Cruise Kay

I bring a tote bag and cap, sometimes a book. I leave these on the table when I want to get something and come right back. If there is a staff member nearby, I point out my table and tell them I will be right back

I had an interior down the hall and it was a very nice size

I guess you could call? Or go to a roll call from this month and ask people who just cruised. we were on just five weeks ago.

They did. It was not really advertised or made available for reservations when we cruised last month. But it was a great show. It may have been called AquaNation.

1977 is the main ice show. Really great! Has an opening number with drones!

You don't have to dine alone, especially on a Disney cruise. They will seat you with other solo travelers. I have met some really interesting people this way and it's been a lot of fun.

Final day of the cruise! I rested up and watch movies outside all day, pack my bags and I'm ready to go. Thanks for sailing along with me! Look what was in my State room when I got here tonight… They gave us all this limited edition print. They did this on the last transAtlantic as well. It's beautiful. Final screenshot of tonight's dinner menu and a few activities. Tonight was the show "believe." It was very good. Golden Mickey's was the best by far though. I appreciate everyone who took the time to read and I hope this was helpful.

Malaga today. There is a free cruise port shuttle into the city center. From there you can walk to the historic cathedral or you can just walk around town. The architecture is interesting and there are tons of shops and places to eat. tomorrow is the last full day already!

We are in Cadiz, Spain today. It's a cold windy day and I'm feeling a little rundown so I'm gonna stay on the ship. Plenty of activities today. Here's a screenshot of some of the activities, and some of the menu offered in the main dining room for lunch.

it was a brisk windy day today and our final day at sea. Lots of port stops coming up and then we are off the ship on Saturday. I had a great day and there were many activities to choose from. This evening's show was the big Broadway style beauty and the beast. It was wonderful! I attended both showings so I skipped dinner in the main dining room for that and it was worth it. It probably goes without saying, but I'll just let you know. People start lining up for that show almost an hour ahead of time and they don't open the doors until about 15 minutes before show time. So if you want to come to the theater 10 or 15 minutes before the show starts you will be at the end of an extremely long line, I'm talking hundreds of people, and you will sit in the back. Not that it matters, the show is easy to see from wherever you sit, I'm just saying--if you are a large group you can't walk in at the last minute and expect to find chairs all together. And they say you're not allowed to save chairs so you can't just send one person ahead to save a bunch. Plan ahead! another special thing they did today was have a "costume workshop" at the theater. It was an hour long informal presentation by the costume designer and her team. They brought out a table of wigs and a couple of costumes and talked about all of the thought and effort and process put into making all the various costumes. At the end they had some performers come out in really amazing beautiful costumes and let us look at them and talked about them a little bit. The performers were on stage, this was not a thing where you could get up close to them, and we were not allowed to take pictures. But it was so interesting. If they offer it again I recommend. Bruce Kimbrell is on board and has given some presentations and gave one today. He has worked at the parks forever, and now he is a historian on the parks that does presentations about different things regarding Disney World. Super fascinating and he's an amazing speaker. Great slideshow as well. If he's on board, definitely go to his lectures. there was a towel folding class today, origami, lots of live music and such. Around midnight the ship started rocking and bumping quite a bit and it's still going almost 2 hours later. We must be in some rough water! I'm going to hold off posting any screenshots tonight since Internet is dragging so bad. It took forever just to load this page. Tomorrow is Lisbon!

