Trip Report The “More SunPass than the average Florida resident/Can you believe this is happening?” Trip Report.

*****Disclaimer*****​

This is my first trip using a GoPro as my primary form of image capturing. With this comes some trial and error that I learned along the way so I do apologize for the occasional fuzzy picture as well as the excessive amount of pictures I am about to bombard you with. Additionally, I am not known for my wordsmithing as I favor the 1’s and 0’s over the A’s and B’s so I apologize ahead of time for the inevitable grammar and spelling typos that will surely come your way. That said, I do hope you enjoy the following!

So here we are, Surf ‘n Turf trip number four! For all the funtivities about the who/what/when/etc have yourself a nice read here:
http://forums.wdwmagic.com/threads/18-years-of-marital-bliss-means-it’s-time-for-some-surf-n-turf-action…-again.915877/

So after about five and half hours of sleep I was up bright and early at 04:00 with the DW soon up to follow. The DMIL, who was staying over to watch the DD, saw us off and we ended up pulling out of the house around 04:40 to avoid the madness that is Atlanta traffic. We had to make a quick stop to fuel up first:

We chose to avoid eating until we got through downtown because I didn’t want to risk getting caught in anything the ATL could conjure up. Soon we were on the south side and ready for some breakfast. We passed a sign for Truett’s grill, Chick-fil-A founder, and thought this sounded good, I love me some spicy chicken biscuit action! We took the exit and made our way to the grill only to find out that they didn’t open for breakfast until 06:00!! Alas, it was only 05:45 and I was on a mission to not waste time so we hopped back on I-75 and made our way south. We ended up dining at a Chick-fil-A in Macon only to learn that the spicy chicken biscuit has now become a regional item!! I pressed the server to make sure she knew what state we were still in and that the idea of a spicy chicken biscuit not being available in Truett’s home state was just plain nuts! So the DW and I settled for a pair of chicken biscuits but had the fortune that a Dunkin Donuts was right across the street so we were able to secure some good coffee for the trip.
[TangetTime]

True story: I actually met Honey Boo Boo at this very Dunkin Donuts during the state wrestling tournament about three years ago. Now aren’t you jealous!!!

[/TangentTime]

We would only stop one more time for fuel and restroom access during our travels. We did, however, pass a most entertaining car fire as we entered into Florida. I felt a bit bad for the folks watching their car crisp up and even worse when we eventually passed the FD traveling north about 5 minutes later. What, amazingly, felt like a short seven-hour ride, we had arrived!

We navigated our way from Western Way to MK’s main gate. Needless to say I was ready to get to the Poly. Here the DW nabbed a pic of me without knowing, it wouldn’t be the last she would get of me.

Soon we were in the Poly’s lobby talking in the wonderful sights and smells.

We made our way to the front desk to learn our room was not ready. We anticipated this and packed our bathing suits and some libations in a tote for an afternoon poolside before our early evening fastpasses. We made for our car and moved it to the DVC parking lot when we got the call…

 

[lostpro9het]

So as I said, our room service food had arrived and I made my way To Cabanas to pick up the hot food so we could enjoy breakfast on our veranda. It was literally a two minute trip, maybe less, from Cabanas to our room via the elevator so getting the hot food there while still being hot was easy. The night before we requested that coffee, juice, fruit, donuts, and English muffins be delivered to the room. Laura requested extra honey too for our coffee and as you can tell from the pics they came through with that. I picked up some bacon, sausage, eggs and hash browns from Cabanas and we had a right awesome breakfast in the peace and quiet of our veranda.

Look! A not so hidden Mickey

As we enjoyed breakfast the sun was still rising, the weather was still beautiful, and you could see Nassau as we approached.

Still to come: Nassau from the boat, Cove Café, and a wine tasting.

 

[imahistorygeek]

I really liked having ceramic mugs for the coffee. I wouldn't mind having a set, but they don't hold the amount of coffee I typically like in a cup. My usual morning coffee cup is the Starbucks "You Are Here" mug. They hold quite a bit of coffee.

 

[epcotisbest]

Looks like an awesome breakfast with even more awesome view. Of course, I'm guessing that view would make tofu seem tasty.

 

[epcotisbest]

I really liked having ceramic mugs for the coffee. I wouldn't mind having a set, but they don't hold the amount of coffee I typically like in a cup. My usual morning coffee cup is the Starbucks "You Are Here" mug. They hold quite a bit of coffee.

Here is what I have my morning coffee in. Visitors keep trying to talk me out of it, and I almost gave it to an extra sweet niece one time, but so far have managed to hang on to it.

