doubletroublemom
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Feb 9, 2001
As promised...
OCEANEERS CLUB - The idea is great, but I'm mixed on the club itself. First, I didn't think they had enough counselors for the 3 & 4 year olds. The lighting is just awful...very dark! I also didn't think they had enough free time activity stations. There would be scheduled activities followed by quiet time. Most of the times we were beeped where when an activity ended and it was quiet time. Also, they beep you way too easily. All your child has to say is, "I miss my mommy", and you're beeped! I was beeped the night of the PJ party at around 9:35 so I had assumed that Goofy had been there and my kids were ready to leave. When I got there, I found out that Goofy wasn't coming til 10:00. When I asked why I was beeped, I was told that DD2 said she was hungry. Just as I was told that, I was spotted by DD2 who along with the other kids were getting potato chips! Couldn't they just tell her that a snack was coming soon? Luckily, we had JUST finished at Palos so at least we got that in! I made a comment to another mom who was there that for a kids club there were sure a lot of moms. She snapped back at me that "some of us want to be here". Well, you know what I wanted to say to her. I purposely took this vacation to have both family time and adult time. Some of the activities were great, and my girls did enjoy them. They participated in the Discover the Magic show. DD1 was carried in by Candiss, the counselor they usually had, because she was crying and worried that I would miss the show. She continued to cry because they wouldn't let her stand and dance with Mickey.....oye! DD1 is also the one with the peanut allergy. I let her eat lunch with the club once because all she eats are chicken tenders anyway. I was told no problem for the chicken tenders. Well, wouldn't you guess that we got beeped toward the end of our Palos brunch! My DH went down to Topsiders just to encounter a hysterical DD1. Chicken Tenders were not on the kids buffet that day and they won't get the children other food. I WISH SOMEONE HAD TOLD ME THAT AND I WOULD'VE BROUGHT HER CHICKEN TENDERS!!!!!! Verity, one of the head counselors apologized for the miscommunication and explained that many of the counselors are new. I don't care. I know this happened to other parents with picky eaters as well. Can't they print up their operating instructions or something so that they don't have to rely on a new counselor telling me what they feel like telling me at the sign up table?! Well, I said I would tell you the whole truth!
DINING - 6:00 is too early and 8:30 is too late so you'll have to choose the lesser of two evils. Topsiders is open from 7-9pm. It should've been open from 5:30 - 10:00pm in my opinion. All of the dining rooms are very nice. Very noisy, but nice. We had a table for 4 which was sometimes just me and my DH which was nice. The character breakfast was not as well organized as those in WDW. Our service was very good, but not great as was the food. The exception being Palos....don't miss the brunch or dinner. The late seating dinner was filled with sleeping children, including DD2 on two of the nights. Room service came quickly, but should have more choices. Having a wake up call with coffee saved me and my DH. The kids would still be sleeping and we'd have it on the veranda...ah a moment of peace.
SHUTTERS - These are the people who take all of the pictures of you and the characters, etc...Bought way too many because I never seemed to have my camera or video camera with me at the right time. If you want to take a formal family portrait, do it early in the week. We kept putting it off and never got to take one. You won't have scary tan lines either!
SHOWS - Don't miss Disney Dreams! Hercules was very funny. Cest Magic was cest boring! Who wants to be a Mouseketeer was pretty boring too. JBWindows (the guy who didn't want to come to the Dis meet, but challenged us to find him) won a $400.00 credit. Of course, I'm quite sure I would've won a free cruise if I had been picked! We didn't see either of the variety shows. Some of the most interesting entertainment was at the Family Kareoke nights! DD1 and I sang the Backstreet Boys and NSync....yes I'm having an almost mid life crisis. My girls and RACs daughter had a blast running around and dancing whenever they got the chance. I made it to Bingo once and sat with Irish Cowboy's wife who won a whopping $33.00!
SHOPS - They were a little pricey, but the cast members who worked there were so friendly and helpful. DD2 was hungry one night and wanted Mickey gummies. When they got to Mickey's, a cast member was locking the door. She insisted on reopening the door and the cash register just so my daughter could have gummy bears. I wish my husband had gotten her name.
