“On the Disney Cruise...FINAL THOUGHTS 02/13

[CRdisMom]

the rooms are larger than I thought.

 

[FauntleroyFAN07]

good think i saw the link for this on marvs report otherwise, i think i would have missed a few pages.

 

[MAGICFOR2]

Tammie

I too, am an avid internet researcher. I am always looking for the best bang for the buck!

For our upcoming cruise we are going with SWA. I like the no bag fees, and, we will be leaving from BWI. My DD's boyfriend lives about 10 minutes from there, so he will drop us off and pick us up. Saves on parking! Yes, I am a penny pincher!

We ended up paying $602 for 2 RT tickets, that was after all the fees and taxes. The husband of the other couple that is going with us thought that was a little high. Well, checking airfare now, the same flight is just over $1000! So, I really don't think we did that bad.

Enjoying your TR, keep it coming!

It just makes sense to see where you can save - $6 saved is a drink of the day, right? Good thing you got the deal while you could! Even though I vowed to drive to Reno next time, we are going to San Antonio to see our DS, DIL and grandbabies for Thanksgiving. I found airfare from HERE for $495 ea - hopefully it will still be there on Friday when DH gets paid. I think SWA was $337, so with the huge amount of snow we always get on Thanksgiving, and $150 for hotel and gas, I think we may just do it from here this time.

Planes, Trains and Automobiles??? I hope there's a ship in there somewhere or this is going to be a boring cruise TR!!!

See, I knew it would be fun to have you along!
Crazy the way they entice you with that low initial price and then have figured out about a 100 ways to "add-on." I tried this once with Allegiant and pretty much just gave up. It is insane!

It pretty much stinks! Funny, right after I booked I actually got an email from Spirit asking me to sign a petition for legislature preventing airlines from hiding their fees when advertising rates. What?
Ah, okay, there IS a ship!!!
Wow, that sounds very disorganized. I expect more from Disney!
READY to relax??? Looks like you're already there!!!
Nice, I like it!!!
These were the moments I realized we really were on vacation!

I guess if you can't watch the ocean and islands go by, they have to give you something to look at. for people watching!

You had to remember not to pick your nose, because they had cameras feeding live in to the TV in your stateroom from the Promenade - you could people watch from your room if you didn't have the window cabins!
I'm assuming this is where you can find the adult
Yes, except when we were ship bound in Grand Cayman! More on that later.

I guess I could cheer for the feet, but you might think I'm a perv......(and I should at least wait until later for you to discover that interesting fact....) so I'll just say Where's the picture of the Mai Tai, you tease???

Oh, please let us continue to think you are an -
I put it down so I could take the picture!

Actually, great pic! I feel more relaxed already!!! So cool you got right into the lifestyle!!!

I actually kept jumping up to see the sailaway party, then sitting down, then jumping up to wave at people on shore and in boats and jet skis, then sitting down again! I think I had sailaway ADD!

Hey Tammie!

Finally made it! Aren't the relaxing feet pictures a must do? LOL. I even have little bit into it now! Can't wait to hear all about it!

Hi Jillian! I think those "feet pictures" are always so fun - they just tell the story without any words! Thanks for being here!

I need a relaxing cruise right now......subbing to live vicariously through yours!

Welcome! I hope you enjoy the cruise!

Having tried half dozen airlines, SW has never let us down, not only the best price, but gotta love the free baggage and window seat.
Our summer trip on another airline charges over $100.x for baggage!!!

I love flying with SWA! I just wish they were closer to us! $100 for bags!




We have used and highly recommended SAS to others several times. The owner Steve is very nice and very dependable. Upon return he's calling you and letting you know where to meet him. Not to mention can't beat his price ~ least expensive out there!!

He was great! I made a mistake and didn't go with him on the way home - big mistake. More on that later!





Yes, love RCCL layout and access to balcony much better than Disney !! We had cabin #7358 which has same layout as yours. Also love the comfy king bed with the rounded foot edge and no bumping of legs !! Really enjoyed sitting on the balcony watching the peaceful aqua blue ocean while rejuvenating the soul. Some days we ordered in and ate breakfast out there . Altho like the round curvature and sliding door of RCCL showers, I'll have to give Disney for their split bathrooms!!

