So we had dinner at AP the first night and the kids thought the show was pretty cool. After dinner we signed them up for the kids clubs and they saw it and wanted to stay for awhile. We happily obliged and explored the ship and ended up at Cadillac Lounge which I loved. The piano player was great and the place just feels cool. Loved the leather chairs and the art deco decor. Got a seat by the window and had a drink with DH and waited for the beeper to go off! I was starting to feel bad because I was developing a sinus infection which really made me mad. The night before, we were swimming at AKL and I was catching DD on the slide and water went up my nose - and that made me get the sinus infection. I want to get sinus removal surgery if they ever offer it!
So the beeper did go off and we picked the kids up and went back to the room to sleep.
The next morning was Nassau and we had breakfast at PC and headed off to find sinus medication before catching a cab to Comfort Suites and Atlantis. We shared a "bahamian air conditioned" van (ie - the windows were open) for $4 pp. The driver gave us a bit of a tour including coming to a complete stop on the bridge to paradise island so he could talk about the resort. We checked in to CS and walked over to Atlantis and got directed to the wrong place for wristbands and finally got to the towel hut for wrist bands. The place is indeed huge with water everywhere. We started out in the lagoon pool I think and then went to the beach which had the bluest water I have ever seen. The surf was pretty rough for young ones, but it was the perfect temperature with soft sand that sucked you up. After that, we went to the pool near all the slides and had an expensive lunch there and swam until about 3:00 when we had had enough of the sun. Went to the lobby and walked through the Dig about halfway. Saw a huge Manta Ray anf the kids liked the caves. Got a limo back to the ship for the same price as the cab!
That evening we had Palo reservations, so we saw Hercules early. We all liked it - Hades was hilarious. Lots of corny jokes, but very cute. We played Bingo before checking the kids into the clubs and going to Palo. Palo was wonderful - our waiter Dragan from Croatia was great. Brought us more food than we ordered. Wish I had had more of an appetite. We got to watch us leave Nassau. We got there at 8:30 and got out around 10:30 - in time to pick up the kids and run back up to the deck to see the special fireworks which were better than I expected.
Next day was Castaway Cay and it is as beautiful as everyone says. It was my birthday - so couldn't beat that as a present!
We hung out at the Family Beach and rented floats. After lunch we went to the teen beach - not knowing it was the teen beach - but it was pretty much deserted. It was a little more rocky than the Family Beach but we had our pick of umbrellas and chairs. Checked out the game room and I wish we had gone there earlier as it was 4:00 and time to head back. It was a great day of just floating around and doing nothing but relaxing.
That evening we ate at Triton's and had the birthday song sung to me (along with about 6 others!). We went to Disney Dreams, which was a day early and confirmed my hope of seeing Pirates of the Carribean on board. Rachel, the cruise director introduced the show and explained why they had moved Disney Dreams to Tuesday so we could see Pirates on Wednesday. I was very happy and thought we had the best cruise with perfect weather, fireworks AND Pirates premier.
Disney Dreams was really good - my DD was on the edge of her seat the whole time and DS got very excited at the end when Mickey comes out.
The next day was our day at sea. I did laundry that morning and got our tips sorted out and then went to lunch at Triton's. Right after, we stood in line for the 2:00 Pirates premier and it was completely packed. Captain Hook and Snead (?) walked around the theater and it was a lot of fun. We loved the movie.
We hadn't been to the mickey Pool the whole trip - so we went there until dinner. The kids loved it even though it was packed and my DD dared the slide and then we couldn't get her off of it.
The last dinner at AP was great. I wish we would have waited to see Pirates at 8:00 since it was only half full and the 2:00 show had eaten up all our afternoon. I walked around the ship that night while the kids and DH rested and loved Deck 4 and probably could have slept on one of the steamer chairs.
The next day we departed. Left our table at Beach Blanket Buffet at 8:30 and were in our car driving out of the port at 9:00. The disembarking couldn't have been smoother.
we went to Portofino Bay and Universal - and unfortunately should have done Universal first since it just lacked a lot in comparison to Disney. Don't want to start a Universal debate - but they wouldn't honor 2 day tickets with a 3rd day free that was never supposed to expire (from 2001). We had only used 1 day and that was the whole reason we stayed at Portofino Bay since we have Disney AP's. It will be a very long time before I return to Universal...
