/Cruising on a Dream Full of Frights and Friends: 10/12/13-10/19/13 TR completed 4/21/2014 About This Page:

[pamcarey]

Isn't the mattress and bedding on the ships fabulous!! I am going to get a very similar mattress for my bed at home soon. I hope it lives up to the ones on the cruise.

[honeybee723]

Originally Posted by KMB733

I love the idea of doing a toast as you were sailing away! Dinner looks really good. Its nice that Hope was having such a great time that she didn't want to leave the Kids Club!

The day couldn't have gone any better...all the way around. And I can't believe that was only our first day.

Originally Posted by disneydreamer33

Dinner sounded amazing!
Nice of Kelly to get Chad an adult sippy cup.
That's usually the way it goes, when you think they will be happy to see you, they don't want to leave. At least you know she was comfortable there and happy. That had to put your mind at ease.

She does that at daycare sometimes too, but you're right, it means she's being treated well.

Originally Posted by lauriep

I love the photos of the kids in the stateroom, already fast friends! Glad you had nice, friendly servers this cruise!

By the end of the trip, Dylan and Hope would even hold hands while they were walking around.

Originally Posted by MayraLR

Love the room decorations! Both you and Kelly went all out!

I didn't think I had made that many magnets...until I put all of them on the door.

Originally Posted by xwewhisper

Those CMs sure think of everything! Sounds like a great and relaxing start to the cruise!

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Our CMs were great.

Originally Posted by cubfancolleen

What a great first day!
We had that same experience on our first Disney cruise with our then 3 yr old begging to stay longer at the kids club. The CM finally pointed out that there was a lot for us to do on our own, and we should take advantage of it. Hard to believe that kid is now 17!!

At first I didn't want to leave her there, but when I realized she was having such a great time, I felt a lot better.

Originally Posted by chezp

What a wonderful end to your first day on board! I love your enthusiasm for everything, which just comes across in your writing.

Thanks so much Cheryl. I can't say it enough times...we had the best time!

Originally Posted by JKnott17

Great first day!!
I totally agree with you, that moment you walk on the ship and they announce your name is totally exciting, overwhelming and just one big blur of fun
It's so great that both of your families got along so well, I'm so happy you got to share your vacation together.
I don't blame Hope one bit for crying when you picked her up, those kids clubs are amazing and I'm pretty sure I wouldn't want to leave either!

After letting her play in the clubs on DCL, I honestly dont' think any other cruise clubs would compare.

Originally Posted by num1DVCfan

How sweet of Kelly to get Chad a sippy cup and Ravens to boot (that makes it extra awesome IMO).

It sounds like a great first day and I agree with you that the beds were awesome. I even loved the toiletries they put in the staterooms.

Anything's extra awesome when the Ravens are on it. And the toiletries are the best! I save them up at home and take my time using them.

Originally Posted by OhToodles!

I loved our little private sail away party! I was so glad I got that cup for Chad! And I'm happy he's still enjoying it. It was crazy how we'd always run into each other, but great the same time since those wave phones aren't the easiest to use.
I won't go into too much more detail since I need to do my next update - I'll elaborate there.

He especially likes putting wine in there. He doesn't really have to go for a lot of refills since that thing holds A LOT!

Originally Posted by stardust190

Sounds like fun. I love the pictures of the kids having a good old time. Old friends that they are.

Hope is always talking about wanting to see Dylan and Lukas. They got along so well.

Originally Posted by PrincessSharon

What a great first day! Your door decorations look great. I love that y'all had a private sail away party! Sorry Hope cried when she had to leave the kids club, but hey, at least you know she was having fun, right?

I probably would have cried if it was time for me to leave that place too.

Originally Posted by mommapants

what an amazing first night. Isn't that always the way - kids crying because they are having so much fun they don't want to leave.

The entire day was amazing...and that was all even before we really set off anywhere.

Originally Posted by OneLittleSpark

Sounds like a great first night! How thoughtful of Kelly getting Chad that cup. Just the look of Chad's steak had my stomach turning, never mind your description!

Can't wait to hear all about your first full day! And Hope's return to her beloved kids club.

That steak was really bad. Sorry to make your stomach all yucky, but I wanted everyone to get a really good visual. Lol!

Originally Posted by guerns17

Lol...I love Hope. She cracks me up. Here comes dad all excited to see her and wahhhh! It sounds like the kids club is wonderful!!!

The bedding sound divine!

The bedding was AMAZING! I miss it every time I go up to my bed.

Originally Posted by pamcarey

Isn't the mattress and bedding on the ships fabulous!! I am going to get a very similar mattress for my bed at home soon. I hope it lives up to the ones on the cruise.

You'll have to give us a review so we can then all go out and buy our very own DCL style mattress. I found where I can order the pillows, but I put them on my Christmas list first. I don't think I'm going to be getting them, so I should probably just order them on my own so I'll have them on my bed quicker.

