You know your youth is long gone when...

...a 3 night Disney cruise without the kids takes 12 hours of solid sleep to begin the recovery! LOL! Poor old Tracey!




Hello again and welcome to the next SweetPee adventure! If you don't already know me go check out some of our other adventures down there in my signature. You'll learn things you never wanted to! For those of y'all that do, HIIIIII!!!! ((waving like a fool))

Two big things are missing in this trip that you'll notice right away: Chandler and Brian. This trip was my "surprise" anniversary present from my sweetness. Even though our anniversary wasn't until September, I got the call from Mickey (SURPRISE!) on July 4th weekend. I was so excited! My old man totally stinks at surprises so it amazed me he had been able to get with Tammy (disneyfalcon) to book the cruise, airfare, and pre-cruise hotel. Woot! I had the next 2+ months to pour over the details, daydream, and diet! September came before I knew what hit me!




You know your youth is long gone when...

...you've officially been married for half of your entire life! Yep, I was just 19 years old when we got married in September 1993. See where that number in my username comes from? Half of my life. That's a long time. And what an adventure it's been!



Wednesday, Sept. 26
Tracey worked half the day. I packed and got my toes did.

I know. Right? Who takes a pic of THAT?! I do. LOL!

Chandler & Tracey's mom drove with us to the airport (HOU) so Chandler could drive the Tahoe back home. No paying to park. Niiiiice. Gawd, I'm old! My KID is taking us to the airport now! Ugh!

We had a few hours to kill so we had dinner at Pappadeaux on Mustang Engineering's kindness. We used the nice gift card Tracey got at work for stepping up as a project lead even though he really didn't want to. Nice little folio the gift card came in:

I Instagram'd this one! I had a yummy sangria-ish something (can't remember the name) and Tracey had a double Crown & diet Coke.

I had this really good tomato & mozzarella w/blue cheese crumbles and balsamic. It was delish! I also had a cheesy baked potato. I got my cheesecake dessert to go.

We had a pretty uneventful flight. Good luck to the baseball team from Oklahoma who were going to the WWoS to play in a tournament. They were pretty funny. Had a whole game of catch (someone brought a football?) waiting at the baggage claim in MCO. I was sooooo tempted to get in on that. I love to play football!

Gathered our bags and got checked in at the Hyatt right there in the airport. Had a king room overlooking the runway. It was a nice room. I'd love to say "perfect" but the bed was pretty uncomfortable. Everything else was quite nice...especially the fantastic price I got: $106 total!

Yeah, I know you're all thinking, "Why didn't you go out to a WDW resort?" Cruising is a different animal, people. There's a method to my madness here. Plus, WDW so grossly overprices their rooms just so they can discount 'em. It's the principal. I can smile knowing this once I didn't wear the "sucker" cap.

In bed asleep at midnight. Big day tomorrow!

 

[PolynesianPrincess]

Sooooo lemme just tell ya... I was supposed to be using this day after Thanksgiving to clean my house, do laundry and go to the gym... But then I saw this TR and sat down to read it. It' now 2:10pm and I have to leave for Rhode Island at 4pm. So no gym, laundry or cleaning for me today!! Kelly's TR is FAR more important than a clean house and clean clothes!!! lol

So much to remember but I'll try my best. Reading this has me soooo excited for our girl cruise next year!!! And reading all about the Aquaventure at Atlantis has me torn between doing that or doing the dolphin swim at Blue Lagoon. We like waterparks, but we don't love them and I've always wanted to swim with dolphins... decisions, decisions!!!

Your cabin on the ship is incredible! Judging by the video, it looks larger than my good friends whole apartment!!! lol I LOVE how the verandah juts oout over the side of the ship! And let me say that I was a little teary eyed reading about how you and the hubby sat out there during the fireworks and how perfect it was. You guys are too cute!

And reading about the cabanas makes me want to rent a cabana as well! But I know we also want too do the parasailing and we may not be able to do both We will have to see how much we can save before the trip! The cabanas look so cute and cushy!

I am so not an adventurous eater so Remy is definitely not my cup of tea but I'm so glad you enjoyed it! The desserts do look scrumptious!

LOVE the striped Dooney!!!! That's the pattern I would get! There is also a Disney parks Dooney I like too. I currently saving up for a Louis Vuitton ag but maybe after that I'll get one of the Dooneys.

