7 Night MAGIC Western Caribbean Cruise (10/15/11) lots of pics - COMPLETED 2/13

[rk33l4n]

After a really rough evening, we woke up on Thursday morning to sunny skies and calm waters. Today was our day in Key West. This was by far our favorite day of the cruise.

We had already docked in Key West by the time we got back from the gym. Key West was originally supposed to be our 1st port, but due to changes, it was now our 3rd. Since we had ported in another country, all non-US citizens had to go through customs before anyone was allowed off the ship. Guess that's why Key West was supposed to be 1st.

Sayra had to be in The Walt Disney Theatre by 8:00 with her passport, KTTW card & photo ID. I waited out on Deck 4 for her while she got checked in & made some calls/read some emails. Now that we were back in the US, I had at&t service!!! Sayra joined me shortly thereafter and checked in on her brother.

We spent some time walking around the running track and seeing the docking chains.

Then guess where we went for breakfast?? If you said Topsiders again, you'd be right!!

Since we were in Key West on our non-scheduled day, The Magic wasn't able to dock at the normal port. We had to dock at a nearby military base and take provided shuttles into Key West. This was once again an example of how DCL can just seamlessly make changes on the fly like it's no big deal.

We didn't book any excursions for Key West. Our plans were to take the trolley around town and leisurely take our time catching some of the major sites and do some shopping.

The Old Town Trolley picked us up at port and took us right to Mallory Square. On the way we passed Mile Marker Zero.

We spent some time shopping around that area before buying our trolley passes. We bought a straw fedora for like $8 and some little souvenirs. I also had to try a Key Limeaide. One of the things that the tour guide told us, in our drive from port, was about the wild chickens that roamed the streets. She wasn't exaggerating. These chickens were everywhere!!!

So we boarded the trolley and decided to just get off at the first stop that interested us. We definitely wanted to see Hemingway's House and The Southernmost Point. Other than that, we'd play it by ear.

After a few minutes the trolley turned a corner where a bright yellow & green building stood. Suddenly a man dressed in a green chef's hat ran out and held up a pie. Luckily I had my camera ready and grabbed a quick pic.

Our driver explained that that was Kermit of Kermit's Key Lime Shop - Home of Key West's best Key Lime Pie. Needless to say, we got off at the next stop. You name it and Kermit sold a "Key Lime" version of it.

Cookies, BBQ Sauce, Jelly Beans, Soap, Lotion, Jelly and of course slices of pie!!! We bought 2 tins of Key Lime Coolers to bring home and a slice of pie. Kermit's has a nice little garden area right next to the shop where you can sit and relax and enjoy a slice. OMG ... so good!!!

Of course Sayra had to get a pic of herself with Kermit too.

We saw on the map that Hemingway's House wasn't too far away, so we decided to walk over instead of getting back on the trolley.

Hemingway's House was OK. Something worth seeing once I guess, but I'd definitely not go back. Seeing the 6 toed cats was neat ..

and the gardens were pretty ...

but other than that ... it was pretty boring.

From there we continued walking south to see The Southernmost Point in the US. Surprisingly there was a REALLY long line waiting to take your picture with the marker. I'd hate to live in one of the houses on that street.

The couple behind us in line were nice enough to take our picture.

We hung out around that area for a while longer and did some shopping in some nearby stores.

After a while we started making our way back north to look for a place to have lunch. Instead of taking the trolley, we decided to just walk up Duval Street.

 

[rk33l4n]

Along our walk up Duval Street, we stopped in a store that sold sandals. Sayra tried on a pair and immediately had to have them. If I remember correctly, they were not cheap, but she said that they were super comfortable. She actually wore them out of the store.

As we continued along, we saw something that blew our minds ... a Kohr Bros. Custard stand. I thought they only had these around the Mid-Atlantic - like Ocean City, MD. We had to get a orange swirl.

By this time we were starting to get hungry for more than an ice cream cone. We passed by a few restaurants like Margaritaville & the Hard Rock Cafe, but nothing really caught our eye. We remembered that earlier, on the trolly ride, the driver had mentioned Sloppy Joe's as being a Key West favorite, so that's where we headed.

Sloppy Joe's Bar ended up being a great choice!!! The food was awesome and the prices were lower than you'd expect.

I got the Original Sloppy Joe Sandwich (delicious) and Sayra got a Shrimp Po'Boy Sandwich (huge) .. this thing had about 8 fried shrimp on it.