PORTS OF CALL - Can't understand why they even bother with St. Martin. They should go to CC on the way down to St. Thomas and on the way back. Not enough time in CC or St. Thomas. The only good thing about St. Martin were the liquor prices. Our excursion to Sapphire Beach on St. Thomas cost my family almost $150.00. In my opinion that was way too expensive. We should've taken a cab to Magen's Bay. The beach itself was nice, but we didn't get there until after 10:00 and had to leave by 1:15. The water wasn't working at the showers or in the bathrooms, and the lunch was cold cuts. Rafts were $5.00 for just an hour. The ride around St. Thomas is a little scary...open air bus and really big hills. They also drive on the opposite side of the road, but the steering wheel is still on the left! Castaway Cay is absolutely gorgeous, and was the hilight of my trip. We didn't manage to get an umbrella. You MUST get off the ship early to get a good spot. Lunch was great. The girls got to dance with Goofy (didn't have my camera with me) which was so exciting for them! Unfortunately, DD2 decided to throw a load of sand directly into DD1's eyes so she had to go to the first aid station and have her eyes washed out. My DH took her and said she was hysterical....so much for a great ending to a great day!
POOLS - So so so crowded! Especially, the Mickey Pool. The pool was closed more than it was open due to kids pooping and vomiting. We figured we'd stay on the ship in the AM at St. Martin so we could enjoy an uncrowded pool day. DCL decided to close the Mickey Pool until 2pm without an explanation. I was not happy and neither were my kids. The Goofy pool is tough with the little ones.
TV - Can someone please explain to me why we couldn't get the Disney Channel or Toon Disney? Also, if I see Pinocchio, Cinderella, or Hercules one more time, I think I'll scream!
RAC just called to say hi. They're coming for the girls' birthday in July. Her daughter is just too cute! Well, I think I hit all the main points. My DH and I felt that a 5 night cruise would've been perfect. I'm sure the next time will be better now that we're a little wiser and the girls will be a little older. We just joined the DVC so I'm sure there will be a next time. If anyone has any questions, ask away!
OCEANEERS CLUB - The idea is great, but I'm mixed on the club itself. First, I didn't think they had enough counselors for the 3 & 4 year olds. The lighting is just awful...very dark! I also didn't think they had enough free time activity stations. There would be scheduled activities followed by quiet time. Most of the times we were beeped where when an activity ended and it was quiet time. Also, they beep you way too easily. All your child has to say is, "I miss my mommy", and you're beeped! I was beeped the night of the PJ party at around 9:35 so I had assumed that Goofy had been there and my kids were ready to leave. When I got there, I found out that Goofy wasn't coming til 10:00. When I asked why I was beeped, I was told that DD2 said she was hungry. Just as I was told that, I was spotted by DD2 who along with the other kids were getting potato chips! Couldn't they just tell her that a snack was coming soon? Luckily, we had JUST finished at Palos so at least we got that in! I made a comment to another mom who was there that for a kids club there were sure a lot of moms. She snapped back at me that "some of us want to be here". Well, you know what I wanted to say to her. I purposely took this vacation to have both family time and adult time. Some of the activities were great, and my girls did enjoy them. They participated in the Discover the Magic show. DD1 was carried in by Candiss, the counselor they usually had, because she was crying and worried that I would miss the show. She continued to cry because they wouldn't let her stand and dance with Mickey.....oye! DD1 is also the one with the peanut allergy. I let her eat lunch with the club once because all she eats are chicken tenders anyway. I was told no problem for the chicken tenders. Well, wouldn't you guess that we got beeped toward the end of our Palos brunch! My DH went down to Topsiders just to encounter a hysterical DD1. Chicken Tenders were not on the kids buffet that day and they won't get the children other food. I WISH SOMEONE HAD TOLD ME THAT AND I WOULD'VE BROUGHT HER CHICKEN TENDERS!!!!!! Verity, one of the head counselors apologized for the miscommunication and explained that many of the counselors are new. I don't care. I know this happened to other parents with picky eaters as well. Can't they print up their operating instructions or something so that they don't have to rely on a new counselor telling me what they feel like telling me at the sign up table?! Well, I said I would tell you the whole truth!