Sounds like you two had such an amazing time! I love reading your TR's. They're a perfect balance of photos and text!

 

[tink66]

Sunday, Sept. 30
At exactly 6:05 the cell phone in the stateroom next to us was ringing like crazy. I had my alarm set for 6:30 but in my sleepy stupor I thought that was one of our phones ringing. I leapt out of bed to check the phones. I was so confused when it was neither of them. LOL!

We showered, dressed, packed the final items, and got out of the stateroom at about 8:00. We had a debate over my roses and if I could bring them with me. I knew plant items is a no-no but I soooo longed to bring my roses. I knew if customs or anyone saw them they'd take them so I opted to leave them perched beautifully in our suite vs. watching some stranger throw them in a garbage can. I've never loved a single bouquet so much. It reminded me of my bouquet when we got married...

Our flight home was at 12:30-ish and we'd seen some pretty wild security check lines when we walked out from the Hyatt 3 days ago. We didn't feel comfortable lingering on the ship so we decided to find some breakfast in the airport once we cleared the security lines. As we were walking off the ship Captain Henry was there. We thanked him again for a fabulous time. I can honestly say, Capt. Henry is a very gracious host, very personable. He definitely makes a fantastic face for Disney Cruise Line. They should totally work that to their advantage!!!

We headed down to the baggage claim area and got into the customs line. We usually are off the ship well before now so we've never seen the terminal this crazy. I also noticed for the first time the crazy-awesome artwork they have down here. Gorgeous pictures that get lost in the blur of luggage and people. I turned to snap a picture of the crazy tons of people...

But a TSA or customs person immediately shouted at me, "No pictures!" Oops. Sorry. Didn't know. But then when you think about it, how dumb is it to put such beautiful things where you don't want someone to take a picture??? Just make it plain, then. Sheesh! So now my little rebel self is highly interested in how to go about gaining access to this area when photography IS allowed because it's a cryin' shame for those cool pieces to be down there. Would you put some awesome Disney art from the Vista Gallery in your garage??? No! Duh!

We got right on the bus and headed back to the airport. Goodbye Dream. See ya real soon!

Both Tracey & I dreaded the video on the bus on the way back. When we took the ME back to the airport from WDW years back it was a total tear-jerker of a video. We both wanted to fling ourselves off the moving bus it was so sad. The cruise video on the way back isn't bad at all. It's upbeat, talks about all the fun you have to look forward to when you come back. Yes! This is what we need!

We got to MCO at about 9:00. We had to check our bags with Southwest then join the herd at the security checkpoint. The line said 15 minutes wait. It was 35 minutes.

Wish we were staying here and starting over:

I got pulled for the random shoe test. New one on me. We finally got out to our terminal area and found some breakfast. I was starving! Tracey had Sbarro's pizza. I had Au Bon Pain. Good bagel. Terrible coffee.

Sat at our gate relaxing. Plugged in our phones at the cushy chairs. I edited photos on my phone. Snacked on my Remy candies. A man & woman walked up while Tracey was gone to the restroom and the man tried to park himself in Tracey's seat. Right there! With all our stuff on the floor partially in front of the chair, Tracey's stuff on the little table surface next to the chair, and the guy was just going to plop his butt down. I was like, "Um, excuse me, my husband is sitting there. He'll be back momentarily." The guy snaps back, "Well can't he sit over there?" motioning to the seat on the other side of me. The audacity! I was shocked. I was about to ask if he could just sit in that seat so I wouldn't have to move our backpack, our carryon, Tracey's charger, and the print in the folio but the wife pulled her man away saying something about sitting elsewhere. Tracey returned and asked what that was about. I explained. So nuts! In the end, where we were sitting by our gate wasn't even the gate for that couple's flight! Nuts, I tell you!

Going home. It blows.

I'm so grateful to whatever angel decided to put Starbucks in multiple locations in the airport. Bless you. Some things are a sure-fire way to take the edge off an otherwise miserable day:

Short nap on the way home. Lots of "weather" on the flight. Craziness when we got on the ground in Houston and it was only 66 degrees! Boys picked us up at the airport then we picked the dog up at the kennel. Coming home stinks but it's good to have all my babies to make it sweeter.

Thanks for tuning-in, y'all. Hopefully we'll have some other surprises pop up before too long. If not, we'll see ya again next June to share our Western Caribbean adventures on Disney's Fantasy!

