Travel Mum
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- May 26, 2010
Thanks so much for the WDW part of your trip report as well as the part before that. I'm still really looking forward to the rest so please don't give up now 
We had a Disney December, Bahamian Xmas, NYC NYE and then some!! COMPLETED!
- Thread starter lffam
- Start date
- Joined
- Mar 12, 2002
From what I recall we met up at the BW bus stop and I accidentally let the surprise out to your DS about the Sleigh Ride. Not sure if he realized what was going on at the time. When I saw some of the photos I thought they look familiar, I was happy to help. It was good to meet you all again.
lffam
Disney/Marvel Nutty Dad
- Joined
- Mar 25, 2010
Thanks so much for the WDW part of your trip report as well as the part before that. I'm still really looking forward to the rest so please don't give up now
Oh just the WDW part finished, I've still got, KSC, the Cruise, DC & NYC to go, so not finished by a long shot!
lffam
Disney/Marvel Nutty Dad
- Joined
- Mar 25, 2010
I seem to recall that now you mention it also, but I just asked him and he said he didn't remember and it was still a surprise for him.
lffam
Disney/Marvel Nutty Dad
- Joined
- Mar 25, 2010
Day 19 - Holiday Inn Express Cocoa Beach & Kennedy Space Centre
We had a car pickup at 9am from BWV to take us to Holiday Inn Express-Cocoa Beach. The trip was about 65miles ( 105km) and took about an hour or so.
Our plans today were to leave our luggage at the hotel and then get a taxi to the Kennedy Space Centre (KSC). When we arrived at the hotel around 10am, we were advised that our room was available and we could check in straight away, a great bonus. We took our luggage up and settled in quickly. The room itself was clean, 2 queen beds, a small separate sitting area, nothing fancy but perfectly fine all the same. Here are some photos of the room.
Overcast & rainy view out the window
In reality we were going to be in this room for a very short amount of time. We had planned to be out at KSC most of the day, then back for dinner and an early-ish night and ready for the next day which was our first ever Disney Cruise. The excitement for the Cruise was certainly building, but first of all we were going to spend some time at KSC.
We had tried to book Lunch with an Astronaut, however they were all sold out for the day. Admittedly I only tried a few days before, so that was poor planning on my part. Aside from the general admission tickets we also bought and booked the KSC Up-Close Launch Control Center Tour. There are about 4 different tours you can do. There is a general tour which is part of the general admission price, but these “Up-close” tours are described on their website that they “allow you to take an up close look at specific aspects of Kennedy Space Center. Guided tours are led by trained space experts and sell out daily. Tours ends at the Apollo/Saturn V Center” Our experience was that this was very accurate and certainly worth it.
You had to nominate the time you were going to do the tour, we chose 1:20pm. There are a number of Up-Close tours. The one we chose would take us access to restricted areas at Kennedy Space Center, including a visit to the Launch Control Center and tour of Firing Room 4 where the last 21 shuttle missions were monitored. View launch pads for SpaceX and NASA before the final stop at Apollo/Saturn V Center.
We got ourselves ready, it was a little overcast today, which we didn’t know if this would affect our day at KSC at all. We went down to reception and they called a taxi for us. We were soon on our way to KSC. It was about a 20min trip.
Our driver was a really nice guy to talk to, he was telling us a lot about the area and also the cruise industry and Disney Cruises in particular. This was really whetting our appetite even further for what we were going to be experiencing tomorrow.
An interesting bit of info our taxi driver told us was that the “Space Coast” as the area is sometimes referred to , or Brevada County where KSC is located was allocated the telephone area code is “321” as in 3,2,1…liftoff.. after a successful petition led by local resident Robert Osband to commemorate the Space Coast's impact on Brevard County.
We got the drivers cell # and he told us to give him a call 30mins before we wanted to be picked up and he would be able to come and take us back.
Before you go through the ticket gates
We had a car pickup at 9am from BWV to take us to Holiday Inn Express-Cocoa Beach. The trip was about 65miles ( 105km) and took about an hour or so.
Our plans today were to leave our luggage at the hotel and then get a taxi to the Kennedy Space Centre (KSC). When we arrived at the hotel around 10am, we were advised that our room was available and we could check in straight away, a great bonus. We took our luggage up and settled in quickly. The room itself was clean, 2 queen beds, a small separate sitting area, nothing fancy but perfectly fine all the same. Here are some photos of the room.