I liked the curved shower, too - quite a space saver. But ITA about the Disney split bathrooms. I think that is where the extra space in the room is though.

DH and I really enjoyed the tranquility of adult area also, including sitting in their cozy swings!!

Pure Bliss!

BTW ~ did you get a chance to try the catilevered hot tub? Now that's quite the adventure and view to behold from so far up!!

We did! A couple of times - it was pretty awesome, sitting in a hot tub out over the ocean! Very big, too! We were just a little forward and just a little below that hot tub - I looked up and saw that at night they have purple twinkle lights in the top of it!

[/SIZE][/COLOR]
Ditto! No other feeling in the world quite like sail away while sipping on your colorful tropical drink!
I have to chuckle, as I have a relaxing feet pix too ~ from the comfy hammock of RCCL’s private island Labadee!!

That must be a nice pic! We didn't make it to a hammock there.

the rooms are larger than I thought.

They really make good use of the space! I think the actual living space is the same as Disney - they have a bigger cabin, but two bathrooms, which is great for traveling with kids! There was lots of storage everywhere, too!

The drawers on the vanity, as well as small shelves in the mirror above, shelves in the closet, even shelves behind the mirror in the bathroom. I have to admit, I liked the RCCL cabin better than DCL!

good think i saw the link for this on marvs report otherwise, i think i would have missed a few pages.

DAN!! I'm glad you're here! I will be over to catch up on your fabulous TR, too!!! Yes, thank you Marv for sharing your space!

 

[MAGICFOR2]

I know I left you with the image of my relaxed toes, Marv, stay with us here – Before I got to this relaxed place, though, we had to explore the ship a little and get our bearings. It was like running a marathon! You have to know that Jim is a detail-oriented controller. He needs to feel like there is a plan, and we know what we are doing and where at all times. I on the other hand am a fly by the seat of your pants controller – could be trouble, right? Somehow after 32 yrs together, we know how to compromise most of the time when it matters. I knew Jim would have more fun, which means I would, if we "got our bearings." So we ran – well almost – all over the ship from deck to deck –
**Dining Room – Check **Buffet – check**Gym**check**coffee shop – check**stores we probably won’t shop in – check**Pizza! - let’s have lunch! – check! (we did take someone’s advice and have pizza, grilled veggies and almond cookies and a ham and cheese Panini that was TDF! ) Then moved on to **Theatre – check **Casino – smokey – check** Pool – check**Adult pool – we’ll be back!!!!**Let’s get in the hot tub? Nope – have to keep checking!!! *Jogging deck 12 – check**Guest services – check **Excursions – look at at that line!!! – glad we already booked !!!**Pool snack bar – What? No burgers and wraps at the pool??? What kind of ship is this????

We met up with my teammates from Oregon, Bev and Jenny and their hubbies, who were on the same mission. We agreed to meet up for sail away and kept walking in opposite directions. Shortly after, it was time for Muster.
**On the Disney ship, you have to put your lifejacket on for this. On LOS, you don’t have to!!! Nice to meet out on the deck, crammed together without the extra heat of life jackets. *** This was relatively painless, and then we were ready to sail!!! **
[FONT=&quot]We headed up to Deck 12. Funny, the DOTD was the prefect margarita for $5.95, but they were carrying around a tray of Mai Tais, and a tray of Strawberry Daquiaris for $7.95.. Coincidence? I think not! I fell for it – Why not just stay in my chair and enjoy what was handed to me? Thus, the aforementioned foot pic. [/FONT] Our friends found us, and we moved some chairs together and got ready to wave good-bye to Miami! Here Jim actually sat down and kept sitting, while I jumped up to wave, sat down, jumped up to talk to friends and take pics, sat down, jumped up to watch the sail away dance.

Jack and Jenny

Bev and Curt

Here it comes: **On the Disney ship, the horn sings, “When you wish upon a star” so beautiful, and yet so loud they warn you and you jump out of your skin! On LOS, the horn is relatively quiet and sounds like a non-descript tugboat.

