Disney Cruise May 23-30 – Back to the Magic

Who: Dh, Me, Ds 14 and Dd 11 - Plus assorted other family members and friends – 5 cabins total!
Where: Eastern Cruise with Tortola
When: May 23-30th

This was my 4th Disney Cruise. Third in the last 9 months actually:lookaroun, so I’d like that pattern to keep up! This was the second with tons of family and friends. It’s a great vacation for a big group. Everyone can do their own thing and still meet up for dinner and other activities.

We had a great rate with a military discount. We had enough active duty military, retired military and reserve members to get everyone the discount. Yay!!:sohappy:

I'm making my way through about 1400 pictures right now so this report will have to come in segments!



Day 1 – Friday – May 22nd - Travel Day

The departure day was finally here. We booked this cruise about a year and a half ago, so I couldn’t believe it was finally time!

The kids are in school here until June 25th. Luckily their teachers were all very cooperative and this was Memorial Day week so they only missed 4 ½ days of school. I woke up crazy excited. I had been packed for a month or so, but there were little things left to do this morning. I finished just in time to pick up the kids from school at 11:00. We ran home and ate lunch. I finished up my last recorded DVR show during lunch, so it was nice to be caught up on shows before I left! It was also a great week to go TV-wise because so many shows ended in the two weeks before we left. Coming home from a vacation with tons to do, and 20 TV shows to watch is not easy!!:lol:

Dh came home for lunch to take us to the airport. He had to back out of the trip several weeks ago because we didn’t think he’d be able to get away. Luckily, he got the okay and we added him back in, but at this point our plane tickets had gone up and he wouldn’t be flying with us. It worked out well for him though, we were on United with a layover in DC and left 4 hours before him, and he was on a direct flight on Southwest which was scheduled to arrive 10 minutes after us!

We actually arrived in DC about 20 minutes early and were not looking forward to a now 4 hour layover. Blech. We decided to try the United customer service counter to see if we could catch an earlier flight. United said yes! :sohappy: There was 1 hour and 45 minutes before that flight and there was plenty of time to switch our bags. Well supposedly! We called my parents and asked them to stay at MCO and wait for us so we could ride with them to Port Canaveral. We boarded and woohoo – Orlando bound!!

Well of course our bags didn’t make it. They were coming on our original flight which had been delayed 3 hours! I was irritated, but relieved I wasn’t on that flight.

My parents and I decided to all go to Downtown Disney to kill some time. I love DD. It’s a great way to start a cruise. Dad and Mom ate at Earl of Sandwich and we shopped a little. After Dh arrived at MCO, Dad and Mom dropped me off at the airport to wait for my bags with him. They took the kids with them so they could get a somewhat decent night’s sleep.

United offered to bring the bags to Port Canaveral the next day, but I was terrified they wouldn’t get there before the cruise left. I could not wear a Mickey Mouse tee shirt to formal night!!!:lol:

Dh and I waited for my bags which arrived at 12:32. We got in the rental car and drove to Port Canaveral where we stayed at the Radisson at the Port. It’s a nice hotel but we didn’t get to enjoy it much. We finally got to bed around 2 am.

Next up Day 2!

 

[Disneyfalcon]

Our friends rented bikes and went riding.

The kids played a little soccer with their uncles.

When dh finished, he joined us and we went over to the snorkeling trail.

After some snorkeling, we were starving (again :lol and dropped off our stuff and went to the barbeque. Ds left us for a little while to watch the crab races.

 

[Disneyfalcon]

Castaway Cay has the most delicious ice cream ever. It’s soft serve chocolate chip cookie dough. I’ve never had it anywhere else, and it’s a “don’t miss” there.

After lunch the girls all got hair wraps.

While they were having them done, the skies started to get really ominous looking. Right before we finished they got everyone out of the water and off the beach. We found the men and rest of the family at the covered sports pavilion. We were trapped here for about an hour, but if we had to be trapped, it was a fun place to be stuck. There was ping pong, giant chess, giant connect 4, miniature golf, basketball, etc. We all had fun and the skies opened up outside.

After the skies cleared we played a little volleyball and the kids decided to go to the water playground area at the big beach.

While were in the water the skies got scary dark again.

