12/1 7 day Magic trip, My husband myself and DS 3 and 5 met up with dear friends that had recently moved from our neighborhood. This made the trip extra special to everyone.
Transportation.
Every flight was on time and the bus transfers were a breeze. Disney booked our flights and we left Orlando at 11:55 and we didn't have any problems making this early of a flight. DH bag got searched once and I got wanded but it wasn't a big deal. However it seems pointless to search one person in the party and not everyone. I know...its random
Room
Cat. 10. Plenty of storage and I didn't miss a veranda. We loved the split bath. We had rough seas the first couple days and the bathroom doors squeaked which drove me crazy.
Service
Our server was Cedrick and he was great. It was his last sailing for a couple months and he cried along with my friends son. We didn't expect our head server to be so great. Sandra spoke to us everynight and took time to chat when we saw her outside the dining room. The only time we didn't see her was tip night (how unusual, huh) and we had to hunt her down.
Dress
I saw lots of formal gowns but not many tuxedos. At palos almost all the men had on suits.
Islands
St. Maarten. We left the kids behind and shopped in the morning while the rain cleared up. We returned for lunch and to pick up the boys and headed to Great Bay Beach. This is very conveniant if you aren't sure how long your kids will last. We only stayed a couple hours but enjoyed it a lot.
St. Thomas. We left the boys and took a cab to COKI Beach to snorkel. It is a small beach perfect for families and they have everything you need including the best Mango daquirri. You can see fish just wading into the water. It was very peaceful but we wished we would have taken the kids. (kindof)
Pools
The pools weren't any more crowded than our city pool and I didn't have any problem getting a single chair. Of course, if you aren't picky about what type of chair, sun/shade and don't need four together you have a better chance of getting what you want. Why would I need chairs for my kids when they are in the pool?
Shows
We loved Disney Dreams (saw it twice) and the two variety shows. Hercules was much better than I expected (from reading these message boards) Morty was so-so.
We loved going to the minishows at 7:30 or 7:45. We particularly liked the ventriliquist because my son was on stage with him. The rope was tied around his stomach and his belly button flew off. I didn't have my camcorder and started taking it everywhere after that.
Palos
Brunch was definitely one of our highlights. We had a sweet server, Katja, for dinner later in the week and that was great too.
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If you only want the best part stop reading because there are a few other comments
Human Behavior:
An eight year old boy was very rude at a magician show. He heckled and booed and knew all the tricks. It was appalling behavior and his relatives never stopped him. The boy was feeling pretty confident after winning shipboard credit on Who Wants to be Mouseketeer. The magician edited his show and ended a little early but did the best he could with humor.
Assistant Server
Wasn't very friendly and never put our drinks at the right place even though my sons ordered the same thing for every meal.
Food
I had read a lot about the food but found lots of good things to eat. Take your servers recommendation because that is usually the freshest. We had a hard time finding a decent breakfast. Topsiders meat and eggs were cold and the pancakes in the dining room were tough. plus you had to wait for your syrup. We discovered fried eggs later in the week and those were hot since you can't make them in bulk. My kids didn't mind the donuts and pastries that were still cold from thawing out.
Oceaneer's Club
We spent most of our time at the pool but they went to the club a couple hours each day when we had something we had to do by ourselves. At castaway Cay we had a morning planned at the adult beach and were planning on picking them up before lunch. DS 3 did not want to be left and I hung around for 5 minutes (out of sight) to make sure he was OK. There was another little boy crying at that time and the counselor was trying to console him. I overheard these things, " If you aren't kind, your mommy won't come back" and "if you aren't nice, mommy will be mad"
My son was still crying so I picked him up and we had a beautiful day on the family beach. I'm not trying to make a social commentary (or maybe I am?) but there are lots of culture difference in raising kids and people should be aware of it no matter how well trained these professionals are.
We had a great trip and already miss the warmth of the sun and the crew.
Transportation.
Every flight was on time and the bus transfers were a breeze. Disney booked our flights and we left Orlando at 11:55 and we didn't have any problems making this early of a flight. DH bag got searched once and I got wanded but it wasn't a big deal. However it seems pointless to search one person in the party and not everyone. I know...its random
Room
Cat. 10. Plenty of storage and I didn't miss a veranda. We loved the split bath. We had rough seas the first couple days and the bathroom doors squeaked which drove me crazy.
Service
Our server was Cedrick and he was great. It was his last sailing for a couple months and he cried along with my friends son. We didn't expect our head server to be so great. Sandra spoke to us everynight and took time to chat when we saw her outside the dining room. The only time we didn't see her was tip night (how unusual, huh) and we had to hunt her down.
Dress
I saw lots of formal gowns but not many tuxedos. At palos almost all the men had on suits.
Islands
St. Maarten. We left the kids behind and shopped in the morning while the rain cleared up. We returned for lunch and to pick up the boys and headed to Great Bay Beach. This is very conveniant if you aren't sure how long your kids will last. We only stayed a couple hours but enjoyed it a lot.
St. Thomas. We left the boys and took a cab to COKI Beach to snorkel. It is a small beach perfect for families and they have everything you need including the best Mango daquirri. You can see fish just wading into the water. It was very peaceful but we wished we would have taken the kids. (kindof)
Pools
The pools weren't any more crowded than our city pool and I didn't have any problem getting a single chair. Of course, if you aren't picky about what type of chair, sun/shade and don't need four together you have a better chance of getting what you want. Why would I need chairs for my kids when they are in the pool?
Shows
We loved Disney Dreams (saw it twice) and the two variety shows. Hercules was much better than I expected (from reading these message boards) Morty was so-so.
We loved going to the minishows at 7:30 or 7:45. We particularly liked the ventriliquist because my son was on stage with him. The rope was tied around his stomach and his belly button flew off. I didn't have my camcorder and started taking it everywhere after that.
Palos
Brunch was definitely one of our highlights. We had a sweet server, Katja, for dinner later in the week and that was great too.
Stop
Stop
Stop
If you only want the best part stop reading because there are a few other comments
Human Behavior:
An eight year old boy was very rude at a magician show. He heckled and booed and knew all the tricks. It was appalling behavior and his relatives never stopped him. The boy was feeling pretty confident after winning shipboard credit on Who Wants to be Mouseketeer. The magician edited his show and ended a little early but did the best he could with humor.
Assistant Server
Wasn't very friendly and never put our drinks at the right place even though my sons ordered the same thing for every meal.
Food
I had read a lot about the food but found lots of good things to eat. Take your servers recommendation because that is usually the freshest. We had a hard time finding a decent breakfast. Topsiders meat and eggs were cold and the pancakes in the dining room were tough. plus you had to wait for your syrup. We discovered fried eggs later in the week and those were hot since you can't make them in bulk. My kids didn't mind the donuts and pastries that were still cold from thawing out.
Oceaneer's Club
We spent most of our time at the pool but they went to the club a couple hours each day when we had something we had to do by ourselves. At castaway Cay we had a morning planned at the adult beach and were planning on picking them up before lunch. DS 3 did not want to be left and I hung around for 5 minutes (out of sight) to make sure he was OK. There was another little boy crying at that time and the counselor was trying to console him. I overheard these things, " If you aren't kind, your mommy won't come back" and "if you aren't nice, mommy will be mad"
My son was still crying so I picked him up and we had a beautiful day on the family beach. I'm not trying to make a social commentary (or maybe I am?) but there are lots of culture difference in raising kids and people should be aware of it no matter how well trained these professionals are.
We had a great trip and already miss the warmth of the sun and the crew.
