When You Wish Upon A Star...POOF your teens vanish!

NewfieFan · Jan 30, 2013

Yay!!!

Disneyfalcon · Jan 30, 2013

Yay yay!

sweetpee_1993 · Jan 30, 2013

Friday, January 18 - A Very MAGICal Embarkation

For the most part, everything was packed & ready to roll. All 6 suitcases. I got up at 6, hit the tanning bed at 7, and we were out of the apartment at 10:30. One of Tracey's cousins drove us to the port and stayed at our place for the week with our beloved little pooch. Shameless plug. Riley is a rock star.

Man, you'da thunk we were moving!

We arrived at the port of Galveston at about 11:00. This girl was lookin' mighty fine for 15 years young:

We handed our checked suitcases off to the porters at the curb (w/a nice little tip), breezed thru security, checked-in, and found a spot in the concierge corral by 11:15. Yep. That fast. Gotta say, Galveston's Terminal 2 sure makes Disney's terminal in Port Canaveral look like the Taj Mahal. Seriously. Couldn't dampen our spirits, tho. Here's Brian with his 'Golden Ticket'... ((I know that sounds awful! You'd have to know the history that started in September 2011 with this kid and his Golden Tickets. LOL!))

One thing I love love love about concierge level on the ships is priority boarding. My perpetual impatience looooves this!

While we waited we had our first Navigator (info & schedule for the day) to read over:

We boarded the ship just after 11:30. Note that! We just left HOME an HOUR ago! Woot!!! Embarkation pic:

Off to Sessions for the Concierge Reception. The classic ships don't have a dedicated concierge lounge so they use the Sessions lounge to do little concierge receptions. Free cocktails. A nice little finger-food spread. Our assigned concierge person took a few minutes to introduce himself, offer to book additional things for us during the voyage, review our itinerary, and get to know us a bit. We had Tawanda from Zimbabwe. I think we were blessed. Tawanda became a fast friend, kindred spirit, and is now officially part of the family.

This is what the first page of the guest itinerary looks like. It's actually many pages detailing everything we have to look forward to do each day:

I started off with an apple martini. This was my Instagram'd shot:

Sans Souci · Jan 30, 2013

Awesome. I love the pic of your doggie! I love the cruise TRs. They edge me closer to booking a Disney Cruise.

sweetpee_1993 · Jan 30, 2013

We tried not to be too much of a chore for Tawanda. Don't wanna get off on the wrong foot. We asked for a beer tasting booking, Mixology booking, and an extra Wave phone. ((FYI, Wave phones are the onboard phones that you use on the ship and on Disney's private island to call or text each other, or anyone else you want to talk with onboard. Each room comes with 2 but we always need a 3rd so the boys each have one so we can contact them on a third phone.))

After spending some time chatting with Tawanda and drinking...oh...I guess 2 or 3...maybe more...

...cocktails we stumbled...er...I mean...headed off to lunch at Parrot Cay. The place was jumpin! Due to limited table space we ended up sharing a table with a young family from Austin, Texas. Cool! Love Austin! Adorable little family. Cutest little boys ever. It was their first Disney cruise!

Brian ditched us mid-way thru lunch. He couldn't stand it. He had to go see if their same counselors were still up in Vibe (the 14-17 teen club) from last May. We tried to warn him they weren't. Only 1 was the same, Catchy from New Zealand.

Oddly, we didn't feel rushed at all, like we needed to be moving. We relaxed at lunch. Took our time, even! By the time we finished Brian was calling us (via cell phone, we were still in port) to tell us he was waiting for us by the "rope" to the staterooms on deck 8. We made our way up to him. It was maybe 1:15, kinda close to time for the staterooms to be ready (usually 1:30). I poked my head past the rope into the hall and looked to see if I saw anyone. I saw a CM, a stateroom host, step out from a room then walk the opposite direction. I only saw his back. He looked FAMILIAR! I jumped back and said, "Oh my Gawd! That's SEAN!" Tracey immediately poked his head into the hall and yelled out, "Sean!" Sure 'nuff! Sean, our stateroom host from the Disney Magic last May, spun around and said, "Yes sir?!" He strode back our way. When he got to us we were laughing. We asked if he was hosting 8522 which he was! He remembered us, too! Hugs for everyone! It was soooo cool! "Welcome home! It's so good to see you!!!" and Sean proceeded to unhook the rope across the doorway to the hall. Too. Stinkin. Cool. It WAS like going HOME!

We ran straight to our room, whipped open the door, and bolted out to the verandah. Old habits die hard. LOL! Here's the panorama of Galveston Island:

I'm sure at this point the boys were off and running. Tracey & I started unpacking the carryons and settling in. I can't say enough how surreal being in this room on this ship was. It was identical to our last 1-bedroom suite on the Magic last May. It was like going HOME.

