Day 6 of our WDW/Cruise Adventure-Embarking on our First Disney Cruise

Day 6 of our WDW/ Cruise Adventure- Embarking On Our First Disney Cruise

 This day began and ended with great excitement.  I don't know if I slept so good because of the movement of the ship, (high winds--we will get to that a bit later) or I was just so tired from taking everything in. 

We said good-bye to Walt Disney World and Port Orleans Riverside and rode away via the Disney Cruise Line bus, and were driven to Port Canaveral where our ship was docked waiting for our arrival.  It was about a 70 minute ride.  We really lucked out, as the reps from the cruise line who were there to organize us at the resort were super nice, and made sure the bus before ours stopped at the other resorts so we didn't have to.

As we approached the entrance to the port, we could see our beautiful ship, our home for the next 4 nights.  What a beautiful sight this was!  As this was our first Disney cruise, this was just the beginning of our excitement.  I know many people who have been on numerous Disney cruises and they tell me that each one is as exciting as the last, but the first one you never forget.  Like your first love.  This entire part of the trip was like a dream come true.  Good thing we were booked on the Disney Dream, appropriate, right!?! 

When we got off the bus, we were escorted into the terminal, and the instructed on where to go to check in.  Before that, we had to stop at the big model of the ship in the middle of the terminal.  Minnie Mouse was there to meet some guests, but right when we walked up, they said she had to get on the ship, so we knew we would get to see her a little later.  We took some pictures of the ship model, and headed to check in. 

Check in was very quick, and efficient. No waiting!!  Gotta love that! After this we headed to the Mickey icon gangway entrance, at least that is what I call it. We then had our picture taken, and walked up to the ship entrance.  My heart was beating fast, as the excitement was building.  They asked us our name, and then we heard "Welcome Aboard, the Banas Family!"  Oh my gosh!  How fun that was!   As I feel I walked into the lobby with my mouth hanging open.......I am glad no picture was taken right at that moment.  I had seen picture after picture and videos galore of the ship, but none really did it justice, at least not from what I was seeing with my own two eyes.  BEAUTY!!  What perfection......from the floor to the ceiling.  The chandeliers, the art work, the floor!  Wow........just WOW!
Our first stop for pictures was Admiral Donald!  Since Paul and Donald share a birthday, he had to be first for a picture. 

We made our way to the elevators and went to our stateroom which was 9664-on the starboard side.  Shortly after our arrival, our stateroom hostess came to see us.  She was a lovely lady from Russia.  I am sorry that in all of our excitement we never did get a picture with her, and I really wanted to.  What was also in the stateroom, was a little surprise I got for Paul.  He loves beer, so I got him the six-pack of his favorite, Miller Lite for him to enjoy in the room. He was so excited when he saw that waiting with his name on it!  It did save some money as well.   I also got six-pack of bottled water so we would have that for the duration.
  
Snapping some pictures in the stateroom, and off of our verandah, we saw the Royal Caribbean ship Freedom of the Seas in port along with us.  They would be heading out to sea just ahead of us.   I was the one to try on the life preserver, and after taking a picture of me getting ready to jump off the verandah (no way!) we headed back out to tour the ship a bit. 

The decor on the vessel, is magnificent.  I have always loved art deco, and this is right up my alley.  Seeing more and more of the ship, I am loving it more and more. 

We took as walk to the pool area, and went into the the food court to get something to eat as we were getting a little hungry.  We got a snack of some chicken strips from Tow Maters Grill.  They were good!

We can't wait to ride the Aqua Duck, but that will be for another day. 

At this point, it was time to head back to the stateroom to begin the mandatory safety drill.  I was so impressed by the organization of this whole process.  I felt even more safe after this.  This all ran very smoothly, and after that.......it was time to have some fun!!

The Sailing Away Party was a blast.

 We spent about 10 minutes watching that, and then headed to starboard side to wave goodbye to those on shore.    As I knew about the web-cam at the Fishlips Waterfront Bar and Grill, I was ready to wave so our friends at home could see us.  And see us they did!  I know I was waving like a crazy person, but we were seen, and that was our goal!

 If you ever want to watch the ships leaving port, the web address is: www.portcanaveralwebcam.com.  It's really a fun thing to do, especially if you know someone who is setting sail.  After our waving (well, mostly me!) we went to the forward section of the ship to see where we were headed.  Beautiful water, beautiful clouds on this fairly clear day.  Windy up there though!

 We stepped away from there and stopped at Currents Bar to have our first cocktail of this voyage! 

We relaxed, drank our cocktail and then headed back to our stateroom to get ready for the evening.  After changing, we headed off to the theater to see The Golden Mickeys.  What a great show!  I was so impressed.  We had second seating for dinner, so we got to see the show first.  So glad we did.  With the winds blowing against the ship as they were, people who had first dining and went to the show after were getting sick in the theater.  UUgh...........not good!!  We both wore the patch, so we were fine.  My problems with the patch came later.  (I will cover that in my last segment of this trip.)

After the show was over, we got some great pictures with characters.  Goofy was first, then came Captain Mickey, Minnie, Donald and our Cruise Director, Clayton, (not saying he is a "character", but he is a character!

Our rotational dining had us in the Royal Palace for the first night.  Wonderful food, great service!!!  The staff knew that we were celebrating Paul's victory over cancer, and they really did treat us like royalty.....on this night, and several events after this.  I will go into that more when this story progresses. 

After dinner we were really tired, so headed back to the stateroom for a good nights sleep. Waiting for us, was a giant lobster on our bed made out of a blanket.  Cuteness!

 Adventures awaited the next day, Nassau!!