Land and Sea - Yippee! September 2013 -TR updated 02/11/2014 - Page 12 - PassPorter - A Community of Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, and General Travel Forums
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All caught up! Great time you had not visiting the parks before the cruise! We enjoyed our resort before the cruise this time around more than ever before. It was a nice change of pace. Can't wait to hear your thoughts on the cruise!
Looks like a perfect goodbye-night in the Crescent Lake area. It is wonderful there at night and I'm glad you got to see some of the performers. Mango Panna Cotta? YUMMMM! I can't wait to hear about tomorrow and your first look around the ship!
Night-time is so special in Disney World!
Quote:
Originally Posted by mcc0313
Loved all the pictures from the AOA, the BC and the BW - I love that area, there are just so many places you can wander too. YEAH I am so excited to hear about the cruise.
Coming up!
Quote:
Originally Posted by pamcarey
Everything looks so good at the Boardwalk Bakery!! Yum! I can't wait to hear about the cruise!
There's so much to choose from!
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Originally Posted by JKnott17
Great night at the Boardwalk!! Can't wait for the cruise next
coming up!
Quote:
Originally Posted by chezp
Love the night-time shots you got at the BoardWalk!
Thanks! We have so many issues with cameras, I'm glad they came out ok.
Quote:
Originally Posted by MayraLR
The Boardwalk looks so nice at night.
I'm seriously thinking about trying to stay there next time
Quote:
Originally Posted by PrincessSharon
I love the Boardwalk area! So much to do, even just people watching is fun. Really looking forward to the cruise portion!
I had heard that the nightlife at the Boardwalk has been kind of getting sparse lately, it was pretty fun while we were there.
Quote:
Originally Posted by KMB733
Great pictures of the resorts!!!
Quote:
Originally Posted by disneydreamer33
Great pics! I love that you are just getting some leisurely time to just soak up the atmosphere and enjoy things that you usually just pass by.
It's a totally different feel to just spend time soaking it all in, instead of breezing by, saying, "That's nice!" on the way to the park.
Quote:
Originally Posted by OhToodles!
All caught up! Great time you had not visiting the parks before the cruise! We enjoyed our resort before the cruise this time around more than ever before. It was a nice change of pace. Can't wait to hear your thoughts on the cruise!
I'm looking forward to your report!
*******
Sept 8, part 2 of our vacation - the Cruise!
We got up at 7:30 to finish packing and to have the bags by the door by 8am. They were pretty punctual in picking them up - I'm glad we spent time the night before getting ready and putting the new tags on the bags. The kids were still knocked out I'm telling you, they really enjoyed those beds!
"Wakey wakey - it's Cruise Day!"
We ate the last thing in the fridge, baked apple turnovers (frozen, Pepperidge Farm - tasty!) It's usually sad, looking around the hotel room, making sure we didn't forget anything. But today was different We were excited! We were supposed to leave at 12:25, but the letter we got in the room let us know to be in the Solarium by 12:15 to meet the cruise rep. We had some time to kill, so we relaxed by the pool that beautiful morning. (Dh and I managed to book our flights to Las Vegas for his conference while sitting there.) Oh, I need to mention that they were checking Magic Bands at the pool entrance by this time. During the week, they were just asking which resort were we staying at. We were just a little hungry and got some french fries as a snack. (I knew it may be a while before we ate again.) About 11:30, we got a text from Erika - they were already on the boat!
We headed over to the Solarium to be on time for the cruise rep. She was there waiting to check people in for the bus. It seemed like she was just as excited as we were
There were two sisters who were late to the meet up, then one of them literally disappeared! She went off to do something and her sister had no idea where she went . The rep couldn't wait any longer and let us go ahead and walk to the waiting bus. We were supposed to be leaving at 12:25, so the rep left her assistant there to wait for her while we went to the bus. We waited for about 10 minutes before she showed up, apologetic .
The rep waved goodbye to us as we pulled away
A new movie
"There it is!"
The "Freedom of the Seas"
So excited now! (I was totally geeking out by this time. I think even more than the kids )
Beauty! (This is my desktop background )
Pulling in...
I didn't get any photos of inside, Max took this one. I think I was just too excited or in a hurry Check in was a short wait - looks like we missed the rush. We checked the kids in to the kid's clubs and got wrist bands (no line by now) and headed to the tunnel...
After taking our family photo, we headed up the ramp! (Totally grinning now, even typing about it )
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Those first glimpses of the ship as you pull up are so exciting, aren't they?!?!?! I get giddy thinking about it too
The Dream was so much more exciting to see than the other ships we saw. Most likely because we were going to be on it, lol, but I think because it's so pretty compared to the others
Quote:
Originally Posted by lauriep
Oh, that is the most exciting thing-- your first glimpse of the beautiful ship and then walking through those ears to board!! Yaaaaay!
It was so awesome - I was in a total daze.
Quote:
Originally Posted by chezp
Yay - you're there!
Yay!!
Quote:
Originally Posted by pamcarey
Oh, how exciting!! I love driving up to the ship and the whole excitement of arriving!