Overcast & rainy view out the window
In reality we were going to be in this room for a very short amount of time. We had planned to be out at KSC most of the day, then back for dinner and an early-ish night and ready for the next day which was our first ever Disney Cruise. The excitement for the Cruise was certainly building, but first of all we were going to spend some time at KSC.
We had tried to book Lunch with an Astronaut, however they were all sold out for the day. Admittedly I only tried a few days before, so that was poor planning on my part. Aside from the general admission tickets we also bought and booked the KSC Up-Close Launch Control Center Tour. There are about 4 different tours you can do. There is a general tour which is part of the general admission price, but these “Up-close” tours are described on their website that they “allow you to take an up close look at specific aspects of Kennedy Space Center. Guided tours are led by trained space experts and sell out daily. Tours ends at the Apollo/Saturn V Center” Our experience was that this was very accurate and certainly worth it.
You had to nominate the time you were going to do the tour, we chose 1:20pm. There are a number of Up-Close tours. The one we chose would take us access to restricted areas at Kennedy Space Center, including a visit to the Launch Control Center and tour of Firing Room 4 where the last 21 shuttle missions were monitored. View launch pads for SpaceX and NASA before the final stop at Apollo/Saturn V Center.
We got ourselves ready, it was a little overcast today, which we didn’t know if this would affect our day at KSC at all. We went down to reception and they called a taxi for us. We were soon on our way to KSC. It was about a 20min trip.
Our driver was a really nice guy to talk to, he was telling us a lot about the area and also the cruise industry and Disney Cruises in particular. This was really whetting our appetite even further for what we were going to be experiencing tomorrow.
An interesting bit of info our taxi driver told us was that the “Space Coast” as the area is sometimes referred to , or Brevada County where KSC is located was allocated the telephone area code is “321” as in 3,2,1…liftoff.. after a successful petition led by local resident Robert Osband to commemorate the Space Coast's impact on Brevard County.
We got the drivers cell # and he told us to give him a call 30mins before we wanted to be picked up and he would be able to come and take us back.
Before you go through the ticket gates
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lffam
Disney/Marvel Nutty Dad
- Joined
- Mar 25, 2010
Kennedy Space Center
After a few photos at the entry we made our way through the usual bag search and ticket check. We saw a line for the free bus tour, we thought we would do that first to get oriented with the centre. We were in line and then I heard one of the staff say allow 1.5 – 2 hours. Well I didn’t realize this, it was already past 11:30am and I thought we might not be able to make our 1:20 tour. So I checked with one of the staff and they said the actual bus tour isn’t that long, but that’s how much time they say to allow. But they also said that Up-close tours (the paid ones) go to all the same places so you don’t have to do them both, just the Up-close tour goes to other places that the free one doesn’t. After finding that out we got out of line and made our way through to some of the exhibits.
We went and looked at the Rocket garden, which as the name suggests has lots of ex rockets. It has a capsule you can get into to feel what it would have been like to be in.
Inside the Journey to Mars Exhibit
Nature and Technology Exhibit
Deliver hardware via the waterways
After a few photos at the entry we made our way through the usual bag search and ticket check. We saw a line for the free bus tour, we thought we would do that first to get oriented with the centre. We were in line and then I heard one of the staff say allow 1.5 – 2 hours. Well I didn’t realize this, it was already past 11:30am and I thought we might not be able to make our 1:20 tour. So I checked with one of the staff and they said the actual bus tour isn’t that long, but that’s how much time they say to allow. But they also said that Up-close tours (the paid ones) go to all the same places so you don’t have to do them both, just the Up-close tour goes to other places that the free one doesn’t. After finding that out we got out of line and made our way through to some of the exhibits.
We went and looked at the Rocket garden, which as the name suggests has lots of ex rockets. It has a capsule you can get into to feel what it would have been like to be in.
Inside the Journey to Mars Exhibit
Nature and Technology Exhibit
Deliver hardware via the waterways
lffam
Disney/Marvel Nutty Dad
- Joined
- Mar 25, 2010
Kennedy Space Center cont
We had some lunch at Orbit Café, typical burger, pizza fare. We went into the Space Shop and bought a few T-shirts and little souvenirs. Our tour time was approaching. Depending on the time taken for the tour and also depending how much gas we had left in the tank after the tour, would depend if we would get to see more of the centre. There was still a lot more to see, we hadn’t been to Imax as the timings for the movies just hadn’t fit in yet and we also hadn’t been to the Atlantis exhibit.
