Celebrating 75 in the Caribbean! PTR and TR! - Page 10 - PassPorter - A Community of Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, and General Travel Forums
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Well the TR came to a screeching halt - sorry about that! I promise to update on Tuesday for sure! Possibly Monday evening but don't hold your breath on that. It's been an insane couple of weeks since I've been back! My day job has been so busy, and then nights have been hectic as well - always somewhere to be / something to do.
But it calms down a bit now, well, sort of, so I'll be able to update on Tuesday afternoon I believe. Here's hoping, anyway, because I really want to!!
Hey look, I'm alive!!! Phew. Thanksgiving week was beastly, but I'm finally recovered, and back on track!
Day 1, Part 2
Once mom finished "snoozing", she ooohed and ahhhed over all of the "surprise" decorations. Then, before we knew it, it was time for our lifeboat drill. We had to walk up five flights, to get to the Romeo & Juliet lounge, where we were to meet for our drill. The bar smelled like cigarette smoke, which was annoying. We sat there while they showed us how to use the life vests... and I tried to pay attention. Then they gave Meri a wristband that she had to wear for the entire trip, with her muster station on it. She was less than thrilled about that, and told me that she can't wait until she's old enough to not have to wear the annoying wristbands on all of her cruises. Funny kid.
After the drill, we headed out to the deck for a bit, to look at the water, and see if we were about to sail away. Allegedly we were to start sailing at 4pm, but I don't think I've been on a cruise that sailed on-time, lol.
Meri sat and had a slice of pizza while we waited...
After about 20 minutes, we got bored, and decided to go back down to the cabin to relax, get ready for dinner, and look out the window. Of course, as is typical, about 2 minutes after we got back to the cabin, the boat started moving. Go figure.
Gross water... not quite like leaving from Florida, that's for sure!
We turned around...
Of course the requisite Emmy photo!
In case anyone is curious about the crew
Before long, it was time to get ready for dinner.
We headed up to the dining room at 5:40pm (our early seating was at 5:45pm), and were escorted to our table - directly in front of the door, lol! It was a round table for ten, and we were the first ones there.
It turns out we were sharing a table with a couple from northern California with their 9 year old daughter, Riley, and a woman and her boyfriend from Mississippi, and her two daughters, Sara (9) and Sadie (6). Meri and Sara immediately bonded. They were EXACTLY alike. It was actually kind of funny. Everyone was really nice, and the kids seemed to get along famously. Riley was very quiet, but a very sweet young lady.
What's a cruise without bread to fill up on first??
Meri got a caesar salad to start...
Mom and I each got shrimp cocktail
Meri stole my camera frequently during dinner... so you'll see lots of random photos, lol...
Mom's salmon
My steak
Meri's chicken
What I really liked about the meals is that there was no separate kids menu. At first I was taken aback, and not thrilled, but as the cruise went on, and Meri tried different things, I decided it was actually a great thing! So going forward, I think I will encourage Meri to order solely off of the adult menu for any cruises.
Meri loved getting sherbet for dessert!
Mom got a cheese and fruit plate
I got the orange cake
And the servers brought a surprise birthday dessert for mom
She was really surprised, and so was I, lol! I had no idea they were going to do that!
We had a really good time at dinner, and we really enjoyed talking to the people at our table. It was a great fit, and I was SO glad. If you have a bad dinner table... well... it can make for a less than pleasant dinner experience. Our servers were lovely (their names are written down at home, so I'll tell you in the next update, lol) and very friendly. They always greeted us by name and they were very efficient. By the time we were finished, it was roughly 7:45pm, so we said our goodbyes and agreed that we'd all end up meeting up at the pool during the following day, so the kids could play.
After dinner, we headed back to the cabin. I was looking forward to curling up with my book, and relaxing! I filled out the room service breakfast form, and set it outside. The options were limited, but we didn't mind. I love a good continental breakfast. Coffee was the important thing, anyway!
Meri loved her bed, and while at first I was worried about hitting my head on hers, it turns out it was fine.
Of course, we had a towel animal!
We read for a couple of hours, and then we were out cold for the night!
Except for the cigarette smell in the lounge it all sounds good! It's always a relief to get the first dinner done so you know who your table-mates are. You lucked out! Glad Meri found a friend/twin. I like the idea of no kids menus, too. Especially on a cruise, where there are always a few "plain food" options that most kids would like. The kids' meals on a Disney cruise (or at WDW) always look pretty bad.
