Eldert Vacations

Disney Cruise - Adventures of Chip N Dales

noreply@blogger.com (Tanya Eldert) — Sun, 26 Dec 2010 04:54:00 +0000

Chip's story starts out like many other small fluffy animals, in a barrel in a retail store. But Chip's store was special it was on the Disney Cruise Ship "Magic", which fits, since Chip wears a little sailor suit with the Disney Cruise Line logo on his shirt!

Chip's adventures begin on Friday, October 24th, the last night of a Western Caribbean cruise as the ship is leaving Castaway Cay. A little girl named Sianna comes in with her Daddy, picks him up and buys him with her Daddy's Key to the World Card!

His first adventure is dinner in a place called Lumiere's as Sianna and her Mommy (Tanya) and Daddy (Mike) eat their last fancy dinner on the ship. The nice family did not forget to share their dinner with Chip.

After dinner the little girl wanted to go play with the other kids, but Chip couldn't come, so her Mommy and Daddy volunteered to Chipsit while she was in the Kid's Club.

Not having much experience watching little chipmunks, Tanya and Mike weren't sure how to entertain the new little addition in their lives. They decided to take Chip back to their rooms to finish up getting ready to leave the ship. On the way there they bumped into their friend P, who is from Thailand. P had spent all week making sure they were comfortable in their rooms and cleaning up after them. Chip wanted his picture taken with P. Chip was also able to help out with getting the luggage into the hallway.

"A tour of the ship" said Tanya, "that's what we can do for little Chip". Mike agreed and off they went to explore the Magic on all of their last night aboard.
"Where should we go first?" asked Mike.

"Deck 9" was the reply, and off they went!

As they went up the elevator, Chip got his picture taken, then again when they visited the arcade. Unfortunately, Mike had used up his arcade card allowance days ago, so they weren't able to play any games. Next a stop at the pool. Even though it was night, Chip was not alone in the pool, however he couldn't swim, since water and furry stuffed animals do not work well together!

It was important for Chip to know all the places his new family dined while they were on the ship all week. So Tanya and Mike introduced Chip to all the restaurants on deck.

Chip grabbed a quick drink at the soda fountain, shook hands with a very still Goofy then headed towards the lobby.

Since furry rodents and nosy passengers are not allowed to steer the Magic, Chip settled with the big wheel in the lobby.

Since it was evening and the Magic 'rocks' every night, Tanya and Mike decided to let Chip check out the bar scene. Chip was 21 in munk years... right?

Chip went into Diversions and wanted to play some games, then have his photo taken on a bar, but Tanya and Mike learned that the bars did have a little policy against Disney characters being shown in the same photo as alcohol... so Chip got his picture taken on a bar stool.. not the bar. Close enough.

Since smooozing with the stars is what its all about; Chip made sure he got his picture taken with some the top Disney Stars! The High School Musical 3 crowd seemed to be taken back by such a forward fuzzy fan...but hey what rodent wouldn't be star struck!

Seeing Donald's nephews and Mickey and Minnie just outside of the store where he was bought, made Chip lonely. He was thankful for the grand tour of the ship, but he wanted his friends and a nice warm bed.

Tanya and Mike understood, for how often do you see Chip without Dale? How could Sianna take home just one? And to wait another 2 years for the opportunity to get the cruisin' Dale, just didn't seem fair.
So Tanya and Mike went in the store and found Dale, and together the 4 went down to the room to surprise Sianna when she came back from the kid's club.

Later that evening both Chip and Dale got to go to the Lobby for the Final Farewell party with Sianna. There they played with their 5 ft counter parts Chip and Dale who seemed ready to take them home. But thankfully they ended up back into the arms of Sianna who took them home with her in her Princess backpack.

Our story has 2 happy endings, because in December 2010, the Elderts and Chip and Dale will join the Chip n Dale Cruisin nuts on a Eastern Caribbean Cruise.

Disney Cruise 2010 - Departure

noreply@blogger.com (Tanya Eldert) — Sat, 11 Dec 2010 05:27:00 +0000

Day Eight
Departing and Relaxing

Maybe I should call it "Departing and doing a ton of laundry".

We ate at late dining, so we got to have breakfast at 8 pm. Much nicer than the 6:45 if you had early dining (another advantage to eating late). We met Michelle, Jim and Ryan at the table for a final breakfast and pictures. Sianna said goodbye to Lauren who was only a few tables away and by 9 we were headed off the ship.

No lines this year. Just a quick run through the off loading area to find our luggage and get through customs. We snagged a porter (no way we were hauling all this luggage ourselves) and he expedited us through the line with our bags. Just an additional note, I have been through customs in several other countries and come back into the US. It is nothing like that getting off the ship. In fact, I don't even think they looked at our passports. There are separate lines if you are a US Citizen versus someone from another country, but they move you quick through there.

By the time we hit the sidewalk with our luggage to call the Country Inn and Suites for a pick up (it took them about 5 minutes or less).. we were on the bus within 15 minutes of leaving the ship!

We got the car at the Country Inn and started towards Orlando. We were at the Sheraton Vistana by 10:30.

At first they said "you are too early to check in", but I pointed out we were actually late, because our check in was the day prior (I planned it this way). We were put in the new rooms in the Spa Cove area.

When I say 'new', I mean NEW. The building's outside still smelled of fresh paint (inside was fine) and apparently it had just opened the day before so we were the first guests staying in 444.

It was a nice 2 Bedroom, 2 bath apartment and was huge! There was a separate dressing and makeup room, dining room, full kitchen and a balcony that overlooked the pond.

So we put the brand new washer and dryer to the test with a weeks worth of laundry for 3! I think I did about 8 loads (small washer).

Mike had the 'I feel like I am still on the ship' feeling for about 2 days after getting off. Dramamine helped and he wasn't as sick as before, and at least this time we knew about it and it didn't hit us by surprised. Of course, Sianna was fine. I took 1 pill the 2nd day, but it definitely was not as bad as the last time we cruised.

Mike napped 1/2 the afternoon and Sianna was asleep in front of her bedroom TV by 7:30. I went grocery shopping, finished the laundry, and caught up on over 300 emails.

No rest for the weary.

Disney Cruise 2010 - Day Seven - Castaway Cay

noreply@blogger.com (Tanya Eldert) — Fri, 10 Dec 2010 05:09:00 +0000

Day Seven - Castaway Cay

I remember when I cruised 2 1/2 years ago. I wasn't looking forward to 'just another beach'. Hey, I live at the beach, I can get sand in my bathing suit daily if I so desired.

Castaway Cay is different. It is all the good parts of the beach put together in a space where you can do 'lots of stuff' in a day. Of course you can not 'do it all', there are way too many trips and toys to choose from to get close to doing it all.

This trip we chose the packages with the snorkeling, rafts/tubes, and bikes. Me, I mainly relaxed, though I did swim with Sianna some and try out the tubes and rafts. Sianna and Mike started out snorkeling, since we had heard that the earlier the better. Of course the earlier the 'cooler' too. The water was 'crisp' but not unbearable. In fact at a certain point when the breeze started up, the water was warmer than the air when you were wet.

They snorkeled all the way out to find the sunken Mickey (there is also ships and Minnie down there too!). During this time I relaxed on the raft, sunned, got drinks and iced the beer and Long Island Ice Tea in the rolling cooler we brought on shore.

We missed each other a bit, since I was also going to the Island Post Office to mail some post cards from the Bahamas (only .65 cents each) and watched some of the crew with life boat practice. They had to turn a life boat right side up and haul in 'injured passengers'. It was interesting. I also got pictures of all the characters wandering around the island.

Anyway, they got back after exploring one of the kid's swim stands off the beach and when we all finally met up again we headed to lunch. BBQ! And it smelled great. Warning, do not leave your plates unattended. We watched a family near us leave full plates on the table unattended, I guess to get drinks. 1 minute later there were 10 little yellow finches having lunch. It was amazing to watch. They got new plates of food when they returned.

While eating we stopped to enter our family in a crab race. We did not win, but had fun cheering on hermit crab #6. Then Mickey, Pluto & Goofy came over to entertain the group, add in Minnie a few minutes later and they were all doing a Macarena with the crowd. It was fun.

After lunch, Mike relaxed and Sianna and I went to go down the new Pelican Plunge water slide. You have to swim out to it (not a big deal), but then you climb the stairs and wait your turn. Too cold! I went back in the water and tread water until Sianna came down. After that I dropped her off at the Caribbean Party at the Kid's Club Area, Scuttles Cove.

Mike took his pass and went to go do his 1 hour bike ride. The rental is only an hour for the bike, but unlimited on the rafts and tubes (which you can trade back and forth as you so desire through the day). According to him, it took an hour of steady riding to get to the lookout and back, and had Sianna been with him, they would have never made it!

During this time I drank, relaxed, picked up our lounger area, returned the snorkeling gear and the tubes and towels. I was a bit concerned about not getting back to Sianna before the kid's area closed. But I learned from a counselor that parents 'forget the kids' all the time on the Island, and that the counselors get them onboard and back into the kid's club on the ship. Nice of the Cast Members not to leave the kids alone on the Island for a few days. Can you imagine? However, if they wanted to leave me, I would be perfectly fine! I hear some of the food is stored there, the cabanas are nice, and I could get some real quiet time until the Wonder comes in a few days!

Back to reality. We picked up Sianna, who did not want to leave her friend Lauren. Lauren is from Vegas, so the chance of them getting together soon after the cruise considering we are in Virginia, is pretty slim. But they had a great time on the ship together and exchanged emails to stay in contact.

Got the kid, got the husband, back on the ship. Did I mention the snow? Yep, they had snow. Ok, it was 70 some degrees, so it wasn't real. But the kids loved the snow maker they had set up beside the big tree and sled that was on the dock next to the ship. In fact when you got off the ship, they had hot coffee and chocolate they were handing out to guests.

That night was our last night onboard. Very sad time. Lots of packing (bags have to be out the stateroom door between 8:30 and 10:30. Which means pack them before dinner and set them out as soon as you get back. Squish in that time period a LONG line in Shutters to get your pictures, return kid wrist bands and pagers to the Kid's Club, last supper, a good bye party in the atrium, and a Cast Member skit about what they would do if they weren't at sea (for adults only); and you have a full evening.

