akasleepingbeauty
My favorite place to run is Disney!!
- Joined
- Jul 6, 2000
Our Happy Group:
Me, 36, compulsive planner, hoping all goes perfect
DH, 44, good sport, in need of a good vacation
Teen DD, 15, excited but in a cool way
Youngest DD, 13 months, oblivious to goings-on, just her generally happy self
My parents and sister (25) were traveling in our group as well. This is the first time we have all traveled as a group and it went surprisingly well!!
I will warn you now - these daily reports are going to be long - really really really long. So, if you don't like detailed reports go ahead and hit that back button now!!
I wrote this information as much for me as for all of you. I want to remember as much of it as possible - hence the ad nauseum detail.
Read, skim, or skip completely - whatever works for you!! I will post these by days and then add some general overviews on certain subjects. Please ask questions if you have them!!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~
6/1/01 Castaway Cay
The Captain had announced that we would dock at CC at 9:00 a.m. We hoped it would be earlier but as it turns out he was correct. So, as we awoke that morning we were still at sea which gave us a chance to relax and get ourselves ready for a big day.
We had placed our room service order for breakfast on our door before going to bed the night before. Usual order of baked goods, cold cereal, coffee, juice etc. This morning it was delivered on time at 7:00 (as opposed to quite early on our previous mornings). The food was fresh and delicious as usual.
We finished packing up snorkeling gear, water bottles, sunscreen etc. and finally headed down to the boarding line around 9:35. The line was long and snaked all up and down the aft stairs to deck 1. It was hot and crowded!! It was the only time during the week that I ever felt like there were actually a lot of people on the ship. Finally, about 9:45 they began letting people off.
We were in the early rush of people but not early enough to make the first tram. So, we walked to the family beach instead since we knew we really needed an umbrella for the baby at least. We walked briskly and by the time we got there we were all hot and sweaty time for a Conch Cooler!! We ordered 2 non-alcoholic Conch Coolers for DH and I and a non-alcoholic Pina Colada for teen DD. The drinks were good and slushy and tasty as well!
We found a good spot with 2 umbrellas and chairs/lounges for our group of 7. All of the nearby hammocks were taken but since they were in bright sun I did not feel like going in search of one further down the beach. I was surprised to find the umbrellas and chairs/lounges so close to each other. It made it pretty hard to maneuver back and forth to the water or on/off the beach area.
DH and teen DD decided to go snorkeling before the water got too stirred up. I stayed with youngest DD and we played in the water and sand with the sand toys Id brought. We were right next to one of the families whod been at Trunk Bay while we were. Their little girl was so cute and she and DD played with the toys together for a while. Unfortunately, the sharing concept is somewhat lost on my DD at this age. So, the other mother said she wished shed brought some toys and I told her she could check some out of Scuttles Cove for free. She was SO excited. She went and got them and thanked me for telling her this. Just another DIS tip!!! So, the girls played happily for a few more minutes before DD began fussing. We then returned to our umbrellas and chairs to get out of the sun for a while.
DH and teen DD returned from snorkeling a little while later. They enjoyed the snorkeling but said Trunk Bay was better since there was no coral at CC. I intended on going snorkeling myself but never did make it that day.
We were all getting hungry at this point so we decided to check out Cookies Barbeque. We found a nice quiet table and highchair and took turns getting food. Youngest DD really enjoyed the fruit and banana bread. The rest of us liked the hamburgers, lobster sandwiches, ribs etc. It was fresh and hot and quite tasty. It didnt take long before we were all full and ready to head back to the beach.
Another round of sunscreen for everyone and then back out for a few minutes. DD and I played in the sand some more but I could tell she was getting very tired. So, DH and I decided to take youngest DD back on the ship for a nap.
We stopped by the CC gift shop before leaving and bought 2 CC t-shirts as well as a few pins, a pen, and a couple of postcards. We caught the tram back to the boat. One of our favorite Flounders counselors, Ziggy, was on the tram with us and DD enjoyed seeing her. The trip was pretty quick and we were in our room in just a few minutes.