you're going to love it! This is our final sea day. Because of that, there are a few extra seminars in today's activities pushing services at the spa. Things like complementary facial rejuvenation sessions, complementary footprint analysis, stuff that will lead you to buy their products. That's totally understandable. But I'm not planning on going to any of those. plenty of port stops coming up over the next few days! Yesterday the Azores was picture perfect. I mean what an incredible place. I booked an excursion through Disney for a bus tour around the island overlooking Sete Cidades. It lasted about three hours. It was gorgeous and a great way to see the island. So much better than just walking around port. It was Sunday so most shops were closed and there wasn't much to do right at port. At the end of our bus tour we had the option of going into a nice hotel right across from the ship and having a wine and cheese reception. I skipped that and went straight back to the ship. I spent the afternoon by the pool and enjoying the amazing sparkling blue water. This is a busy port and there was a lot going on. My tour was a success and based on the comments in my cruise group Facebook group, everybody loved the tours they booked as well. There were some whale and dolphin watching tours available and apparently they were quite successful and very exciting. People saw sperm whales, dolphins, turtles, and humped back whales. We are four hours ahead of home and I just can't get with the time change so far, so I'm not sleeping well and staying up way too late and then sleeping till about eight or nine ship time. when we dock in Barcelona, I am meeting my son and then getting on a Royal Caribbean ship the next day to do a week in the Mediterranean. I have been so wrapped up in this cruise I haven't even had time to think about that cruise or get excited properly. But I am! We have several fun excursions planned. Over the next few days I need to do laundry and get myself ready. there are a ton of people staying on board for the cruise following this one around the Mediterranean. A new friend I made on ship told me that she tried to book that cruise yesterday and was told it was sold out. Some screenshots of today's activity, tonight's menu in my dining room, some optional "tastings," and some pictures from yesterday. Internet is crawling today.

Perfect day. Absolutely breathtaking weather and scenery… The ocean was so smooth and the sky so blue all day long today...we had a spectacular sunset as well. I spotted a whale today while I was out walking deck four. That was pretty exciting. During dinner, we had a sighting of a pod of dolphins jumping alongside the ship. After dinner I went outside and dolphin watched for about an hour along with several other people and we saw pods of dolphins jumping many many times. There was a fun boat building competition today--teams consisted of families, tweens and teens from the kids clubs. They were given basic materials like cardboard and Styrofoam cups to work with, and everybody built some form of a ship. Staff member got in the pool and floated each ship and put cans of soda on top to see if they were seaworthy. They made a lot of fun and the kids were just thrilled and there was a lot of cheering involved. We had a ventriloquist for our big show this evening and he was hilarious. He got some kids up on stage to help and they had a blast. Tomorrow's dinner has an international theme. Here are a few menu shots. Tomorrow is the Azores!

OK I asked and was told they don't carry them

Tonight's menu was pirate-themed

I am on the dream now and have looked and I don't see any. I will ask to make sure but I have scoured the shops.

Today was incredible. We had sun again and a brisk breeze that kept everything comfortable. I did laundry this morning and then spent most of the day outside. Even though lots of us were back outside on the pool deck, it never felt jammed. The pools had plenty of space in them and there were tons of chairs to be had. There were all the usual daily activities… Movies on the outdoor screen, trivia, lots of photo opportunities with the characters, the shops are open, all that good stuff. Dinner tonight in the enchanted garden, which is a really beautiful dining room. We have the best table right next to a window. While we were eating somebody posted on Facebook in our group that they saw whales, and somebody else saw dolphins jumping along side the ship. it was pirate day and pirate night and it was so cute to see how much enthusiasm everyone brought to this occasion. Entire families were wearing elaborate costumes, they were plenty of adults and kids of all ages wearing different amounts of pirate gear from simple to elaborate. Some people even put on special make up or fake beards or fake scars. It was so fun. So much enthusiasm! Mickey and friends wore pirate costumes today and put on a song and dance show in the evening, and then at 10 o'clock Captain Jack sparrow put on another song and dance show with his pirate crew, and that culminated in fireworks, which were spectacular. we also had a comedian tonight who is also a contortionist. He was very funny. Tomorrow is the final day at sea for our first big week of traveling, then we start hitting ports with one or two sea days mixed in. We are now four hours ahead of time back home.

PS, tonight is pirate night! So you'll see some pirate themed movies and activities woven into the days schedule today. Fireworks on deck this evening!

it's Friday, day six. We are three hours ahead of home and will set our clocks forward one more hour tonight. We arrive in Portugal on Sunday. I woke up early and checked the Bridgeview in my magic portal. It looked like we were going to have a nice sunrise so I went up on deck and got photos. Looks like we might have a day without rain! If so, I will spend the day by the pool. I tried to get laundry going up until 10 o'clock last night but the machines were full. I'll check for different decks and they were full as well. Got a load started this morning. Some photos from this morning and from cabanas. Internet is back to normal!