They called us out of the water and we ran for the eating pavilion during a torrential downpour! When it let up a little we made a run for it back to the ship.

I shot some pics with my waterproof camera, but I passed several people with their dslr’s out taking pics in the sprinkling rain. I wanted to stop them and say – it’s not worth the risk!! Don’t do it!! I thought I was okay during a very light drizzle at Magic Kingdom once and completely messed up my camera. So mine stayed safely in my bag.

We were back on the ship by around 3. It was sad to have the day cut short, but having missed Castaway Cay twice before, I was thrilled we had at least some time there.

We went ahead and packed. Our luggage had to be out in the hall by 11, and I didn’t want to come back to do it later.

 

[Disneyfalcon]

Our final dinner was at Parrot Cay. It was my bil’s birthday the next day, so we had a little birthday celebration:

Iketut had a funny idea:

Dd told me when we got to dinner, she wasn’t hungry. I told her just to order a steak, and if she wasn’t hungry when it came, not to eat it. Well, Valentin was having none of that! I looked over and he was feeding her. I think he made her eat the whole thing! I need to take him home with me!:lol:

We said goodbye to Valentin and Iketut. Our kids were especially sad to say goodbye to them. The grownups decided it was hardest to say goodbye to Tina – our room steward. No more coming back to made up beds, or turned down beds and chocolates and towel animals. Sadness.

After dinner we went to Shutters to buy our pictures. Of course we weren’t the only ones, there were about 900 people crammed into the small area. We all found all the pictures we wanted though and spent a small fortune.

The farewell show was next. It was singing and dancing, a funny ventriloquist and the hypnotist again. This time the hypnotist’s show just seemed so fake. It’s not that I think the people were plants, I just think once they get up there, they have to go along with it. If anyone has been hypnotized up on stage like this before, you can feel free to correct me.

 

[Disneyfalcon]

Afterwards Ds went up to on deck 9 to watch his last NBA game on the big screen. The girls went to the Till we meet again party in the lobby with all the characters. For any of you character stalkers out there (you know who you are :lookaroun), this is a character bonanza!! Everyone is there set up all over the lobby for about 20 minutes. Lines are short and you just go from character to character.

Dd and my niece also wanted a picture with Brent, our cruise director.

 

[Disneyfalcon]

Afterwards we said goodbye to everyone that was leaving before we got up the next morning. I walked around with the tripod and took some final pictures. Oh yes, and I got my final serving of ice cream.

I went to sleep around midnight. The last night is so hard.

 

[Disneyfalcon]

Day 9 – Saturday – May 30th – Disembark and Downtown Disney

Around 6 we were all awoken to a huge bang/crash type sound. Like we hit an iceberg or something!! Never did find out what that was!:shrug:

We woke up about 7:30 and met my parents and CA friends for breakfast at 8:15 at Topsiders. It was yummy, but so sad. We also got to watch a dolphin playing in the ocean while we ate.:sohappy:

Afterwards we walked off the ship with no line, said goodbye to CA friends who were taking Disney transfers back to the airport, and found our bags. We breezed through customs and went to wait for a shuttle to get our rental car.

After we got our rental cars, the kids rode with my parents and we headed to Downtown Disney. It was nice and quiet there and we got a little shopping in. We ate lunch at Earl of Sandwich – it’s jolting to pay for food again :lol: - and finished up our shopping.

Dad and Mom were spending the night at Shades of Green, so we said goodbye. We decided we had enough time to go see the new Animal Kingdom Lodge DVC building. We own here, and cannot seem to find the time to get there and use our membership!

We walked around, and promised ourselves we would make the time to come stay here.

SO, it was a great week again, just as we expected. I am having serious post Disney blues right now. After 3 cruises in 9 months, it’s quite painful not to have one on the horizon. I’m hoping to go to Disneyland in October for my 40th birthday, and there’s some TA training at WDW in November that I’ll be going solo to, so there is some Disney on my horizon. But after that there is a hole in my schedule that definitely needs filling!!

 

[HollyBelle]

Tammy, I love the Castaway Cay pictures and the 5K sounds like a lot of fun... and a neat way to see the island. I love that your husband was given a magical moments certificate for it!! Just curious, does it cost extra, like any other excursion?