So totally
Quote:
Originally Posted by disneydreamer33
How exciting! Your pictures gave me goose bumps! I want to do a cruise so bad. I can't wait to hear all about your time on the ship!
I'll try my best to give good details
Quote:
Originally Posted by PrincessSharon
Yay! You're on board! Reading about this is getting me so excited for my upcoming cruise. Can't wait for more!
I can't wait to read about it from your perspective!
Quote:
Originally Posted by KMB733
How exciting that its cruise day
Quote:
Originally Posted by mommapants
Sorry to be leaving the World but - WELCOME ABOARD!!!
**********
1st cruise day, con't...
When we got to the entrance, I couldn't believe that we were finally here We heard the names of the families ahead of us and I think my heart was pounding by this time. We were asked for our name, then suddenly, "...THE JENKINS FAMILY" I wish I had a picture of that
By the time we boarded, it had gotten pretty late. Erika and Gus had already eaten and were looking around. We got a text earlier that she was able to get us reservations for Palo brunch on our day at sea, that was a big weight off my shoulders. Our accounts were linked so it wasn't a problem. I'm not sure if I mentioned before that she was able to reserve Palo way back at the 75 day mark, but we weren't. She said they were actually wondering why only her name was showing and not ours. Before we could meet up with her, we had to try to make it to the DVC presentation that had started at 2:30, but according to the schedule, lunch would stop being served at Cabanas at 3pm! We were really hungry, and I wasn't about to miss our first meal . We found our way up to Cabanas, barely glancing at anything, but trying to take in everything. (Our first mission once we got a chance to take a breath, would be to find an elevator hack. Too many people trying to take the main elevators at the same time! Like others, we ended up taking the stairs much of the time. I should have been a few pounds lighter by the end of the cruise!)
By 2:45, we were sitting down to our first meal. I can't even tell you what I had. I can tell you what Titus had - pizza. He had pizza every day for lunch while on the boat Okay, quick! We have to make it to D Lounge to catch the presentation - there was $200 on board credit at stake! Twenty minutes later, we walked out of D Lounge with no extra credit, but it was amazing to see how many DCVers were in there - it was packed!
Now it was time to find Erika and Gus. We thought she might be on the pool deck as the Sail Away party was to start soon. We pretty much ran right into her (not hard, she's like 6'1", yes, I'm the runt of the family ) and had a little mini-reunion . Soon, the party started, yahoo!
Erika and Gus are in the middle of the crowd, she's wearing a black shirt and he's on her shoulders. That's me in the pink in the foreground with the frizzy hair
I was towards the front, but I got better pics of the show on the widescreen.
The CMs were handing out pom-pom/streamer thingy's. I still have mine
This guy was everywhere on the ship! He was always "on" whenever you saw him.
At this point the big horns started playing "When You Wish Upon A Star". Oh my goodness! I think we were actually sailing by then
At this point, I put away my camera, because it was now a full blown party. While everyone else decided to go explore the ship (it had gotten really hot out there), Titus and I stayed to dance and shake our groove thangs
Things start to blur from this point on. I don't know what it was (excitement ) but I was overcome by attention deficit and hyperactivity for the rest of the cruise. To this day, I still remember having the time of my life, but I can't remember anything, you know what I mean? I'm glad I wrote stuff down for the first 2 days, but after that, I'm pretty much relying on my kid's and Dh's memories and my photo time stamps
Next up will be the rest of the afternoon and evening of our first day. (Code for "I have to look at the daily navigator schedule to figure out what everyone did before I write.")
So exciting! Glad Erika was able to score brunch ressies for you. The energy of the young CMs always just amazes me. It amazes me at the parks, but even more so on the ships, where they have such long shifts, multiple duties, and are away from home. They keep up the good cheer, seem to notice everything and everyone, and don't seem to notice the heat at all.
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Disney Magic - Oct 2015
I'm telling you, they really enjoyed those beds!
. The rep couldn't wait any longer and let us go ahead and walk to the waiting bus. We were supposed to be leaving at 12:25, so the rep left her assistant there to wait for her while we went to the bus. We waited for about 10 minutes before she showed up, apologetic 
.
)
)
PassPorter Guide Author
Holly: 
We heard the names of the families ahead of us and I think my heart was pounding by this time. We were asked for our name, then suddenly, "...THE JENKINS FAMILY" 
I wish I had a picture of that 
. We found our way up to Cabanas, barely glancing at anything, but trying to take in everything. (Our first mission once we got a chance to take a breath, would be to find an elevator hack. Too many people trying to take the main elevators at the same time! Like others, we ended up taking the stairs much of the time. I should have been a few pounds lighter by the end of the cruise!)
) and had a little mini-reunion 
. Soon, the party started, yahoo!
) but I was overcome by attention deficit and hyperactivity for the rest of the cruise. To this day, I still remember having the time of my life, but I can't remember anything, you know what I mean? I'm glad I wrote stuff down for the first 2 days, but after that, I'm pretty much relying on my kid's and Dh's memories and my photo time stamps 
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