Category Archives: Caribbean

Cruising the Bahamas – Nassau & Castaway Cay

  By Anne Patrone | January 11, 2010 - 10:00 am | , , , , , , , ,
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When I decided on our Disney cruise vacation, I enlisted the services of a travel agent.  I’m still not sure why I did this except that I had never cruised before and thought she would know the ins and out of what to do better than I. 

We seemed to spend an inordinate amount of time on our flight, car rental, and hotel room in Cape Canaveral (all of which I could have easily done) and very little on the aspect I knew nothing about – the cruise.  Specifically, I wanted her insight on the best time to eat, how the kid’s club worked on the ship, and what to do when we arrived in Nassau and Castaway Cay.  For this, I was left to my own devices, and unfortunately, made some mistakes.  
I picked the earliest time to eat (around 5:30, I think).  Bad move on my part.  One, we weren’t really hungry that early and two, we had to cut out on daylight activities to eat.  My advice is if your kids can handle a later dinner time – go for it.  The kid’s club I did better with, using it each day of the trip.  The kids really loved it and had a blast.  It’s incredibly easy to drop them off for an hour or even half a day.
Finally, the shore excursions.  Because of the length of the trip, we only took one – in Nassau.  And it was a total disaster.  First off, my lovely travel agent didn’t tell me that it was up to me to make all the arrangements.  I thought she was handling it (after letting her know what we wanted) and she never said otherwise.  By the time I checked on our excursion status, it was too late to get what we wanted – a dolphin experience in the water.  Grumbling, I got what I THOUGHT was the next best thing – dolphins with no water.  
As with all things, READ THE FINE PRINT.  The excursion promised a dolphin experience without getting wet.  Good.  Great.  My kids would get to at least touch and pet dolphins if they couldn’t get in the water.  But when we arrived in Nassau and got to the assigned meeting place, I noticed most people were in swimsuits (for the get-in-the-water-experience).  Only one other family was in regular clothes like us.  
Hmm, warning signal.  Shouldn’t there be others, or did they all know something we didn’t??
Turns out, after a LOOOONG boat ride (with a stop at Atlantis to pick up more people) and a tedious video promotion at the Blue Lagoon dolphin sanctuary, the dolphin observers were then permitted to walk along wooden boardwalks and watch people frolic in the water with the dolphins.
Wait a sec, I know it’s an out-of-water experience, but shouldn’t my guys at least be able to PET the dolphins?  
Uh-uh.  No way.  Not allowed.
OMG!!!! An entire morning wasted (not to mention money) and all my kids get to do is watch dolphins from a distance of about twenty feet???  Turns out, Disney changed the description of the experience after we had signed up for it and added the important point that you only get to observe the dolphins from a SAFE DISTANCE.  
Still steaming, we dropped the kids at the kid’s club and explored downtown Nassau (since we had little time to do anything else).  The area near the dock is touristy and filled with kitschy tee-shirt shops.  Sadly, I really felt like I didn’t get to experience the real Nassau – only the touristy one.  Returning to the ship, we sailed to Castaway Cay, Disney’s private island, hoping for a better time tomorrow.
When we arrived in the morning, all ready to improve on the less than stellar experience from the day before, M was sick.  Sigh.  M has a tendency to push too hard, overdo things and then puke his guts up as his body rebels.  Hubby brought P ashore to the kid’s club (Scuttle’s Cove) and we waited for M to sleep it off. 
Finally, by lunch, M was better and he wanted to join his brother at the club (where P had already participated in a pirate treasure hunt and played in the sand).  Hubby and I (now childless) ambled around to figure out what to do.  The beaches were incredibly crowded since we hadn’t gotten there early in the morning and there was a long line for the water activities.  Recognizing that we might have a better chance with something further away from the central area, we walked to the Stingray Hut and signed up for a Stingray Adventure.
How incredibly cool!!  We learned about stingrays and then got the opportunity to pet and feed them.  And while it didn’t make up for missing out on the dolphins, it was pretty neat.
After returning to the ship, the kids weren’t hungry (darn that early seating), skipped the last meal, and returned to the Kid’s Club to get ready for their ‘graduation’.  Hubby and I explored the ship, trying to get away from the hordes of people who seemed to be everywhere.  At last we found a quiet bar (the Cadillac Lounge) on the lowest level of the ship.  Ahh – peace, serenity and best of all, NO PEOPLE.  A relaxing drink and we were ready to attend our kids’ ‘graduation’ from the Disney Kid’s Club.  
The kids walked on stage in grey t-shirts and graduation caps with Mickey Mouse ears attached to them.  Mickey and Minnie appeared, passed out certificates, and everyone sang and took pictures.  Like I’ve said before, Disney knows kids.  My guys had a great time and would eagerly go back.
Would I?  
“Cruising” was better than I expected.  Yes, I felt the sway and motion of the ship, but it wasn’t horrendous.  It’s incredibly convenient and the ease of everything coming with you to a new port of call is a wonderful aspect.  For an area of the world where the easiest mode of travel is by sea, I would (and probably will) definitely cruise again – think Alaska or the Greek Islands.
Would I cruise with the Mouse again?  Maybe yes, maybe no.  
The level of crowds one gets on a Disney cruise is high.  Sometimes the Disney experience is a little too much to handle.  And a Disney cruise is definitely geared more for kids than to adults or even older kids/tweens.  That said, I would highly recommend a Disney cruise for a first-timer or a family with kids who wants a worry-free vacation.  Just make sure either you or your travel agent are on top of things.
Next:  At the Mercy of a Killer Whale
                