 

[epcotisbest]

Coffee mug in action:

 

[lostpro9het]

So as you could see earlier Nassau was on the horizon and soon we were making port. All the cruises before this trip the ship would enter the bay, rotate 180 degrees, and then back into the dock. Today, though, we just pulled straight in. The weather was beautiful and I would say there was little to no wind so I am not entirely sure why we went in bow first but we did. You can see Atlantis as we pull in just over the Norwegian Sky’s shoulder.

It wasn’t long before a Carnival ship pulled in. Like us, they also docked bow first.

Still to come: Cove Café, wine tastings, and are we really playing bingo!?!?

 

[Tiggerish]

Gorgeous early am photos!! I think I might steal your breakfast idea.

 

[Mrhappyplace]

Lots of great photos!

I meant to ask earlier, who won the chess game?

 

[lostpro9het]

Gorgeous early am photos!! I think I might steal your breakfast idea.

Thanks! Please, run with it yourself. I mean, there is no charge for the room service so why not let them help you out in enjoying a quiet breakfast in your room.

Lots of great photos!

I meant to ask earlier, who won the chess game?

Thanks! Let's just say I edged my queen out in a very competitive match.

 

[imahistorygeek]

I meant to ask earlier, who won the chess game?

We actually played two games. He beat me the first time in probably less than 5 minutes. In my defense, I was trying to remember how to play. The last time we played chess together was in highschool. The 2nd game took longer and I put up a good fight.

 

[coachwnh]

so the only picture I have is of my beer, imagine that

I see nothing wrong with this. It becomes a habit (the pictures, I mean)

 

[coachwnh]

Finally all caught up. Great pictures Sean!!!

 

[lostpro9het]

I see nothing wrong with this. It becomes a habit (the pictures, I mean)

I'm slowly learning this

Finally all caught up. Great pictures Sean!!!

Thanks! I still have plenty of brew...I mean pictures to come!

 

[lostpro9het]

YIKES! 25 days til our Christmas trip…I better wrap this TR up. So the “all clear” to disembark for Nassau was made and that was our cue to head for the pool! Nassau has never appealed to us and we’ve always stayed on the boat during this port day. Typically we use this day to chill out in Senses and take in a mixology but this trip we opted to skip Senses and try out the wine tasting. We spent most of the morning/afternoon relaxing by the pool. The crowd by the adult pool was pretty lite until midafternoon and it picked up a bit. The kid’s pool, on the other hand, was madness. It seems not many folks decided to get off the ship this day.

We had dinner reservations for Palo this night so we mostly just snacked here and there not wanting to fill up. We did decide to treat ourselves to some caffeine and cakes at Cove Café before heading to our wine tasting. You can see in the background that the Castaway Cocktail was still flowing!

Recharged by sugar, caffeine, and AC we made our way back to our room to clean up for the wine tasting. Along the way we passed this grandmother who was just DONE! She was out like a light in the family area.

We also passed some creative fish extender gifts

Still to come: Wine tasting, bingo and Palo.

 

[imahistorygeek]

Couple of things:

1. Has anyone ever tried the Yama cold brew in Cove Cafe?

2. If you're interesting in cruising and you're looking for a cheap (lol) Disney cruise, there's a 3-night on the Magic out of Miami on January 8 for less than $1,000 for two people.

 

[flynnibus]

@lostpro9het how was the engine noise/vibration at the rear of the boat vs your prior cruises?

We prefer midship on Deck10.. immediate access to the fast-food stations

 

[Sans Souci]

Couple of things:

1. Has anyone ever tried the Yama cold brew in Cove Cafe?

2. If you're interesting in cruising and you're looking for a cheap (lol) Disney cruise, there's a 3-night on the Magic out of Miami on January 8 for less than $1,000 for two people.

I did have the Yama cold brew at the Cove cafe.

 

[imahistorygeek]

@lostpro9het how was the engine noise/vibration at the rear of the boat vs your prior cruises?

We prefer midship on Deck10.. immediate access to the fast-food stations

It's quite noticeable pulling into port. However, it didn't last long and definitely didn't hear or feel anything most of the time.

 

[imahistorygeek]

I did have the Yama cold brew at the Cove cafe.

Did you like it? It looks fancy, so I'm assuming it tastes fancy.

 

[lostpro9het]

@lostpro9het how was the engine noise/vibration at the rear of the boat vs your prior cruises?

We prefer midship on Deck10.. immediate access to the fast-food stations

IMO, the vibration/noise was comparable. While cruising you never noticed any more noise or vibrations when when midship or forward than aft. When rotating, stopping, or starting you would feel shudders that would last a few seconds at the beginning of the action. Slept like rock every night. We enjoyed the location so much that we booked our 7-night 20/40 trip in the room one deck above this one.