Lady_Jag

Hi Lady_Jag :)

 

In regards to the water slides on Carnival, swimwear with exposed zippers,

buckles, rivets or metal ornamentation are not permitted..

 

Click on the below link to view all of the rules:

 

https://www.goccl.com/~/media/Files/Irman/bookccl/shipboard_knowledge/Pool_WaterslidePolicies.htm

 

Have a terrific voyage!

 

 

:)

 

 

Thanks so much!

[emoji4]

Hi!

Anyone know if wetsuits are permitted on the slides and in the pools onboard? We're planning our Alaskan trip, and my daughter loves to play in the water areas, no matter how blue her lips get. Is there are rule against suits with zippers?

Thanks!

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I wanted to fill in everyone - especially after we got so many good posts!

 

We took a little bit from alot of people. But here's how it went:

 

Little bit of a back story... Our son has a toenail that is starting to become ingrown. A few weeks back we told him that we were going to have to take him to the Dr. to have it removed.

 

Anyway - we told him that he was going to take the day off school to go to a doctor in Galveston and that if everything goes ok, we'd spend the rest of the day on the beach in Galveston. We packed the car the night before so he wasn't aware of the luggage (NOTE: To the poster who said their kids wouldn't notice the luggage if they were sitting on it... you're right. He was totally oblivious to the luggage in the back).

 

As we were driving up to the terminal he kept asking how far was the doctor's office was, but had a very confused look on his face. Finally he said, "Are we going on a cruise?". We said no, and it was only then that he looked in the back of the suv and said "Why do we have luggage packed?".

 

He had a smile from ear to ear!

 

We had a great time and the weather was beautiful. Thanks to everyone for all their posts.

Love it! We surprised our daughter with a Disney cruise back in Jan. Bags packed and loaded in the back the night before. She had no idea until we were pulling up to the terminal and wondered how those cruise ships could be docked at Aunt Carlette's! Lol!

Hope you got some great photos of your son's surprise!

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Seems like you have your answer. I just want to mention that they have Diet Sprite on board (cans), if you don't want to haul a 12-pack in your carry on. Also, Crystal Light ToGo packets and liquid add-ins come in a variety of flavors, many caffeine free.

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Try going on a port day, especially a tender port day. We had no line on the Dream when at Belize.

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OMG!!! It pays to goof off at work reading Cruise Critic!! LOL! I booked a 7-day cruise on Carnival Pride for March 30-April 6, 2014. When we booked the cruise, I was told that as a single passenger, I would have to pay double. Thus, I paid over $1800 to have a balcony room on the same hallway as my family members. Well after reading your posts, I went on the Carnival website and saw that my sailing had a single supplement sale! I then called Carnival, and they were so great and returned almost $900 of it to me. You all saved me much money and I can't thank you enough! I told the Carnival Operator that probably this money will go back to Carnival anyway... we are going to David's steakhouse, and now I can spend time in the spa!! LOL!

 

Thanks, again, everyone!!

Congrats!

Did you get to keep your balcony cabin, or did they have to move you to get the rate?

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Not sure about cheaper, but I might buy more if they were *smaller*. I have no room for a stack of 8x10 cruise photos, so I hardly ever buy more than the embarkation photo, if that.

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I am sorry that I missed your question and for this delayed response. Please forgive me.

 

Personally I would choose the Aft Balcony because you said there are no lifeboats below. By now you have already chosen, but if no go with what you think is right for you.

No worries! The rates for 2015 haven't opened yet, so I haven't booked anything. After careful consideration, I think aft balcony will be my second choice, as it's a lot more expensive (especially when buying 2 cabins) and the "bowling alley" balcony is handicap accessible, which would be ideal for my mom.

Thanks for the insight! Aft is really, REALLY tempting, but I need to consider my mom in regards to accessibility. (The heavy balcony door and high threshold are potentially dangerous for her.)

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After dinner, we headed up to the pool deck (how cool is it that a retractable floor can cover the pool at night to make more deck space?!?) to watch "Mickey's Pirates In The Caribbean."