I really do think a Disney cruise is such a special experience for children and grandchildren. I would not hesitate to take your grandson on a Disney cruise. I bet you guys will have an amazing time. Nobody does it like Disney. I mean yeah all cruise lines have something wonderful to offer, but there's just something about a Disney Cruise. They put a little extra effort and magic into all of their entertainment, their staff, ships are beautiful, there's just a certain standard there that's really wonderful. Shows are so wonderful and the costume characters are just terrific with kids I think part of the out of control kids yesterday was the fact that all 2700 of us were crammed into the atrium at the same time, it was the end of the day, it was just a wrong time of day. And it's not like all the kids were out of control, it was just some of them and of course those were the ones ruining it for everybody else. For the most part I see adorable families on Disney ships, including this one. I see families in matching shirts having the time of their lives, having lots of fun together, all of those things. There's so much to offer for kids on the ship, there's no reason for anyone to ever be bored. and the average parent understands when to take their child out of line for a photo with Mickey Mouse and put them to bed instead, or take them somewhere else they're more interested in. The kids have been thrilled with the swimming pools of course, and there's a splash area for little kids that's been very popular. And the food! So much of it and it's been great. One thing I always enjoy on a Disney cruise is the unlimited Disney movies in the room. I've been watching them every night! tomorrow is day six already. How did that happen? This week has flown by.

Let me just assure you both that I have sailed Disney many times and I have never seen a day like yesterday. Out of control children has never been an issue on a Disney Cruise for me before, or really any cruise line at all. I mean you see the occasional meltdown and stuff but you just expect that. Yesterday was a weird day ----there was something in the air. It seemed like all the kids were exhausted and being wild and parents weren't doing much about it. But that is not the norm. And certainly the kids clubs are well supervised and well organized. Regarding last nights fireworks, I found out that it was teenagers who ran under the security rope and up the stairs and presented a danger to their own safety, so that's why the show was shut down. Today was better. Even though it was a rainy day and we were all inside all day long, everybody seem to have gotten themselves back together. People were entertaining themselves, doing all the various activities, hanging out in lounges, everybody was getting along just fine today and it was humming along quietly like any other cruise day that you would expect. The costume characters not only made their scheduled appearances but several unplanned stroll through the ship where they would stop and talk to people in the halls and pose for photos. The main event for tonight was showing guardians of the galaxy three in the movie theater. They've already shown it several times but I think this was the first time it was showing prime time. We had heavy rain all day today. There was a stargazing event scheduled for tonight but of course that's canceled. Everyone was inside all day and although the ship felt busy, it still didn't feel jampacked. I could still find plenty of nice places to sit and I went to trivia early and got a good seat and all that good stuff. I think even on a crowded ship, if you just plan ahead a little bit and get to events a little early, and just keep your eyes open and look around for alternative seating, you'll be fine. Disney trivia was fun… It was all about Disney songs. There were several of us with perfect scores and the tiebreaker question was how many crewmembers are on board. The correct answer was 1400 something… I guessed 920. So I lost. tonight's dinner had a frozen theme. The waiters were wearing outfits inspired by the movie and the menu had a Scandinavian hint to it. Lots of fun. In Animators Palette tonight they showcased a lot of development art and storyboard art on the screens around the restaurant and I loved that. I made it to the gym this afternoon. It's a surprisingly small gym and it was brisk, (given that it's a rain day), but there were still machines to grab and tread mills to be had. The Disney characters appeared in the lobby today wearing new costumes, all international. at one point today we rolled into a fog bank and the captain blew the horn. The ship rocked some this evening but nothing terrible. At some point this afternoon the captain said we were right in the middle of our Atlantic path for the Crossing. Internet went in and out today and is extremely weak. That's to be expected at this point. Here's a picture of the map on our TV, and characters in costume.

