(no subject)
Pros: Great food, large staterooms, great pools, deck 4 running track, Castaway Cay, Kids Club, Pirates in the Caribbean party, fireworks, activities/areas for adults only, the food, especially Paolo, ridiculous attention to cleanliness
Cons: That it ended, sunscreen in my contacts just abt every day, if you don't like Disney, this isn't the cruise for you, cheap wine at the wine tasting
Details:
Saturday: First people in line! We got there earlier than I had planned- 9:30. Don't believe the books- the port is only abt 30 minutes from the Orlando airport. After checking in at the terminal, we watched cartoons, saw Mickey and Minnie and Joshua studied the large ship model. We boarded around noon and went to Parrot Cay immediately to eat. It was a lunch buffet that included salads, veggies, fruit, sandwiches, hot food (including flank steak) and desserts. Afterwards, we explored the ship until we could get into our stateroom around 1:30. Around 2 our bags started to arrive so I unpacked everything prior to the safety drill at 4. After the drill was over, we went up to deck 9 for the sail away party. Got to see more characters and feel a generation gap b/c they started with all the Hannah Montana/High School musical songs that they claimed everyone knew. They blew the ship's horn (it's the first 7 notes to "when you wish upon a star") and we were off. After the kids club opened, we took Joshua there to explore, went to deck 9 for some food (there was no way Joshua was going to make it until 8:30 to eat) and got ready for dinner. Our first dinner was in Parrot Cay- the grouper was pretty good.
Sunday: Key West
We docked around noon and then wondered around for a while. We tried to get Joshua to go to Pirate Soul Museum but he decided that he wanted to take a conch train tour instead. Turns out it was a 90 minute tour of Key West- we were all done after abt 30 min but we had to wait until we got back to downtown. Joshua then said he wanted to go back to the ship (thank goodness!) so we took him to the kids club and then met my neice and sister-in-law at Sloppy Joe's for drinks. Got back to the ship, ate food and just relaxed. Ate at Lumiere's and met our table mates (they went to the adult restaurant the night before). They were really cool and we ended up exchanging emails and talking about getting together if Todd and I go to Sonoma this year. The food was great, had a really good vichyssoise soup and dijon-mustard roasted beef tenerloin.
Monday: At Sea
Woke up and ran around deck 4- surreal to be running while the ship is moving because it looks like you are flying when running on one side of the ship. It's 1/3 mile and you get to run past some inner workings of the ship. Went to a Vacation Club reception for some free loot(and ended up buying more vacation club points so we need to go on another vacation this year to use up points). Had a spa treatment and we also did a wine tasting and took Joshua to a tea party with Alice. We unfortunately missed the martini/beer tastings due to conflicts as well as the art of plate decorating/cake decorating. There was just too much going on and not enough time. Joshua wasn't interested in the evening Broadway style show so we skipped it and spend the evening on our balcony reading books, then went to Animator's Palate- they had a good show and great butternut squash soup and the chocolate peanut butter pie was very tasty.
Tuesday: Grand Cayman
We didn't have an excursion so work up. Joshua refused to go to the island with us since he decided that he had been there before. We got off the island and spent about 2 hrs at the Margaritaville bar. Got back to the ship and took Joshua to the pool for several hours, then I went to the spa again. That night was the Master Chef dinner- one of our favorite meals outside of Paolo.
Wednesday: Cozumel
We had an excursion where Todd got to snorkel while Joshua and I went swimming. Then we headed to an eco park where we saw Mayan ruins, a crocodile preserve, an old lighthouse and about 10 minutes at the beach before it started to rain. Jeannie and Mike (our tablemates) invited us to join them at Paolo, the adults only Italian restaurant. The food was absolutely amazing from the pizza to the grilled portobello with polenta. The grilled filet was perfect and the lobster ravioli was really good(we all shared food). The best part was the chocolate souffle with vanilla bean sauce. So tasty and the wine was superb. After three hours at the restaurant, we hurried down to pick up the kids and got to enjoy the Pirates in the Caribbean party. Long day and we were very tired by the time we got to bed- Joshua is not used to staying up until 11.
Thursday: At Sea
We had a character breakfast that morning so we got to see the characters. We had reservations for tea at Paolo that day- very good and the lemon tiramisu was great (no espresso). We then went to Joshua's graduation from the kids club- cheesy but really cute. I had another spa appointment and Joshua/Todd saw the Disney Dreams show (which he loved). We had the the Captain's Gala dinner and the grilled venison medallions in Stilton was really good. We went to bed right after dinner that night.
Friday: Castaway Cay
The best island ever! We got on shore around 9:30 and found a nice shady spot under an umbrella/some palm trees. Todd and Joshua built a sand castle and we spent quite a bit of time in the water. It was so clear. By around 2, Joshua was getting antsy so we took him to the kids club on the island and just relaxed for a while. After getting back to the boat, we got to watch all stuff get loaded back on the ship and the sail away. That night's dinner was the weakest menu, nothing really looked good. It was okay but wasn't as good as the other's nights meals.
Saturday: Back on land
We woke up and were back in Port Canaveral. We didn't want to be back but were off the ship and through customs within 5 minutes. I don't think they even looked at our passport pictures. Overall, amazing vacation, I can't wait to do another one when we're ready for a totally relaxing vacation. Plus there were a lot of adult things (like Wii tournaments and nightclubs) that we didn't do this time so would like to do some of that next time.