When we collapsed in bed at 11:30 we just wanted our last cookies and milk room service, so I called them when we got to the room. And we waited. And waited. And started falling asleep, so at 12:15 called to say "if it is not on the way, cancel it, we are going to bed". The lady checked, "on its way". She called back 10 minutes later. OOPS.. It was delivered to another room. "Did we still want it?" Of course "No" was the answer and we went to bed.

It was a disappointing way to end the cruise.

Disney Cruise 2010 - Day Six - Day at Sea

noreply@blogger.com (Tanya Eldert) — Thu, 09 Dec 2010 05:06:00 +0000

Day Six - Day at Sea

Today was our 3rd day at sea.. and it was yucky weather. I didn't mind since almost everything I wanted to do was inside; but the kids on the cruise really missed running around the pools all day.

Our morning started out in Animator's Palate learning to draw Jimney Cricket. Then rushing to Parrot's Cay for our Mickey Island Jam Breakfast. The food wasn't much different from the buffets we had all week, but the company was a blast. All the characters stopped by the table and we got all the autographs we hadn't gotten this week. As we were leaving to go to a trivia challenge, we passed the line for the Princesses. Sianna decided to get her picture taken with them so we stood in line for over 45 minutes (the longest of the week) so she could hug the Princesses.

Mike and I saw Tangled. He liked it too. We raced vegetable cars as a family this year. Our car Go Go Mickey did not win for speed, but won for best looking car. We did another mouse. Good thing Mike was there or it would have never made it down the track.

This evening we ate at Palo, which is a very nice Italian restaurant on board for adults only. When I had talked to the kid's staff when checking Sianna in they noted to not 'bother us' unless of an emergency. Well that jinxed it. Mike got beeped just after our main course was sat down. Sianna had been drinking out of the fountain and the stool slipped and she hit her throat on the corner of the fountain.

We told the staff, left our meal on the table and went down. It throat was red and swollen. Mike got decent ice on it (versus their cold packs that didn't really get cold and lasted about 2 minutes) and had her start drinking ice water. She really did a number on it and had bruising right on her wind pipe for several days. Given the choice though; 1- go with Mommy & Daddy and rest in the cabin or 2 - Stay in the kid's club and we finish our dinner... she chose 2.

Palo was very understanding, sweet even. They held our table, got us fresh entrees, and even got Sianna a soft vanilla desert to take with us. We left them a large tip. It was a wonderful evening and it was a pleasure to have some 'quiet' time. The kid's club kept apologizing for beeping us, which we told them that is what they should have done and that we were not upset at all. She was our daughter and took precedence over a dinner any day.

After dinner we met Sianna at dinner. She had gone to dinner with Jim and Michelle because she wanted the lobster. When I got there, she had forgotten to order the lobster and had Mickey Mac n Cheese instead! Our week with our wait staff was a bit challenging. Our assistant server was brand new and though very nice, really had to refer to Isaac to do anything. When I asked him for Sianna's Mickey Ice Cream Bar so she could go to the kid's club, he first had to ask Isaac, then when it came, he put it on the wait staff table next to us for Isaac to serve on a plate. Now I know that is 'proper' Disney technique to serve a bar, but Sianna really was jumping out of the seat to go. Rather than grab it and give it to her in the wrapper (which I wanted to do), I asked Limbert again. So he grabbed an unused plate off an empty table, opened it and gave it to her. Really, it was an ice cream bar.

At the end of the night, I felt like relaxing again, and Mike headed out to the 'clubs' for a little comedy.
Tomorrow is Castaway Cay.

Disney Cruise 2010 - Day Five - St. Thomas

noreply@blogger.com (Tanya Eldert) — Wed, 08 Dec 2010 05:05:00 +0000

Day Five - St. Thomas

Since we cancelled our snorkeling trip on St. John we really had no plans for the day. We decided to hang with Jim and Michelle for the day and they were talking about taking a gondola to the top of a mountain.

Originally their son, Ryan, who was 12, was coming, but he changed his mind. Once Sianna learned no other children were coming with us, she also opted to stay on the ship. A repeat of the previous day she didn't miss us and had a great time.

We met Jim and Michelle at Parrot Cay and headed to the theatre to get tickets to tender ashore. Apparently there were so many ships in dock, they take turns who tenders and who doesn't. This was apparently our week to tender. It just took a little extra time to get on a ferry for a 5 minute ride ashore. They had 3 boats running the whole time, so there wasn't much of a wait.

We tendered over with the Disney VoluntEARS. These are staff members who volunteer to help communities that they visit. Today they were taking a load of toys to a hotel to give out gifts to foster children. Chip N Dale went with them (they were on an earlier tender) and I bumped into them in the hallway and their assistant told me where they were going. (In case anyone wonders, characters always have 1 or 2 cast members who help them 'speak to the public', maneuver around, and help with autographs and pictures.)

When we got over there we searched for a taxi to get to the thing going up the mountain. We were solicited by a guy who said the price was $21 to go up the mountain each and $4 each to get a taxi there. It seemed a little high and Michelle said she thought she heard that Wednesday's were 1/2 price. Since he was trying to sell us on his tour, not what we wanted to do, we found someone who just came back. She confirmed it would be $29 each for round trip taxi and ride up the mountain. We decided it was more than we wanted to spend and we would shop instead.

I bought gifts for Mike's Santa exchange, our regular shot glass, and a pair of earrings that were very pretty and earthy. I also got an Atlantic ocean 'treasure map'. Who knew there was a ship that sunk not far from our house with 4,000,000 on board? Now I know Mike needs to start diving again :)

We went to a place called "Coconuts" for lunch. It was the place for 'locals' and the food was very reasonably priced (compared to several other tourist traps) and pretty good. Jim and Mike learned about it from a small 'bar' table that was at the beginning of one of the alleys. It had a sign on it that said "Husband Parking". Mike and Jim parked there and had several beers while Michelle and I shopped. I got an ornament for Christmas that was tropical with a cruise ship, she got a gold necklace.

We eventually headed back to the ship around 1 ish. I grabbed the kid and our suits and we hit the pool before the arrivals back got too insane. It got insanely busy after about an hour or two, so we watched the boat leave port, waited for the first dinner hour when most people leave to jump in the family pool together.

After that, I kinda had it with crowds. I wanted a shower, my casual clothes, and to chill someplace quiet. Sianna decided to eat with me at Topsiders, but that didn't work out so great. It wasn't a buffet, but a formal dinner, that neither one of us wanted. So she grabbed a hot dog and went back to the clubs, and I got room service.

Not throughout the day I had been having trouble with the toilet in our room. When I went to flush it in the morning, it didn't flush when I hit the button. It isn't rocket science, you hit the button on the wall behind the toilet it flushes. However, Mike went in 15 minutes later and it worked for him, so I wrote it off as I was doing something wrong since it was early in the morning and I hadn't had my coffee yet.

Later in the afternoon it did it again. So I called customer service. They told me they would handle it, that they could flush it remotely. VERY scary thinking someone in a control room can flush the toilet for you. Anyway, I left, came back, and instead of being flushed, it was filled with water ready to overflow. Called again. "Very sorry, someone will be right there" He was, it was fixed, the day went on. One or two hours later... button doesn't work again. Now it is getting slightly irritating. I grabbed my ipad and headed to the Cafe Cove (adult coffee house on deck 9) where I am writing this, while waiting for my room to be serviced and my toilet fixed.

I really wanted an evening of quiet in my cabin. Mike is eating at Lumieres with Michelle and Jim. I just could not get 'dressed' another night; and an afternoon by the pool was just a stimulation overload for me. I am so use to spending my days working in a quiet office in the house with my sweats and t-shirts and working on the computers, that spending the last 5 days with over 1,500 people on a boat, and I just fried. So here I sit, in a place as close Starbucks (familiar territory) that I can find, wearing my stretch pants and t-shirt.

Tomorrow is our day at sea. We'll see how it goes.

Disney Cruise 2010 - Day Four - St. Martin

noreply@blogger.com (Tanya Eldert) — Tue, 07 Dec 2010 05:01:00 +0000

Day Four - St. Martin

Today was our first shore excursion, St. Martin/ St. Marteen (who knows how you are truly suppose to spell it, I've seen it both ways. Probably one depends if you are on the Dutch side and the other on the French side.

We were suppose to meet at 9 am right off the boat for our tour of the Island with Bernard's Tours. It was a trip I had booked on the Internet. Good decision. I will talk about the tour more, but I really thing we got a deal for our $35 each.

So, we decided to let room service wake us up. Bad idea. I checked 7 am to 7:30 for the delivery. The phone rings at 6:30! Just a call to let us know the guy was headed to our room with our breakfast, which came promptly at 7. Not really what I envisioned when setting it up.

So off to an early start we ate breakfast in our room, then went up to watch the ship dock in St. Martin. After that kids club. Sianna did not want to go, she wanted to stay in the kid's club. Probably for the best. The kids on our tour were exhausted by the end, and though we did make frequent stops, for very active kids like Sianna, boredom would have probably set in. This of course leads to whiny, irritating behavior which may have ruined our trip. So we explained to her she could check herself out for a better lunch on the deck, but to come straight back to the kid's club when she was done. We also talked to the counselors that we would be on shore, without beeper access. They were fine with this, and of course by this time knew her well enough after 3 days to know she would be fine.

We left the ship for a nice docking area. It was very clean, well kept and no one soliciting you to buy or ride anything. In fact that is why you have to book the tour with Bernard BEFORE you arrive. He can only take passengers on his prearranged list on the tour, to assure he is not soliciting passengers as they exit the ship.

We found tour location and check in, it was only a few minutes walk off of the ship dock. Our driver basically took us over the entire island, something that I heard not many of the tours did through the ship. I was also run but locals who shared the history of the island, the politics, told us about the social aspects, school systems, and tourism places and history. It was fascinating and when I left I felt like I really learned alot about the culture, not just made a tourist stop.

Our first stop was for bananas. Yep, one minute for the driver to pop out and get a small bunch of bananas. They were for the 2nd stop. An out of the way spot of land that looked like a cross between a chicken farm and dump with a little lake with swans. At first I'm thinking "Not off to a good start. The driver forgot his lunch and his idea of a tour is a chicken coop."

