Land and Sea - Yippee! September 2013 -TR updated 02/11/2014 - Page 13 - PassPorter - A Community of Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, and General Travel Forums
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How exciting to be on board! I agree, I wouldn't want to miss my first meal on board either. How fun that your sister and nephew are on the cruise as well!
Yay! You're on board! Great pictures from the Sail Away Party. I feel the same way as you about our cruise. I remember having the time of my life and enjoying every minute of it, but I can't remember a lot of specifics. It's all one big, happy blur in my mind
Just found this TR. Sound like fun was had on land. I'm excited to read the rest about the cruise. I'm assuming you were on cloud 9 as you mentioned that everything was a blur and you're going to have to rely on pictures and navigators to remember what you did. I find that when things don't go well you tend to remember what went wrong. At least I hope this is the case. I'm looking into a cruise in 2016 and can't decide if I want to do a land and sea with a shorter cruise or just go for a long cruise.
You're on board and you're off!! You describing getting on board was exactly how I felt too! Although we did not go to the sail away party - we had our own in our room.
I know what you mean about the feeling when your party is announced when you board the ship - it's a really special moment, isn't it?
It was awesome!
Quote:
Originally Posted by lauriep
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.
You are 100% right about that! These are some amazing people...
Quote:
Originally Posted by pamcarey
How exciting to be on board! I agree, I wouldn't want to miss my first meal on board either. How fun that your sister and nephew are on the cruise as well!
I love traveling with them
Quote:
Originally Posted by disneydreamer33
The party sounded fun and a great way to begin your cruise adventure!
There was so much good energy!
Quote:
Originally Posted by KMB733
Great pictures from the sailaway party!! Looks like a great way to start your cruise!
I think my face was sore from smiling so much
Quote:
Originally Posted by JKnott17
Yay! You're on board! Great pictures from the Sail Away Party. I feel the same way as you about our cruise. I remember having the time of my life and enjoying every minute of it, but I can't remember a lot of specifics. It's all one big, happy blur in my mind
It took a while to sit down with the boys and try to remember what we did!
Quote:
Originally Posted by stardust190
Just found this TR. Sound like fun was had on land. I'm excited to read the rest about the cruise. I'm assuming you were on cloud 9 as you mentioned that everything was a blur and you're going to have to rely on pictures and navigators to remember what you did. I find that when things don't go well you tend to remember what went wrong. At least I hope this is the case. I'm looking into a cruise in 2016 and can't decide if I want to do a land and sea with a shorter cruise or just go for a long cruise.
Tough decision
Quote:
Originally Posted by OhToodles!
You're on board and you're off!! You describing getting on board was exactly how I felt too! Although we did not go to the sail away party - we had our own in our room.
I can't wait to start reading all about your trip!
Quote:
Originally Posted by mommapants
you are on your way now. So much fun at the sail away party
******
1st cruise day, con't...
Sorry it's been so long! I had a busy week and it took us a while to finally sit down and figure out what we did those 4 days on the boat . Even with 4 of us thinking out loud, there's still gaps, lol.
Before I go on, I totally forgot about the mandatory boat drill! I couldn't figure out how we all got back together in the room. We HAD to go back to meet up to get to to our assembly station by 4:00pm, which was in the Buena Vista Theater. We got there a few minutes early, which was great because it got really crowded in there fast. There were groups of people who had to stand, but it didn't take too long before the drill started. I sat next to two ladies still dressed in their swim suits and coverups with drinks in their hands - Wow, I needed to be where they were at! In case you need to know, it is presented in English, then Spanish. (BTW, there were so many Spanish speaking guests on our cruise! I don't know why I was surprised, but it was cool traveling with all kinds of different people speaking different languages and having different accents .)
So THEN we went to the sail away party, where we met up with Erika and Gus After the party, Titus and I went to the room to check it out and relax a bit. I wanted to see the water from our veranda.
Leaving Florida!
Looking out from our stateroom...
Definitely a thumbs up!
Looking down from our veranda
Max and Dh were up on the top deck waving goodbye to the people onshore. I couldn't tell you where my sister was, I think they went back to their room to relax before the pre-dinner show. I was glad for Erika's idea for 2nd seating, it really worked our for us this cruise as we are late eaters anyway. Max and Titus left to check out the open house for Vibe, the teen's club, they were going to meet us at the Walt Disney Theater to see The Golden Mickeys. I think I just spent some time checking out the view and the room. I had told Dh earlier about 687 Pub where he could catch some Sunday football - he's not really a Disney show kind of guy. He took some pictures with his phone while checking out the Aquaduck, before heading to the pub.
I met up with Erika and Gus, who had gotten spiffied up for the occassion They got in line to get on the red carpet while I took pictures. (Before we got to the theater, there was a ruckus coming down the stairs - a celebrity type person was being "prepped" for the red carpet by her "entourage". There were camera people taking her photos while getting her ready for her appearance. It was talking and noise and clipboards and headphones and producers and hubbub, like "backstage" stuff. Totally awesome and hilarious! When we get to the red carpet, there was the crew and gorgeous lady interviewing guests going into the theater, then we were like, "Oh!") Gus was so cute during his interview! When she asked him where was he from, he said, "Ummmm..." Erika and I whispered loudly, "Albuquerque!" "Albuquerque!" The lady was so great with him and the other guests.
