HTML clipboardOur private driver arrived promptly at 1 p.m. We greatly anticipated our
first view of the Disney Magic in Barcelona. We had been waiting a year for this
moment:
We found everything very organized. Upon exiting the car, we were quickly
greeted by a Porter who took our three Check In pieces. After clearing security,
we then went to the Registration line for Castaway Cay members. We were given
lanyards and our Key to the World cards. The next room was the Waiting Room for
boarding. It was nearly empty except for those in line for Oceaneer registration
as well as boarding photos. Mickey was just leaving to "go have lunch with
Minnie".
We waited to get the pager and bracelet for Nic's participation in the
Oceaneer Lab. At first we did have him signed up requiring one of his parents to
check him in and out of the Lab. However by mid-cruise, I changed it so he could
check himself in and out. We created a Communicator aka notebook that we left in
our stateroom to update each other on our locations. Nic was very good about
using the Communicator and/or reporting to us on his whereabouts. If I had not
found a certain comfort level with this routine, I would have never switched
Nic's check in/out privileges. However, this is a personal choice that each
family needs to make. If you are uncertain, I would suggest using parent check
in/out procedures and then switching if/when your family develops a safe
routine. To make the change, we reported to the Oceaneer Lab with Nicolas and
made the request. The Youth Staff member made the change on the computer and
issued Nic a new bracelet. We kept the pager just in case Nicolas ever wanted to
have us paged. On the last evening, we turned in the pager and bracelet right in
the Lab.
My suggestion is to fill out the Oceaneer registration online so that this
process is quicker. Many parents were filling out the form while in line. Our
registration was already in order and we just needed to verify that the pager
worked and that our check in/out pre-selected password was correct.
For anyone that has strolled Las Ramblas and enjoyed or marveled over the
live statues, the Barcelona Terminal waiting area had their own version:
We then got in line to board. Had our photo taken and our cards swiped to
mark us as being on board, then proceeded to the gangway. We entered into the
Atrium and as always, we were greeted to the "Welcome to the LaPaglia Family" announcement while
staff applauded, then greeted us with a warm welcome and the usual information on what venues were currently open for dining. By now, we knew
our stateroom was ready as it was after 1:30 p.m. (we boarded some
time between 1:45 and 2:00) so we headed to our cabin 7500. It was in a very
quiet location, just before some Crew Quarters. I found that I didn't miss the
verandah as much as I thought that I would.
Disney Cruise Line welcomed us aboard with some special amenities due to my
work with www.disneyworldmoms.com
during 2009.
The view from our stateroom prior to sailing:
We dropped off our carry-on bags and headed to Deck 9 for lunch. We opted for
quick service at Pinocchio's Pizzeria and Pluto's Doghouse and enjoyed sitting
outside. First trip of many to the complimentary Beverage Station too.
During lunch, we ran into some good friends.
Chip has the dark chocolate chip nose!
Then it was time to adhere to Maritime Law and participate in the mandatory
lifeboat drill at 4:00 p.m.
Let your kids know that the distress horn will sound
very loudly.
Also tell kids to refrain from blowing the nasty, germy whistles. As my 10-year old would say "that's just nasty". And really, why start your cruise on that sour note.
We returned to the staterooms to return our lifejackets to the cabin's
closet. Keep your life jacket donned until you reach your room.
Disney cruisers are then rewarded with an Adventures Away party.
At 4:30 p.m., the party got started. Nicolas parked himself right in front of
the stage:
Get there early to get the kids up front!
Michael and I found a table where we sat and ordered celebratory drinks. Strawberry Daiquiri for me. Beer for Michael. After indulging, we
headed to the dance floor aka Goofy's Pool which was now covered for the party.
Brent, the Cruise Director, Cast Members and the Disney characters entertained
with a warm
welcome aboard!
And the horn sounded,
"When You Wish Upon A Star" as confetti soared.
The sounds of that horn always brings me to tears.
The cruise staff had everyone singing and dancing as we shouted out
"Adventures Away".
It did seem a little strange not to be sailing the minute the confetti soared as is done with most Port Canaveral sailings. Yet, it gave us time to settle in before having to get used to our sea legs.
