kamgen
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Aug 3, 2000
We awoke early, ready to venture off to Castaway Cay.
We had breakfast at Lumieres. The food was good, but the choices are limited. That is one of the only things I don't like about breakfast onboard. I wish they offered more at the sit down (on the menu).
Castaway Cay was as beautiful as dh and I remembered and mom was eager to see it! We walked off and stopped for pictures and to soak in the sun. It was another VERY HOT day, with no rain
We took the tram to the family beach and got a nice spot with chairs and an umbrella. We find the hammocks to be uncomfortable so we opted against that. We hit the water and it was a great temperature. The sun was so hot that we knew we would not be out long. Mom got a Konk Cooler and DH and I bought a specialty drink. We soaked up some sun, swam, and relaxed until lunch.
Dh and I had gone to the adult beach on our last cruise and decided it was too quiet for us. We like music and people, so this time we stayed on the family beach. It never got to crowded since the ship was not full and the sun was fierce.
Lunch at Cookies BBQ was good as we remembered. The burgers, hot dogs, and potato salad were the best. The ribs were a bit fatty and the lobster sandwich was not my cup of tea. The pineapple upside down cake was great too and dh and love the fruit punch.
After lunch we walked around a bit and hit the island shop for gifts. dh and I managed to get out with just a magnet. He was pleased I had already bought a sarong wrap onboard, so I satisfied my shopping urge. The stuff there is reasonably priced in Disney standards
We headed back to the ship about 2pm and hit the pools. There were only a few people there, so we enjoyed swimming and talking and relaxing. I even got a nap in
Our dinner tonight was earlier because we were set to eat at Palo. Let me just say we LOVED it!
PALO: You must do it. It is worth every penny you paid for your cruise. And if you go on the Magic soon, ask for Salvatore!! We each tried every appetizer and trusted his recommendations. Dh had the lamb and loved it, mom had 3 orders of shrimp and then had filet mignon. I had the stuffed chicken breast and swear it is the best I have tasted. For dessert we each had Chocolate Souffle and Salvatore brought out 3 other desserts for us to try! Wow, were we full!!!!! For a wine recommendation, try the Moscato! It was fabulous and really accented all of our meals.
In the end, we tipped him very well and thanked him for his service. He ended the meal by bringing me out a birthday cake that was to die for! Yummm!!!!!!
As full as were were, we had to rush out to Disney Dreams. This is the only show we saw on the ship and it is NOT to be missed! We all had tears in our eyes. I am not going to spoil it for anyone that has not seen it, so go! It is everything magical and more!!
After Disney Dreams, we headed back to Rockin Bar D and played Magic Quest (An adult type scavenger hunt) and got ready for the 70's party. For anyone who has attended this, I was Gloria Gaynor and my dh was the indian in the Village People. We have it on video and it is hilarious!!!!
After the dancing, karaoke started. It was quiet that night, so most of the singers just kept singing again and again. Mom turned in early and dh and I took another walk on deck to say goodbye to our cruise!!!!! It was sad, but we know we are headed on cruise #3 in December, our first 7 night!!!
The next morning we awoke early and headed to breakfast. We ate at Parrot Cay and said goodbye to our servers. We then headed to Shutters to see all of our pictures. Mom bought two and Dh and I bought one. They were all great and it is a shame they throw them away, but we know that pics add up if you buy too many!
Disembarkation was a breeze and so was customs. People seemed worried in the wake of everything, but it was smooth and everyone was pleasant.
Overall.....Great cruise!!
After leaving the port, we took mom to the airport to catch her 11:15 flight. She arrive 90 minutes early and checked in easily. We said goodbye and told her to have a safe flight. She did and I breathed a sigh fo releif when I talked to her in Detroit.
Dh and I went to All Star Sports to check in for one night before making the drive back to Michigan. The check in line was VERY long and we stood there for 35 minutes. When we checked in, the very nice castmember was able to switch our room so we could get it right away. We told her we were cruisers and they were happy to accomodate. So, what did we do when we got to our room at Home Run Hotel???? NAP TIME!