I just found this trip report and loved it!! Thanks for posting it!!! I got the Pentax camera also for this trip!!

 

[s&k'smom]

I totally get the Starbucks devotion, just before a flight last year the Dunkin Donuts Angel appeared.

 

[sweetpee_1993]

Gah! I'm only a little behind on the comments! LOL!

Sooooo lemme just tell ya... I was supposed to be using this day after Thanksgiving to clean my house, do laundry and go to the gym... But then I saw this TR and sat down to read it. It' now 2:10pm and I have to leave for Rhode Island at 4pm. So no gym, laundry or cleaning for me today!! Kelly's TR is FAR more important than a clean house and clean clothes!!! lol

So much to remember but I'll try my best. Reading this has me soooo excited for our girl cruise next year!!! And reading all about the Aquaventure at Atlantis has me torn between doing that or doing the dolphin swim at Blue Lagoon. We like waterparks, but we don't love them and I've always wanted to swim with dolphins... decisions, decisions!!!

Your cabin on the ship is incredible! Judging by the video, it looks larger than my good friends whole apartment!!! lol I LOVE how the verandah juts oout over the side of the ship! And let me say that I was a little teary eyed reading about how you and the hubby sat out there during the fireworks and how perfect it was. You guys are too cute!

And reading about the cabanas makes me want to rent a cabana as well! But I know we also want too do the parasailing and we may not be able to do both We will have to see how much we can save before the trip! The cabanas look so cute and cushy!

I am so not an adventurous eater so Remy is definitely not my cup of tea but I'm so glad you enjoyed it! The desserts do look scrumptious!

LOVE the striped Dooney!!!! That's the pattern I would get! There is also a Disney parks Dooney I like too. I currently saving up for a Louis Vuitton ag but maybe after that I'll get one of the Dooneys.

Sounds like you two had such an amazing time! I love reading your TR's. They're a perfect balance of photos and text!

Sooooo, I know you're going for the dolphins in Nassau! Don't blame ya one bit! That's definitely on my bucket list. We've talked about doing a dolphin thing at various ports but we always arrive at the thought that we can do that at Discovery Cove AND get tickets for Sea World & Aquatica thus producing a whole trip unto itself. But, I'm anxious to see how it goes so don't forget to tell us all about it!

That was a killer suite we had! I wish wish wiiiiish I'd gotten a picture of the glowing blue cove in the ceiling. It was the most amazing thing to fall asleep to...faint blue glow of blissful night. Loved that bump-out verandah! Missed the heck out of it on the Magic in January! The view on that thing was the most amazing ever. If you notice every time I step off the ship I have to take a moment to look back at it and take a picture. Imagine being able to be ON the ship but still SEE the side of it from a bird's eye view. It's hard to put in words!

The cabanas are incredible. As if the idealistic paradise that is Castaway Cay isn't enough, then you have these little gems to make you feel like you're royalty living it up on your own little slice of heaven!

Since it took me over 3 months to reply to you and there's been a holiday during that time, I'll be crossing my fingers that your LV has materialized! The gal who does my hair has a LV that she said she worked a lot of extra days and saved for a long time to get. Good on her! Well, that was before she got married and had her little boy. Now her little family is splurging on a Disney cruise in April! I'm contagious!!! LOL!

It's amazing how much awesome-sauce Tracey & I packed into such a short little cruise! It was absolute bliss! I'm really hoping we can do a little something special just the two of us this year, too. We should! #20 is definitely worth celebrating!

I just found this trip report and loved it!! Thanks for posting it!!! I got the Pentax camera also for this trip!!

Love love love the Pentax! I've seen it a few times on Groupon in the past few months. Very good deal!

I totally get the Starbucks devotion, just before a flight last year the Dunkin Donuts Angel appeared.

Mmmmm...Starbucks! I hear ya on the Dunkin! I'm drinking Dunkin Hazelnut right now. I brew Dunkin at home because it's such a nice, smooth coffee.

 

[heatherkatheleen]

@sweetpee_1993 I'm totally just looking through this TR to see the pics.. I need to survive the next 18 days to make it to vacation and the only way is to fill my head with pics of what I'll be seeing soon. THANK GOODNESS for your TR otherwise I'd have gone crazy this afternoon!

 

[heatherkatheleen]

Ps- @sweetpee_1993 How's everything going with your planning? You still able to make it?

