slowly

Great Pictures and Thanks for sharing! Was you room the Balcony or Superior Balcony? Is there a difference? Looks like the weather was pretty nice. Loved the Chop's dinner photo.

Buy him a beer as long as he's not driving the ship! Enjoy the time spent with family that's the important thing. I am sure you wish some of the the people were crossing the Equator as Wogs! Shellback 1987!

Yes, it's all about your budget. Hilton is a great hotel but pricey. Right in front of the beach, pools are great but a nice walk to the heart of Waikiki-15 min walk. Double Tree-Cheaper but off the beat and path-25 min walk to Waikiki Ala Moana Hotel- Far from Waikiki but right in front of the largest Mall in Oahu and across the street from the beach/park Outrigger hotel(s)- Cheap with no frills. Just a few hotels in the area. If you have a military ID you can get Kamaina(local) rates which are substantially lower.

Sorry we only took a taxi to town and looked around and had some awesome food at El Pasdor(sp). They have those little tacos with the shaved marinated meat and fresh veggies...soooo good! On other threads people were mentioning Aroma Mazatlan Massage where you can get a 2 1/2 hr massage for like $30! I went on their website and sure enough the prices were listed as such. On the ship it's like 3 times the cost. A crew member had mentioned it to them. Shame on us for not knowing last year but we'll be there in March! In Puerto Vallarta we did the Zip Line but honestly it wasn't a big deal if you are looking for a "thrill". It's good if you have smaller kids. We saw a 12 yr old did pretty well.

Awesome Pics!

I am just curious on who you got your first price so low!

Awesome job with the pictures and post. We booked today for the 3/14/10 sailing. It will be our first on RCL, 7th overall. Looking forward to it even more after your report!

Once on the ship ask your waiter when lobster night is and prepare to go that night. I usually tell the waiter to hold two for me on the first night. The Bottom line is: If it's good then awesome! If it's bad order something else, you won't be charged extra! No harm no foul! It's silly to compare food let alone Lobster from food off the ship or a certain regions. What relevance does it really have? Just enjoy or not enjoy the food on the ship. If you don't like it go on another line where food is more of a focal point. Crystal or Cunard. IMHO. I just love the novelty of having lobster on a cruise ship and I think that's what the person who started the blog was getting at. I've had both excellent and terrible lobster on cruises and no matter what that's the first question I ask when I get on board. BTW the best "cruise line" lobster I had was on Celebrity. Disney a close second. Worst was on NCL, it was like eating rubber. I still ate two though!

This was a pretty entertaining forum to say the least. My 2 cents: [LIST] [*]This was a failed attempted to get sympathy votes from total strangers.- What's the true purpose? You got your reward move on. [*]I can almost guarantee that life off the ship isn't much better.- Just an assumption, Stereotyping, Pattern living, Predictable etc? YES! [*]You have a big BUT- When it comes to your daughter which is not a bad thing however you may want to make it a smaller but by seeing situations from all aspects before coming to forgone conclusions. [/LIST]As you may have noticed I did not make any reference to the "cruise" per se because it's not about the cruise or RCI. It's way deeper than the experience on the ship. Need to take a look at what you have. I am not a religious person but be lucky that you were able to go on a ship with your family and most importantly be happy with what you have rather than throwing people or companies under the bus. S&*t Happens! Remind me to blog a complaint so I get this much response! Man o man did this get people fired up or what! See you folks on future cruises! Never mind my Beaver shirt and cast on my leg. BTW I hurt it when I entered an A*% Kicking contest and this one legged man beat me!

Thanks lyssa13 for the post. We are in the process of thinking abt cruising RC in March.

I totally agree with inlovewithnolan's statement. You need to understand that this Swine Flu is very serious right now. People are canceling trips and Disney ahs to do it's best to calm the cruisers the best they can. Again if you saw a sick person on the ship I think you might think otherwise. On the flipside, I agree that you should be upset. Afterall you probably planned this for awhile. I would talk to upper management rather than asking people for their opinion. Make sure you have all your ducks in a row before you even speak with them. Ask yourself this, if you sue them are you not going to any Disney related vacations again? Think about your child(ren).

I think I am more surprised that you are going to cruise alone. I give you alot of credit. i guess you can't get any safer than Disney. Good for you! My family and I are going to be on the Wonder in May. This will be our third consecutive year, more for our kids but we enjoy it as well. I can't imagine going alone. Hope you have a blast! In regards to your question. If you are a Castaway Member I would ask for some extra stuff for your nephew and niece. I think once you book your cruise on board they will give you extras because they are hurting in terms of occupancy hence the specials.

[quote name='gatorband']I've been reading the many posts on the Disney boards in preparation for our family's 1st Disney Cruise on the Magic in June '09 and have gotten some FANTASTIC tips/advice thus far. My wife & I have only cruised once before (Carnival Ecstacy - Xmas, '97) and this will be a first cruise for our kids (8yrs & 4yrs.) From what I can find so far, it seems the dress code for Palo's is pretty strict, however, I'd like to know if a sport coat is mandatory or can I get away with just a nice dress shirt & tie w/slacks instead? I took a coat w/me on our prior cruise and it was a hassle to deal with a hanging bag in addition to other luggage & I'd rather not have to deal with it this time, as wrangling our kids will be a full-time chore in itself!:) Thanks for any input on this that anyone can give me.[/quote] It shouldn't be a problem without the jacket but again DCL "suggests" it but they will not enforce it. I hate to say it but I even saw some people wearing t-shirts at Palo! Not good.

Becareful if your kids tend to roll around in bed at home. The fall from the top is far. My daughter fell one night but miraculously she was fine with no bruises or anything. Thank God! PS move the coffee table away from the beds as much as possible. The floor is a better cushion than the table in case of falls.

[quote name='justsaygo']What is the age limit for the slide? My 10 year old is about the size of a 12 year old and he will be upset if he can't slide![/quote] He will be fine.