We went and lined up for our tour, I think they told us 20 mins before which was then 10mins for some. We had a bit of rain throughout the day, and it was now raining again. There wasn’t any undercover where we were waiting as they were redoing the tour bus pickup area. We started the tour and we had a really good guide, he was certainly very knowledge about the centre and also about the space program both past present and future.
We went to the Launch Control Center which is where many missions including many of the shuttle launches were controlled from. We were told that after the launch, the mission control is transferred to Houston. Hence the “Houston, we’ve had a problem” – I always thought it was “Houston we HAVE a problem”, but apparently it isn’t as was told to us by our guide and is also confirmed on many sites I looked at afterwards.
Model of building
There is a plaque and emblem for each mission on the wall with the mission code number, the launch date and date of landing.
Sadly there are two with no landing dates, Challenger and Columbia
Firing Room 4
After this we saw a couple of different launch platforms, 39A & 39B. One was being prepared for a launch of a SpaceX satellite in a couple of days.
We also saw the “crawler” this is a mammoth vehicle that transports the Shuttle and launch platform. I say mammoth because the size is truly amazing.
After we finished the tour we were dropped at Apollo/Saturn V center which has more hardware from the Apollo/Saturn program and ofcourse, another gift shop!
First dog in space??
After this we were starting to fade. We knew there was more to see, but we all agreed we would give the rest a miss, which was a shame but just one of those things that happen. I called to arrange the taxi to come pick us up and he said he would be there in about 20mins which was perfect. We then made our way back to the main Kennedy Space centre via one of the buses. Before too long our driver was there and we were on our way back to the hotel.
We spent a bit of time at the hotel, getting final things packed and ready for the next day. When we had checked in, the manager at the hotel had told me they had a transfer to the cruise terminal we could use. He had told me it came at 10am which suited us as I wanted to get there a little before our Port Arrival time which was 10:30. He had said this was the easiest way to get there as it was so close and it was $5 per person. We thought we would use that. When we got back from KSC I checked with him again about it. He said yes we could use it. He said it would be 10:15. I thought ok, that’s different from before, then in the same sentence he said, 10:30-10:45 at the latest. Well I was starting to doubt it that it was going to be the best for us now.
We had asked our taxi driver for a recommendation for Dinner and he suggested Backwoods Steakhouse, which was right across the road. It was a really nice meal with great service. When we were at dinner I called up the taxi driver and asked if he would pick us up at 10:00 to take us to the Terminal. He queried the time as he thought the Port didn’t open till 11am for outgoing passengers, but when I told him we had a 10:30 Port arrival time, he was fine and said he would happily pick us up. After dinner, we went to the “Publix” Super Market which was next door to the hotel. We bought a few Christmas decorations and stockings so we had them for the cruise. After this we all settled into bed, all very very excited for what was going to be a totally new adventure tomorrow. Not sure how much any of us slept, I know I was starting to get a little nervous as I had never been on a cruise before and really wasn’t sure how I was going to go especially with the motion, which I had heard was from barely noticeable to swaying from side to side when you walking…well I would soon find out!
We had some lunch at Orbit Café, typical burger, pizza fare. We went into the Space Shop and bought a few T-shirts and little souvenirs. Our tour time was approaching. Depending on the time taken for the tour and also depending how much gas we had left in the tank after the tour, would depend if we would get to see more of the centre. There was still a lot more to see, we hadn’t been to Imax as the timings for the movies just hadn’t fit in yet and we also hadn’t been to the Atlantis exhibit.
We went and lined up for our tour, I think they told us 20 mins before which was then 10mins for some. We had a bit of rain throughout the day, and it was now raining again. There wasn’t any undercover where we were waiting as they were redoing the tour bus pickup area. We started the tour and we had a really good guide, he was certainly very knowledge about the centre and also about the space program both past present and future.
We went to the Launch Control Center which is where many missions including many of the shuttle launches were controlled from. We were told that after the launch, the mission control is transferred to Houston. Hence the “Houston, we’ve had a problem” – I always thought it was “Houston we HAVE a problem”, but apparently it isn’t as was told to us by our guide and is also confirmed on many sites I looked at afterwards.