Cons: That it ended, sunscreen in my contacts just abt every day, if you don't like Disney, this isn't the cruise for you, cheap wine at the wine tasting
Details:
Saturday: First people in line! We got there earlier than I had planned- 9:30. Don't believe the books- the port is only abt 30 minutes from the Orlando airport. After checking in at the terminal, we watched cartoons, saw Mickey and Minnie and Joshua studied the large ship model. We boarded around noon and went to Parrot Cay immediately to eat. It was a lunch buffet that included salads, veggies, fruit, sandwiches, hot food (including flank steak) and desserts. Afterwards, we explored the ship until we could get into our stateroom around 1:30. Around 2 our bags started to arrive so I unpacked everything prior to the safety drill at 4. After the drill was over, we went up to deck 9 for the sail away party. Got to see more characters and feel a generation gap b/c they started with all the Hannah Montana/High School musical songs that they claimed everyone knew. They blew the ship's horn (it's the first 7 notes to "when you wish upon a star") and we were off. After the kids club opened, we took Joshua there to explore, went to deck 9 for some food (there was no way Joshua was going to make it until 8:30 to eat) and got ready for dinner. Our first dinner was in Parrot Cay- the grouper was pretty good.
Sunday: Key West
We docked around noon and then wondered around for a while. We tried to get Joshua to go to Pirate Soul Museum but he decided that he wanted to take a conch train tour instead. Turns out it was a 90 minute tour of Key West- we were all done after abt 30 min but we had to wait until we got back to downtown. Joshua then said he wanted to go back to the ship (thank goodness!) so we took him to the kids club and then met my neice and sister-in-law at Sloppy Joe's for drinks. Got back to the ship, ate food and just relaxed. Ate at Lumiere's and met our table mates (they went to the adult restaurant the night before). They were really cool and we ended up exchanging emails and talking about getting together if Todd and I go to Sonoma this year. The food was great, had a really good vichyssoise soup and dijon-mustard roasted beef tenerloin.
Monday: At Sea
Woke up and ran around deck 4- surreal to be running while the ship is moving because it looks like you are flying when running on one side of the ship. It's 1/3 mile and you get to run past some inner workings of the ship. Went to a Vacation Club reception for some free loot(and ended up buying more vacation club points so we need to go on another vacation this year to use up points). Had a spa treatment and we also did a wine tasting and took Joshua to a tea party with Alice. We unfortunately missed the martini/beer tastings due to conflicts as well as the art of plate decorating/cake decorating. There was just too much going on and not enough time. Joshua wasn't interested in the evening Broadway style show so we skipped it and spend the evening on our balcony reading books, then went to Animator's Palate- they had a good show and great butternut squash soup and the chocolate peanut butter pie was very tasty.
Tuesday: Grand Cayman
We didn't have an excursion so work up. Joshua refused to go to the island with us since he decided that he had been there before. We got off the island and spent about 2 hrs at the Margaritaville bar. Got back to the ship and took Joshua to the pool for several hours, then I went to the spa again. That night was the Master Chef dinner- one of our favorite meals outside of Paolo.
Wednesday: Cozumel
We had an excursion where Todd got to snorkel while Joshua and I went swimming. Then we headed to an eco park where we saw Mayan ruins, a crocodile preserve, an old lighthouse and about 10 minutes at the beach before it started to rain. Jeannie and Mike (our tablemates) invited us to join them at Paolo, the adults only Italian restaurant. The food was absolutely amazing from the pizza to the grilled portobello with polenta. The grilled filet was perfect and the lobster ravioli was really good(we all shared food). The best part was the chocolate souffle with vanilla bean sauce. So tasty and the wine was superb. After three hours at the restaurant, we hurried down to pick up the kids and got to enjoy the Pirates in the Caribbean party. Long day and we were very tired by the time we got to bed- Joshua is not used to staying up until 11.
Thursday: At Sea
We had a character breakfast that morning so we got to see the characters. We had reservations for tea at Paolo that day- very good and the lemon tiramisu was great (no espresso). We then went to Joshua's graduation from the kids club- cheesy but really cute. I had another spa appointment and Joshua/Todd saw the Disney Dreams show (which he loved). We had the the Captain's Gala dinner and the grilled venison medallions in Stilton was really good. We went to bed right after dinner that night.
Friday: Castaway Cay
The best island ever! We got on shore around 9:30 and found a nice shady spot under an umbrella/some palm trees. Todd and Joshua built a sand castle and we spent quite a bit of time in the water. It was so clear. By around 2, Joshua was getting antsy so we took him to the kids club on the island and just relaxed for a while. After getting back to the boat, we got to watch all stuff get loaded back on the ship and the sail away. That night's dinner was the weakest menu, nothing really looked good. It was okay but wasn't as good as the other's nights meals.
Saturday: Back on land
We woke up and were back in Port Canaveral. We didn't want to be back but were off the ship and through customs within 5 minutes. I don't think they even looked at our passport pictures. Overall, amazing vacation, I can't wait to do another one when we're ready for a totally relaxing vacation. Plus there were a lot of adult things (like Wii tournaments and nightclubs) that we didn't do this time so would like to do some of that next time.