We had to hurry down to the Promenade Lounge on deck 3 at 2:45. I had volunteered to head-up the cruise group gift exchange (Fish Extender Group) from another fan forum. It was a big group, biggest I've ever participated with. 39 families with a total of 143 people. There was a lot of people to meet! I also had to make the pre-arranged money/cookie swap with one of the group participants for 4 boxes of girl scout cookies. Could life be any sweeter right now???

We hurried back to the stateroom to drop off our cookies and other junk to get to the muster drill on time. All 6 of our suitcases had arrived. Fabulous!

Muster Drill at 4:00 on deck 4 outside. At least it wasn't hot! The weather was gorgeous!

Returned to the room to unpack those 6 suitcases. Momma's work is never done. Tracey pulled me away to get back up on deck 10 forward for sailaway. Beautiful! Here's my Instagram'd shot:

As gorgeous as it was, a seriously cold wind was blowing. We didn't last long up there. We returned to the room to finish unpacking and get our pressing out. We do this in 2 seperate orders: 1 express order to get back in time for dinner (surcharge!) and 1 regular order to get back tomorrow for the rest of the cruise. Here's the pressing receipts. The express order was as much as the regular order but for a lot less articles pressed. I don't think the pressing costs are unreasonable. I certainly don't want to be ironing all those clothes on MY vacation!

Laid down for a power nap from 6-6:20. As I laid there looking at the ceiling I sorely missed the glowing blue cove ceiling in the 1-bedroom suite on the Disney Dream. Oh how I miss that. Popped up, dressed pretty, and headed down to hit the shops and maybe get a pic or two before dinner. Here's my fav for the evening:

We had 2nd seating dinner at Lumiere's. The grub was fab as we remembered. Met our oober awesome serving team that will be taking care of us in each restaurant as we rotate each night on the cruise: Head Server - Agus from Indonesia, Server - Malwyn from India, and Assistant Server - Putu from Indonesia. And, as with previous cruises, Brian was gone before dessert. After dinner Chandler was gone, too.

We returned to our room and found our first towel critter, a very cool snake:

Tracey & I settled into bed at 10:30. It's been a whirlwind of a day. I read tomorrow's Navigator, wrote my notes, and watched a little tv.

I couldn't help but notice how NOT rushed we felt today. I always read that on the longer cruises there was a lot less sense of urgency. There's plenty of time. We definitely felt that. Maybe it was because we've been on this very ship less than 8 months ago. Maybe it's the amount of time we knew we'd be here. Whatever it was, it felt good to relax.

Nighty-night!

cfry06 · Jan 30, 2013

Hooray! Love, love your reports! Can't wait to follow along!

sweetpee_1993 · Jan 30, 2013

NewfieFan said:
Yay!!!

Hey, Sarah! Been thinkin' of you!!!

Disneyfalcon said:
Yay yay!

Thank Jerry. He's getting where he doesn't let me get all the way home before he's calling me asking where's my report. LOL!

Sans Souci said:
Awesome. I love the pic of your doggie! I love the cruise TRs. They edge me closer to booking a Disney Cruise.

Thank you. My little pooch is attached to me at the hip. I adore her furry little butt.

Love that you love the cruise reports. You should sooooo book one. I can say for us, it was a game-changer!

cfry06 said:
Hooray! Love, love your reports! Can't wait to following along!

Oh thank you! Gosh! Feelin' the love already!!!!

joanna71985 · Jan 30, 2013

Yay TR!! I really need to get on the classic ships (especially the Magic). Someday!

sweetpee_1993 · Jan 30, 2013

joanna71985 said:
Yay TR!! I really need to get on the classic ships (especially the Magic). Someday!

Hey, Joanna! I saw Merida at the MK the day we were there but her line was craaaaazy long. I tried to poke my head up so I could see if you were there. No such luck. There was just too many people. Definitely try the classic ships. Oh! Try the Magic next fall when she comes back to Florida from dry dock! There's even a 5 day double-dip at Castaway Cay! If we weren't going on the Allure of the Seas with Tracey's family for Thanksgiving I'd be all over that itinerary to hit the island twice AND see all the changes to the ship!

NewfieFan · Jan 30, 2013

Your family pictures are beautiful (both the embarkation pic and the one where you're all lying down)! Lookin' good my dear!

Lovin' the report on this cold January evening as the snow blows around outside and the freezing rain hits the windows...

Uncle Lupe · Jan 30, 2013

HA! Loving it all, especially the text exchange!! Maybe it is the immature male in me but I didn't think your towel animal was an animal until I read the description.

With my luck I would make one for a family. It would fall over and I would get fired for leaving an obscene anatomical representation in towel form.

