Couples Only Cruise ~ So Close and Yet

Yay! Embarkation!

Chris’ phone rang and he checked the caller ID. The call came from out of state and since he did not recognize the number, he ignored the call. We finished our Starbucks and walked back up the street to drive the van over to EZ Cruise. Since we had watched the ship dock and seen a few parking shuttles pass us, we hoped to be able to park at EZ Cruise and head over to board the ship around noon (an hour after our port arrival time, as instructed by the earlier phone call from Disney.)

My phone rang just as we headed off to EZ Cruise again and DCL recommended all cruisers delay arrival by two hours from original port arrival times. All of us looked at each other and decided to drive around the island to look at the Gulf side and see what kind of fog we were facing. Driving around Galveston during Mardi Gras season is…interesting…to say the least. The roadside puddles still glittering from the previous evenings discarded beads and trinkets as we drove across the island on 25th heading toward Seawall Blvd. The Gulf looked, well, invisible. We headed southwest along the length of the island commenting on how foggy it was and amazed that the ship made it in despite the pea soup off shore.

As a whole sick of waiting around, Chris drove us back to EZ Cruise hoping we could talk our way into our parking spot and onto a shuttle. Parking went super smoothly, the shuttle dropped us off at cruise terminal two and we joined the line up to enter the terminal. Security passed uneventfully (think airline security) and we eagerly entered the Castaway Club check-in line as Chris and Casey headed to the first time cruiser check-in. Ben and I dropped by the supervisors desk at the end of the counter to see if any upgrades were available (unfortunately, Captain Mickey’s ship was sailing full.) We hung around for a bit looking at our Navigators, visiting with the other passengers and getting super excited about vacation!
Ben and I took the obligatory ship banner picture.
(In which I never look rested or relaxed, at this point I really need vacation.)

Ready for their first cruise!

And so did Chris and Casey! We visited some more and got in some last minute phone calls to the grandparents while Chris and Casey checked in on their children. A Castmember escorted the family of the day for their Mickey and Minnie picture and over toward the entryway, so we knew boarding had to be soon. Which was good because with the two hour delay, the cruise terminal started to feel a bit stuffy.

And finally at two o’clock, it was our turn to board! Casey wasn’t feeling super great and the rest of us were getting pretty hungry since it was a little later than normal for lunch. We skipped the boarding photos and walked straight to ship security, crossed the gangway and entered the ship unannounced. (I guess because they were trying to hurry us along.) Watching Casey and Chris see everything for the first time is like taking our kids with us on their first cruise. The awe, the beauty, the amazement, the tears all ages react the same to the Magic! The hosts let us know that our rooms would be ready at 2:30, but first things first, nothing would deter us from FOOD!

Not Even Photographs. Sorry.

We walked straight through the lovely atrium, passed the cast member selling water bottle and beer packages in the Promenade Lounge and straight into Parrot Cay. The server promptly seated the four of us and then it was time for lunch. Casey wasn’t feeling her best, so after eating we headed out to look around above decks and see if the fresh air might help. Meandering about taking photos above decks for a bit, we ran into the spa staff who were handing out updated navigators (all afternoon events to be delayed at least an hour.)

Name that film! 100 pixie dust points if you said Pete's Dragon.

Ben and I headed off to drop our backpack off in our room and check out the layout of 2543. Deluxe inside stateroom after an oceanview?
Yes please!
It was awesome. Slightly larger than our previous staterooms, my favorite feature of 2543 over 5020 is a toss-up between a handy little bench next to the entryway closet and a doublewide steamer trunk cabinet. I wandered off to book a pedicure for immediately following the muster/safety/boat drill. A first for me, I was skipping the Adventures Away! deck party in favor of chilling out. I love the deck party, but after travel stress I really just wanted to get in vacation mode.

After booking, I decided to hang around for the Spa raffle and drawing. They drew room numbers and although I didn’t get picked, the people in stateroom 8030, aka the Walt Disney Suite got drawn for a free hour long Swedish massage. Now that’s a pixie dust filled vacation! I wandered up on to deck to take some foggy ship photos and ran into Casey and Chris.

I wonder if I can see better off of the forward end of the deck?

Guess not. I have so much respect for their ability to safely navigate in fog after this day!

Casey and Chris said Ben was looking for me, so I doubled down to four where they had run into him. No Ben so I headed back to ten by Casey and Chris, but still no Ben.

Up a few flights, down a few flights, repeat.

I headed down to two to pick up a wave phone and text Ben.
Finally, we met up on nine with a little bit of time to kill until the Boat Drill.

This post is Part Four in an Ongoing Trip Report Couples Only Cruise.