The drinks at Sloppy Joe's were REALLY strong!!! We both got Sloppy Ritas & it was almost like drinking straight tequilla with a splash of sour mix. Round 2's Key West Lemonades were a little easier to drink, but still strong.

On the way out Sayra was excited to see a Honduran Flag hanging from the ceiling.

After lunch we did some shopping at Ron Jon's & bought some last minute souvenirs at the main gift shop by the trolley station. Of course before leaving we had to get a Frozen Chocolate Covered Key Lime Pie on a Stick.

We got back to the ship and just enjoyed some quiet time out on the verandah watching the famous Key West sunset.

That night was semi-formal night and the Captain's Gala menu. We got ready for the evening and headed down to The Walt Disney Theatre for Disney Dreams.

The show was cute. See my previous comments on the earlier shows regarding us not yet having kids.

Dinner was back in Parrot Cay. We were happy to see Hart & Ionna again, since we had missed them the previous evening. They asked how we fared with the strong seas and the motion of the boat on Wednesday night. We were just glad we were back in calm waters.

Sayra and I both ordered the Lobster Tails. Hart hooked us up with double portions!!! We both enjoyed our dinner.

After we were finished, he even asked us if we wanted more. We wanted to save room for dessert. I got the creme brulee and Sayra got a sherbert sundae. Both were great.

After dinner, we wanted to do some additional ship activities since we hardly did any all week. We found ourselves in Studio Sea for "Who Wants to be a Mouseketeer". As you entered, everyone got a number & if your number was chosen you got to sit in the hot seat. Guess who's number was chosen 2nd??

I made it all the way up to the final question, but got that one wrong. I did get a pin as a consolation prize. After that we followed the crowd back into the The Walt Disney Theatre for John Charles's show.

If anyone has been on The Magic and hasn't seen John Charles, then you're really missing out. He was really good!! He could basically play any song requested by the audience & then mixed in some really funny jokes. This was his "adult" show, but there was nothing too risque. He was playing for about 90 minutes before finally calling it a night.

The next chapter will cover our day at Castaway Cay & the 'Til We Meet Again Dinner.

Click here for a video recap of our day in Key West

 

[Linda67]

What a wonderful day you had in Key West

I've never been but now I want to go!

Great photos and videos, you both look like you are having a great time

 

[AnnaS]

Great day in Key West! Love Key Lime Pie - I bet it was really good. Have not been there in years.

Thank you again.

 

[rmcildw2m]

Ryan I am your #1 fan for this awesome trip report . It has to be one of the best ever done so far , great job .

 

[rk33l4n]

After a beautiful day in Key West, we were hoping for continued sunshine at Castaway Cay. Unfortunately we woke up to overcast skies and a cold & windy day.

We did our regular morning routine again. Gym ... then Topsiders.

Since we were adding on an additional week in Florida post cruise & this was our last day on the Magic (bags had to be out that night), this was our last chance to get some laundry done.

Once all our clothes were clean, we started packing & getting our suitcases ready. Here's the view from the the verandah as we docked at Castaway Cay.

I'm going to preface this portion of the report by saying that I am not a "beach person". While I like going to Ocean City, MD & the Shore, I rarely ever get in the actual Atlantic Ocean. I hate sand and always prefer to stay at the pool area over the actual beach.

That right there was Strike 1 against Castaway Cay. Strike 2 was the crummy weather that day. While it never rained, it was still far from an ideal beach day.

As we got off the ship, we decided to walk instead of taking the tram. Along the way was a Jack Sparrow photo op. The line was probably about 30 deep, so we kept walking instead of stopping.

Our plan was to head over to Serenity Bay, the "Adult Beach". Then we would come back over for lunch at Cookies Too BBQ. There was also a 5K that morning that Sayra was considering running in, but she changed her mind at the last minute. We watched all the runners during the tram ride instead.

We were kinda disappointed with Serenity Bay. The Family Beach actually seemed to be less crowded than the Adult Beach. We headed back on the next tram. We found a pair of hammocks close to the path and I read until lunchtime.

Lunch was a pleasant surprise. The food was really good!!!

It was served buffet style and consisted of Ribs, Corn on the Cob, Banana Bread, Grilled Fish & Chicken, Bags of Chips & some random deserts.

After lunch we headed back to the hammocks and took a nap. Sayra wanted to get in the water, but it was way too cold. She talked me into going in up to my knees. She went in a little deeper. We skipped all the stingray/snorkeling stuff and the waterslide.

After a while we headed back to the ship and started getting ready for our last night at sea. Something I forgot to mention in previous posts, was the mandatory hand sanitizer stations as you got back on board at each port.