Model of building
There is a plaque and emblem for each mission on the wall with the mission code number, the launch date and date of landing.
Sadly there are two with no landing dates, Challenger and Columbia
Firing Room 4
After this we saw a couple of different launch platforms, 39A & 39B. One was being prepared for a launch of a SpaceX satellite in a couple of days.
We also saw the “crawler” this is a mammoth vehicle that transports the Shuttle and launch platform. I say mammoth because the size is truly amazing.
After we finished the tour we were dropped at Apollo/Saturn V center which has more hardware from the Apollo/Saturn program and ofcourse, another gift shop!
First dog in space??
After this we were starting to fade. We knew there was more to see, but we all agreed we would give the rest a miss, which was a shame but just one of those things that happen. I called to arrange the taxi to come pick us up and he said he would be there in about 20mins which was perfect. We then made our way back to the main Kennedy Space centre via one of the buses. Before too long our driver was there and we were on our way back to the hotel.
We spent a bit of time at the hotel, getting final things packed and ready for the next day. When we had checked in, the manager at the hotel had told me they had a transfer to the cruise terminal we could use. He had told me it came at 10am which suited us as I wanted to get there a little before our Port Arrival time which was 10:30. He had said this was the easiest way to get there as it was so close and it was $5 per person. We thought we would use that. When we got back from KSC I checked with him again about it. He said yes we could use it. He said it would be 10:15. I thought ok, that’s different from before, then in the same sentence he said, 10:30-10:45 at the latest. Well I was starting to doubt it that it was going to be the best for us now.
We had asked our taxi driver for a recommendation for Dinner and he suggested Backwoods Steakhouse, which was right across the road. It was a really nice meal with great service. When we were at dinner I called up the taxi driver and asked if he would pick us up at 10:00 to take us to the Terminal. He queried the time as he thought the Port didn’t open till 11am for outgoing passengers, but when I told him we had a 10:30 Port arrival time, he was fine and said he would happily pick us up. After dinner, we went to the “Publix” Super Market which was next door to the hotel. We bought a few Christmas decorations and stockings so we had them for the cruise. After this we all settled into bed, all very very excited for what was going to be a totally new adventure tomorrow. Not sure how much any of us slept, I know I was starting to get a little nervous as I had never been on a cruise before and really wasn’t sure how I was going to go especially with the motion, which I had heard was from barely noticeable to swaying from side to side when you walking…well I would soon find out!
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Travel Mum
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- May 26, 2010
Our day at the Kennedy Space Centre (also our pre-cruise day) was my DH's favourite day of our Orlando holiday. So I'm excited for him that this next trip we are going to the Houston Space Centre. It will be good to compare
Oh gosh I did not realise that this was your first cruise! How awesome and it must have been so exciting for you indeed! I got hooked on cruising several years ago...
Oh gosh I did not realise that this was your first cruise! How awesome and it must have been so exciting for you indeed! I got hooked on cruising several years ago...
lffam
Disney/Marvel Nutty Dad
- Joined
- Mar 25, 2010
Our day at the Kennedy Space Centre (also our pre-cruise day) was my DH's favourite day of our Orlando holiday. So I'm excited for him that this next trip we are going to the Houston Space Centre. It will be good to compare
Oh gosh I did not realise that this was your first cruise! How awesome and it must have been so exciting for you indeed! I got hooked on cruising several years ago...
In reality we didn't make the best use of the day, there was a lot we didn't see. The Up-Close tour was great , the timing of it took most of it out of us and honestly we were just really excited for the next day. We will go there again next time and give it a better go. That all said we really enjoyed it there it is a great place.
Yes first cruise, and I don't think our last now! ... stay tuned!
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lffam
Disney/Marvel Nutty Dad
- Joined
- Mar 25, 2010
Day 20 - Very Merrytime Cruise
Well the day had come for our first Disney Cruise. The date was 19 December and we would sail until 26 December. In Disney marketing fashion, this was one of the “Very Merrytime Cruises”
We started the day with breakfast at our hotel, which was included in or rate. It was really busy when we came down which was around 8:30am. A very friendly French Canadian offered to share his table with us. We had a good chat about cruising, which he had done quite a bit of. We also talked about his trip to Australia. It was a nice way to start the day. Breakfast was some hot and cold selections along with a pancake maker which is what DS & I opted for.
