Poohbr1965
Earning My Ears
- Joined
- Jan 26, 2001
In case you missed the planning report...
Me (36) and mom (72), travelling with my friend from work and his 3 friends. Three night Wonder cruise, then 6 nights at WDW. First Disney cruise for all...
Friday, May 4
Woke up early to catch some of the sunrise off on the horizon on the verandah. Beautiful sight, though it was a bit overcast. Sleeping was rough last night...the ship really rocked and rolled (both ways) all evening. An odd sensation while sleeping...and you could hear creaking too! We seemed to be slowing down now, so it wasn't as bad. Only 2 of our party had ever cruised before, and none of us got seasick, so I guess it could have been worse. We heard lots of stories of passengers that weren't so lucky...
Mickey called at 7:00am (he called 3 times during the cruise just to say "hi" too...busy mouse). Mom and I headed to Tritons for breakfast (after a stop for coffee/teaon deck 9) right at 8:00am opening (the boys went to Beach Blanket). Today Triton's, Parrot Cay (buffet) and Beach Blanket (buffet) were the breakfast choices. Had a wonderful Eggs Benedict, juice, and a chocolate croissant from the pastry tray. We sat with a nice man from Port Canaveral (his wife was sleeping in) whose children had given them the cruise as a 45th anniversary gift. We would see him again many times during the cruise (along with the family from lunch yesterday). Strange how that happens.
As we ate, we began to see land and docked in Nassau (right next to our friends on Carnival...the RC ship pulled on the other side later). Met the boys and left the ship around 9:00. Due to the weather, one of the excursions (Atlantis Beach day) was cancelled. They brought in an extra movie due to this..."Spy Kids". I had been on a cruise and to Nassau before, so I knew what to expect. I know some people don't get off the ship in Nassau, but I think it's fun to tour the shopping area. We got the usual people trying to braid our hair, horse and buggy ride (love the horses with the little hats) etc., but no one was too obnoxious. Purused the straw market. One of the boys took advantage of the 4 for $10 t-shirts, and the woman at the stand was very friendly...she really liked 2 of the boys. Actually, I think one of them may now be married to her under Bahamian law
I bought a really pretty bracelet (paid $4...was $5) that I wear all the time.
Walked back to the more exclusive shops. One reminded me of a Kaufmanns/Lazarus type place (upscale department stores in my area). The jewelry shops had some really great stuff...loved the $55,000 diamond rings. What a class difference between the straw market and these shops...the women in these shops all wore matching suits and looked so elegant. Needless to say, we didn't buy anything, but if you are in the market for a good piece of jewelry this is the place to be.
Headed back to the ship around 11:00. Relaxed in the room for a bit, then went to Tritons (again) for lunch (Beach Blanket buffet was the other choice). Had a very good cheeseburger (the only lunchy thing on the menu to me) and fries and some kind of shrimp appetizer thing (similar to last nights shrimp thing).
The boys and I headed to Wave Bands for our 1:00 excursion - Discover Atlantis. Mom decided not to go because it said extensive walking. One of the good things about mom and I as travel partners is we both often go our own ways with no problem. I sometimes even explore the parks alone (and will again on this trip) and enjoy it. Mom likes to take a nap every afternoon if possible. She napped a bit, and then went to play Bingo ($20 for 5 games...yikes). It had started to rain pretty hard during lunch, so they told us they would have shuttle buses to the resort instead of walking. We boarded the very wet ferry for the Harbour cruise portion of the excursion. Well, the guides mic shorted out, so we didn't hear any of the narration. She even got shocked form it once! Oh boy... They actually cut the Harbour tour short (2 of the ships employees told us this "they're going the wrong way"), and we turned around and headed for the resort. Oh well, no big loss. It was cold and miserable, and you couldn't see or hear anything.
