Part two of our journey. This is all fragmented/discombobulated and sorry for that but remember I am chasing five lil girls.
Dinner at 6 worked our perfect for our family. We were originally waitlisted for early dining and were happy it came through at the last minute. Even with early dining, the five and seven year old fell asleep several times at dinner
Dinner, aaaahhhh, we had Sasha from Croatia for our server. He is the most incredible server and we could not have gotten better (we tipped him double and he deserved that and more). Toar (spelling here) from I dont remember where was our drink waiter and he was less than wonderful but adequate (tipped suggested amount). Head server/dining room manager was Alen from Croatia and he was also incredible (tipped a little extra). The food was actually better than we expected after hearing so many on the board say it was just average. Sasha kept bringing food even when you physically eat any more. He carried the baby around several nights, cut up my food when I was holding her and fed the girls several times. Disney is lucky to have him
Just my opinion here again but you definately need to budget more than the suggested tipping amounts because we ended up spending double what we intended on tipping.
Flounders. well, that one didnt work out for us at all. Tried to get lil pumpkin in there but she was having no parts of it and they paged us after fifteen minutes. When we got there she was strapped in a stroller in front of a tv with a cartoon on screaming her head off. Cancelled the rest of her ressies for the week. Just our opinion but strapping in a stroller in front of the tv for an eleven month old doesnt seem like appropriate programming for her age. Enough said about that. There also seemed to be many happy kiddos there.
Spa. Well, the surial was incredible, we did that twice. Wont know for sure til next week but looks like we might be getting our own little souvenir in about eight months, wink wink Where else can you lock yourselves in a room alone and make a mess with mud and do whatever else comes to mind. Well worth the 68 bucks. Enjoyed it even more the second time versus the first time (after learning not to turn on the steam too early as it gets really HOT HOT HOT). Definately grab the extra towels from the locker room before entering surial. I also suggest taking a bottle of drinking water. The rainforest room was also nice and that is where they had us wait both times for the surial (for the rest of you that have done the spa treatments, dont you think the robes are a little skimpy?). As for the rest, the facial, manicure and pedicure and massage were all ok. Definately not the best we have had, not the worst either but dont think we would do them again. Also, had read several posts about products being pushed by the spa attendents. I must agree that even after telling them upfront I wasnt interested they still went through their little ramblings about the stuff. That was a little annoying. The spas location is wonderful and you have a great view when getting your manicure/pedicure. Grand total over 650 with tips.
Shutters. Ok, had promised myself not to go bananas. Well, couldnt control myself. Sure we took lots of cute pixs ourselves but the temptation when you see those glossies displayed there was too much for me. I think instead of calling it Shutters they should call it SHUDDERS which is what my dh did when he saw my stateroom account And the grand total was 300 bucks. Yikes but oh well beautiful memories (especially the snaps they take on Castaway Key).
Bingo. The girls loved it and we took them three times and they won all three times (190, 167 and 300). Had a hoot and they loved the guy and girl that hosted it. They cant play alone and need an adult. Rockin D bar is a little smoky so if that bothers you, think twice. Spent 60 bucks total for the week.
Pools on board. Well, we knew the mickey pool was going to be a nightmare and it was. We just had the girls swim early like 9 a.m. to 10 a.m. and then no more mickey pool for the day and that worked out great Did notice way too many big kids in the mickey pool and several inattentive parents but you will find that anywhere. Also noticed definate enforcement of the adult only pool area. Did NOT notice any enforcement of the no chair saving policy.
We didnt buy any drinks and the girls dont drink sodas but smoothies ran about 100 bucks for the week (remember thats for four girls though).
Hairbraiding. We did hairbraiding on board and waited til Thursday to get it done since girls wanted it to stay in til they got back to school to show their friends. We were first in line Sunday morning for ressies (arrived fifteen minutes early) and all appointments went quickly so dont wait on that one. This was not the first time girls have had hairbraiding and it was definately not the best. Bands began breaking day after braiding but I had bought some of my own and replaced theirs with mine. Just a cheap suggestion is to go to your walmart and buy a bag of those ouchless clear or colored bands and take them with you. They cost 1.97 and are much better quality than the braiders use and will last longer. Braids are still in today a week later and looking fine, but looked to me like those who got it done on St. Marten had better jobs done. Ladies were very nice and with tips this ran me 200 bucks for the four girls. They had the headband styles done with beads and looks really cute.
Lunch we did most days at Topsiders and it was fine. There was always a great variety, something for everyone. We also loved getting fruit everyday from Scoops. Definately ate too much on the cruise.
Time for dinner, will post some about the islands tomorrow.
