February 17-24, 2018 - It's Gonna Be Magical - or was it? My review.

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Nice pictures Angela!!! (y):cool:

Nice pictures Angela!!! (y):cool:

Jeff -

Thanks - but that isn't how I wanted to post them!

I've emailed you- can you email me back and walk me through posting individual pictures?

Jeff -

 

Thanks - but that isn't how I wanted to post them!

 

I've emailed you- can you email me back and walk me through posting individual pictures?

Finally got some pictures -

William and Justin enjoying the beach in Ormond!

Sorry - couldn't resist!

I knew you could do it!! :D

My mind seems to be going in a million different directions today, so if I get some of this out of line or have to make side notes - please bear with me! I'm getting old and sometimes I think of something I want to add out of the blue.

Saturday -Embarkation Day!

We were all up early and ready to head to the port for boarding. The Best Western did have a free breakfast so we all grabbed something to tide us over until we got on the ship to hit the Lido deck!

Justin has chocolate chip cookie in his mouth - I know it's only 8:30 am - but we are on vacation!

Steven and his crew left Jacksonville about 6:30 so they could meet up with us at our hotel and we could all travel together on to the Park and Cruise. We have always used Park and Cruise to park and then be shuttled on to the port. The staff there is great and work really hard to ensure you get to the ship as fast as possible and back to your car when your vacation is over.

Unfortunately, there was a really bad wreck on I-95 and they had to take a detour. We decided we would just meet at the Park and Cruise instead of the hotel. It wouldn't have really mattered if we all boarded at the same time, but I had Collin's birth certificate with me and Steven would need it at check in.

A note on ark and Cruise. You can book directly through their website but always call and ask for a discount code. They always have one and normally it will save you 10 or 15%. I know it isn't much- but it could mean an extra drink on the cruise right?

Timing worked out perfect. We actually arrived about 9:45 and they didn't open the gate til about 10. We had just pulled into the lot and had unloaded our bags when Steven and his crew pulled up so it couldn't have been better. When we told the lady there was 19 of us, she said she would need a bigger van to haul all of us so we had to wait until the next shuttle but it was only about a 5-10 minute wait. We almost filled it up - but had a few extra seats so a few more people loaded up and went with us to the port.

They dropped us off and the porters immediately took our luggage. They told us to get what we wanted to carry on with us and leave the rest to them. We always tip them well because I want to be sure my luggage gets on the ship. I've had nightmares about seeing it floating in the water!

Side note here - We all wanted FTTF so that we could get on as early as possible and also so we could drop our carry ons off in the room as soon as we boarded. I knew we would probably be weighted down with stuff since we had the littles with us this trip. We also had a tender port this cruise - Belize, so it would be helpful with that as well and who really wants to stand in that long line at guest services if by chance you need to go there. I had been checking and last May when we got off the Fantasy, Donna and I decided to check and see if any had opened up because we had been checking before and there were none available. You guessed it - several had opened up so we snagged FTTF for all the cabins we had booked which was 6!

The walk down the sidewalk and around to the priority entrance was a good distance and Glen was starting to slow down some. We finally made it though and were directed right in and right up to have our passports, birth certificates and boarding passes checked. All went well until it was time for Glen to be checked in. As it turned out some how or the other when I printed the boarding passes, it had printed 2 of little William's instead of 1 of each. I guess that's what happens when you have a William, Jr. and a William, III. No problem, she called someone over and they printed the one we needed and we headed on through security and on to get our sail and sign cards.

This whole process was probably 20 minutes or less and that was from stepping off the shuttle to getting our embarkation photo made. I've said it before and will say it again - Port Canaveral has embarkation and debarkation down to an art!

Justin wasn't being very cooperative!

Beautiful family! I'm enjoying following your review. We'll be on the Magic Eastern itinerary next month.

Loving your review!!

Following

DD and I are considering this ship for mid-August Western sailing. Looking forward to reading about your cruise.

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You have such a beautiful family! You maybe a future plumber in the family with the butt crack picture.

I love Park and Cruise and always use them when cruising from Port Canaveral.

Following along, great report so far!

Enjoying the review so far! Tagging along for the rest.

Following..will be on her in May...beautiful pictures!!!!:D

Thank you everyone who is following along.

Been a busy weekend but I hope to post more tomorrow.

Following...

