Dede - May 2004

Days 1 - 5

Boarding Day

Greetings from the Disney Magic! Hi everybody.  Well if you were watching that camera; maybe you seen me.  Here is the start of my trip report.  This is a trip for our 10th anniversary (May 14) and we have our little girl Tamara with us.  She is 12, and not really too little anymore. But in my heart she will always be my "little" girl.

Well Friday night, hubby decided he wanted to watch our wedding video, and between that, reprogramming VCRs and other stuff, we never got to bed until 1am.  I had the alarm set for 4 am but woke up at 345 and showered. We left home at 5:08 am.  Our flight wasn't til 730. We drove to Syracuse, parked in the off airport parking place, took the shuttle to the airport, and as we are standing in line with our 5 suitcases, and 3 carry ons, my hubby suddenly remembers his wallet, and ID are still in our van!! Luckily we had my cell phone with me, so they delivered it to us within 5 minutes.  What a start!  We must have been in that line over an hour, and then after checking in our luggage, had to go stand in another security line for over a half hour.  They even held up our plane since so many passengers were stuck in security.  We arrived in Charlotte on time and had a 90 min wait for our next plane. Luckily our gates were only one apart, so we had plenty of time for lunch.  We got to McCoy airport on time, and Disney cruise was waiting for us, right near the Disney store in the lobby. After quite a long walk to the bus downstairs, we were off! The busses are nice and have a movie playing about what you will see on the ship.  I had taken a cruise before in 2002 on Disney so I already had seen it.  We got to the port authority and went to the castaway club line, had no wait at all and checked right in. Tamara was just amazed how huge the ship was.  I knew she would be.  She thought it was really cool that they welcomed our family by name, But Mickey and Minnie weren't on that alcove waving like they had been two years ago; so that was a little disappointing.  We are in cabin 6317, a category 11 (inside) cabin. It is adequate for the 3 of us, but the bathroom is VERY small. The room has a closet, make up desk, a  table, sofa, two end tables and a bed. Hubby goes up to make a reservation for the champagne brunch for this morning, at Palos, I was going to sign Tamara up for the kids club, but that ended at 3:15, we hadn’t been to the welcome aboard buffet yet, and it was already close to 3, and it closed at 330. We went upstairs to the buffet. Before we were even done, they had turned off the drink machines, and were taking the food away.  Then it was time for the fire drill at 4, which was a pain, as our meeting place was quite a ways from our room.  Then at 430 you had to be up on the deck for the going away party. That was fun, but tam and I left the same time the characters did, as we had the 6 pm seating for dinner. The party was still going on. We dressed for dinner, and we were all exhausted at this point. I stopped at the guest services and put
some travelers checks on our account and went to dinner at Lumineres. We had a table for 8 but the other people never showed up. We waited quite awhile before the waiter took our order. Hubby ordered garlic tenderloin, and I got roasted duck, which I didn’t like at all. Tamara got sirloin steak.  After dinner, Tamara and I went to pin trade, but seemed like everybody was just buying pins, not really trading. I bought some too, plus a limited edition one of 500 of Mrs. Potts and chip Mothers day pin. They were going like hotcakes! Then we dashed over to the Mickey mania show at 7:45 . We didn’t get picked to play but it was fun. Then at 8:30, we had to go to the variety show until like 9:15, and then I came to the internet cafe and was here until about 11:30 pm.  When I got back to the room, everybody was sleeping already. Well hope you enjoyed this.


Key West

Hi everybody, well today was Key West day, we weren't arriving until 11 am, and hubby had made us reservations at Palo for brunch. It was very tasty and the staff was friendly. I had a sweet pizza, ham and egg omelet, sticky bun, lemon meringue pie and a piece of beef with mashed potatoes. Then at 12:40 we were meeting for the schooner ride. That was nice except when we got off the ship it was like a 10-15 minute walk just to get to the bus to take us to the pier. It was like 87 and VERY humid. The schooner is like a big sailboat. They have the men help hoist the sails and then serve beer, wine, sodas, and key lime ice cream bars. Today was very windy and the tropical winds felt nice. I sure didn't like when they died down though. The schooner does have restrooms downstairs, but you have to climb several very steep steps to reach it. Dinner was at Animators Palate. Tamara really got a kick out of watching the pictures turn into color. Then off to who wants to be a Mouseketeer. Nobody won over $125 credit, and most of the questions were about Disney movies.  Then I went out to pin trade. But again, didn’t really see anyone trading, only buying. The limited edition Mother’s day pin sold out two people ahead of me.  I was glad I got one last night. Well I am going up to the "how well do you know your mate show."  Hope you are enjoying these.

Well the show was funny "how well do you know your mate? " Sunday night. They picked a newlywed couple, a couple married 10 yrs, and a couple married 46 yrs. (they won!)  We flew on US Air. In answer to your question about dress the first night, I seen everything, it said they requested no shorts or jeans, but I did see a few pair of shorts, but most women either wore pants or summer dresses.  Okay on to yesterday Monday our day at sea. This morning we ate at Lumineres for breakfast.Had a nice breakfast of eggs, toast bacon and sausage, O.J., I also went to two sessions of bingo One in the morning and one  in the afternoon.  They have raised the prices since my last cruise. They used to sell a single card for $10, 3 cards for $20 or 35 for 6.  Well now the lowest pack is the value pack with 3 cards for $25, or you can buy a jumbo pack consisting of 6 cards for  $35. (Of course that is the one they recommend..lol) They play 5 games and the prizes ranged from $150-300 a game.  At night we had formal night. Our dining room was parrot cay and man was I surprised to see BBQ ribs on the menu. Of course Dede can't resist those. So she had to make herself a nice bib out of her napkin. I didn't think that was a very nice choice for us for formal night. I could have ordered other stuff but I love ribs!  After dinner, I went up to the cabaret family show and to see the show Golden Mickeys. They had one hallway set up with a red carpet and had people taking your picture, like you were really at the Oscars..lol. They had a lady set up out front of the theater interviewing people and of course Tamara the big cheese had to make sure and be interviewed. We watched her from inside the theater and she was cute! After the show, Tamara and I went to change out of our formals, and sure enough, who do we run into.. but them taking pictures of Mickey and Minnie in their formal clothes.. Darn! I was tempted to go back and change again, but figured I better not, or they
would be gone anyways.  After that, she and I went to the Mickey mania show, and then I enjoyed going up for the end of the adult caberet show and sixties night.. where they played Beatles songs. That was alot of fun. They even gave us rainbow colored lightsticks to wave.  By the time that was over, I was pooped. Today we are docked at grand cayman, My family is still sleeping, but I decided to write to you guys.Going on a submarine ride this afternoon.