Because of the crowd and all the kids sitting on their parents' shoulders, we couldn't see the stage at all and had to catch the show on the big screen. No big deal. The screen was clear and the kids had fun dancing to the music and participating in Mickeys "Pirate Academy." It was a cute show and well performed. Afterwards, we checked Alyssa into the kids club, then met the rest of our gang in the balcony of the Walt Disney Theater to watch "Villains." The show was good. Not something I'd want to see a second time, but I had no problem sitting through it.

After the show, we picked up Alyssa from the kids club. (She was having fun drawing and printing out a bunch of pictures on the computer.) The fireworks weren't going to start until 10:30, so we brought Alyssa back to the cabin and got her ready for bed, then we all went upstairs to deck 11 to watch the "Buccaneer Blast" and fireworks. It was a fun show with Jack Sparrow, and we had a great view of the fireworks, thanks to a little tip from one of the cast members.

Angie's kids were zonked, so they had decided to call it a night. However, when the fireworks began, Angie said she stepped out onto her balcony and was able to see them, no problem.

Anyway, when the show was over, we raced downstairs to the Buena Vista movie theater. This is why we had Alyssa in her PJs - Alex and I wanted to see "Saving Mr. Banks," but the only showing we would be able to catch of this 2 hour+ movie started at 11:00pm. We found 3 seats in the back, raised the arm rests, and let Alyssa stretch out with her head on my lap while I stroked her hair. She was asleep in 5 minutes.

We enjoyed the movie, and when it was over, Alex lugged Alyssa out of the theater. She woke up as Alex slowly trudge down the hall carrying her dead weight, but pretended to be asleep. She such a terrible faker - Alyssa's eyes were closed, but she was smiling, and even giggling with each groan from Alex. :p Alex convinced her to hold onto him so that she wasn't dead weight and he could make it back to the cabin.

Tonight's towel animal was a monkey (I think), and our chocolates took the shape of gold doubloons:

I went back to our cabin to put away my camera, then went to the pool to find Alex and Alyssa. I spotted Alyssa in the pool, then found Alex standing in a group on the side of the pool. "Disney Channel On Deck" was having a Phineas and Ferb trivia contest, kids vs. parents.

I walked over to Alex and tapped him on the shoulder, while the latest P&F question flashed on the big screen. I saw Alyssa screaming the answer as loud as she could. I smiled and started to tell Alex I was going to yoga class at 4:30, so he needed to make sure Alyssa was out of the pool and cleaned up in time for pirate night tonight at dinner. The next P&F question appeared on the big screen, and before I could finish my sentence, the host was at my side with a microphone, waiting for an answer. Fortunately, Phineas and Ferb is a show the 3 of us like to watch as a family, so I had no problem giving the answer. (Good thing, too, because from that point forward, the host came to me each time the adult questions popped up!)

An episode of P&F followed the trivia game and I had plenty of time before yoga, so I sat down next to Angie to watch. Towards the end of the show, a caption rolled across the screen informing us that the ship's horn would sound at the end of the broadcast, so we might want to cover our ears. Then the announcement was made over the PA system. I thought it was odd, since we weren't scheduled to leave Nassau until around 6:00 or 6:30, but okay.

As it turns out, the Magic was leaving Nassau, so we were treated to dueling Disney horns! Yay! The Magic blasted, "A Dream Is A Wish Your Heart Makes," and the Dream answered with "Hi Diddley Dee! An Actor's Life For Me!" The Magic returned with "Yo Ho! Yo Ho! A Pirate's Life For Me!" and then it was the Dream's turn to respond, ""When You Wish Upon A Star."

We got the complete cycle of melodic horns twice as the Magic sailed away. I thought Angie was going to explode, she loved it so much. It was really cool, and I was glad we were on board to experience it.