We slept for a couple hours and felt much better for it. We ate lunc hat the food court and it was pretty good. We then hit MGM and participated in WWTBAM twice. It is a cool game, but seems hard to get into the hot seat when it is a full crowd. dh and I made the top ten twice. After that we walked around the park and rode the GMR. We noticed the crowds a little heavier than earlier in the week.
We left MGM and headed to EPCOT. We had heard a rumor that they may be running the new TOD parade that night, so we went to check it out. NO LUCK
They were planning to start running it on Monday and we would be gone! Too bad for us, but we will be back in December and see it then
We decided to head to MK to watch Spectromagic and the fireworks one more time before we left. UGH!! THe crowds were so heavy we could not even walk down Main Street. It was like everyone rescheduled there trips to arrive on the same day! We tried to eat at a variety of places but everything was full. Funny how things change in a week and how September was suddenly swamped! So, we walked through some of the shops on Main Street and my wonderful dh bought me a beautiful WDW watch for my birthday. We left MK and headed over to AKL for a late dinner at BOMA.
One thing to say about BOMA......YES!!! You must try this place. Do not be turned off by the African cuisine label. This buffet is awesome and has the best desserts we have tasted. It is a unique experience and we plan to make this one a regular!!!! Besides, the resort is gorgeous and the animals are out in numbers at night. It was a great time to be there.
After dinner, we decided to call it a night. We headed back to *** to hit the sack and fell right to sleep.
In the morning (my actual birthday), we drove around the "world" one more time and hit the road! Yes, I cried...hard! But, we are going back in December and we know we are lucky!
I even tried to get my dh to turn around, but I knew once we hit Georgia there was no turning back.
We stopped again at his parents house and I got my b-day gift and dinner.
We napped and woke early to head home.
7:40am - arrived home in Michigan to our two cats waiting at the door! Welcome home!
Whew, now read the last report with tips, overviews, and last minute thoughts!
Thanks for reading along,
Kamy
http://gennaroworld.topcities.com
We had breakfast at Lumieres. The food was good, but the choices are limited. That is one of the only things I don't like about breakfast onboard. I wish they offered more at the sit down (on the menu).
Castaway Cay was as beautiful as dh and I remembered and mom was eager to see it! We walked off and stopped for pictures and to soak in the sun. It was another VERY HOT day, with no rain
We took the tram to the family beach and got a nice spot with chairs and an umbrella. We find the hammocks to be uncomfortable so we opted against that. We hit the water and it was a great temperature. The sun was so hot that we knew we would not be out long. Mom got a Konk Cooler and DH and I bought a specialty drink. We soaked up some sun, swam, and relaxed until lunch.Dh and I had gone to the adult beach on our last cruise and decided it was too quiet for us. We like music and people, so this time we stayed on the family beach. It never got to crowded since the ship was not full and the sun was fierce.
Lunch at Cookies BBQ was good as we remembered. The burgers, hot dogs, and potato salad were the best. The ribs were a bit fatty and the lobster sandwich was not my cup of tea. The pineapple upside down cake was great too and dh and love the fruit punch.
After lunch we walked around a bit and hit the island shop for gifts. dh and I managed to get out with just a magnet.
He was pleased I had already bought a sarong wrap onboard, so I satisfied my shopping urge. The stuff there is reasonably priced in Disney standards We headed back to the ship about 2pm and hit the pools. There were only a few people there, so we enjoyed swimming and talking and relaxing. I even got a nap in
Our dinner tonight was earlier because we were set to eat at Palo. Let me just say we LOVED it!
PALO: You must do it. It is worth every penny you paid for your cruise. And if you go on the Magic soon, ask for Salvatore!! We each tried every appetizer and trusted his recommendations. Dh had the lamb and loved it, mom had 3 orders of shrimp and then had filet mignon. I had the stuffed chicken breast and swear it is the best I have tasted. For dessert we each had Chocolate Souffle and Salvatore brought out 3 other desserts for us to try! Wow, were we full!!!!! For a wine recommendation, try the Moscato! It was fabulous and really accented all of our meals.
