First time cruisers,
me 33
dh 47
dd 12
dd 10
dd 7
dd 5
dd 11 mos
Not having done a trip report before I will just hit the highlights in hopes of offering a little info to another newbie
Arrival to port, we took ATA from Indianapolis nonstop and arrived at Animal Kingdom Lodge on Friday (my favorite place in the world) to relax and get ourselves even more psyched up for the cruise. Saturday a.m. picked up by Yourride.net in limo and headed to port around 11 a.m.. Stopped off at the grocery for baby supplies and of course didnt get to port til 12:30 ish. Service from yourride was outstanding and I recommend them 100 percent.
And, you can imagine the lines to get on the boat (think space mountain, no fast pass on a federal holiday). Of course I was panicked thinking no spa ressies, no palos, no flounders.
Finally, get on the boat around 2 pm ish and get all the ressies we want with no problems. Booked the surial TWICE, facial, pedi/manicure, massages, dinner at palos, flounders several times. No problems, no waiting, nada. All reservations were made for days at sea.
Headed to the buffet at topsiders which was swamped by this point since the other lunch buffet closed at 2pm. None the less, had a place to sit in the shade, plenty of shrimp and lots of yummy desserts.
On to the room, we had two connecting category four family suites (would have preferred a category 1, 2 or 3 but we booked really late). The rooms were fine, spacious even. We were very far aft and our rooms had half plexi/half metal verandahs and that was fine with us. Really enjoyed being aft since we were right under topsiders and the pool areas. Aft elevators were never busy and close walk to all the important stuff. Did NOT bring a clock or a night light and were fine without them.
The safety drill was painless and over in less than 20 minutes. I had anticipated my children being miserable in life vests for an eternity, but alas we were fine.
Our stateroom hostess was Anastasia from Lithuania and she was wonderful. She anticipated everything we needed and the towel animals were never ending. Could not have gotten better service from her.
On to register the kiddos for club/lab. Just my opinion here so take it with a grain of salt. The clubs the first night were a logistical nightmare with all the comings and goings and signing ups and ins and outs. Much better after the first night. If you had a shy/skittish child you may want to skip going the first night. Make sure and register them early but be aware they are so packed the first night of the cruise.
We found the club and lab to be wonderful. Lots of scheduled/structured activities and also a good amount of free time. Our kiddos arent used to being left and so we didnt think they would do well but let me tell you we had to drag them away every night. They didnt page us all week. The 10 and 12 year old had sign in/sign out priviledges and it worked out fine. They were responsible and enjoyed being independent.
Sailaway party was fun, very noisy, and extremely HOT.
Early dinner for us and luggage came just in time.
Must make a part two since the baby is calling me.
grlzmom
me 33
dh 47
dd 12
dd 10
dd 7
dd 5
dd 11 mos
Not having done a trip report before I will just hit the highlights in hopes of offering a little info to another newbie
Arrival to port, we took ATA from Indianapolis nonstop and arrived at Animal Kingdom Lodge on Friday (my favorite place in the world) to relax and get ourselves even more psyched up for the cruise. Saturday a.m. picked up by Yourride.net in limo and headed to port around 11 a.m.. Stopped off at the grocery for baby supplies and of course didnt get to port til 12:30 ish. Service from yourride was outstanding and I recommend them 100 percent.
And, you can imagine the lines to get on the boat (think space mountain, no fast pass on a federal holiday). Of course I was panicked thinking no spa ressies, no palos, no flounders.
Finally, get on the boat around 2 pm ish and get all the ressies we want with no problems. Booked the surial TWICE, facial, pedi/manicure, massages, dinner at palos, flounders several times. No problems, no waiting, nada. All reservations were made for days at sea.
Headed to the buffet at topsiders which was swamped by this point since the other lunch buffet closed at 2pm. None the less, had a place to sit in the shade, plenty of shrimp and lots of yummy desserts.
On to the room, we had two connecting category four family suites (would have preferred a category 1, 2 or 3 but we booked really late). The rooms were fine, spacious even. We were very far aft and our rooms had half plexi/half metal verandahs and that was fine with us. Really enjoyed being aft since we were right under topsiders and the pool areas. Aft elevators were never busy and close walk to all the important stuff. Did NOT bring a clock or a night light and were fine without them.
The safety drill was painless and over in less than 20 minutes. I had anticipated my children being miserable in life vests for an eternity, but alas we were fine.
Our stateroom hostess was Anastasia from Lithuania and she was wonderful. She anticipated everything we needed and the towel animals were never ending. Could not have gotten better service from her.
On to register the kiddos for club/lab. Just my opinion here so take it with a grain of salt. The clubs the first night were a logistical nightmare with all the comings and goings and signing ups and ins and outs. Much better after the first night. If you had a shy/skittish child you may want to skip going the first night. Make sure and register them early but be aware they are so packed the first night of the cruise.
We found the club and lab to be wonderful. Lots of scheduled/structured activities and also a good amount of free time. Our kiddos arent used to being left and so we didnt think they would do well but let me tell you we had to drag them away every night. They didnt page us all week. The 10 and 12 year old had sign in/sign out priviledges and it worked out fine. They were responsible and enjoyed being independent.
Sailaway party was fun, very noisy, and extremely HOT.
Early dinner for us and luggage came just in time.
Must make a part two since the baby is calling me.
grlzmom