Well the stop was actually to see the iguana. Now my husband had a HUGE iguana when I first met him. He found a good home for him when the baby was due, so iguanas really aren't a novelty for us. But this was a bit different.

When we arrived there was a huge male near the lake so the driver threw him some of the bananas. Then he started scattering the ground with banana chunks. Guess who came to visit? Tons of iguanas. Smaller females about 1 or 2 ft in length running EVERYWHERE snatching up bananas. They were all wild, but had learned 'not to bite the hand that feeds you' and would come when the driver and the bananas came.   Even some of the small girls on the tour fed them pieces of banana. I think for the kids it was the highlight of the trip.

The highlights for the adults. Free beer and rum. Yep. He handed around a bottle island rum that could have put grain alcohol to shame, and encourage all adults to try a shot or two. He also had a cooler full of beer called "Caribe" It was a light lager and Mike enjoyed several of them throughout the trip. No extra charge. The kids and non-drinking adults had a full cooler of fruit punch pouch drinks, water, and soda. Again, no extra cost besides the tour.

The next stop was an overlook on the French side the Island. It was windy and overcast, but we still had a good view.   Next was a stop by Orient beach on the French side of the Island. It is right next to a nudist resort. We were given an option of going to the area next to the nudist beach, where clothing was optional or going to a 'fun' beach where clothes had to be worn. He did let us know all the restaurants and bars were at the main beach. We got off there. Except seeing the backside of one man when we drove up in the nudist resort beach area, I didn't see anyone else unclothed. Obviously you are taking your chances, but mostly the people I saw were from the cruise ships.

Mike and I walked down the beach, checking out various menus. We finally figured out that for that part of the island the dollar equaled the Euro. Weird, but they probably catered to a large American market and did not want to loose the tourist money bartering out an exchange rate. We found a nice 'outdoor' tiki hut that was actually a series of tiki huts strung together with 2 restaurants, showers, and loungers. Since Mike was hungry we started with a pizza. Very Good. Then they gave us free shot of rum mixed with sugar and mint. One dip in with my finger told me it was too sweet and strong for me, so Mike drank both of ours. He said it was an 'after meal' refresher that was like shooting mint Scope.

We had coffee with a little challenge. Being French they started to make me a shot of expresso, but someone who spoke English better at the bar explained to her how to make it like "American Coffee". The result was a big strong cup of coffee that was not bitter and went down very smooth. If I could get that in America, I probably would not have to creamerize/sugarize every cup I drink.   I think that was the only coffee I've ever drank with no cream.

About 1/2 way through the meal, it started to rain. Not a heavy downpour like you get in the afternoon in Puerto Vallarta, mostly a light drizzle, but many flocked in from the beach. We had already decided we weren't going to swim. It was just too windy and chilly for me.

So as I was leaving I got another first. Using the restroom in the rain. The bathrooms don't have roofs. 3 walls and a door with a standard toilet, but no roof. So I got to sit in the rain, and all I could think of was "I've got to tell Sianna I got to pee in the rain".

After our 2 hour beach stop we went to meet the bus and move on around the island. I think the next stop was the 'flea market'. I'm not sure if it was on the French or Dutch side, but we looked around a bit and got a shot glass and a few post cards.

We also went to the #3 Extreme Airport in the World. I'm not sure if it was the airport or the 'extreme' spectators that made it an interesting stop. We watched a 747 land a few feet above our heads, and another big plane take off with the jets blasting right at the people standing on the beach. There are signs with people and 'things' being blown right into the ocean from the jets as they take off. The planes lane so close to the beach and road that a rental car lost their windshield into the ocean when the tourist tried to drive down the road when a plane was taking off.

So we stopped by the bar that is literally right next door. The bar caters to all the 'nuts' wanting to get 'buzzed' by a 747 and has a huge surf board where they write down the times in and out for all the major planes. (fyi - the board doesn't list all the flights and we got buzzed by a 747 that wasn't even listed)

This is also the stop where you 'pay for your trip'. We got to meet Bernard at the flea market stop, and from what I could tell he works the vans along with several others and they had at least 3 on the road that day. To pay, someone from his office comes on the van and takes your payment (cash or credit card). We tipped the driver cash at the last stop.

Anyway, after the airport we head down to the town near the cruise terminal. It looked like a 20 minute walk back (through a shopping district), and we were already tired, so we opted not to get out. The driver took us into the port terminal area and dropped the remaining few of us off right beside the ship. The tour started at 9 and lasted until 2:30. We saw the whole island and had unlimited alcohol and drinks for $35 each. Beat that on a ship tour!

So we get up on the ship and run to the kids area. After all, we had been gone all day, our little one probably missed us. Wrong. "Are you back already? I'm having fun, I don't want to leave. Another hour please?" I'm glad she is an independent child - but it would have been nice to be missed!

We get her an hour later, after Mike and I are dressed and ready to go for Pirate night.    She changes, we grab snacks from deck 9 and run down to the big theatre to watch Tangled in 3 D. Boy has 3D changed! I'm not sure if it is the big techie things Disney has done to THEIR theatre but Tangled in 3D was awesome.

Mike never saw it. His eyes were closing/closed while waiting for it to start. So I sent him to the room to rest versus his snoring disturbing the movie.   Afterwards we ran out of the theatre to the main lobby for pictures with Captain Hook and Smee. I had to call Mike and wake him up to tell him where to meet us and to bring the autograph book. We even had Sianna's new Duffy Bear dressed in an eye patch and red head scarf, just like Sianna. Of course, Captain Hook had to mess with him, and pull of all his gear, so that picture did not come out too well.   We tried to get a picture with Pirate Mickey, but the line was huge, so we opted to go upstairs to get a shot with Jack Sparrow.

Next we hoped to go to Studio Sea to play a pirate game show as a family. Who knew, this year it was only for kids, so Sianna ran in and deserted her dear family again. Mike and I grabbed some rum and drinks and headed to the top for some alone time before dinner.

The pirate dinner has my favorite food yet. A very good conch soup, jerk chicken, and grilled well seasoned scallops and shrimp. Yummy. We ran out before desert to get Sianna (who only made it 1/2 way through the meal - because she wanted to play in the kids area).

After dinner we went up, got Sianna out of the kid's club and headed to the deck for the pirate party. I took with me about 50 beaded necklaces from New Orleans and other places, 20 or so glow sticks and some tattoos. I gave them away to the kids who weren't dressed for Pirate night, or hadn't bought glow things from the 'sales cart on wheels'. It felt like Christmas. Most kids and parents really appreciated the generosity, and it was probably one of my favorite parts of the evening.

There was dancing, Mickey flying down on a wire to get Captain Hook, and fireworks. Lots of fun. Afterwords, for those not already stuffed from dinner..another late night buffet with huge turkey legs, meat, crepes, and tons of cheese cakes and deserts. Then Pirates of the Caribbean on the big screen on deck. Sianna checked herself into the club for another 1/2 hour after the main show, then we pulled her out for bed. Another late night.

Disney Cruise 2010 - Day Three - At Sea

noreply@blogger.com (Tanya Eldert) — Mon, 06 Dec 2010 05:00:00 +0000

Day Three
Another Day at Sea

This morning started with our own alarm clock going off. I wanted to go to a scrap booking 'class' at 9:30 and Sianna wanted to be dropped off in the club. After a few minutes it was obvious I would never make it waiting for her, so I got ready and went up to the buffet for breakfast. A spinach omelet (well 1/2 of one) and I passed them as I was going out. Too bad. It wasn't worth it. I got 2 insert sheets and someone trying to sell another cruise, and cut outs that may have worked in a kiddie book, but nothing great. They were selling some nice scrap booking items, but apparently you can get most of them in the store anytime.

I went back to the cabin to find a note that Mike was in the hot tub. Toss on my suit and off I go.. to find out the hot tub was cold. Not sure why. They did warn me. Oh well.

By this time it is time for lunch, so we get Sianna out of the clubs, get her suit on under her clothes and head for lunch and Luminere's good choice. No buffet, just a nice lunch we a seafood sampler, mango soup with a main course. Too bad the mango soup must have gone over my carb level. It caused me to have the dumping syndrome so not only did I miss the main course, I got to spend the next 1/2 hour in bed feeling like crap.

I know, I know, the way my day was going I should have just stayed there :)

But I did get up and head to pick up Sianna at the pool for an animation class. We drew Mickey Mouse with a Santa hat. It was fun. Next origami to make butterflies. However, Sianna had reached her limit for sitting and she was off to the kid's club while I had to make both of our butterflies.

Today we did go see the only evening show of the week, Villains. We had seen the others last cruise and just didn't see the need to repeat them. We always found another activity before dinner, like pictures, games shows, or family activities rather than worrying about seeing a repeated show.

Villains was good. I'm glad we took the time to see it. Afterward we headed to Studio Sea to watch a quick game of Who Wants to be a Mouseketeer? We weren't picked this time, (I was selected last cruise), in fact lots of kids ended up being selected and did fairly well considering their young age. The we headed to dinner at Animator's Palate. Our new dining servers really couldn't keep up with the dress up, food, show rotation thing, and the dinner seemed to lack the show quality that it did the first time. Still we got through most of the dinner before being abandoned by the children. Sianna left for the kids club for a special 'girl's night'. She had a good time doing the "Girls Chill" in the lab and ended up with a purple butterfly tattoo on her arm that lasted the week.

Disney Cruise 2010 - Day Two - At Sea

noreply@blogger.com (Tanya Eldert) — Mon, 06 Dec 2010 04:58:00 +0000

Day Two

A Day At Sea

Started with a 9 a.m. wake up call from Mom of Emma. "Was Sianna going to be at the kids club at 10"? Sure.. after we rushed around to get dressed, tried taking Sianna for brunch at Lumineres only to have a melt down she didn't want this food, and going up to Topsiders for the breakfast buffet.

After she went to the kids club Mike and I tried to move on with our day. This was actually harder than we thought considering both of us were trying to come out of a drugged morning haze. The morning passed between chilling in the room and chilling in the adult cove.

