Take a Ride on the Fantastic Voyage - Day 4

Sorry for the delay... But without further ado, her is day 4.

Day 4 - Costa Maya

We began the day, just like all the others, Chuck got up early to work out (clearly, I should do something about this working out thing... it's beginning to make me look bad).  The kids and I woke up leisurely.  When Chuck got back, we headed down to Enchanted Garden to eat breakfast. It is a buffet for breakfast.  I am normally not a big fan of a buffet, but this one is good and this particular morning they had a ham and cheese croissant on the buffet that was out of this world.

After breakfast, we head back to the room to pack the bag for the excursion to the Chacchoben Mayan Ruins.  I packed some snacks and water bottles and I am glad that I did.  It was hot and humid that day.  We head to the Walt Disney Theater to meet up with our tour group.  We were the first ones to disembark the ship.  As it turns out, Costa Maya is very sparsely inhabited.  The locals drive there to meet the cruise ships.  Who knew?  Apparently, a hurricane all but destroyed the town and while somethings have been built back, the people have not yet come back to make their homes there.  It's very beautiful there.  Heck, I could see myself going back there.

This excursion takes the entire day, so if you are looking to explore Costa Maya, this might not be the best choice for you.  We happen to love history and have always been fascinated by the ruins, so it was a no brainer for us.

We boarded the bus for the 45 min drive out to the ruins.  Our guide told us lots about the local history and the Mayan people.  One thing that was really interesting was that Chacchoben was the Mayan word for Red Corn.


When we got to the ruins, we were assigned a second local guide to assist our tour guide.  He was 100% Mayan.  The ruins consisted of temples and the residences of the upper echelon of the Mayan people.

  Remember the red corn?

The ruins look like steps now, but originally they were stuccoed and painted a vibrant red.  Some of that is still visible in places.

How cool is that????  It was hot, hot, hot that day and very humid.  I am very glad I brought the water bottles.  I almost wish I had brought some Gatorade too.  


I had to include pictures of the cutest kiddos ever:

They obviously had a great time exploring.  The kids really felt like they were Jr. Archaeologist. To be honest, I kinda felt like one too.  It was really amazing to be walking among the ruins of some of the most advanced people to have ever walked the planet.  Pretty humbling to be honest.


After the tour, we headed back to the ship where we barely had enough time to shower and make it to dinner.  But, we needed the showers,  It was hot and we were all sweaty (and by sweaty I mean drenched).  


Our dinner was in Enchanted Garden.  It was awesome as usual, but the real treat was the show.  The show was Disney Wishes.  It was a story of three friends who will be graduating high school soon and spend their time at Disneyland.  These new shows are really fantastic.  I cannot rave enough about them!


Highlights:
Chacchoben Mayan Ruin tour
Disney Wishes
Ham and Cheese Croissants at Enchanted Garden for breakfast :)

Take a Ride on the Fantastic Voyage - Day 3

Day Three - Grand Caymans

This day started like most of them.  Chuck gets up at the crack of dawn and goes to work out while the kids and I wake up leisurely and get ready to go to breakfast.  This time though, Chuck makes it in time to go to breakfast with us.

We eat at Royal Court for breakfast.  I like that you order from a menu instead of a buffet, but the menu is the same each day.  The food is excellent though.

Today the boat is docked in the Grand Cayman.  We did not get off the ship.  Chuck and I have been to the Grand Caymans before and, although it's nice, it was something we felt we could skip.  Most people do the Stingray City excursion in Grand Cayman, but as cool as stingrays are to touch in a touch tank at the aquarium, swimming with hundreds of swimming portabello mushrooms just is not my idea of a good time (plus it would require a bathing suit in public and that's not my idea of a good time either).