**On the Disney ship, the sail-away party is a dance over the pool with Mickey and the gang, and virtually everyone enjoying the excitement, watching on the huge screen, and taking pics of the characters. On LOS, it is a Caribbean band, and about 20 people line dancing on the bridge going over the main pool. – Everyone on the ship pretty much ignored the “sail away party.”

So here we are, feet up, Umbrella Drink in hand, okay, standing by the rail, drink in hand. It was festive, because people fishing on the jetty, boating and riding jet skis below us all took the time to wave at us, with us waving wildly back! It was great that they joined in our excitement! (Or maybe they were thinking, “good – there are 3000 tourists who won’t be hanging around this week!”)

Carnival Valor, which traveled with we saw again in Jamaica.


We moved out of the channel, past Miami Beach, and out to the Deep Blue Sea….

NEXT: WHY IS IT SO SMOKEY AND WHAT'S FOR DINNER?

 

[All7OfUs]

Wonderful start, Tammie!!! Someday, I'd love to catch a cruise and relax like that- warm sun on my back, drink in hand, good book alongside. Ahhhh.... Interesting that that sail away party was nothing much.

 

[wdwmom2]

Here it comes: **On the Disney ship, the horn sings, “When you wish upon a star” so beautiful, and yet so loud they warn you and you jump out of your skin! On LOS, the horn is relatively quiet and sounds like a non-descript tugboat.

**On the Disney ship, the sail-away party is a dance over the pool with Mickey and the gang, and virtually everyone enjoying the excitement, watching on the huge screen, and taking pics of the characters. On LOS, it is a Caribbean band, and about 20 people line dancing on the bridge going over the main pool. – Everyone on the ship pretty much ignored the “sail away party.”

Disney has the BEST sail-away partys!!! If they can't get you pumped up, you better check for a pulse!

OK, now we explored the different areas, got our drinks, headed out to sea. What's for dinner?

 

[Octoberbride03]

OK, since I've got a cruise coming up in just under a year I'm in(though I do wonder how this wound up on the community board instead of the TR board )

I will disagree on DCL's check-in being confusing. Once we figured out where to go in it was smooth sailing so to speak And since our hotel's shuttle was later than we planned, by the time we got there there were no lines to check in. So I don't see the point in getting there too early next time.

And I'm glad we have to wear life vests fro the drill on DCL. It took me a few minutes to figure out how to do mine, so its better for a first time cruiser. Definitely bulkier at the drill though.

So let's eat

 

[FauntleroyFAN07]

never been on a cruise, but from what ive gathered from reading about them, the sail away on disney is pretty cool...to bad the people on yours didnt really get involved with them as much.

 

[MA pigletfan]

Joining in
I am taking a RC cruise on the Freedom of the seas next month..I can't wait..and this is getting me even more excited for it!

 

[TinaLala]

Love the picture of the beach and the water!! I still can't believe how big the boat is! It's amazing.

 

[YukiPhnx]

I'M HERE!!!

Now to go back and catch up.

 

[marvali]

See, I knew it would be fun to have you along!

You are an excellent judge of character!

You had to remember not to pick your nose, because they had cameras feeding live in to the TV in your stateroom from the Promenade - you could people watch from your room if you didn't have the window cabins!

That's a little more to people watching than I care to undertake!

Oh, please let us continue to think you are an -

Well, I THOUGHT you were an excellent judge!

I actually kept jumping up to see the sailaway party, then sitting down, then jumping up to wave at people on shore and in boats and jet skis, then sitting down again! I think I had sailaway ADD!

sailaway ADD!

DAN!! I'm glad you're here! I will be over to catch up on your fabulous TR, too!!! Yes, thank you Marv for sharing your space!

I know I left you with the image of my relaxed toes, Marv, stay with us here –

You have to know that Jim is a detail-oriented controller. He needs to feel like there is a plan, and we know what we are doing and where at all times.

Don't you just hate people like that!!!