Once on board we headed straight to our cabin to put our carry ons down and to checkout the cabin since this was the first time we had booked a Deluxe Oceanview cabin. Ours was Cabin 1390 and although the cabin seemed to have been about the same size - it was spacious enough for us. I don't think I would have wanted 5 adults in the cabin though. I really liked the 2nd bathroom with the tub. It was great for the boys. We did have an extra closet in this room which came in handy as well.

After checking out our cabin we all headed up to Lido for our first meal of the cruise. I was looking forward to a Guy's burger and William and Justin wanted pizza. Glen and I divided and conquered and got our food and the boys food. William pretty much just sat and looked at his food but Justin ate some of his pizza and then decided he wanted some of my burger.

After lunch we looked around a bit and then headed back to the cabin to see if our luggage had been dropped off. It hadn't been so we decided the boys should probably take a quick nap before the Muster Drill so they wouldn't get thrown overboard by a fellow passenger who didn't want to hear them whine and complain. Yes, they are mine and I love them but when they are tired no one wants to be around them- trust me!

After our short nap it was time for Muster and our station was E3 which was located in the lower section of the Southern Lights Dining room - which also happened to be our Early seating dining room. It was painless, well except for the fact that Justin DID NOT want to wear his bracelet. He pulled and tugged and tried his best to get it off! The funny thing about this is that we have now been home for 10 days and he still has that dang bracelet on and won't let me cut if off - I ask every day! Sorry - getting back on track, we did have to wait on a few slackers but it was over pretty quick and we were released to go - didn't have to go up on deck to the lifeboats!

It was nowtime for sail away and we went up on the upper decks so the boys could see allthe people waving at them and see everything going on. They were very impressed with the"Mickey Mouse Ship" they called it. I'd love to be able to take them on a Disney cruise one day but don'tsee it in our future unless we win the lottery!

After getting out into the ocean and cruising a while we headed back to the cabin. Luggage had arrived and we quickly unpacked and put all that stuff away. I could finally relax knowing all that had been taken care of and we were officially at sea!

By now it was getting close to time for our early dinner and we all got freshened up and went to dinner. I had hoped that dinner would be the one time all day that we could all get together and see what all everyone had done during the day but it didn't really turn out that way. Before cruising I had gotten in touch with John Heald and requested that we have 2 or 3 tables close together since our bookings were all linked. We really enjoy the round tables so we can all talk and not have to yell down to the other end of the table so that's what I had requested. We ended up being at 3 tables - a 12 top round and 2 4 top booths which were right beside/behind the 12 top. It was a great place for us even though during the whole week everyone was never there at the same time. Oh well, I tried.

Our wait staff introduced themselves and did a good job. They were definitely not the best we've ever had (that was on the Dream in 2011), but definitely not the worst we've ever had either (that was probably on the Sunshine).

I don't have a clue what I had for dinner that night, but I do remember that each night we ate there the food was good - not great but good. What was supposed to be hot or warm was and what was supposed to be cold was - so that's a plus.

Having 2 small boys in tow, we really didn't want to spend a whole lot of time at dinner even though we do enjoy the dining experience. Some nights took longer than I would have liked - others around us seem to get their courses much quicker and finish a lot earlier than we would even though we were always on time and didn't take too long ordering and eating.

We usually always go to the Welcome Aboard Show but didn't make it this time. Like I said, this cruise was really difference for us because of having the boys. We decided to take in the Dive In Movies and even though they weren't kids movies, they loved it. The first one that night was Going In Style with Morgan Freeman. We watched it and then the boys and Glen we retired so they headed back to the cabin. I decided to stay and watch Home Again with Reese Witherspoon. It was a cute movie too!

Our first official day was over and tomorrow was a sea day!

Loving your review! The boys are adorable. Thanks for taking the time.

Nice photos. I love how your husband's royal blue tie matched your royal blue dress on the formal night. Very nice!

Nice photos. I love how your husband's royal blue tie matched your royal blue dress on the formal night. Very nice!

Thank you! I always try my best to co-ordinate all of us but with so many sometimes it's really hard!

All four of your kids are beautiful, but I loved the 3 boys in their vests and ties! How adorable!

All four of your kids are beautiful, but I loved the 3 boys in their vests and ties! How adorable!

Thank you very much! I actually have 6 in total - 3 girls and 3 boys. Kind of like the Brady Bunch I guess lol!

I'm enjoying your review so far. A couple people mentioned about you and the rest being "dressed up" for formal night, etc., but so far, I didn't see any pictures like that. Looking forward to see them.