missjackiemcg
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Sep 2, 2013
Hello, there! Welcome to my first ever DCL trip report! This is actually a report within a report. This Merry Time cruise takes place right smack in the middle of a pretty exciting vacation for our family. You can read all about how it started by visiting my TR in progress, HERE! I left off with the morning of our Embarkation on the Disney Dream, so that's where I'll pick up here!
Look at this beautiful countdown
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We packed up most of our things the night before, so we wouldn't be wasting time rushing around this morning. We got up and dressed, and headed down to the food court to grab a quick breakfast. We also had to make a pretty important stop in the gift shop...not just so Jimmy could spend his Universal gift card (though that was on the list, too!), but more importantly so my Dad could purchase a bathing suit and rashguard shirt, having realized the day before that he neglected to pack them both before leaving Chicago!! OOPS. Keep that in mind later when you see him rocking his Volcano Bay shirt poolside.
While we were in the gift shop, my phone rang. I couldn't imagine who would be calling, but thankfully I answered because I had completely forgotten I scheduled a character call for the morning of our cruise! We stood there in the middle of the Universal store on speakerphone hearing Mickey and Minnie tell us how they couldn't wait to cruise with us later today It was such a fun surprise!
We had gotten a port arrival time of 11:45, but my Mom was VERY nervous about being late to the terminal, so our Happy Limo ride was picking us up at 9:30 a.m. We gathered all of our stuff and waited in the lobby by the beautiful Christmas tree for just a few minutes before he arrived. Our ride did include a grocery stop, but we decided we would forgo the stop and just get on our way.
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We were pleasantly surprised by how quickly we were met by porters who took care of our luggage, leaving us with our carryons to head into the building. Our first views of the ship had us all excited SO excited for the next few days!
20191223_103048 20191223_103118
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(A side note about poor "Baby." He looks disgustingly dirty, but I assure you he is clean!! Jimmy dropped him getting out of the car when he was about 3 years old, and Baby ended up in between the car and the curb in a big puddle of mud. He's never been the same since, but he takes regular trips through the wash!!)
We walked through security pretty quickly and up into the terminal. We headed into the line together and were quickly waved up to the counter where two different CMs took care of my parents and my own family. We filled out our paperwork, got Jimmy's picture taken and Kid's Club wristband, along with our silver Castaway Club lanyards (having taken our last cruise in 2006 on our Honeymoon!) and were given Boarding Group 2!!! I was SO excited and couldn't believe our good luck My Mom and Dad were given boarding group 12, and she was very upset about it. We all headed over to line up and meet Goofy, but my Mom wouldn't stop worrying about the boarding group numbers. I assured her we would just wait for them and it wouldn't be a big deal, but she went off to the counter again, while we waited.
After a few minutes, Goofy walked off, and Minnie came back in her cute little Christmas sweater! Just a moment later, my Mom came back to the line, as well, after the CM had told her to stay with her family when they called the boarding groups and it wouldn't be a problem. She seemed relieved, though I wasn't so sure how this would play out. Before long, it was our turn to see Minnie!
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The time seemed to fly by, and before we had time to do much else than find a place to wait for boarding, they called the family of the day and the first boarding group. When they called boarding group 2, we headed into the line with my parents right alongside. The CM who my Mom had talked to waved her on through with us, so I guess we had a little pixie dust right off the bat.
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We stopped again to get our picture taken before finally heading onto the ship! It brought tears to my eyes to hear our family welcomed aboard.
20191223_113432 20191223_114133
Thanks for coming along! I'll be back soon with more of our first hour on the ship!
Look at this beautiful countdown
20191223_090929
We packed up most of our things the night before, so we wouldn't be wasting time rushing around this morning. We got up and dressed, and headed down to the food court to grab a quick breakfast. We also had to make a pretty important stop in the gift shop...not just so Jimmy could spend his Universal gift card (though that was on the list, too!), but more importantly so my Dad could purchase a bathing suit and rashguard shirt, having realized the day before that he neglected to pack them both before leaving Chicago!! OOPS. Keep that in mind later when you see him rocking his Volcano Bay shirt poolside.
While we were in the gift shop, my phone rang. I couldn't imagine who would be calling, but thankfully I answered because I had completely forgotten I scheduled a character call for the morning of our cruise! We stood there in the middle of the Universal store on speakerphone hearing Mickey and Minnie tell us how they couldn't wait to cruise with us later today It was such a fun surprise!
We had gotten a port arrival time of 11:45, but my Mom was VERY nervous about being late to the terminal, so our Happy Limo ride was picking us up at 9:30 a.m. We gathered all of our stuff and waited in the lobby by the beautiful Christmas tree for just a few minutes before he arrived. Our ride did include a grocery stop, but we decided we would forgo the stop and just get on our way.
20191223_092711
We were pleasantly surprised by how quickly we were met by porters who took care of our luggage, leaving us with our carryons to head into the building. Our first views of the ship had us all excited SO excited for the next few days!
20191223_103048 20191223_103118
20191223_104248
(A side note about poor "Baby." He looks disgustingly dirty, but I assure you he is clean!! Jimmy dropped him getting out of the car when he was about 3 years old, and Baby ended up in between the car and the curb in a big puddle of mud. He's never been the same since, but he takes regular trips through the wash!!)
We walked through security pretty quickly and up into the terminal. We headed into the line together and were quickly waved up to the counter where two different CMs took care of my parents and my own family. We filled out our paperwork, got Jimmy's picture taken and Kid's Club wristband, along with our silver Castaway Club lanyards (having taken our last cruise in 2006 on our Honeymoon!) and were given Boarding Group 2!!! I was SO excited and couldn't believe our good luck My Mom and Dad were given boarding group 12, and she was very upset about it. We all headed over to line up and meet Goofy, but my Mom wouldn't stop worrying about the boarding group numbers. I assured her we would just wait for them and it wouldn't be a big deal, but she went off to the counter again, while we waited.
After a few minutes, Goofy walked off, and Minnie came back in her cute little Christmas sweater! Just a moment later, my Mom came back to the line, as well, after the CM had told her to stay with her family when they called the boarding groups and it wouldn't be a problem. She seemed relieved, though I wasn't so sure how this would play out. Before long, it was our turn to see Minnie!
20191223_112308 20191223_112349(0)
The time seemed to fly by, and before we had time to do much else than find a place to wait for boarding, they called the family of the day and the first boarding group. When they called boarding group 2, we headed into the line with my parents right alongside. The CM who my Mom had talked to waved her on through with us, so I guess we had a little pixie dust right off the bat.
20191223_113010
We stopped again to get our picture taken before finally heading onto the ship! It brought tears to my eyes to hear our family welcomed aboard.
20191223_113432 20191223_114133
Thanks for coming along! I'll be back soon with more of our first hour on the ship!