After breakfast we went back to our room for final checks and packing. We had tried to pack we thought we would need for the cruise in two suitcases and the others we could just have put away in the room somewhere. It was a good plan, but didn’t quite work out to plan!
We were all eager but the time seemed to be going quite slow. You know when you are waiting at the airport for boarding time and it just drags out. We watched some TV, I think I checked our Boarding documents and passports about 4 times. Eventually the time came and we went downstairs. I settled the account and then we went straight outside to our awaiting taxi. The driver loaded our luggage and we were soon on our way to the Disney Cruise Terminal which was a short a short 5mile trip.
We arrived at the drop off and were met by a porter. He asked us if we had all our documents with us and didn’t need anything else from the suitcases. He checked our bags were labelled and then quickly stacked them on his trolley and said he would take care of the rest. He told us to head up towards the terminal and turn right. We tipped him and off he went. Not quite like an airport luggage check in, but we just hoped we would see all our luggage in our stateroom in a few hours!
As we walked up as directed by the porter, we then reached a port official, I can’t recall if they were a Disney cast member or not, but they directed us up to the next level. I told them that we were told to go in right here and they said no we needed to go up and then across. We happily complied. We reached one “check-point”, we were actually in the carpark which seemed a little odd, but we weren’t alone , we joined the end of the queue which moved quite quickly and were soon at the front where we were asked to show our passports and cruise documentation. Then we walked over a bridge, which seemed a bit like a gangway, we could see the ship.
It was really windy walking across. Here is short video of us getting a good view of the ship. I love the excitement in DS voice as he talks in this video, you can tell he was really filled with anticipation, well at least we can.
The next checkpoint was the security. It was approximately 10:25am now. There were signs up about the amount of alcohol you could take on board. There were a few people around us who didn’t like the new alcohol limit. It didn’t bother, we didn’t take any! We were soon through security which was quite a bit more relaxed than USA airport security and the staff a lot friendlier than TSA staff. We then walked into the main port building.
Now I had a plan all along. I wanted to get to the port early and see if I could get an upgrade on our cabin. We were currently booked in Cat 4A on deck 9 stateroom 9588 which was midship. The next upgrade from our cabin was to concierge or to a suite. The prices of these to book these rooms from the Disney Cruise site were astronomical (over 3.5 times the price of the Cat 4A room we booked) and not something I had ever considered doing given that price. But I’m always one to give an upgrade a go if reasonable. I had been reading various posts and getting early, while not guaranteeing anything, seemed to increase your chances. The down side of that was that you might have a pretty long wait before being able to board. I really thought our chances were slim to none, as I had checked the cruise website and there were no Concierge rooms still available to purchase online, so I thought that was likely an indication it was sold out. I hadn’t told DW or DS that this was my plan, I was trying to surprise them if I could as I thought it would be a nice additional Christmas present, if I couldn’t, well I had tried.
The time now was 10:45am. There were not too many people in line, we joined a short queue and were soon being attended to. We gave over our documentation and I asked if there were any upgrades available and he said that there were but I needed to go to another customer service area after he had finished with us and they could see what might be available after he had finished with us. He processed all our boarding documentation and we were soon given our stateroom key, today's Navigator and boarding group, which was group 5 which he said was quite good.
After we had finished and had been giving our boarding group, DW & DS went to line up to register for the kids club, while I went to the “upgrade” counter. It wasn’t really called this, I think they were just counters 31/32 from memory. There were two positions open with cast members attending to passengers. I waited for a short amount of time and then was served. I enquired if there were any upgrades available, the Cast member took my stateroom keys and looked up on the system. She said we were already in the highest level stateroom, the next level was Concierge to which I replied yes that is what I was seeking. She confirmed that there was stateroom available, a one bedroom suite. She told me the price and I nearly fell off my chair, well if I was sitting down, I would have. I asked if that was the per night price and she said no, that’s for the whole cruise. Without a second thought I said definitely! We paid a little over 10% more that the price we had already paid. I was comfortable with this amount and I am very glad how it turned out.
