Supanich Family Disney Cruise 2017

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MrsSoup

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Oct 13, 2007
19,149
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Missouri
Part 1

We went to Florida the day before the cruise to stay the night so we could be there ahead of time. We checked into our hotel and then headed out to explore the area a bit. We drove to Cocoa Beach thinking it was a boardwalk but it wasn’t really. We kind of drove in circles and then finally paid $5 to park and walked across the street to the beach. Addison put her feet in the water and Eli just wanted to feel the water and not take his socks and shoes off. I told him it wasn’t a good idea and he needed to take them off but he didn’t listen and they got soaked. We went back to the car and headed to Walmart. Then we had dinner at Steak’n’Shake and went back to the hotel.

The next morning, we got up and ready, had free breakfast at the hotel and took off for Jetty Park which was over near the port. It was $12 with a military discount to get a day pass. They had a campground, playground, pier, and were right on the beach. We arrived just in time to watch a submarine entering the pier escorted by two gun boats. I’m not sure which branch of the military the submarine was as the uniforms didn’t look like Navy but I guess it could have been as I’m not really that familiar with other branches. It did have a U.S. Flag on the submarine and the gun boats. We walked down the pier and it was very windy and cool. We walked back and went to the playground to let the kids play for a while and hoped that it would be less windy there, it wasn’t. After a while, we headed over to the beach and walked for a bit and looked for shells. It was too chilly to let the kids put their feet in the water. We decided it was time to head to grab a quick lunch and then head to the port.

We arrived at the port and parked (to the tune of $64 for three days). We walked and dropped our luggage off and then headed inside. Disney assigns check-in times for port terminal arrival, ours was not until 2 p.m. However, we arrived around 12:30 I believe. We had no issue checking in earlier. I wish I had known that because we would have gone even earlier and had free lunch on the ship. Check-in was a breeze and we walked right on the ship. When you enter the ship, they announce your family name as you walk on. The only time we had to wait was for the family photo they take before you actually enter the ship.

We went to Guest Services first so I could ask where we could get the kids their kids club bands. Then we proceeded to check out the ship. We headed over to the kid’s club because it was open house and we picked up the kids bands (you can choose to keep these for $12.95 each or turn them back in when the cruise is over) and walked through the area. It was pretty cool. There were different themed rooms inside such as, Andy’s Room, Star Wars, Disney Infinity, etc. We were able to access our room at 1:30 so we headed there next. We checked that out and then left the kids so we could go enter a spa raffle. It required a tour of the spa. We did the tour and entered the raffle and then waited for that to happen at 3. We made it back to the room and had time to sit for a few minutes before we had to make our way to our safety drill spot. Safety drill is mandatory and was at 4 p.m. It lasted about 20 minutes or so.

From there, we headed up to Deck 11 which is where the pools and buffet were. We watched the Sail Away Party for a little bit and went up on deck and watched the ship debark. Then we needed to get ready for dinner so we headed back to our room for a little bit. The first night our dinner was scheduled for the Enchanted Garden. We arrived and realized that we would be sharing a table with another family. I wasn’t crazy about that but we sucked it up and made the most of it. The family we dined with had one child that was Eli’s age and him and Samuel talked video games most of the time.

We decided not to do any of the shows. There was a different show (broadway style) each night with two show times. The late diners could watch the early show and the early diners could watch the later show. Our dining time was at 5:45, the other time was 8:15. There were three dining restaurants and they rotated. The second night was Royal Palace and the third was Animator’s Palate. We skipped the second night because there was nothing on the menu that we really wanted. You have the same wait staff each night and the same table each night as well.

Part 2 coming......
 
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MrsSoup

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Oct 13, 2007
19,149
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Missouri
Part 2

The second day was our stop in Nassau, Bahamas. DH got up and went to the gym to run and I got up and went up to the deck and grabbed coffee and watched the sun rise. DH met me up there when he was done. We decided to stay on the ship since we had been there before on our previous cruise. We had hoped that the ship would be pretty empty, but it wasn’t. However, we made the best of it anyway. We had breakfast and grabbed chairs by the pool early. We sent the kids down to change into their suits and then I went and put mine on. I rode the aquaduck with Addison and got in the hot tub as well. They were always showing a movie on the Funnel Vision screen on deck so there was entertainment in addition to swimming.

