Nov. 3rd on the Magic

[iwannabeminnie]

Here we go:

Day 1: Friday, November 2

We got up to do our last minute packing which included our toothbrushes and such. We loaded the car which took a while. We ended up with 4 BIG bags and two carry-ons. I had to talk to Melissa on the phone who wanted to know why we hadn't left yet (because the phone kept ringing, maybe?). We said good-bye to Bacon and Tinkerbell and it was time to head to the airport. Gareth drove us in my car, which he kept the keys to while we were gone.:faint: The flight to Orlando Sanford was uneventful. I must say I really enjoyed landing in Sanford. It is a small airport and easy to navigate. The fact that we only paid $79 each way to fly there from Fort Wayne (35 miles from home versus the 120 to Indianapolis) had already endeared it to me. Got our luggage, rented our car and on the road in less than 30 minutes.

The thing I DO love about Magical Express (other than not having to claim your luggage) is the fact that you don't have to pay the tolls! I thought I was going to be broke before I ever got to Cape Canaveral. Mr. iwbm was getting hungry so we paid the $2 toll to go 1/4 of a mile down the road to the restaurant (Wendy's). We grabbed a quick bite and got back on the road wanting to get to Cape Canaveral before dark.

We checked into our room at the Radisson Resort at the Port. Do NOT spend good money to stay there! The ONLY thing going for it is the pool which we didn't use. They took us to our room where Mr. iwbm immediately heads for the head (pun intended). He doesn't get far. The toilet seat is up (he's well trained and knows that is a no-no). The trash can is full, and the soap has been used. While he is discovering all this, I notice the trash can outside the restroom is full and there is a gallon sized baggy of medications sitting on the table.

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I immediately call the front desk to issue a complaint. They tell us to hang on tight, they are coming immediately to give us a new room. So we hang on. In the meantime I start noticing other things. Like the huge holes in the sofa's upholstery.

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I am grousing about how I could have spent a third of the money and gotten a room at the Motel 6 that would equal that one.

A few minutes later the desk clerk shows up with our new room keys. He leads us down the hall and around the corner and opens the door to a two room suite. Wow! There is a kitchen, dining area, living room, bathroom with a huge walk-in shower, and a bedroom with a Jacuzzi tub! Talk about your upgrades! Okay, so this room is worth the $130, but the first one sure as heck wasn't.

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We had been looking forward to eating at Grill's for months. Got there, it was wall to wall bikers. Not that I have anything against bikers, but apparently there was a Harley get-together-shindig going on that weekend in Cape Canaveral and I mean WALL-TO-WALL bikers. Standing room only. No thanks. So we start looking for somewhere to eat and end up at a pizza joint right next to our hotel. The pizza was very good and we didn't have to wait long. Besides, there's a Jacuzzi tub we are anxious to try out.

If you put bubbles in a Jacuzzi tub they tend to get out of hand. Don't ask me how I know this, I just do.

The rest of the day you don't need to know about.

[iwannabeminnie]

We slept in a little after a long night romping in the Jacuzzi tub, got dressed, returned the rental car and made it to the port in time to recieve a boarding number three (which I've heard is a good thing). We hung out in the port people watching until it was our turn to walk through the big, yellow ears.

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We finally made it through the ears and onto the boat. The first thing we did was make a reservation for brunch at Palo the following morning. Then we headed to Parrot Cay for lunch. The chilled orange mango soup was to die for. Following that lunch, anytime I was offered a chilled fruit soup I jumped on it.

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After lunch we checked out the rest of the boat. We ran into Sue, Dan, and Megan on the top deck. I recognized her immediately, much to the amazement of our husbands who were like "huh?". She had told me what she was going to be wearing, so it wasn't a big deal, but Dan and Mr. iwbm were still amazed. :wow:

Soon it was time for the mandatory life boat drill. So we donned our vests and headed to deck 4.

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After the lifeboat drill we headed for the Sail Away party. There we met Kellie, her mother Barbara, James and his wife Linda, and some other people. We met DuncanLL at some point, but I think it was the next day at the Trivia at Sea Ice Breaker.

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After the Sail Away party we headed to Lumiere's for dinner. Our table mates were Kellie and Barbara, and Bruce and Marta. They would be our table mates for the entire week. They were all very nice and let me take pictures of their food if they ordered something different from what I had. I had the Leeks and Goats Cheese Quiche and Mr. iwbm had the Escargot for our appetizers.

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For the main course I had the Citrus Glazed Oven-Baked Duckling and Mr. iwbm had the Coquilles St. Jacques (translated means sauted scallops, mushrooms, and shallots).

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It is about this time that Mr. iwbm abruptly stands and excuses himself from the table. The boat is tossing and pitching and he needs to go back to the cabin. NOW. So he missed dessert. Poor baby. It was good. Creme Brulee. MMMMMMM.