In the end, we tipped him very well and thanked him for his service. He ended the meal by bringing me out a birthday cake that was to die for! Yummm!!!!!!
As full as were were, we had to rush out to Disney Dreams. This is the only show we saw on the ship and it is NOT to be missed! We all had tears in our eyes. I am not going to spoil it for anyone that has not seen it, so go! It is everything magical and more!!
After Disney Dreams, we headed back to Rockin Bar D and played Magic Quest (An adult type scavenger hunt) and got ready for the 70's party. For anyone who has attended this, I was Gloria Gaynor and my dh was the indian in the Village People. We have it on video and it is hilarious!!!!
After the dancing, karaoke started. It was quiet that night, so most of the singers just kept singing again and again. Mom turned in early and dh and I took another walk on deck to say goodbye to our cruise!!!!! It was sad, but we know we are headed on cruise #3 in December, our first 7 night!!!
The next morning we awoke early and headed to breakfast. We ate at Parrot Cay and said goodbye to our servers. We then headed to Shutters to see all of our pictures. Mom bought two and Dh and I bought one. They were all great and it is a shame they throw them away, but we know that pics add up if you buy too many!
Disembarkation was a breeze and so was customs. People seemed worried in the wake of everything, but it was smooth and everyone was pleasant.
Overall.....Great cruise!!
After leaving the port, we took mom to the airport to catch her 11:15 flight. She arrive 90 minutes early and checked in easily. We said goodbye and told her to have a safe flight. She did and I breathed a sigh fo releif when I talked to her in Detroit.
Dh and I went to All Star Sports to check in for one night before making the drive back to Michigan. The check in line was VERY long and we stood there for 35 minutes. When we checked in, the very nice castmember was able to switch our room so we could get it right away. We told her we were cruisers and they were happy to accomodate. So, what did we do when we got to our room at Home Run Hotel???? NAP TIME!
We slept for a couple hours and felt much better for it. We ate lunc hat the food court and it was pretty good. We then hit MGM and participated in WWTBAM twice. It is a cool game, but seems hard to get into the hot seat when it is a full crowd. dh and I made the top ten twice.
After that we walked around the park and rode the GMR. We noticed the crowds a little heavier than earlier in the week.We left MGM and headed to EPCOT. We had heard a rumor that they may be running the new TOD parade that night, so we went to check it out. NO LUCK
They were planning to start running it on Monday and we would be gone! Too bad for us, but we will be back in December and see it then
We decided to head to MK to watch Spectromagic and the fireworks one more time before we left. UGH!! THe crowds were so heavy we could not even walk down Main Street. It was like everyone rescheduled there trips to arrive on the same day! We tried to eat at a variety of places but everything was full. Funny how things change in a week and how September was suddenly swamped! So, we walked through some of the shops on Main Street and my wonderful dh bought me a beautiful WDW watch for my birthday. We left MK and headed over to AKL for a late dinner at BOMA.
One thing to say about BOMA......YES!!! You must try this place. Do not be turned off by the African cuisine label. This buffet is awesome and has the best desserts we have tasted. It is a unique experience and we plan to make this one a regular!!!! Besides, the resort is gorgeous and the animals are out in numbers at night. It was a great time to be there.
After dinner, we decided to call it a night. We headed back to *** to hit the sack and fell right to sleep.
In the morning (my actual birthday), we drove around the "world" one more time and hit the road! Yes, I cried...hard!
But, we are going back in December and we know we are lucky! I even tried to get my dh to turn around, but I knew once we hit Georgia there was no turning back.
We stopped again at his parents house and I got my b-day gift and dinner.
We napped and woke early to head home.
7:40am - arrived home in Michigan to our two cats waiting at the door! Welcome home!
Whew, now read the last report with tips, overviews, and last minute thoughts!
Thanks for reading along,
Kamy
http://gennaroworld.topcities.com