We all took a good nap and were surprised to see it was 3:00 when we awoke. I decided that DD and I were not going to return to CC and so DH headed back on his own. He stopped by the post office for me and mailed our postcard (I sent a postcard home so we could have it for our scrapbook never got around to sending them to anyone else what a selfish vacationer I am!!) before running into the rest of the group headed back to the ship.
While DH and the girls were finishing up at CC, I decided to get in on the jackpot bingo game. It was $18 for 6 cards for the jackpot round only. It was challenging to play with a baby on my lap but the jackpot of $5395 was certainly motivating!! When the winner called Bingo I had 2 cards with only 2 numbers remaining (in thejackpot round you have to punch out every number on a single card) so close but so far!!
After the bingo game, youngest DD and I headed back to the room and found everyone had returned from CC. We all enjoyed the day but we were glad to be back on the ship and getting ready for the evening.
We were all a bit said realizing tonight was our last dinner on the ship. It was so hard to believe the week was almost over. We had already decided to skip the show tonight in order to get our packing done. Not a fun decision but a necessary one.
After baths and showers for everyone we got dressed for dinner. It wasnt hard to decide what to wear as we were about out of clothes at this point!! Everyone looked nice and felt good after a fun day in the sun.
Dinner was at Parrot Cay tonight and they were serving the Its a Small World menu. For appetizer, I had the Thai scallop stir-fry (very flavorful) and the Mexican quesadillas (just cheese but very good). For an entrée I had the United States prime rib served with baked potato and fresh vegetables (the prime rib was prepared nicely and the baked potato was excellent). For dessert I had the Norwegian baked Alaska (something new for me and very good) and Canadian Apple Pie (almost more like an apple cake but very tasty). Others at my table had the French lobster bisque and Greek crisp salad for appetizers, and Italian fettuccine alfredo and Spanish Mediterranean seafood stew for entrees. As usual, good comments all around and lots of empty plates!!
We handed out our gratuities tonight to our server, assistant server, and head server. Our head server, Humberto, was a very nice gentleman. We met him many times throughout the cruise and we had no problem tipping him in fact we tipped more than the recommended amount for him just like the others. It was kind of sad to be saying good-bye. We knew it was unlikely wed make it to early seating breakfast the next morning and so we made sure to enjoy our last meal with our server team. Ireene and Jyubeen worked hard for us the whole week and we appreciated it very much.
After dinner, we did the pajama routine we knew so well by now and dropped DD off at Flounders. Now, the serious packing had to begin. We packed and packed and packed some more from 8:15 to 11:00. Everything fit better than we expected so it was really just a matter of finding the right place for everything rather than desperately stuffing things in anywhere possible. We put the last of the bags out right at 11:00 and breathed a sigh of relief that we were done.
Teen DD stayed and packed with us most of the time although she did take a quick break to say goodbye to some of her new friends. After packing she and I made one last stop at the gift shop and Shutters before picking up youngest DD from Flounders.
I had decided while packing that I would offer our 2 over-the-door shoe holder/organizers to the ladies at Flounders Reef as well as our leftover unopened snacks from the basket I had ordered and the Castaway Crate from our travel agency. So, I took these with me along with the thank you note and phone cards for Shea since she was out when we dropped DD off earlier. We had a nice chance to say goodbye to Shea, Ziggy, and Eve. They seemed genuinely happy with the items so I was glad I had thought of it.
Back to the room and time for bed. One last night before heading home. We were all ready to get home but it was hard to imagine leaving. We went to sleep about 11:30 and dreamt of another cruise someday.