[cubfancolleen]

You are right, Melissa, about other cruise lines' kids' clubs not comparing. DCL was our first cruise, and we decided to try another line a few years later. AWFUL! The club was only open a few hours at a time (!), never if the ship was in port, and they had lockers all around the perimeter of the room where they kept the toys and crafts and such, then only opened one or two at a time, so kids never had much choice. Plus, it was SMALL (think maybe the equivalent of 2 staterooms opened up to one room), and the staff did NOT seem to like kids.... And that is why every cruise we've taken since has been DCL!

[honeybee723]

I would have loved to have been able to get another update in before Christmas, but it just didn't happen. I did want to wish everyone as very merry Christmas though, and I'll be back when all of this holiday madness is over.

[chezp]

We're here whenever you're ready and a very happy Christmas to you!

[lauriep]

Enjoy your Christmas, Melissa!

[MayraLR]

We'll be here when you're ready. Merry Christmas!

[cubfancolleen]

Merry Christmas, Melissa!

[KMB733]

Merry Christmas, Melissa!!

[mommapants]

Merry Christmas - take your time we'll be here when all the Christmas madness is over

[num1DVCfan]

Did you get the pillows for Christmas? Can you share where to order them? I'd love them for our bed too!

[disneydreamer33]

Hope you all ahd a Merry Christmas!
I got back on today after almost 2 weeks of being off the boards and thought I would be behind, but looks like everyone else has been busy too!

[honeybee723]

I'm Back!!!! Finally! I've been so busy at work that I haven't had a chance to take a lunch break, and no lunch break means no TR update. But I'm here now, and I plan on posting regular updates so that I can get this thing caught up before I go on my next vacation in May.

Day Three: Monday, October 14th
Part One: Trout Mousse & Caviar...eek!

Today was our sea day, and it was also the day that Kelly and I had our brunch reservations at Palo, so instead of changing into my bathing suit as soon as I woke up, like Chad and Hope did, I had to try and look all nice and pretty. I was trying to get myself ready with enough time to head up to Cabanas with them so I could help both of them get breakfast, but apparently I wasn’t moving fast enough for their hungry tummies. Chad insisted that he could handle the breakfast buffet himself, but I told him there was no way he was going to be able to carry a tray of food, especially while dealing with Hope at the same time…in a crowded restaurant. He tried reassuring me by saying he would just ask a CM to help him if he needed too, and even though that sounded like a good plan, I was still a little worried. I made sure to have him take a wave phone so he could call me if he had any problems, and then I reluctantly let him leave our stateroom.

After I finished getting ready, I tried calling Chad a bunch of times to find out where they were sitting up at Cabanas, but he never answered. So I headed up and decided that I’d circle the place until I spotted them. After making one complete pass I never saw them, and just as I was starting my second round, I noticed Kelly and her family at one of the tables. How come I have no problem finding them…ever, but I can never locate my own family? I asked if they had seen Chad and Hope, but they hadn’t, and so I continued my search around the restaurant.

Finally as I came around the back end of Cabanas for the second time, I saw Hope’s little head behind a wall, and then I saw Chad, along with a CM leaning over their table. As I got closer, I realized that the CM was making a special towel animal for Hope, a flower, so I said my hellos and let him get back to what he was doing. Once he was finished the flower, Chad took the time to introduce me to him. His name was Jason, and he had actually been the CM that offered to help Chad with his tray…he never even had to search a CM out, Jason came over to him. Jason was in charge of keeping the pastries stocked on that side of the buffet, and it just so happened to be right where Chad was trying to carry a tray over to a table. Jason stopped what he was doing to help him, and after he carried Chad’s tray, he went and got both of them their drinks. After Jason started talking to Chad and Hope, he sort of became smitten with Hope, saying she was one of the sweetest, friendlies and most well-spoken child (for her age) that he’s seen in a long time.

I never brag about my child, not that I don’t want too, or don’t feel like there’s any reason too, I was just never that type of parent. So to have a stranger tell me all of those things, made me feel like I’ve sort of been doing a good job as a mother because Lord knows I question myself all the time. We told Jason we’d see him tomorrow at breakfast time, and then headed out towards the pool area so they could grab a lounger. Once I knew where they were going to be seated, I headed up to Palo for our reservation.

Kelly was already there, and once I arrived, they took us back to our table right away, which was towards the front of the restaurant, right in front of a window overlooking the ocean. Our waiter took our drink orders and also told us he’d be bringing us mimosas, and then took us over to the buffet to go over all of the selections. I’ve only been in Palo on the Magic, and it looked completely different on the Dream. Plus I felt it looked a bit smaller than it had on the Magic. Instead of having the brunch set up in the middle of the restaurant, it was set up in a room at the back of the restaurant. And there was no viewing area of the kitchen like there had been on the Magic. But this version of Palo seemed a lot more upscale to me.

We went around the buffet, starting with the fruits, pastries, and grains. Then the seafood, and more of the “lunch” selections of the buffet, such as asparagus wrapped in prosciutto, and the more meatier dishes. Next up were the samples of the entrees we could order, such as gourmet pizzas, eggs benedict, pancakes, chicken parm, etc. Our waiter made sure to tell us not to come over and grab these because they were stone cold and were just for show. Maybe they’d had someone do that in the past??? And last, but not least, was the amazing assortment of desserts.

