Jessica Johnson - November 2006

Again today, my eyes popped open before the alarm. I really hate when that happens! So, while Chris was sleeping, I read a bit, watched some reruns of Beverly Hills 90210, and then finally gave up and started getting ready for the day. When the alarm went off, Chris got up, and we headed off to the breakfast room to get some food.

At the Inn, the breakfast is normally a variation of a Continental breakfast. You go in, and at the counter you collect a fruit cup and a plate of pastries. They also offer a station with bagels and toast, and then another with an egg boiling set up. And, of course, they have the usual juice and coffee available. This weekend, however, there happened to be a wedding, and so the couple had arranged for a more substantial breakfast to be offered. So, we had the fruit cup, an apple spice muffin, and a sausage-egg bake. The food was yummy, as it always is.

After we finished eating, Chris and I took some pictures of the hotel, before heading back to the room, finished getting ready for the day, and packed up our stuff. When it was close to our shuttle time, we lugged our stuff down to the lobby, and checked out. Then we settled in there to wait for our shuttle. I had hoped to get to the port earlier than we did, but soon enough, we were on our way, with our luggage loaded.

When we got to the Disney Cruise Line terminal, we handed off our baggage to the porters, and then made our way inside. Steve happened to be heading in, after dropping off their rental car, so we headed in as a group, and went through the security screen at the bottom. After heading up the escalator, we made our way over to the Castaway Club member check in line, where we quickly got checked in, and were handed our Keys to the World cards. Then we joined up with the others, and got in line to board the ship!

We passed through the mouse ears, and were scanned onto the ship. After having our embarkation picture taken, we crossed the gangway and were welcomed onto the ship. There we found Robin, Vince and Vincent, and after saying our hellos, we headed directly to Rockin' Bar D, to try and sort out our Palo mess. Though we had tried to book at the 90 day mark, we'd been unable to get dinner at Palo at the same time for the whole group. Tea and brunch had never been available either, so our plans were to try and get them booked as soon as we got onboard. Additionally, Pam and I wanted to see if we could change our dining rotation, so she and Robin got in the Palo line, I got in the dining line, and Chris headed for the spa line.

Sadly, I wasn't able to get our dining rotation changed (and it ended up being fine just the way it was), but we were able to book Palo for 6 pm the following night. We got brunch for 10:30 on Thursday, but were waitlisted for tea. Chris had been able to book our Spa Villa for Monday, and then we added the Exotic Rhassoul for Thursday, and Frangipani Head Massages for that evening. I also booked a quick salon appointment, because I'd messed up my pedicure on my big toe. That was set for 2:45 that afternoon. This ended up taking about three trips through the line, but finally, all was settled. Then we made our way over to Parrot Cay to have lunch.

The sailaway buffet is always great. Tons of food- and my favorite thing is always one of the chilled soups. This time it was Mandarin Mango, and was like melted orange sherbet. There are always a ton of yummy looking desserts as well.

After finishing lunch, we all split up to go check out our staterooms. Chris and I were in 2064, a Category 9 Deluxe Oceanview Stateroom. After dropping off our carry ons, we checked out our onboard credits (we'd gotten one for rebooking, and then some we'd put on the room ourselves), and the photo album we'd been sent as a welcome gift. I checked through the Navigator that was in the room, and then we set off to explore the ship. I wanted to try and see everything on the ship- so we had to start soon!

Our first stop was right outside our stateroom- in the Midships Elevator Lobby on Deck Two, Disney has replaced the conference room with Ocean Quest. Ocean Quest is designed for the 10-14 year olds, and it offers a variety of activities. From space to do crafts or play video games, to it's Main Attraction- a mock up of the Bridge where you can steer the ship. This area looked pretty cool, and it was almost always packed with kids when it was open.

From there, our next stop was the Vista Spa and Salon. I'd been looking forward to taking a complete tour of the Spa, as I've seen parts of it, but not the whole thing, and I really wanted to see the Spa Villas. We set off to explore the various hallways, and let the scents wash over us. I love the way the spa smells, and that you can smell it all the way out to the elevator lobby. I also love how you start to walk down the hall, and all the noise of the lobby fades away and you just hear waves crashing. We were able to peek into a few treatment rooms, including the Exotic Rhassoul rooms, and also into the Rainforest and changing rooms. We then took a tour of the fitness center, and while it's not someplace I planned to spend much time, it was a nice one. It also has an amazing view. We tried to find our way back to the Spa Villas, but as it turns out, you have to go down a separate hall to reach them, and when we got to the lobby, one of the Cast Members directed us to one of the Villas. It was amazing- but I'll write more about that when I get to us actually doing that part of the trip. After a quick peek into the Salon, we set off for the Oceaneer's Club.

The Club is designed for kids aged 3-7, and it's really an wonderful area. It's set up to look like a ship, but there are various sections with different stuff to play on. There's a giant climbing area with a slide, underneath it in a room on the "ship" is an area for games, you can climb up onto the bridge and steer the ship. We wandered back and peeked in the bathrooms- which are adorably themed as well, and then we set off for Flounder's Reef. Flounder's Reef is the nursery area of the ship, and it's for kids ages 12 weeks to 36 months. It's a cute little area, tucked away, and has just about anything the little ones could want.

From there we went to the Oceaneer's Lab, which is the area for 8-12 year olds. There are tons of things to do here, from watching movies on big screens to playing video games, or any sort of craft. After we finished taking some pictures here, Chris and I split up, he went to Pam and Steve's stateroom to plan the activities we wanted to do, while I headed to the Salon to get my toe fixed.