Hi everyone.. well yesterday was our day at Grand Cayman We had booked the Atlantis submarine ride. They have to take you to shore by tender, and then when you get there, the Atlantis place is very close by. I had taken a submarine ride before in St Thomas, but hubby and Tamara hadn't. I know there were some questions before about how big the opening is to get in, so I was sure to check.  The opening is at least 3 ft across. It is plenty big for everyone. There is a restroom right next to where Disney lets you off, so if you need to go, go there, as there aren't any on the sub. (Just thought you would like to know).  They put you on a small boat with benches and you ride out for about 10 minutes until you get to the submarine, then they transfer you. The stairs to go down it are quite steep. but there are handrails. Its much easier going up then down as you have to climb down like you are on a ladder. The sub ride was nice and we seen a lot of fish. It went down 105 ft. You are underwater about 45 minutes.  As you get back to the pier, Disney had fruit punch waiting for you before you got back on the tender. We ate dinner at Lumieres and they had pin trading with the officers of the ship.  About 6 of them so I got some different pins. I check with the desk every day, and with the stores for new pins, but really don’t see many people running around with lanyards on like they do at the parks. Have had a ball trading though.  Last night I went to a scavenger hunt with Tamara where they gave us a bunch of funny things to look for .. like the navigator, a candy wrapper, a credit card 2 Disney pins, a piece of fruit, and the kids go running up with the item, and their team number and a  ends up with bring up a "skipping dad" wearing high heels and carrying a purse. Then Tamara and him went to the Hercules show, but I didn’t want to see that.  Then met hubby for the nighttime show of comedy and juggling. . Did I mention I am getting sunburned big time?? It is close to 90 every day and humid.  Thank goodness for the breezes and my squeeze breeze. Another thing I forgot to tell you was the first day they left two Disney pins on the bed and a nice beach towel for being a member of the castaway club.  I thought that was really nice.


Day five we were at Cozumel.

My hubby took the Tulim Ruins tour, and left early. He said to tell you even though it says it was strenuous, that he did okay and enjoyed it a lot.  He left early morning. So Dede decided to be brave and went to "pajama bingo". The cruise staff wore their jammies but only about 3 of us passengers did. I was glad I did go, I won $89. I wore a white satin short nightie with lips all over it. Gave them a big laugh.  Then I met Tamara and we went to lunch at Lumieres. (cheeseburgers) Tamara and I went to the Chanukab sea lion discovery. She loved it but I have to admit I was kind of disappointed. #1 when we met at the promenade lounge they were giving out towels and I asked why and they said there was a beach there. Of course we didn’t have time to get our swimsuits.  Well we got down on the pier and they had another LONG walk over to the land. We saw these guys that have a bicycle with a seat on back for you to ride on. and I told her we would take that on the way back. Then they take you over an up escalator, then across a street then a down escalator, and then take you 2-4 people at a time in taxis to the park. It was a 15 minute ride with NO air conditioning, and it must have been over 90 and humid big time.  I thought this tour was totally disorganized.  When you get there, they give you this speech about how when the sea lion show is over, you can go see the rest of the park, but if you do, you need to see this lady.. and get a taxi voucher or you have to pay for your own taxi back. but at the latest is 530.<br> Well we got there at 1:30, the show was 1:45, and was all over by 2:15. She got picked to be kissed by the sea lion, and that was the highlight of Tamara’s day!  We decided because of the heat, we would leave.  Well we get out to the entrance, and of course the "lady" is nowhere to be found and there were a lot of people wanting to go and nobody in uniform seemed to know anything. Finally about 2:28  They said well she will be here soon and then they did call a bunch of taxis to get us back. I thought the whole thing was really confusing.  I think I paid $42 each for that excursion, and sure didn’t seem worth it to me. Especially with the heat and humidity. Well when we got back to the pier, we asked the guy how much it was for a ride on the back of his bike and he said tips only. I gave him $2.  It was worth it to me..lol  Well when we got back, we went to the room, and then both fell asleep. It was my first nap all week.  I woke up and went to the scattegories game. It was cool, because I was alone, and still beat all the other teams. I won an "almost gold" I am a winner ribbon.  Then we went to dinner at Animators Palate.  They didn’t change the pictures this time. Only played cartoons around the room. It was mexicali /tropical night. My hubby came walking in with a big huge sombrero. And a bright orange flowered shirt. That gave everybody a laugh.  After dinner we all went to see Tamara and I went to play pictionary. We had to leave early because they were going to see Home on the range at the theater at 8:30. I went to the internet, and later on met them at the deck for the deck party. I didn’t stay too long because we were both tired. Tomorrow is another day at sea.