Later in the afternoon I did a Disney Vacation Club presentation in hopes to win 300. Didn't win, but did get paged by Sianna 1/2 way through she was done in the kid's club because Emma had gone to the pool. So she finished the presentation with me, got changed to go to the pool only to find out that the Mickey pool was being cleaned. Which means someone had an accident in there, because no one cleans the kiddie pool on a cruise ship on a day at sea, in the afternoon without there having been an accident. No cruise line is that stupid, because the result was 10 million kids trying to swim in the bigger person pool and trying not to drown. That was Sianna, there were so many little kids in there hanging on to the wall that she couldn't even get to it to hang on when she was tired. I successfully pulled her out when I saw Minnie Mouse getting pictures. First Minnie, then Chip n Dale, then getting dressed for Tea With Alice.

Now when we went to the Tea 2 years ago, Sianna was selected as one of the two children to be the March Hare. This year she was selected to be the white rabbit. She was very happy, even though I had warned her before going in that she most likely not be selected. Guess I was wrong.

Since we were already dressed for formal dinner, we got Mike and all went to the Captain's reception. Pictures with the Captain, pictures in front of the tree, then off to play wii. We were the only 3 who showed.. so it was a private wii game. Then Karaoke, we all got up and sang our own songs, Sianna Best of Both Worlds, me doing Cher, and Mike singing me The Dance.

After that we got some pictures taken with Donald in his Tux and headed for dinner. It was Prince & Princess night with formal attire. Sianna tried the scallops, potato and sausage soup and lamb. She at it all, changed into her play clothes and rushed out to the kids club where she spent the evening doing girls night until we picked her up a little before midnight.

We headed to the Alfred and Seymour comedy show, which was very funny. We got Sianna right afterwards, before midnight, but since we were all still up we decided to get milk and cookies before going to bed. Nice treat, but it was a long day.

Disney Cruise - December 2010 - Day One

noreply@blogger.com (Tanya Eldert) — Sun, 05 Dec 2010 04:56:00 +0000

Day One,
Boarding...

6 a.m. That is when we woke up. Part of the reason was that we went to bed at 8 pm. Yep. Main reason for the early bedtime was the fact we had drove overnight from VA to FL and had only about 2 hours of sleep at 10:30 when we checked into the hotel. Reason 2 for waking up at 6 am.. too excited to sleep.

We were staying at the Country Inn and Suites about 2 miles (or less) from the boarding dock. We could see the ships from our room on the 3rd floor. Too bad we couldn't see the Magic, the Carnival Dream (which is huge) was docked in front of it and you could see it from our view.

One comment on the Country Inn and Suites.. great deal with the park and ride for $20 and the guy who runs the shuttles over - has it going! This guy should guide in and schedule planes at an airport. Despite the fact that the ships and people getting off were a bit late - he had a huge van of us and luggage on, organized, and to the port in about 10 minutes. We had to be there by 9:45 and we pulled up at 10 a.m. It was convenient and we never touched our main bags after getting them on the shuttle.

Now, we are there at 10:00 with people still waiting to get picked up PLUS a sidewalk FULL over people waiting to get on. It seemed extra crowded because of the crossover. We waited a 1/2 hour on the sidewalk to be allowed to the terminal.

We were boarding group 2. :) So cool. It was an advantage to get on early, considering I had to go to guest services twice, excursions desk twice, and one of the lounges *to cancel our palo lunch and tea'.
While I was running around, Mike and Sianna got a table for lunch at Parrots Cay. Good thing, by the time we left lunch, it was full with a 20 min wait for a table.

We had decided to save money and skip tea and brunch at Palo, but kept our dinner reservation. We also decided to skip our big tour of turtle bay and all day snorkel, since we were going to do a day of snorkeling at Discovery Cove, which is why I had to go to the excursion desk twice.

Despite the fact it only made it into the 60s in florida that day, and we were all wearing long pants still, Sianna had to go swimming in the Mickey Pool. Luckily all the pools are heated and 85 degrees, so she was fine and went down the slide dozens of times.

When we finally got down to the room, Mickey had left Sianna a Tinkerbell stocking with cool little books, pens, towels and activities. The ship left us our first castaway bag, which was really nice with rice Krispy sandals and water bottles and a key chain.

Plus some of our first fish extenders arrived with really nice water bottles and printed lanyards for the Cruisin nuts. We decorated our door - it was full, you would not have missed us coming down the hall!

The going away party was fun, but full of drama because Sianna still had not connected with her online friend Emma, who is 7 and also an only child. After several texts with her Mom, cell phones still in range, we finally connected and it was like two peas in a pod meeting.

We got unpacked after that and headed to watch the King Triton tree lighting. It was at 7:30 and we had already nibbled at plutos grill, and had dinner scheduled at 8:15. I think this late dining is going to lead to 4 meals a day. I did dozens of flights of stairs because the elevator lines, but I'm not sure if that will off set all the food!

One of Sianna's new friends was chosen to be King Triton and light the tree, then we went to the game show Mickey Mania. Sianna was upset she was not chosen, but had a good time during audience participation and was pretty good with a lot of the questions.

Dinner at Parrots Cay became a fiasco, poor Sianna hit her exhaustion wall and the high waves and rough seas finally kicked in. The result was a tired, tearful child who had to go back to the room to throw up several times. A little bit of nausea medicine and she was good to go.

I of course had to go back with her and had only had 1/2 of my appetizer crab dip by the time she had to leave. Mike brought me my shrimp and avocado salad with chilled mango soup back to the room. I at the shrimp and a few spoonfuls of soup and called it a night.

Florida 2008 - After Cruise

noreply@blogger.com (Tanya Eldert) — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 19:48:00 +0000

Day 8 - 14
Florida and Coming Home

Getting up early in the morning and getting off the ship was not my favorite time of the cruise. I think next time we follow some advice, skip breakfast and off load between meal seatings. Unfortunately, something delayed the off boarding, so there was a huge line from the lobby to past Parrot Cay to get off and we were somewhere in the middle, waiting for about an hour. Add to it grumpy child, yucky weather, up too early, too much luggage to load, and very sad to be leaving, we were not in the mood. After getting off the ship a porter helped us with all our bags out to the area for the Avis shuttle pick up. The van picked us up, drove next door to Carnival for a pick up, then back to Disney again for someone else, then to the office. We got our rental car and headed to Orlando. We had originally decided to stop by Kennedy Space Center, but it would have been over $100 for all of us, and we were already tired, so we decided maybe next time, pre-cruise. Our resort was Summer Bay, and it was a very nice place with numerous pools, lake, and putt putt course. We got there about 10:30 and they got us our room quickly so we were settled by lunch. I went shopping and Mike and Sianna went swimming in the afternoon. After dinner, Sianna fell asleep on the couch watching TV at 6 pm, and slept through the entire night! Poor thing had saved all her exhaustion until she got off the ship.

On the weekend they were having a Halloween special event at SeaWorld and we had decided when we were visiting before the cruise, that we would come back the Sunday after the cruise. Sianna dressed up like a pirate again since we didn't bring any other costumes with use.

WHAT a madhouse! I have NEVER seen SeaWorld that crazy full of people. Anyway we braved the lines for candy and few rides, and saw the Sesame Street Halloween show, but we left fairly early saying we would come back once again to feed the dolphins.

Between Monday and Wednesday I got sick with a cold. It was semi-miserable, but I kept consoling myself that at least the cruise was over. We still managed to go to the Arabian Night Dinner Show, Busch Gardens Tampa Bay, and back again to SeaWorld.

The ride home on the airplane was thankfully uneventful. The flight was delayed about an hour, but besides that everything went smoothly. Sianna did not throw up, we sat in the back of the plane, which did not have as much fumes, so maybe that was it. Mike did a good job of keep her distracted because I felt so ill with my sickness and nausea that I could not have dealt with her if she did throw up.

Just a little side note... Mike spent 4 days after the cruise adapting to be on land and his landsickness was worse than any seasickness he had on the ship. I had some, but on top of that my stomach was iffy from what I was fighting off, so I was just a mess to begin with!

Disney Cruise Oct 2008 - Towel Animals

noreply@blogger.com (Tanya Eldert) — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 19:50:00 +0000

Special thanks to P for his animal expertise.

Saturday Night - Snake
Sunday Night - Dog
Monday Night - Elephant
Tuesday Night- Stingray After visiting Stingray bar
Wednesday Night - Pirate Night Pirate Monkey
Thursday Night
Friday Night	I had so much luggage on the bed for packing he probably couldn't find a space left to put one!

Disney Cruise - Adventures of Chip N Dales

noreply@blogger.com (Tanya Eldert) — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 20:06:00 +0000

Adventures of Chip... and Dale

By Tanya Eldert

Chip's story starts out like many other small fluffy animals, in a barrel in a retail store. But Chip's store was special it was on the Disney Cruise Ship "Magic", which fits, since Chip wears a little sailor suit with the Disney Cruise Line logo on his shirt! Chip's adventures begin on Friday, October 24th, the last night of a Western Caribbean cruise as the ship is leaving Castaway Cay. A little girl named Sianna comes in with her Daddy, picks him up and buys him with her Daddy's Key to the World Card!

His first adventure is dinner in a place called Lumiere's as Sianna and her Mommy (Tanya) and Daddy (Mike) eat their last fancy dinner on the ship. The nice family did not forget to share their dinner with Chip.

After dinner the little girl wanted to go play with the other kids, but Chip couldn't come, so her Mommy and Daddy volunteered to Chipsit while she was in the Kid's Club.

As they went up the elevator, Chip got his picture taken, then again when they visited the arcade. Unfortunately, Mike had used up his arcade card allowance days ago, so they weren't able to play any games. Next a stop at the pool. Even though it was night, Chip was not alone in the pool, however he couldn't swim, since water and furry stuffed animals do not work well together!

It was important for Chip to know all the places his new family dined while they were on the ship all week. So Tanya and Mike introduced Chip to all the restaurants on deck.

Chip grabbed a quick drink at the soda fountain, shook hands with a very still Goofy then headed towards the lobby.

Since furry rodents and nosy passengers are not allowed to steer the Magic, Chip settled with the big wheel in the lobby.

Since it was evening and the Magic 'rocks' every night, Tanya and Mike decided to let Chip check out the bar scene. Chip was 21 in munk years... right?