**Pool snack bar – What? No burgers and wraps at the pool??? What kind of ship is this????

Some really great pictures, and you're off to a good start so far! Maybe if you had taken your little group and joined in, the sail away party may have actually taken off! If not, after a few of those umbrella drinks, I bet you wouldn't have cared anyway!!! Now that you found all the attractions on the ship, I'm expecting things to really start picking up!

 

[MAGICFOR2]

OK, since I've got a cruise coming up in just under a year I'm in(though I do wonder how this wound up on the community board instead of the TR board )

I will disagree on DCL's check-in being confusing. Once we figured out where to go in it was smooth sailing so to speak And since our hotel's shuttle was later than we planned, by the time we got there there were no lines to check in. So I don't see the point in getting there too early next time.

And I'm glad we have to wear life vests fro the drill on DCL. It took me a few minutes to figure out how to do mine, so its better for a first time cruiser. Definitely bulkier at the drill though.

So let's eat

Welcome! I hope you enjoy the trip. I love to read TRs when I'm getting ready, too. It gets me that much more excited.

We were picked up at the airport for our DCL, so ME got alot of us there all at the same time. Now that I've been there before, I would probably feel okay. The Port of Miami is a crazy place, so I was thankful for the direction by the porters. Okay, the truth is I don't like the little boarding cards - someone telling me I can't get on the ship until they say so! I liked just being able to get up the escalator and start exploring and eating! Control Freak, I know.

I did think about the life jacket thing when we were mustering. I was thinking it would make sense to have done the drill with the jackets. One thing they emphasized is that if you weren't in your cabin in case of an emergency, we were to just show up there without a lifejacket and they would give us one. The lifeboats are mostly enclosed capsules - only about 12ft long and 6 ft wide and the capacity is 135 people! ENCLOSED! Jim and I agreed we would not get in something like that to be cooked alive by the sun and with possibly sick people , not to mention our claustrophobia - we would just hang on to the ropes on the outside!

never been on a cruise, but from what ive gathered from reading about them, the sail away on disney is pretty cool...to bad the people on yours didnt really get involved with them as much.

I know! It was a little underwhelming. I think we were all enjoying the Miami scenery so much!

Joining in
I am taking a RC cruise on the Freedom of the seas next month..I can't wait..and this is getting me even more excited for it!

How exciting! LOS and FOS are virtually the same ship. I don't think I got enough pics of the ship, but I will try to fill you in!

Love the picture of the beach and the water!! I still can't believe how big the boat is! It's amazing.

Looking at that beach really made me feel like I was on vacation for sure! The captain said if he had a dime for every time someone said "boat" he would be rich!

I'M HERE!!!

Now to go back and catch up.

Yay Yuki! Look at you - on the top of the page and everything - I know - that's how you roll! Welcome!

Some really great pictures, and you're off to a good start so far! Maybe if you had taken your little group and joined in, the sail away party may have actually taken off! If not, after a few of those umbrella drinks, I bet you wouldn't have cared anyway!!! Now that you found all the attractions on the ship, I'm expecting things to really start picking up!

Thank you! That's right Marv, we should have started our own party!

 

[YukiPhnx]

Yay Yuki! Look at you - on the top of the page and everything - I know - that's how you roll! Welcome!

That is EXACTLY how I roll!

I've only been on one cruise and I can't wait to go on more! I was on one of the smallest ships of RCCL and had a blast.

Reading your TR.....REALLY makes me want to go on one right nowwwwww.

Great start to your trip! Getting good flight deals are all about timing, knowing when they come out with the great deals you need. That $9 site just seemed too good to be true, and it was!!

Wow....your room looks really nice. What category was it in? What were the restaurants that weren't part of the cruise price?

I would say I'm a lot like Jim, in that I had to check out EVERYTHING on the cruise before really settling down. I was just too excited to relax just yet!

 

[MAGICFOR2]

That is EXACTLY how I roll!

I've only been on one cruise and I can't wait to go on more! I was on one of the smallest ships of RCCL and had a blast.

Reading your TR.....REALLY makes me want to go on one right nowwwwww.

Great start to your trip! Getting good flight deals are all about timing, knowing when they come out with the great deals you need. That $9 site just seemed too good to be true, and it was!!