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After dinner I check on Mr. iwbm who is having a bad time of it, so I go to the show by myself. We were welcomed aboard by all of our Disney friends and entertained by some terrific performers. It was hilarious to watch somebody try to juggle with the boat tossing the was it was, but he did a great job and we were all impressed.

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After the show I returned to the cabin to make sure Mr. iwbm was still alive. By that time the Bonine had kicked in and he was missing desert, so we ordered chocolate chip cookies from room service and then called it a night.

[iwannabeminnie]

We awakened to a blue sky and blue seas and got ready for our Palo Champagne Brunch. The food was delicious! We started with a buffet that went on for miles and miles. Mr. iwbm ordered the halibut and I had the eggs benedict. We toasted our good fortune in being able to snag the brunch ressies and enjoyed the food while watching the boat dock in Key West.

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After brunch we waddled back to our cabin to change into shorts and then we hit Key West. We explored Key West on our own, walking to the Audobon House, Ernest Hemingway's house, and on to the southernmost point in the United States (excluding Hawaii, of course). There was plenty to see (I have about 100 photos I could post here, but I will refrain), plenty to hear, and plenty to eat and drink. Duvall Street has to be experienced. It cannot be described. I was completely smitten with all the free range chickens roaming the streets of Key West. Everywhere we went we saw chickens. They roam Key West freely, helping themselves to whatever they want. They would wander right into the stores like they owned the place!

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Shortly before 3:00 we headed to Sloppy Joe's. Even though it's three o'clock in Key West, it's five o'clock somewhere. We met up with Kellie, Barbara, James, Linda, Tom, and Denise for some afternoon refreshment---and some quite unusual entertainment (at least I hope it's unusual, even for Key West).

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We did a little shopping after our refreshments and headed back to the ship to get ready for dinner. Before dinner we had a "Trivia at Sea" ice breaker with a buffet (like we needed more food). We had a good time at the ice breaker, but I did excuse myself for just a moment to snap a photo of Key West's famous sunset. I barely made it in time as the sun was just dipping below the horizon as I arrived on the deck.

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We had dinner that night in Animator's Palate. I was a little disappointed in Animator's Palate. I didn't think the "show" lived up to the hype. I'll give it another chance one of these days because, upon reflection I'm wondering if it had something to do with the fact that our table was against the wall. Maybe if we had been in the center of the room the effects would have been more dramatic.

For dinner that night I started with the Seafood Avocado Wrapper while Mr. iwbm had the Wild Garlic Mushrooms. I followed that with the Butternut Squash Soup and the Bacon Wrapped Filet Mignon. Mr. iwbm had the Maple Glazed Salmon. We both finished with the Double Fudge Chocolate Cake.
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After dinner we went to the show (a really wacked out magician) and spent some time on Beat Street (the adults only entertainment area), and called it a night.

[iwannabeminnie]

More to come tomorrow.

[Kay1]

Great report and photos.

Wow! The first room you got was disgusting. :scared: I'm glad they fixed it for you. Talk about night and day!

[iwannabeminnie]

That is what upset me. The first room was NOT worth $130. I could have paid $50 at the Motel 6 and had a nicer room. Next time we will check out the Residence Inn.

[iwannabeminnie]

On Monday we slept late, very late. Why? Because we could. When we did manage to crawl out of the bed, we were able to attend a Q&A Session with some of the performers on the boat. It was very fun and informative. One of the performers was the cutest little redhead you ever saw. I wanted to take her home to Auvie. Think of the gorgeous little red headed grandbabies they could make! He is always complaining that he can't meet girls living on a boat. Maybe he's just living on the wrong boat! Okay, that was a little off topic. We got to go backstage (or rather ON stage) and I struck a pose. If Mickey can do it, why can't I?

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After the tour, it was time for lunch. We had the Asian buffet at Topsider's.

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After lunch we got to meet with some of the crew members, including our Cruise Director, Brent for a Q&A. We really enjoyed these sessions and felt honored that they would take the time to meet with us.

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Then it was time for the Art Auction at Sea. Did somebody say "auction"? You know Mr. iwbm had to be there!

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[chepic]

Just what I love.....lots of photos. Keep it up.

che

[iwannabeminnie]

A picture is worth a thousand words!

[iwannabeminnie]

Okay, so this is formal day. Dinner on formal day is at Parrot Cay. On all the forums in all the world, it seems Parrot Cay is everybody's LEAST favorite restuarant. I don't know why. I'll have to admit, it was my MOST favorite (excluding Palo's which is in a class by itself). I loved Parrot Cay. The only thing I wasn't thrilled about was I SOOOOOO wanted to try the ribs. Okay, there is no way I'm going to eat ribs in a formal. It nearly broke my heart to do so, but I passed on the ribs. Instead I had the Baked Crab Martinique as an appetizer, the Cold Cream of Mango and Papaya Soup, the Island Roasted Rib Eye of Beef, and ended with the Lemon Meringue Pie. Mr. iwbm was a copy cat and had the same. Our wonderful Server, Orlan, offered me a bib so I could have the ribs, but I passed.