But other than a slightly sour end - it was a near perfect trip. We had pretty high expectations and Disney didn't dissapoint. I don't think I could go on another family cruise on another line.
If you have any questions, just ask!
So the beeper did go off and we picked the kids up and went back to the room to sleep.
The next morning was Nassau and we had breakfast at PC and headed off to find sinus medication before catching a cab to Comfort Suites and Atlantis. We shared a "bahamian air conditioned" van (ie - the windows were open) for $4 pp. The driver gave us a bit of a tour including coming to a complete stop on the bridge to paradise island so he could talk about the resort. We checked in to CS and walked over to Atlantis and got directed to the wrong place for wristbands and finally got to the towel hut for wrist bands. The place is indeed huge with water everywhere. We started out in the lagoon pool I think and then went to the beach which had the bluest water I have ever seen. The surf was pretty rough for young ones, but it was the perfect temperature with soft sand that sucked you up. After that, we went to the pool near all the slides and had an expensive lunch there and swam until about 3:00 when we had had enough of the sun. Went to the lobby and walked through the Dig about halfway. Saw a huge Manta Ray anf the kids liked the caves. Got a limo back to the ship for the same price as the cab!
That evening we had Palo reservations, so we saw Hercules early. We all liked it - Hades was hilarious. Lots of corny jokes, but very cute. We played Bingo before checking the kids into the clubs and going to Palo. Palo was wonderful - our waiter Dragan from Croatia was great. Brought us more food than we ordered. Wish I had had more of an appetite. We got to watch us leave Nassau. We got there at 8:30 and got out around 10:30 - in time to pick up the kids and run back up to the deck to see the special fireworks which were better than I expected.
Next day was Castaway Cay and it is as beautiful as everyone says. It was my birthday - so couldn't beat that as a present!
We hung out at the Family Beach and rented floats. After lunch we went to the teen beach - not knowing it was the teen beach - but it was pretty much deserted. It was a little more rocky than the Family Beach but we had our pick of umbrellas and chairs. Checked out the game room and I wish we had gone there earlier as it was 4:00 and time to head back. It was a great day of just floating around and doing nothing but relaxing.
That evening we ate at Triton's and had the birthday song sung to me (along with about 6 others!). We went to Disney Dreams, which was a day early and confirmed my hope of seeing Pirates of the Carribean on board. Rachel, the cruise director introduced the show and explained why they had moved Disney Dreams to Tuesday so we could see Pirates on Wednesday. I was very happy and thought we had the best cruise with perfect weather, fireworks AND Pirates premier.
Disney Dreams was really good - my DD was on the edge of her seat the whole time and DS got very excited at the end when Mickey comes out.
The next day was our day at sea. I did laundry that morning and got our tips sorted out and then went to lunch at Triton's. Right after, we stood in line for the 2:00 Pirates premier and it was completely packed. Captain Hook and Snead (?) walked around the theater and it was a lot of fun. We loved the movie.
We hadn't been to the mickey Pool the whole trip - so we went there until dinner. The kids loved it even though it was packed and my DD dared the slide and then we couldn't get her off of it.
The last dinner at AP was great. I wish we would have waited to see Pirates at 8:00 since it was only half full and the 2:00 show had eaten up all our afternoon. I walked around the ship that night while the kids and DH rested and loved Deck 4 and probably could have slept on one of the steamer chairs.
The next day we departed. Left our table at Beach Blanket Buffet at 8:30 and were in our car driving out of the port at 9:00. The disembarking couldn't have been smoother.
we went to Portofino Bay and Universal - and unfortunately should have done Universal first since it just lacked a lot in comparison to Disney. Don't want to start a Universal debate - but they wouldn't honor 2 day tickets with a 3rd day free that was never supposed to expire (from 2001). We had only used 1 day and that was the whole reason we stayed at Portofino Bay since we have Disney AP's. It will be a very long time before I return to Universal...
But other than a slightly sour end - it was a near perfect trip. We had pretty high expectations and Disney didn't dissapoint. I don't think I could go on another family cruise on another line.
If you have any questions, just ask!