Docked on Paradise Island, hearded on the shuttle, quick ride over (on the wrong side of the street...cool). Met by a tour guide at Atlantis and were walked VERY QUICKLY to the aquariums. From what I could see of the resort, the shops, casino, restaraunt...it looked very nice. We would explore a little later. We had our wristbands (given to us on the cruise over), so we were permitted in the underground aquariums. From what we saw, I'd say just skip it and look at the free ones. The inside tour was pretty boring, and we only saw a few fish. I thought there would be dolphins and sharks (we saw 1 shark...but that was at the free aquarium). It was hard to hear the guide (especially since the next group was right on your tail), and boring. This lasted about a half hour. When it was over, we hit the slots for a bit (lost of course). Headed out to get the shuttle. The driver said he would take us to the marina, but passed it up (took us to a different one). I don't think he was very happy to have to go back. Oh well...
Finally made it to the ferry, but then no one seemed to know which one we were to take. All 3 cruise ships that were docked took the same ferry, so I don't know what the confusion was. We were finally put on a small ferry with a somewhat questionable crew. They didn't even bother to turn the steps around for you to get onboard...you more or less had to jump. The driver was odd, and one crew member hung off the back of the boat drinking a beer. Needless to say, we were glad to get back on the Wonder (one of the boys even kissed the gangway). The sun had decided to come out, and it was gorgeous!
I know Disney doesn't have anything to do with the excursions, but I think they should take this one off their list. My advice would be if you want ot see the resort, take one of the numerous water taxis ($6 round trip) over and explore on your own. You can gamble, shop, and see the free aquariums. In hindsight, I wished I had stayed on the ship, as this is the day they had the wine tasting...something I was interested in. Live and learn...
Had an ice cream at Scoops, then went down to see mom playing Bingo (and not winning). Changed into my swimsuit and spent about an hour at the adult pool and spa. I was the only person in the pool...it was very nice, and the water was so warm. It helped me unwind after the "Excursion From Hell".
Mom came up, and I had a piece of pizza and a Diet Coke (wierd...free pizza, but $1.50 for a DC). I think between mom and I, we only bought 3 sodas the whole cruise, so the mugs would have not been a good deal.
Showered and dressed for dinner (pantsuit). We decided to skip the show (Ghost Ship) tonight. Went to the captains reception for free drinks (non alcoholic) and canapes. Okay, I have to admit I was a little dissapointed...on my last cruise, the captains reception had free alcoholic drinks...these were different juices mixed together and stuff. Well, this is Disney. Mickey and Minnie looked wonderful dressed in their finest. Looked in the stores...saw some stuff to get tomorrow. Looked at Shutters. Cute pictures. We were proud of the fact that not one of us had a picture taken by the photographers the entire cruise (just with our own cameras). We just don't care for this...
Dinner at Animator's Palate. Cute restaurant and color change show, but I think I thought there would be more to the show. Dinner was not very good. The shrimp and lobster wrap appi was good, but I also tried the gazpaucho and didn't like it. My entree was a veal chop, and it was very fatty. I hate fat on meat, so I didn't eat much. In hindsight, I should have asked for something else, but don't remeber anything else that appealed to me on the menu. Chocolate fudge cake for dessert was just average. Had 2 good mixed drinks though (the nights special). Sort of like a limeade thing. If anyone was there that night, we were the table that when one of the servers was taking a picture of us and Ronald and John, he backed into another server carrying a HUGE tray of dirty dishes that fell to the floor with a very loud crash. We are always causing trouble...
One of the boys was not feeling well (not seasickness as we were in port), so they went back to their stateroom. Mom and I headed up to the Nassau deck party on decks 9 & 10. The band was really good, and so many people were dancing! Mom left after a bit, and I stopped by the great dessert buffet to see the ice sculpture. Didn't have anything though. Characters were there, and everyone was having a blast. Even the people on the other 2 cruise ships were dancing with us...they didn't have anything like this going on on their ships. Left around 11:00 (I'm so old), showered and wrote trip notes. Headed to bed around midnight. All in all, I'd say today was an okay day. Enjoyed shopping and swimming, but the shore excursion and dinner were dissapointing. Would probably skip Animator's next time (for Palo).
We had a swan towel animal from Alex, our statreoom host.
Tomorrow...Castaway Cay (hopefully...heard the magic could not dock at CC today...)
