Katura spent the morning at the Oceaneer Club which meant Shawn and I had all this time to ourselves and no idea what to do. Not having Katura around is something we haven't really experienced since before she was born! So what did we do??
We played BINGO! And who won the very first game of Bingo on this first Disney cruise of 2021?
ME!!!
Anyway, I just wanted to share that. We weren't sure we were going to play, but we figured we may as well check it out since I've heard it is a lot of fun. It was on Deck 4 in the Evolution lounge. Such a cool setting for sure. It felt like Las Vegas! There were 3 different pricing options based on how many games you wanted to play. I figured to just go big and get us each a set of cards for 4 games. So now that I'm thinking back, was it $40 for the two packs of cards or $40 per pack?? I really think it was $20 per pack, so $40 total for the two of us. My Bingo winnings essentially paid for our drinks and games, so that was a fun way to spend some time!
And this is where Shawn discovered Natasha! Oh my, every time we saw her on the cruise he had to be sure to point it out. Meanwhile I was totally loving adorable Darrelle. I wanted to just keep him. He was so cute! But I guess if I had a cruise crush like Shawn it would have been our server Ikbal. I mean I am a sucker for a charming Indonesian guy after all!
Natasha and the entire crew there were such a blast. So much fun music, lights, things we would all holler together, the crew dancing for B11, random prizes, our drinks.... My drink was called Papillon ... VeeV Acai Liqeuer, Grand Mariner, Agave Nectar, Ginger, freshly squeezed Lime Juice *served with a souvenir Acai seed bracelet. Basically I ordered it for the bracelet. But the drink was tasty, too!
After Bingo we went exploring. Shawn said he saw ONE elevator that went all the way to Deck 14. Neither of us even thought about where that would take us. We just found the elevators, got the one that said 14 and went up! Nobody was there. It was small. We saw doors that said Crew Members Only. The Radio Studio was there. And then there were the closed doors. Shawn opened them. Oh my gosh that view!! I was so sure we were going to get caught and sent to detention or something. We had no idea we were IN THE FUNNEL at the front of the ship!! We were in the Overlook Lounge. It was crazy cool!
So come along with us in this video to see it all play out.
Would you have lingered in the Overlook area? Would you have bolted quickly like I tried to?
Is Natasha the one you would be fawning over? How about Darrell, isn't he just the cutest thing ever?
And how about that drink? Would you choose mine drink or the one Shawn got?
Up next on our behind the scenes of the vlogs blog we are at Enchanted Garden for our first dinner during this first 2021 sailing of the Disney Dream!
It is pretty much common knowledge that I survive off of a few basic food ingredients: pineapple pizza, grilled cheese sandwiches, rice, Cheerios. So what does that mean when we go on a Disney cruise and I am presented with a variety of food options? On this particular night it meant I got Macaroni and Cheese with Steak Fries and Vegetables. And you know what? I don't regret it. It was tasty!
Shawn, on the other hand, tried all the things!
If you haven't done a Disney Cruise basically all of your food is paid for before you cruise. You do pay extra for alcoholic beverages or any type of drinks in the lounge, and for snacks at places like the Cove Cafe or Vanellope's Sweets & Treats. So your dinner is paid for, and what does that get you exactly? Anything you want! Don't want salad? Okay, you don't have to have that. Want more bread? Just ask. Want to have double of the same appetizer? No problem. Want to try THREE main dishes? Well... you can do that, too! And that's just what Shawn did on our first night out! He had ordered two originally, but then he saw what a neighboring table ordered and got the hookup with that food as well.
*I'll add that while I had the kid food on night one I did eat like an adult the rest of the nights, and even I had a second order of a fancy appetizer!!
So you can eat all you want. And you can essentially drink all you want. Noel always made sure we had drinks. I wasn't just drinking my water. I had the Drink of the Day every night AND a Coke. It is a very strange thing to just order whatever. All of this food stuff is well beyond my comfort zone for sure. But I can tell you we had a couple of things that helped with that....
And that is what my favorite part of the dinner experience is. Our servers!! Ikbal and Noel took such great care of us every single night. They knew our drink orders without us even having to say. Ikbal suggested some delicious things for me that I never would have even looked twice at probably. But I trusted him and loved the results! Noel hooked Katura up with some tasty desserts, so she was a fan. Ikbal did magic with Katura that she is still practicing at home! We gave both Ikbal and Noel rave reviews on our survey card and an online survey we got after the cruise. If we could take them on all of our cruises I would. They made it all so much fun!
Also fun was the fact that every night we had a different sort of entertainment. You'll see bits of that throughout this blog as I share the videos.
So now get your napkin on your lap and enjoy some dinner with us on Deck 2 at Enchanted Garden!
Was it all the anticipation? Was it the relief? Was it months of being uncertain all coming to an end? Was it the absolute pure Disney magic? I don't know but it seemed everything made me cry once I was actually in the process of boarding the Disney Dream!