After breakfast we go to Disney Trivia.  I should totally have this in the bag!  I mean, really, I am a huge Disney fanatic.  There are 5 teams playing.  I don't know how it happened, but another team beat us....  Ok, so I didn't know the dog in Pocahontas was named Percy or the name of the singer that did the voice for Mulan.  I am super competitive, so that loss was a huge blow.  Oh well... I will have more trivia opportunities this week and I will win one :)

After Trivia, we do the Midship Detective Agency.  Disney hit the mark with this one!  We did the Case of the Missing Puppies and we had the best time find clues and puppies in the enchanted artwork (plus running all over the massive ship was bound to work off some of those Palo calories, right?)  This is really an amazing game and the kids had a blast!

Since the majority of the ship was off hanging with the stingrays, we decided it is the perfect time to hit the Aquaduck.  We put on our bathing suits (ok, I put mine on, but kept my cover up on the whole time) and headed up to the pool deck.  Just for giggles, we decided to get Garrett measured again and we got sprinkled with a bit of pixie dust and the guy let him slide (thank goodness for that crazy bedhead that let him barely scrape by)!  Woohoo!  He gets his coveted red bracelet and we vow not to remove it the entire week.  It was awesome.  He loved it!

That evening we had dinner at Royal Court.  That is a really cool and elegant place!  The food and service was impeccable as usual.

We headed back early and went to bed, after all, we have an early morning tomorrow in Costa Maya!  We are so excited about it since we have an excursion to the Mayan ruins.  


Highlights:


Aquaduck
Midship Detective Agency

Take a Ride on the Fantastic Voyage - Day 2

There were a couple of things that I forgot to mention in the Day 1 post... (I would say it was a Senior moment, but we all know if I said that I would mean Senior in college, right???):
- We were Silver Castaway Club members at the time of this cruise (I'm now Gold, thankyouverymuch).  In the cabin was our Castaway gift.  It was a really nice backpack.  I mean a real back pack, not one of those cheapy drawstring things, but a really good backpack.  Caroline has already claimed it for school this fall.  It had snacks and a nice key chain in it too.
- Caroline and Garrett where on the veranda and met Sarah, a nine year old little girl from PA.  They became fast friends!  She actually vacations in SC every summer... how cool is that?!?!?!


OK, on to Day 2


Chuck has been doing P90X and is really into working out.  So, he gets up at 6am to go work out in the gym.  The kids and I are sleeping...  I will say that between the fact that this man is getting really buff and tans like crazy, it makes me feel like I should get off my duff and do something about my pastey white Irish skin and hit the gym, almost...

The kids and I get up and get ready for breakfast.  We wait for Chuck, who gets in about 8ish.  He isn't very hungry, so the kids and I head to breakfast at Enchanted Garden.  For breakfast, they serve a really great buffet (although they don't serve grits... and Cream of Wheat is NOT a substitute).  The kids and I eat and Chuck meets us down there just before we're done.  We head to the DVC Member Celebration at 9am.  We always go because they always give away free hats and other random things... and they serve Mimosas!  I wish we had a pile of money to add on points, but the kids need to have a college fund, so we'll be thankful for the points we have for now.  (Sometimes being a responsible adult is hard)

After the DVC thing, we watched the Jack Jack Diaper Dash.  This is HYSTERICAL!  They take babies and race them in heats.  The parents are allowed to coax them in anyway possible to get them across the finish line.  There was this one baby who's mom stood in front of him with food and he booked it across the finish line.  Seriously, it was worth the 30 mins to stand and watch!

We went to O'Gills Pub to do the Family Craft - Beach Balls.  Caroline really wanted to do it, so we went.  We head into O'Gills and they hand us a deflated beach ball and some Crayola Markers. We blow up the beach balls.  They were really small (about the size of a melon).  The marker didn't adhere to ball worth a hoot.  In my opinion, that was a bust, but the kids seemed to enjoy it.