 

[englanddg]

Fantastic trip report. It really makes me anticipate my coming cruise on the Fantasy. So many little ideas of things I want to look into now.

On a side note, I wish the kid was a stronger swimmer, cause I'd really like to take her out snorkeling and touch the Nautilus. You weren't kidding with your warning, seeing that video made me sniffle a little remembering what was, after Horizons and Imagination, my favorite ride at Disney as a kid.

Cutting onions while reading trip reports is not advisable!

 

[lbrad]

I'm telling you, once upon a time we were WDW parks freaks. We thought it could get no better. I mean, what could there possibly be that's as fun as the parks on a ship??? The answer? Plenty! And there's so much you'll never do it all! There's so much to do that you can stay busy-busy all day if that's what you want. Or if you would rather just slow down & relax there's plenty of that right at your fingertips, too. The best part is that it's all infused with the Disney magic we all love so dearly. It's that old familiar warm-n-fuzzy we get. It's just in a different form. The surroundings are every bit as immersive. It's just as much of an escape if not more. There's nothing else in the world like it. Is it like the parks? It has it's similarities but then it's totally different which makes it all the more exciting and fun. We're so totally hooked. Truly!



Castaway Cay does NOT have lockers. They're only in the cabanas. I can't remember where I saw it, maybe it was on the ship or maybe it was in the airport...but they make all sorts of locking bags. Like this is one you would carry in your bag then secure those little valuables while you're off swimming. I've heard good things about this Kyss bag, as well. We've left our room keys and expensive sunglasses inside bags on our loungers twice before when we didn't have a cabana and it was fine. But then I've read where people have had stuff stolen from their loungers like their beach bags, etc. while on Castaway Cay. I think for the future if I don't get a cabana I'll prob'ly get a locking bag. It's not fool-proof but at least it would slow down a grab-n-go, right? There's always neck pouches like this, too. Just think about what your needs are and go from there.


Not surprised the cabanas are all booked up. Don't give up, tho! People cancel them all the time! Get crazy and check religiously! Also, when you get onboard go straight to Guest Services and ask to be put on a waiting list. During your cruise, someone might need to cancel. I've heard of it happening...like a family met another family and decided to split a cabana so they let one go or someone got sick and didn't feel up to leaving the ship....it happens! Also, 2 of the cabanas are never booked online prior to sailing. It's 1 on each beach. These are held back in case a concierge guest decides once they get there that they want it. The day or so before Castaway Cay day if they've not sold these "extra" cabanas they will go to the list and contact you. I've heard of that happening, too.

The first time we thought we were so smart and brought snorkel gear we picked up on clearance at Target for like $10. That was gonna save us $$ over the $20 or $25 to rent the CC gear, right? Oh no. The stuff we brought was so crappy we ended up getting frustrated and threw it away. LOL! So the stuff Tracey & I bought a month or so ago was higher-dollar dive-shop stuff. I know for 2 masks and 2 snorkels we paid over $200. But, we live near the coast. We have a LOT of cruises on the books in the coming years. We know we'll get our money's worth. Before our next cruise we'll have to take the boys to go get outfitted as well. It's nice to not have to do it all at once. For your first cruise maybe use the rental stuff on the island. Or if you think you'll get use out of it get the good stuff. I'd just hate for you to drop that coin, go on the cruise, decide it's not your thing, and be stuck with pricey snorkel stuff you'll never use again. You know? You'll have to decide on that.

And thanks for the kind words. Before my first cruise I sought out everything I could find that described everything to a "t" so I'd not feel overwhelmed and clueless. If this helps even one other person then I'd feel like it was well worth the work! I love to write about like I love to cruise....

Sweetpee your TR has helped at least 1 person ME!!!!!
LOVE all the pictures/videos & details.
DH & I are cruising on Disney Dream in November for our 25th Anniversary!!!
I cannot wait.
THANK YOU for all your insight

 

[sweetpee_1993]

Sweetpee your TR has helped at least 1 person ME!!!!!
LOVE all the pictures/videos & details.
DH & I are cruising on Disney Dream in November for our 25th Anniversary!!!
I cannot wait.
THANK YOU for all your insight

You're soooo welcome! I'm so glad you enjoyed our little getaway. Many congrats on your 25th anniversary! That's definitely something to celebrate! This year will be 20 years for us. It's hard to remember life before being a wife but then it all seems to have gone by so fast. Wouldn't trade a minute of it for anything. Be sure to share your cruisin' thoughts when you get back!