When we got into the theater, we saw Max and Titus with a friend they had made and told us they watched on the screen while Gus was "interviewed" - sweet! The show was wonderful and I smiled the whole time. I looked back to see if the boys were liking it, and they were leaning forward enjoying the show - yes!
After the show, the boys took off again, agreeing to meet up at Enchanted Garden for dinner at 8pm sharp. Erika, Gus and I wandered around, taking in the sites and sounds.
This is how you're supposed to cruise!
Dancing with Mama
Soon it was time to meet up for dinner. We were seated at table 73, which we had to ourselves because there were 6 of us. Our server Mihaly ("me high") was from Hungary and his assistant was Francia from Dominican Republic. They were so good to us, we have requested them for our next trip, sorry for the early reveal! They were the perfect mix of professionalism and efficiency and of course learned what we preferred during our trip. It actually took a while to get used to Mihaly's accent, but it was no problem at all. The food was excellent! I had in the back of my mind all the "so-so" reports of Disney cruise line food, so I had kind of braced myself unnecessarily. I promised not to get on everyone's nerves by making them wait to take a picture so I couldn't tell you what everyone else had, but it all looked good.
North Atlantic Lobster Ravioli - with roasted garlic and sweet basil in a light tomato broth
Baby Spinach Salad - tender spinach tossed with fresh sliced seasonal pears, toasted pine nuts and crumbled gorgonzola (Wait! Mine didn't have pears... I had raspberries )
Roasted Pork Tenderloin seasoned with Smoked Salt - Citrus flavored polenta cakes and oven roasted carrots, parsnips and caramelized Granny Smith apples.
(My second entree, thanks Erika!) Pan-seared Sea Bass - with Saffron and fennel risotto with a sweet chili glaze
I have no idea what dessert this is, I don't recognize any of the items on the allears menu site for it. It was good
At one point before dinner really got started, Gus had pretty much hit the wall. He was just plain tired and started whining - a 3 year old can only take so much excitement! Anyway, he started coughing (on purpose, said Erika) and it made him spit up his food into a napkin. Erika wisely whisked him out of there to take him to bed. As soon as they left, it was as if the CDA from Monster's Inc came out of nowhere and pretty much disappeared every trace of Gus and Erika! (The guy was dressed in a mask, plastic apron, a hair bonnet, and some heavy duty gloves.) We knew that Disney took germs seriously when they handed us sanitizer wipes as we walked into the dining room. But this was on another level! Lickety split, it was as if nothing ever happened. When I told Erika later, she had a good laugh about it Yay Disney!
Extra treats: Apricot and dark chocolate squares...
Detail is everywhere...
We all split up again after dinner - Dh watched the football game on the deck, while Titus played in the pool. Max went back to Edge and I took off on a whirlwind, impromptu tour of the ship while delivering fish extender gifts. Boy that was a workout ! I was done in time to finally relax on the deck with the hubs and see the end of the game. It was so nice out there, watching the game with my hubby, cool breezes coming in from the ocean...
7th heaven for a 9 year old
At some point we all ended up back in the room and fell into a Disney Dream induced coma. Tomorrow we'll be in the Bahamas!
What a fantastic, full first day! Golden Mickeys is my favorite show. I love the red carpet interviews and how they show them on the screen in the theater. Gus looks too adorable being interviewed! Poor little Gus at dinner. That's amazing how the germ squad did the clean-up. They don't fool around!
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I was just amazed because it wasn't like he was acting like he was sick. It was just in his napkin from coughing too hard. They have to be so careful though, I totally understand.
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Although we did not go to the sail away party - we had our own in our room. 
Disney Magic - Oct 2015
Holly: 
. Even with 4 of us thinking out loud, there's still gaps, lol.
I couldn't figure out how we all got back together in the room. We HAD to go back to meet up to get to to our assembly station by 4:00pm, which was in the Buena Vista Theater. We got there a few minutes early, which was great because it got really crowded in there fast. There were groups of people who had to stand, but it didn't take too long before the drill started. I sat next to two ladies still dressed in their swim suits and coverups with drinks in their hands 
- Wow, I needed to be where they were at! In case you need to know, it is presented in English, then Spanish. (BTW, there were so many Spanish speaking guests on our cruise! I don't know why I was surprised, but it was cool traveling with all kinds of different people speaking different languages and having different accents 
.)
After the party, Titus and I went to the room to check it out and relax a bit. I wanted to see the water from our veranda.
while getting her ready for her appearance. It was talking and noise and clipboards and headphones and producers and hubbub, like "backstage" stuff. Totally awesome and hilarious! When we get to the red carpet, there was the crew and gorgeous lady interviewing guests going into the theater, then we were like, "Oh!") Gus was so cute during his interview! When she asked him where was he from, he said, "Ummmm..." Erika and I whispered loudly, "Albuquerque!" "Albuquerque!" The lady was so great with him and the other guests. 
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