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Links to other days' trip reports
Day 1: http://www.disboards.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=45110
Day 2: http://www.disboards.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=45111
Day 3: http://www.disboards.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=45112
Day 4: http://www.disboards.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=45114
Day 5: http://www.disboards.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=45116
Day 6: http://www.disboards.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=45117
Day 7: http://www.disboards.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=45119
Day 8: http://www.disboards.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=45121
Day 10: http://www.disboards.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=45123
Me, 36, compulsive planner, hoping all goes perfect
DH, 44, good sport, in need of a good vacation
Teen DD, 15, excited but in a cool way
Youngest DD, 13 months, oblivious to goings-on, just her generally happy self
My parents and sister (25) were traveling in our group as well. This is the first time we have all traveled as a group and it went surprisingly well!!
I will warn you now - these daily reports are going to be long - really really really long. So, if you don't like detailed reports go ahead and hit that back button now!!
I wrote this information as much for me as for all of you. I want to remember as much of it as possible - hence the ad nauseum detail.
Read, skim, or skip completely - whatever works for you!! I will post these by days and then add some general overviews on certain subjects. Please ask questions if you have them!!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~
6/1/01 Castaway Cay
The Captain had announced that we would dock at CC at 9:00 a.m. We hoped it would be earlier but as it turns out he was correct. So, as we awoke that morning we were still at sea which gave us a chance to relax and get ourselves ready for a big day.
We had placed our room service order for breakfast on our door before going to bed the night before. Usual order of baked goods, cold cereal, coffee, juice etc. This morning it was delivered on time at 7:00 (as opposed to quite early on our previous mornings). The food was fresh and delicious as usual.
We finished packing up snorkeling gear, water bottles, sunscreen etc. and finally headed down to the boarding line around 9:35. The line was long and snaked all up and down the aft stairs to deck 1. It was hot and crowded!! It was the only time during the week that I ever felt like there were actually a lot of people on the ship. Finally, about 9:45 they began letting people off.
We were in the early rush of people but not early enough to make the first tram. So, we walked to the family beach instead since we knew we really needed an umbrella for the baby at least. We walked briskly and by the time we got there we were all hot and sweaty time for a Conch Cooler!! We ordered 2 non-alcoholic Conch Coolers for DH and I and a non-alcoholic Pina Colada for teen DD. The drinks were good and slushy and tasty as well!
We found a good spot with 2 umbrellas and chairs/lounges for our group of 7. All of the nearby hammocks were taken but since they were in bright sun I did not feel like going in search of one further down the beach. I was surprised to find the umbrellas and chairs/lounges so close to each other. It made it pretty hard to maneuver back and forth to the water or on/off the beach area.
DH and teen DD decided to go snorkeling before the water got too stirred up. I stayed with youngest DD and we played in the water and sand with the sand toys Id brought. We were right next to one of the families whod been at Trunk Bay while we were. Their little girl was so cute and she and DD played with the toys together for a while. Unfortunately, the sharing concept is somewhat lost on my DD at this age. So, the other mother said she wished shed brought some toys and I told her she could check some out of Scuttles Cove for free. She was SO excited. She went and got them and thanked me for telling her this. Just another DIS tip!!! So, the girls played happily for a few more minutes before DD began fussing. We then returned to our umbrellas and chairs to get out of the sun for a while.
DH and teen DD returned from snorkeling a little while later. They enjoyed the snorkeling but said Trunk Bay was better since there was no coral at CC. I intended on going snorkeling myself but never did make it that day.
We were all getting hungry at this point so we decided to check out Cookies Barbeque. We found a nice quiet table and highchair and took turns getting food. Youngest DD really enjoyed the fruit and banana bread. The rest of us liked the hamburgers, lobster sandwiches, ribs etc. It was fresh and hot and quite tasty. It didnt take long before we were all full and ready to head back to the beach.
Another round of sunscreen for everyone and then back out for a few minutes. DD and I played in the sand some more but I could tell she was getting very tired. So, DH and I decided to take youngest DD back on the ship for a nap.
We stopped by the CC gift shop before leaving and bought 2 CC t-shirts as well as a few pins, a pen, and a couple of postcards. We caught the tram back to the boat. One of our favorite Flounders counselors, Ziggy, was on the tram with us and DD enjoyed seeing her. The trip was pretty quick and we were in our room in just a few minutes.