Lynne
Me (36) and mom (72), travelling with my friend from work and his 3 friends. Three night Wonder cruise, then 6 nights at WDW. First Disney cruise for all...
Friday, May 4
Woke up early to catch some of the sunrise off on the horizon on the verandah. Beautiful sight, though it was a bit overcast. Sleeping was rough last night...the ship really rocked and rolled (both ways) all evening. An odd sensation while sleeping...and you could hear creaking too! We seemed to be slowing down now, so it wasn't as bad. Only 2 of our party had ever cruised before, and none of us got seasick, so I guess it could have been worse. We heard lots of stories of passengers that weren't so lucky...
Mickey called at 7:00am (he called 3 times during the cruise just to say "hi" too...busy mouse). Mom and I headed to Tritons for breakfast (after a stop for coffee/teaon deck 9) right at 8:00am opening (the boys went to Beach Blanket). Today Triton's, Parrot Cay (buffet) and Beach Blanket (buffet) were the breakfast choices. Had a wonderful Eggs Benedict, juice, and a chocolate croissant from the pastry tray. We sat with a nice man from Port Canaveral (his wife was sleeping in) whose children had given them the cruise as a 45th anniversary gift. We would see him again many times during the cruise (along with the family from lunch yesterday). Strange how that happens.
As we ate, we began to see land and docked in Nassau (right next to our friends on Carnival...the RC ship pulled on the other side later). Met the boys and left the ship around 9:00. Due to the weather, one of the excursions (Atlantis Beach day) was cancelled. They brought in an extra movie due to this..."Spy Kids". I had been on a cruise and to Nassau before, so I knew what to expect. I know some people don't get off the ship in Nassau, but I think it's fun to tour the shopping area. We got the usual people trying to braid our hair, horse and buggy ride (love the horses with the little hats) etc., but no one was too obnoxious. Purused the straw market. One of the boys took advantage of the 4 for $10 t-shirts, and the woman at the stand was very friendly...she really liked 2 of the boys. Actually, I think one of them may now be married to her under Bahamian law
I bought a really pretty bracelet (paid $4...was $5) that I wear all the time.Walked back to the more exclusive shops. One reminded me of a Kaufmanns/Lazarus type place (upscale department stores in my area). The jewelry shops had some really great stuff...loved the $55,000 diamond rings. What a class difference between the straw market and these shops...the women in these shops all wore matching suits and looked so elegant. Needless to say, we didn't buy anything, but if you are in the market for a good piece of jewelry this is the place to be.
Headed back to the ship around 11:00. Relaxed in the room for a bit, then went to Tritons (again) for lunch (Beach Blanket buffet was the other choice). Had a very good cheeseburger (the only lunchy thing on the menu to me) and fries and some kind of shrimp appetizer thing (similar to last nights shrimp thing).
The boys and I headed to Wave Bands for our 1:00 excursion - Discover Atlantis. Mom decided not to go because it said extensive walking. One of the good things about mom and I as travel partners is we both often go our own ways with no problem. I sometimes even explore the parks alone (and will again on this trip) and enjoy it. Mom likes to take a nap every afternoon if possible. She napped a bit, and then went to play Bingo ($20 for 5 games...yikes). It had started to rain pretty hard during lunch, so they told us they would have shuttle buses to the resort instead of walking. We boarded the very wet ferry for the Harbour cruise portion of the excursion. Well, the guides mic shorted out, so we didn't hear any of the narration. She even got shocked form it once! Oh boy... They actually cut the Harbour tour short (2 of the ships employees told us this "they're going the wrong way"), and we turned around and headed for the resort. Oh well, no big loss. It was cold and miserable, and you couldn't see or hear anything.