We go back to the cabin to put our really messy beach balls up and get dressed for the pool.  (Yes, those who know me know I don't put on a bathing suit if I can help it.  I mean, pastey white and a bathing suit are kinda an oxymoron.)  Yes, I put on my bathing suit.  We head to the pool.  There are only two things about this ship that I think have room for improvement.  One is the size of the pools.  I really think it would be nice if they were larger, but seeing as how they didn't ask me when they designed it, they are on the smaller side.  My kids are fish.  They love to swim and Garrett love, love, loves the Mickey Slide.  Caroline loves the Aquaduck!  Garrett is about a hair too short. :(

After the pool, we get back and get dressed for the 3pm Aladdin show.  It is new to Disney Cruise Line, and I was very excited to see it!  It doesn't disappoint.  It was one of my most favorite shows... and that's saying a lot.  It was really outstanding.  Genie, of course, stole the show.  FAB-U-LOUS!

After the show, we head back to the cabin.  We have Palo for dinner and the kids really want to eat in the dining room.  So, we get dressed (it's formal night) and head down to Enchanted Garden so the kiddos can eat in the dining room.  It's French Cuisine night and even though we are eating at Palo, I order the escargot because I love escargot.  I even get Caroline to try one.  She likes it until I tell her she just ate a snail.  Haha!  The joys of being able to gross your kids out is priceless!  About 6:15, I head to Palo since we have 6:30 reservations. Chuck gets the kids and takes them to the kids club and meets me in Meridian Lounge where I have already made friends with the server (and had 2 Pomegranate Passions which are Pomegranate Passion Liqueur, Passion Fruit Sorbet and Taittinger Champagne... Three words - Yum, Yum and Yum).

Chuck gets there and we are seating immediately.  Our server is Carmine from the Amalfi Coast of Italy.  Chuck and I went to the Amalfi Coast during our Med Cruise and fell in love with it!  Dinner at Palo never disappoints.  It is always amazing and well worth the $25 per person upcharge.  The chocolate souffle alone is worth the $25 upcharge.  I go weak in the knees just thinking about that souffle.  

After dinner, we go to La Piazza for another drink before heading back to get the kids from the kids club.  It was just us and two ladies at the bar.  Chuck is back and forth in O'Gills since the South Carolina Gamecocks are in the college world series, and he needs to check the score.

After drinks, we get the kiddos and head to bed :)

Recap:

Love the Aquaduck and the Mickey Slide

Love Aladdin

Love Palo

Love the Pomegranate Passion

Pools are smaller than I'd like

Take a Ride on the Fantastic Voyage - Day 1

I was channeling my inner Coolio when I came up with the title of this article...  Yep, there I go showing my age again.

The fam and I just got back from a 7 night Western Caribbean cruise on the new Disney Fantasy!  It was an amazing trip and, lucky you, get to hear all about it :)

The down and dirty:

Cast of Characters - Chuck, 45,  Me, in my 30's (Haha, I bet you thought I'd slip up and actually tell you), Caroline, 8 and Garrett, 5
The Itinerary - Port Canaveral, Day at Sea, Grand Cayman, Costa Maya, Cozumel, Day at Sea, Castaway Cay, Port Canaveral
The Ship - Disney Fantasy
Cabin - Category 4B Cabin # 8098
Dining - First Seating
Sail Date - June 23, 2012

Since we live in Charleston, SC, we drive to Port Canaveral since it's only 6 hours away.  So, on June 23, we wake up early enough to be on the road at 6am!  Yay!  That means we should arrive at the port around noon.  Well, best laid plans and all, we get on the road a couple of minutes late, but nothing to throw us off course too much.  We cross the Florida line about the time both kiddos start complaining of their ears hurting.  YIKES!  I quickly start googling Urgent Care Centers in the area and found one in Jacksonville.  Luckily for us, it was just swimmers ear.  The doctor prescribes an antibiotic and about an hr and a half later, we are back on the road.  Thank goodness I planned on getting there at noon.  We had plenty of wiggle room.  As soon as we got to the port, we checked in and were able to board.  We are way past excited by this time.  The ship is stunningly beautiful.  Disney definitely believes in making you feel as though you have just stepped onto the First Class atrium one of the great luxury liners of days gone by.