I was feeling so many emotions I can't even pinpoint what they were. We were going through the gangway and as soon as I saw the first crew member waiting for us the tears started. Then we got to Joey who chatted with us before we were announced to everyone and it was just all... I don't even know!! It was a blur, but yet I remember it all so well. Prior to sailing I had told the members of our private Facebook sailing group that I will believe we are actually sailing when I hear our name called as we enter the ship. When that moment happened it was a huge feeling of relief and excitement. As I said about 23 times in this video... "It is happening!" Seriously - I dare you to make it a drinking game any time I say it. Don't drink and drive.
The whole time on the ship before we set sail was just a time of feeling in awe. Awe of being there. Awe of the beauty. Awe at the atmosphere of all the people. All of us guests were so happy to be there. And I think even happier were the crew members. Every single crew member we interacted with during that entire sailing was fabulous. I can't remember a single moment that didn't feel like something positive. I was genuinely happy to say hi to each one I passed, and I was genuinely said to say good bye at the end.
Ikbal, Noel, Natasha, Darrell, Raf, Clive, all the photographers, those in merchandise, the crew in the Oceaneer Club - all of them exceeded any expectations and I am truly appreciative of them! They really helped bring out the magic of this sailing. And it felt like it hit me all at once during these first hours on the ship.
Times I cried:
- seeing the first crew member waving at us
- seeing Joey
- Joey announcing us to the ship
- Mickey and Minnie appearing and waving
- nearly every time the ship's horns went off
- when the people on the shore cheered loudly and all of the guests on the ship started cheering
That's just during this one video! All happy tears, fortunately!
If you ever have the opportunity to do a Disney cruise, don't pass it up! The feelings we used to get in the parks back in the day.... those feelings are well and alive on the ship! It has this feeling of old fashioned family moments. And that feeling gets even greater during the Merrytime cruises. Gosh, if only I could take my mom on one of those with me.......
I had to take vacation time at work. We looked up a Disney Cruise for the same week I had originally planned to be gone for a race. We found one with a military discount and couldn't pass it up. Meanwhile all cruises were being cancelled since March 2020, so we really didn't even think this would sail. Up until the last minute we were never positive it would and kept waiting for cancellation notices to come to our email. That never happened. Simultaneously we booked a Walt Disney World vacation with our DVC points and Military passes. Which vacation we would be on, we didn't know! It was fun, anxiety filled waiting game. In the end we were on the very first Disney Dream cruise to resume sailing since March 2020 when the pandemic shut it all down!
We created a vlog series to bring you along on the trip with us, but I thought maybe I'd try to add on any little things via the blog for those that enjoy reading things here! There are a bunch of videos of the Walt Disney World portion on our YouTube page if you are wanting to join us there as well!
So to begin let us jump to Embarkation morning at Saratoga Springs! The video is shared below, so I'm not going to just give a minute by minute account. Mostly just added thoughts or maybe explanation of things that didn't get said. I don't know! I'm making up this plan as I go along... 😁
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I was up late the night before getting everything packed. Disney Cruise Line would have our luggage picked up starting at 8am on embarkation morning. To me that meant get everyone up, dressed, teeth and hair brushed ready to go by 8am so when our suitcases were taken away we didn't have to bother carrying anything extra with us. Whatever they didn't take we would be responsible for the entire day until we got to our stateroom. This plan worked and we were ready to go. Luggage didn't get picked up until just about 10am!! You KNOW if I wasn't prepared they would have been there at 8 o'clock on the dot!
So far so good.... or so we thought!
Katura and I went up to get breakfast and bring it back to the room. That was all good, but we had failed to find an ATM. In Oregon we never grabbed cash for extra tips on the ship and what tip money we had for bus drivers I had already used. So we needed to find at ATM fast before boarding that bus. The ships are all done cash free. Things are charged to your room. You can use cash to tip for room service or extra gratuities to your servers. We prepay our required gratuities in advance, but like to add on at the end of the cruise to show just how awesome they are! So we needed that cash!
Sure, it seems simple.
The ATM at Saratoga was in an area closed for refurbishment. Since it was August in Florida and the surface of the sun we decided to hop a bus to Disney Springs at hit an ATM there. And then things went downhill so freaking fast. Of course the one time I decided to not vlog and just enjoy the ride is the time I put my phone in my pocket (which I NEVER do) and the time my phone falls out of my pocket and is left on the bus!
It was instant panic. There are tonnnnns of buses in Walt Disney World. They don't just keep making the same circle over and over. My phone could be anywhere at this point! I had discovered it was missing only minutes after getting off, but once I ran back to the bus area it was long gone. Fortunately I knew where Guest Relations was and I was running to get there. The poor cast member that greeted me. I was sweaty, out of breath and crying. I had lost all of my photos, videos, records of things we needed to get onto the ship. What if someone found it, cracked my code and ended up accessing everything?? I had no idea what to do. I was prepared to run back to Saratoga to find that bus if that's what it took.
Fortunately for me I had noticed our bus had Guardians of the Galaxy on it. And I knew we got on just after 10am because I had heard the horse races music thing playing just as we were walking to the bus stop. These were key in getting my phone back! They only have ONE Guardians bus!! Still it seemed things weren't moving fast enough. I had to get back to Saratoga and be checked in for the DCL bus by 12:15. WDW is HUGE!! I was going to do whatever it took to get that phone back. Meanwhile I was trying to get the DCL app on Katura's phone I gave her to use for music. That phone was too old, the app wouldn't work. Dang it.