If I was on a cruise with my brother I would have to send his or dads undershorts out for pressing w/heavy starch. That would so be worth the $1.25. Are your boys that mischievous?

Kristia · Jan 31, 2013

Loving your report as always! I miss the Magic!

Disneyfalcon · Jan 31, 2013

sweetpee_1993 said:
Thank Jerry. He's getting where he doesn't let me get all the way home before he's calling me asking where's my report. LOL!

Thank you, Jerry.

I can't even stand that you left home and were onboard an hour later. Oh my word. I would be on a ship every week.

Your embarkation photo is awesome.

More relaxing is absolutely a factor of being onboard so long! It's so wonderful not to feel rushed!!

Pooh'sBuddy · Jan 31, 2013

Yea! Another mixology class! I really like the idea of sailing out of Galveston. I don't have to pack to get on a plane to get on a ship. Maybe someday I can talk the hubby into a Disney cruise. *sigh* Until then, please proceed!

sweetpee_1993 · Jan 31, 2013

NewfieFan said:
Your family pictures are beautiful (both the embarkation pic and the one where you're all lying down)! Lookin' good my dear!

Lovin' the report on this cold January evening as the snow blows around outside and the freezing rain hits the windows...

Oh geez! I dunno about the lookin' good part. I feel like I've let myself go a bit. Didn't get the last cruise & holiday weight back off before this trip. Haven't been keepin' up my color at the tanning bed like I used to. And, much to Tracey's relief, I finally had my hair & nails done just before the cruise. I hadn't done a thing with any of it since September! LOL!

I cannot imagine the cold up there, girl. Our weather the day of embarkation was in the upper 50s, sunny, with a north wind. I thought I was going to freeze to death when out on deck for sailaway. I'm sure you're laughing now.... LOL!

Uncle Lupe said:
HA! Loving it all, especially the text exchange!! Maybe it is the immature male in me but I didn't think your towel animal was an animal until I read the description.

With my luck I would make one for a family. It would fall over and I would get fired for leaving an obscene anatomical representation in towel form.

If I was on a cruise with my brother I would have to send his or dads undershorts out for pressing w/heavy starch. That would so be worth the $1.25. Are your boys that mischievous?

Nah, we were a bit startled when we first saw our towel animal, too. I quickly reminded Tracey it was a Disney cruise and that had to be a snake.

Oh yes, my boys are following the footsteps of their old man, uncles, and Mimi (she's the prank master). The only problem is they were on the cruise with Dad...you know...he-who-holds-the-wallet. Plus, they have a healthy respect for prankin' their elders. The novice should not prank the master. It doesn't turn out well. They've learned this the hard way. LOL!

Kristia said:
Loving your report as always! I miss the Magic!

Thank you! So good to have ya here! I miss the Magic, too, and I've only been away from her for 5 days.

Disneyfalcon said:
Thank you, Jerry.

I can't even stand that you left home and were onboard an hour later. Oh my word. I would be on a ship every week.

Your embarkation photo is awesome.

More relaxing is absolutely a factor of being onboard so long! It's so wonderful not to feel rushed!!

Oh yes. Being so close to the port was amazing. Loved it. The embarkation photo was prob'ly my favorite. The only rush we felt was the to hurry up and relax some more.

Pooh'sBuddy said:
Yea! Another mixology class! I really like the idea of sailing out of Galveston. I don't have to pack to get on a plane to get on a ship. Maybe someday I can talk the hubby into a Disney cruise. *sigh* Until then, please proceed!

Sailing out of Galveston was so great. No traveling. It was wonderful. If you're going to do it, tho, better do it quick. The Magic will be in Galveston thru early May then the Wonder will come over in later September. She'll only be here until the end of the year. We've been hearing some of the last Wonder sailings out of Galveston are in danger of being cancelled. Once the end of the year rolls around there are no more Galveston sailings on the schedules so it's this year or bust. Just an FYI for ya!

Mrs.Skellington · Jan 31, 2013

So ready for more!!!! Excited to read this and look at the amazing pictures

sweetpee_1993 · Jan 31, 2013

Saturday, January 19 - Out to Sea

Oh what a restful sleep we had last night! We didn't get up until 8:00. I took a nice, long soak in my amazing tub. Our room was exactly the same as last May so in case you missed that TR, here's a shot of the deep tub I had:

I love this tub because it's long enough I can lay down and still have my legs entirely in the water, deep enough to soak fully immersed, yet narrow enough that it doesn't take long at all for the tub to fill. It's PERFECT. Well, except for the jets. I don't do water jets in a tub. That's gross.

Tracey & I hit up Topsiders (buffet) for breakfast (deck 9, aft). Found my favoritest DCL breakfast food, the muesli, and I was in a state of bliss. I particularly enjoyed it this trip with fresh strawberries. The breakfast burritos they had were pretty good, too. I only ate a few bites of mine. Trying to eat sensibly and all considering it's so easy to go nuts eating on a cruise.

