Tag Archives: Disney Cruise

And Yet Another Cruise-Part 6

3 Mar

SUNDAY MEMORIES

Judy Wills

I’ve pretty well described Disney’s Cruise Line ship Wish for you, so I’ll move on to the things we did on the islands where we docked.

Our first port of call was Nassau, Bahamas.  Fred and I have been to Nassau many times, and weren’t too thrilled to be back.  However, the island has “cleaned up” quite a bit since the last hurricane that devastated the island.  We decided to take an excursion,  one we’ve done before but enjoy none-the-less.   It was a type of “glass bottom boat” ride…actually a semi-submarine.  There was the upper-deck, where the crew maintained the boat, and the passengers sat – on the way to the designated observation area, and also on the way back to the dock.  After climbing down a short ladder, the passengers went to the “below” deck, where there were fold-down stool seats situated in front of each port-hole window.  There we could look out and see everything under water.  The level of the water’s floor, where they took us to see the underwater life, varied from about six feet to 30 feet.  Lots of seaweed, fish and we saw two sharks who were “resting” or sleeping on the bottom of the sand.  Wow!

Our second port of call was Disney’s island – Castaway Cay (pronounced key – don’t ask me why). 

 All Disney ships going to the Bahamas stop at Castaway Cay for a day.  I have grown to love this island, even if we do nothing more than walk around, walk in the sand, sit or stretch out on lounge chairs in the sand and people-watch as they play in the water.  Since neither of us are “water” people, we just enjoy watching people enjoying themselves as they play in the water. 

Photo Credit Disney.com/Wherever I May Roam blog

 We have walked the island many times – out to the lookout tower,

 down the runway, and just around the activities Disney offers.  We have rented bicycles and ridden around the island.  I am not comfortable on a bicycle, so we don’t do that anymore.

However, we had planned to take advantage of some water bicycles and paddle out and around the protected area.  Unfortunately, the wind was up that day, quite a bit, and so they were going to cancel that excursion.  We did get a refund, but were disappointed that we didn’t get to do that.  Perhaps next Disney cruise to Castaway Cay we can do it.

We took the tram down to Serenity Bay – the adults only beach.  We walked along the water on the sand, sat in some lounge chairs in the shade, and just rested.  There is a bbq eatery in Serenity Bay, and we had our lunch there…including some of their soft-serve ice cream!  A really nice set-up.  Some of the ship’s restaurant servers go to the island and work the eateries on the island, so perhaps one will see the servers from our tables on the ship.  We didn’t, but it’s possible.

Fred in front of the food set-up

Back to the ship and prepare for our supper hour and the last night’s performance of Aladdin, which was excellent. 

Then the overnight sail back to Port Canaveral and disembark.  We always carry our own luggage, and so after a quick breakfast we just walk off the ship, through Customs, get into our car, and drive home. 

Another Disney cruise under our belt!  Now we need to book an 11th cruise, so we can take advantage of those extra perks!!

It was a great cruise!

~~~~~~~~~~The End~~~~~~~~~~

*All photos are credited to Judy Wills, with the exception noted.

Judy is living in Central Florida with her retired U.S. Air Force husband of 50+ years. Born in Dallas, Texas, she grew up in the Southwestern United States.She met her husband at their church, where he was attending the university in her town. After college and seminary, he entered the Air Force, and their adventures began.They lived in eight of our United States, and spent six years in Europe, where their oldest daughter was born. She was a stay-at-home mom for many years .

  Judy has always been involved with music, both playing the piano and singing. Always interested in exercise, she was an aerobic dancing instructor, as well as a piano teacher for many years, and continues to faithfully exercise at home.

After moving to Central Florida, she served as a church secretary for nearly nine years.Her main hobby at this point in time is scanning pictures and 35mm slides into the computer. She also enjoys scrapbooking.She and her husband have two married daughters and four grandchildren, including grandtwins as well as a great-grandson and a great-granddaughter. She and her husband enjoy the Disney parks as often as possible.

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And Yet Another Cruise-Part 5

25 Feb

SUNDAY MEMORIES

Judy Wills

Our stateroom was typical of most of the Disney ships…perhaps just a smidgen larger than the older ships.  But it has all the amenities that the other ships has.  Over the bed was a print of a scene from the movie Frozen.

Over the sleeper-sofa is a print from Frozen as well – Anna and Elsa.

There is always a TV in the room – and always with our stateroom number (6664) and our name on it.

We could watch TV movies, see where the ship is headed, the weather, the activities onboard, etc.  A wealth of information at our fingertips. 

The remainder of the room is much like all others – desk with built-in shelves and drawers, along with a small refrigerator. 

 Also the closet…two sides separated by shelves with a safe.

And the two separate “bathrooms” that we enjoy so much.  One side with the tub/shower (this one had a glass door rather than a shower curtain!  Yay) along with a sink, mirror, and glass shelves.

Separated by a wall is the other room – with the toilet, a sink, mirror, and glass shelves.

So easy for us both to get ready for the day with our own mirror and sink.  One of the greatest aspects of Disney ships!

We had a room with a veranda, but the weather was cool/windy enough that we didn’t have opportunity to take advantage of the veranda.  Shucks!

There are three main dining rooms/restaurants on each ship – excluding Palo and Remy, the high-end eateries that cost above the cost of the cruise.  One interesting thing about the Disney restaurants – the servers “follow” those eating at their assigned tables from restaurant-to-restaurant each night.  So you get to know your servers, and they get to know you and your eating habits.  For instance, we had been assigned table number 119.  We sat at table 119 in whatever restaurant we were assigned each night.  We also had the same table mates at each restaurant.

Our first night, we were assigned to eat at Arendelle, table 119.   Here is our table number in brass.

There is some of the “decorations” on that brass, that goes along with Frozen.  It is the same as that flower embroidered on the napkin.

 And here is the sign for Arendelle.

I think we sat “in the round” surrounding an elevated stage, for when we were eating, the performers were above us, and we were seated around the stage.  Interesting.

The second night we were at a more “formal” restaurant – Roy Disney 1923.  I neglected to get a picture of the sign for the restaurant, but here is a dinner plate and salt and pepper shakers with 1923 on them. 

 I tried to get a picture of our table number (119), but the lamp was not lit, so it’s difficult to see it.

Our third night was at World of Marvel restaurant. 

 Here is Fred holding up our table number. 

Since neither Fred nor I have seen any of the Marvel movies, this “interactive” restaurant was a bit of a disappointment to us.  Not the food nor the table mates nor the servers.  But there really wasn’t much “interactive” going on – not like Animator’s Palate on the older ships.  However, toward the end of the meal, Spiderman made his appearance – and the children loved it!  He would go to the table where there were children and strike a pose with the children so their parents could take a picture.  Cute.

The food is always good on a Disney ship…that’s something you can count on, and we always enjoy our meals.