Next, we stopped at the Quarter Masters Arcade to get Nicolas an arcade card
stocked with his first $20 of game play.
Nicolas showed us that he knew how to
return to the stateroom so we let him go back to the arcade to play while we did
some unpacking. Nic seemed quite proud of himself that we let him go there alone.
As always, our luggage arrived promptly and we were able to
settle into our sailing home. I made great use of the closet by hanging up our more
formal attire as well as jackets and sweaters. Some of my toiletries were stored
atop the shelf covering the safe in the closet. Shoes filled the two lower
closet shelves. Dirty clothes bags went on the floor of the closet and were later
transferred to our empty suitcases which we stored under the bed.
Lift the bed slightly to push your cases underneath.
We fit three large pieces of luggage under the bed. We used the drawers for
clothes, miscellaneous items such as medicine, etc. We always use the top drawer
nearest the closet for things that we need quickly when leaving the room such as
Key to the World stateroom cards, camera, gel, etc.
I put shorts and t-shirts inside the standing trunk. Each of us got a shelf.
In our nightstands went our reading material including my book light since I
tend to be the last one to finish reading.
I hung up an Ocean Breeze air freshener in the bathroom.
On Disney ships, you'll enjoy the split-bathroom design. Behind one door is a sink, toilet, small shelf and towel rack. There is also a hair dryer which hangs on the wall.
The hair dryer: Sadly, I forgot to pack my own hair dryer as the one on the ship barely dries my hair. I have thick hair that takes forever to dry. My hair was a mess all week. Humidity AND the poor dryer created quite a frizzy nest atop my head. I usually bring my own dryer on the ship. I recommend that you do as well. In addition, if it takes you a while to dry your hair, your hand will begin to burn from the heat in the handle even though there is barely any heat reaching your hair. I always wrap a hand towel around the handle to protect my hand.
Behind the second door is the small room with sink and shower/tub. We find this set-up to be ideal for families cruising together.
Our view again:
While unpacking, we
met our Stateroom Host, Benny. He was fantastic. Benny greeted us with a smile
every time that we saw him and I'm already missing having our room straightened
by him in the morning and turndown service at night. The couch was transformed
into Nic's bed each night complete with stuffed friends in place for a
good night's rest. Benny surprised us with wonderful towel animal creations,
chocolates and a new Personal Navigator each evening. Benny always knew each of
us by name and inquired about how we enjoyed a show, a meal and/or a port of
call each time that he saw us in the corridor. We miss Benny!
We saw the Welcome Aboard show in the Walt Disney Theatre and then went to
dinner at 8:30. Our first night's meal was in Parrot Cay. Our dining rotation
order was Parrot Cay, Lumiere's, Animator's Palate.
At dinner, we met our Server, Edward from the United Kingdom and Assistant Server, May from
Thailand. We were at Table 68.
That night, Nicolas participated in Dine and Play which is offered at the late seating.
Just tell your Server that
your child wants to dine and play. The child's appetizer and entree will be
delivered more quickly. At 9:15 p.m., two Youth Activities counselors would
arrive the front of the restaurant where parents could check their children into
the Club or Lab without leaving the restaurant. Nicolas used Dine and Play on
several nights. It worked well for us since Nic could go play while we finished
our meal. Nicolas had to skip dessert in order to leave at that time however I
assure you that he indulged later on ice cream on Deck 9 or via the
complimentary room service "Big Island Chocolate Chip Cookies". Later, when we
switched Nic to being able to check himself into the Lab, he would just leave
dinner when he was ready and a few times he even chose to dine with us for the
full time. For example, Animator's Palate is Nic's favorite restaurant and he did not want to
miss the dinner show there.
That evening in the Oceaneer Lab, Nicolas helped set up a domino course using
Jenga blocks.
After dinner, we stopped back to the stateroom and were greeted with this
creation courtesy of Benny:
Note: that I will be later updating with our Personal Navigators, Menus, more information on the shows that we attended, etc.
Any cruise questions, just drop me an email at nicsmom1500@gmail.com.
I'd love to feature your questions here on my blog!