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Hey look, another update right on the heels of the last one! I figure I'd better get cranking, because if I leave this much longer, it'll never get done - Christmas is coming, and you know it's going to be busy in one way or another!
This update isn't very long, mostly because we didn't DO much, but it was a very lovely day!
Friday, November 7 - At Sea
We woke up naturally, sometime around 8:30am, and it was so nice! No alarm, nowhere to be, nothing to do. The seas were a little active, but nothing too crazy.
Meri liked sitting in the window and watching the water. It was a nice little window seat, I agree!
Breakfast was delivered
We tucked right in, cleaning the plates and enjoying our coffee and juice (and cereal, for Meri). After a leisurely breakfast and some down time, Meri and I headed up to the pool deck, probably around 9:30am, so she could swim and I could sun / read / nap / relax.
We ran into Riley, Sadie and Sara, and the girls ran around, sliding and swimming and jumping and leaping and sliding some more!
The skies were less than impressive at times, but it was still warm enough, and when the sun was out, it was downright glorious!
There's Meri in the purple bathing suit, saying hello to the walking towel animal
Mom met up with us around noon, and parked right beside us.
Of course, we grabbed pizza for lunch
Around 2pm, we headed back to the cabin, because I wanted to have afternoon tea at 3pm at Duke's Piano Bar. Meri was a little annoyed, because she wanted to go to the kids club, but I made her come with us.
It was a neat piano bar
Meri chose a lemon tea
Mom chose a green tea and I chose Earl Grey. The pianist showed up - his name was, unsurprisingly, Roddy.
We got to choose some sandwiches and desserts! At this point, Meri was completely on board with the tea party, lol. Funny kid.
After our lovely tea time, we meandered around the ship a little, to see what was what. The main theatre was beautiful and incredibly comfortable!
We headed back to the cabin at around 4pm, where, apparently, we ordered a room service snack! Because chocolate cake and scones and fruit didn't fill us up, I guess! Meri got a tuna sandwich, and I got grilled cheese.
After some snacking and reading, it was again dinner time! Ha!
Right in front of the door...
DELICIOUS!
Meri got the lobster, too, and she LOVED it!
She really needs to work on the selfies...
The girls
I have dozens of photos similar to this one (of various different foods) thanks to Meri and her little friends...
Hey look, napkin twirling!
After dinner, I dropped Meri at the kids club, and I headed down to the comedy club with some of our tablemates.
We had a really good time, and we laughed a lot. After the show, I picked Meri up, and then it was reading and bed. Tomorrow we would be relaxing on a beach in Mexico! Yay!
I love all the photos of you guys in this instalment - you just all look so wonderfully happy!
We really were just in such a good mood! I really tried to take more "us" pictures - especially to get some photos of myself. I'm notoriously bad about that, but I made more of an effort to ask mom to take some photos of me this time.
Quote:
Originally Posted by lauriep
Except for the cigarette smell in the lounge it all sounds good! It's always a relief to get the first dinner done so you know who your table-mates are. You lucked out! Glad Meri found a friend/twin. I like the idea of no kids menus, too. Especially on a cruise, where there are always a few "plain food" options that most kids would like. The kids' meals on a Disney cruise (or at WDW) always look pretty bad.
Quote:
Originally Posted by lauriep
A towel animal meet-and-greet!
You can tell you're on a cruise because of all the meals you can fit into one day. They all look good, too!
The kids food on the Disney cruise is pretty generic, I felt. Pizza, spaghetti, chicken nuggets, burgers. All standard kid fare, which is perfectly fine, but Meri can be an adventurous eater when pressed, and she really tried some new things on this cruise, and ate a lot healthier as well!
Great first day. I hate kids' menus, and think if given the chance (or lack of options) kids will move out of their comfort zone. That's how my son realized he loved smoked eel when he was 4!
Love cruise eating schedules!
Great first day. I hate kids' menus, and think if given the chance (or lack of options) kids will move out of their comfort zone. That's how my son realized he loved smoked eel when he was 4!
Love cruise eating schedules!
I agree fully! When Meri was 2 I brought her to an upscale restaurant (no kids menu) for a work dinner, and I figured she'd just pick off some of my food maybe, and then I'd give her some fruit / crackers from my purse to tide her over. She ended up eating my entire crab cake entree, leaving me to get fast food later on!
The photo of all the kids made me laugh with the signs they're making, as over here, that's an offensive gesture, basically telling people where to go, so I was surprised to see them doing that!
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