Also, I think it is so cool that they premEARed UP for you on the ship and you were lucky enough to get an intro and Q&A with one of the animators.

As for our cruise, we absolutely loved it and are ready to book another one :sohappy:! The Disney Magic was in Grand Cayman the same day we were and Brett and I were drooling over it as we tendered in. All we could talk about were all the characters that must be onboard :lol:. I wrote a trip report, but had to join another forum to post it because it wasn't Disney related .

ETA: A character bonanza?!? I'm there! Fabulous report, Tammy. Thanks for sharing with us!

 

[Disneyfalcon]

Tammy, I love the Castaway Cay pictures and the 5K sounds like a lot of fun... and a neat way to see the island. I love that your husband was given a magical moments certificate for it!! Just curious, does it cost extra, like any other excursion?

Also, I think it is so cool that they premEARed UP for you on the ship and you were lucky enough to get an intro and Q&A with one of the animators.

As for our cruise, we absolutely loved it and are ready to book another one :sohappy:! The Disney Magic was in Grand Cayman the same day we were and Brett and I were drooling over it as we tendered in. All we could talk about were all the characters that must be onboard :lol:. I wrote a trip report, but had to join another forum to post it because it wasn't Disney related .

ETA: A character bonanza?!? I'm there! Fabulous report, Tammy. Thanks for sharing with us!

I thought of you with the 5k!! It's free! Anyone who wants to participate just meets at the dock at the designated time. No medals, just a magical moment certificate in your stateroom later that night.

I'm so glad you had fun!! It really is an addictive vacation. PM me a link to your report! I'd love to read it.

Bonanza!! I said it!!:lol:

 

[DznyGrlSD]

FAB trip report so far and BEAUTIFUL photos. :sohappy: Your photos alone have convinced me that I MUST book a Disney Cruise - maybe next winter 2010 :shrug:

 

[Disneyfalcon]

FAB trip report so far and BEAUTIFUL photos. :sohappy: Your photos alone have convinced me that I MUST book a Disney Cruise - maybe next winter 2010 :shrug:

Hey, another convert!! We've been in February before. It's cheaper and the weather was great!

Thanks for the compliment!

 

[Nicole220]

This is just the cutest picture! *melts*

Stunning!

What a wonderful report, as always Tammy! Thank you so much for sharing with us! Your pictures are beautiful. I especially love the Castaway Cay and dolphin ones.

 

[Disneyfalcon]

This is just the cutest picture! *melts*


Stunning!

What a wonderful report, as always Tammy! Thank you so much for sharing with us! Your pictures are beautiful. I especially love the Castaway Cay and dolphin ones.

Thanks, Nicole!! So nice of you to say!

 

[DznyGrlSD]

I apologize if it's been asked before - what brand/type of underwater camera do you have?

 

[Disneyfalcon]

I apologize if it's been asked before - what brand/type of underwater camera do you have?

It's a brand new waterproof camera that Canon just came out with. It's called the d10. It's super rugged, so I felt fine with the kids carrying it around and swimming with it.

There was one, almost disasterous evening when they took it, though. I told them where I would leave it in the room, and they were free to grab it and take it swimming whenever they wanted. One night I was charging the battery and left the battery compartment open. Well, you guessed it, they grabbed it. I was in a panic until I could get upstairs and make sure they didn't get in the water with it still open.

I couldn't get a complete story, :lol:, but they must have closed it either accidentally or on purpose, because it was fine.

 

[Laura]

Here’s the awesome picture opportunity. Just imagine it without a little girl’s arm in it. :lol:

See my avatar for what should have been. :ROFLOL:

I always love your pictures! Very creative.

You are killing me because other than the Tortola stop, that's almost the same cruise we just did. (I say "just" but wow - it was 5 months ago!) We had Brent for our cruise director, and we did the Doubleloon Snail & Snorkel. I miss my cruise. :lol:

Also, am I the only person in the world who has no friends with any money or any sense of adventure? We would LOVE to do a big group cruise, but we don't know anyone at all who ever even leaves the state, and definitely we don't know anyone who can afford a cruise, so we're always on our own. UGH

 

[Disneyfalcon]

See my avatar for what should have been. :ROFLOL:

I always love your pictures! Very creative.