From 10:00 to 11:00 they were having adults-only animation classes in Animator's Palate (deck 4, aft).

"Where are her children????" you may be wondering. Your guess is as good as mine. They're on the ship. I know that. I'm tellin' you, we didn't even HAVE to WISH upon that star! They were ~~POOF~~ gone!

We were a little late to animation class so I missed drawing Mickey. I made it for Goofy and Donald, tho. Little back-info for ya: When I was little my dream was to be an animator for Disney. I loved to draw, paint, color, anything! When I was in the 6th grade I created my own little character of sorts. He was this crazy little rabbit that I called "Funny Bunny". I would draw pics of him, create comic strips, etc. I even made a ceremic 3-dimensional version of him in art class in the 7th grade. My mom still has that little statue, too. Every time I see it now I cringe. He's so homely looking! But that was me, always making things. I still love to create stuff, too. I sew. I craft. Heck, I write which is creating with words! Animation class onboard a Disney ship??? Yes, please! My hubby, on the other hand, doesn't draw. I won't say he's not crafty because he taught me about cake decorating. Drawing isn't his thing, tho. He enjoys indulging me so he mixed him a nice drinky-drink and became the photographer. While following along with the instructions and drawing I remember being aware Tracey was snapping pics. The flash was kinda annoying, actually. When editing all our pics a few days ago I noticed he took a LOT of pics of me drawing so I mentioned to him that it seemed like a whole bunch. He said, "It's fun to watch you." Everyone do it with me now.........."Awwwwwwwwww"....... It's the little things that make ya feel all warm-n-fuzzy. LOL! So, pardon the lots of pics but it's kinda cool to watch the drawing progress. I don't want to leave any out. I want you to see how many this man took!

sweetpee_1993 · Jan 31, 2013

Finished! Me (rare pic in my glasses that I have to use now for up-close stuff) and my Goofy. Personally, I thought he ended up looking like Goofy's chubby cousin.

Between characters I turned the camera on Tracey to show what he did with his time. He sipped his drinky-drink (Crown & Diet Coke in his Honey Badger Tervis Tumbler) and relaxed.

Then it was time for Donald. Today we were doing an angry Donald. Perfect! I so wanted to do a better job on this one. I was a bit less than excited about how chubby Goofy turned out. Here we go!

sweetpee_1993 · Jan 31, 2013

Oh geez! And I totally just noticed how prominent my "bad fingers" are on my left hand here. I know it's not that noticeable normally. When I was 4 there was a bit of an accident involving my older brother and an axe.

But, hey, I still have my fingers which was a pretty big deal for 1979. They don't look the prettiest, I can't have my ring fingernail "done" with the rest, they don't work the same as all the others, but there's nothing I haven't been able to accomplish that I wanted to in my lifetime. I won an award for playing piano when I was 12. I type faster than the average bear. It's all good. Right?

Oh! Back to Angry Donald!

Voila! Done! I'm really proud of this one. I think my Angry Donald turned out really, really good!

After animation class we returned to the room to drop off my masterpiece and that other picture I drew. LOL! While there I finally remembered where I packed our meds for the trip. Yeah, up to this point I hadn't figured out where I put them. I knew I'd seen them. I just couldn't connect the dots in my brain. Not a good thing when your hubby has blood pressure meds to take twice a day. Yikes! Tracey had been teasing me that I was trying to kill him. As if! Who would go on all these adventures with me and spoil me silly if I killed him?! No way! So, yay for remembering the meds!

While in the room we saw a ship way out on the horizon. We'd been seeing lots of cool stuff out on the water during the day. Definitely were off the Louisiana coast. Lots of rigs and ships about.

It's not easy to get pics of the stuff out there on the Gulf. We can see it so plain but the camera is hard to get right so you can see it, too.

Next we wandered the ship a bit. Prob'ly went to the drink station for ice and ice water. Yep, we drank the water from the drink station. It's delicious. And Tracey loves the Disney ship ice.

We returned to our room and sat out on the verandah a bit. Took a Gulf of Mexico toes pic for Tammy's toes blog:

We took a nap around this time. Get used to it. We are some napping fools on this trip.

We're not just "somewhere on the Gulf". We're right HERE:

We have a great love for the bridge report channel on the ship's tv. Lots of good info here! Yeah, you see where you are but you also see good stuff like the ship's time, what day it is (yes, it's easy to forget), ship's direction, GPS coordinates, course, speed, and apparent wind speed. To top that off, they play a neverending loop of popular tunes so you can always have some background music going down. If there's a ship announcement it will play over the tv on this channel, too. Good stuff!

When You Wish Upon A Star...POOF your teens vanish!

NewfieFan

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