Time for yoga! I promised to meet Alex and Alyssa back at our cabin around 5:00, then set out to find Senses Fitness Center. I got there just as the people in the class were climbing the stairs with their yoga mats. (Cool! Yoga outside on deck!) I raced into the fitness center and the cast member behind the deck asked, "Yoga?" I nodded, so she went to the back of the gym to find a mat for me. How awesome that I didn't have to "check out" a mat! The cast member just handed it to me and said the group were going to deck 13.

I sprinted up the stairs and back out into the sunshine. It didn't take me long to find the rest of the group and roll out my mat on the deck. I did not expect this to be the "Power" yoga session it turned out to be, but I stuck it out nevertheless. (We were docked, so balancing was not too difficult.) The session was going a bit longer than expected, so at just after 5:00, I rolled up my mat and returned it to the desk at the gym, then walked down to our cabin to shower and dress for dinner.

Alex and I were the only adults in our group to dress the part - Mickey bandannas, pirate shirts, eye patches. Alyssa was already dressed in her pirate gear and had skipped upstairs with Madisyn and Wyatt to their cabin. Alex and I chatted with our friends upstairs from our balcony and were cracking pirate jokes that made Angie wince and Tom roll his eyes. ("Guess what socks I'm wearing tonight? Arrrrr-giles!" "I can recite the pirate alphabet. It's really easy: I, R!" "So the bartender asked the pirate, 'Doesn't that wheel sticking down your pants bother you?' To which the pirate responded, 'Yar! It be drivin' me nuts!'")

Tonight's dinner was at Animator's Palate. I loved the Mickey chairs and animation theme, but the dining room seemed so much more crowded than the Royal Palace. I'm sure it was the table location we had, but still - I couldn't shake the feeling of being in a school cafeteria. When we sat down, Francessca said that she loved that Alex and I got into the spirit of the occasion. That made me look around and notice that not only were Alex and I the only adults in our GROUP who dressed the part, but we seemed to be the only grown pirates in our entire SECTION!

At the end of the table, I spotted Alyssa, who was crying. I went to talk to her and find out what the problem was. She said something about Madisyn wanting her to go to the "Villains" show tonight and got mad at Alyssa for refusing to go. I don't recall exactly what I told her, but I managed to smooth things over, and I think "There's no crying on a Disney cruise!" came out of my mouth at some point. :-)

As for the food, dinner was another hit and miss. The truffle ravioli I had as an appetizer was absolutely amazing! The beef entree I ordered was rather unremarkable, but the cookie sundae dessert was pretty good. Alex had a similar experience, and also enjoyed the truffle ravioli. I did appreciate that decaf hot tea was brought to me tonight without even having to ask.

Our wait staff was by far more entertaining than Crush, who popped up on the various screens around the dining room. Poor Crush just couldn't be heard over the crowd noise, so unless you were lucky enough to be at a table right next to one of the screens, you wouldn't be able to "interact."

No matter - we had our own entertainment tonight. Cristobal was performing more magic for the kids, with the help of a carefully concealed squeaker. It drove the kids crazy, trying to figure out how he was able to make the table squeak, or how his index finger squeaked when they squeezed it.

We were also celebrating birthdays tonight. Our wait team, our head waiter, and one other server brought out a special dessert and sang "Happy Birthday" to all the birthday celebrants [except me, since I was busy taking pictures :-( ]

The kids also got a birthday button to wear, which got them extra special attention from the cast members and characters for the remainder of the cruise.

(Yar! Thar be pirates aboard!)

Love it love it your reviews are so awesome. I vote u two go crazy and come with us June 1st! Bring those bathing suits... I'd :-)

Thanks, Frank! Sorry we'll have to miss the fun this June, but will be on the Miracle next June. You guys up for Alaska? :D

Diaper Dash down (only one of the three baby contestants even moved from the starting line), we went back to the kids' club to see if the kids wanted to join us for lunch in Cabanas, which they did. Afterwards, Alex took Alyssa back to the cabin to change into swim suits, while I found the Meridian bar between Palo and Remy for the "Art of the Theme Show Tour."

