Background: me, dh, ds 10 and 7 and 13 year old niece (hey, everyone can use a built in babysitter!) This was our second Disney Cruise and 6th cruise overall. Chose a category 3, Stateroom 8022 to celebrate my 40th and our 15th anniversary.
Rented an Avis car, stayed at Radisson Resort at the Port night before cruise. $119 for two room whirlpool suite. Very nice, and the kids loved the pool.
Took the Avis shuttle to the port about 11 a.m. Greeted by Disney rep who told us the Bahamian immigration form in the ticket booklet is not being accepted by Bahamian authorities. I had called DCL about a week before this cruise with this very question, but was told the form in the booklet was the right one... I knew better, but....
First of many encounters with pushy fellow guests... a woman actually grabbed a pencil out of my hand to fill out form at terminal... bet she got on the ship a lot sooner than I did!
Went to Castaway Club line, no wait. Problem was that I and one of my sons were listed as being from the Ukraine, so it took a while to straighten that out and check in, not a big deal.
Went to go stand in the first of many Disney Cruise Line lines over the week (as my kids called it). We boarded about 12:15, (no family announcement, for those of you who care) but our room was not to be ready until 1... drag... I almost wish they would not let you board until the rooms are ready.
Now for the good... our stateroom is beautiful. Most importantly, a double sized balcony, two rooms, two full baths, a dressing area, whirlpool tub, walk in closet, wet bar area with table and chairs, and more drawers than even I could fill. Bookshelves filled with books, artwork on walls, two TVs, VCR, cd player. I love this room!
As an aside, if there are five in your party, you should book the 4 category 3 staterooms that surround the Disney suites. These are the only ones that have the extra bed for the fifth person in the living room, where it should be. All others have the extra bed in the master bedroom. Don't believe DCL reps when they tell you otherwise, as they did us. We asked our room steward to move the mattress from the pull down on the floor in the living room, this worked well for us. (Great tip from this board!)
We had prebooked our Palo's through the concierge phone number. We did not receive the infamous concierge letter than only goes to some, but we got the number from these boards... thanks, guys. At 1 p.m. dh went to Sessions to reconfirm and set up spa ressies, Castaway Cay supplies, etc. We had all of our luggage by 3.
Safety drill quick and efficient... then off we go. The seas are the smoothest I have ever encountered. You can't even tell you are moving when you are inside. Dinner was at Parrot Cay, my personal favorite. Servers are Janet from Northern Ireland and Toto from the Phillipines. They are excellent, wonderful, fantastic... make our trip memorable.
First show is Variety Show. Production numbers okay, if your cruise has David Morgan and his puppet Chucky on, run run away as fast as you can. Actually, my 7ds thought he was hillarious. (which tells you something!) Dan Riley, the singer, comedian is funny.
We meet Jacqui, our very enthusiastic, sweet (almost sticky) cruise director for the first time.
The kids are not signed up for any programs as we just want to do family things (and we have said niece along for important adult time). Last trip my then 8ds didn't want to do programs, and my then 5ds went twice and then didn't want to return.
Disappointed there was no special treatment for concierge guests at check in. We were not escorted to our room, like they used to for concierge guests. I think a concierge lounge at the terminal, set up with light refreshments, would be a great way to start off the trip and set the tone for the special level of services concierge guests are supposed to recieve.
We are all pretty tired... sit on balcony for a while then off to bed.
More to come....
Rented an Avis car, stayed at Radisson Resort at the Port night before cruise. $119 for two room whirlpool suite. Very nice, and the kids loved the pool.
Took the Avis shuttle to the port about 11 a.m. Greeted by Disney rep who told us the Bahamian immigration form in the ticket booklet is not being accepted by Bahamian authorities. I had called DCL about a week before this cruise with this very question, but was told the form in the booklet was the right one... I knew better, but....
First of many encounters with pushy fellow guests... a woman actually grabbed a pencil out of my hand to fill out form at terminal... bet she got on the ship a lot sooner than I did!
Went to Castaway Club line, no wait. Problem was that I and one of my sons were listed as being from the Ukraine, so it took a while to straighten that out and check in, not a big deal.
Went to go stand in the first of many Disney Cruise Line lines over the week (as my kids called it). We boarded about 12:15, (no family announcement, for those of you who care) but our room was not to be ready until 1... drag... I almost wish they would not let you board until the rooms are ready.
Now for the good... our stateroom is beautiful. Most importantly, a double sized balcony, two rooms, two full baths, a dressing area, whirlpool tub, walk in closet, wet bar area with table and chairs, and more drawers than even I could fill. Bookshelves filled with books, artwork on walls, two TVs, VCR, cd player. I love this room!
As an aside, if there are five in your party, you should book the 4 category 3 staterooms that surround the Disney suites. These are the only ones that have the extra bed for the fifth person in the living room, where it should be. All others have the extra bed in the master bedroom. Don't believe DCL reps when they tell you otherwise, as they did us. We asked our room steward to move the mattress from the pull down on the floor in the living room, this worked well for us. (Great tip from this board!)
We had prebooked our Palo's through the concierge phone number. We did not receive the infamous concierge letter than only goes to some, but we got the number from these boards... thanks, guys. At 1 p.m. dh went to Sessions to reconfirm and set up spa ressies, Castaway Cay supplies, etc. We had all of our luggage by 3.
Safety drill quick and efficient... then off we go. The seas are the smoothest I have ever encountered. You can't even tell you are moving when you are inside. Dinner was at Parrot Cay, my personal favorite. Servers are Janet from Northern Ireland and Toto from the Phillipines. They are excellent, wonderful, fantastic... make our trip memorable.
First show is Variety Show. Production numbers okay, if your cruise has David Morgan and his puppet Chucky on, run run away as fast as you can. Actually, my 7ds thought he was hillarious. (which tells you something!) Dan Riley, the singer, comedian is funny.
We meet Jacqui, our very enthusiastic, sweet (almost sticky) cruise director for the first time.
The kids are not signed up for any programs as we just want to do family things (and we have said niece along for important adult time). Last trip my then 8ds didn't want to do programs, and my then 5ds went twice and then didn't want to return.
Disappointed there was no special treatment for concierge guests at check in. We were not escorted to our room, like they used to for concierge guests. I think a concierge lounge at the terminal, set up with light refreshments, would be a great way to start off the trip and set the tone for the special level of services concierge guests are supposed to recieve.
We are all pretty tired... sit on balcony for a while then off to bed.
More to come....