Agree, the kids clubs are amazing. I'm not traveling with kids this time obviously, but I used to bring mine on the ship and it's really a wonderful place for families. I just saw Ariel take a stroll on deck four around the top of the atrium waving at people down below. A flock of very small children came out of nowhere and gathered around her. She squatted down to their level and talked to them a really long time. They were enthralled. One little boy had a shield and she was talking to him about it and getting him excited about the power the shield had and what a superhero he was. there's a staff member who makes coffee here at vista café and in my opinion he's been rude the only two times I've interacted with him, but I just saw him come over to a little boy who is hanging out with his family and give him a special treat and squat down at his level and whisper to him with a big smile on his face and it made the boy smile as well. That was really sweet. last night during the magician show an older couple and their teenage grandson decided to get up and leave. The grandfather was using a cane but still could barely walk and navigating the stairs was extremely difficult. He was struggling in his little wife wasn't capable of catching him if he fell backwards. A staff member monitoring the door saw all of this and rushed down the stairs and took the man's arm very gently and respectfully and helped him up the stairs. In general the Disney staff has been trained on how to interact with kids and they are phenomenal. There are many people here of all ages with special needs and the staff knows how to treat everybody with completely devoted attention and enthusiasm and kindness.

My last transatlantic was on the magic and it was just so wonderful. It was a super light crowd and of course the magic is a smaller ship so it was just the perfect size. This is definitely (as you know), a much bigger ship and a much larger crowd. I think if you just prepare yourself mentally it will be fine. I failed to do my research ahead of time---I just assumed the transatlantic would be a light crowd since most people don't do these kinds of sailings, especially families. But we are at 2700 passengers. Obviously, with a crowd this size and so many sea days, you can expect the hot tubs and pools to be very full. And they are--all day long. But other than that, there are plenty of spaces on board to spread out and relax. If you don't care about being in a chair right next to the pool, there are so many wonderfully inviting spaces to go lie in the sun or read a book or look out at the ocean. So in that sense, crowding has not been a problem. You may have to wait in line a few minutes at the poolside food options, but not forever. Cabanas is busy and bustling but you can usually find a nice table within a few minutes. People eat all day long and spread out their eating times to where if you're doing the buffet or poolside food, it's not going to be an issue to fight a crowd. The shops have a few people in them at all times, but other than opening night when the special merchandise went on sale, it's not a mob scene. If you want an appointment at the spa or hair salon you need to go fairly early in the week and schedule your chosen day as with a crowd this size, they do tend to get full as the cruise goes on. The big song and dance shows are spread out to accommodate rotational dining so there's a full house for each show but still you could walk in late and find somewhere in the way back to sit. Special shows such as the magician last night was a one time show for everybody on the ship after both dinner rotations. It was quite full and I don't think you could've walked in late and found seating for a family of four or more. If you rely on an elevator to get around you need to be prepared to possibly wait each time you need one, and I can only imagine how bad the elevator situation is going to be on disembarkation day, but other than that, it's not usually a mob. On sea days, especially if the weather is not terrific, all of the really nice indoor lounge areas tend to get snatched up, (such as those great couches and chairs by the windows next to Vista café on deck four ,) but like I said, even if the prime spots are taken you can still find somewhere really nice if you just look around. There are so many places to sit around the ship inside and outside.