Wow....your room looks really nice. What category was it in? What were the restaurants that weren't part of the cruise price?

I would say I'm a lot like Jim, in that I had to check out EVERYTHING on the cruise before really settling down. I was just too excited to relax just yet!

The rain and snow we've had the past couple of days makes me want to go nowwww too!

I need to get better at the airfare roulette for sure!

Our room was a deluxe oceanview with balcony is how they phrased it. It was very nice and a very comfy bed!

The restaurants that weren't included were:
Chops Grill (steakhouse) - more on this later
Portofino's (like Palo)
Johnny Rocket's (burgers and fries)
Specialty Coffees in Cafe Promenade

Soda and juices and bottled water were extra. You could only find ice water and coffee to drink except lemonade, iced tea and watered down orange juice were available in the Windjammer buffet. One time, they brought around a tray of "strawberry kiwi" at lunch, so I took one - it turned out to be koolaid! Oops my "On the Disney ship" is showing

 

[marvali]

The Port of Miami is a crazy place, so I was thankful for the direction by the porters. Okay, the truth is I don't like the little boarding cards - someone telling me I can't get on the ship until they say so! I liked just being able to get up the escalator and start exploring and eating! Control Freak, I know.

Hey wait a minute, I thought you were the laid back "fly by the seat of your pants" type???

 

[CRdisMom]

I did think about the life jacket thing when we were mustering. I was thinking it would make sense to have done the drill with the jackets. One thing they emphasized is that if you weren't in your cabin in case of an emergency, we were to just show up there without a lifejacket and they would give us one. The lifeboats are mostly enclosed capsules - only about 12ft long and 6 ft wide and the capacity is 135 people! ENCLOSED! Jim and I agreed we would not get in something like that to be cooked alive by the sun and with possibly sick people , not to mention our claustrophobia - we would just hang on to the ropes on the outside!

You have just hit on the main reason why I NEVER will get on a cruise ship. I swear that it will tip over and I will die! yes I watched too many diaster movies as a child but I can't get over this fear.

 

[UsNew2Disney2008]

Tammie, I'm loving reading about the trip! I like hearing about the differences you see between the Disney Cruise and this one. I would like to do it, but really want the kids to be a bit bigger. I'm sure Carlos will not like it, but then again . I think the kids would have more fun on the Disney one, so that is what I'm thinking... someday. Until then, I'm really enjoying seeing how it went for you guys!

 

[karajeboo]

You have just hit on the main reason why I NEVER will get on a cruise ship. I swear that it will tip over and I will die! yes I watched too many diaster movies as a child but I can't get over this fear.

I have this same fear. I don't think I'll get seasick, just be scared being out in the middle of the ocean with nothing around me, nobody to hear me scream if we hit an iceberg - hey, THAT movie really sticks with me!!!! Yes, even in the Caribbean, there may be an iceberg. At least in my mind there is.

And Lorrie, FWIW, I have a friend who is a TA and she said that Carnival is a very close second to DCL in terms of kids programs. We almost did the el cheapo Carnival Cruise when we lived in Jax, but the timing was never right. Thought a 3 night for $129 might help us decide if we want to go all out for DCL one day.....

 

[UsNew2Disney2008]

I have this same fear. I don't think I'll get seasick, just be scared being out in the middle of the ocean with nothing around me, nobody to hear me scream if we hit an iceberg - hey, THAT movie really sticks with me!!!! Yes, even in the Caribbean, there may be an iceberg. At least in my mind there is.

And Lorrie, FWIW, I have a friend who is a TA and she said that Carnival is a very close second to DCL in terms of kids programs. We almost did the el cheapo Carnival Cruise when we lived in Jax, but the timing was never right. Thought a 3 night for $129 might help us decide if we want to go all out for DCL one day.....

I rode a ship from VA to NYC As a teen for fleet week. I went up on deck and no one was hardly there and it was just beautiful. I think I would enjoy a cruise. I tend to fixate on plane crashes . I will keep carnival n mind though. Atlantis is top of my list though.