You are killing me because other than the Tortola stop, that's almost the same cruise we just did. (I say "just" but wow - it was 5 months ago!) We had Brent for our cruise director, and we did the Doubleloon Snail & Snorkel. I miss my cruise. :lol:

Also, am I the only person in the world who has no friends with any money or any sense of adventure? We would LOVE to do a big group cruise, but we don't know anyone at all who ever even leaves the state, and definitely we don't know anyone who can afford a cruise, so we're always on our own. UGH

Laura, your avatar picture is exactly what I was hoping for!!:lol:

I also decided to try the Doubloon Sail and Snorkel because of your trip report. I'm definitely glad we did.

Big groups on cruises are the best. You don't eat with strangers, everyone can do what they want and still be together a lot, etc. I can't help you with the friends problem though!:lol:

Our first group trip to WDW happened on a whim. About 10 years ago, we were talking with our small group from church and said we should all go to WDW together. Never in a million years thought it would really happen. 5 months later, we were all there. All 22 of us! We were a grand gathering before grand gatherings were cool!:lol:

 

[Laura]

We were the first ones there and got right in the front! Prime picture taking opportunity. :sohappy: Or so I thought. As more people arrived over the next 20 minutes, we started to get pushed out. First, parents were sending their kids under the rail to stand in front of us. Then other kids just started pushing the three girls out. I wasn’t real happy about this. I wouldn’t mind a small child in front of me of course, but I wasn’t happy when kids the same sizes as mine were suddenly in front of them. I switched places with my niece and got behind the girl who had been sent up there by her parents. The kids in front of the rail were told to go behind it, so my sweet children backed up so they could stand in front of them. I was trying not to be irritated but it was NOT easy. My three moved so they could still see and were happy. The girl in front of me kept inching in front of my dd during the show, so I finally leaned over and told her she needed to move. She scowled at me and moved about 6 inches. I put my hand on the rail so she couldn’t keep moving in front of my kids. I still got some pictures but I missed the one I was dying for.

I meant to say earlier this exact thing happened to us. We were the very first people up to the deck after the drill and claimed our spot front and center and held onto the railing for dear life. Well of course, no matter how much we tried to protect our kids, other kids (bigger than them) still managed to push them out of the way to the point where they couldn't see anything. We kept telling the other kids "hey you just stepped in front of them - and they are littler than you and were here first!" and they didn't care and "didn't speak English" of course. My son was sobbing because he had been so excited to see the show and waited so patiently holding his spot only to have all those rude children push him out of the way. We ended up leaving early and went back to our room because the kids were miserable. I get so steamed just thinking about it. :fork:

 

[Laura]

Big groups on cruises are the best. You don't eat with strangers, everyone can do what they want and still be together a lot, etc. I can't help you with the friends problem though!:lol:

Well, we're moving across the country next week and we'll get some new friends. :lol: One couple we already know there is actually a part of this forum already and wants to do a Disney cruise badly.

 

[Disneyfalcon]

I meant to say earlier this exact thing happened to us. We were the very first people up to the deck after the drill and claimed our spot front and center and held onto the railing for dear life. Well of course, no matter how much we tried to protect our kids, other kids (bigger than them) still managed to push them out of the way to the point where they couldn't see anything. We kept telling the other kids "hey you just stepped in front of them - and they are littler than you and were here first!" and they didn't care and "didn't speak English" of course. My son was sobbing because he had been so excited to see the show and waited so patiently holding his spot only to have all those rude children push him out of the way. We ended up leaving early and went back to our room because the kids were miserable. I get so steamed just thinking about it. :fork:

That is so, so irritating!! Where are their parents????

Well, we're moving across the country next week and we'll get some new friends. :lol: One couple we already know there is actually a part of this forum already and wants to do a Disney cruise badly.

Hey and since the Wonder is moving to LA... you're all set!! :sohappy:

 

[eagles]

great trip report tammy. loved all your pics. glad you got the underwater camera, those are awesome pictures.

i am sitting here with noah right now watching a show about 'when dolphins attack'. i thought of you.