It was now time to give the good news to the family. The personal service started straight away, the cast member came out from the counter and I told them that my family where lined up to register for the kids club. She said that the concierge would do all that for them, so I got their attention and beckoned them to come back over. I then told them they we had got an upgrade and we would be checking in here with the concierge desk and they could book everything for us. I can't recall if we got our new stateroom keys from the cast member who did our upgrade or from the Concierge cast member we saw, but soon, we were given a new keys, Yellow ones for Conceirge level, new boarding group, group 1 and were shown to a waiting area which also had an exit to a balcony with a great view of the ship. The size of it was still quite remarkable to us all.
At 11:30, a Cast Member came into the area and told us we could now board anytime we liked. We were shown the way down the gang way and though the Mickey Entrance. We walked through and were greeted by a photographer and then had our photo taken. Excitement levels were nearly off the chart by now!
Well the day had come for our first Disney Cruise. The date was 19 December and we would sail until 26 December. In Disney marketing fashion, this was one of the “Very Merrytime Cruises”
We started the day with breakfast at our hotel, which was included in or rate. It was really busy when we came down which was around 8:30am. A very friendly French Canadian offered to share his table with us. We had a good chat about cruising, which he had done quite a bit of. We also talked about his trip to Australia. It was a nice way to start the day. Breakfast was some hot and cold selections along with a pancake maker which is what DS & I opted for.
After breakfast we went back to our room for final checks and packing. We had tried to pack we thought we would need for the cruise in two suitcases and the others we could just have put away in the room somewhere. It was a good plan, but didn’t quite work out to plan!
We were all eager but the time seemed to be going quite slow. You know when you are waiting at the airport for boarding time and it just drags out. We watched some TV, I think I checked our Boarding documents and passports about 4 times. Eventually the time came and we went downstairs. I settled the account and then we went straight outside to our awaiting taxi. The driver loaded our luggage and we were soon on our way to the Disney Cruise Terminal which was a short a short 5mile trip.
We arrived at the drop off and were met by a porter. He asked us if we had all our documents with us and didn’t need anything else from the suitcases. He checked our bags were labelled and then quickly stacked them on his trolley and said he would take care of the rest. He told us to head up towards the terminal and turn right. We tipped him and off he went. Not quite like an airport luggage check in, but we just hoped we would see all our luggage in our stateroom in a few hours!
As we walked up as directed by the porter, we then reached a port official, I can’t recall if they were a Disney cast member or not, but they directed us up to the next level. I told them that we were told to go in right here and they said no we needed to go up and then across. We happily complied. We reached one “check-point”, we were actually in the carpark which seemed a little odd, but we weren’t alone , we joined the end of the queue which moved quite quickly and were soon at the front where we were asked to show our passports and cruise documentation. Then we walked over a bridge, which seemed a bit like a gangway, we could see the ship.
It was really windy walking across. Here is short video of us getting a good view of the ship. I love the excitement in DS voice as he talks in this video, you can tell he was really filled with anticipation, well at least we can.
The next checkpoint was the security. It was approximately 10:25am now. There were signs up about the amount of alcohol you could take on board. There were a few people around us who didn’t like the new alcohol limit. It didn’t bother, we didn’t take any! We were soon through security which was quite a bit more relaxed than USA airport security and the staff a lot friendlier than TSA staff. We then walked into the main port building.
Now I had a plan all along. I wanted to get to the port early and see if I could get an upgrade on our cabin. We were currently booked in Cat 4A on deck 9 stateroom 9588 which was midship. The next upgrade from our cabin was to concierge or to a suite. The prices of these to book these rooms from the Disney Cruise site were astronomical (over 3.5 times the price of the Cat 4A room we booked) and not something I had ever considered doing given that price. But I’m always one to give an upgrade a go if reasonable. I had been reading various posts and getting early, while not guaranteeing anything, seemed to increase your chances. The down side of that was that you might have a pretty long wait before being able to board. I really thought our chances were slim to none, as I had checked the cruise website and there were no Concierge rooms still available to purchase online, so I thought that was likely an indication it was sold out. I hadn’t told DW or DS that this was my plan, I was trying to surprise them if I could as I thought it would be a nice additional Christmas present, if I couldn’t, well I had tried.