I was the only person to show up, so the cast member invited me to have a seat and wait just a few more minutes. When no one came, she began my "private tour," beginning with a little background and some information about the Meridian bar. Less than 10 minutes into this hour long tour, my guide said, "I'm feeling a little dizzy right now, " and sat down on one of the chairs. I asked her if I could help, and she politely declined, saying, "I think I need to call my supervisor." She pulled out a wave phone, excused herself, and stepped outside to call her boss. I didn't know what to do, so I just waited. While I waited, 2 more people showed up. I asked if they were here for the tour, and they nodded. So I explained that the guide was not feeling well, and shared with them the few bits of information I had collected before her sudden case of vertigo.

The guide came back inside and said she would not be able to continue the tour, but that her supervisor was sending someone named Carlos to take over. Unfortunately, Carlos was also scheduled for the next "Making of the Dream" presentation in 20 minutes, so we would get the [very] condensed version of our tour.

While we waited for Carlos to arrive, another couple showed up for the tour, making our group total 6. Carlos walked in with apologies both for the delay and for having to cut our tour down to 15 minutes, then started again from the beginning, with a general overview and the same info about the Meridian bar. We visited Remy, Palo, and then took the elevator down to the District on Deck 4, where we got a few more tidbits before Carlos had to race off to Evolution for his regularly scheduled programming. Ah well! I picked up a few interesting tidbits and was pretty sure the tour would be scheduled for the next day as well, so I might have another shot on our last day.

Palo:

http://i162.photobucket.com/albums/t262/LadyJag73/Disney%20Dream%202014/DSC_0190.jpg

Remy:

This little guy is about $16,000 worth of crystal:

These sinks in the Ladies room are gold plated:

Tour over, I walked around the ship on my own, taking a few pictures here and there.

(LOVED this hallway!)

We stopped and watched a Carnival ship make its approach towards Nassau:

"Is that the ship that we were next to yesterday that left before us?" Angie asked. Then there was some debate among us old blind people in our, uh, "middle years" as to whether it was the Carnival Sensation. The ship was still far away when I pointed out the ship's name on the side. Angie and Alex looked at me like I was joking. "Don't you see the stripe along the side? The name of the ship is right there in line with the stripe."

"There's a stripe?" Alex asked. I laughed and reminded him that being farsighted, I could see the stripe just fine, even if I couldn't tell who was standing right next to me. In any case, it was neat to watch the ship follow the pilot boat in, turn around 180 degrees, then back in to the only open slip left in Nassau.

We walked a few feet to the side of the ship so that we could check out the Disney Magic docked next to us. Some of the crew were standing there too, waving to their friends on the Magic. Back to our walking tour, we found "Edge," the small 11-14 year old club and were invited to look around (they had a recording studio and a BUNCH of bean bag chairs) and Vibe, the hard-to-find teen club:

We reached deck 4 and the Evolution bar, where "The Making of the Dream" would begin shortly. Outside Evolution was the cast member who would be giving the presentation, so we asked him a few questions about what it was about, if it was a film, etc. The description didn't seem like something we wanted to do right then, so instead, we made our way to the balcony area above the main atrium to watch "Jack Jack's Diaper Dash."

Oh my! This event was hilarious!! Basically, parents enter their babies into a crawling race. One parent places the baby at the starting line while the other parent sits at the finish line, trying to cajole the baby into crawling across the Finish first. Baby may not walk, and parents may not push, slide, or pull baby across the Finish line.

Okay, so the event would have been only mildly humorous, had we not be standing where we were and were not cracking jokes about Baby Shuffleboard and other spin-offs of the event. What was so funny about our view? Besides having a great overhead view of the competitive parents and the cheering/jeering crowd, we also had this lovely visual of Donald Duck, (which needs no explanation):

We arrived in Nassau under beautiful clear blue skies and sunny weather ready to dry up any rain left on our balcony from the previous day. We had planned well in advance to stay on the ship this day, since all of us had visited Nassau on more than one occasion, and didn't need any woven purses, hair braids, t-shirts, magnets, or other tourist what-nots.