Chip went into Diversions and wanted to play some games, then have his photo taken on a bar, but Tanya and Mike learned that the bars did have a little policy against Disney characters being shown in the same photo as alcohol... so Chip got his picture taken on a bar stool.. not the bar. Close enough.

Since smooozing with the stars is what its all about; Chip made sure he got his picture taken with some the top Disney Stars! The High School Musical 3 crowd seemed to be taken back by such a forward fuzzy fan...but hey what rodent wouldn't be star struck!

Seeing Donald's nephews and Mickey and Minnie just outside of the store where he was bought, made Chip lonely. He was thankful for the grand tour of the ship, but he wanted his friends and a nice warm bed.

Tanya and Mike understood, for how often do you see Chip without Dale? How could Sianna take home just one? And to wait another 2 years for the opportunity to get the cruisin' Dale, just didn't seem fair.

So Tanya and Mike went in the store and found Dale, and together the 4 went down to the room to surprise Sianna when she came back from the kid's club.

Later that evening both Chip and Dale got to go to the Lobby for the Final Farewell party with Sianna. There they played with their 5 ft counter parts Chip and Dale who seemed ready to take them home. But thankfully they ended up back into the arms of Sianna who took them home with her in her Princess backpack.

Our story has 2 happy endings, because in December 2010, the Elderts and Chip and Dale will join the Chip n Dale Cruisin nuts on a Eastern Caribbean Cruise.

Disney Cruise Oct 2008 - Day Seven - Castaway Cay

noreply@blogger.com (Tanya Eldert) — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 19:47:00 +0000

Let me start by saying that despite its glowing reviews, I wasn't prepared to be that thrilled over Castaway Cay. Primary reason is that I live at the beach and 6 to 8 months out of the year I can go there to swim on a regular basis. We didn't book any excursions, which is probably good, because it was so windy outside of the coves all boating excursions were cancelled. I'm guessing that is one reason the beaches were pretty crowded. However, despite my reservations, it is a beautiful little island and I'd be happy to move there anytime someone will let me :)
I think the ship was running a little late, but by the time we were finished breakfast people were going on shore, so we hurried to our room, got our stuff and headed out.
As soon as you leave the ship the first building you reach is the post office. I knew I wanted to send out some postcards, but I had to buy them first. Of course who do we see approaching the post office, Stitch. Even though we already had pictures with Stitch, Sianna and Michael, Sianna insisted on another visit, and of course Mike had to get involved. Poor Stitch's ears!

We also got our family picture taken in front of the ship. Then we walked along the pathway and I got a few more pictures of the island before waiting on the tram. We weren't sure how long it was, some people were hiking it, but we weren't in a rush. I took a picture of Sianna and Mike waiting for the tram, and then we headed to the middle section of the Island with the stores and kid's activities. Sianna requested a stop to have her picture taking with Pluto, but was able to pass on the long line for Minnie Mouse (I took her picture anyway).

The first kid's area we came to said they were already in another section getting ready to dig bones, so we headed over there to drop off Sianna. She said she wanted to play with the kids in the morning, which was fine since we had other plans. After dropping her off, I stopped in the store for some postcards. Of course there are no prices on the shelves, and I was expecting them to be higher than normal, but still almost had shell shock at the price of $18. (They don't take money...it has to go on your ship account) Some of the post cards were $3 each! Anyway, I head off with Mike to the adult side of the beach where I had booked him a massage before we left home. You should definitely plan on a tram ride to Serenity Bay the adult corner of the island, unless you REALLY want to exercise. We rode. After arriving I found out that the soda machine (and water!) was not yet set up and there wasn't anything unless I wanted to go to the bar. Luckily I filled up my water bottle in the middle section of the island, where the soda machines were operating. So while Mike was away, I sat on some of the chairs and started writing out postcards. After about a 1/2 hour I caught the tram and headed back to the kids area to pick up Sianna. We had planned to meet Mike after his massage in the lunch area. I wanted Sianna to have lunch with us and spend the afternoon together as a family. Here are some shots of the adult area, it is located at the end of air strip and they have a painted plane at the end. Also the water there was really shallow and didn't look good for swimming.

When I got back to the kid's area where the Navigator said she was located, I was informed they had moved them to the other area to get ready for lunch, and since they were transitioning I couldn't get her until they got to the lunch area. So I went to the lunch area and waited, and waited, until they finally arrived. When I got her she seemed confused as to whether or not she wanted to come with me or stay. I told her it was her choice and she started crying. One of the male counselors I didn't recognized ask her why she was crying 'this time'. I said "this time" and he briefly said there was an incident about throwing sand, but it was handled. Sianna later explained that a little boy had been playing with the sand and throwing it around and it got in her eyes. Anyway, she was crying 'this time' because she couldn't decided to stay or go. I told her some of the afternoon plans, so she decided to come with me. I don't think she had as much fun here as in the club on the ship.
It was early afternoon, and Mike still wasn't back and Sianna and I were hungry, so we got in line for some food. It was BBQ picnic type of food which was very good, plus they had big cookies. There were also ice cream machines, but when we were in line the ones near us seemed a little finicky. While we were nibbling and waiting for Mike, Goofy came along and started doing line dances. Sianna just HAD to join in!

Eventually Mike got back from his massage. He seemed to enjoy himself and said he needed to drink lots of water. He ate, then we headed down to the family beach. The water was pretty cold initially, but eventually you got use to it. Sianna and I braved the chilly waters and swam and played, Mike headed back to the beach after only getting his legs wet! After an hour or two we showered off and headed back to the ship. We did stop in the post office to mail the post cards then headed onto the ship. After cleaning and changing we prepared for our big farewells to the ship.

After we got back on the ship and cleaned up, I finished packing up our bags. I had done about 75% in the morning before we went out on Castaway Cay and had all our bags on our bed. I finished up the last items while Mike took Sianna to the store to buy her souvenir. We told her she had $20 to spend on the ship and she could buy what she wanted, now she changes her mind A LOT, so we made her 'think about it' for the week. She stuck with her original desire, she wanted a Chip stuffed animal. So that is what they went to buy. I went up to Shutters to get a credit back for the pictures we didn't buy, and to get our last photo from Castaway Cay. FYI, they are NOT open until 5 pm, and then it is a MAD HOUSE on the last night. I met up with Sianna and Mike in the lobby before dinner and Sianna had a picture taken with Captain Hook. Our last dinner in Lumiere's was kind of sad, but we had Chip to amuse us through the meal. Sianna got bored towards the end of dinner, so I ran her up to Deck 7 Overlook where the kids club had moved to. I got back to see the chefs dance around with their flambe.

After dinner, Mike and I took the camcorder and filmed some of the island and began the Adventures of Chip. I can't remember if Sianna came with us to the "Remember the Magic" show, I don't think so, I think she said she wanted to stay with the kids. I think we picked her up after the show and took her to the cabin for her surprise (Dale) and to put our suitcases in the hall. Then we went to the lobby and watch all the excitement with the characters and the final farewells. I've read where so many people miss this because they are still packing,

One side note of the things I didn't pack. On the forum list, I saw someone post that they had our room the next week after we left, her name is Sarah and she is from England. So I bought a few gifts for her family and left our pirate decorations with the gifts when we left. P our states room person said it was ok.

The other thing I left was our cloth shoe holder that was so useful on the back of the bathroom door. Our house if full of them, so I knew I would just be storing it for 2 years until our next cruise. P our stateroom guy from Thailand asked us in the middle of the week where we bought it and how much it was (less than $20 at Walmart or Kmart I think). He said it was nicer than the others he had seen, and that they didn't have any like these in Thailand. He wanted to buy one to use as a model to start a business when he got home. Of course also being an entrepreneur I thought it was exciting. I talked to Mike and we agreed that when we left, he could have it. We told him about Thursday and he seemed really happy.

So packing for home was pretty easy, no stuffing involved. Especially considering I had one suitcase full of huge fish extender's gifts (I will not give out large popcorn balls next time) and believe it or not, less stuff to take home. - In fact on our travels between the ship and the next resort, the wheel busted off our big duffel bag suitcase, and I was able to pack in such a way that we were able to throw it away before coming home.

Anyway, we went up to the lobby to see all the characters come out and wave goodbye and have private meet and greets around the lobby. Sianna saw Peter Pan and Wendy, Goofy, Donald, rub Pluto's tummy and he did a back flip, and showed Chip and Dale her Chip and Dale stuffed animals. That was cute, they acted like they were going to keep them, but she wasn't having it! I have all of that on video. It was really a special evening. We went back to the room and celebrated a last night of cookies and milk room service.

Coming Home & Florida
Towel Animals
Adventures of Chip N Dale

Disney Cruise Oct 2008 - Day Six - Day at Sea

noreply@blogger.com (Tanya Eldert) — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 19:42:00 +0000

Our 2nd day at sea was again filled with a whirl wind though I had originally planned on 'relaxation'. Sianna really hadn't been in the Mickey pool since the day we arrived, so we let her spend the morning swimming. After swimming and lunch we grabbed some snacks from the room (fish extender gifts are great for snack supplies, by the time we were done it looked like we had trick-or-treated for a week!), the snacks were for our first and only trip to the Buena Vista Theatre to see Beverly Hills Chihuahua. Cute movie.   After the movie we checked Sianna into the kids club for an afternoon of fun with "Sebastian's Junkanoo Jam" and prep for Friendship Rocks. In reading previous Navigators and forums it is my understanding that they use to have a Graduation ceremony with little hats and shirts. I was really hoping for that, so I was disappointed to see that we were the first group to do the Friendship Rocks program. The kids all got shirts, different colors for each group and they went down to the Walt Disney Theatre and performed on stage with Mickey and Minnie. It was cute. It was hard to spot Sianna in the crowd, so Mike and I spend most of the time trying to find her with the camcorder. They sang along to some songs and they played videos and showed pictures of the kids throughout the week on a screen overhead.