The time now was 10:45am. There were not too many people in line, we joined a short queue and were soon being attended to. We gave over our documentation and I asked if there were any upgrades available and he said that there were but I needed to go to another customer service area after he had finished with us and they could see what might be available after he had finished with us. He processed all our boarding documentation and we were soon given our stateroom key, today's Navigator and boarding group, which was group 5 which he said was quite good.
After we had finished and had been giving our boarding group, DW & DS went to line up to register for the kids club, while I went to the “upgrade” counter. It wasn’t really called this, I think they were just counters 31/32 from memory. There were two positions open with cast members attending to passengers. I waited for a short amount of time and then was served. I enquired if there were any upgrades available, the Cast member took my stateroom keys and looked up on the system. She said we were already in the highest level stateroom, the next level was Concierge to which I replied yes that is what I was seeking. She confirmed that there was stateroom available, a one bedroom suite. She told me the price and I nearly fell off my chair, well if I was sitting down, I would have. I asked if that was the per night price and she said no, that’s for the whole cruise. Without a second thought I said definitely! We paid a little over 10% more that the price we had already paid. I was comfortable with this amount and I am very glad how it turned out.
It was now time to give the good news to the family. The personal service started straight away, the cast member came out from the counter and I told them that my family where lined up to register for the kids club. She said that the concierge would do all that for them, so I got their attention and beckoned them to come back over. I then told them they we had got an upgrade and we would be checking in here with the concierge desk and they could book everything for us. I can't recall if we got our new stateroom keys from the cast member who did our upgrade or from the Concierge cast member we saw, but soon, we were given a new keys, Yellow ones for Conceirge level, new boarding group, group 1 and were shown to a waiting area which also had an exit to a balcony with a great view of the ship. The size of it was still quite remarkable to us all.
At 11:30, a Cast Member came into the area and told us we could now board anytime we liked. We were shown the way down the gang way and though the Mickey Entrance. We walked through and were greeted by a photographer and then had our photo taken. Excitement levels were nearly off the chart by now!
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Grumpy's Wife
Dollar Tree gal here
- Joined
- Jan 28, 2005
What an awesome surprise and Christmas gift to the family. I can't wait to see pictures of the stateroom.
Travel Mum
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- May 26, 2010
I can totally feel how excited you were to board. My first cruise was many years ago now but I do remember that feeling and, even now, whenever I board a cruise ship, I still get tingles of excitement
lffam
Disney/Marvel Nutty Dad
- Joined
- Mar 25, 2010
Got to love the gifts you give that you get to enjoy also !
The suite was so nice. I'll be posting photos and a video walk around of the suite in the next couple of posts, so please stay tuned
I can totally feel how excited you were to board. My first cruise was many years ago now but I do remember that feeling and, even now, whenever I board a cruise ship, I still get tingles of excitement
So very excited @Travel Mum, I still get a tinge of it thinking about it now.
lffam
Disney/Marvel Nutty Dad
- Joined
- Mar 25, 2010
Disney Fantasy Grand Entrance & Concierge Lounge
Then we were proceeded for our grand entrance….. I had planned to capture it all on video where our family was announced and greeted onto the Disney Fantasy Atrium. Unfortunately, in my excitement I had pressed the record button too early on the camera before it had initialised so it didn’t start, though I thought it did, so thought I was filing it but I wasn’t. By the time I noticed it was too late. I was disappointed I made such a rookie mistake. I did contemplate asking a cast remember if we could have a do-over, but I sucked it up and moved on. I still got a good video of the entry and of the Atrium. I think I actually had a bit of a tear in my eye I was so taken by our first sight of it, a bit like walking down Main Street at WDW at Christmas time for the first time. That Disney magic had really struck me.
After my entry video debacle, we were directed to the lifts which then took us up to deck 12, where the Concierge lounge was.
While the cruise was a new experience for us, so was Disney Concierge. Aside from reading a trip report when I was planning this trip, where a family stayed in a 1 bed suite with concierge, I really didn’t know too much about it. I knew we would go there before we went to our Stateroom and be greeted by the concierge staff, that there would be a light buffet lunch but not too much else . here is a short pan of our first look at the Concierge Lounge.
We were offered food and drinks and were greeted by one of the concierge hosts, Amanda. Shortly after we met Twanda, & Kemisha. Amanda stayed and went all the details of the concierge and the cruise for us. We had already had some activities booked, which they had records of and she talked to us about any others we might want to do. We booked Mixology and another activity. They explained that anything we needed, they were there to help us and organise for us.