I suggested to Shawn that he retrace my steps since I was still needed at Guest Relations. Off he went. Katura sat with me and tried to help me feel better and tell me it would all be alright. She was so sweet. I ended up using my iPad to message my mom so she knew I was out of touch possibly until I was home in Oregon. Meanwhile Shawn was back at the bus stop and calling my phone non-stop. I remember I had turned the sound on, so hopefully someone would hear the Oga's Cantina song from Star Wars playing in the back of the bus and grab my phone.
Once Guest Relations sent Katura and I on our way I was that mom walking through Disney Springs back to the bus stop with my iPad out trying to use FaceTime. I mean it was a good idea I guess, but it was trying to call using my phone, which obviously wasn't going to be working right now. Quickly, stressed and just broken down feeling I arrived back where the Sheriff deputy was with the security dog. He could tell I was in a state and asked if I needed help. I told him I was looking for my lost phone and that my husband had been retracing my steps. He directed me around the corner to the Disney transportation lost and found. Guest Relations never even mentioned this little gem to me!! I hurried that way and I spotted Shawn. He had a big smile and was waving me to him.
We had a Disney miracle you guys!! We think a fellow guest found my phone and gave it to the driver, Jean. I am so incredibly thankful that he broke the rules and answered it during one of Shawn's calls! I remember as a Cast Member we weren't allowed to do anything with a guest phone that was found other than take it to Guest Relations at the end of the day. Well my phone was now at Disney's Caribbean Beach resort and on its way back to Disney Springs! When I saw that Guardians bus come into sight I was just a bundle of nerves and joy. All 3 of us were eagerly waving at him as he pulled up to a stop. Jean appeared and had my phone in hand. Shawn immediately called it, and he was able to match the face on it to all of us... and I was reunited!!
Our cruise could officially begin!
So that's the behind the scenes story of this video that obviously didn't make the vlog due to the previously mentioned story!
Wow. I haven't posted anything since January 2021! One could say it is because I haven't had anything interesting worth blogging about happen. One would be wrong!!
It's been quite a year! Everything was at such a halt last year so plans that had to be put on hold all suddenly started to happen. And then unexpected plans came to life. But instead of writing about all of them we sort of developed a new family hobby. We? Yes, my 5 year old daughter and I!
She loves watching other kids on YouTube so she wanted to start vlogging and making her own videos. We experimented with it in November 2020 with our mother daughter trip alone to Walt Disney World. No idea what we were doing, but we sure had fun with it! So much fun that it has become a thing.
We mostly vlog our vacations, but we have added in other little things like trips to the Wildlife Safari or even a shopping challenge and school graduation. So yeah, life hasn't stopped - it is just very different, like it is for all of us.
I actually spend quite a bit of time editing our videos. From our latest trip I have an obscene amount of data. I filled my phone and had to airdrop files to my iPad multiple times so we would have available space left on my phone to keep making videos and taking photos. But why do all of this? Because it is fun! Katura and I have so much fun watching our old videos. We always laugh and reminisce together. It seems we each always come up with a new memory that the videos help bring back to the surface, and then we like to share stories with each other about it. I keep learning more and more about things she has done without me just from us watching our videos together!
So yes, the world CAN watch them, but we make them for us and don't really expect others to join. What are they like? Some money-making YouTube people have a lot of promotions in them, sometimes subtle, other times too in your face. Some vloggers seem to try to be the next Travel Channel host. Some never stop using selfie mode. We aren't like them. I guess our style of vlogging is bringing viewers along with us like you are part of our travel party. Heck at times we talk to you, we ask you questions, we ask you for help, we offer to carry you so your feet don't get tired! There is no goal of raking in views and likes and subscriptions and comments or money. We just do it for fun and a way to remember our trips.
It is so funny how just a little video ... they are too long for some, but trust me, I edit!! I usually have an hour worth of footage that I reduce down to try to get to 25 minutes or less!! .... anyway... a little video can bring back so many memories and emotions. What might be nothing to a viewer feels so different to we girls that lived it. The video I just edited of the Disney Dream leaving Port Canaveral, oh my gosh... I can't even describe how it felt at the time and how it feels watching it. Walking onto that ship was just I don't even know the word. I'm not lying when I say I started crying before we even got to the ship and I could see all the crew eagerly awaiting our arrival. Then they say your name and it gets so real! When we were on our verandah and heard those Disney horns... goose bumps central. Leaving the Port there were so many people at the beach and docks and local restaurants there to wave and cheer as we went by. We directly interacted with so many of them and it just felt so surreal. Like we were in a movie but it was our real life and it was happening. And this is why we vlog. We get to keep reliving those moments that make words escape my fingers.
We happily invite you to join us on our vacation! Lucky for you it is completely free and you don't have to worry about your suitcase weighing too much or smelling any smells of sweating laundry and dirty shoes!
