The Snarky Momma occasionally (okay, sometimes) reviews products on her review blog related to parenting, domestic goddess-try, and personal care. Her opinions are honest, based on her own experiences, and will be published even if she does not find the product satisfactory. She will always disclose how she got a product and whether she was compensated to talk about it. If you want to send her a product, contact her via email at tiffany [at] snarkymomma [dot] com.
Tuesday, March 09, 2010
Cruise: Day 1 (A Marathon Post!)
As I mentioned yesterday, on cruise embarkation day we woke up at around 8 and made it to the terminal pretty early. I forgot to research the tolls between Orlando and Cape Canaveral before leaving North Carolina and because I didn’t have my computer with me, had to try to find out about them on my iPhone. I didn’t even know that they were cash-only and exact change in some places. Fortunately, before we got off the interstate and onto the toll road I made Scott pull off to get some cash, and that saved us some frustration. I actually wrote down how much we paid in tolls, but I accidentally threw that piece of paper away. Oops. I think it was around $4 from airport to port.
Anyway, once we got to the port, we got cleared by security at the gate (they check photo i.d. of every adult in the car) and drove up to the DCL (Disney Cruise Line) terminal. Scott dropped me and Rosco off at the terminal curb, handed our bags off to a porter, and went to park the car. Rosco and I went through security screening in the building - it’s sort of like airport screening lite: just i.d., metal detectors, and baggage screening - no shoe removal. After screening we headed up an escalator and waited for Scott to park the car before checking in.
Then we waited and waited and waited some more. After about 20 minutes of standing around I started to wonder if we’d been abandoned. It turned out that Scott had parked in the employee lot and ended up having to move the car somewhere else. I started getting really concerned when a woman who’d come in after me who was waiting for her husband to park the car found her husband before I did. :-\
The check-in process requires you to take the paperwork DCL has sent you in the mail or that you’ve printed out online to the counter and to present your proof of residency (passports). You’re given your Key to the World cards (the room keys that also act as your ship-board credit cards) and are told what time your room will be ready. Then you’re sent to have your picture taken. A cast member swipes your Key to the World card and codes your image onto it. This is really for security - when you board or leave the ship, you have to present your card. If the image on the security screens doesn’t match the card, then you ain’t the owner.
By that point it was around 11 and we hadn’t had a real breakfast. There was a snack bar of some sort, but I really wanted food-food and decided to wait for lunch. Scott got in line with Rosco to have his picture taken with Minnie Mouse while we waited (Sorry - I don’t have that picture handy. I need to scan it, and because my Windoze computer is in the shop right now, I can’t hook up that peripheral.) At exactly 11:45 the first boarding group was called. We were in group 13 and had to wait a little while (yes, even though we got there about an hour after the terminal opened we were still in group 13).
When 13 got called, we gathered up all our carry-on and schlepped it through a tunnel where we had our embarkation photo taken (again, sorry, no scanner to upload that picture with), and onto the ship into the main lobby. They announced our family name and the staff clapped. (That actually felt a little weird.)
We headed straight up to deck nine for lunch where pizza, hot dogs, and the full lunch buffet were available (thank God). Because we were in group 13, all of the indoor seating was taken and we were forced out onto the windy deck to eat lunch. That was actually a little bit miserable. It was sort of a cold day, and the wind was making me shake. I made Scott stalk a table on the inside so we finally moved in when we were pretty much almost finished eating. I don’t know what all was on the buffet that day because Scott went through the line for me, but what I had was pretty good. I remember there being some roast chicken and…ok, I don’t remember what else. While we were sitting around eating dessert, they made the announcement that our staterooms were ready.
I was actually really impressed with the stateroom. The last cruise I went on, I was in an inside room with three other adults for the sake of economy. I imagine that being in a jail cell would be equally crowded. Seriously - it was that small (saving grace that the bathroom had a door and wasn’t just a commode in the middle of the room). Our DCL stateroom was a category 9 which is by no means the largest available, but is definitely comfortable for a family with two SMALL kids. It was the size of a small motel room. Our room had a queen-sized bed (or was it king?) and a pull-out sofa. The sofabed area can be closed off from the big bed with a curtain in case the kids go to bed earlier than you. Rosco ended up sleeping with us every night, so at one point I told the stateroom host to not bother making up the sofabed. I looooooooved having a porthole. I’d never give that feature up again. I kept reading that portholes and verandahs really don’t make a difference because you don’t spend that much time in your stateroom, but actually - we relaxed in our stateroom quite a bit. It was nice to be able to see the waves and have a reference point of how far from land we were. Of course, having natural light is critical for human circadian schedules…
The stateroom had a split bathroom, which is basically two different halves of a bathroom in two adjacent parts. One side is the toilet with a sink. The other side is the shower with another sink. So, you can have multiple people handling their business at the same time. Problem is, the bathrooms are cramped and you can’t help but to skim the walls. I think Scott found the showering to be a bit miserable, but he survived (obviously).