Here are some photos of the Concierge Lounge.
The bar tender cast member in the back ground was such a lovely person who we got to know a lot better, she was really great to us.
Then we were proceeded for our grand entrance….. I had planned to capture it all on video where our family was announced and greeted onto the Disney Fantasy Atrium. Unfortunately, in my excitement I had pressed the record button too early on the camera before it had initialised so it didn’t start, though I thought it did, so thought I was filing it but I wasn’t. By the time I noticed it was too late. I was disappointed I made such a rookie mistake. I did contemplate asking a cast remember if we could have a do-over, but I sucked it up and moved on. I still got a good video of the entry and of the Atrium. I think I actually had a bit of a tear in my eye I was so taken by our first sight of it, a bit like walking down Main Street at WDW at Christmas time for the first time. That Disney magic had really struck me.
After my entry video debacle, we were directed to the lifts which then took us up to deck 12, where the Concierge lounge was.
While the cruise was a new experience for us, so was Disney Concierge. Aside from reading a trip report when I was planning this trip, where a family stayed in a 1 bed suite with concierge, I really didn’t know too much about it. I knew we would go there before we went to our Stateroom and be greeted by the concierge staff, that there would be a light buffet lunch but not too much else . here is a short pan of our first look at the Concierge Lounge.
We were offered food and drinks and were greeted by one of the concierge hosts, Amanda. Shortly after we met Twanda, & Kemisha. Amanda stayed and went all the details of the concierge and the cruise for us. We had already had some activities booked, which they had records of and she talked to us about any others we might want to do. We booked Mixology and another activity. They explained that anything we needed, they were there to help us and organise for us.
Here are some photos of the Concierge Lounge.
The bar tender cast member in the back ground was such a lovely person who we got to know a lot better, she was really great to us.
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lffam
Disney/Marvel Nutty Dad
- Joined
- Mar 25, 2010
Disney Fantasy One Bed Suite
Just after 12 we were told our staterooms were ready and we could make our way there. We were about to get our first look at where we would be for the next 7 nights. Here is a video so you can see our room for the first time as we did
And the photos
From entrance
Bedroom
Lounge & Dining
Verandah
Here we discovered there was a TV in the actual mirror of the bathroom. Check out DS reaction!
These were waiting for us in our welcome pack in our room. I’m not sure how these will come up but will try it hopefully they are readable
Just after 12 we were told our staterooms were ready and we could make our way there. We were about to get our first look at where we would be for the next 7 nights. Here is a video so you can see our room for the first time as we did
And the photos
From entrance
Bedroom
Lounge & Dining
Verandah
Here we discovered there was a TV in the actual mirror of the bathroom. Check out DS reaction!
These were waiting for us in our welcome pack in our room. I’m not sure how these will come up but will try it hopefully they are readable
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Brisbanemum
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Dec 18, 2013
Loving all the new updates and videos! On our last trip we went on a 7 night cruise on the Disney Magic staying in the concierge 1 bedroom suite also and Tawanda was our host! 
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lffam
Disney/Marvel Nutty Dad
- Joined
- Mar 25, 2010
Loving all the new updates and videos! On our last trip we went on a 7 night cruise on the Disney Magic staying in the concierge 1 bedroom suite also and Twanda was our host!
Thanks @Brisbanemum , I'm glad you enjoy them Oh isn't Twanda such a helpful and happy man. The Concierge service really was icing on top of an already wonderful cake!
Brisbanemum
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Dec 18, 2013
He was so lovely! The concierge service was amazing even though I don't think we utilised their services as much as others do. Poor Tawanda had a hard time finding us usually, as we just loved the ship so much that we were barely in our room or the meet-ups ....He kept having to chase us (or hunt us down during our dinner) to ask us if he could do anything for us, or if we needed anything. lol I really wish we had taken a photo with him, but all I could find was a blurry one with him in the background facing the opposite direction. Looks like we'll have to book another Disney Cruise in the future to rectify that! lol
lffam
Disney/Marvel Nutty Dad
- Joined
- Mar 25, 2010
Oh ! I remember reading your trip report when you were in NYC! It was one of the reports that helped us decide we wanted to go to NYC!
I wish we got photos with many of the Cast Members,. We will just have to make sure we do for next time!
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