My time in the Salon went quickly- it just took a few minutes to fix my one toe, and then I headed down to Pam and Steve's stateroom, where we went over the Navigator to decide what activities we wanted to attend. After we had a tentative list, we headed down to Guest Services, where we signed up for the ones we wanted, and got times on the ones we couldn't sign up for. And then we promptly forgot all of what we'd arranged. Then we decided to continue our tour of the ship, heading to The Stack to see if we could peek around the area.

It turns out that it was closed for an event, so since the time for sail away was approaching, we headed up to Deck 9 to get some drinks. After a stop at Signals where we got Conk Coolers for just about everyone, we headed up to Deck 10 to get to our spot to watch us cast off. Unfortunately, Chris had gone down to Deck 9, so I went to get him and bring him to our new spot- and we got caught too close to the horn when it went off. But- that aside, we were soon settled on Deck 10 hanging out with the others, toasting our new voyage.

When we made it out to the open sea, Chris and I excused ourselves back to our stateroom. We had booked a Frangipani Head Massage for that evening, so we wanted to make sure we got to the Spa in time. Before that, though, I wanted to see if our luggage was outside the door, so we could unpack. Some of it was, so we were able to get those bags emptied. I'd brought a pop up hamper, which we put in the closet for dirty clothes, and an over the door shoe bag, which I promptly filled with all my toiletries. Chris referred to it as my "wall of product" for the rest of the trip. On our previous cruises we'd pretty much lived out of the suitcases, but on this trip, we totally unpacked the first day, and it made a world of difference.

When it was time, we headed up to the Spa and checked in. We got our normal forms filled out- which always puzzles me. This time, though, they didn't leave us enough time to fill in all the blanks, which was fine with me. Chris and I were both booked for the Frangipani Head Massage, and had been expecting to have it take place in the Salon. But, our two therapists introduced themselves and then led us back into one of the Spa treatment rooms. There were two tables set up, and they instructed us to strip to the waist, and then lay face up on the treatment table, covering up with one of the towels provided. There was another towel rolled up as a bolster for behind our knees. So, we did as requested, and when the therapists returned, they made sure we were fully covered with the towels, and then tucked another one around our feet as well.

And then the treatment began. It is a head, neck and shoulders massage using various yummy smelling products. Of course the Frangipani oil is used, but so are other things as well. It's a moisturizing treatment, and very relaxing. It's also one of the best Spa bargains on the ship, at just $26.

The treatment was a perfect way to ease into the cruise, and after we finished up at the Spa, we made our way back down to our stateroom, where the rest of our baggage was waiting. Chris and I took a few minutes to finish unpacking, and settle into our new home, for the next week at least. Then we got dressed and ready for dinner. It was a bit of a challenge for me, as having all the massage oil in my hair left me with few options for a hairstyle ;o)

Once we were dressed and ready, we made our way upstairs to the Atrium Lobby, where we waited for the others. Dinner that night was at Lumiere's, and I was really looking forward to it. On our June cruise, Triton's was my favorite restaurant (except Palo, of course) so I was excited to see how Lumiere's compared to it. Plus, Beauty and the Beast is one of my favorite movies, so I was excited to see how the restaurant itself was themed.

And, I wasn't disappointed. The restaurant is the most formal looking of the three. Along the back wall stretches a big mural from the movie, and the restaurant mirrors the ballroom scene in some ways. As you come in the main door, the entire room is just open in front of you- a wide central aisle, with decorative columns on either side. The big chandeliers all have domes underneath them, and in the dome you'll find a single red rose. If you look closely enough, you can even see the petals that have fallen. Around the edges of the room you'll find other light fixtures, with roses on them as well- though these are more of an outline. The linens feature white on white roses on both the tablecloths and napkins.

We were quickly escorted to our table, where we met our server Phillip, and our assistant server Daniel. Though we didn't know it the first night, we'd hate to leave these guys at the end of the week. They were amazing. Dinner that night was fabulous- I opted for the Proscuitto Cup Filled with Gourmet Mixed Leaves with Grape Tomatoes and a reduction of Balsamic Vinegar as my appetizer.

I skipped the Soup & Salad course, and for my entrée, predictably enough, I had the Dijon-Mustard Roasted Beef Tenderloin with Duchesse Potato flavored with Horseradish, Sweet Baby Carrots, Zucchini, and braised Cherry Tomatoes. This was what I'd had at Triton's in June and I loved it, so was excited to have it again. For dessert, I opted for White Chocolate Domes filled with Chocolate Raspberry Parfait and served with a Raspberry Coulis. I'd also had this in June and enjoyed it, and it didn't disappoint this time.

As we finished up dinner, we decided that we wanted to go have some drinks before calling it a night, and wandered off into Beat Street. We contemplated the three clubs before opting for Sessions, as it seemed relatively quiet. As a group, we seem to spend a lot of time rearranging the furniture in the various clubs to fit all of us, and after a few minutes, we had a circle of chairs. Reading the drink menu was a challenge, though, as this club is not well lit at all. Eventually, Pam and I decided to do chocolate martinis, and after explaining how we wanted them to our server, Robin decided to try one too.

All in all, we spent an hour or so just talking and laughing before decided to call it a night. Chris and I made our way back to our stateroom, and where we were surprised to find a towel animal waiting for us. We looked over the Navigator for the following day, and then settled in for the night.

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