DINING - 6:00 is too early and 8:30 is too late so you'll have to choose the lesser of two evils. Topsiders is open from 7-9pm. It should've been open from 5:30 - 10:00pm in my opinion. All of the dining rooms are very nice. Very noisy, but nice. We had a table for 4 which was sometimes just me and my DH which was nice. The character breakfast was not as well organized as those in WDW. Our service was very good, but not great as was the food. The exception being Palos....don't miss the brunch or dinner. The late seating dinner was filled with sleeping children, including DD2 on two of the nights. Room service came quickly, but should have more choices. Having a wake up call with coffee saved me and my DH. The kids would still be sleeping and we'd have it on the veranda...ah a moment of peace.
SHUTTERS - These are the people who take all of the pictures of you and the characters, etc...Bought way too many because I never seemed to have my camera or video camera with me at the right time. If you want to take a formal family portrait, do it early in the week. We kept putting it off and never got to take one. You won't have scary tan lines either!
SHOWS - Don't miss Disney Dreams! Hercules was very funny. Cest Magic was cest boring! Who wants to be a Mouseketeer was pretty boring too. JBWindows (the guy who didn't want to come to the Dis meet, but challenged us to find him) won a $400.00 credit. Of course, I'm quite sure I would've won a free cruise if I had been picked! We didn't see either of the variety shows. Some of the most interesting entertainment was at the Family Kareoke nights! DD1 and I sang the Backstreet Boys and NSync....yes I'm having an almost mid life crisis. My girls and RACs daughter had a blast running around and dancing whenever they got the chance. I made it to Bingo once and sat with Irish Cowboy's wife who won a whopping $33.00!
SHOPS - They were a little pricey, but the cast members who worked there were so friendly and helpful. DD2 was hungry one night and wanted Mickey gummies. When they got to Mickey's, a cast member was locking the door. She insisted on reopening the door and the cash register just so my daughter could have gummy bears. I wish my husband had gotten her name.
PORTS OF CALL - Can't understand why they even bother with St. Martin. They should go to CC on the way down to St. Thomas and on the way back. Not enough time in CC or St. Thomas. The only good thing about St. Martin were the liquor prices. Our excursion to Sapphire Beach on St. Thomas cost my family almost $150.00. In my opinion that was way too expensive. We should've taken a cab to Magen's Bay. The beach itself was nice, but we didn't get there until after 10:00 and had to leave by 1:15. The water wasn't working at the showers or in the bathrooms, and the lunch was cold cuts. Rafts were $5.00 for just an hour. The ride around St. Thomas is a little scary...open air bus and really big hills. They also drive on the opposite side of the road, but the steering wheel is still on the left! Castaway Cay is absolutely gorgeous, and was the hilight of my trip. We didn't manage to get an umbrella. You MUST get off the ship early to get a good spot. Lunch was great. The girls got to dance with Goofy (didn't have my camera with me) which was so exciting for them! Unfortunately, DD2 decided to throw a load of sand directly into DD1's eyes so she had to go to the first aid station and have her eyes washed out. My DH took her and said she was hysterical....so much for a great ending to a great day!
POOLS - So so so crowded! Especially, the Mickey Pool. The pool was closed more than it was open due to kids pooping and vomiting. We figured we'd stay on the ship in the AM at St. Martin so we could enjoy an uncrowded pool day. DCL decided to close the Mickey Pool until 2pm without an explanation. I was not happy and neither were my kids. The Goofy pool is tough with the little ones.
TV - Can someone please explain to me why we couldn't get the Disney Channel or Toon Disney? Also, if I see Pinocchio, Cinderella, or Hercules one more time, I think I'll scream!
RAC just called to say hi. They're coming for the girls' birthday in July. Her daughter is just too cute! Well, I think I hit all the main points. My DH and I felt that a 5 night cruise would've been perfect. I'm sure the next time will be better now that we're a little wiser and the girls will be a little older. We just joined the DVC so I'm sure there will be a next time. If anyone has any questions, ask away!
. Good luck!