A few photos from yesterday

Lunch menu shots and a few screenshots of daily activities for today

Today is day four. It's a little bit of a gray day. Yesterday was gray and windy so the outside was not quite as crowded as usual. A lot of people inside. Yesterday cruise fatigue seem to hit everybody, and maybe the time change so far. I saw an awful lot of tired kids having meltdowns, shrieking, I saw siblings really sick of each other kicking and pushing. I think it's normal for a cruise of this length to start out really gung ho and then have a couple of tired days before you get into a good rhythm and relax. There are so many really small children on the cruise and I'm sure they're exhausted with the big change their routine. yesterday I tried breakfast in the main dining room at the royal palace. It was very good and service was terrific. They sat me at a table by a window with the lady from Colorado who was very nice. She told me that she was on her balcony the night before and saw a humpback whale. The whale jumped out of the water three times and was visible for quite a while. I wish I had seen it! I spent some time on deck four in the loungers after breakfast and the word about the whale had got out. A lot of people were at the railing looking around and commenting they hoped they would see a whale today. Our crochet group from our Facebook cruise group got together yesterday afternoon and that was fun. In the afternoon I went back to the hair salon for a wash, style, blow dry. That was really nice. I wasn't hungry for dinner but I really like my tablemates so I went. We had a really nice time. Right after dinner was a big event in the atrium called the shining shimmering celebration at sea. The whole ship gathered in the atrium and along the railings of the overlook. All of the main Disney characters came out dressed in special outfits, light blue tuxedos and gowns with white trim. There was goofy, Mickey and Minnie, Donald and Daisy. Our violinist played live music while the characters went out into the audience and mingled and danced and lead a conga line. In theory it should've been great fun and it was… But it was just so mobbed. Forget photos or getting near the characters. Especially if you are a person using a wheelchair, scooter, or walker. There were a lot of really aggressive children attacking the characters--grabbing their hands and yanking, pushing them, falling into them, and parents just standing by letting them. One little girl went up on stage with the violinist and careened around in out of control spins for a long time--nearly falling off the stage, nearly crashing into the piano, so forth and so on, and the parents just stood there smiling. The violinist had to move her stand and move her floor pedal and keep playing at the same time and she was clearly stressed with a frozen smile, and the minute she was done she asked the child to leave the stage. Don't get me wrong, I love kids, I have five of them and two grandchildren. I'm on a Disney cruise because I enjoy being around families. I love seeing kids having the time of their lives and interacting with the characters and all of those things. But yesterday there just seem to be a lot of parents, possibly exhausted, who were just letting their kids do whatever they wanted. After the celebration dance I went to the magic show and after 30 minutes I had to leave. I could not hear one single word the magician was saying because of all the families around me with exhausted screaming toddlers begging to leave (and parents unwilling to leave), families chattering with each other, kids crying, all those typical 830 at night exhaustion kind of behaviors. I sympathize but at the same time it was frustrating because this is a really good magician and he's only performing twice on this whole cruise and I just couldn't hear his act. not a big deal, and something to just expect on a big crowded ship like this, especially a Disney ship, I'm just sharing what it was like. I was not upset or anything, just a little frustrated. The magician was on America's got talent and came in second and he was so funny and interesting based on the first five minutes that I did get to hear, and from what I could see on stage. By the time I left the show, it was after nine, and at 10:15 we were having a special fireworks at sea celebration. I'm sure you know that Disney has pirate night during the cruise with fireworks at sea then, but this was a special continuation of the whole 25 year shimmering celebration at sea theme for the evening. I was exhausted by then and debated staying up for the fireworks but I just couldn't do it. I was in bed by 10 and the fireworks and dance show were scheduled for 1015. I was still awake and scrolling Facebook about 30 minutes later and my Facebook group started posting how disappointed they were with the fireworks. They said there was barely any fireworks and the show just seem to end halfway through itself. A lot of people got into the comments and explained that they heard the cast members telling everyone that the show did actually get cut short, it wasn't anybody's imagination. The reason it got cut short is because somebody's child ran under a rope and up a flight of stairs into the restricted area where it was not safe and firework embers were scattering. The response of the crew was to immediately just end the show. Which of course, was the right thing to do. Our sea days have been packed with plenty of crafts and special kid activities in their kids clubs, and different family events throughout the day. We had two days of just gorgeous weather and now we're in day two of some gray and windy weather, which is completely to be expected on a transAtlantic. It is driving more people inside though so the activities are getting more love than the outdoor pools right now. Still tons of people outside though and the poolside grill and pizza place stay busy all day. Some sample shots from the menu for main dining room lunch today. Of course lunch options include room service, cabanas buffet, and the poolside food, which is burgers and sandwiches, fruit and salads, and pizza.