We needed to be up early on Saturday as we had a tight shopping schedule before we boarded the boat. We ended up being about half hour late somehow but eventually checked out just after 9am. The Caribe Cove apartments were definitely much quieter then the Bahama Bay ones.
First stop for us was McDonald’s in Disney on Osceola Parkway. We sat outside eating breakfast and it was really hot and sunny. We’d noticed since we arrived it had been quite humid heat but it was still nice to be outside and catch the rays.
After brekky we were off to Downtown Disney. I want to go to the marketplace World of Disney store to get a couple of Disney charms for my bracelet (they are Chamilia, like the Pandora style). I already have Tinkerbell, Cinderella’s coach and a star bead so added Eeyore and a Mickey symbol spacer to my collection. I really wanted a Mickey charm but not one of the dozen or so we tried would go on my bracelet. My bracelet is actually a pandora one so not all the Chamilia charms fit. I also bought a Cinderella cushion before we headed of to the Art of Disney to look for another Vinylmation for character signing. We we still running late against schedule (yes we still have these carefully planned despite it being a holiday!) so we were rushing around a bit. There were no 9″ vinylmations in the store so we decided that despite time constraints we would go over to Westside where the is a Vinylmation shop as it turned out so awesomely last time. I wait in the car and Paul ran in. He managed to get the glow in the dark green one so that should look cool when it’s signed up.
I know haven’t quite got to us being on board yet but I feel I need to tell you at this point that I am sat reclined on a steamer on the promenade deck with the sun on my legs. There are wispy clouds in a blue sky and the sea is calm – lovely!
So, where was I? Ah yes, we’d done at Downtown Disney so headed over to the Florida Mall. I needed to get some Bare Escentuals make up as its way cheaper over here than in Blighty. We parked out the back of the M and M’s store and walked through it to get to Sephora. I picked up my make up and some night cream and we let. Parking so close and getting to the store quickly meant we actually made some time up on our schedule so all was good.
We left Orlando at about 11:30 to head to Port Canaveral. It was a beautiful day to drive down and the roads were clear. We dropped our bags at the port and there was quite a queue of people to embark. We needed to drop the hire car off though so left to do that. Hertz was only about 3 miles away so we filled up with gas and returned the car. The shuttle back got us to the port about 1:20 and the queue had all gone. Embarkation was hassle free (despite an officious woman trying to stop us using the empty non US citizens lane) so we were on board by half one. We were announced, as is Disney cruising protocol, and first job was to go straight to the Royal Court restaurant to change our dinner seating to early. We had been on wait list but nothing had come through. We managed to change it easily and also booked a brunch appointment at the Palo restaurant. This is one of the chargeable restaurants on board. Even for brunch the dress code is no shorts, jeans or flip flops!
We then went to our state room to drop off our carry on luggage. We had a quick drink and then went up to Cabanas (the buffet restaurant) to get a quick bite to eat. After this I had a spa appointment for a manicure so we made our way to deck 11. The spa area was really busy as people were booking treatment. My therapist was Kadina from Jamaica and the treatment consisted of cold gel then hot stones with scrubs and oils. I’d brought my own lacquer so my talons now match my toes. As soon as the manicure was over it was time for muster so after a quick look around the adult quiet area up on deck 12 we made our way down to deck 5 to our muster station. Our station is actually in the Buena Vista theatre so we at least had comfy seats out of the crowds and humidity. We did have a slight worry that in an actual emergency watching a movie was not top priority but the drill did show us we were right next to a lifeboat so we should be ok!
After muster we had a bit of a wander around the ship, looking at the gallery and photo editing area before going back to our stateroom to get ready for dinner.
Our cases had all turned up by now and Paul managed to unpack but I left it for a while just in case of ruining the nails! A quick change, wash and brush up and we headed off to Royal Palace. I had found our table when we were in there earlier so knew it was a table of only 4 and as we were first we awaited our table mates. They turned out to be fellow Brits! A very young couple of newlyweds from Bagshot who were on honeymoon. Adam and Hayley were their names and Hayley was the big Disney fan. They were a really nice couple and we shared a few of our Disney experiences with them.
The food was good, escargot for me and shrimp cocktail followed by French onion soup for Paul got our starters underway. For main I had the rack of lamb and Paul opted for the beef sirloin. We made sure we left room for dessert and had the Grand Marnier Soufflé. It was nice to have a good meal especially for Paul after all his pre-cruise dieting.
After dinner we headed for the shops. I’d already decided I wanted the new inaugural Dooney and Bourke bag so made a beeline for them. I also got another charm which was a cruise ship, exclusively sold on board so was a must have really. Paul got some hats for a guy back at work and we also got the Fantasy and Castaway Cay Vinylmations (to go with our Dream ones). We took our goodies to our room before heading to the theatre for the show. We sat in the circle as ever and watched a weird kind of show about a family on board. It was almost a bit of an advertisement or information guide to what’s on board as it followed the family and their antics during their staged vacation. It was ok but we know there are better shows coming.
After the show we went up to the pool deck to look at the moon. It was a full moon and also the closest the moon gets to earth so it’s really bright and clear to see. Paul got some pics of it. By this time after an early start and hectic(ish) day I was shattered so opted for bed. I unpacked everything first then snuggled down.