. Very occasionally, she makes it until 7:30pm or 8:00pm. She is generally awake by 6:00am every day, sometimes we catch her up at 5:30am playing in her room. She wakes up early no matter what time we put her to bed - if we keep her up late, it just means we have a GRUMPY child the next day. And, also, she has refused to nap since the week after her 3rd birthday. REFUSES. So, an afternoon nap to get her through a late night wasn't an option either. We all nap at WDW, not DD6 ... she sits and colors while the rest of us doze. My 4 year old DD is "normal" in the sleep department ... if she stays up late, she sleeps late. If she is really tired in the middle of the day, she will take a nap. A late meal wouldn't be a problem for her. But, not DD6 ... late meal is a problem.

Anyway, soon after we boarded the ship, DH went to see if he could change our seating to the main seating. We got the magic call around 4:00pm or so letting us know that we had been swithced to the main dining.

Our rotation called for Triton's tonight. I was pretty excited b/c I thought the Little Mermaid theme might appeal to my girls. I had the girls wear nice sun dresses, DH work khakis with a shirt & tie, and I wore a pair of capris and a blouse. I was a little nervous about wearing capri pants to Triton's ... I thought maybe I would be a little underdressed ... but I only had one dress and I was saving that for Palo.

Well, we got to Triton's right around the time dinner was to be served and got in right away (I threw away my Navigators ... I think dinner was at 5:45pm). Our table was a table of 9 ... and we were the first ones to arrive. Eventually, the rest of our dining companions arrived (grandparents with a 8-9 year old granddaughter, a mom with a 2 year old daughter). Any reservations I had about capris immediately flew out the door, 2 of my dining companions had on yoga type pants and I saw very few ties on men in the dining room. Pants were common on women. And this was Triton's ... the fancy place? So, don't worry about dress on a 3 night cruise! To think, I almost made my husband lug a jacket for dinner.

I don't remember what everyone had for the meal (sorry!) ... I had a soup to start, a meat main course and cherries jubilee for dessert. It was all very tasty. I don't remember what everyone else ordered, but I can tell you that it took FOREVER to get served. Oh My Lands! And the orders kept getting messed up ... I mean, seriously messed up. I heard the lady next to me order one thing and saw her get served another. The poor little girl with her grandparents also got the wrong meal. I actually got a big pile of french fries on my plate with my meal ... I was like, "What the heck????" I didn't order fries and it wasn't listed as being served with the meal I ordered. It was just one mess up after another. Seriously. The grandparents had been on several cruises and a Disney cruise once before ... they were pretty disgusted with the services. I was just kind of shocked. It was bad! I mean, the server and his assistant were very nice and smiled a lot ... but they were really bad at their jobs. I would say that a good 75% of the restaurant was cleared out before dessert was even mentioned at our table! Eventually, the girls got their Mickey ice cream bars with sprinkles and marshmallows. DD6 took about two bites of the ice cream and asked if she could leave to go to bed ... it was well past 7:00pm, quickly closing in on 8:00pm. So, DH left and took her to bed while I waited for DD4 to finish up her ice cream. By the time we left the restaurant, set up for the second dining was in full swing.

After dinner, the plan was for me to take DD4 on a little stroll until I knew that DD6 would be sound asleep. DD4 takes a little while to settle down at bedtime, so on vacation, one of us will take DD4 out of the room until DD6 falls asleep ... otherwise, DD4 keeps her awake.

Anway, I took DD4 to a bathroom and mopped off her face and hands (chocolate and ice cream MESS).

After that, we wandered around the ship. We weren't planning to see any shows, but ended up in that area ... so DD4 and I decided to try and find a seat for the Golden Mickey's. I think it was about 8:15 pm or so (I believe the show started at 8:30pm). The front half of the theater looked pretty full, but we headed up there anyway and easily found two seats together up pretty close and center stage (we probably wouldn't ahve found 4 seats together that close, but 2 was easy).

So, we sat and waited. Listened to multiple announcements about not saving seats ... watched people all around us ignore the announcements.

Eventually, the red carpet bit started (all the kids were Canadian and liked to watch TV). And after what seemed like an eternity of sitting quietly with my 4 year old, the Golden Mickey's started! The first number was great ... DD4 loved it and we all clapped and yelled, "yeah!". Then, the "awards" started and Snow White appeared in her garden singing a lovely tune ... and my DD4 promptly started shaking and crying while saying, "Momma, I'm scared the witch is going to come out! I don't like the witch, Momma!"

Now, I was faced with a dilemna. My DD4 was very scared and sort of disruptive. But, I didn't know if the witch was going to come out. I didn't want her to sit through the show if she was scared of the witch, but I really didn't want to leave either. I like musicals! I wanted to watch the show! I wanted to tell DD4 that it was okay and the witch wouldn't come out ... but what if the witch DID come out and I lied to my DD about something scary for my own personal gain???? I had no idea if we were going to see that darn witch! So, I sucked it up asked DD if she wanted to leave ... she immediately had this look of great relief and said, "Yes!" So, we excused ourselves from our prime seats and headed for the door. I asked the CM working the door if the witch came out, he smiled and nodded ... I don't think he understood the question. So, we left.

But, I still don't know. Does the witch come out???

After leaving the Golden Mickey's, we headed up to deck 9 to wander a bit and get DD her bedtime cup of milk. We walked by the pool and saw Hanna Montana on the jumbo screen ... DD4 was super impressed with that! We picked up some milk and headed back to the room.

DD6 was asleep and DH was reading in bed when we got back to the room. We got DD4 ready for bed, read her a couple of stories, and tucked her into the bottom bunk with strict orders not to wake up her sister.

DH and I, both sat up in bed reading for a bit, then we we both fell asleep by 10:30pm or so.



END DAY 1 ... FINALLY!!!

Up next is spa, Palo and kids club.

 

[eyeheartgoofy]

Just figured out how to update the thread title. Maybe next I will figure out how to post a picture ...

 

[Dreamer04]

Great update! I'm sorry your servers were so lousy. I hope things improved the next night!

Can't wait for more!

 

[TIGGERmetoo]

I'm really enjoying your trip report. I hope your meals got better. Can't wait for more.

 

[tngal]

Howdy, neighbor! Did you enjoy the cruise??

Yes! We had a blast! Didn't wanna leave though I got severely burnt at Castaway Cay, but thats my own fault!! Sorry to hear your dinner experience was a downer. We have another cruise booked for 12/2009 and are taking along my parents. Keep in touch!

Lisa

 

[suzycute]

I'm really enjoying reading your report and looking forward to the next installment! Makes me excited for our Wonder cruise in 5 weeks time!

 

[Tigger98]

We were also on the 8/31 Wonder sailing. I am glad to hear that we were not the only table with late servings. Our dinner time was 5:45 and the rotation was PTTA. Most of the time, the children at our table received and finished their meals before we even received ours.

My DH and I remember that last year, everyone received their meals at the same time.