The show that night was Disney Dreams. If I had to rate the shows, I put would put this one second only behind Villains Tonight. It was neat how they incorporated Peter, the Cruise Director, into the show. John Charles also played for a little while.

Our final dinner was back in Lumiere's. It was the "Til We Meet Again" menu.

One of the highlights was the Flaming Baked Alaska. I had no idea what it was & I'm still not exactly sure. It was like a slice of Neapolitan ice cream baked into a cake??? Very strange.

Here's a pic of Sayra with Hart & Ionna. Both were absolutely wonderful!!!

After dinner in the lobby was a final meet & greet with the Disney characters. Sayra was still not feeling well, so she went back to the room. I hung around for a bit and took a few pictures.

The next morning we awoke to a familiar site right outside our window.

We swung by Lumiere's for a quick bite and to say our final goodbyes. Then before we knew it, we were picking up our luggage & waiting for the bus to take us back to Budget Rental Car.

This was a bittersweet moment for us because we still had another week left of vacation that we were looking forward to, but we didn't realize, until that moment, how much we were going to enjoy & now miss DCL.

All in all, I couldn't rave enough about DCL. It's true that it may be more expensive than some of the other cruise lines, but there's that "Disney Difference" that more than makes up for it. Even for couples that don't have kids, I would highly recommend DCL.

Sayra and I have already started talking about booking another cruise next fall, probably on the Fantasy. Of course we're going to have to check the Ravens 2012 schedule first. Hopefully they play Tampa next season.

For those wondering, the Ravens lost on Monday Night Football that week to the Jaguars in a heartbreaking loss. We still had a great time though.

 

[D-Dreamer]

What a great trip report! I'm glad you had such a good time. I have to admit, I am sad your 2011 cruise story is at an end. I hope you do follow through with your thoughts of a future cruise. I reluctantly took my first cruise in 2009 and we loved DCL so much we have taken one every year since! We look forward to your next report!! Thanks!!

 

[Linda67]

Thanks so much for an excellent TR

I've really enjoyed reading along

 

[AnnaS]

Thank you so much for taking the time and posting your cruise and wonderful pictures with us. Many get hooked once they have cruised -

we can't wait for our Fantsay cruise in 2013.

I hope you had another great week at WDW too.

 

[Ajsmom22]

Loved reading every word and seeing each photo! Great trip report!

Go Ravens!

Amber

 

[kungaloosh]

Ryan,
I loved your trip report and all your pictures. I was so excited to see the picture of the old Who Wants to be a Mouseketeer set. 10 years ago that show was in the big theater and the grand prize was a return 7 day cruise for 2. I was lucky enough to win it and got to do 2 Disney Magic cruises in 1 year because of it. Now we are finally going back on the Magic in 2 weeks for the first time in 10 years and I can't wait.

Thanks for the great report,
Cathy

 

[bedillamouse]

Great report...glad to hear you liked DCL even with the cruddy weather. I enjoyed your report.

 

[rk33l4n]

Ryan,
I loved your trip report and all your pictures. I was so excited to see the picture of the old Who Wants to be a Mouseketeer set. 10 years ago that show was in the big theater and the grand prize was a return 7 day cruise for 2. I was lucky enough to win it and got to do 2 Disney Magic cruises in 1 year because of it. Now we are finally going back on the Magic in 2 weeks for the first time in 10 years and I can't wait.

Thanks for the great report,
Cathy

The grand prize is now a paperweight It was fun just getting a chance to play though.

 

[kungaloosh]

Ryan,
Wow, it sounds like they've really scaled back on the prize budget.

I hope they have at least made the questions easier. What where some of the questions you got? The grand prize question that we had was what is the name of the shipwrecked boat at Disney's Typhoon Lagoon waterpark? Of course all the DIS experts here will probably know the answer but the people on the cruise couldn't believe I knew it. I didn't even need the multiple choice. The reason was because whenever my DS and DH would go in the wave pool I'd sit at the thatch roof bar and have a bevarage and watch the Miss Tilly spout off every half an hour. Sometimes drinking can pay. In this case it got us a free Disney cruise.

Cathy

 

[tefrench]

ONe of the best trip reports I've read!
We are planning on doing this cruise in 2013, so it was great to hear your comments and tips!

By the way, we are also in central pa, so howdy neighbor!

 

[hardingk]

Thanks for the great trip report! Loved all the pictures! Thanks for taking the time to put it together!