Unfortunately, most of the other passengers on the ship had the exact same plan. Really! I spoke with some of the cast members later on, and they said that usually they have about 1500 guests sign up for a ship excursion in Nassau. However, this particular cruise, only 500 guests had signed up! So I guess if you are even considering maybe taking an excursion during this short cruise, you should do it when you're in Nassau, when the tours are the least crowded.

Anyway, I stepped out onto the balcony to breathe in the warm tropical air and snap a couple of pictures. Our friends, you might remember, had the cabin directly above ours, so all I had to do was look up to say hello.

"Hey, Tom! Get your head out of your aft!"

Our friends' point of view, "looking down on us."

We had a brief balcony-to-balcony discussion and decided to try a sit-down breakfast in the Royal Palace this morning. It turned out to be a good choice, as the service was fast (not like we were in a hurry to go anywhere) and the noise levels were much lower than the previous night, since there were fewer people here. The kids were thrilled that the first breakfast "course" consisted an assortment of doughnuts, and Alyssa and Wyatt asked for seconds. I tried a "Chip and Dale" omelet from the kids' menu, which included corn and a couple of other unusual ingredients I think. It was okay. The one word I could think of to describe it was "dry."

Anyway, we discussed our plans for the day over breakfast. The kids, of course, wanted to go to the Navigator's club to play. I had a few things that I wanted to look into: "The Making of the Dream," (wasn't sure if it was a film or a tour, but was hoping for the latter) "The Art of the Theme" tour, and maybe a little yoga. Alyssa wanted to take me to see "Frozen" in 3D (this would be my second and her third time seeing this movie), but since it was playing at the same time as "The Art of the Theme," I promised to watch it with her the next day.

Once we finished breakfast, we all made a trip to deck 5 to check the kids into the Navigators' club. (An interesting fact I learned this cruise - deck 5, being the "kid deck" has lower ceilings than the other ship decks, to make the kids feel more comfortable and less overwhelmed.) We headed towards the glass elevators, and when we reached the main atrium, I noticed there was a queue line roped off for the "Princess Gathering," and Ariel was greeting kids and taking pictures in front of the main stairs.

I lagged a little behind to observe my surroundings, while Angie charged ahead and led the brigade towards the staircase. There was some confusion and before I knew it, Angie was marching back towards me, with Alex and Tom snickering behind her. Seeing my bewilderment, Alex burst out with, "Angie got yelled at by Ariel!"

Angie indignantly added, "yeah! And she did it in her Princess voice too!" Then in a mock high-pitched voice, she mimicked, "You can't go that way! The stairs are cah-LOWsed!" We all had a good laugh, then headed for the glass elevators, making a wide circle from Ariel, lest we all suffer her wrath.

Well guess who we encountered in the elevator bay? Stitch! The kids were sooo excited! The elevator doors opened, a cast member escorted Stitch into the glass elevator, and all the kids and I jumped into the elevator with him. When the elevator doors closed, the cast member asked, "Who wants to bang on the glass with stitch as we ride up?!" They were all too happy to oblige: BAM! BAM! BAM! BAM! went hands and paws on the glass as the elevator slowly climbed to deck 5.

Everyone exited the elevator, and the kids were following Stitch like he was the pied piper. The cast member said, "Sorry, kids, but Stitch has to leave," then seeing my camera, offered, "How about just one last picture?"

How awesome to get a private photo shoot with Stitch, albeit a very short one.

Since it was right there, we signed Alyssa up for the Detective Agency game so she could play with Madisyn and Wyatt later on, then down the hall to the Navigators club. Today, 1/2 the club was set up for "Open House" so that parents could take a look around, and the other half was available for check-in. I missed yesterday's open house, so Alyssa, Wyatt and Madisyn took us on a small tour around the place. There's something about the huge space of toys and all around FUN STUFF that made us all want to play:

When we left the club, Angie asked what the plan was. I said I wanted to explore the ship a bit and take a few pictures, then see what "the Making of the Dream" was all about. Seemed okay to her, so the four of us started to explore, deck by deck. We started outside on the upper decks, investigating the somewhat hidden spaces along the way, like the coffee shop and what looked like a small piano bar inside the faux funnel that had an awesome view.