After her performance we picked her up from the kid's club and then we went to go see Disney Dreams, which was a moving performance and I can see why it has won so many awards. Between the kid's club and the show, we gave Sianna some chicken nuggets from Goofy's Galley and Mike and I snacked since we had a late dinner tonight. We saw Disney Dreams during the time of our regular dinner service. The night before we had told Andrea and Laki that we were going to be at Palo on Thursday so not to expect us. After Disney Dreams we dropped Sianna off at the kid's club again, they were doing "Gasses in Action" and "Carnival Extravaganza" tonight so we knew she would be entertained. Mike and I went and got dressed for dinner. It wasn't until 9 pm so we had about 2 hours to kill. We spent most of it drinking and talking, so that by the time dinner hit, we were both somewhere between warm and fuzzy and inebriated.
To be honest, I don't remember much of what we ate. I remember the calamari at the beginning was very good and the chocolate soufflé at the end was very rich and chocolaty. I also remember between courses they would bring us little dishes of Italian ice mixed with alcohol to "cleanse the palate" We didn't have any alcohol with dinner, we had had more than enough before, and I seriously doubt the little Italian ices had much alcohol content but we remained in a toasty state through dinner.. at least I did and I'm guessing the same about Mike. You can see how 'rosy' our faces were in the picture they took.   We did meet a hostess name Pamela who was from Lima, Peru, so of course we told her about Claudia, whose first name is Pamela and also from Lima. I was even wearing the bracelet from Peru that Claudia gave me, but I forgot to show it to her.

After dinner we picked up Sianna from the kid's club and hit the bed.

Day Seven

Disney Cruise Oct 2008 - Day Five - Cozumel

noreply@blogger.com (Tanya Eldert) — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 19:41:00 +0000

One thing we did learn from Key West and Grand Cayman was that Sianna did not like to shop. Our plan for Cozumel was pretty simple, if the weather was nice we would go to the local park and walk around and swim, and if it wasn't we would shop. We told Sianna in the morning that was the plan, and if we did go shopping, would she like to go to the kid's club? Of course the answer was yes. We did explain that this was Mexico and she could practice her Spanish, but for her, it couldn't compete with a day playing with other children. It rained. When we arrived it was raining, so we didn't rush breakfast or checking her into the club, but then it stopped so Mike and I decided to grab our stuff and head ashore. We were at a dock, next to an old Carnival ship. I'm not sure how old the ship was, but the amount of rust on the outside of the ship could not have been a good sign. Standing there looking over and their ship and comparing it to the Magic made me happy we had spent the extra money for the Magic.

With our money and walking shoes we headed off the ship to the town. I read many reports about the store hawkers, and people weren't kidding, but it really didn't bother me. I'm use to marketing and just resigned myself that this was their form of marketing. And ask my husband, I'm real good at saying no to spending money. We went in a few stores and bought a water and a few trinkets, but quickly started to realized that the stores on the main strip don't negotiate, so we started down side streets. There we found an artist painting plates. He painted with mainly his fingers and it was fascinating to watch. There were several plates with the Disney ships on them, so we got one and he painted our name on it. Nearby was a painted wall that I took a picture of.

We continued to shop, buy a few holiday presents and when it started to downpour, so we stopped in a cafe and had a drink and an appetizer. After a few hours we were shopped out and it was still drizzling, so we paid $10 and had a cab take us back to the dock. We stopped in one of the liquor stores at the dock and purchased a bottle of spiced rum for the rest of the trip and headed back to the ship. It had basically stopped raining at that point, but it was still a dreary day.

Tonight was pirate night and we were really looking forward to the show and fireworks. We picked up Sianna from the kids club and went to get dressed in our pirate's outfits. I had bought a cheap Halloween costume for Sianna before we left and Mike had brought his 'Renaissance outfit' that he wore at our wedding. We added some dollar store skull necklaces, bandanas and temporary tattoos and we were set.

Our first stop as pirates was a new game show called "A Pirates Life for Me" where teams of people compete to be the best pirates. At one point Mike was selected to be part of the game, so he took Sianna up with him since she was very disappointed she wasn't selected. They had to build a 'tower of treasure' without it falling over and our team won. Then there was a section where you had to throw coins in a bucket with one of your team members catching it. Our team won again. It was fun.

Our next stop was our pictures with Jack Sparrow then off to our pirate dinner. We get to take that menu home with us, so it was easy to remember that we all had crab cake starters and then Sianna and I had Melon and Mango chilled soup. I'm not sure what she had for dinner, but I had the shrimp and scallops, and I'm pretty sure Mike had the pork shank. We had been sipping our rum for the last few hours, so life was warm and fuzzy. I do remember splurging on a rum ice cream sundae at the end. Rum ice cream is one of my favorite flavors that I don't get very often. One of the things we brought with us from home was a cup we had from our last trip to Disney World, add a blinky ice cube from DW, and add a skull straw from the dollar store for Sianna and she had her own special cup for the night. I'm glad we brought one because they tried to sell us a special theme cup with a blinky tinker bell on the outside, lots of kids had them, but Sianna's was unique and I think better 'themed' for the night.

After dinner we checked Sianna into the kid's club for a few hours since they were having some special classes like "So you want to be a pirate?" and a pirate dance party and games. Mike and I walked around and drank our rum.

We picked Sianna up at about 9:30 and headed up to the deck. I had put together a box of eye patches, glow bracelets and fake gold coins from home and our fish extenders and took them to the deck and gave them out to lots of the kids. They had someone selling similar stuff, but it was fun to give it out for free.

Mike wasn't feeling well and sat back at one of the tables while Sianna and I went closer to the stage to watch the show and fireworks. Afterwords we headed back to the room and ordered chocolate chip cookies and milk and headed to bed.
Day Six

Disney Cruise Oct 2008 - Day Four - Grand Cayman

noreply@blogger.com (Tanya Eldert) — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 19:39:00 +0000

Grand Cayman was the port I was most nervous about. It was the only port where we had to tender on a ship to the dock and it was the only port where I had firm plans. I had gone to the excursion's desk the day before to ask about when we should meet to go ashore. We had to be at the excursion company's office on shore by 10 am, so I wanted to hit shore about 9:30. The desk clerk said to be at the theatre by 8 am so that we could get tickets and wait to get ashore. We scheduled room service to bring us breakfast between 7 and 7:30 and our food showed up promptly at 7.

We were going on the trip with several other Dis'ers who took my suggestion about the excursion. Lynda and her grandson were on there, as well as Heather and her family. Lynda left a note on our door the night before saying we should get together for the trip, so I called her at about 7:30 to see if she wanted to meet. Apparently her grandson was still in bed and she didn't think they would make it up there by 8 so we headed up to the theatre about a quarter til 8. As soon as we got there the first group was preparing to leave. There was enough space for us, so they told us to go ahead and jump on the first boat.

Arriving almost 2 hours early, we explored a little around the port, going in and out of shops, but only buying a shot glass with a stingray inside. Sianna was very bored, and kept asking to go on the boat, which of course, we couldn't go yet.

We decided to head for the office and got there about the same time as Heather. Lynda had apparently arrived pretty early, checked in, and then went back out shopping. She arrived maybe 15 minutes later. Sianna was now happy and started to play with the other kids in Heather's family. Heather's oldest daughter grabbed some coconuts and worked on opening them and sharing with the group. Finally about 10 we all got on 2 buses (they had about 35 people total for the trip) and headed to the other side of the Island for our trip.

Though the day was warm, it was also windy and the water was choppy but not too rough. The catamaran boat easily held our group and our first stop was the sting ray sandbar. It was too deep for the smaller kids to stand, and in some spots I couldn't reach bottom, but in general the water was chest high and the bottom was very sandy. The rays were huge, making the ones at SeaWorld look like babies. We grabbed some eel or fish that the tour provider brought and fed one of the rays. Sianna tried, but dropped hers. She didn't seem scared of them and would try to pet them as they swam past. Because of the choppy waters it was difficult to maintain your balance and move around shuffling your feed so you didn't accidentally step on any of them. Occasionally they would swim along your body and that was definitely a weird feeling. The tour operator had one of rays and would help others hold it and give it a kiss, they also had a photographer who took pictures.

I personally thought Grand Cayman was the prettiest place we stopped. It wasn't as built up as Key West and Cozumel and it is more what I pictured of a tropical island. There was lots of construction going on as we crossed the island, but there was still open spaces and a beachy feel. It was obvious that poverty was not an issue and everything seemed very clean and I felt much safer here than say in Mexico. No street hawkers bothered you and everyone we met was very friendly.

After the sting ray sand bar we headed to a small barrier reef for some snorkeling. The water was rougher on the edges and deeper so most of us wore life vests. I had never snorkeled outside of a swimming pool and really enjoyed the experience, however Sianna was having a rough time with the waves, mask, and snorkel despite both Mike and I trying on and off, she ended up spending more time on the boat. Mike and I were able to explore a little on our own while Heather and the other Moms kept an eye on her on the boat. At the next snorkeling stop I tried again with her, but it didn't work out, so we ended up on the boat together while Mike snorkeled. He saw several types of fish and a barracuda. Sianna got to see the barracuda from the boat. Between the wind and the waves, it did feel like a battle to snorkel and I was exhausted after the first stop. I don't blame Sianna for not being able to do it, it wasn't ideal conditions and certainly different from the pools where we had practiced. She was disappointed she did not get to snorkel more and upset she couldn't do it. Maybe when she is older we'll give it another shot.

On the way back we were all wet and sticky from the salt water, so the brief rain shower that came was helpful. We dried off in the wind, but really didn't bother changing. The ride back to the dock was under sail with fun Caribbean music playing. It was a nice excursion and I would recommend Capt. Bob's Buccaneer trip to anyone who visits the island. After getting back to the dock the vans took us directly to the boat terminal. We stopped in the liquor store and taste tested some of the variety of rum cakes, but I had found out I could order them shipped directly to the US cheaper than they were selling them in the stores, so we didn't buy any. We also found out that any liquor we bought would be delivered to the ship and we couldn't get it til the end of the cruise, so we decided to pass. We easily got through the terminal and onto the ship, several hours before the last tender.

After that we got showered and dressed for dinner. This was the night for Lumiere's and I was almost dreading having Sianna sit through another formal dinner. However, we didn't have to worry about it. She was very adamant about going to the kid's club and having dinner with them, so I took her to the kid's club and Mike and I went to have our French style dinner. Andrea seemed disappointed that Sianna wasn't with us, though they were prepared for her, with her soy milk and washable crayons. We ended up getting a box of washable crayons at our table everyday, since the previous day Sianna was playing 'towers' with her crayons and ended up writing on the tablecloth. Oops.