 

[oogravyoo]

You just got yourself another fan..!

Read this thread over the past two nights in between building cars. Very informative and entertaining read.

We are going on our second Disney Cruise next year and first with the kids (7&8) - inlaws will be joining us. Our first cruise was the Magics inaugural sailing in 98 if memory serves me right. There wasn't much on Castaway Kay at the time. I told my wife about your section on the cabanas. Sounds like the perfect thing to do so we hope we can get one.

Time to start anther one of your Trip Reports

 

[As Bob Sees It]

We went straight up to the concierge lounge. We walked in and ran smack into Andreia, the concierge CM who was assigned to us on the Magic in May! She made such a fuss, kisses on the cheeks & hugs. She was so excited to see us. Asked about the boys then laughed when we told her we left them at home. She said, "It feels like only yesterday you were here....." Right about then I noticed the rest of the room had gone dead silent and all the other guests were looking at us like, "Wow. Who are those people?" Not to worry, folks. It's just us. Nothing special. LOL! So we had a seat and ordered some (free!) cocktails. Woot! The lounge is so pretty! I had to be un-couth to the utmost and snap a pic of the skylight in the center of the room. It's so gorgeous!

Andreia came back over to explain all the concierge offerings on the Dream. She brought over Olivier from Remy to discuss the details for our upcoming dinner reservation there. He offered to hold a nice window table for us. So sweet! We also booked a Mixology class for tomorrow, Nassau day, at 4:00.

We didn't hang around too long. We were so eager to explore! Even tho we were on this ship just a year ago there seemed like so much we didn't see. There was no way we were going to stay nailed down to our chairs...not even for all the free drinky-drinks the bartenders were willing to fix us. Our first thought was to find some lunch but I was too excited to eat so we kept moving.

At some point we bumped into another familiar friend:

I was dying to see the inside of the Oceaneer's Club during open house. No, we had no kids with us and even if we did they were way too old for these spaces. But, it's open house so anyone can go check it out...even big kids like us! This was my goal: Tracey and his favorite character to channel...

And a nice CM was onhand to snap a pic of both of us with Rex:

Hey! It's Mike Wazowski! With ONE EYE!!!

Oh and there's a Nemo's submarine room! Yes, ladies. This one is....


...wait for iiiiiit...

Mine! Mine! MINE!

LOL! I couldn't not do it. Sorry.

Oh! Can ya see anything in there, Tracey?

It's actually a live webcam view off the bridge!

I bet if Tracey could get in here when we're docking at port he'd be the big kid hogging the periscope. Ha!

Then we went up to the Outlook Lounge. This is the top-most spot you can go on the ship. It's midship, deck 14. The space is used for weddings, receptions, and the Friends of Bill W. meetings every morning. I jacked with the color on this one so you could see the room decor and not just the bright sunlight outside:

Looks like they were all set for the morning meeting because there was a copy of this book on each table.

How do I know the significance of all this? My Grampa was a veeeery long-time friend of Bill W. & Dr. Bob. He had over 40 years with them when he passed. I have been to many meetings with my Grampa and on my own in my younger years. Bill W. & Dr. Bob are important fellows in our family, for sure.

We did stop long enough to eat a light lunch at Flo's V8 Cafe but I didn't take a picture. Wish I had. I loved my Greek wraps and panini. Mmmmm!!!!

Then, it was time for the staterooms to be READY! Here we goooooo....stateroom 11006 on deck 11 (behind the gate)...

Thanks for the video. We'll be staying in 11006 in just a couple of weeks. Unlike you though, I am in a power wheelchair. It gives me the opportunity ahead of time to figure out what I can and can't do in the room. Some furniture is gonna need to be moved. That nice bench when you came in. While it is a nice touch for some, it's in a bad place for a wheelchair user. The dining room table will need to go against the wall (there's no way I'm missing that verandah view). Looks like I may need to leave the chair outside of the bedroom and hobble in to the bed. I'll post about handicapped access to their handicapped accessible YouTUBE channel when I get back.

Again thank you for the video. It eases my mind a little.

PS: We may make use of the other cabin access door as my son & daughter-in-law will be staying there (why mess up our cabin, when we can mess up theirs). After all they paying. They are taking my wife and I for our 40th Anniversary. It's only our second cruise and our first on Disney.

Thanks again & again for the video.