(I LOVED this little niche in the piano bar!)

Have never been to Alaska but question the better view from an aft. We had our first, and last, aft last year in the Caribbean. You can see your wake but we really missed the side view, especially arriving in port. Felt frustrated with the very limited view. Also, second the comment on long walks. Just our opinion.

Thank you for the insight! I will consider both points when I book next month. :)

Hi!

I read your section on balconies (thanks for that, BTW!), and still can't make up my mind on which cabins for June 2015. I'm planning to surprise my mom with an Alaskan cruise for her birthday, so I will need to get 2 rooms for four of us: Me, hubby, my mom, and my 8-year-old. I'm torn between 2 aft balconies or 2 "bowling alley" balconies on the Carnival Miracle. Which would be our best bet?

Pros of aft balconies:

- Better view (correct?)

- Quieter hallway

- Partial covering on deck 4

- No lifeboats below

Cons of aft balconies:

- The dividers between the balconies do not open.

- The Carnival Miracle layout has only 2-person and 3-person cabins adjacent. I would be booking my mom and daughter in one cabin and me and hubby in another to avoid the "singles' penalty."

- More expensive: about $400 per person more!

- Farther from the elevators. (My mom has mobility issues and can't walk long distances.)

Pros of "bowling alley balcony"

- HUGE balcony!

- One is handicap accessible (so my mom doesn't have to deal with a heavy balcony door)

- Less expensive than an aft balcony

- Divider between the 2 balconies can be opened

- More seating

- Closer to elevators

Cons of "bowling alley balcony"

- Located only on the port side of the ship

- Recessed area of the ship

- They hold a max of 2 people each, so if by some chance, my mom refuses to go, we will have to scramble for a "good" cabin for three 2-3 months after our initial booking.

- Noisier than aft balcony cabins

- Lifeboats below

Thoughts?

whats a PVP?

Personal

Vacation

Planner

aka, Carnival sales rep.

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Mysticks...thank you for that info. ... There is a ton of good info there. Just what I needed...another site to get buried in.

I second that! Thanks much!

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Personally I think an aft balcony would be wonderful for an Alaskan cruise. We are planning one for summer of 2015 and probably going with Princess. We are waiting for their itineraries to be released. I have already told my husband I want an aft corner:D (our 25th wedding anniversary). I would go with the aft extended and get her an inside that is close. There should be plenty of room on your balcony for her to spend time there and I am sure she will love such a wonderful surprise.:)

What a great anniversary gift!

My mom is the "I don't wan't to impose, did I hurt your hand when you punched me in the face, so sorry, next time tell me and I'll punch myself so you don't get hurt" kind. So if I don't get her a balcony, she will not spend time on a balcony. She will either stay in her cabin and read, do an indoor activity, or maybe *consider* going out on deck, but unless we're all on deck, she won't venture outside.

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I'm using a PVP for the first time to book next year's Alaska cruise. Usually, I do all sorts of research, but I'm finding out that if I gave questions, all I have to do is call and my PVP will do the work for me! Another benefit - she can book me and hubby in a cabin for 3, whereas the web site will show only cabins for 2!

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I'm surprising my mom with an Alaska cruise next year, which means I'll need to get a second room. I was looking at the aft balconies on the Miracle, but my PVP says the balcony dividers don't open up on aft balconies. So should I save some $ and get 2 regular/extended balconies on the port side so we can open the divider, or stick with my original plan?

Opinions?

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Oh yeah! Here's why Alex's checked bag was so late in getting to our cabin:

I guess he packed some suspicious-looking flip-flops. :rolleyes:

Let's see, where was I? Ah yes!

Muster drill was pretty uneventful. We usually wait until after most of the masses gather before we head to our station. That way, we're not squished outside in a back corner of an upper deck, breathing in the fumes from Mr. B. O'Riely or Ms. Avon Calling. Luck for us, our station turned out to be in one of the lounges, so we had a seat, watched the presentation, and were dismissed in no time.