We all took a good nap and were surprised to see it was 3:00 when we awoke. I decided that DD and I were not going to return to CC and so DH headed back on his own. He stopped by the post office for me and mailed our postcard (I sent a postcard home so we could have it for our scrapbook never got around to sending them to anyone else what a selfish vacationer I am!!) before running into the rest of the group headed back to the ship.
While DH and the girls were finishing up at CC, I decided to get in on the jackpot bingo game. It was $18 for 6 cards for the jackpot round only. It was challenging to play with a baby on my lap but the jackpot of $5395 was certainly motivating!! When the winner called Bingo I had 2 cards with only 2 numbers remaining (in thejackpot round you have to punch out every number on a single card) so close but so far!!
After the bingo game, youngest DD and I headed back to the room and found everyone had returned from CC. We all enjoyed the day but we were glad to be back on the ship and getting ready for the evening.
We were all a bit said realizing tonight was our last dinner on the ship. It was so hard to believe the week was almost over. We had already decided to skip the show tonight in order to get our packing done. Not a fun decision but a necessary one.
After baths and showers for everyone we got dressed for dinner. It wasnt hard to decide what to wear as we were about out of clothes at this point!! Everyone looked nice and felt good after a fun day in the sun.
Dinner was at Parrot Cay tonight and they were serving the Its a Small World menu. For appetizer, I had the Thai scallop stir-fry (very flavorful) and the Mexican quesadillas (just cheese but very good). For an entrée I had the United States prime rib served with baked potato and fresh vegetables (the prime rib was prepared nicely and the baked potato was excellent). For dessert I had the Norwegian baked Alaska (something new for me and very good) and Canadian Apple Pie (almost more like an apple cake but very tasty). Others at my table had the French lobster bisque and Greek crisp salad for appetizers, and Italian fettuccine alfredo and Spanish Mediterranean seafood stew for entrees. As usual, good comments all around and lots of empty plates!!
We handed out our gratuities tonight to our server, assistant server, and head server. Our head server, Humberto, was a very nice gentleman. We met him many times throughout the cruise and we had no problem tipping him in fact we tipped more than the recommended amount for him just like the others. It was kind of sad to be saying good-bye. We knew it was unlikely wed make it to early seating breakfast the next morning and so we made sure to enjoy our last meal with our server team. Ireene and Jyubeen worked hard for us the whole week and we appreciated it very much.
After dinner, we did the pajama routine we knew so well by now and dropped DD off at Flounders. Now, the serious packing had to begin. We packed and packed and packed some more from 8:15 to 11:00. Everything fit better than we expected so it was really just a matter of finding the right place for everything rather than desperately stuffing things in anywhere possible. We put the last of the bags out right at 11:00 and breathed a sigh of relief that we were done.
Teen DD stayed and packed with us most of the time although she did take a quick break to say goodbye to some of her new friends. After packing she and I made one last stop at the gift shop and Shutters before picking up youngest DD from Flounders.
I had decided while packing that I would offer our 2 over-the-door shoe holder/organizers to the ladies at Flounders Reef as well as our leftover unopened snacks from the basket I had ordered and the Castaway Crate from our travel agency. So, I took these with me along with the thank you note and phone cards for Shea since she was out when we dropped DD off earlier. We had a nice chance to say goodbye to Shea, Ziggy, and Eve. They seemed genuinely happy with the items so I was glad I had thought of it.
Back to the room and time for bed. One last night before heading home. We were all ready to get home but it was hard to imagine leaving. We went to sleep about 11:30 and dreamt of another cruise someday.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Links to other days' trip reports
Day 1: http://www.disboards.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=45110
Day 2: http://www.disboards.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=45111
Day 3: http://www.disboards.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=45112
Day 4: http://www.disboards.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=45114
Day 5: http://www.disboards.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=45116
Day 6: http://www.disboards.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=45117
Day 7: http://www.disboards.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=45119
Day 8: http://www.disboards.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=45121
Day 10: http://www.disboards.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=45123