We let Samuel do whatever he wanted for the most part. He had two different clubs he could go to since they overlapped in age (11-14, 14-17). He preferred the older age group because it was larger. Addison had discovered a detective game on board and would go off by herself and do that. We also enabled her to check herself in and out of the kids club so she would go for certain activities and then leave. Eli went to the kids club a couple times but not often. He went the first night for 30 minutes to an hour and then on the second day for a couple of hours in the afternoon. While they were all occupied, DH and I went to the adult deck and pool. I had a cocktail and we relaxed for a bit. Later, we all walked around and did the detective game, minus Samuel and a crew member took our picture by the Golden Mickey and the Walt Disney Theater. There was another theater on the ship as well and they showed a couple different movies throughout the cruise. Samuel went to a couple and Addison and Chad joined him one evening while Eli and I stayed in the room and hung out because we were tired.

We skipped the dining room the second night because the menu wasn’t anything that we wanted. The kids menu changed slightly each evening but also always had the traditional standbys of burgers, hotdogs, pizza and macaroni. We chose instead to feed the kids early in Tow Mater’s grill and then we would eat at Cabanas, the buffet. However, it ended up being table service that evening and Eli came with us because the other two were off doing something else. We finished just in time to go up and grab a spot for the Pirate Party on deck. It was neat! We headed back down to the room after that I believe and then there were going to be fireworks at 10:30. The boys didn’t want to go back up to the deck, the movement of the ship was getting to Samuel and Eli was tired. Addison, Chad and I went back up to the deck and watched the fireworks and then went back to our room and to bed.

Part 3 coming....
 

MrsSoup

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Oct 13, 2007
19,149
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Missouri
Part 3

The next morning, DH and I both went up and I got coffee and we went to the front of the ship (adult’s only deck) and watched our approach to Castaway Cay. It was pretty cloudy so we really couldn’t see the sunrise. We stayed out there for a little bit and then went back to the room to wake the kids so we could get ready and go eat breakfast when they opened so we could get off the ship close to 8:30 when we were allowed to debark. I wanted to make sure we got good chairs in the front row by the water. We got off the boat and walked to the beach. There are several beaches on Castaway Cay but we stopped at the first. The second was where the water slide was and the third was the adult’s only beach. We asked the kids if they wanted to move but they declined so we stayed put. Eli immediately got into the water. Chad and I never did because it just wasn’t warm enough outside. It stayed mostly cloudy and cool while we were there. It started to rain about lunch time. They had a BBQ set up there. We grabbed lunch and then it continued to rain/drizzle so after a while we decided to make our way back to the ship. As soon as we started heading back, it blew over and the sun came out. When we got back to the ship we hung out by the pool for a few hours until we needed to get ready for dinner. Samuel didn’t hang out by the pool, he went off on his own and then showered. Then Addison decided she was done and did the same. Chad, Eli and I hung at the pool and then went to the room to get ready. We had dinner the last night in Animator’s Palate. They had interactive screens on the walls. Crush from Finding Nemo came on the screens and swam from screen to screen and talked to people and actually heard and responded to the replies. Other characters from Nemo also came on the screen and swam around from screen to screen. It was cool. The food was nothing to write home about. I did have an adult beverage that night called Great Reef. It was something with rum, St. Germain Elderflower and watermelon puree. It was good. After dinner we took the kids to purchase souvenirs and then back to the room to watch TV and go to bed. Everyone was pretty wiped out from the day. Chad and I went out to one of the adult clubs and watched a band. The band was good but the people in the room were weird. There was a group of three couples (I think) and there was one lady that was so loud she disrupted the band the whole time. Then there was another couple where the guy was all over the woman he was with but she didn’t seem that into him. And there was one other couple in there that seemed normal. We left after their first set and went to bed.