Anyway, I tried escargot and Mike tried Ratatouille. The escargot was not in the shells but rather little cups in butter. I've had them in the past and preferred them in the shell. If they were in the shell, I had planned to take one back to Sianna. Oh well. After dinner I went to see Heath Hyche's family cabaret and Mike went to Diversions and played some games. Afterwards we met up and went to see Twice Charmed. Another good show, though not as good as Dreams.

After the show we picked up Sianna and headed off to bed, exhausted.
Day Five

Disney Cruise Oct 2008 - Day Three - Day at Sea

noreply@blogger.com (Tanya Eldert) — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 19:38:00 +0000

We had today planned as a leisurely day at sea. I was hoping to sleep in, eat at Lumiere's and relax for the day. Just a hint, sleeping in and Lumiere's for breakfast doesn't work together, it is closed for breakfast by 9:30. So by the time we got up and out the only option left was Topsiders. I got Sianna going a little faster than Mike was moving, so I got her a short breakfast at Topsiders then checked her into the Lab for Stitch's Great Adventure. Then I went and got Mike and we had breakfast in Topsiders. Sianna spent most of the day in the lab doing things like To Infinity and Beyond, and Ratatouille Cooking School. Mike and I had a leisurely lunch together at Lumiere's before I headed off to Tequila Tasting. Just for the record... don't try drinking 5 huge shots of Tequila when your stomach is already queasy. I got through 2 before I had to leave. I didn't vomit, but I knew better than to continue to the other 3.

I found Mike doing the Mickey 200 in the Promenade Lounge. He made a car with a potato, carrot and 4 wheels and was racing it down a track. He did well, but didn't win. His car did look the most like a mouse though!

We left Sianna in the kid's club for an Aloha Luau while Mike went off to do his beer tasting (apparently it went better for him than my tequila tasting) and I went and got changed for formal night, even though it was only 3:30. I also grabbed Sianna's dress and took it up to the kid's club, where I quickly changed her and we headed down to the Studio Sea for Tea with Alice. There were cookies and apple juice at all the tables, and I had to plead with Sianna for a while to wait until it started to eat. When Alice and the Mad Hatter arrived they chose 2 girls to be the White Rabbit and the March Hare. Sianna was selected as the March Hare. She had to do all the crazy things with them during the tea, like dance, jump and race around the table. When it was time to eat though, she didn't. She was too busy watching Alice. At the end she had her picture taken with them and I got her to sit down and eat the cookie and juice I had saved for her at our table.

We met Mike back in the room as he was getting ready for formal night, then headed off for dinner back at Parrot's Cay.

I don't remember what we had for dinner. I do remember it seeming to last forever and Sianna was pretty bored. We left before the dinner was officially over because she just couldn't sit still anymore without driving us nuts. We headed over to Diversions and played a Wii version of Family Feud. It was guys against girls and Sianna and I had fun trying to beat Daddy's team. I left a few minutes early to try to get us seats for the Golden Mickey's. It did crowd up pretty quickly but Mike and Sianna followed very soon after. It was a good show, as were all the performances that week. After wards we went back to the room and ordered cookies and milk from room service and went to bed.
Day Four

Disney Cruise Oct 2008 - Day Two - Key West

noreply@blogger.com (Tanya Eldert) — Sun, 19 Oct 2008 19:35:00 +0000

The day started early, as we were the first group to enjoy Mickey's Island Jam breakfast. My understanding from reading past forums is that it use to be a meet and greet, then went to a show, and now it is back to a meet and greet with each of the characters visiting you at the table. Basically I've forgotten what we ate, I'm sure it was good, but the fun part was the visit with the characters, and our servers making funny hats out of napkins...notice the home page of this site?

After an eventful breakfast we checked Sianna into the Oceaneer Lab so that she could make Flubber. We checked her out afterward and all had lunch and Topsiders and then got our stuff and headed off the ship to explore Key West. Just a side note... actually getting off the ship is a little more complicated than we were led to believe, you have to get on 2 to get to the unloading part of 1. Following the signs help!

It was a beautiful day in Key West. Hot, but there was a breeze so it wasn't too bad. We proceeded to walk up and down the streets using a small map I had brought from home. After about a 1/2 hour, Sianna was bored and Mike and I couldn't find much entertainment for a 5 year as she can't go in the bars and has no interest in shopping. I did find a cool tree on one of the side streets I had to get a picture of. We finally put together a plan that we would hunt down the Aquarium and visit there. We considered the trolley tours, but again, thought Sianna would be bored and I had heard they were hot, and personally I was hot enough by that point.

We navigated our way to the Aquarium, but ended up stopping in a group of shops right next door and getting an icy drink. They had a free exhibit upstairs with birds, so we quickly walked through, and then went over to the aquarium. It is old and small, but it provided us with almost 2 hours of exploring and hands on fun in a touch tank. Towards the end a large group of people came and started to gather for a guided tour, but Mike with a background in Marine Biology and gave us our own 'private tour'. One of the more interesting 'visitors' at the aquarium, is a green iguana that apparently comes and goes as he likes. He was visiting an 'inmate' when we arrived, and even though we kept our distance, he obviously did not want people approaching him. He ended up climbing a tree in the outdoor courtyard and hung out on a limb for the rest of our visit. There was a sign explaining about the visitor, which was good, since at first we thought he had escaped.

After the aquarium we stopped to try conch fritters. I wasn't that impressed, but Mike and Sianna enjoyed them. We also went by a sponge shop next door, which I remember as a child. (The aquarium was probably also there when I was a child, but I don't remember it.. the sponges I remember.) Sianna put one on and said she was now Sponge Bob.. it was funny.

At this point, we were tired, hot and ready to go back to the ship. On the way back we called Claudia to say a final goodbye, since after this we were leaving the US and planning to turn off our cell phones. She was taking her parents to the Lynnhaven Mall, and Sianna told her about our day.

Back on the ship we showered and got ready for dinner at Parrot's Cay. We saw Stitch in the lobby so Mike and Sianna got their picture taken with the trouble maker.

After dinner was the event Sianna had waited months for... Goofy's PJ Party. So we stuck her in the PJ's and dropped her off at the lab. She ended up staying there for several hours while Mike and I went up on the deck to watch the sunset and the evening entertainment on the docks. From deck 10 we stood over the side wheel and watched the Captain move us away from the docks and away from Key West. However, before we left, we watched all the people watching the sunset, and the dockside entertainers. There was a guy with jumping cats and fire twirlers on the docks.

Then we went to play "Who wants to be a Mouseketeer." I was actually selected as a contestant, but ended up getting the last question wrong. In case someone asks, Epcot is the only park who has not had a member of the Disney family do the grand opening. I chose Disney Paris. Apparently not many others in the audience knew it either.

After this we went to pick up Sianna and head to bed. Of course she was still up despite the fact it was after 10:30 at night.

Day Three

Disney Cruise Oct 2008 - Day One - Boarding the Magic

noreply@blogger.com (Tanya Eldert) — Sat, 18 Oct 2008 19:32:00 +0000

First let me say that I had read everything I could find in the forums and Passporter about getting on the ship. I was prepared for anything they could throw at me...long lines... chaos...tight security... food choices etc... being a Disney cruise, I'm not sure why I bothered. If airports could operate with about 1/2 the efficiency as this Disney Terminal, I might not hate flying so much! We pulled up to the well marked terminal about 10:30 and we were obviously not the first to arrive by the bags in the area, but we were pretty close! A kind porter took our bags and Mike took the Avis car to the rental place down the road. Sianna and I proceeded inside and past security with little problems. Upstairs and to the first customer service person available, there were no lines! We were assigned loading group #4, I had read enough to know that this was not the best, but also not the worse number we could get. I had Mike's passport so I was able to check us all in except for one small thing, I did not have the credit card that I had used on the paperwork for the charge account. He had it. So the lady said that he should stop by the counter when he came in, and that she would verify it and give him his KTW card. He called during this time to say that I had the rental agreement and he wasn't sure if that would be a problem when turning in the car.. it wasn't.

After that two big things then happened almost simultaneously, Mike and Mickey Mouse arrived. Of course I spotted Mickey first along with Sianna who maneuvered herself to be first in line to get a picture with Mickey in front of the model ship. At the same time I am attempting to both photograph and video tape Sianna and Mickey, Mike is calling my cell to say he is downstairs and where do I meet him. Mike comes up and I send him to the numbered agent who was holding his card. He comes back saying the lady has no clue what he is talking about. So I put Sianna in front of an old Donald Duck cartoon on the TV and go with him to the service agent, to find out the lady I spoke to had left. However, I pointed out to the new agent where she had set his card, she finds it, and we are on our way.
Now in between the fun with Mickey and Mike, I'm in line trying to check Sianna into the kid's program. Their computers are down and the line is pretty long. However, the is really nothing else to do before getting on the ship, so why not wait. It was probably the longest, slowest line I waited in all week. Probably a good 1/2 hour to get it started moving and get to me. I did get her checked in and got our beeper for the week. Mike ended up wearing it when she was in the clubs, it was like the beeper he used for EMS so he had a clue how to use it. She never had us paged the entire week. Here is Sianna with her KTW card.

We bumped into several Disers, who recognized us from the forum, and ended up chatting in a small group for a while. We took some pictures outside with the ship, and proceeded to wait to load the ship. About 11:30 or 11:45 they actually started calling the groups. It was a little chaotic due to the a mix of lines (one group trying to get on the ship and the other group still trying to check in kids for the kid's club).

Once our group was called it wasn't that long before we got check in. That was interesting, since apparently something was off with my KTW card, my card checked me in, when Sianna's was swiped I left..and when Mike's was swiped I was checked in again... or something to that nature. They fiddle with all the cards for a few minutes and whatever the problem was, it was fixed very quickly. Pictures taken and then boarding the ship. Yep I video taped that too! Still love hearing our name announced!