After settling in, we headed up to the sailaway party. Rosco wasn’t really feeling it. I don’t know if he was in a shitty mood or what, but he just wanted to be held and had this look of “whatever, man” on his face. He was given a little red streamer to flail around and he decided to throw it on the ground.
Okay, I thought parts were a little lame, too, but most people seemed to enjoy it. My problem is that I just don’t get into group participation stuff. If someone says, “Come on, everyone, wave your hands in the air!!!!!” I guffaw and roll my eyes. (I also don’t like sing-a-longs.) There was some cha-cha sliding and other coordinated group dancing and then some of the characters came out to dance around. That was cute.
We went up to deck 10 and the ship started to pull away from Port Canaveral. That was fun to see. It started so slowly that you could barely tell you were moving, and then it started to pick up speed making it obvious we were clearing port.
We had main seating for dinner, so that meant we were to eat at 5:45. We headed back to the room to change clothes. Our first night would be at Animator’s Palette which is a themed restaurant where the restaurant starts in black and white and gradually becomes colorful. They show a short docu-movie during dinner about Disney animation history (or something?). We met our servers, Ildiko from Hungary (our main server), and Willie from South Africa (assistant server), who were very gracious and attentive. They really had a remarkable attention to detail, and they do all they can to prevent little kids from going apeshit during what may be a long dinner.
We were seated at a table for 8, so we did have table mates. (Unless you request a table to yourselves you’re likely going to be seated with another group if yours is small.) I didn’t learn much about them, given my aversion to smalltalk. I’m really glad they didn’t force conversation. I’m sure they were very nice people, but you know how it is… I’m perfectly fine with there being a comfortable silence.
After dinner we went to a live musical show called The Golden Mickeys. No pictures of that since they don’t allow flash photography in the theaters, but I’ll just say it was enjoyable. Well, mostly enjoyable. You know how Disney does that “Slide all the way into the row and leave no gaps” announcement? Well, I ended up sitting next to a buffoon who spent the entire show with half his body leaned into my seat, the damned drunk lush. He kept crossing his leg over into my space and his shoe left marks on my skirt. He was all over the arm rest. I had to lean to the far left towards Rosco to get out of the guy’s space (or to get him out of mine). Shit like that really taints experiences for me. It was like he was punishing me for sitting next to him. Oh, and he was loud and was making commentary to the cast on stage throughout the show. *sigh*
I think we called it a night after that. Okay, after watching an hour of Disney cartoons in our stateroom after that. The next morning we’d be in Nassau…more on that tomorrow.
Cruise: Day 1 (A Marathon Post!)
As I mentioned yesterday, on cruise embarkation day we woke up at around 8 and made it to the terminal pretty early. I forgot to research the tolls between Orlando and Cape Canaveral before leaving North Carolina and because I didn’t have my computer with me, had to try to find out about them on my iPhone. I didn’t even know that they were cash-only and exact change in some places. Fortunately, before we got off the interstate and onto the toll road I made Scott pull off to get some cash, and that saved us some frustration. I actually wrote down how much we paid in tolls, but I accidentally threw that piece of paper away. Oops. I think it was around $4 from airport to port.
Anyway, once we got to the port, we got cleared by security at the gate (they check photo i.d. of every adult in the car) and drove up to the DCL (Disney Cruise Line) terminal. Scott dropped me and Rosco off at the terminal curb, handed our bags off to a porter, and went to park the car. Rosco and I went through security screening in the building - it’s sort of like airport screening lite: just i.d., metal detectors, and baggage screening - no shoe removal. After screening we headed up an escalator and waited for Scott to park the car before checking in.
The check-in process requires you to take the paperwork DCL has sent you in the mail or that you’ve printed out online to the counter and to present your proof of residency (passports). You’re given your Key to the World cards (the room keys that also act as your ship-board credit cards) and are told what time your room will be ready. Then you’re sent to have your picture taken. A cast member swipes your Key to the World card and codes your image onto it. This is really for security - when you board or leave the ship, you have to present your card. If the image on the security screens doesn’t match the card, then you ain’t the owner.
By that point it was around 11 and we hadn’t had a real breakfast. There was a snack bar of some sort, but I really wanted food-food and decided to wait for lunch. Scott got in line with Rosco to have his picture taken with Minnie Mouse while we waited (Sorry - I don’t have that picture handy. I need to scan it, and because my Windoze computer is in the shop right now, I can’t hook up that peripheral.) At exactly 11:45 the first boarding group was called. We were in group 13 and had to wait a little while (yes, even though we got there about an hour after the terminal opened we were still in group 13).
When 13 got called, we gathered up all our carry-on and schlepped it through a tunnel where we had our embarkation photo taken (again, sorry, no scanner to upload that picture with), and onto the ship into the main lobby. They announced our family name and the staff clapped. (That actually felt a little weird.)