We headed back to our table, and our waiter offered to take a picture of us before we dove into the buffet. I wish I would have told him NOT to kneel on the floor while taking the picture because this is one of the most unflattering angles of me (there comes that vanity again). At least Kelly and I coordinated our colors, without even knowing we were doing it.



Then he took our orders for our main entrées. I decided to try the eggs benedict and Kelly ordered the pancakes, and even though I know they weren’t just plain old pancakes, I can’t remember exactly what made them so special. Finally we headed over to the buffet to begin sampling all of the yumminess it had to offer.

On my first plate, I chose some fruit to help me feel better about all of the calories I was about to devour, asparagus wrapped in prosciutto which I then drenched in hollandaise sauce, trout mousse (only because our waiter raved about it, and I was trying to be adventurous in front of Kelly), and two DELICIOUS fruit tart danishes. OMG they were soooo good! I probably could have eaten two full plates of those babies and still have wanted to grab more.



I can’t go into as much detail on Kelly’s first plate like I did with mine because I’m not 100% sure what she chose, but here’s my best attempt based on the picture. She went with the healthy fruit option as well, a cinnamon bun, tomato with mozzarella, a bread pretzel (which I think we both thought would be sweet, but it wasn’t), and salmon mousse, as well as caviar on some sort of cheese spread.



I think it’s safe to say that both of us didn’t enjoy the salmon or trout mousse. There’s just something about a dish with the words Trout and Mousse in it that screams Yuck. And since Kelly was the only one who volunteered to put the caviar in her mouth, all I can tell you is what she told me…it wasn’t good.

Throughout our entire meal, Kelly and I talked about anything and everything, and I think having that private time with her only made our friendship better. I honestly don’t think there was ever one moment of silence between us, besides those seconds where we were shoving food in our faces.

Soon enough our waiter was bringing us our main entrée, and I’m pretty sure we could have ordered something else as well, but we decided to keep it simple and just order one entrée a piece.

Mine was phenomenal! I love a good eggs benedict, and this did not disappoint at all.



I know Kelly enjoyed her pancakes, but she definitely needs to help me out here on exactly what she loved about them.



Once we were finished our entrees, we both agreed that it was time to head back to the buffet again. Because I pretty much filled my second plate up with the same exact things I put on my first plate, I didn’t take a picture, but Kelly decided to be different, and changed things up for her second go round.



Then, because we still had a few more empty spaces in our bellies, we went back once more to grab a few desserts.

For my desserts, I chose a panna cotta with mango (just because they’re always making panna cotta on the cooking shows I watch, and I’ve never eaten before…now I know what I’ve been missing because it’s really tasty), a berry fruit tart and a “Sacher" chocolate torte.



For Kelly’s desserts, all I can remember is that one of them was tiramisu, and she ended up not being that impressed by it. The other two desserts I’m unsure of.



Just as we were sitting down at our table after coming back with our desserts, our waiter came over with a few plated desserts for us as well. He didn't know we had already gotten up to get some of our own, and he felt bad that he had been busy running all over the place earlier. There was no way we were going to be able to eat them, but because he brought us another mango pana cotta, I told Kelly she needed to have a few bites of that because it was really good.



After we finished eating, we sat there for a bit more just sipping our coffee and chit chatting more of the morning away. Somewhere during this time a fellow Passporter, Tricia (lsugirlinutah) came over to our table to say hello. After a bit of small talk, she told us she had to go because I think her daughter needed to be picked up from the club or something. If that wasn’t the reason, I’m pretty sure there was an important reason as to why she was on her way out. Thanks again for stopping over to say hi Tricia!

By now it was around noon, and we figured we had left the men by themselves with the kids long enough. We knew we’d be seeing each other again soon because Mickey’s Mouse-Querade Party was scheduled for later that afternoon. And speaking of Halloween, Kelly and I had talked about how we weren’t that impressed with the offerings listed on the cruise. The way that DCL had advertised everything before the cruise was not the way it was being presented to us while we were on the ship. The party was going to be held in the lobby atrium, and there was no “trick-or-treating” per se, it was just a few CM’s standing around in the lobby handing out candy.

So it was decided that the adults would forgo wearing our costumes (remember this for later). The costume contest wasn’t even happening until close to 11pm, and it was only for the adults, not the kids, so there would be no family costume contest to dress up for. I was a little upset about not getting all dressed up since Dawn had gone out of her way to send the costumes to me, but at least now I could relax a bit more before we had to get Hope ready for the Halloween party.

Up Next: It’s the Wave Phone’s Fault

[lauriep]

How great that a nice CM came over to help Chad and then became smitten with Hope-- who wouldn't? I've never had to ask for help, either. Someone always runs right over to help me with the tray at the buffet. Your brunch with Kelley looks and sounds so delish. Sorry that the Halloween offerings weren't exactly as advertised, but I'm looking forward to seeing the kids in their costumes.

[xwewhisper]

What an amazing looking brunch! I never knew it was a buffet PLUS plated entrees! Better make sure I'm near starved if I ever decide to do that myself because it all looks amazing... well except for that fish mousse business