Alyssa wanted to watch the Sail Away party and asked if she could go with Madisyn and her family. Sure, Dear, knock yourself out, as long as Angie was okay with having an extra kid. I wanted to watch us leave port from one of the hot tubs, as the view from there seemed great. Angie laughed and told us that last year, when they were on the deck below, they kept seeing people's butts above them through the glass bottom. "Well, I'm glad I brought Alex's and my matching thongs, then!" I joked, "so you'll know which butts are our!" Angie made a sick face and quickly herded the kids out of the lounge.

Alex and I walked back to our cabin, and along the way I saw that they had roped off a section of the main atrium. It was raining and dismal outside, so I guess they were moving the party indoors. Great! Less crowds outside! We changed into our bathing suits (just kidding about the thongs!) and headed for the hot tubs, after making note that Alex's checked bag STILL hadn't arrived to our cabin.

The main hot tub had quite a few kids in it, diving and snorkeling, so Alex led me to the nearly empty adult area. 2 small adjoining hot tubs (capacity 20?!? Only if they're VERY close friends!) were boiling hot and had a wonderful view through the glass wall that curved overhead to block out the rain. Ah! Just what I needed! We chatted with the 2 occupants - a grandmother from a northern state and one of the ship's DJs and watched the ship leave Port Canaveral very, very slowly.

At 5:15, we left the tub to return to our cabin and get ready for dinner. We had 5:45 early seating, and tonight we would be dining in the Royal Palace restaurant:

We were at tables 31 and 32, which were joined together. Our wait team, Kevan and Cristobal (Alex thought I was calling him "Crystal Ball") were phenominal! They set all the kids up at one end of the table, and us grown ups at the other end. Then they gave the kids crayons and coloring sheets and told them they could draw on the tablecloth:

Throughout the meal, they would perform magic tricks for the kids. Once, Cristobal took a purple crayon and got all the kids' attention. "Look!" he said, drawing purple circles on the table cloth, "it is purple. Watch, though, as I turn it green. One, two, three, four, five!" With each count, he brought the crayon up and then back down to tap the table. When he reached five, nothing happened. The kids laughed. "Ah! I forgot! I need to sprinkle a little magic dust and say the magic word, Abracadabra! One, two, three, four, FIVE!" At "four," I saw the purple crayon fly over his shoulder and hit Kevan in the shin. By "five," Cristobal snatched the green crayon from behind his ear and slammed it down on the table. The kids were amazed. "Turn it back! Do it again!" they begged. (By the end of the second performance, most of the kids saw the crayon sail through the air behind him and the jig was up.)

As for food, there were high points and low points. One low point for me was the duck confit I ordered as an appetizer. I like duck, but this dish was...ick! I've never actually tasted canned cat food, but I'm pretty sure I never have to, as I believe the texture and flavor of this particular dish pretty much covers it! I thought I'd try my luck again, and asked for a Sprite Zero to drink. Cristobal apologized, and said they no longer served it. Ah! But he said he would go see his "bartender friend" and ask if he had Sprite Zero in a can. No, that's okay, I told him. It's no big deal. "No, I will check!" Cristobal declared, "I want to make sure you are happy!" And he hustle across the room to see his "bartender friend." Tonight must have been his friend's night off, though, as Cristobal returned empty handed with an apology that it was a different bartender, and she didn't have it. I thanked Cristobal for trying, and told him I would be fine with water.

The rest of the meal was pretty good. The kids enjoyed their choices served on a divided plate, where each section formed part of a Mickey head. Kevan went one step further and poured ketchup between the two "ear" sections so that it formed another Mickey head. Then he added a few peas to create a face.

When we were finishing our entrees, the head waiter came to check on us. He said, "I have a couple of extra entrees here. Anyone want to try them?" Aaron, Francesca's husband, was thrilled to get shrimp, and Alex and I split the lamb dish, which was yummy!