~~~~~~~~~~To Be Continued~~~~~~~~~~

Judy is living in Central Florida with her retired U.S. Air Force husband of 50+ years. Born in Dallas, Texas, she grew up in the Southwestern United States.She met her husband at their church, where he was attending the university in her town. After college and seminary, he entered the Air Force, and their adventures began.They lived in eight of our United States, and spent six years in Europe, where their oldest daughter was born. She was a stay-at-home mom for many years .

  Judy has always been involved with music, both playing the piano and singing. Always interested in exercise, she was an aerobic dancing instructor, as well as a piano teacher for many years, and continues to faithfully exercise at home.

After moving to Central Florida, she served as a church secretary for nearly nine years.Her main hobby at this point in time is scanning pictures and 35mm slides into the computer. She also enjoys scrapbooking.She and her husband have two married daughters and four grandchildren, including grandtwins as well as a great-grandson and a great-granddaughter. She and her husband enjoy the Disney parks as often as possible.

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And Yet Another Cruise

28 Jan

SUNDAY MEMORIES

Judy Wills

Recently, Fred and I took another cruise.  I really enjoy cruising.  I can’t really verbalize just why that is – is it because I grew up in a land-locked state?  Is it because I like the motion of the boat/ship in the water?  So many questions with so few answers.

I think the first time I was ever on a boat, it was a sailboat.  We were living on Tyndall AFB, Florida (Panama City) at the time, just preparing to move to another base.

Photo Credit Google Search

 We had spent an entire week cleaning the apartment we’d lived in for five years, and were exhausted. 

Photo Credit Judy Wills – our half of the duplex

A fellow worker in Fred’s unit had use of a sailboat for the owners, and had the permission of the owners to take it out any time he wanted.  So he took our family and two single men from the unit out our last day in town.  It was wonderful!  The sail was up, the wind was off the Gulf of Mexico, the sun was out – and there was no sound other than the wind and the waves.  Peaceful and quiet.  Just what we needed.  Our Janet was an adventurous little thing in those days, and she was allowed to “steer” the boat at one point.

It took a while for me to convince Fred to just try cruising.  His parents wanted to take a sea/land tour of Alaska, and wanted the family to go with them.  The cruising part was only for three days, but that was enough for Fred to realize that today’s cruising was not anything like the troop ship he was on when he was a teenager.

And so, once Fred was able to experience “cruising”’ – he fell in love with it as much as I had.  We have done some sailing with other cruise lines – Holland America (one of our favorites – especially the one to Alaska!) and Norwegian Cruise Line.  We sailed to Bermuda with Holland America for our 50th Wedding Anniversary, with both daughters and their families with us.  That was a great cruise!

However, we’ve discovered that our favorite cruise line is Disney.  A major decision is that there is no casino on board the ship!  No smoke-filled room one must walk through to get anywhere else on the ship!  Yay!  We like the fact that the children on board have activities that can keep them occupied nearly all day – and they love it!  Disney ships have two smokestacks.  Only one is actually a smokestack – the second one is built specifically for a place for the teenagers to be entertained.  Amazing!

This most recent cruise we were on was our 10th with the Disney Cruise Line. 

