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......
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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