Day 2 Embarkation

Disney's Port Canaveral Terminal

     We got up pretty early this morning.  We don't plan to go over to the terminal until 11:00am or so.  They start boarding after 12:00pm.  Amanda and I spent the morning swimming in the great pool.  The kids snacked for breakfast and we just had a couple cups of coffee.  We keep in mind that the feasting will begin very soon on the ship!  Deb arraigned luggage and put the baggage tags on.  We checked out and made our way over to the Disney Terminal.

     We had a late start, and the terminal was filling up.  We met Chris and Darla's family at the Castaway Club's check in line.  We also met another family who we had contacted from the DIS boards.  We chatted for a while before we joined the back of the line.  I heard someone call "Rich?!"  It was Bruce, who worked with my brother some time ago!  He recognized us from our web pages.  We talked for a bit and planned to meet again on the ship.   Darla and her family had second place near the gangway!  The countdown soon began and we were moving on!

     Once they announced our families arrivals, took our pictures, we headed for our stateroom to put our luggage away before lunch.  We also picked up our copies of Navigators to plan our day.

On our way in!

     Our stateroom looked beautiful!  Chris and Frank had ordered a special champagne and dessert tray for us!  It looked amazing sitting on our desk.  What a great surprise.  Our room was missing the coffee table in front of our sofa.  We asked our steward about it and she said that the previous family had it removed for a crib.  We really didn't need it, so we just let it go.  It made the room easier to get around without it.  Our room steward was Sonny, she seemed very nice and quite busy all the time.  We had a little trouble keeping ice in our room, but everything else was just fine.  She seemed to be working very hard.

Fantastic buffet at Parrot Cay.

     Getting settled quickly, we went down to Parrot Cay for lunch.  It's a wonderful buffet of cold and hot foods featuring GIANT cocktail shrimp.  There were a few new items that were very tasty.  After stuffing ourselves, we headed up to the Vista Spa and Palos to book our treatments, brunch and dinners.  It wasn't too busy in Palos, and we had no trouble getting the days and times we wanted.  We booked the brunch for our first sea day, and our dinner for the second night in Parrot Cay.   These things were all carefully planned out while we waited in line to board the ship.

     We went over to the Vista Spa and caught part of the tour, then went off on our own to explore the treatment rooms.  We laughed the whole time as we pondered the interesting treatments we would try.  We decided what we wanted and got in a little line to book them.  I got the Rainforest Turkish Bath access for a week.  It's my very favorite place on the ship!  Deb got a body evaluation and some time in the relaxation chamber (egg).  Everything went very smoothly and we never felt pressured or rushed as we had in the past.  Now it was time to relax and PARTY!  Well, not exactly...there's always the muster drill at 4:00pm.  We got our life jackets ready, and waited for the drill to proceed.  Luckily, it's not too hot on deck 3, and the drill went quickly.  Now, it's time to party!

"Drink of the Day" at the Sail Away Party!

     The kids joined us on Deck 9 at the Goofy Pool for the Sail Away Party.  I ordered a round of the "Drink of the Day".  They weren't very strong, but they tasted good and cold.  The dance crowd was beginning to build as we got closer to the cast off countdown.

     I was roaming around video taping the band and the dancing.  We had saved 2 tables for our group, with the kids sitting at the second table.  It was a perfect spot near the stage and dance floor.  While the kids were up dancing, a group of people stole their table!  The kids had their drinks and everything on it!  Deb, Darla and Chris told them our kids  were sitting there.  They choose to ignore us as more of their group took the remaining chairs.  When the kids came back, they had nowhere to sit.  They ended up wandering away somewhere.  The matriarch of this rude group was promptly labeled "Sour-puss"!   She would make an appearance just about everywhere we were during the week.  We would have "Sour-puss" sightings and alerts.  She had always looked miserable, and we assumed she wasn't having any fun.  This made us feel much better for the offence she perpetrated by her group.  We had lots of laughs with it through the entire cruise.  I should note the really prime seats, to see the show,  are on deck 10 around the stage.  If it's really hot, you'll want to be covered on deck 9.

     The captain came over the P.A. system to announce that the Disney Magic was ready to set sail!  The countdown began 10...9...8..7..6..5...4...3..2..1!!!  Streamers  shot into the air and the bubble machines began pumping out bubbles while the characters danced to Celebration!  We were underway!  The incredible Disney Magic slowly moved out into the turning basin and began moving down the channel.  We returned to our stateroom.  Darla and her family left to get ready for dinner.  They have early seating, and need to be at the dinning room at 5:45pm.  We have late seating at 7:45pm.  

Out on the verandah.  The Carnival Pride in the background.

     Deb took the girls over to the Oceaneer's Lab to get them checked in.  I sat out on the verandah and took picture, video taped and watched as we made our way out into the open ocean.  There's nothing like this experience!  I love big ships, and have always been fascinated with them.  The open ocean is something I never get tired of looking at either.  I love the whole experience!  We spent the rest of the afternoon exploring and getting settled in.  

     Dinner tonight is in Lumiere's.  This is the most formal dinning room but, tonight's dress is casual.  Due to the new dinning times, they want to give the early eaters time to get ready. The sail away party ends 15 minutes before they need to be at the dining room!  You never HAVE to eat in your scheduled dinning room.  There's always Topsiders Buffet.  Our DVC guide told us that they will grill steaks or anything you want.  We have never had dinner there but, they say the food is great.

     We skipped the Welcome Aboard Show this evening.  It was a comedy and magic show in the Walt Disney Theater.  We heard that it was very good though.  We met Chris and Frank at our great table in front of the huge portholes.  The sea is a bit rough tonight but, nobody in our party seemed bothered by it.  The girls had stopped at our stateroom to pick up the pressure wrist bands just in case.  Dinner was wonderful.  Our servers worked very hard getting to know us and taking care of us.  A large family group in our section had their tables pushed together.  This always slows the servers down a bit as they try to take the orders from this large group.  All in all, they did a fine job under the circumstances.

     The rest of our evening was spent poking in and out of the various clubs, looking through the shops and keeping tabs on the kids.  We got to sleep sometime after midnight.  The gentle rocking of the ship made us sleep like babies.  What a great day!

Next