Photo credit Judy Wills – The Disney Wish

The fact it was our 10th Disney cruise kicks us up into a higher category of Disney travelers.  We get a few more “perks” from now on that we didn’t have before.  Just a few:  we can check-in quicker and earlier; we have a free meal in Palo – one of the high-end restaurants on the ship that we normally avoid because of the cost.  There are others, but I forget what they are at the moment.

~~~~~~~~~~To Be Continued~~~~~~~~~~

Judy is living in Central Florida with her retired U.S. Air Force husband of 50+ years. Born in Dallas, Texas, she grew up in the Southwestern United States.She met her husband at their church, where he was attending the university in her town. After college and seminary, he entered the Air Force, and their adventures began.They lived in eight of our United States, and spent six years in Europe, where their oldest daughter was born. She was a stay-at-home mom for many years .

  Judy has always been involved with music, both playing the piano and singing. Always interested in exercise, she was an aerobic dancing instructor, as well as a piano teacher for many years, and continues to faithfully exercise at home.

After moving to Central Florida, she served as a church secretary for nearly nine years.Her main hobby at this point in time is scanning pictures and 35mm slides into the computer. She also enjoys scrapbooking.She and her husband have two married daughters and four grandchildren, including grandtwins as well as a great-grandson and a great-granddaughter. She and her husband enjoy the Disney parks as often as possible.

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62 Years and Counting-Part 4

6 Aug

SUNDAY MEMORIES

Judy Wills

The first two days were days at sea, so we just walked the ship, ate our way through each meal, and saw great entertainments.  

One of the entertainments was a ventriloquist.  What she did was familiar to us, and perhaps she was on another Disney cruise with us.  In any case, she was excellent.  I have a difficult time realizing how she could do all those different voices.  It was a hilarious performance, and we enjoyed it greatly.

The second show was a magician.  He was excellent in what he did, and again, we were greatly entertained.  Both shows included people brought up from the audience.  Seeing their willingness to participate – and some of the fun poked at them – was a highlight.

The third day was a day in Tortola, British Virgin Islands.  We had not planned any excursions around the island, so decided just to walk around a bit and see the island.  We had not been to Tortola before, so it was interesting.  Here are a few pictures we took that day.

The entrance to the shops at the port.

A statue of some dignitary – I didn’t get close enough to see who it was

The temperature was what I call “beastly hot” there, so we didn’t stay very long before returning to the ship.  We have really become accustomed to air conditioning!

That evening we watched a movie in the main, large, Walt Disney Theatre.  It was “The Little Mermaid,” starring Halle Bailey.  I know that “The Little Mermaid” Disney-style (as in animated) has been around for a very long time, but this is “live action” and many times, while watching it I thought, “how did they DO that???”  It is, truly amazing, and well worth watching.  Very well done.

The following day we docked at St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands. 

 We had purchased a shore excursion for this island – a “bus” tour of the island.  The driver, David, told us that it was an air-conditioned bus – the faster he drove – the cooler it was!  As you might have guessed – not only was it NOT air-conditioned, it had no windows – all open air.  But it was an enjoyable trip, and we enjoyed David’s comments.

The excursion took us up to a high mountain, and at the top was a store that also considered itself the origin of the banana daiquiri.

Quite interesting – and if one wanted to purchase a banana daiquiri – they were available.  We didn’t partake.  We walked around the shop and outside some.  

Here is a picture of Fred and me beside the bus – David took the picture. 

 When I wanted to have one of him, he insisted that he take it beside me with Fred taking the picture.  He then said that when we got home, I could tell everyone he was my island boyfriend, and my husband took the picture!  Unfortunately, the picture didn’t take, so we don’t have that one.

Once we were back to the pier, we once again got on the ship, as it was “beastly hot” again.

We’ve just about decided that if we make another cruise to those islands again, it will NOT be in summer!  We have a difficult time tolerating that heat!

As a footnote here – the ship was offering the movie “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny” but it was never at a time where we could see it – we were either at our scheduled eating time, or way after we had gone to bed.  So we have yet to see that one.

~~~~~~~~~~To Be Continued~~~~~~~~~~

Judy is living in Central Florida with her retired U.S. Air Force husband of 50+ years. Born in Dallas, Texas, she grew up in the Southwestern United States.She met her husband at their church, where he was attending the university in her town. After college and seminary, he entered the Air Force, and their adventures began.They lived in eight of our United States, and spent six years in Europe, where their oldest daughter was born. She was a stay-at-home mom for many years .

  Judy has always been involved with music, both playing the piano and singing. Always interested in exercise, she was an aerobic dancing instructor, as well as a piano teacher for many years, and continues to faithfully exercise at home.

After moving to Central Florida, she served as a church secretary for nearly nine years.Her main hobby at this point in time is scanning pictures and 35mm slides into the computer. She also enjoys scrapbooking.She and her husband have two married daughters and four grandchildren, including grandtwins as well as a great-grandson and a great-granddaughter. She and her husband enjoy the Disney parks as often as possible.

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