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After dinner we hit the red carpet and arrived in style for the Golden Mickeys. The very stage I was a star on earlier that day now was filled with all my favorite stars!

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After the Golden Mickey's we attended the After Party and spent some time on Beat Street, which was our regular habit, and called it another night.

[CraftyMouse]

I was going to say that you should have just gone for it with the ribs...but then I saw that your beautiful dress was white/off-white. I think you made the right decision, even though I fully understand how difficult it was.

[iwannabeminnie]

We forced ourselves out of bed this morning so we would have time for a substantial breakfast before heading ashore at Grand Cayman. This was the first morning we tried the Topsiders Buffet for breakfast and we really enjoyed it. The only bad thing about it is that it all looked so good you had to try a little of everything (and a whole lot of some things).

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After breakfast we RUSHED to the lobby where we were all supposed to meet at 9:15 SHARP (those were my instructiions) to welcome a very special guest on board. We arrived just shy of 9:15 and waited, and waited, and waited. We waited some more, and a little longer, and a little longer still, until FINALLY.......

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Okay, so we had to wait awhile before the Mongello's actually arrived, but it was worth it. They gave us some flimsy excuse about waiting for a tender or something like that..........

Seriously, for those of you who may be unaware, Deanna's mother passed away just before the cruise. Her funeral was on Saturday, the day we set sail. Lou and Deanna were able to meet up with the boat in Grand Cayman. We felt blessed that they were able to do so under such trying circumstances and hope that they had as much fun on their somewhat abbreviated vacation as we did. Their children are adorable. Little Marion is a child after my own heart. She could be mine. Very outspoken little girl........ I love it!

So next on the agenda is to meet up with our excursion group for the Nautilus Semi-Submarine tour of Cheeseburger Reef. But wait! We've got 8 minutes! Just enough time for me to shoot off an e-mail to all my friends and family. So if you got a copy of that e-mail you know I either chose you as a friend or I'm stuck with you because you're family!

Okay, off to Grand Cayman and the submarine.........

"We all live in a yellow submarine, a yellow submarine, a yellow........" Okay, I won't sing.

As I said earlier, we went to Cheeseburger Reef (which they tell us got it's name because if you line your boat up with Burger King on the shore and go out so far you will find it) and they also took us by two shipwrecks. We didn't see a lot of fish, some--but not a lot. All in all, it was a very disappointing excursion and I wouldn't recommend it nor would I ever want to do it again. James and Linda went on the sub that went 100 feet below the surface. They said they really enjoyed their excursion, but I was afraid the old claustrophobia would kick it and I'd be trying to get out and swim back to shore.

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We spent most of the day shopping. My god, I could live in Grand Cayman. There is a jewelry store on every corner! Mr. iwbm's credit card is still smoking! We also had to try the Tortuga Rum Cakes. My favorite is the coconut. I'm sorry we didn't make it home with any of that---well, we did, but I'm wearing it around my hips at the moment.

Then at 3:00--- you guessed it! It's FIVE o'clock SOMEWHERE. Today it was five o'clock at Senor Frogs. It seems the group has dwindled somewhat since we last met in Key West. Instead of five couples, it's down to two! The iwbm's and the SamIAm's! However, we did have a great time. I thought Mr. iwbm was going to crawl under his chair when I pointed out that the offered B _ _ _ J _ _'s. I mean, they were on the menu! Mr. SamIAm wanted to know if they had a back room or if they just served them up where ever you were sitting. I wasn't really into that, I was more interested in getting me some Big Black D _ _ _. I've always heard once you have it, you'll never go back and I wanted to test the theory. It's a good thing Megan wasn't paying any attention to the menu. She was too interested in her grilled cheese. But the grown-ups were having a great time acting UN grown up!

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We made it back to the ship with at least 5 minutes to spare before sailing. Mr. SamIAm carried his yard long margarita back with him and nobody stopped him. Try that on the streets of Berne, IN and see how far you get! It's a shame that SamIAm lives a whole state away. We could really have fun together on a regular basis.

Dinner that night is a special affair! A group of 14 of us dined at Palo. They brought us every appetizer on the menu. We got to try EVERYTHING. They brought out every kind of pizza. They brought every kind of dessert, PLUS they brought each of us our own Chocolate Souffle'. In addtion, we ordered our own entree. I had the Beef Tenderloin Palo and Mr. iwbm had the Halibut al Cartoccio. Seriously, I thought I had died and gone to heaven.

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The show that night was "Twice Charmed," a wonderful little twist on the Cinderella story with an evil fairy Godfather! After the show and our normal nightcap on Beat Street, we were more than ready for bed.