Dodie
<font color=green>Survived the big crash<br><font
- Joined
- Nov 10, 1999
Recap:
DH and I are 40-years-old with no children. We have been to WDW multiple times in the past 9 years and were ready for something different. We decided on the 7-night Disney cruise and were not disappointed. However, I will try to be honest in my report sharing the good and the bad.
Part 2: Departure day at last!
We loaded back into the rental car and headed out at about 9:30 a.m. on Saturday morning. After a stop for breakfast, we headed for the port taking our time because we really didnt want to stand in line for hours waiting to board the ship.
We arrived at the ship at about 11:00, dropped off the luggage with the porter, and headed to the Radisson Avis to drop off the rental car. (Dropping off the luggage first and THEN taking the car back was a tip we learned on these boards and it was well worth it to not have to load all of our luggage and ourselves on the crowded Avis van transporting us back to the port.) We squeezed into the first available shuttle and found ourselves checking in at about 11:30. The check-in went smoothly and we took our place in the enormous line in the lobby.
Editorial comment: I have to note here that this part of the trip is simply NOT done in a very Disney-like way. You are herded into a huge line like cattle that doesnt necessarily wind around in any organized fashion. There is nothing to look at while you stand there. No entertainment. Just you and hundreds of other people waiting to board. Also although some had noted that boarding may begin as early as 12:00 or 12:15, it didnt start for us until after 12:30. Once we started boarding, it went fairly quickly. I just think that they could have video screens playing information on the cruise or SOMETHING for all of those people waiting in the cattle corral.
DH and I wore our green leis and our name badges, as arranged for the DIS meet by the DISs wovenwonder, but didnt see anyone else in the immediate area. We thought wed meet up with our comrades on ship later but thats another story.
We were finally on the ship! We didnt follow directions but headed straight for our cabin to unload our carry-ons. It worked! It was ready. (We found a wonderful crate full of surprises from Dreams Unlimited waiting for us on the bed too! Thank you!) After dumping our stuff, we headed straight to Palo to make our reservations.
Disney magical moment: We didnt quite understand the reservation process and must have looked confused. The restaurant manager stopped us and asked if we needed help. I said, We need to make reservations. He sent us back to the table, where we learned that we didnt have the little paper that needed to be filled out with our choices. (We must have walked right by that.) We were headed back to the front table when the restaurant manager stopped us again. Did you get what you wanted? I answered that we didnt have the right paper and were going to try it again. He was very upset. He took out a notebook and asked us what night and time we wanted dinner and if we wanted to do brunch too. I gave him our first choices and asked if he wanted our second choices. No! No! I will take care of it personally madam. You will have your dinner and brunch! It was a very cool experience, especially since no one had exactly done anything wrong. He had just steered us in the wrong direction.
We headed up to Topsiders for lunch. We sat right out in the sun at the back of the ship and enjoyed our meal. (All this time wearing our goofy green leis and our nametags on lanyards, LOL.)
Warning: You may be feeling very celebratory at this point. When the gentleman comes around with a tray of Bahama Mamas and offers you one, dont just take it assuming its part of the welcome aboard deal as it appears. Another gentleman will follow behind with a receipt book and ask you to sign for the drinks (which are in a souvenir glass) at $6.95 apiece! Ouch!!!! Oh well you live and learn. We got some nice glasses out of the deal, LOL!
We headed back to our stateroom at about 1:30 and our luggage was THERE! We quickly unpacked and stuffed our luggage under the bed. There is a surprising amount of storage room. We then headed upstairs to take the tour of the ship that was scheduled at 2:00 p.m. This was led by Robin from Australia, who was part of the Cruise Staff (and the very enthusiastic host of bingo). It was very informative and helped you to get a feel for the ship. I would highly recommend it. It only took an hour or so.
We looked around a bit, headed back to our cabin for the lifevests, and took part in the drill. We then headed up to deck 9 for the sailaway party and to hopefully meet our DIS counterparts.
Editorial comment: The ship was full AND there were about 900 children onboard. (I will talk more about the hundreds of children in my later report pieces. Dont worry: Its not ALL bad ) The sailaway celebration was unbearable from an adults with no children point of view. We quickly escaped to deck 10 forward to find a seat and wait for our departure from port. There would be no meeting our DIS counterparts at this event after all.
5:00 came. The whistle blew. We didnt move. The captain announced that our departure would be delayed until about 7:00 p.m. We couldnt hear all of the announcement as to why we were delayed, but there was A LOT of work going on around the fire-damaged funnel. A huge crane was lifting large pieces of steel to that area, where it was being off-loaded. That work continued.
7:00 came. We planted ourselves at the top front of the ship again, only to hear the announcement that our departure would be closer to 7:30. The crane continued to swing back and forth with steel and scaffolding. The ship finally sailed at about 7:45 p.m. It was a wonderful site! We sat there until it was out of the harbor and then went down to our first dinner.
I have to admit that one of my greatest fears about the cruise was the idea of dining with strangers. It couldnt have worked out better! We had second seating and were, as we had hoped, seated with other adults without children. We dined with a wonderful couple from England and a group of three consisting of a daughter and father (who were both Disney Cast Members) and their family friend. Our servers were Eddie (Turkey) and Zaldy (Philippines). They were simply MARVELOUS!!!! Eddie entertained everyone each night with his slight of hand tricks while Zaldy's laughter was simply contagious. They were both fast, efficient, and very, very good! Our first dinner was in Lumieres. By the time it was over, we walked around deck 10 one time and then were ready to head to our stateroom for the night.