   

Cruising with the Mouse

  By Anne Patrone | January 7, 2010 - 10:00 am | , , , , , , ,
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The concept of a cruise vacation is fabulous.  Your room travels with you as you visit exotic ports of call.  No need to pack and unpack, just go to sleep and poof! the next day you’re somewhere new.  Add in on-board entertainment, all-you-can-eat food, and free child care (for those over three) and a Disney cruise is a fabulous value.

For our Memorial Day vacation in 2006, we arrived at Cape Canaveral after flying down to Orlando and renting a car.  (For those not interested in renting, Disney has a bus service – very convenient).  After parking our car, we entered the check-in area and wow! a whole lot of people.

The Disney Wonder can carry around 2700 passengers, but remember that’s adult passengers.  Add approximately one child sharing a room for every adult and the numbers swell.  I didn’t know it, but according to some sources, Disney has one of the highest ‘load factors’ in the industry.  Remember that when you book – kid-friendly has a price.

Nevertheless, the Disney staff processed everyone quickly and we were soon on our way to our room.

We booked a Deluxe Oceanview Stateroom with a verandah (around 268 square feet), paying up for a balcony and the floor level we wanted.  But if you don’t want a balcony and the floor doesn’t matter – don’t bother.  Most of the cabins are built with families in mind.  For the kids, a bunkbed folds out of the wall, giving them separate sleeping berths, and a nice curtain divider separates the adults from the children, allowing you to read in bed once the kids are down for the night.  Finally, the bathroom is pretty large.  Compared to what I’ve seen advertised for other cruise ships, with Disney you get a lot of room for your buck.

After the required safety drill, the kids enjoyed themselves at the huge Mickey Mouse-shaped pool with its water slide and tube.  We had an early seating for dinner and went to the first of our assigned restaurants – Triton’s.

Disney has a rotational dining system where you rotate through all of their restaurants staying with the same server each time.  I’m not sure why this is such a big deal, but hey, whatever.  The food is pretty forgettable with standard American fare and kid-friendly options.  With the exception of Animator’s Palate, the restaurants either look like a huge hotel ballroom (Triton’s) or a Disneyfied Caribbean beach shack.

Animator’s Palate is unique, not for its food, but for its decor.  When you arrive for your seating all the walls have scenes from Disney films in shades of grey, black, and white.  Through the course of the meal, the panels “shift” into brilliant color.  The kids loved looking around to see which panel would shift next.  Finally, at the end, when the entire restaurant is a blaze of color, the wait staff come out and sing.  Pretty cool.

To be fair, Disney knows its audience and keeps kids happy, fed, and entertained.  There were no melt-downs or frowning faces.

For foodies, there is an adult-only restaurant, Palo, you can go to in place of one of the others (while the kids are in the child center).  But be forewarned – reservations BEFORE you set sail (like several months before) are a must.  We didn’t know and so, missed out.