When our wait team came to get our dessert orders, we were pretty stuffed, but there always seems to be a little pocket left somewhere for something sweet. The 3 girls had found a new game called "let's keep running off to the bathroom together because we can't sit still any longer," so they weren't there to order desserts. Alyssa was so impressed, though, that when she returned from her 3rd or 4th bathroom visit, a Mickey ice cream bar had just magically appeared on a plate in front of her chair! I made one more attempt at a caffeine-free beverage: "Do you have decaf hot tea?"

"Decaf hot tea? No, I am so sorry," Cristobal apologized, "I do not. But wait! I will find you some!" and he zipped away before I could stop him. He returned, beaming, and set a tea cup on a saucer and two decaf teabags in front of me. "I will be right back with some hot water," he said, and by the time I poured sweetener and plopped one of the teabags into the cup, he was there with a pot of hot water, filling my cup to the brim. After dessert, Kevan gave us our breakfast options until the morning: Back to Royal Palace from 8-9, the Cabanas until 10:30, or the Enchanted Garden from some other times I forgot.

Tonight's show was "The Golden Mickeys." I'm not much of a show watcher, but I decided to give it whirl and check it out with Angie and all my new friends. Alyssa was quite adamant that she would rather go to the kids' club than have to sit still and watch a show for "45 whole minutes!" So Alex and I walked her over to the Navigator club to play, and then met the rest of our gang front and center in the balcony of the Walt Disney Theater. The show was good enough (especially the Tarzan scene :eek:) but not really spectacular. Again, though, I'm not much for shows.

We picked up Alyssa from the kids' club. (Did I mention that when we asked for a "red" lock after we boarded the counselor looked at us like we were crazy? She put a regular black lock on Alyssa's GPS band and drew a big black X across the Mickey head on the lock.) She was having a great time, but it was time for bed. We went back to our cabin so she could get ready.

On our bed was our first towel animal, a bunny:

We called it a "nervous bunny," though, because the ship was really booking it tonight, and the poor bunny was shaking with the vibrations.

Angie's cabin steward saw all the birthday decorations in her cabin and made a towel birthday cake for them:

Discretely, while Alyssa got ready for bed, I picked up the phone and ordered a "Big Island Chocolate Chip Cookie" and a milk. The voice at the other end said, "It's usually a 30 minute delivery time, but we'll try to get your order out to you faster." I said thank you, then hung up. Within minutes, there was a knock at the door and a kind lady handed me a tray with milk and cookies:

I handed the lady a tip in exchange for the tray and called Alyssa over. Her eyes lit up when she saw the cookies, and a big smile spread across her face. "Best day EVER!" she exclaimed.

My daughter was out for 2 days recently to take our cruise. (Private school.) The teacher had no problem with it. Rather, her teacher values time spent together as a family, even if it happens during the school day.

The trip was a surprise for DD, but I still managed to send a note to the teacher a week beforehand reminding her of the trip. The teacher had no problem sending home the work DD would miss over those 2 days, and DD completed the assignments while en route to the terminal.

Fortunately for us, DD's private school starts and ends the school year earlier than local public schools. They usually have a different Easter break than public schools, too, so we can often take advantage of the timing and plan accordingly. If we have to take her out of school, though, I consider the following:

- How many days will she miss?

- Does the timeframe coincide with standardized testing?

- How likely is it that she will be starting a new skill/method that may be difficult to catch up on (e.g., starting multiplication) when we return?

- How are her grades currently?

And of course, age will be a key factor. While she's in elementary school, and even middle school, I'm pretty confident I can "homeschool" my daughter so she can get caught up. When she gets to high school and starts calculus, physics, or other AP courses, I will be more reluctant to make her miss her classes.

Awesome??? So was goofy err I mean your hubby ok? Did he like it

Yes! He had a great time. But he also said that it was markedly more family-oriented and catered to kids. There weren't any comedians or a whole lot of adult activities on board. But then we were there for a family cruise, so the lack of adult venues wasn't a big deal.