Our Trip

Sailaway!

Sat, 24 Oct 2009 20:42:01 -0500

The Disney Magic!!

Sat, 24 Oct 2009 09:18:35 -0500

We got up early, showered, packed the car and headed to Starbucks. Tea and mocha in hand, we headed to the Port. We arrived around 9:30, so we had to wait with the other Cruise freaks in a temporary parking lot. There were about 20 cars in the lot, and Sue got her first look at the ship up close. We returned to the car at 10:00 and headed to the porters to drop off the checked bags. We dropped off the bags then headed back to Thrifty to turn the car back in. That took quite a while, especially for the courtesy shuttle to come back. When it did, we got on with about 8-10 people, with half of those going to that ugly Carnival ship parked next to mine ;)

After we dropped off the Carny folk, the driver dropped us off at the terminal. We were officially here!!!! We checked in through the Castaway Club line, and received boarding group 14. 14?? Are you kidding me? We were here before the port opened! Oh well. They have changed pre-boarding since I last cruised - they now take your picture before you can get onboard. However the line for this was extremely long due to computer issues with the camera computers (probably using Windows.... ;) We browsed around the terminal, and we saw there was no line anymore for the cameras. We walked right up and got our pictures taken. They decided to begin boarding guests right then, and we were in the way. One of the Cast Members noticed our buttons, and said for us to go right through! (SCORE!!!) Thanks again, Deb!!!

We crossed the little bridge (gangway??) to the ship and Sue saw the ship for the first time. On Disney ships, your name is announced when you board - for instance, “Welcome, the Smith Family!!!”. So we went with “The Future Sullivan Family!!!” Which was for me, a little strange to hear! I am sure I will get used to it!

We wanted to eat at Parrot Cay for lunch, but I had to make a quick trip to Guest Services to get our tastings. We signed up for wine, beer, tequila, and martini tastings. We made our way to Parrot Cay for lunch. After that, I showed Sue my ship. We went to deck 9, and showed her the pools, especially the Quiet Cove pool, for guests 18 or older. No screaming kids on this cruise!!! I saw that the bar was already open, so we got our first Drink of the Day (DOTD). Today’s flavor was the Bay Breeze - Vodka, Cranberry Juice and Pineapple Juice.

We didn’t pack suits in our carry-ons, so we could only dip our feet in the pool - but the water was nice!

At 1:30 we went to the room, where we saw all of our gifts. Sue’s friend Jane had sent us a cheese and fruit plate and a bottle of Berringer White Zinfandel.

I received my returning Castaway Club gift and since we had signed up for a Romance package, we received two robes and some other little gifts, as well as a bottle of Champagne. We were still waiting for our bags, since we upgraded our room at the last minute to a veranda (SCORE!!). I asked Sue if she noticed the Mickey statue when we walked in, and she hadn’t. So we went down to Deck 3 to grab a pic with the little guy.

Next post - Sailaway!

Walt Disney World

Fri, 23 Oct 2009 09:37:28 -0500

We headed to WDW to see our good friends Tom, Debbi, and Tim. They were in WDW at the Fort Wilderness cabins. After coordinating where they were, we planned to meet up at Downtown Disney and grab a sandwich at Earl of Sandwich. Just as we got to DD, Debbi said that they got a primo table. We met them there and had a great sandwich - I had the Limited Edition Turkey, Stuffing, cranberries, and gravy, and Sue had a Club. After lunch was finished, Deb gave us a little present:

We put them on and started getting “Congratulations!” from many, many people. Thanks, Deb!!!!

We finished lunch and headed to a store to get some supplies for the cruise, i.e., Corona and Patron. We met Tom, Deb, and Tim at their cabin, which at my first glance seemed a little “Back-Woodsy” (Not my style!!!). But once we got in, the place was very homey, and for families, it would be a great place to stay. It had a full kitchen, full refrigerator, and air conditioning. It was actually pretty cool.

We all had plans to have dinner at Flying Fish, my favorite restaurant in WDW, but Tim received news of a family emergency, and Tom, Deb & Tim had to cancel - but they told us to go anyway. We got to the Boardwalk a little early and strolled through the shops. We saw the dreaded bride & groom Mickey Ears, and tried them on. I would not wear those things, but I did for the picture:

Sue and I went to the Flying Fish and ordered the cheese tasting for our appetizer. We both ordered my favorite: the New York Strip. I knew how good the steak is here, but wanted to see if Sue liked it as well. She said, and I quote, “That was the best tasting steak I have EVER had.” That’s what I think too!

After dinner, we headed to the Cape, about an hour ride. We found the hotel pretty quickly - the Radisson at the Port. They gave us a room on the second floor, and we dragged all of the luggage up to the room. We got settled in and we were both tired from all of the travel, so we turned in early hoping to get a good night’s sleep. Our plans were upset, because the beds were SO uncomfortable. Those Sleep Number beds - YECCHHH!!! We both had a hard time sleeping. But the next day we were getting on the ship, so it will all be better, right??

Leaving Chicago!!!

Fri, 23 Oct 2009 09:12:23 -0500

We woke up this morning, with a morning in our step. We are heading to FLORIDA!!! The day was cold and super rainy. We left the house around six A.M., before the sun came up, and headed to Midway. Sue’s daughter Jennifer and her boyfriend Brad drove with us to the airport. They will pick us up next Sunday when we return. Thanks Jen & Brad!!!

We made it to the airport, checked our bags, and headed to the gate. We were slightly delayed because of the rain, but we took off only 10 minutes or so late. We flew Southwest, and as soon as the drink cart came around, we really began vacation with our drink of the day. Yes, fans the DOTD is back! Since we weren’t on the cruise, and were only on Southwest, we mader our own DOTD - The Screwdriver:

We had a few of these and it made the flight oh so fun:

Screwdriver!!! LOL

We touched down in Orlando, and made our way to baggage. I decided to beat the rush to the rental cars, so I went to check in while Sue corralled the bags. I finished with the car and met Sue up at baggage. We made our way to the rental car, loaded up, and headed to Walt Disney World.