Docked on Paradise Island, hearded on the shuttle, quick ride over (on the wrong side of the street...cool). Met by a tour guide at Atlantis and were walked VERY QUICKLY to the aquariums. From what I could see of the resort, the shops, casino, restaraunt...it looked very nice. We would explore a little later. We had our wristbands (given to us on the cruise over), so we were permitted in the underground aquariums. From what we saw, I'd say just skip it and look at the free ones. The inside tour was pretty boring, and we only saw a few fish. I thought there would be dolphins and sharks (we saw 1 shark...but that was at the free aquarium). It was hard to hear the guide (especially since the next group was right on your tail), and boring. This lasted about a half hour. When it was over, we hit the slots for a bit (lost of course). Headed out to get the shuttle. The driver said he would take us to the marina, but passed it up (took us to a different one). I don't think he was very happy to have to go back. Oh well...
Finally made it to the ferry, but then no one seemed to know which one we were to take. All 3 cruise ships that were docked took the same ferry, so I don't know what the confusion was. We were finally put on a small ferry with a somewhat questionable crew. They didn't even bother to turn the steps around for you to get onboard...you more or less had to jump. The driver was odd, and one crew member hung off the back of the boat drinking a beer. Needless to say, we were glad to get back on the Wonder (one of the boys even kissed the gangway). The sun had decided to come out, and it was gorgeous!
I know Disney doesn't have anything to do with the excursions, but I think they should take this one off their list. My advice would be if you want ot see the resort, take one of the numerous water taxis ($6 round trip) over and explore on your own. You can gamble, shop, and see the free aquariums. In hindsight, I wished I had stayed on the ship, as this is the day they had the wine tasting...something I was interested in. Live and learn...
Had an ice cream at Scoops, then went down to see mom playing Bingo (and not winning). Changed into my swimsuit and spent about an hour at the adult pool and spa. I was the only person in the pool...it was very nice, and the water was so warm. It helped me unwind after the "Excursion From Hell".
Mom came up, and I had a piece of pizza and a Diet Coke (wierd...free pizza, but $1.50 for a DC). I think between mom and I, we only bought 3 sodas the whole cruise, so the mugs would have not been a good deal.
Showered and dressed for dinner (pantsuit). We decided to skip the show (Ghost Ship) tonight. Went to the captains reception for free drinks (non alcoholic) and canapes. Okay, I have to admit I was a little dissapointed...on my last cruise, the captains reception had free alcoholic drinks...these were different juices mixed together and stuff. Well, this is Disney. Mickey and Minnie looked wonderful dressed in their finest. Looked in the stores...saw some stuff to get tomorrow. Looked at Shutters. Cute pictures. We were proud of the fact that not one of us had a picture taken by the photographers the entire cruise (just with our own cameras). We just don't care for this...
Dinner at Animator's Palate. Cute restaurant and color change show, but I think I thought there would be more to the show. Dinner was not very good. The shrimp and lobster wrap appi was good, but I also tried the gazpaucho and didn't like it. My entree was a veal chop, and it was very fatty. I hate fat on meat, so I didn't eat much. In hindsight, I should have asked for something else, but don't remeber anything else that appealed to me on the menu. Chocolate fudge cake for dessert was just average. Had 2 good mixed drinks though (the nights special). Sort of like a limeade thing. If anyone was there that night, we were the table that when one of the servers was taking a picture of us and Ronald and John, he backed into another server carrying a HUGE tray of dirty dishes that fell to the floor with a very loud crash. We are always causing trouble...
One of the boys was not feeling well (not seasickness as we were in port), so they went back to their stateroom. Mom and I headed up to the Nassau deck party on decks 9 & 10. The band was really good, and so many people were dancing! Mom left after a bit, and I stopped by the great dessert buffet to see the ice sculpture. Didn't have anything though. Characters were there, and everyone was having a blast. Even the people on the other 2 cruise ships were dancing with us...they didn't have anything like this going on on their ships. Left around 11:00 (I'm so old), showered and wrote trip notes. Headed to bed around midnight. All in all, I'd say today was an okay day. Enjoyed shopping and swimming, but the shore excursion and dinner were dissapointing. Would probably skip Animator's next time (for Palo).
We had a swan towel animal from Alex, our statreoom host.
Tomorrow...Castaway Cay (hopefully...heard the magic could not dock at CC today...)
Lynne