The first stop we made was guest services. No one in line. I got 2 tickets to Tea with Alice and then we headed off to lunch. Our original plan was to go to Parrot's Cay, but that was immediately changed once we went aft and found a huge line to get in. We spotted the aft elevators, detoured upstairs and quickly jumped in line at Topsiders. I'm glad. We actually enjoyed Topsiders many times throughout the cruise. It was nice to eat outside on the deck and know that you're on a boat rather in some of the enclosed dining rooms; plus it was a beautiful day and we had a wonderful view.
It was a quick meal, and we were done by 12:30. We changed Sianna into her bathing suit and headed off to the Mickey pool, where she proceeded to wear out the Mickey slide. By 1:30 she had enough time to play, so she was ok with getting changed and heading down to see our stateroom, #6089.
When we arrived at our room, it was generally what I expected. I read tons of opinions on the room size, so as long as it was physically bigger than my closet at home I was prepared. It wasn't bad. A good comparison is the size of a medium RV without popout sides. Certainly liveable for a week when I didn't expect to be in there much. The bathroom was TINY, but again, nothing out of the ordinary for an RV. Though in looking back, my worse cases of sea sickness came when I was standing in that bathroom getting ready. I think it was a mixture of the motion and my claustrophobia kicking in! I did get nauseous during the trip several times for the first 3 days. The Dramamine and kid's motion sickness pills I packed work fine though, and I never missed a meal or threw up. I did end up taking the Dramamine every night, but for an entirely different reason I'll mention later!
One bag had arrived, so I unloaded it while we looked around the room. Within the next 1/2 hour all our suitcases except for one was dropped off (and the stroller and car seat). We unpacked everything, grabbed our name tags, and headed up to the Dis'ers meeting at 3 in the Promenade lounge. We were a few minutes late, but certainly not the last to arrive. We got our Fish Extender list, heard the drill announcements and headed back to our room.
I knew by reading the forum that you weren't doing yourself a favor by being the first to arrive. Despite the fact both Mike and Sianna had their jackets on and were ready to bolt out the door right that second, we waited until it was closer to the time and headed up. Good thing, we were probably in the middle of the group. Not as crammed as I've read in some reports, but there were a lot of people on a small deck! I forgot to take pictures. No worries, the life jackets were not fashion statements by any means!
When we got back to the room, I grabbed the camcorder and we headed out to the Cast Away party. What a fun party. At this point I do not have that up on YouTube, though I have been threatening Mike with it since he stepped up on stage. You see, Mike was selected to go up on stage, dance and enthuse the crowd. He was great, and it was wonderful seeing him relax and have a good time. Normally he is not the type to jump up on stage, or even dance in public (that's my daughter), but he was great up there. I regret that his fellow nurses could not appreciate Mike when he 'lets his hair down'. For the rest of the cruise, strangers would approach us and know his name from his time on stage. I watched Mike and Sianna from Deck 10 so I could get a good shot of the party and us leaving port. It worked for the most part, though they definitely seemed to be having a good time. Next cruise, I'm down there with them and will not bother filming the event. And yes, I teared up when the horn played "When you Wish Upon a Star". I knew I would.
After that we stood up on deck 10 and watched as we left the Port. Then to continue our never ending motion, we headed back down to the room to change for our first dinner, Animator's Palate. We had the 5:45 seating. For those who are interested, our rotation was APPLAPL. The 3rd night when we were back in Parrot's Cay was for Formal Night and the 2nd time in Animator's was Pirate Night. We ended up going to Palo on Thursday so never went back to Parrot's Cay.
We met our servers, Andrea from Croatia and Laki, both were very kind and likeable and did their best to help us through the week. Here is a picture of Sianna and Andrea.
We were at a table for 4 people by ourselves for the whole week. It was actually a little disappointing since we are sociable and wanted to meet others at the meals. Mike thinks it is because I'm a diabetic and that information had been sent to the ship before we arrived. It isn't like I have allergies against anything and they had wonderful sugar-free desert options so it doesn't interfere with my dining.
The meal and show at Animator's Palate was fun and kept Sianna's attention. The one criticism about the food we had the whole week was the kid's menu. Sianna loves soup so they had chicken noodle as an appetizer. She had a few bites and then refused to eat it. At first I thought she was being picky, but then I tasted it and it had no more taste than tap water. We learned as the week went on to just order her food from the adult menu. She loved the chilled fruit soups like I do, and also enjoyed the crab cakes and other appetizers from our menu. Sometimes she would try a main dish from the kid's menu, but not that often. Her Mickey Pasta with marinara ended up coming out with an alfredo instead. Luckily she likes that more than marinara, so we didn't correct the waiters. Other than that, Mike learned the first night to order his meat medium rather than medium rare, since he had to send back his meat to be cooked a little more. Medium was perfect for him the rest of the week.

We rarely drink alcohol at dinners, so the wine didn't appeal to us, and I hadn't budgeted for smoothies for Sianna, but I had heard they had soy milk. Both Sianna and I love soy milk, so the first night I asked for soy milk. It took Laki a while to find some, but he finally produced some chocolate soy, which was ok, though we preferred regular or vanilla we didn't say anything. I decided the next night to tell him regular milk would be ok if it was going to be a problem. However, every night after that we had vanilla soy milk at our table waiting for us.
After dinner we went to the kids club for welcome party for the whole family. It was so cute. They did a little show with 'characters' popping in to introduce the kids and parents to what they would do and who they would meet through the week. I don't mean the typical Mickey Mouse, but more the 'mad scientist' who taught them to make flubber, and the French chef, who cooked chocolate chip cookies with them, etc. It actually made me tear up again to see all the energy and dedication that is put into the kid's activities. It was important to me when we chose this cruise as a family, that Sianna have just as much fun as Mike and I, and I could tell by the first night it wasn't going to be an issue. I was right. The issue became more of convincing her to 'spending more time as a family' rather than her 'living in the kid's club' night and day. We did find out that we could check her into the kid's club that night. I had thought by reading the current and past Navigators that you could not, but I was incorrect. However, we already had planned to take her to the Welcome show and have an early night, so we stuck to that plan.
The show was good, there was a comedian and hypnotist along with the regular welcome aboard show. It did set a nice theme for the cruise and we made every show they had during the week.
After that it was back to the room and hit the bed. We had to get up in the morning since we were the first group to have a character breakfast the next day. A bed time note... our room was backed to the laundry. We never heard people talking, never heard the washers tumbling or running, but what we did hear while laying in bed was the beeping sound the machines made when you programmed them or when they where done. This beeping went on long into the night, and started again early in the morning as some people obviously have odd hours of doing their washing. The first two nights it kept me sleeping very fitfully, mainly trying to figure out what the noise was and where it was coming from. By the time I discovered what it was, I was taking Dramamine to knock me out and turning up the sound machine we brought along to create 'loud waves' through the night. It is the last time we book a room near the laundry!
Day Two

Disney Cruise Oct 2008 - Getting There

noreply@blogger.com (Tanya Eldert) — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 19:31:00 +0000

The Beginning....Getting there... is the hard part over yet?

Our much anticipated vacation officially began the morning of Oct 15th, a beautiful Wednesday morning. The alarm set for 6 am, unnecessarily, since we all woke on our own before it even went off we were so excited. Claudia, our au pair, was driving us to the airport, along with another au pair who needed a ride to the airport because she was transferring to a family in CA. The other au pair spent the night on the futon and was ready to roll with the rest of us bright and early. We literally squashed 4 adults, 1 child, a stroller and 14 pieces of luggage into a minivan. The 15 minute ride to the airport took 30 because of traffic and an interesting detour to get around it. By the time the au pairs went their own ways.. we were left with 6 checked bags, 4 carry ons, a car seat and a stroller. I think we spent more on tips to have people help us haul all of it around than almost any other expense the whole trip! (Luckily by our next cruise in 2010... we won't need the car seat and stroller...and I WILL figure out a way to reduce the luggage!)
We flew Southwest and breezed through security. We were the 2nd boarding group, but found 3 seats in the 2nd row as soon as we boarded. Sianna has a iffy stomach when it comes to traveling, but the times she has thrown up, it is usually at least in the air or after we land. Even though we barely fed her breakfast (one cereal stick) and gave her motion sickness pills.... she got into her seat, looked at me and said "Mommy, I'm going to throw up". Luckily the seat was stocked with bags, which she proceeded to throw up in and basically continued on and off the entire 1 1/2 hour flight.

By the time we landed grabbed our bags and found the phone to call the rental car place (which was not located AT the airport which I thought), we were all exhausted and needed another vacation. 20 minutes for the shuttle van..and then find out that the rental car was the smallest 2 door vehicle ever built did not help the situation. We almost had to sit on the trunk to shut it, but we crammed everything in and started out to our resort. The next 20 minutes ended up as: Getting lost within 2 miles. Getting in a fight about getting lost. Pulling over at TGI Fridays to have lunch, look at a map and try not to kill each other. We had lunch. Sianna insisted on eating a huge plate of macaroni and cheese, though we kept telling her to take it slow because of her stomach. Then we made 2 dashes to the bathroom as she threatened to throw it up. She kept it down, we got an extra 'big bag' to go (smart thinking), a fresh set of directions and headed out to the resort. Only to pull over on the side of Interstate leaving a huge bag of 'recycled' macaroni and cheese that Sianna did not keep down.
Now at this point I'm scared.. because I know that they ask if anyone has been ill in your party when you board the cruise ship, and suppose she has a bug and it isn't plane and car sickness but it is a virus and we can't go. Luckily again, that was the last time she threw up and was hunky dory the rest of the trip. In fact, on the ship, both Mike and I had to take motion sickness pills that I packed, and she was never seasick the whole trip. Go figure!

Needless to say, after checking into our 'unremarkable' resort room, we proceeded to just REST for the remainder of the day. I did buy some groceries as we planned to save some money by eating in. Wednesday, Thursday and Friday passed in a blur. We went to Sea World and had a wonderful time as usual. The highlight being when Sianna played toss football with a dolphin. I put the video on YouTube. Click Here to watch.

We also visited the new Aquatica, which is pretty, but in my opinion was small and crowded and really didn't compare to the Busch Water Country USA that is up here in Williamsburg.
We also traded in tiny car for a nice Avis rental to take us to Port Canaveral, bought some alcohol, men's sandals for Mike, and nonprescription sunglasses for me since I planned to wear my contacts snorkeling. By Saturday morning we were packed and headed to the shore!
On to Day One - Boarding the Ship -