I forgot to mention that we played Family Bingo on the second day. It was expensive and they gave you an electronic machine instead of bingo cards. They did give us a pack of 3 bingo cards per sheet for the 4 games as a bonus. I ripped them apart so that each kid had their own bingo card and they came around during the second game and told me that ripping them apart made them invalid, so they brought us new cards for the last two games. They didn’t post the rules until well after they handed out the cards and equipment so how was I to know? It really wasn’t very fun or worth the money we paid.
We chose to hold on to our luggage instead of putting it outside our door by 11 p.m. the night before to have it taken off the ship by the crew. In the morning, we got up and ready early and needed to be in the dining room that we dined in the night before by 6:45 for breakfast. It was a sit down breakfast this time where the rest of the cruise we did buffet (there was the option for sit down in one restaurant each day). We ate and by the time we finished the ship had been cleared by customs and we could debark. We walked right off the ship, customs looked at our passports and customs form and we were done. We were in the car by 7:30 that morning and headed on our way.

I will mention that all food is included except the specialty shops and the formal restaurants, for our ship, those were Remy and Palo. Beverages included were: fountain soda, water, coffee, hot tea, hot chocolate. You could get these beverages 24/7. Room service was also 24/7 but a tip was expected and appreciated. I didn't have but $3 in one dollar bills on me and next to that a $20 bill so we did not order room service, although I really wanted to that first night because I was starving. Ice cream is also all you can eat. There is an ice cream station set up on Deck 11 and you can get as much as you want, they only have cones though. But Addison would get a cup from the beverage station and put ice cream in there.

Overall, the experience was great. The kids didn't want to do any character meet and greets so we didn't. They have them all the time and you get a schedule. There is a handy dandy app you can download on your phone and use while on the ship with your phone in airplane mode that has all the schedules, dinner menus and also has a chat feature so you can talk to the people in your party. They have two wave phones that they put in your room and you can use those while on board the ship as well. They will send you a message when your child wants to leave the kids club and you can call the other wave phone to reach someone else in your group. All very cool features!

With all that being said, I liked Carnival better. Of course, i'm an adult. Here are my reasons: the food in the dining room and on the buffet on Carnival was better (more kid friendly aside from the kid menu), the crew were friendlier on Carnival (which surprised me), the beach towels were way better and bigger on Carnival and the kids club was better on Carnival according to Addison (surprisingly!). Some cool features for Disney that Carnival doesn't have: the wave phones, the app with chat feature, the rotating dining room and assigned table so you don't have to wait, ease of boarding and debarking.

I feel like I may be forgetting some things so if you have any questions please let me know!!
 

luludou

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Québec - Canada
Seems like you had a fantastic family time! Nice to know how it works on those cruises
 

GrammaDeb

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Jan 4, 2014
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Nevada
Mmm...that sounds nice. I loved reading about your cruise. We always wanted to do a Disney cruise. We did a Caribbean cruise - took all the tours and never even touched the water. Took a cruise from Cali to Mexico - rained the entire time. I slept and hung out by the pool - went back to work totally relaxed. Thanks for sharing your trip.
 

sweetpumkinpye

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Canberra, Australia
Sounds like a great trip.
 

PamelaG

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Washington, the Evergreen State
I just stumbled on your cruise recap on this thread - thanks for sharing. Always great to hear personal experiences, pros and cons help others to make decisions.
 

Lolwlias

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Oct 14, 2007
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I've always wanted to go on a cruise but DH does not. He went deep sea fishing once & got sea-sick so he is not interested in a cruise.
 

MrsSoup

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Oct 13, 2007
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Missouri
I've always wanted to go on a cruise but DH does not. He went deep sea fishing once & got sea-sick so he is not interested in a cruise.

I think deep-sea fishing would be a lot different than a cruise due to the size of the ship. A cruise ship you really don't feel the movement of the ocean much at all. The worst time we feel the movement is at dinner and that's mostly due to the location of the dining rooms, mid-ship and down on the lower decks. On sea days it's worse because you're at sea all day but as long as you don't look at the horizon, it's mostly okay. There are also all kinds of meds you can take, Dramamine, Bonine, and they have Sea-Bands now that you put on your wrists as a more naturalistic approach. DS used those this cruise and they seemed to work for him. I get motion sickness very easily and I haven't had much problem, surprisingly, on either of our cruises.
 
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