Last, but not least, the best part of a Disney cruise are the characters that “appear” everywhere.  The morning activity sheet/announcements delivered every morning lists where and when the major ones are going to appear.  There’s always a Disney photographer on hand so you can get a professional photo along with an autograph.  I’ve heard stories of people stalking and plotting their day around these character appearances.  To which I say – that’s nice, but that’s not us.

We’re a little more organic in how we let things unfold.  Frankly, I’m not going to use my vacation time standing in line for over an hour to get a photo with a Princess.  (To be fair, I was told by one mom that the cruise appearances are INFINITELY easier than the ones at Disney World).

I guess we were just lucky that on the last night, we ran smack into my guys’ favorite characters – Chip and Dale.  We were returning to our room after a long day.  The boys had gotten their requisite pirate souvenirs and although the ship was still bouncing with life as it sailed back to Florida, we knew we had a long day ahead and wanted to sleep.

Then all of a sudden.  There they were.

I’m not sure how Disney hires the people who work in those suits, but they are amazing.  Seeing the pirate souvenirs, one of the chipmunks, snatched a toy gun from M’s hand and “attacked” the pirates.  There was a quick mock battle and then HUGE hugs.  The smiles from my guys were enormous and all the more genuine because the experience had been unplanned and unexpected.

Thank you Disney.  And thank you, Chip and Dale.

Next:  Nassau & Castaway Cay

 

       

A ‘First’ Family Vacation

  By Anne Patrone | January 4, 2010 - 10:00 am | , , ,
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For Memorial Day weekend 2006, my oldest son, M, had a looong break from school with Thursday, Friday, AND the Monday off. It was a perfect length of time for our first ‘official’ family vacation – the first time we would be going someplace with the kids that didn’t involve relatives or repeating the same activity every day.

This vacation, at long last, would involve TRAVELING.

The boys were 4 and 6 and pretty comfortable with traveling on planes and long car rides. So where to go and what to do?

I wanted somewhere that would be fun for everyone – kid-friendly but still appealing to adults. Someplace warm. And most important, somewhere completely new. I started looking around on the internet by Googling ‘kid-vacation-family’. Naturally, Disney World popped up, but I didn’t want that – our time was too short – but hey, Disney also did cruises.

Cruising – that was definitely new and something I’d never done before. My mother has the ability to get seasick in a bathtub, so she always avoided anything to do with boats – big or little. And since she’d never taken a cruise, I’d never taken a cruise. But the more I thought of it, the more I realized a Disney cruise might be fun. Since it was Disney, it was certainly kid-friendly. And sailing around the Caribbean certainly meant it would be warm. But what if I hated it? Or worse, like my mother, got seasick?

Fortunately, Disney has the perfect cruise for ‘first-timers’ like me – a three night/four day tour of the Bahamas. It was short enough that if I hated it, it wouldn’t ruin too many days and long enough to give me a sense of what ‘cruising’ was like.

On Thursday, we would arrive in Orlando and board the ship. On Friday we would stop in Nassau, Bahamas, then spend Saturday on Castaway Cay, Disney’s private island. By early Sunday morning (as in 7:30 am early) we would be back in Cape Canaveral, Florida. Hmm . . . Cape Canaveral . . . wasn’t Kennedy Space Center there? Okay, visiting there could definitely take up another day. Would it be possible to max out the vacation and add something else? SeaWorld was relatively close. True, it was in Orlando, about an hour’s drive away from Cape Canaveral, but it would be fun. And the guys could see Shamu.

At last, I had a working plan:

  1. Fly down to Orlando early Thursday.
  2. Rent a car and drive to Cape Canaveral where we’d board the Disney Magic
  3. Check into our hotel in Cape Canaveral after the cruise returned on Sunday morning
  4. Drive to Orlando and visit SeaWorld on Sunday (driving back to Canaveral to spend the night)
  5. Get an early start on Monday and visit Kennedy Space Center
  6. Leave the Space Center by 3:00 pm to make a late evening flight back to NYC

Whew! It was a lot to do in one long weekend and it was a lot of driving. But I reasoned the freeway system in Florida was better than NY and I figured the kids could always sleep in the car if they got tired. So I took a deep breath, and set the wheels in motion . . .