We get to our cabin to drop off our bags and to grab some lunch.  I booked a category 4B because we have stayed in a Veranda Cabin before, but I was really intrigued by the extra 50 square feet and round tub.  I will have to say, for us, both were well worth the additional cost.  I am completely enamored with the round tub and rain shower head.  The tub/shower seems small when you look at it, but the round shape makes it the roomiest shower I've ever had on a cruise ship.

After dropping our bags off and admiring our home for the next 7 days, we head to Cabanas for lunch.  Lunch was a good buffet.  I think Garrett might have eaten his weight in shrimp.  That kid loves three foods: steak, shrimp and bacon.  After lunch, we swing by the Oceaneers Club and Oceaneers Lab to check it out and get the kids equipped with their Mickey Bracelets (aka Oceaneers ID aka Lojack, as I affectionately call it since it has a GPS locator in it).  Yes, you can do this at the port, but when the lines are long, skip it and do it onboard.

That night we went to dinner at Animators Palate.  We met our Server Tiziana from Italy and her assistant, Camille from Trinidad and Tobago.  We loved, loved, loved them both.  Animators Palate the first night is much like Animators on the Disney Dream.  It features an interactive show featuring Crush from Finding Nemo.

After dinner, Garrett and I went on to sleep since we had had an early morning and long day, while Chuck and Caroline caught the show, A Fantasy Come True.  Chuck said it was a Glee-esque kinda show.  I don't care for Glee, so it wouldn't have been a show I would have cared for.  Caroline loved it.

Highlights:

Category 4 cabin with extra 50 sq feet and round tub/shower
Animators Palate
The ship itself

Seeing things through your eyes

This blog post was written by my good friend and client, Krista Nevarez.  It is a trip report from her cruise on the Carnival Triumph.

Carnival Triumph March 2012

Prior to this, I had been on one other cruise.  I went on the Disney Dream last year for Spring Break.  I loved it!  It was a wonderful experience, but it was definitely expensive!  One day I got an email from Carnival advertising cruises, so I decided to check out the prices.  For less than half of the cost of my four night cruise on Disney, I was able to go on a five night cruise on Carnival.  I contacted Jill, and she made the arrangements and I was booked at six weeks out to sail on the Carnival Triumph from Galveston, TX for spring break.

We drove six hours from Wichita, KS to Fort Worth, TX on Thursday after work.  We stayed overnight at a friends house, then drove another six hours from Forth Worth to Galveston.  I definitely think that cruising out of a port within driving distance was a real money saver!  Although we had to pay for gas and a hotel the night before the cruise, it cost about half of what it would cost to fly to Port Canaveral in FL.  

On Saturday morning, we took a taxi from our hotel to the cruise terminal.  We had stayed at a hotel that had free parking for the duration of the cruise.  I highly recommend doing this.  It was a time and money saver!

The boarding process was much quicker than what I had experienced on the Disney Dream.  We had gotten to the port early and were in the third boarding group.  We were on the ship within about 45 minutes of arriving at the terminal.

My first impression of the ship was that it was TACKY!  It definitely looked like a floating Vegas casino.  Where the main lobby on the Disney Dream was beautifully decorated, the Carnival Triumph's main attraction was a bar.  Although the decorations were tacky, the ship was quite clean and comparable to Disney in that aspect.

We went first to have lunch at the buffet on the ship.  We also had a couple drinks of the day.  

The buffets were nothing to write home about, but we always managed to find something to eat.  If the food was any better, I probably would have eaten a ton and gained a lot of weight so I was fine with the food that was served.  

When we were able to go to our room, I was impressed with the size.  We had booked a verandah stateroom, and we were very happy with our room.  We had a lovely view everyday.

I would highly recommend getting a stateroom with a verandah.  We enjoyed ordering room service and having a private meal on our verandah.  We would read out there almost every evening. 