We headed straight up to deck nine for lunch where pizza, hot dogs, and the full lunch buffet were available (thank God). Because we were in group 13, all of the indoor seating was taken and we were forced out onto the windy deck to eat lunch. That was actually a little bit miserable. It was sort of a cold day, and the wind was making me shake. I made Scott stalk a table on the inside so we finally moved in when we were pretty much almost finished eating. I don’t know what all was on the buffet that day because Scott went through the line for me, but what I had was pretty good. I remember there being some roast chicken and…ok, I don’t remember what else. While we were sitting around eating dessert, they made the announcement that our staterooms were ready.
I was actually really impressed with the stateroom. The last cruise I went on, I was in an inside room with three other adults for the sake of economy. I imagine that being in a jail cell would be equally crowded. Seriously - it was that small (saving grace that the bathroom had a door and wasn’t just a commode in the middle of the room). Our DCL stateroom was a category 9 which is by no means the largest available, but is definitely comfortable for a family with two SMALL kids. It was the size of a small motel room. Our room had a queen-sized bed (or was it king?) and a pull-out sofa. The sofabed area can be closed off from the big bed with a curtain in case the kids go to bed earlier than you. Rosco ended up sleeping with us every night, so at one point I told the stateroom host to not bother making up the sofabed. I looooooooved having a porthole. I’d never give that feature up again. I kept reading that portholes and verandahs really don’t make a difference because you don’t spend that much time in your stateroom, but actually - we relaxed in our stateroom quite a bit. It was nice to be able to see the waves and have a reference point of how far from land we were. Of course, having natural light is critical for human circadian schedules…
The stateroom had a split bathroom, which is basically two different halves of a bathroom in two adjacent parts. One side is the toilet with a sink. The other side is the shower with another sink. So, you can have multiple people handling their business at the same time. Problem is, the bathrooms are cramped and you can’t help but to skim the walls. I think Scott found the showering to be a bit miserable, but he survived (obviously).
After settling in, we headed up to the sailaway party. Rosco wasn’t really feeling it. I don’t know if he was in a shitty mood or what, but he just wanted to be held and had this look of “whatever, man” on his face. He was given a little red streamer to flail around and he decided to throw it on the ground.
Okay, I thought parts were a little lame, too, but most people seemed to enjoy it. My problem is that I just don’t get into group participation stuff. If someone says, “Come on, everyone, wave your hands in the air!!!!!” I guffaw and roll my eyes. (I also don’t like sing-a-longs.) There was some cha-cha sliding and other coordinated group dancing and then some of the characters came out to dance around. That was cute.
We went up to deck 10 and the ship started to pull away from Port Canaveral. That was fun to see. It started so slowly that you could barely tell you were moving, and then it started to pick up speed making it obvious we were clearing port.
We had main seating for dinner, so that meant we were to eat at 5:45. We headed back to the room to change clothes. Our first night would be at Animator’s Palette which is a themed restaurant where the restaurant starts in black and white and gradually becomes colorful. They show a short docu-movie during dinner about Disney animation history (or something?). We met our servers, Ildiko from Hungary (our main server), and Willie from South Africa (assistant server), who were very gracious and attentive. They really had a remarkable attention to detail, and they do all they can to prevent little kids from going apeshit during what may be a long dinner.
We were seated at a table for 8, so we did have table mates. (Unless you request a table to yourselves you’re likely going to be seated with another group if yours is small.) I didn’t learn much about them, given my aversion to smalltalk. I’m really glad they didn’t force conversation. I’m sure they were very nice people, but you know how it is… I’m perfectly fine with there being a comfortable silence.
After dinner we went to a live musical show called The Golden Mickeys. No pictures of that since they don’t allow flash photography in the theaters, but I’ll just say it was enjoyable. Well, mostly enjoyable. You know how Disney does that “Slide all the way into the row and leave no gaps” announcement? Well, I ended up sitting next to a buffoon who spent the entire show with half his body leaned into my seat, the damned drunk lush. He kept crossing his leg over into my space and his shoe left marks on my skirt. He was all over the arm rest. I had to lean to the far left towards Rosco to get out of the guy’s space (or to get him out of mine). Shit like that really taints experiences for me. It was like he was punishing me for sitting next to him. Oh, and he was loud and was making commentary to the cast on stage throughout the show. *sigh*
I think we called it a night after that. Okay, after watching an hour of Disney cartoons in our stateroom after that. The next morning we’d be in Nassau…more on that tomorrow.
Posted by Tiffany on 03/09 at 11:06 AM
_______________________________________________________________Wait… Rosco wasn’t totally into the group experience. Hey wait! He *is* your kid. :D
Posted by Krissy on 03/09 at 12:19 PM
***Weird how those personality traits trickle down…
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 03/09 at 12:20 PM
***