Thanks for reading
grlzmom
Dinner at 6 worked our perfect for our family. We were originally waitlisted for early dining and were happy it came through at the last minute. Even with early dining, the five and seven year old fell asleep several times at dinner
Dinner, aaaahhhh, we had Sasha from Croatia for our server. He is the most incredible server and we could not have gotten better (we tipped him double and he deserved that and more). Toar (spelling here) from I dont remember where was our drink waiter and he was less than wonderful but adequate (tipped suggested amount). Head server/dining room manager was Alen from Croatia and he was also incredible (tipped a little extra). The food was actually better than we expected after hearing so many on the board say it was just average. Sasha kept bringing food even when you physically eat any more. He carried the baby around several nights, cut up my food when I was holding her and fed the girls several times. Disney is lucky to have him
Just my opinion here again but you definately need to budget more than the suggested tipping amounts because we ended up spending double what we intended on tipping.
Flounders. well, that one didnt work out for us at all. Tried to get lil pumpkin in there but she was having no parts of it and they paged us after fifteen minutes. When we got there she was strapped in a stroller in front of a tv with a cartoon on screaming her head off. Cancelled the rest of her ressies for the week. Just our opinion but strapping in a stroller in front of the tv for an eleven month old doesnt seem like appropriate programming for her age. Enough said about that. There also seemed to be many happy kiddos there.
Spa. Well, the surial was incredible, we did that twice. Wont know for sure til next week but looks like we might be getting our own little souvenir in about eight months, wink wink
Where else can you lock yourselves in a room alone and make a mess with mud and do whatever else comes to mind. Well worth the 68 bucks. Enjoyed it even more the second time versus the first time (after learning not to turn on the steam too early as it gets really HOT HOT HOT). Definately grab the extra towels from the locker room before entering surial. I also suggest taking a bottle of drinking water. The rainforest room was also nice and that is where they had us wait both times for the surial (for the rest of you that have done the spa treatments, dont you think the robes are a little skimpy?). As for the rest, the facial, manicure and pedicure and massage were all ok. Definately not the best we have had, not the worst either but dont think we would do them again. Also, had read several posts about products being pushed by the spa attendents. I must agree that even after telling them upfront I wasnt interested they still went through their little ramblings about the stuff. That was a little annoying. The spas location is wonderful and you have a great view when getting your manicure/pedicure. Grand total over 650 with tips.Shutters. Ok, had promised myself not to go bananas. Well, couldnt control myself. Sure we took lots of cute pixs ourselves but the temptation when you see those glossies displayed there was too much for me. I think instead of calling it Shutters they should call it SHUDDERS which is what my dh did when he saw my stateroom account
And the grand total was 300 bucks. Yikes but oh well beautiful memories (especially the snaps they take on Castaway Key).Bingo. The girls loved it and we took them three times and they won all three times (190, 167 and 300). Had a hoot and they loved the guy and girl that hosted it. They cant play alone and need an adult. Rockin D bar is a little smoky so if that bothers you, think twice. Spent 60 bucks total for the week.
Pools on board. Well, we knew the mickey pool was going to be a nightmare and it was. We just had the girls swim early like 9 a.m. to 10 a.m. and then no more mickey pool for the day and that worked out great
Did notice way too many big kids in the mickey pool and several inattentive parents but you will find that anywhere. Also noticed definate enforcement of the adult only pool area. Did NOT notice any enforcement of the no chair saving policy.We didnt buy any drinks and the girls dont drink sodas but smoothies ran about 100 bucks for the week (remember thats for four girls though).
Hairbraiding. We did hairbraiding on board and waited til Thursday to get it done since girls wanted it to stay in til they got back to school to show their friends. We were first in line Sunday morning for ressies (arrived fifteen minutes early) and all appointments went quickly so dont wait on that one. This was not the first time girls have had hairbraiding and it was definately not the best. Bands began breaking day after braiding but I had bought some of my own and replaced theirs with mine. Just a cheap suggestion is to go to your walmart and buy a bag of those ouchless clear or colored bands and take them with you. They cost 1.97 and are much better quality than the braiders use and will last longer. Braids are still in today a week later and looking fine, but looked to me like those who got it done on St. Marten had better jobs done. Ladies were very nice and with tips this ran me 200 bucks for the four girls. They had the headband styles done with beads and looks really cute.
Lunch we did most days at Topsiders and it was fine. There was always a great variety, something for everyone. We also loved getting fruit everyday from Scoops. Definately ate too much on the cruise.
Time for dinner, will post some about the islands tomorrow.
Thanks for reading
grlzmom