Our cruise went to Progreso and Cozumel, Mexico.  We did not make plans through the cruise line for port activities.  I researched on cruisecritic.com and found activities for both ports.  This saved us money and gave us more flexibility.  

Dinner on the ship was amazing!  We had the my time dining where you can go anytime between 5:45-9:00.  On our second night we had a great waitstaff so we requested them each night after that.  The Caesar salad on the ship was so good that sometimes I got it as an appetizer and for dessert!

Overall, we had a wonderful time on our Carnival cruise.  As a huge Disney fan, it was hard for me to stray from the Disney brand, but the price made it too enticing.  However, I am still on the fence about whether I would take my son who will be three this summer on a Carnival cruise.  I think Disney is definitely superior when it comes to kids clubs and activities.  Carnival seemed very adult focused and this was evident from the many bars on board, risque music that was played, and crass games that would happen on deck.  If I found a cruise that was the right price, I would probably take my son, but for now I will consider Carnival to be an adult vacation for Mommy and Disney to be our family cruise line.  

Sooooo.....

OK, I have been really, really slack about updating my blog lately, so I asked some of my clients to write trip reports on their trips.  I thought you might get a kick on hearing trips from another perspective.

The first client trip report will come from Krista (from the Going the Distance post).  She is going to tell us all about her last cruise.

Stay tuned... It should be a good one!

Happy New Year... 2011 In Review (or is that, in the Rearview?)

Happy New Year! Like just about everyone, 2011 brought ups and downs, highs and lows, but in all honesty, most of those lows brought about the changes that created most of the highs. So, here it is, the year in review... And my goals for 2013.

January
- started the year off by completing the Disney Goofy Challenge (which is truly Goofy in that you complete the Disney Half Marathon on Saturday and the Disney Marathon on Sunday for a total of 39.3 miles).
Lessons learned: I can do anything I put my mind to, good friends will help you through just about anything with encouragement and quotes from The Hangover, and if Willy can do a Marathon with his new hip, then I can do it because I have all my original parts.
- sailed on the second sailing of the Disney Dream
Lessons learned: how to properly mix a drink ala Fred, the Dream is an amazing ship, and Stephanie and Kimberley are great people.

February
- ran the third Princess Half Marathon aka Annual Moms Gone Wild Weekend
Lessons learned: Sparkle skirts make my rump look big, chocolate cake comes in liquid form, and sometimes I have to be the responsible one that reminds my friends that lewd pictures with the EPCOT ball might be funny now, but might not be a good idea.

April
- 7 Day sailing on the Disney Magic (and 10 year anniversary)
Lessons learned: after 10 years, my husband still adores me and I still adore him

July
- I was betrayed by a "friend"
Lessons learned: sometimes people aren't you think they are, and you can be blamed and suffer from the sins of others by association.
- I started Custom Travel Professionals, LLC
Lessons learned: Sometimes it takes adversity to lead you to do something you should have done a long time before.

August
- My 4 year old started preschool
Lessons learned: he's growing up too fast, and he can catch up with his peers in a few short months.

November
- took my children to their first Clemson game
Lessons learned: they love the thrill of Tiger football as much as their mother, and my "friendless", "anti-social" friend is one of my favorite people.

December
- I completed inputing all the transactions from the start of Custom Travel Professionals, LLC into the new accounting software
Lessons learned: Software will make your life easier
- Christmas
Lessons learned: magic lives

Resolutions for 2012:
- to grow my business by 10% (because slow and steady growth is better than explosive growth)
- to lead my team with kindness, fairness and love because that's someone I would want to work with
- to not look like the mom on the commercial when I play Just Dance with the kids. (I think I look like someone on a music video when in reality I look more like Elaine from Seinfeld)
- lose 10 lbs (I would really like to loose 15, but let's not get too carried away)
- to the mother that my daughter would want to be when she grows up