More to come
Part 3: First day at sea!
DH and I are 40-years-old with no children. We have been to WDW multiple times in the past 9 years and were ready for something different. We decided on the 7-night Disney cruise and were not disappointed. However, I will try to be honest in my report sharing the good and the bad.
Part 2: Departure day at last!
We loaded back into the rental car and headed out at about 9:30 a.m. on Saturday morning. After a stop for breakfast, we headed for the port taking our time because we really didnt want to stand in line for hours waiting to board the ship.
We arrived at the ship at about 11:00, dropped off the luggage with the porter, and headed to the Radisson Avis to drop off the rental car. (Dropping off the luggage first and THEN taking the car back was a tip we learned on these boards and it was well worth it to not have to load all of our luggage and ourselves on the crowded Avis van transporting us back to the port.) We squeezed into the first available shuttle and found ourselves checking in at about 11:30. The check-in went smoothly and we took our place in the enormous line in the lobby.
Editorial comment: I have to note here that this part of the trip is simply NOT done in a very Disney-like way. You are herded into a huge line like cattle that doesnt necessarily wind around in any organized fashion. There is nothing to look at while you stand there. No entertainment. Just you and hundreds of other people waiting to board. Also although some had noted that boarding may begin as early as 12:00 or 12:15, it didnt start for us until after 12:30. Once we started boarding, it went fairly quickly. I just think that they could have video screens playing information on the cruise or SOMETHING for all of those people waiting in the cattle corral.
DH and I wore our green leis and our name badges, as arranged for the DIS meet by the DISs wovenwonder, but didnt see anyone else in the immediate area. We thought wed meet up with our comrades on ship later but thats another story.
We were finally on the ship! We didnt follow directions but headed straight for our cabin to unload our carry-ons. It worked! It was ready. (We found a wonderful crate full of surprises from Dreams Unlimited waiting for us on the bed too! Thank you!) After dumping our stuff, we headed straight to Palo to make our reservations.
Disney magical moment: We didnt quite understand the reservation process and must have looked confused. The restaurant manager stopped us and asked if we needed help. I said, We need to make reservations. He sent us back to the table, where we learned that we didnt have the little paper that needed to be filled out with our choices. (We must have walked right by that.) We were headed back to the front table when the restaurant manager stopped us again. Did you get what you wanted? I answered that we didnt have the right paper and were going to try it again. He was very upset. He took out a notebook and asked us what night and time we wanted dinner and if we wanted to do brunch too. I gave him our first choices and asked if he wanted our second choices. No! No! I will take care of it personally madam. You will have your dinner and brunch! It was a very cool experience, especially since no one had exactly done anything wrong. He had just steered us in the wrong direction.
We headed up to Topsiders for lunch. We sat right out in the sun at the back of the ship and enjoyed our meal. (All this time wearing our goofy green leis and our nametags on lanyards, LOL.)
Warning: You may be feeling very celebratory at this point. When the gentleman comes around with a tray of Bahama Mamas and offers you one, dont just take it assuming its part of the welcome aboard deal as it appears. Another gentleman will follow behind with a receipt book and ask you to sign for the drinks (which are in a souvenir glass) at $6.95 apiece! Ouch!!!! Oh well you live and learn. We got some nice glasses out of the deal, LOL!
We headed back to our stateroom at about 1:30 and our luggage was THERE! We quickly unpacked and stuffed our luggage under the bed. There is a surprising amount of storage room. We then headed upstairs to take the tour of the ship that was scheduled at 2:00 p.m. This was led by Robin from Australia, who was part of the Cruise Staff (and the very enthusiastic host of bingo). It was very informative and helped you to get a feel for the ship. I would highly recommend it. It only took an hour or so.
We looked around a bit, headed back to our cabin for the lifevests, and took part in the drill. We then headed up to deck 9 for the sailaway party and to hopefully meet our DIS counterparts.
Editorial comment: The ship was full AND there were about 900 children onboard. (I will talk more about the hundreds of children in my later report pieces. Dont worry: Its not ALL bad ) The sailaway celebration was unbearable from an adults with no children point of view. We quickly escaped to deck 10 forward to find a seat and wait for our departure from port. There would be no meeting our DIS counterparts at this event after all.
5:00 came. The whistle blew. We didnt move. The captain announced that our departure would be delayed until about 7:00 p.m. We couldnt hear all of the announcement as to why we were delayed, but there was A LOT of work going on around the fire-damaged funnel. A huge crane was lifting large pieces of steel to that area, where it was being off-loaded. That work continued.
7:00 came. We planted ourselves at the top front of the ship again, only to hear the announcement that our departure would be closer to 7:30. The crane continued to swing back and forth with steel and scaffolding. The ship finally sailed at about 7:45 p.m. It was a wonderful site! We sat there until it was out of the harbor and then went down to our first dinner.
I have to admit that one of my greatest fears about the cruise was the idea of dining with strangers. It couldnt have worked out better! We had second seating and were, as we had hoped, seated with other adults without children. We dined with a wonderful couple from England and a group of three consisting of a daughter and father (who were both Disney Cast Members) and their family friend. Our servers were Eddie (Turkey) and Zaldy (Philippines). They were simply MARVELOUS!!!! Eddie entertained everyone each night with his slight of hand tricks while Zaldy's laughter was simply contagious. They were both fast, efficient, and very, very good! Our first dinner was in Lumieres. By the time it was over, we walked around deck 10 one time and then were ready to head to our stateroom for the night.
More to come
Part 3: First day at sea!
